On Your World, host Stuart Varney falsely attacked California governor Jerry Brown for supposedly planning on fining people $500 if they take long showers. Fox’s Judge Andrew Napolitano piled on by calling Brown a “thug.” But that's dubious.
Varney was apparently referring to Brown’s comments on Sunday's ABC’s This Week. Brown told host Martha Raddatz that his emergency water restrictions, affect “people’s—how long they stay in the shower, how businesses use water.” But it appears Brown was speaking figuratively because his actual order says nothing about showers.
But Napolitano, who you’d think would have read the order, did not challenge Varney's interpretation. Instead, Napolitano said, “Who does this thug who calls himself the Governor of California think he is? He can’t make up rules and impose punishments on his own. Only the Legislature can do that.”
”But he’s going to do it,” Varney said. “He will certainly fine people for using more water than is allowed per household unit.”
Napolitano said, “The legislature can say per household unit as long as there’s a uniform measure that applies everywhere, whether it’s square foot of household, number of people that live there etc., can limit it to the household, but they cannot tell you how to use the water in the household. They cannot tell you how long to brush your teeth, or for heavens sakes, how long to take a shower.”
“This nonsense, from the Oregon border to Mexico is being done by a dictator, Napolitano later said. “…To decree the punishment for violating it violates even the California constitution.”
“We’ve not yet found out how the Governor proposes to measure the duration of your shower,” Varney said. He suggested that the government, unable to determine how long someone showers, will encourage neighbors to snitch on each other.
Napolitano asked, “What do you think of about big government telling you how much water you can drink and use to brush your teeth.”
“Not much,” Varney said.
Varney and Napolitano acted as though they didn't know how terribly severe California's drought is.
Watch it below, from yesterday’s Your World.
Hey Andy, I think you answered your own question: he’s the DULY ELECTED Governor of the State of California (by a majority vote of its 35 million+ residents.)
Seems funny how, whenever Democratic Executives in state/federal government like Gov. Brown or President Obama issue executive orders, they’re smeared as “thugs” or “dictators” . . . but when former CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made an official Proclamation (though not an Executive Order) back in 2009 naming CA’s drought a “state of emergency”, and directing state agencies to cut back their water consumption 20% (http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/28/local/me-california-drought28), I’m guessing Andy had nary a problem with “gov’t interference.” Of course, The Governator had an “R” behind his name and was an unabashed supporter of GW Bush (no matter how “liberal” he may have been portrayed on environmental and social issues) — maybe that’s the reason . . .
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