Adam and Connor discuss the theory circulating online in the wake of the LA wildfires that claims most of California’s water is owned by two billionaires.
Show notes: https://conspirapod.link/ep318
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I.
Hey everybody, welcome to
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Conspiracy the Show.
I’m your host Adam Todd Brown,
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joining me as Co host this week.
Connor’s here.
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Your sidekick, Adam Todd Brown
boy.
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We know Adam Todd boy.
How’s it going, man?
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Going good.
I’m excited to see you always
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when one of my errand comments
gets spun off into its own
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episode and we’re we’re looking
into the the wonderful company.
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How wonderful fucking is it
though, man?
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That’s the thing.
Is it wonderful at all?
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I would argue maybe not, maybe
not.
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So here’s the thing.
I’m going.
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To be taking a long, hard look
in the mirror before I have
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another fucking bottle of
pomegranate juice.
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I’ll tell you that right now.
Are you a pomegranate juice
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drinker?
I always liked that stuff when
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it was around.
If I saw that like a bottle of
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palm, whatever the fuck, I would
always get it because it was
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like the most exotic juice to
me.
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I used to steal pomegranates
when I was a boy.
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We tried to make a bow and arrow
with a knife on it so I could
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shoot it over the fence into
this pomegranate tree and it all
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became way too complicated.
We just started jumping the
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fence and stealing pomegranates,
but they’re delicious.
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It takes forever to eat them,
but they’re delicious.
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So like a juice that takes away
all the whole process of
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stealing 1 and stripping it and
eating it like that is very
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appealing.
I believe they also will sell
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you a cup of pomegranate seeds
’cause that’s the most annoying
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part of eating a pomegranate is
you got to get those seeds out.
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The juice stains.
It’s very, very messy and it’s
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crazy to me how many things are
out there in this world,
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pomegranates being one of them.
Like avocados are another where
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it’s like, Oh yeah, you enjoy
that?
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Wait till you hear what it’s
doing to the fucking
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environment.
And people like, especially
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avocados.
There’s like cartel activity
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around avocados now.
Oh really?
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Is that a a mobbed business now?
It is.
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Well, I guess it’s pretty much
every business is at some level,
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but.
Yeah, that’s another thing that
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I feel like probably happens
more than people realize.
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When I was living in Burbank, I
was at this restaurant very
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close to where we poured.
And I was talking to the owner
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and he was telling me about how
soda is basically like, you
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know, the people that bring you
your fucking boxes of carbonated
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beverage is just like a total
racket that’s run by these two
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ruthless motherfuckers in kind
of the entire LA area.
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And you like Work with them or
they will make sure it doesn’t
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go well for you.
Damn, so that’s why you never
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see RC out here.
Exactly.
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Fucking RC shit was good.
It’s a good cola.
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Yeah, they still make it I.
Think you can still get like at
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Bevmo?
Some fucking hipster company
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picked it up and I don’t know I
I have fucking, I have beverage
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nerd friends that would know
better than I, unfortunately.
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So the reason we’re talking
about the wonderful company and
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their billionaire owners?
I thought I still thought Kevin
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O’Leary Mr. Wonderful would be a
part of this, but unfortunately
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not.
Yeah, it’d be nice to take that
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fuck face down as part of this
just.
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For this overall synergy.
Yeah, yeah.
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The wonderful company is in the
public’s crosshairs right now
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because Los Angeles is on fire.
And there is a claim going
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around that one of the big
reasons LA is burning is because
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this billionaire couple named
the Resnicks own 60% of
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California’s water.
And they ain’t Sharon.
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And this is one of those things
where, yeah, the Resnicks suck,
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just not quite in the way people
are making it out to be.
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And that’s only to say they
don’t own as much water as
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people claim.
But.
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It’s still a ridiculous amount.
Yeah, and also just the idea of
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owning water feels so strange to
me.
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Yeah, like one person owns all
the water is literally the plot
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of the movie Tank Girl, which is
like not the most realistic post
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apocalyptic movie but not the
least I guess versus we’re
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seeing now if if ice tea starts
to turn into a kangaroo and then
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we’re fucked.
And here’s the thing to say two
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people own all of California’s
water, that’s very misleading.
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It’s like 15 people, OK, it’s
like 15, maybe even 20.
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So that’s.
Practically, that’s practically
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democracy there.
Yeah, yeah.
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It’s all on the up and up,
absolutely.
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And this is like a these are
like a bunch of, you know,
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people have voted on who these
people are.
