Silicon Valley's cops destroy the homes of the homeless just in time for Christmas

Robert Aguirre, a resident at the Silicon Valley homeless
encampment known as The Jungle, shows a notice asking
him to move.

Liberal San Jose Attacks The Homeless

• The super wealthy liberal Democrat city of San Jose is going out of their way to destroy the homes of the homeless just in time for Christmas.
• Naturally the "compassionate" liberals of San Jose couldn't give a crap where the homeless go.  Let them die is a ditch.
• Solution  -  Why not have the city install a few dumpsters and porta-potties on this empty land.  Let the homeless build homes with the help of volunteers so they are no longer homeless.  But I am just a "crazy" Blogger. What do I know?

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Associated Press) — Police and social-service workers on Thursday began clearing away one of the nation's largest homeless encampments, a cluster of flimsy tents and plywood shelters that once housed more than 200 people in the heart of wealthy Silicon Valley.

Authorities have been trying for years to resolve problems at the camp known as the Jungle, including violence and unsanitary conditions.

Al Palaces, a former truck driver who moved in about eight months ago, was among those ordered out before dawn.

"I just grabbed whatever I could because I don't want to go to jail," he said, standing next to an overloaded shopping cart stuffed with muddy plastic bags.

On Monday, people living in the camp were given until Thursday to leave or face arrest for trespassing. By Thursday morning, about 60 people were left at the muddy, garbage-strewn site.

Jesus would want this.
To honor Jesus and Christmas, the wealthy liberal Democrat city of San Jose is going to destroy the homes of the homeless making them even more poor and homeless than they were before. . . . all just in time for the Holidays.

Nancy Ortega sobbed as she watched tractors load garbage into trash trucks. Then a passing motorist shouted at those who had just been evicted.

"People drive by and look at us like we're circus animals," she said.

Many people had trouble dragging their belongings out of the camp through ankle-deep mud.

"It's junk to everyone else. But to us, these are our homes," said Ortega, who said she had been in and out of jail and struggled with addiction and mental illness.

By midmorning, dozens had been moved out, but some still remained.

Valentine Cortes, who said he was a journeyman construction worker, had no plans to leave his makeshift shelter built into a steep, muddy slope.

"I don't know why people got all chaotic today," he said. "We don't have to go."

Asked about the warning that anyone who stays could be jailed, he shrugged and said, "Then I guess I'll be arrested."

Animals also roamed the square-mile camp, some of them pets and others wild. Rats could be seen running through the muck.

A few dozen protesters gathered at the site holding signs reading "Homeless people matter" and "Stand with The Jungle." No arrests were reported.

The encampment stands in stark contrast to the surrounding valley, a region that leads the country in job growth, income and venture capital.

Palaces said he liked the Jungle better than the streets because people would bring food but not bother the residents.

"Even a job wouldn't give me a house" because housing prices are so high, he said.

With the camp cleared, officials planned to try to find shelter for the night for people connected with social services.

A house covered in wrapping paper with a cardboard chimney
is seen at the Silicon Valley homeless encampment
known as "The Jungle".

A resident peeks out from inside a trailer after receiving an order
to move at the Silicon Valley homeless encampment
known as The Jungle.

Police officers and city officials hand out warning notices at a
Silicon Valley homeless encampment known as The Jungle.

Democrats push a higher minimum wage for California

Free Money For All!

With cities across the Bay Area approving minimum wage hikes at the ballot box, state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, is proposing upping the state minimum wage to $13 by 2017.

Leno introduced legislation Monday that would raise the state minimum wage to $11 an hour in 2016, to $13 in 2017 and begin annual inflation-based adjustments in 2019.

Under current law, the state minimum wage will increase $10 per hour on Jan. 1, 2016 reports the San Jose Mercury News.

The minimum wage in some Bay Area cities is already set to rise more than that. Last month, Oakland voters approved a minimum wage hike to $12.25 effective in March and San Francisco voters approved a gradual rise to a $15 minimum wage in 2018.

The Berkeley City Council also enacted an ordinance this year to raise the city's minimum wage to $12.53 on Oct. 1, 2016.

A statement from Leno's office today lauded the local efforts, but lamented that a quarter of California residents live in poverty.

