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Mark Brewer is a decorated Air Force veteran who fought in the global war on terror. But last month, he became a casualty in the drug war.

We use very little water at our homes.  At least compared to how much is used elsewhere.  Nationwide, the amount of water consumed in our homes is only about 10% of the greater whole.   If you have been paying attention to recent news you have likely heard about the California drought.  This story is not new.  Growing up in Arizona I was constantly bombarded with dire warnings regarding how California is running out of water because of all the people moving there.  Well enough is enough.  I can only hear about desert landscaping and composting toilets for so long. The data is free for the asking from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).  So let’s take a look. How much water do Californians use in their desert homes?  Consistent with the national average it is a whopping 10.5% of total state water use.  So, if The Golden State could halve the showering, lawn watering and pool parties it would barely assist in drought relief.     Typically, it is good practice to avoid pie charts.  However, every once in a while, I will make an exception to show a disproportionate contribution to a whole.  Here is what California residential water use looks like compared against everything else.  California Residential Water Use California is average with regard to domestic water use across the US.  This chart shows how little most states water use is a product of home consumption. The per capita use in California is above the national average but lower than every other state west of the rocky mountains. The reason that domestic water use in California is so low is that the state uses the majority of their water in other ways (obviously).  What are the other areas that demand water?  Here are eight categories of water use tracked by the USGS.  They are described in detail on their website here. Thermo Electric Power: Use of steam-driven turbine generators Mining: Extraction of minerals Self-Supplied Industrial: Business use provided by self (i.e. well water) Self-Supplied Domestic Use: Indoor and outdoor use at residences  provided by self (i.e. well water) Aqua Culture: Associated with raising organisms that live in water Livestock: watering, feedlots, dairy operations and other on-ranch needs Irrigation: Applied to sustain plant growth Public Supply: Supplied by the public for domestic, industrial and general public purposes This heat map shows how much water is used by state in these categories (in 2010 the most recent year available).  I have consolidated public supply use into domestic and industrial.  The states and categories are sorted on total use.  For example California uses more water than any other state, however, thermo electrical generation is the largest user of all categories.   Here is the same data but as a total by state. California’s water problem is primarily the result of one factor, irrigating desert farmland.  The primary question is; why is no one willing to point out this obvious fact?  Droughts are a certainty if you are heavily farming in an area that requires having to make your own rain. Water will continue to be a hot debate topic in the years to come.  However, if we focus on the wrong areas, and are not honest about how we can best inform decisions, we will miss the largest impacts.  Now, feel free to go take a long shower. As always my code and data can be found here:  https://github.com/isaacfab/water

This is just a short clip I found of R. Lee Ermey at the NRA convention (I believe) saying that he's gonna vote for Ted Cruz: If Ted Cruz is good enough for Gunny, then you know he's right for Amer...

Obama, Iran and Congress all jockey for position on the nuclear deal.

Guest post by DMartyr Left-wing wacko Sarah Silverman was busted telling a lie about gender discrimination she faced when she was first starting out: In an April 6 wage-discrimination-activism video for Levo League, Silverman accused New York Comedy Club owner…

It could be significant in 2016

Ross Douthat recently pointed out that people are using the term “bigotry” much more broadly in the case of people objecting to same-sex marriage. My experience is similar. I’ve had more than one person tell me that Christian florists who refuse to service gay weddings are bigots even if the florists are following the dictates of…

MSNBC’s Ed Schultz can’t seem to stop the partisan doubletalk spewing from his big mouth. Last week, Schultz had the audacity to say that Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul has an “issue” with female reporters (after all, as Ann Coulter pointed out recently, Schultz is very well known for how he treats the ladies -- ask Laura Ingraham). But on Tuesday Schultz was declaring that the left’s leading lady “doesn’t have to answer questions right now” from the press, male or female.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign to transform from a wooden political manipulator with a long list of lies into a real human candidate continued apace on Thursday. The media Blue Fairy has descended from the heavens, declaring that Hillary’s new, fun, spontaneous campaign has shown us all the true woman who exists beneath our sexist preconceptions.

Today, Clinton exited a “private meeting” to board her “Scooby Doo Van” which happened to be parked in a handicap spot. Clinton’s “Scooby Doo Van” Parked In A Handicap Spot…Convenient! KETV reported...

Scarborough: NY Times Has a 'Naked Agenda' Against Chris Christie

Christie on Jeb: 'That Train Has Slowed Down Pretty Significantly’

Greg Gutfeld said tonight on "The Five" that Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign rollout was about as "spontaneous as open heart surgery."

None of the rules apply to Hillary. And that's just the way she likes it.

Top fundraisers for George W. Bush's presidential campaigns received $1.7 billion in business from the state of Florida while Jeb Bush was in charge.

The blistering drought that has Californians timing their showers, driving dirty cars and staring at brown lawns and empty swimming pools is a “man-made disaster,” according to critics, who say the Golden State’s misguided environmental policies allow much-needed freshwater to flow straight into the Pacific.

According to the IRS, although she likely makes a substantial living anchoring a weekend MSNBC show and as a professor at Wake Forest University, the left-wing Melissa Harris-Perry does not pay her taxes. The Internal Revenue Service just placed a

Federal employees would be wise to parse prior to posting and think through their tweeting to avoid running afoul of government ethics policies, under newly released guidance.

Syndicated columnist George Will told the inaugural "Disinvitation Dinner" of the William F. Buckley, Jr. Program at Yale that "93 members of the California legislature have never had sex." Will was referring to the fact that 93 legislators in the California Senate and Assembly voted to pass last year's SB 967, the so-called "yes means yes" or affirmative consent law, which requires students at state-funded colleges to obtain permission from each other for every stage of sexual contact.

One of the world’s foremost experts on counter threat intelligence within the cyber security industry who blew the whistle on vulnerabilities in airplane technology systems in a series of recent Fox News reports, has become the target of an FBI investigation himself.

"The Convention Of States is the last recourse for Americans to rein in our out of control Federal government, because D.C. will never fix itself!" - Sarah Palin

Why a fundamental misunderstanding of our founding document is at the heart of Washington’s dysfunction.

MILAN (AP) — The International Organization for Migrants says 41 migrants are feared drowned in a new Mediterranean shipwreck.

The liberal media want to sway the election. It's up to us to ensure that they don't get away with it—and we can't do so without your support. Make your best gift to the MRC today, and when you do, you'll make DOUBLE the impact!

The president is relying on the ignorance of the American public to sell his appeasement policies.