१२ जानेवारी, २०२५

"The fires are still raging in L.A. The incompetent pols have no idea how to put them out. Thousands of magnificent houses are gone..."

"... and many more will soon be lost. There is death all over the place. This is one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country. They just can’t put out the fires. What’s wrong with them?"

Trump wrote on Truth Social 3 hours ago (that is to say, in the middle of the night).

And, here, the NYT got a guy to write a whole article about it in the middle of the night: "Trump Calls Officials Handling Los Angeles Wildfires ‘Incompetent’/Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles County authorities have invited President-elect Donald J. Trump to tour the devastation, but he has not publicly responded."

Published at 4:37 a.m. Ah, but I clicked on the reporter's name — Mike Ives — and I see he's "based in Seoul." It was 6:37 p.m. — Korea Standard Time. A normal work day. The NYT didn't roust some reporter in the middle of the night to make an article out of the most recent Trump truthing.

"Mr. Trump’s comments indicated that the fires, and officials’ response to them, will likely occupy a prominent place on his domestic political agenda when he takes office on Jan. 20. He has renewed a longstanding feud with California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, who in turn has accused Mr. Trump of politicizing the fires."

Is it wrong to "politicize" the fires? Isn't fire fighting one of the top services we demand from government? I can see saying, don't distract us with recriminations while we're right in the middle of an epic struggle against fire, but that only means, don't politicize yet. But are they fighting the fire right now or are they helpless? And if they are helpless, are we supposed to refrain from asking why are they helpless?

ADDED: I wondered if there are earlier examples of anyone ever saying "There is death all over the place." I only found one thing, at Internet Public Library, from what looks like a sample answer to a predicable high-school essay test question: "Similarities Between Death Of A Salesman And Hamlet": "In Hamlet there is death all over the place...."

४२ टिप्पण्या:

wendybar म्हणाले...

Adam Carolla gives his firsthand account into his so called "white privilege" in CA. "It's all fluff until the fires start"

https://truthsocial.com/@realamericasvoice/posts/113799972545527940

Money Manger म्हणाले...

This must be torture for the Times--trying to find a way to channel their readers' anger and anxiety over what is happening in LA into the comforting groove of Trump hatred. As for whether this will "occupy a prominent place" on his political agenda, it is likely to join two dozen other topics; at the moment, however, reporter Ives just made that up.

Breezy म्हणाले...

It’s probably not in either ones dna to ignore the other one right now. Newsom has the critical task though and he should focus on demonstrating any leadership skills he has if he wants to keep his job.

The most frustrating thing for me is not getting enough data on the status of the fires and the numbers of air and ground firefighters, where they’re from, where they are deployed, status of water etc. Those pressers are filled with accolades for all the people doing the work, which of course is good to do, but give more data and less of that until it’s over.

Enigma म्हणाले...

Politicize disasters? Projection. If Trump didn't politicize he'd be at odds with everything Biden and Obama and Clinton ever did. It's central to politics...

See the recent FEMA avoidance of "MAGA houses" with the flooding. See how the left has tagged every single weather event as "human-induced climate change." They are so very saturated in disaster politicization that they don't even notice.

https://www.westernjournal.com/10-failed-global-warming-predictions/

Al Gore saying that the North Pole would be ice free in 5 to 7 years, in a 2009 story:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2009/12/al_gore_trips_on_artic_ice_mis.html

wendybar म्हणाले...

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: It’s astounding what’s happening…with only one piece of good news. My son lives out here and his wife. They’re–They got a notification yesterday that their home was probably burned to the ground. Today, it appears that it may be still standing. They’re not sure. But the good news is I’m a great grandfather as of today…

GUTFELD: Way to read the room, you callous corpse. Sorry your city is burning, but I brought cigars. Anyone got a match? I’m going to be a great granddaddy. ****, what a clown. I guess we can be grateful he didn’t ask Jimmy Carter to stand up at the eulogy.
https://youtu.be/w5XjOucGglk

wendybar म्हणाले...

And of course, Mad Maxine is blaming RICH people for not paying their fair share. WHEN will she pay HER fair share??

https://x.com/EricAbbenante/status/1878214261714956735

Mogget म्हणाले...

CA needs to go into some form of receivership. Didn’t the Feds put someone more competent than the mayor in charge of NOLA for a while? Russell Honore? He kept talking about being “stuck on stupid,” a phrase that once again seems apropos.

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

Trump and Althouse keep the same schedule.

Big Mike म्हणाले...

Is it wrong to "politicize" the fires?