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These are local community
leaders, probably very diverse,
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right?
You know, that represent the
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interests of the different parts
of California.
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Yeah, making sure the community
gets that water first.
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Yes.
And I don’t mean that to when I
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say that they suck, but just not
in the way people are saying I
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they fucking suck.
I want to make that clear.
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These two seem like real pieces
of shit.
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Resnick just as an evil sounding
name.
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Well, yeah, that’s also the last
name.
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And I know you know this say it
with me of the lead singer of
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the Goo Goo Dolls.
So I wonder if he’s got a hand
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in fucking up California’s
water.
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You know he got a hand in
fucking up the Goo Goo Dolls.
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So let’s talk about the
Resnicks.
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They are a couple of
billionaires, like we said, they
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own the wonderful company.
They don’t just make pomegranate
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juice and pomegranates.
They make pistachios.
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They make wine.
Everything that takes a bunch of
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water.
Yeah, yeah.
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It’s stuff that takes a bunch of
water.
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And that’s one of their
arguments that they make in
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their defense is, yeah, we use a
lot of water, but we also
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produce a lot of food.
And you need water to produce
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food.
And the pushback they get is, do
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you know how expensive your food
is?
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You are making rich people food.
You’re not making food that the
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people in this community were
sacrificing their water for you.
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You’re not making them food.
You’re making soccer mom’s food.
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Yeah, truly.
And, and when you drive up and
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down the Grapevine in
California, there are lots of
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hand painted, handmade signs
that look like they were made by
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someone who was about to die
that say they took our water, it
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kind of filled it.
And I was kind of thought like,
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oh, what the fuck kind of crazy
shit is this?
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And it’s like, no, they took
their water.
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Yeah, that definitely happens.
I don’t doubt that the Resnicks
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are a party to it, although they
claim otherwise.
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But it’s like Lance Armstrong
and doping.
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It’s like, yeah, him, but also
like the 15 people behind him
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too.
They were all doping.
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Also, the Resnicks are hoarding
a lot of water, but they’re not
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the only fucking farm in
Northern California or Central
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California.
There are other corporate farms.
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They’re owned by people who own
a bunch of fucking water, who
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send that water to LA and shit
so we can, you know, do cool
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stuff with it instead of fucking
grow food.
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Yeah, fucking we could do pop up
Instagram installations with it,
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all right.
Have you not heard of DoorDash
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out there in farmland?
Sounds pretty if you have
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DoorDash Roy, what do you guys
even eat?
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Food from your farm.
That’s not.
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No one does that.
Look, you sell them.
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How does that even work?
Yeah, yeah, it can’t.
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There’s no way there’s.
No way.
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Doesn’t make any sense.
You need a kind of Prius to come
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drive your corn somewhere else
and then bring it back to you
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with butter and put pepper on
it.
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So there is a 2022 article we’ll
link to.
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It’s a profile of the Resnicks.
And it seems like this is
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probably one of the main sources
people are citing when they say
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the Resnicks own most of
California’s water, because
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that’s sort of what this article
is hinting at.
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But I think what is really
important about this article is
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it explains how this happened.
And that part part is shitty to
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me and we are going to fucking
go through it right now.
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But first, weird, weird side
note.
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Linda Resnick was an unindicted
Co conspirator in the Pentagon
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Papers leak, which has to be the
last cool thing she did.
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You’re familiar with Pentagon
Papers, right?
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Yeah, it’s just what’s weird
that in the small world, I
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guess.
Yeah, she was dating one of the
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two people involved in that and
let them use the copy machine at
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the ad agency she founded to
copy all of those documents.
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So she wasn’t.
I mean, that’s like a, that’s
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minor involvement kind of, but
that’s also the kind of
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involvement where you’re like.
It’s like, yeah, it was my
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Gutenberg press that Martin
Luther wrote his shit on.
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I didn’t even fucking.
I thought it was just like some
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she was just writing a note for
his neighbor.
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Yeah, so Steven and Linda
Resnick, they got into
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agriculture in the late 80s.
They started with pistachios.
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If you read this article, she
literally says we saved the
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pistachio industry.
Which?
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Maybe it wasn’t supposed to be
an industry.
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Yeah, maybe it’s maybe pistachio
making is just not profitable.
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Yeah, either that or maybe it’s
so destructive to the
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environment when you do it on a
bigger scale, because that’s
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definitely the thing with
avocados.
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Avocados take so much water to
produce.
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And I mean, the Resnicks aren’t
making avocados, so they’re
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obviously not the only ones out
there hoarding water.