"Raising incomes for millions of Californians will reduce poverty and provide them a better shot at the American Dream," Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon said in a statement. "Senator Leno's measure will make sure this opportunity is real for all of California's minimum wage workers."

I can see both sides
The Leftist Democrats think money is "magic" and can be put into worker's wallets with the wave of a government wand.
.
On the other hand, helpless workers have seen the value of the dollar they earn shrink because of the insane inflationary monetary policies of both big government loving Washington D.C. parties.

California pushes to expand illegal alien health care

Marxist Political Whores

• Democrats choose to seize the wealth of American citizens of all races and re-distribute that wealth to the citizens of foreign nations.
• And the mouth-breathing Sheeple American citizen voters keep re-electing Socialists.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Associated Press)  —  President Barack Obama's executive order to spare some immigrants from deportation has galvanized Democrats, immigration groups and health care advocates in California to push for expanding health coverage to a segment of the population that remains uninsured.

The president's action excludes immigrants who came to the country illegally from qualifying for federal health benefits. But California has its own policy of providing health coverage with state money to low-income immigrants with so-called "deferred action" that allow them to avoid deportation. Immigrant and health care advocates say that means Obama's executive order will enable hundreds of thousands of low-income immigrants in California to apply for Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid.

Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, said allowing this expanded group of immigrants to participate in the Medicaid program will enable people to get primary and preventive care, "rather than just at the emergency room."

The California Department of Health Care Services, however, has yet to receive formal guidance. A state official said it's too early to tell how the immigration program will impact the overall Medi-Cal program, which is consuming an increasing share of state funds.

Medi-Cal is a health program for the poor paid for by the federal government and the state. It has grown by about 3 million people in California under federal health care reform and now covers more than 11 million Californians, about 30 percent of the state's population. The federal government is paying for the expansion, but the state will eventually pay 10 percent of additional costs to cover low-income adults, many of whom are childless.

The state is expected to spend more than $17 billion of its own money on the program this year, up 3.5 percent a year ago, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office.

"We are assessing what some of the potential impacts could be, but it would be premature for us to comment until we have more specific information available," said Norman Williams, a spokesman for the Department of Health Care Services.

The president's action has also emboldened a Democratic lawmaker to revive a bill that would provide health coverage to all Californians, regardless of their immigration status.

Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, plans to reintroduce his Health4All bill on Monday to open Medi-Cal to immigrants, as well as extending subsidized health benefits in a new insurance marketplace for those without legal status. The proposal, which previously carried a cost as high as $1.3 billion a year, stalled in a legislative committee last cycle and Republicans had criticized the cost of the expansion.

"The president's action covers almost half of California's undocumented population, but that still leaves over a million people with no access to health care. We can do better. The bill will cover those remaining uninsured that will not benefit from Obama's action," Lara said.

According to the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank in Washington, D.C., the president's action lifts the threat of deportation to as many as 1.2 million immigrants living illegally in California. There are an estimated 2.6 million people living illegally in the state.

The issue of benefits for immigrants who are illegally in the United States is a sensitive one.

Joe Guzzardi a spokesman for Californians for Population Stabilization, a Santa Barbara, California-based group that advocates for lower population, said the state is already more generous toward immigrants than most states and adding health coverage may attract more people to cross into California illegally.

"There are millions of Californians who don't have health care insurance or have to pay for their health care insurance out of their own pockets. So it seems unfair to have legislation that provides for people who came to the United States unlawfully to be rewarded with a health care plan," Guzzardi said.

Democrat bill would require retailers, restaurants to pay their employees double on holidays

Actually a good idea.

- - - It is not a "holiday" when you are forced to work.  Consumerism and money worship has taken over society.

Californians working through the holidays could get heftier paychecks under legislation that would mandate double pay for Thanksgiving and Christmas shifts.

As more and more retailers and restaurants remain open on what have historically been off days, said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, workers deserve to earn extra. She plans to unveil a bill that would require additional pay, a policy she settled on in lieu of seeking to bar stores outright from opening on the holidays.

“I’ve watched how the retailers and restaurateurs continue to expand their hours and open up on these holidays that are traditionally family holidays,” Gonzalez said. “What people are being called in to do now is a real slap in the face of family values, frankly,” reports the Sacramento Bee.