Did not Newsom attempt to try to blame Trump while the fire was just a day or two old? Don’t start fights you’re going to lose.

Isn't fire fighting one of the top services we demand from government?

Yes. Along with police protection and infrastructure building and maintenance, which gets us back to maintaining the Santa Agnes reservoir.

I can see saying, don't distract us with recriminations while we're right in the middle of an epic struggle against fire, but that only means, don't politicize yet.

But are they fighting the fire right now or are they helpless?

No to both questions. For instance the Oregon State Fire Marshal sent 300 firefighters and 60 or 75 pieces of firefighting equipment to LA to help out. (I’ve seen both numbers reported,) That equipmen is tied up in red tape in Sacramento, 400 miles north of shere it’s needed. Could not Newsom cut through that red tape and hurry the equipment south?

And if they are helpless, are we supposed to refrain from asking why are they helpless?

Hell no!

Kevin म्हणाले...

I particularly like the use of quotes around the word incompetent on the headline. Does the reader see them as a direct quotation—which is unnecessary—or as scare quotes to undermine Trump’s accusations?

Wilbur म्हणाले...

It's just another version of a "Republicans pounce" article.

Jersey Fled म्हणाले...

What MM said.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Chicago fire, San Francisco fire.

Hassayamper म्हणाले...

Rich people pay a staggering amount of taxes, especially in California, but it’s never enough for the Democrat locusts.

Dude1394 म्हणाले...

The people who are getting criticized asking that we not politicize something is a form of civility bullshit. Same concept.

Sally327 म्हणाले...

I wondered if there are earlier examples of anyone ever saying "There is death all over the place."

I don't know if there is another example of that specific wording but there is Shelley's poem, "Death":

1.
Death is here and death is there,
Death is busy everywhere,
All around, within, beneath,
Above is death - and we are death.

William म्हणाले...

Mayor Bass cut the Fire Dept's budget. That's just spectacularly wrong. It would be like FDR cutting the Defense Dept budget after Pearl Harbor. And there are other examples just as egregious. The top three management positions in the Los Angeles Fire Dept. are all filled by lesbians. I can understand how a lesbian could have had the drive and ambition to become a top person and outmatched the competition. But what are the odds that all three were the best available choices?......The media will talk about Climate Change, the courage of the firefighters, and the tragedy of the people who have lost their homes, but they can't dodge the fact that this was mismanaged.

Eric the Fruit Bat म्हणाले...

Maybe there's a sports team (soccer, lacrosse, hockey, whatever) named the Los Angeles Fire or something like that so make of that what you will.

William50 म्हणाले...

My question to the people of California. Is it bad enough yet? Your state’s legislature had a special session, not about the wildfires but how to Trump proof your state. Thousands of people have had nearly everything they own destroyed because of the ineptitude of the people you put in office. Do you think it might be a time for a change?

Is it bad enough yet?

Nice म्हणाले...

The Mayor spent 11 hours on a military plane, doing--we don't know what. She gets off the plane and has nothing to say. In 11 hours, she couldn't manage to come up with a single thought, and no prepared remarks. Then, she holds a formal Press Conference, but now is not the time to talk about what she was doing for 11 hours on that plane, or why she was even on a plane out of the Country etc. There are no deaths (relatively) and the only property threatened is rich people's homes (mostly). The Fire Dept. has already conceded that nothing can be done because there's no water, and they're simply going to let the fire burn, while everybody sits around and waits. It would seem there's nothing else to do but talk. Yet, the Mayor and CA Gov insists now is simply not the time to talk about such issues.

Krumhorn म्हणाले...

As a long time…and reluctant…resident of Los Angeles, I am slightly heartened to see some dug-in backlash to those for whom the citizens have been voting. Some.

However, I doubt that will translate to any serious change in elected scumbags in the future. California is a political cesspool.

- Krumhorn

Steven Wilson म्हणाले...

I have read somewhere, most likely in a comments section that in Pacific Palisades in particular, that many of the homes that are burning are the "wealth" of those people as they have owned those homes for many years and that the appreciation through the years constitutes the bulk of their wealth. Many of those people have recently lost their insurance and so they will have lost their wealth. If this is true then many of the homes being burned don't belong to people who are genuinely rich. They were only going to be rich once they sold their homes and moved to where they could buy a home for a fraction of the cost and have the leftover as wealth.

Charlie Currie म्हणाले...