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But they branched out into other
stuff.
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Almonds, pomegranates, wine, you
name it.
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Obviously need a lot of land to
grow all that stuff.
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And they bought that land in
Kern County, California, which
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is fucking somewhere up there,
you know?
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That’s where Fresno is.
Yeah, that makes sense.
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There was.
I think there’s a Fresno Bee
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article somewhere in the notes.
Yep, the Fresno Bee.
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Didn’t I feel like they just won
like a big award recently?
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Maybe I’m wrong.
Either that or they got shut
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down by Trump.
Who fucking?
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Knows we can’t believe your
market still knows how to read
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award.
And so, yeah, you need land, you
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need a whole bunch of fucking
water to produce all this food.
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And what the Resnicks own 60% of
is something called the Kern
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Water Bank.
That is a water storage facility
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that was started in 1988.
And that’s where things get
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shady, especially as it pertains
to them.
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According to that article that
we’ll link to from a website
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called A Perfect Union, in 1994
there was a secretive meeting
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between California water
officials, water infrastructure
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contractors, and agricultural
land owners who had water rights
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like the Resnicks do.
And it’s claimed that in this
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meeting, without any input from
citizens, there was no vote.
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A new law was drafted called the
Monterey Plus Agreement, and the
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law it replaced included
something called urban
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preference, which means in times
of drought, the state Water
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Board would give urban areas,
AKA the places where people
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00:11:51,800 –> 00:11:56,400
live, access to state water
before agricultural interests.
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And the Monterey Plus Agreement
ended that it took urban
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00:12:00,200 –> 00:12:04,760
preference at the Kern Water
Bank out of the agreement and
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transferred ownership from the
state to a small group of
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private water contractors.
One of them was Westside Mutual,
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which is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Wonderful Foods.
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The guy who runs that, his name
is Bill Fillmore.
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00:12:20,200 –> 00:12:25,280
He was also the chairman of the
public organization that managed
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00:12:25,360 –> 00:12:29,000
the Kern Water Bank.
So the same organization that
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00:12:29,000 –> 00:12:32,880
would have probably decided, OK,
yeah, let’s take this away from
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the state and sell it to private
interest also works for one of
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00:12:36,120 –> 00:12:38,040
the.
So it’s.
218
00:12:38,680 –> 00:12:40,200
Totally fair.
Yeah.
219
00:12:40,200 –> 00:12:45,120
It’s completely normal and
reasonable business practice for
220
00:12:45,120 –> 00:12:46,040
sure.
Yeah.
221
00:12:46,160 –> 00:12:48,000
And so, yeah, that part is
gross.
222
00:12:48,200 –> 00:12:49,920
I didn’t know there was
something called a water bank.
223
00:12:50,480 –> 00:12:53,760
I mean, that’s where this
actually in terms of the
224
00:12:53,760 –> 00:12:57,040
Resnicks in their impact on the
LA fires, that’s actually where
225
00:12:57,040 –> 00:13:00,600
it gets kind of tricky.
These water banks are apparently
226
00:13:00,600 –> 00:13:05,160
all over the place and if you
own part of it you can sell your
227
00:13:05,160 –> 00:13:09,000
water to other places.
But they claim there are pretty
228
00:13:09,000 –> 00:13:11,160
severe restrictions on who you
can sell it to.
229
00:13:11,200 –> 00:13:13,360
But.
But it’s really like a bank for
230
00:13:13,360 –> 00:13:15,440
water.
Like I can deposit units of
231
00:13:15,440 –> 00:13:18,440
water and then sell them to move
them around.
232
00:13:18,520 –> 00:13:22,200
Yeah, people set up contracts.
Apparently LA has a contract
233
00:13:22,200 –> 00:13:25,160
with the Colorado River to buy
water.
234
00:13:25,400 –> 00:13:27,640
What if I get some kind of
condensation rig?
235
00:13:27,640 –> 00:13:29,800
Could I literally collect
interest?
236
00:13:31,680 –> 00:13:33,680
Probably.
But yeah, it’s it is kind of
237
00:13:33,680 –> 00:13:36,680
exactly what it sounds like.
It’s a water bank where if
238
00:13:36,800 –> 00:13:40,960
people need water, like in times
of drought, they can go to this
239
00:13:40,960 –> 00:13:44,480
place and buy water from, say,
the Resnicks.
240
00:13:44,680 –> 00:13:47,040
And it used to be owned by the
state.