Certain industries require some employees to work 365 days a year, Gonzalez noted, recounting how her mother worked as a nurse and would sometimes be called in on holidays. But she draws a distinction between indispensable services like police departments or hospitals and other businesses.

“This is not life and death,” Gonzalez said. “This is consumerism.”

It won’t be Gonzalez’s first foray into expanding workers’ benefits. Last year she successfully pushed through landmark legislation guaranteeing California workers up to three days a year of paid sick leave, garnering enough votes despite a carve-out exempting some workers that angered a prominent union and threatened to split the Democratic caucus.

The California Chamber of Commerce opposed the paid sick-leave bill, although the influential business group did remove a “job killer” tag it had affixed to the legislation. The chamber declined to comment on the forthcoming holiday pay bill since no legislation has not been introduced.

One large retailer that would be affected, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., closes its stores on Christmas but has stayed open on Thanksgiving for more than two decades, according to spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan. She said employees who work on Thanksgiving essentially receive double pay already.

“It equals out to be an extra day’s pay,” Buchanan said.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article4146801.html#storylink=cpy

The National Republican Congressional Committee's Epic Failure in California

Bakersfield Congressman Kevin McCarthy

Is it Kevin McCarthy's Fault?

• In the biggest GOP landslide in decades, California’s Democratic delegation to the House will actually increase by one seat.
• Personal Note  -  I live in one of the highly targeted seats.  There were 10 Democrat TV ads for every one GOP ad.

Capitol Weekly, one of Sacramento’s most credible news sources that reports on political and policy goings-on in the Golden State, has bestowed their “Singin’ Those Golden State Blues” award for the worst week in California politics to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, tagging him with the ultimate responsibility for the failure to pick up even one of nine Congressional seats in California that were competitive. 

National Republicans played in only four of those races, losing them all. And Republican candidates in five others seats who narrowly lost received no meaningful financial support from the NRCC whatsoever.

Capitol Weekly, in bestowing the dubious honors on McCarthy, said, "And, it’s Friday, meaning that we look back to see who had the worst week in California politics – who is Singin’ Those Golden State Blues. Our pick: Bakersfield congressman and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. After two hotly-contested California congressional races were decided this week, California’s Democratic delegation to the House will actually increase by one seat,” reports Breitbart News.

Their analysis concludes, saying, "So, depending on how you spin it, McCarthy either A) wasted good money trying to pick up seats that were predictably blue; or B) didn’t spend enough to pick up seats that could have been had with a bit more support. Neither option is good, and we’re guessing that the results are giving Mr. McCarthy plenty of heartburn.”

In an earlier analysis of the NRCC’s terrible performance in California this election cycle, Breitbart News Network noted the close losses in nine different seats.

To recap:

CA-3 – Incumbent Democrat John Garamendi, former Lt. Governor of California, beat back a strong challenge from termed-out conservative Assemblyman Dan Logue in this district north and west of Sacramento. Logue got 47.4% of the vote.

CA-7— Incumbent Democrat Ami Bera, who narrowly defeated GOPer Dan Lungren two years ago, was narrowly re-elected over former Republican Congressman Doug Ose, who ended up with around 49.6% of the total vote. The NRCC played big here.

CA-9 — Former U.S. Marshall Tony Amador gave incumbent Democrat Jerry McNerney a run for his money in this northwestern Central Valley seat, garnering 47.9% of the vote with zero help from the NRCC.

CA-16 — Five-term incumbent Democrat Jim Costa won re-election to his Central Valley seat by significantly less than a thousand votes: Another race where virtually any assistance from national Republicans would have flipped the outcome. GOP dairyman Johnny Techerra ended up with 49.3%.

CA-24 — Congresswoman Lois Capps stopped the surge of her GOP opponent, Chris Mitchum (son of famous actor Robert Mitchum). Mitchum got 48.4% of the vote, without any appreciable support from Capitol Hill.

CA-26 — Freshman Democrat Julia Brownley narrowly defeated GOP Assemblyman, former prosecutor, and war veteran Jeff Gorrell in a razor-close race (51%-49). The NRCC engaged here, though not as much as in some other seats.