I early this morning I watched live coverage of the fires in the canyons just north of Hollywood Blvd and west of La Brea. I saw four helicopters drop water on a new outbreak. The outbreak only grew. Darkness and terrain made it difficult for the copters to get low and close. I just checked back and the small outbreak has now connected with the larger area the initial sparks came from. With the massive amounts of fuel in those canyons and houses backing up right to them, it's an impossible task. It's like trying to extinguish a house fire with a squirt gun.

Wince म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
tcrosse म्हणाले...

All of a sudden the homeless population in LA has greatly increased. Where are all these people going to live? How will they be fed? Will there be enough tents?

Wince म्हणाले...

Althouse said...
The NYT didn't roust some reporter in the middle of the night to make an article out of the most recent Trump truthing... I wondered if there are earlier examples of anyone ever saying "There is death all over the place."

Hour of the Wolf News?

"This is the Hour of the Wolf News. Big light in sky slated to appear in East. Sonic booms scare minority groups in Sector B.

And there's hamburger all over the highway in Mystic Connecticut
."

Dust Bunny Queen म्हणाले...

Sacramento (350 miles south of me) is just petty bureaucracy at its best. Adhere to the stupid regulations and rules, no matter what the circumstances. Idiots.

Raging fires in dire need of assistance. Too bad...we have to check the air pressure in your tires and make sure you past California's "carb control standards". Can't have your fire trucks putting CO2 into the air...while the entire area of LA is spewing the same and worse into the air.

THIS idiocy is the reason that shit like this happens. I would hope that this will wake people up to the gross mismanagement by Democrats/Libtards.....but...not likely to happen.

State of Jefferson couldn't happen soon enough. (also not likely)

hombre म्हणाले...

If you ignore the MSM in favor of new media, it is clear that the incompetence is palpable. Once the fires are out it will be covered up.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

You put them out by not letting them start with fuel accumulation for years. At the moment it's a burn itself out situation, with opportunistic chances to save this or that if enough people are put on it.

Looting is a result of fuel, not depravity.

RCOCEAN II म्हणाले...

Nothing is more hilarious than hearing a liberal/left Democrat accusing some of "politicizing" something. Everything to Newsome, and people of his ilk, is "Political". But again, notice the typical Liberal/left tactic of NEVER playing defense. If a Conservative and/or Republican "Pounces" the liberal/left never explains, and never apologizes. They counter-attack. They leave explainations and the apologies to the Republicans.

boatbuilder म्हणाले...

The absolute primary justification for property taxes is to pay the local government to protect the residents and their property from fire and other natural disasters. The governments of California and LA have broken the social contract. They clearly had other priorities for spending the taxpayers' money.

RCOCEAN II म्हणाले...

Personally, I find this type of fire and the coverage incredibly boring. Yeah, its a fire. Its burning things. They are throwing water/foam/whatever on it. California has them every year. Eventually, it will go out. This isn't like Maui where PEOPLE were burning to death.

But people seem fascinated by endless shots of fire and reporters saying "Its raging out of control".

hombre म्हणाले...

The Times is not accepting comments. Big surprise. The story is the incompetence, not the accuracy of Trump's response. Politicians are generally perceived to be bullshitters. The leftmediaswine still think the public is too stupid to look past the bullshit at the reality. Except for diehard Democrats, they are mistaken. Empty reservoir, dry hydrants, houses built in Santa Ana fire tunnels amongst the underbrush, LAFD budget cuts, DEI hires. Incompetence! Who cares what Trump says or if he visits?

RCOCEAN II म्हणाले...

Finally, I no sympathy for people in SoCal. Yeah, you elected a bunch of liberal/left Democrats. And you'll keep electing them. Well, you got what you voted for. Its like people in NYC or SF complaining about crime and then voting for the same people over and over again.

Wince म्हणाले...

hombre said...
Once the fires are out it will be covered up.

A lot of influential California Democrats were affected. Like Glenn Close as the jilted one-time lover in Fatal Attraction, they will not accept being "ignored."

Michael McNeil म्हणाले...

disembolden.

Michael McNeil म्हणाले...

disembolden—try2.

Dust Bunny Queen म्हणाले...

Checked with Google Maps and it is only 280 miles from my house to Sac. Seems longer because of the winding mountain roads 😏

Peachy म्हणाले...

Liberal - Justine Bateman - she nails it. All should watch.

rehajm म्हणाले...

I’m surprised at how little death there is…

BUMBLE BEE म्हणाले...

https://elizabethnickson.substack.com/p/the-la-fires-karma-retribution-or

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

The crisis of competence is clear for all to see.
Even if this turned out to be terrorism, it wouldn't save the Dems because they've brought in so many unvetted illegal aliens.