241
00:13:47,160 –> 00:13:52,400
And that shady 1994 meeting,
probably the same one where they
242
00:13:52,400 –> 00:13:55,280
told all the record executives
that they have to start pushing
243
00:13:55,280 –> 00:13:57,600
gangsta rap to fill private
prisons.
244
00:13:57,680 –> 00:14:01,840
That 1994 meeting is why the
Resnicks were able to own all
245
00:14:01,840 –> 00:14:05,760
this water.
That’s a very broad overview of
246
00:14:06,040 –> 00:14:08,560
the situation.
There’s a book out there called
247
00:14:08,760 –> 00:14:14,000
The Dreamt Land, Dre AM T
Chasing Water and Dust Across
248
00:14:14,000 –> 00:14:17,160
California by a writer named
Mark Ericks.
249
00:14:17,480 –> 00:14:21,480
It is more than 500 pages, and
while I have not read it yet, it
250
00:14:21,480 –> 00:14:25,800
seems like it is the definitive
account of the water situation
251
00:14:25,800 –> 00:14:29,000
in California, which the
Resnicks are obviously a huge
252
00:14:29,000 –> 00:14:29,920
part of.
So.
253
00:14:30,200 –> 00:14:33,720
I’m, I’m trying to write a much
shorter, kind of a beach read
254
00:14:34,000 –> 00:14:38,080
version of that book called What
Are You going to Do About It?
255
00:14:39,280 –> 00:14:43,440
You should make it a special.
Do 90 fucking minutes of moving
256
00:14:43,440 –> 00:14:47,680
water around.
Jokes 90 Ambitious specialty
257
00:14:47,720 –> 00:14:50,600
What?
Are you going to watch instead?
258
00:14:52,320 –> 00:14:55,560
So like I said, I have no doubt
the complaints against the
259
00:14:55,560 –> 00:14:58,600
Resnicks are valid no matter how
you spin it.
260
00:14:58,600 –> 00:15:03,840
Owning water is gross, but they
do have some defenders in some
261
00:15:03,840 –> 00:15:06,880
interesting places.
The main one being an outlet
262
00:15:06,880 –> 00:15:11,360
called SJV water.org.
That is a site that reports on
263
00:15:11,360 –> 00:15:14,480
water concerns in the San
Joaquin Valley where the
264
00:15:14,480 –> 00:15:18,280
Resnick’s farms are located.
A writer there named Lois Henry
265
00:15:18,440 –> 00:15:21,880
addressed these claims about the
Resnick’s owning 60% of
266
00:15:21,880 –> 00:15:24,960
California’s water.
First thing she points out is
267
00:15:25,120 –> 00:15:26,960
there’s conflicting criticism
here.
268
00:15:27,160 –> 00:15:31,920
The Resnick’s are all the time
accused of selling the San
269
00:15:31,920 –> 00:15:36,000
Joaquin Valley’s water to LA for
a profit, but now what we’re
270
00:15:36,000 –> 00:15:40,240
arguing is they’re refusing to
give LA any water.
271
00:15:40,320 –> 00:15:43,960
Why wouldn’t they just sell LA
water in this situation too if
272
00:15:43,960 –> 00:15:45,480
that was the case?
Yeah, right.
273
00:15:45,480 –> 00:15:47,760
Is there some more evil thing
they could be doing?
274
00:15:48,280 –> 00:15:52,480
Yeah, that’s exactly.
We’re just going to make steam
275
00:15:54,640 –> 00:15:57,400
and but not hook it up to any
kind of a generator.
276
00:15:58,160 –> 00:16:02,360
We kind of already covered the
claim that they control 60% of
277
00:16:02,360 –> 00:16:05,080
California’s water.
They control 60%.
278
00:16:05,080 –> 00:16:10,120
I think it’s actually 57% at the
current water bank, but also
279
00:16:10,120 –> 00:16:14,040
water in other areas too.
But this article also points out
280
00:16:14,040 –> 00:16:19,160
LA gets its water from the Owens
Valley via an aqueduct owned
281
00:16:19,280 –> 00:16:22,440
through contracts with the
California State Water Project
282
00:16:22,600 –> 00:16:25,880
or the Colorado River.
And the wonderful company is not
283
00:16:25,880 –> 00:16:31,240
a participant in any of that.
So we actually don’t get water
284
00:16:31,240 –> 00:16:33,920
in LA from the Resnix it would
seem.
285
00:16:34,080 –> 00:16:37,040
Unless this article is just.
No, that’s that’s true.