CA-31 — Out the gate, the “spin” was that the GOP couldn’t hold the seat of retiring Rep. Gary Miller. Turns out it was a self-fulfilling prophesy. Republican Paul Chabot was beat out by Democrat Pete Aguilar by only two and a half points, as the NRCC took a complete pass on this race.

CA-36 — GOP Assemblyman Brian Nestande carried the GOP torch against freshman Democrat Raul Ruiz. The NRCC played modestly in this seat, where Nestande ended up with 46.2% of the final vote.

CA-52 — One could argue that electing Republican Carl DeMaio to replace freshman Democratic Rep. Scott Peters was the NRCC’s top priority in California. The national committee dumped millions into this high-profile race, but fell short with DeMaio garnering 48.4% of the vote.

No doubt many folks were responsible for the targeting decisions made in all of these California races — but McCarthy, who is extremely engaged in such political matters and is the highest ranking national GOP figure in California — was singled out for Capitol Weekly’s top honors.

UC expands legal services for illegal aliens

And the moronic Sheeple of California keep electing this bald bastard.

Dems: "Fuck American Citizens"

• The Democrat run university estimates it had 2,000 undergraduates and 1,100 graduate students enrolled last year who are in the U.S. illegally.
• Democrats screw over American citizens with massive tuition hikes while giving free servives and "grants" to illegal aliens.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS / AP) — The University of California is planning to offer legal services at six campuses to students who are living in the U.S. illegally or have parents who might be eligible for deportation relief under President Barack Obama’s new immigration order, UC President Janet Napolitano announced Friday.

The pilot program designed to make legal advice available to "immigrant" students at UC campuses without law schools will be staffed by recent law school graduates working under the guidance of an experienced immigration attorney and faculty at the University of California, 

Davis, which has operated an immigration law clinic since the 1980s, said Kevin Johnson, the dean of the law school at Davis.

The idea came out of an advisory committee Napolitano named after she became UC president last year and her previous role as homeland security secretary sparked protests among immigrant rights activists who opposed the increase in deportations under her watch. 

University spokeswoman Brooke Converse said the project has been in the works for several months and that Napolitano’s office is providing $577,860 to fund it.

“We want to create a model for other UC campuses and universities across the nation to provide legal representation for undocumented students on their campuses,” Napolitano said in a statement.

The university estimates it had 2,000 undergraduates and 1,100 graduate students enrolled last year who are in the U.S. illegally, Converse said.

The center also will be well-positioned to help students apply for the grants and loans the state of California is making available to students who are ineligible for federal financial aid because of their immigration status, he said.

California Senate Cutting 90 Jobs, Citing Budget Woes

.

Boo Hoo

• I'm all broken up that the hacks in Sacramento might have to get jobs back in the real world with the rest of us.

(Capital Public Radio)  -  The California Senate is laying off dozens of employees Friday, saying the staff reductions are necessary to meet next year's payroll.

The Senate is reducing its workforce by 90 positions – 40 through layoffs and 50 through normal attrition. The layoffs are in offices widely considered to have cushy jobs with little work. Additionally, Senate employees will pay an extra $30 each month in health care premiums starting in January.

The layoffs come after the retirements this year of longtime Senate Secretary Greg Schmidt and Human Resources chief Dina Hidalgo.

The layoff proposal by new Senate Secretary Danny Alvarez was approved by new Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles).

“Today, the Senate made some difficult but fiscally necessary staff reductions affecting a number of steadfast public servants,” De León said in a statement. “These were all agonizing decisions, but they were unavoidable and made in the public interest.  This Senate bears an ultimate responsibility to our constituents and to California taxpayers to live within our fiscal means, even when it means doing more with less.”

The laid-off employees are being given severance pay and two months notice.

California State Senate

Democrats approve UC Tuition Hikes While Spending Billions on High-Speed Rail

Janet Napolitano - Corrupt Whore

• California, a state of idiots.  They put Leftist Democrats in charge to spend countless billions on bullshit like high-speed rail while screwing over the parents of college students.
• Lining your pockets  -  "The University of California has leased an Oakland residence for incoming system president Janet Napolitano for $9,950 a month, officials said Monday. Napolitano, the former U.S. secretary of Homeland Security and former governor of Arizona, will be provided the housing plus an annual $570,000 salary, $8,916 a year for car expenses and $142,500 for one-time relocation costs."  - - - Los Angeles Times.

