Will Landmark Health Care Bill Harm Fish?

​Eating fish is good for your health. Expanded medical coverage is good for public health. Yet expanding medical coverage harms the health of fish.

Does this mean heath care harms people's health?

Probably not. But Republicans are alleging that Rep. Nancy Pelosi's intense lobbying and favor-swapping in advance of Sunday's historic health care vote may have produced just such a George Carlin-esque mobius strip of logic (the ponytailed standup coined the witticism "You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose. But you can't pick your friend's nose.")

California Watch's Lance Williams is among observers recounting Republicans' allegations that a recent move by the Department of the Interior to open Central Valley water spigots -- despite scientific concerns this may harm Sacramento River Delta fisheries -- was among quiet deals struck to buy votes for the president's health care overhaul.

At issue is whether the unleashed water was meant to entice undecided Reps Dennis Cardoza (D-Merced) and Jim Costa (D-Fresno) to vote for the health care measure. The new water flow was announced March 16, and soon after the two representatives had moved from the undecided to the "yes" columns on the vote -- timing Republicans say was suspicious.

Cardoza says this is hogwash trumped up by Fox News, and makes no sense because he was actually unhappy with the water allocation..

The Interior Department's March 16 press release said the additional water was the result of
additional precipitation, improved snowpack, and improved storage at Shasta Reservoir.

Indeed, Northern California locals know that cities all over the region have been told they needn't worry quite so much about water supplies thanks to a relatively heavy winter snowfall.

Yet another mobius strip ripped asunder. Go fish.