286
00:16:37,040 –> 00:16:40,520
My dad actually worked for the
Metropolitan Water District and
287
00:16:40,520 –> 00:16:42,800
the man, most of our water comes
from the Colorado River.
288
00:16:42,800 –> 00:16:46,880
I’ve heard that my whole life.
And a wonderful company
289
00:16:46,880 –> 00:16:51,760
spokesperson claimed the company
uses about 1% of California’s
290
00:16:51,760 –> 00:16:53,760
water.
And in that book I just
291
00:16:53,760 –> 00:16:56,520
mentioned The Dreamt Land by
Mark Arax.
292
00:16:56,720 –> 00:17:02,480
He says wonderful agricultural
operations used about 400,000
293
00:17:02,640 –> 00:17:07,319
acre feet of water in 2017 and I
don’t think I need to explain
294
00:17:07,319 –> 00:17:10,880
what acre feet are to anyone.
No, I mean that has to be the
295
00:17:10,880 –> 00:17:13,400
most convoluted unit of volume
I’ve ever heard.
296
00:17:14,520 –> 00:17:18,800
Meanwhile, California’s water
reservoir reservoirs hold a
297
00:17:18,800 –> 00:17:23,920
combined 23.9 million acre feet,
according to the Department of
298
00:17:23,920 –> 00:17:29,280
Water Resources website.
So that’s like 60 * 400,000 acre
299
00:17:29,280 –> 00:17:31,320
feet.
Yeah, something.
300
00:17:31,520 –> 00:17:35,320
Like that I think.
Undoable math, abandoned
301
00:17:35,320 –> 00:17:38,280
knowledge.
Well, it’s just 24 / 400.
302
00:17:38,440 –> 00:17:41,320
Yeah.
So, yeah, the amount of water
303
00:17:41,320 –> 00:17:44,880
they use every year, it’s a lot,
but it’s not the way people are
304
00:17:44,880 –> 00:17:47,480
making it seem.
This isn’t There Will Be Blood
305
00:17:47,480 –> 00:17:49,840
where they’re just fucking
drinking your milkshake.
306
00:17:50,080 –> 00:17:52,560
You don’t get any water.
I like these just well.
307
00:17:52,560 –> 00:17:55,200
Scrooge Mcducking in water is
just going swimming.
308
00:17:55,200 –> 00:17:59,520
It’s kind of.
Yeah, and again, they do seem
309
00:17:59,520 –> 00:18:03,280
like terrible people and the
complaints about them go beyond
310
00:18:03,360 –> 00:18:07,240
on just what they’re doing with
water, but it doesn’t change the
311
00:18:07,240 –> 00:18:11,160
fact that the claims about them
owning 60% of California’s
312
00:18:11,160 –> 00:18:13,520
water, that’s that’s a bit of a
stretch.
313
00:18:13,720 –> 00:18:18,040
There’s also ACBS article we’ll
link to that explains how and
314
00:18:18,080 –> 00:18:21,760
why the Resnick’s water is in no
way tied to the LA fires.
315
00:18:21,960 –> 00:18:26,840
In the case of a severe drought,
the state might request water
316
00:18:26,880 –> 00:18:30,800
from the Kern Bank, but at
present, the reservoirs the city
317
00:18:30,800 –> 00:18:35,160
and county rely on in Southern
California are currently at or
318
00:18:35,160 –> 00:18:38,480
above historical averages,
according to the California
319
00:18:38,560 –> 00:18:43,120
Department of Water Resources.
So we don’t need their water, is
320
00:18:43,520 –> 00:18:46,440
the thing.
At least not in any way related
321
00:18:46,440 –> 00:18:48,960
to these fires.
Buying water from the Resnicks
322
00:18:48,960 –> 00:18:51,080
wouldn’t have solved this
problem.
323
00:18:51,400 –> 00:18:52,320
At all.
They weren’t.
324
00:18:52,320 –> 00:18:54,360
There wasn’t like a button they
could press that would make
325
00:18:54,360 –> 00:18:57,920
everything you know.
Yeah, this is a quote from
326
00:18:58,160 –> 00:19:01,840
Felicia Marcus, former chair of
the California State Water
327
00:19:01,840 –> 00:19:05,280
Resources Control Board.
What’s happening in LA is not
328
00:19:05,280 –> 00:19:08,480
because there’s not enough water
in LA in storage.
329
00:19:08,640 –> 00:19:12,840
There are no urban water systems
that are built out to handle a
330
00:19:12,840 –> 00:19:15,440
firestorm like this.