A committee of the University of California's governing board voted Wednesday for a tuition increase during each of the next five years over the protests of Gov. Jerry Brown, legislative leaders and students.

After running a gauntlet of protesters, the committee voted 7-2 to approve the plan recommended by UC President Janet Napolitano that would raise tuition as much as 5 percent annually.

Napolitano has said the increase was contingent on the state not giving the 10-campus system more money than currently budgeted.

The full Board of Regents is expected to consider the plan on Thursday, with a majority already indicating they support it reports ABC News.

Under the plan, the average annual cost of a UC education for California residents would go up $612 to $12,804 next fall and to $15,564 by fall 2019. Tuition rates at the 10 schools have been frozen for three years.

The meeting got testy after Brown, a member of the committee. insisted the system's finances have improved under his watch, and that Napolitano and the regents should be able to make do without raising tuition.

He took particular aim at the contention by several regents that the system needs to increase the salaries of administrators and faculty so it can compete with elite private universities for talent.

"We are not talking about a scarcity (of funding) here that is impossible to live with," the governor said.

Napolitano shot back that the money Brown has budgeted for the campuses next year still leaves it below 2008 funding levels. With the budgeted amount, "we will never catch up to where we were then, never mind to when your mother attended," she said.

Before the vote, several members of the board who won't vote until Thursday also put the blame on Sacramento.

Regent Bonnie Reiss, a former adviser to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, noted that the state has managed to find money for high-speed rail and a multi-million dollar rainy fund while giving the university short-shrift.

"What we are saying is the experience of the last decade is the state is an inherently unreliable partner in investing in state public higher education," Reiss said.

UC Executive Vice President Nathan Brostrom, who oversees the system's budget, told the committee that only students with annual family incomes above $175,000 would pay all of the increases, and more than half of all UC students would continue paying no tuition thanks to financial aid.

Students from families that earn between $100,000 and $150,000 a year are likely to see their tuition costs go down over the next four years because of a middle-class scholarship program approved by the state, Brostrom added.

The dissenting votes on Wednesday came from the governor and Student Regent Sadia Saifuddin, who urged UC leaders and state officials to work with students.

"Six hundred dollars may not seem like a lot but that is almost an entire month's rent for some students who are barely making it by as it is, and I was one of those students," Saifuddin said.

The committee had to shout their vote over students who were chanting loudly as they tried to delay the action.

Before the vote, the governor outlined his plan to create a task force to look into various ways of making the UC budget go further by educating more students in less time.

Life in prison for recording music?

Anti-Black Racism

• Freedom of speech has no meaning to the growing police state.  If you are a Black man you are not allowed to sign about crime or try to make money with an album on the subject.

Notes from the Police State  -  San Diego rapper Brandon Duncan, aka Tiny Doo, is facing a lifetime prison sentence for simply putting out an album.

As ABC 10 reports, he and about 14 other gang members are currently facing attempted murder charges stemming from nine local shootings since April 2013. Although the MC hasn’t been officially tied to the murders, prosecutors are looking to charge Duncan by linking his latest album, No Safety, to an obscure 2000 California law that states gang members can be prosecuted if they somehow “benefit” from crimes committed by other gang members.

Prosecutors claim that No Safety makes Duncan’s gang affiliations clear, and that Duncan has “benefited from the shootings because his gang gained in status, allowing him to sell more albums.” The case marks the first time the law has actually ever been enforced.

Oh The Horror!
An "evil" album cover that dares to show a picture of a gun.

Deputy District Attorney Anthony Campagna pointed to the album’s cover as one piece of evidence against Duncan. “We’re not just talking about a CD of anything, of love songs. We’re talking about a CD (cover) … there is a revolver with bullets,” he noted.

Duncan’s attorney, Brian Watkins, has called the charges “a reach,” saying: “It’s shocking. He has no criminal record. Nothing in his lyrics say go out and commit a crime. Nothing in his lyrics reference these shootings, yet they are holding him liable for conspiracy. There are huge constitutional issues.”

