Because MONEY is more important than anything else.

"Avarice" (1904), James Ensor

National parks are popular! They actually bring in more money than it costs to run them. Yet the Republican regime wants to kill them. Why? They want to trade the public good for private gain. The plan is to sell our natural resources to ruthless industrialists, to be torn apart, mined for minerals, drilled for oil, and stripped of lumber. Creepy rich guys will pay a lot to be allowed to shoot all the animals. The Grand Canyon is huge. It would be a great place to dump toxic waste.

None of the money generated by destroying our parks and other agencies will be used to benefit Americans in any way. Old people will still be robbed of Social Security and Medicare. Research to cure diseases will not be funded. Disaster relief will not be provided after storms and fires. Laws that protect our food, water, and air will not be enforced. Schools will be closed. Children will not be fed. Medicaid will disappear. Even weather forecasting will be stopped.

Where will all that money go? Will it be refunded to taxpayers? No. Will some helpful programs be re-opened? No. Instead, there will be more ad campaigns praising Dear Leader. An irresponsible billionaire will get more government contracts. Dear Leader and his buddies will spend even more time using government-owned planes to fly off to resort vacations. They will hire more private soldiers to guard them from contact with the public. Wealthy Republican donors will buy more yachts, do more golfing, and have more fancy parties.

The sole purpose of the Republican regime is to create permanent damage in exchange for the temporary gratification of the oligarchs. A billionaire's lifestyle will not be improved or harmed if his net worth goes up or down by hundreds of millions, but seeing it go up on paper makes him feel better for a little while, and that's a good enough reason to make sure our grandchildren never walk in a forest or see an eagle.

• Parks Are Being Dismantled
• Trump Targets National Parks
• Cuts to U.S. National Parks

 

Dixie Canyon Park

This is a very small park at the end of Dixie Canyon Place in Studio City. The street leading to the staircase entrance is not much more than an alley which provides access to the residents of the very expensive townhouses in this neighborhood. The street suffers from occasional potholes and buckled pavement, probably because the water never stops running down the center drainage channel. The water comes from the year-round stream that flows down the canyon.

There is not much available parking close to the entrance, but it would be easy enough to park farther away and walk in. The hike, once you reach the park, is short and not difficult. The trail is about one-eighth of a mile, and loops at the top. Thanks, no doubt, to the stream, it is surprisingly green and fresh, with plenty of shade and lots of birds and critters in the bushes.