End Quote.
331
00:19:15,600 –> 00:19:19,960
And that reminds me a lot of
another thing that’s going
332
00:19:19,960 –> 00:19:23,320
around online a lot, which is
people being very mad Karen Bass
333
00:19:23,320 –> 00:19:26,760
cut LA fire department budgets
while giving more money to the
334
00:19:26,760 –> 00:19:29,880
LAPD.
And facts, that fucking sucks,
335
00:19:29,880 –> 00:19:33,200
especially in a state that
catches on fire as regularly as
336
00:19:33,200 –> 00:19:35,640
it does.
But I was also watching a press
337
00:19:35,640 –> 00:19:39,320
conference during these fires
and it’s Karen Bass and a bunch
338
00:19:39,320 –> 00:19:40,640
of people from the fire
department.
339
00:19:40,880 –> 00:19:44,840
A reporter asked her about that.
And one of the firefighters, he
340
00:19:44,840 –> 00:19:48,680
was like 1 of high-ranking, I
guess, jumped in and was like,
341
00:19:48,960 –> 00:19:51,960
look, yes, we obviously want
more budget money.
342
00:19:51,960 –> 00:19:54,160
We asked for more budget money
all the time.
343
00:19:54,160 –> 00:19:55,800
Sometimes we get it, sometimes
we don’t.
344
00:19:55,960 –> 00:19:59,240
That said, there is no amount of
budget money that would have
345
00:19:59,240 –> 00:20:03,720
stopped what happened.
This is just a fire like we’ve
346
00:20:03,720 –> 00:20:05,760
never seen.
It moves.
347
00:20:06,160 –> 00:20:08,240
In ways we’ve never seen a fire
move.
348
00:20:08,440 –> 00:20:11,600
It’s hitting areas that fires
don’t normally hit like that.
349
00:20:11,600 –> 00:20:15,080
Altadena fires nuts.
Yeah, because that’s just
350
00:20:15,080 –> 00:20:19,720
neighborhoods, and it was just
because wind was blowing embers
351
00:20:19,920 –> 00:20:22,520
into the fucking community.
Otherwise that’s just your
352
00:20:22,520 –> 00:20:26,520
standard goddamn mountain fire
the kids put out in a day or so.
353
00:20:26,640 –> 00:20:28,560
I was like just walking up in
those neighborhoods.
354
00:20:28,560 –> 00:20:31,440
That’s where my break guy is.
And it is kind of it’s they’re
355
00:20:31,440 –> 00:20:33,680
beautiful neighborhoods because
they are kind of like mixed up
356
00:20:33,680 –> 00:20:36,280
in with the mountains and the
trees and shit, you know, like.
357
00:20:36,840 –> 00:20:41,240
And yeah, so it’s, it is, it is
insane seeing that stuff like
358
00:20:41,240 –> 00:20:46,760
get this low into urban
California, you know, and away
359
00:20:46,760 –> 00:20:48,800
from just like weird tree
country.
360
00:20:48,960 –> 00:20:51,280
Yeah.
Like beachfront properties in
361
00:20:51,280 –> 00:20:53,960
Malibu are burning down and
wildfires.
362
00:20:53,960 –> 00:20:56,960
That’s insane.
So yeah, budget money wasn’t
363
00:20:56,960 –> 00:21:00,480
going to stop this.
More water from the Resnicks
364
00:21:00,600 –> 00:21:03,240
wasn’t going to stop this.
Connor, the only thing that was
365
00:21:03,240 –> 00:21:06,960
going to stop this is no more
DEI hires within the fire
366
00:21:06,960 –> 00:21:08,080
department.
Yeah, right.
367
00:21:08,480 –> 00:21:11,640
Agree.
And the last thing I want to
368
00:21:11,640 –> 00:21:16,480
mention, it’s also brought up in
in this SJV water article.
369
00:21:16,640 –> 00:21:20,440
The Resnicks aren’t even sort of
the only people doing this.
370
00:21:20,640 –> 00:21:23,480
They’re singled out for it
probably because they’re the
371
00:21:23,480 –> 00:21:27,440
most high profile and they have,
you know, they make products
372
00:21:27,440 –> 00:21:31,040
that are, I don’t know if iconic
is the right word, but I think
373
00:21:31,040 –> 00:21:33,920
when you hear the word palm,
you’re like, Oh yeah, the
374
00:21:33,920 –> 00:21:35,680
fucking round bottles of
pomegranate.