Alex Kreit, a professor at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, weighed in on the case and whether the charges were constitutionally sound. “Where does that end if that’s the definition of criminal liability?” he told ABC 10. “Is Martin Scorsese going to be prosecuted if he meets with mafia members for a movie for his next film? The Constitution says it can’t be a crime to simply make gangster rap songs and hang out with people that are committing crimes. You have to have more involvement than that.”

The hearing is set to resume this week, when the judge will decide whether it will go to trial.

From (consequenceofsound.net)

Eric Clapton - "I shot the sheriff"

WARNING TO BLACKS:  Do not sign this song.

When a white man sings about crime he makes millions of dollars.  So the moral of the story is if you are black don't sing.

How almonds are sucking California dry

Growing Crops in a Desert

• From Central Valley orchards to the mega-urban complexes, Californians live a water sucking lifestyle with no clue that they live in a desert.  

By David WillisBBC News, Los Angeles
California's worst drought for more than a century is causing huge problems for farmers, who need a trillion gallons of water per year for their almond orchards alone. But it also leaves homeowners facing difficult choices about what to do with their lawn.
I have a neighbour, Deborah, and ever since I've lived here, her front lawn has been luxuriant and green.

But wandering by the other day I did a double take. Mounds of earth were piled up where the grass had once been, and an army of workmen had set about installing succulent plants and ground cover, and the kind of prickly cactus you normally see in children's cartoons.

By the time Deborah had finished explaining why she was doing it, I could hardly believe I hadn't done the same thing myself.

Aside from the satisfaction of knowing you are planting something that is actually meant to grow in these desert-like conditions - as opposed to grass, which sucks up water with the zeal of an inebriate who has stumbled upon the keys to the drinks cabinet - she also stands to save a fortune on her water bill.

She even avoids having to confront a sorry, burned-out apology-for-a-front-lawn every time she leaves the house.

Added to which, the city of Los Angeles actually paid her to do it - generously too, by all accounts.

And if paying people to rip up their lawns and replace them with drought-tolerant plants strikes you as an odd use of government resources, then all I can say to you is that desperate times call for desperate measures - and these are desperate times.

California is now in its third year of drought. The reservoirs are running dry and so too are the ground water supplies.

While comedians joke that it's so dry in California these days that the longest lines at Disneyland are for the water fountains - or ponder replacing the bear on the California state flag with a camel - what this place is witnessing is a dust bowl of truly Steinbeckian proportions.

It's so dry, in fact, that officials were reportedly thinking of adding a fifth level to the current four-tiered drought scale, which currently rates 99% of the state as "abnormally dry".

California Almond Orchard

But while replacing your lawn with plants does help save water, the vast majority of the water used here goes not to households but to support California's economic mainstay - agriculture.

So water-intensive is the industry that the benefits of planting the odd cactus here or there start to seem a little modest in comparison.

Take almonds. In recent recent years the little nut with the hard brown shell has been touted as the holy grail of healthy snacks. Whether you're seeking a slimmer body, or a smoother skin, or you just want to spend a little longer on the planet, almonds are for you.

They've been touted as a remedy for cancer, arthritis, heart disease and even Alzheimer's. Not surprisingly, perhaps, given their growing fan base, the farmers of California's Central Valley have been planting them like there's no tomorrow.

Getting on for a million acres are now given over to almond trees, and such is the nurturing nature of California's Mediterranean climate that this state now accounts for more than 80% of the global supply.

The problem is that California's entire almond crop commands a stunning 1.1 trillion gallons of water every single year.

That's twice as much as it takes to grow cotton or tomatoes, and enough - I am reliably informed - for you or me to take a 10-minute shower every day for the next 86 million years.

Added to which, it's not as if this nutty elixir is being produced to satisfy local demand. Nearly 70% of the almonds produced in California are for export. And where do most of them end up? China.

This does little to quell criticism that the Chinese - with their booming economy - may soon, quite literally, be sucking this place dry.

Predictably perhaps, there have been calls to scale back on almond farming - at least until the rains return.

Water Sucking Los Angeles
Welcome to Los Angeles. It is not just agriculture that sucks water.  Since 1849 politicians from both parties eagerly imported millions and millions of water sucking people and businesses into a state that is mostly a desert.

Los Angeles back when the state was Golden.
Our limited water supplies were fine in 1900 when
our population was small.

Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks, c. 1910-1920

A water sucking Ventura Blvd. today.