It's Friday, May 20th, 2022, and welcome back to Goodfellows, the Hoover Institution broadcast,

examining social, economic, political, and geopolitical concerns.

I'm Bill Whalen, I'm a Hoover Distinguished Policy Fellow.

I'll be your moderator today.

Happy report that we have a full complement of Goodfellows joining us today.

That would include the historian Neil Ferguson, the economist John Cochran, the geostrategist

slash historian, HR McMaster. That's not enough firepower for you. We have one more guest for you

today. That is our friend and colleague Victor Davis Hanson. Victor is, of course, the Martin

Ely Anderson senior fellow here at the Hoover Institution.

He is a historian and a classicist, a prolific author and columnist, and in his spare time,

he somehow manages to run a family farm. He is a multi-generational farmer in California in the

San Joaquin Valley. Victor, thanks for joining us today. Thank you all for having me.

Well, Victor, I think since you're talking to

four California transplants and you literally are rooted in the California soil, let's talk about one very

pernicious issue for California, and that would be the drought. It is going to be a very long,

a very hot, a very dry summer in California. And for those not familiar with California,

the drought is a multifaceted problem. We have a

governor who is encouraging people to voluntarily restrict their water use. Of course, Californians have

turned around and increased their water use. We have environmentalists who do their best to block

any and all efforts to add water storage. You have Angelinos who just do not want to have their

lawns turn brown and their cars

unwashed on top of that, Victor, the less water we have in our dams, a less hydro power, which means

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