Dude, chill, after I retired I was actually used by some folks to consult and try to advise idiots like Henry Waxman on transportation infrastructure in the 2009 "stimulus" bill. And, when I realized that most of his completely useless and amazingly ignorant mid 20 something staff had no idea what "stimulus" even was, or how "stimulus" even worked, I used the example of hiring unemployed youth for things like clearing overgrown forests, with things like summer youth and young adult short term employment.

And, don't ya know, it weren't even my idea. It's what fricking Roosevelt did in 1934, in the last "Great" (economic collapse de jour) with the fricken CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp, 18-25 year old folks recruited to give them employment clearing forests, and building campgrounds, and planting trees, to "make work" during 20% 1930's unemployment). But, we don't teach much history any more, either. And, useless Pelosi and Waxman couldn't even get that right, and Obama and Rahm Emanuel were too young to remember.

I explained how that kind of forest clearance "make work" (and similar environmental "clean up" and "restoration" work) would put those at the bottom of the unemployment ladder to work quickly, and eliminate long term fire dangers, reducing future costs to taxpayers, and putting some money into the pockets of folks we'd hire to clear our those hazards. Those young folks would have some money, and could go to town on Saturday night and have a beer, and send some money home to mom, and that might mean she'd be able to make her house payment, and that house wouldn't be foreclosed, and that bank wouldn't have to lay off folks to cover the losses, and, they'd make their car payment, and, the economy would stop collapsing, and we'd reach a bottom, and the economy could start growing again.

I explained how that worked for highways and transit, too. But, instead of pushing two billion in LOSSAN projects already "in the pipeline" we started a new program, from scratch, with no real work "shovel ready", or even "in the pipeline", that could create work by accelerating already planned projects, by instead deciding to fund the CHSRA fiasco, being promoted by a Republican Governator and a couple a Bay Area US Senators.

So buddy, as I said, you've misjudged me... However, much as we need better forest management, where this is the danger that can be reduced, it is no substitution, in many areas, including yours, for rainfall. Which there is less of from a significant change in Spring rainfall patterns. Which over the last 25 years, in the west, are becoming a serious factor, a "worst case" exponential added fire risk factor. And, I got good folks I know who post on here and who live up in the Sierra foothills who are in real danger. And I hike a canyon down here every week, that has piles of flammable dead trees, that have been washed down the Canyon, sitting as tinder under $2 million homes, that should be cleared, too. But, I got no use for delusional or dumbass people who tweet utter bull$hit and irresponsible nonsense, to score political points with nitwits and fools, on issues like this.

Now, if we could only figure out how wrestle a spare $500 million from the bloated cost overruns already incurred on the CHSRA fiasco, we could be tunneling under Del Mar, to take the LOSSAN off of the unstable bluffs, double track, and raise the grade separated speed to 110, on the second busiest intercity rail corridor and most congested Interstate Highway corridor in the US. Imagine we had a couple of billion dollars to complete a grade separated two hour schedule to San Diego, instead of spending $84 billion in public investment to try to compete with Southwest on two routes pairs??????