So many comments from my conversation with Edward Ring. I appreciate them all, but can only respond to a few…
Priscilla Breck writes…
I saw an interview with firefighters from Idaho where I live and they said it was a quick easy check to make sure their equipment was working well so they wouldn’t be in danger while fighting fires. He seemed to think it was not big deal. If the actual firefighters aren’t upset about it, why should we be?
Hi Priscilla – I’d be careful about painting with too broad a brush. The “actual firefighters” to whom you refer are not a monolith – they are a large group of individuals from all over the country with a wide variety of opinions on a wide variety of topics. You heard from one who is not “upset” about the mandatory inspections in Sacramento. I suspect there might be others who share that opinion, but I’m positive there are many others who do not. But let’s assume for a moment that I’m wrong. Let’s assume that all of the firefighters rushing to Southern California are not concerned with a mandatory pitstop. Your question is, “If the actual firefighters aren’t upset about it, why should we be?”
To properly answer that question, I would suggest you imagine yourself in the Palisades. Imagine that your home is there, along with all of your possessions. Imagine that the fire is approaching quickly, and that every second matters. Now, imagine that the help you’ve been praying for finally arrives a half-hour after your house has burned to the ground. How would you feel in that situation? According to Darren Law, the senior forestry equipment manager at the inspection station, the average inspection time was 45 minutes. https://bit.ly/3CmTHTg. When every second counts, Priscilla, 45 minutes is a very long time to wait.
Lynn Endres writes…
Not ready yet to start hearing all the Blame Game that goes on after something like this. I’m sick of hearing who’s to blame after a mass shooting. I’m sick of hearing who’s to blame after flooding in NC. I’m sick of hearing who’s to blame for just about anything political – it goes both ways. I’m ready to start hearing from people who want to do something about it all, NOW. Quit blaming and start working for change.
Hi Lynn. I agree that massive change is necessary in the wake of this disaster, and I agree that assigning “blame” often feels counter-productive and opportunistic – especially when everything is so politically charged. But if you’re opposed to assigning “blame” to those in charge of Los Angeles and California, what about accountability? Do you really believe there can be change, if those in charge are not held accountable for their behavior, or for the consequences of the policies they endorse? I’ve held my tongue for five days, because I think it’s premature to demand accountability while the fires are burning. But what are we to do if the fires don’t stop? How long should concerned citizens in California give their elected officials any measure of grace? Based on this morning’s LA Times, I’d say the time is up. From the front page…
“As the Los Angeles Fire Department faced extraordinary warnings of life-threatening winds, top commanders decided not to assign for emergency deployment roughly 1,000 available firefighters and dozens of water-carrying engines in advance of the fire that destroyed much of the Pacific Palisades and continues to burn, interviews and internal LAFD records show. Fire officials chose not to order the firefighters to remain on duty for a second shift last Tuesday as the winds were building — which would have doubled the personnel on hand — and staffed just five of more than 40 engines that are available to aid in battling wildfires, according to the records obtained by The Times, as well as interviews with LAFD officials and former chiefs with knowledge of city operations.”
They also published this…
“As the Palisades fire exploded in Los Angeles on Jan. 7, Mayor Karen Bass was posing for photos at an embassy cocktail party in Ghana, pictures posted on social media show.”
On Tuesday, CBS News’s Jonathan Vigliotti asked Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, “Looking back, would you have taken that trip overseas?” The Mayor literally smiled as she answered. “You know, I am going to focus today . . . on what we know. Thank you.”
Then there’s this, from Peter Hamby, in the left-leaning pages of Puck:
“The National Weather Service warned of dangerous fire conditions on Friday, January 3. Bass knew about it, because we all did. If you live in L.A., you got the weather alert, on the news or on your phone. The mayor’s office certainly did. Despite that, Bass boarded a plane the following day for Ghana as part of a delegation attending the inauguration of the country’s president. And as The New York Times reported over the weekend, Bass had promised during her mayoral campaign never to leave the country. It got worse on the return trip — a long way home — when a Sky News reporter happened upon Bass and an aide at the airport. The reporter asked Bass, repeatedly, to deliver a message to the city. Bass ignored him, on camera, for 90 painful seconds, in stone-faced silence. The clip is devastating, a campaign ad ready-made, the moment for which she will always be remembered. “If it is true that she left the country on a Saturday after the warning came out, that is a dereliction of duty,” Endeavor C.E.O. Ari Emanuel, who donated to Bass’s 2022 campaign, told me.”
You may not be ready to hold the Mayor accountable, Linda, or the Governor, but many of their democratic supporters are. Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong just admitted as much on a podcast with Sean Spicer. “We’ll accept some blame here,” he said. “At the L.A. Times, we endorsed Karen Bass. I think, right now, up front, that was a mistake, and we admit that.”
I’m encouraged by this, not for political reasons, but for the simple fact that there can be no change until or unless the people who elected our current crop of officials come to regret that decision. It’s not enough to simply have a “D” next to your name. Or an “R,” for that matter. If we want more common sense in Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, we need to look beyond party affiliation. And we’ll need hold those lacking in common sense accountable.
Frank Ryan
Please tell me you don’t support Mr. Wonderful’s insane proposal to make federal aid to California contingent on statewide recalls.
Hi Frank. I suspect your referring to this article, https://bit.ly/4hjfBWD, wherein Kevin O’Leary says, “I think every taxpayer in America, including those in California, would like to tie federal aid to removing Newsom and Bass. Now. Gone,” O’Leary said on a “Varney & Co.” panel Tuesday.”
From what I’ve read, Frank, Kevin’s proposal is not supported by the Constitution. But personally, I like it, and I think a lot of taxpayers agree. California will not recover without federal aid – that’s obvious. But, when the governance is this bad, the President should be protective of taxpayer funds. The President should, at a minimum, ask the question – what has current California leadership done to demonstrate an ability to spend the people’s money effectively? Personally, I doubt the President has the authority to make that happen, but if I were the Mayor or the Governor, and I really wanted to help the people of California, I’d resign. Americans, by and large, are deeply sympathetic to those impacted by the fire. But you don’t need to be a right-winger to see that sympathy for the political machine in California is about to hit an all-time low. And trusting the current leadership with many billions of dollars in federal aid won’t go down easily in other parts of the country.
More later,
Mike
PS. Kevin O’Leary. Come on the podcast! (You owe me one, as I recall…)
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