375
00:21:35,680 –> 00:21:37,200
They do, they get the weird
bottles.
376
00:21:37,440 –> 00:21:40,920
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And so they’re not the only
377
00:21:40,920 –> 00:21:42,240
ones.
It’s just they’re the most
378
00:21:42,240 –> 00:21:45,560
recognizable ones.
This article points out.
379
00:21:45,560 –> 00:21:50,800
Also, there’s a company in that
same area called JG Boswell
380
00:21:51,040 –> 00:21:55,160
Farming Company and they are a
multibillion dollar corporate
381
00:21:55,200 –> 00:21:58,560
farming operation headquartered
in Pasadena.
382
00:21:58,720 –> 00:22:02,960
They own similar amounts of
water in San Joaquin Valley, but
383
00:22:03,120 –> 00:22:07,040
for whatever reason they don’t
get criticized to the same
384
00:22:07,240 –> 00:22:11,120
degree on social media.
But we’ll link to an article
385
00:22:11,160 –> 00:22:15,680
where talking about them, not
the Resnicks, resident after
386
00:22:15,680 –> 00:22:18,720
resident is interviewed.
And they’re like, look, we can’t
387
00:22:18,960 –> 00:22:22,520
prove it, but you can just look
at the water and see it’s moving
388
00:22:22,600 –> 00:22:25,600
out of the community.
Where is it going?
389
00:22:25,760 –> 00:22:29,120
Like they’re the ones that
people in that area actually
390
00:22:29,120 –> 00:22:34,360
think is like secretly or
covertly sending like selling
391
00:22:34,360 –> 00:22:38,440
water to other areas because.
On the streets of Altadena, this
392
00:22:38,440 –> 00:22:41,720
is like who they think did it.
Yeah.
393
00:22:41,920 –> 00:22:45,440
And well, the Altadena thing,
what’s crazy about that is it’s
394
00:22:45,440 –> 00:22:50,560
the power company that a lot of
people have pinpointed because
395
00:22:50,720 –> 00:22:55,120
they were expecting 80 to 100
mile an hour winds in Altadena.
396
00:22:55,120 –> 00:22:58,560
So as the power company, you got
to do something in those dry ass
397
00:22:58,560 –> 00:23:02,320
fire conditions to make sure
power lines don’t get blown down
398
00:23:02,360 –> 00:23:06,440
and set shit on fire.
And they claimed that they shut
399
00:23:06,600 –> 00:23:11,320
power lines down at 1 certain
point in the morning that day.
400
00:23:11,520 –> 00:23:14,040
And there’s a bunch of residents
who are like, I still have
401
00:23:14,040 –> 00:23:15,200
power.
What are you talking about?
402
00:23:15,680 –> 00:23:18,680
Oh, wow.
And it could possibly be that
403
00:23:18,760 –> 00:23:21,800
that started the Altadena fire.
That makes sense to.
404
00:23:22,440 –> 00:23:24,560
Public Utilities always looking
out for us.
405
00:23:25,240 –> 00:23:28,520
But yeah, basically the Resnicks
are a problem.
406
00:23:28,640 –> 00:23:33,120
They’re just one part of a
bigger problem and they’re the
407
00:23:33,120 –> 00:23:36,360
easiest to point at.
Like, I don’t, I don’t know what
408
00:23:36,360 –> 00:23:38,120
this other farming company
makes.
409
00:23:38,560 –> 00:23:41,080
Like it’s probably like fucking.
They probably never put anything
410
00:23:41,080 –> 00:23:44,160
in a cool weird looking bottle.
Yeah, exactly.
411
00:23:44,280 –> 00:23:48,200
So yeah, it’s I get it.
I get why people hate the
412
00:23:48,200 –> 00:23:52,120
Resnicks the way they do.
And I’m also not a fan after
413
00:23:52,160 –> 00:23:55,680
reading up on them.
But also the thing about them
414
00:23:55,680 –> 00:24:00,360
owning 60% of the water is
that’s a little outrageous what
415
00:24:00,360 –> 00:24:02,960
it is.
They just don’t. 60% of some of
416
00:24:02,960 –> 00:24:07,040
the water idiots, duh.
I like when you do all this shit
417
00:24:07,040 –> 00:24:09,800
and it’s like they just don’t
37.5% of the water.
418
00:24:10,600 –> 00:24:13,120
Yeah, yeah, it’s not a problem
at all.
