Pelosi's "crumbs": Millions benefit from tax reform

Unemployment is down, workers are keeping more of their own money, and hundreds of billions of dollars parked overseas are flowing back to America. Click on the image below to watch a short video about the great benefits of tax reform: 

Gov. Brown deploys the water police

Governor Jerry Brown yesterday approved two new laws limiting water usage for Californians. Daily limits will begin at 55 gallons per person, later dropping to 50 gallons. As one California news report notes, "Fifty gallons are considered the minimum needed for health and safety." It further explains, "How consumers will meet the goals remains unknown. An eight-minute shower, for example, uses about 17 gallons of water, a load of laundry up to 40 and a bathtub can hold 80 to 100 gallons of water." The paper notes that the restrictions are supported by various environmental groups, though some groups complained the restrictions don't go far enough.

The imposition of these draconian water limits was predictable. In 2015, referring to previous water restrictions mandated by Governor Brown, I wrote, "And it's a safe bet that Brown's mandatory water reductions will not alleviate the crisis, leading to a drastic increase in restrictions in the not-too-distant future. Watering your lawn, washing your car and countless other everyday activities will be banned up and down California. In their mania to attack Central Valley farming, the radicals are inadvertently running the entire state out of water."

Make no mistake, environmental extremists and the Democrats who serve their interests put us in this situation through their misguided legislation and their prolific lawsuits designed to impose ever-stricter water limitations. And by blocking commonsense solutions in House-passed bills such as operating the pumps to full capacity, repealing damaging laws, and approving more water storage projects, they have engineered a permanent water crisis.

The result, as we see today, is a drastic reduction in personal freedom and our standard of living. Californians don't want to have to choose between doing their laundry and taking a shower, but that's the kind of choice being forced on us - and the odds are, without a drastic course correction, more restrictions lie ahead.     

CNN goes nuts

I spent the last few days touring Valley ag and businesses. Thank you to Mid-Valley Pipe and Supply, Kaweah Brewery, and the Minkler Cash Store for hosting me, as well as the growers who gave me a look at the current pistachio crop. A few pictures of my visits are below.

While I was on some of these visits, CNN was trying to track me down. They seemed mystified why I was ignoring them but took the time to send out a picture of the pistachio crop - apparently, for them, paying attention to agriculture is a waste of time, while ignoring CNN is an unforgivable offense. Click on the picture below to see their reaction:

I appreciate the attention from CNN, but to be honest, I think looking at a nut was a much better use of my time.