419
00:24:13,240 –> 00:24:18,040
They also claimed the last time
they sold water to another
420
00:24:18,120 –> 00:24:22,640
community was in like like 15
years ago as part of a
421
00:24:22,640 –> 00:24:25,400
government program.
So their their claim is they
422
00:24:25,400 –> 00:24:28,280
don’t actually do what people
are accusing them of.
423
00:24:28,280 –> 00:24:31,840
But it seems like that other
farm up there might be, but they
424
00:24:31,840 –> 00:24:34,200
do own a shit ton of water and
it seems like they’re shitty
425
00:24:34,200 –> 00:24:36,880
employers too.
Follow Follow the water man.
426
00:24:38,520 –> 00:24:41,480
As they say.
So yeah, this is going to be a
427
00:24:41,480 –> 00:24:44,120
shorter episode because there’s
not much to this.
428
00:24:44,120 –> 00:24:45,760
It’s just kind of a
misunderstanding.
429
00:24:45,760 –> 00:24:48,200
It’s people reacting to a
headline.
430
00:24:48,640 –> 00:24:51,280
I wouldn’t be surprised to be
seeing more of this shit in the
431
00:24:51,280 –> 00:24:53,280
future.
You know, like the water banks
432
00:24:53,280 –> 00:24:56,400
and like water is getting to be
more and more of a valuable
433
00:24:56,400 –> 00:24:58,560
commodity.
Like, I don’t know, go to sick,
434
00:24:58,560 –> 00:25:00,560
go to fucking raging waters
while you still can.
435
00:25:00,560 –> 00:25:02,760
You may what it might not be
that cheap that we just could go
436
00:25:02,760 –> 00:25:05,920
frolic around and take a let our
kids piss and shit in it.
437
00:25:07,240 –> 00:25:10,160
Yeah, I mean, I see water all
the time described as
438
00:25:10,160 –> 00:25:14,120
California’s most valuable
resource, which I don’t doubt
439
00:25:14,120 –> 00:25:16,720
that.
We hold we don’t like have that
440
00:25:16,720 –> 00:25:20,640
much of it of our own.
Yeah, and we’re also apparently
441
00:25:20,640 –> 00:25:24,240
really bad at retaining it.
Like when it rains.
442
00:25:24,240 –> 00:25:27,320
We’re apparently just not great
at that because we were like,
443
00:25:27,320 –> 00:25:31,080
who knew it was going to start
raining here eventually, but now
444
00:25:31,200 –> 00:25:34,240
happens all the fucking time.
That’s how these fires happened.
445
00:25:34,240 –> 00:25:38,320
It rained for like it felt like
65 days in a row last winter.
446
00:25:38,480 –> 00:25:41,480
Yeah, I did and.
Then it didn’t rain at all and
447
00:25:41,480 –> 00:25:45,080
all that vegetation just dried
the fuck out and was ready to be
448
00:25:45,080 –> 00:25:47,400
kindling.
Yay climate change.
449
00:25:47,480 –> 00:25:52,080
Love it, fucking love it.
Hey Connor, thank you for doing
450
00:25:52,080 –> 00:25:54,160
the pod.
I appreciate it as always.
451
00:25:54,360 –> 00:25:56,520
What do we have to plug before
we get out of here?
452
00:25:56,880 –> 00:26:01,040
Follow me on Blue Sky at Adam
Todd, Brown Todd with 1D.
453
00:26:01,200 –> 00:26:04,360
Trying to get my following up
there so I can cancel everything
454
00:26:04,360 –> 00:26:08,160
else and then Blue Sky will be
sold to the Nazis and we’ll be
455
00:26:08,160 –> 00:26:11,000
back to, I don’t know, writing
in newspapers.
456
00:26:11,160 –> 00:26:13,640
Connor, what do you got to plug?
You can follow me on everything
457
00:26:13,640 –> 00:26:15,840
except Blue Sky at Connor
Mcbadden.
458
00:26:16,160 –> 00:26:19,040
You can listen to the hilarious
Mean Boys podcast, whatever
459
00:26:19,040 –> 00:26:23,080
podcasts are sold, and watch my
comedy special, Jokes About
460
00:26:23,080 –> 00:26:26,320
Fucking on YouTube.
That’s Jokes about Fucking on
461
00:26:26,320 –> 00:26:29,600
youtube.com, Yeah.
And I think that’s it.
462
00:26:29,600 –> 00:26:32,440
Let’s get the fuck out of here.
Connor, say goodbye.
463
00:26:32,800 –> 00:26:34,480
Goodbye.
Goodbye everybody, we love you.