How Newsom and Bash failed the victims of the LA wildfires
In addition to the tens of thousands of people who were direct victims of the multiple wildfires that have been leveling large areas of southern California, there will inevitably be a number of political victims – most notably California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Newsom and Bass are not unique in their culpability for the tragedy that stuck their constituents. Rather, they are just the latest in a longer history of progressive political leaders who prioritized left-wing and woke social and cultural policies over essential government services.
A recent example was Bash’s cutting the budget of the LA Fire Department while increasing funding in such social projects and the care and feeding of migrant aliens and the homeless. Millions of dollars have been spent on mitigating the use of fossil fuels because of the dangers of climate change –while cutting money for addressing the destructive and deadly results of seasonal wildfires.
All that infrastructure money that President Biden bragged about was going primarily to roads, bridges, parks and tertiary treatment plants. Nothing to address the inadequate and deteriorating – but less visible – failing infrastructure associated with firefighting. It prioritized politically popular big-spending projects over essential safety needs. Such existential needs as police, fire, paramedics got short shrift.
The potential for the current disaster in LA and other areas of southern California was predictable. In fact, it was well known. Podcaster Joe Rogan recounts a conversation he had with a local firefighter while filming “Fear Factor” – which was notably prior to the recent fires. The firefighter said, “‘One day, it’s just gonna be the right wind and fire’s gonna start in the right place and it’s going to burn through LA all the way to the ocean and there’s not a f***Ing thing we can do about it.” Southern California is now living out that prediction.
Lower level officials have repeatedly warned of the potential for a massive wildfire and the need for more infrastructure, more fire equipment, more personnel and a more serious implementable plan to include zoning, building codes, landscaping and emergency evacuation. Yet the threat has been ignored even as the threat of catastrophic fires increased.
When a firefighter was asked what they were lacking to get ahead of the current rash of blazes, he said water, more personnel and more equipment. In other words, LA was short of everything it needed to fight a major wildfire – even though they had every reason to know the potential of what we have seen on the news in recent weeks. The officials in LA were not taken by surprise. This disaster was as foreseeable as the next earthquake triggered by the San Andreas Fault Line.
I live in Florida. Hurricanes – and increasingly more powerful ones – are no surprise. That is why the Florida government has strict building codes and specific infrastructure to mitigate damage and injury when “the big one” hits. There are specific evacuation plans and procedures in place. Safe nearby locations are provided for the most vulnerable residents to evacuate to.
That was not what happened in Flint, Michigan when people were found to be drinking seriously contaminated water … or in New Orleans, when Hurricane Katrina took out older and inadequate levees, flooding portions of the city. And it certainly did not happen in Los Angeles.
Chicago has a carefully drafted plan for dealing with a nuclear attack. I suspect Los Angeles and other major cities do too. I suspect LA has a plan on the books for dealing with a major earthquake. But apparently not wildfires.
There is such a thing as force majeure, often referred to as an act of God – some event that is deemed to be so extremely unlikely that precautions are never considered, and no one can be held responsible. That does not apply to the wildfires in LA.
Newsome was accosted by a highly emotional constituent demanding answers. (He told her that he was on the phone with President Biden at that moment. She asked to talk to Biden. That was not possible because Newsom was lying.) There is already a petition being circulated to recall Bass.
And that is only the beginning. The justifiable anger of the victims – and potential future victims – is palpable. They are currently in the first step of mourning – denial and disbelief. The second step is anger. We will see that after the final embers are extinguished and the full extent of the disaster is known.
At this moment, southern California must focus on three priorities – saving lives, saving homes and businesses and stopping the advancing fires. But … there will be a day of reckoning for the government leaders in California and Los Angeles – most notably Newsome and Bass. They will then be the ones feeling the heat.
So, there ‘tis.
Yupper, Larry has really pinned the tail on the donkey this time. Except when you have a knee-jerk reaction, generally, you only achieve the second half of the term. And if you feel the need to hitchhike on a topic, chances are you will be left by the side of the road.
“In addition to the tens of thousands of people who were direct victims of the multiple wildfires that have been leveling large areas of southern California, there will inevitably be a number of political victims – most notably California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Newsom and Bass are not unique in their culpability for the tragedy…..”
Son of a bitch, looks like the old man has really got him on the ropes this time. Katy, bar the door. It’s investigative reporting to the nth degree as our plucky hero Horist dons his suit of silver, grabs his sword o’ Trump, mounts his mighty white (of course) steed, and lays out his compelling facts to slay the evil Newsom re: the wildfires with a one and a two and a…..
“Newsome was accosted by a highly emotional constituent demanding answers. (He told her that he was on the phone with President Biden at that moment. She asked to talk to Biden. That was not possible because Newsom was lying.) There is already a petition being circulated to recall Bass.” Oh my….
Bwhaaaaaat, the fuck wouldn’t pass the phone while talking with the President and therefore he’s lying? Damn, that did make the fires burn hotter. Nope, thaaaaaaat’s all folks. That’s his whole Newsom expose. Pulitzer no doubt, or maybe a book you can buy on Amazon.
Nope, on Newsom, Horist is all smoke and no flame. But it sounds so much better than just Bass fishing. As for Florida and expert building codes, remember the pancake, and we ain’t talking flapjacks, we’re talking buildings like Surfside where 98 died under Florida’s impeccable codes and inspections system. California’s death toll is 28 meaning Florida sucks three times worse. Why did it fail: they had instituted a 40 year inspection which, combined with initial codes, inspections, and violations of material marked the Surfside collapse as tied with the Knickerbocker Theatre collapse as the third-deadliest non-deliberate structural engineering failure in United States history. Not good to be in the top five. Not even a hurricane, just a little salt water. California cleans Florida’s clock on disaster deaths and probably runs a good race over total area destroyed. But California will win on $$$ property loss because, well, it’s Florida Jake, get over it. The Florida counties of Miami-Dade and Broward had a system of 40 year structural inspections from the mid-1970s, created in response to the DEA building collapse of August 1974 that claimed the lives of seven DEA agents. So, they counted on their fingers and toes how long it took for the DEA collapse and set a 40 year window. Amazingly, Florida now has yet another teachable moment and has reset the clock to 30 year inspections based solely on the fact that Surfside pancaked in 40. Clever. Only took 98 more lives to get them there but Horist is having a shit fit over 28 lives…… Fix Florida Larry, it needs you.
Seriously, because the above is morbidly tongue n cheek and truly NOT funny, the fact is Larry, it’s a complex world and simple answers are for simpletons. The embers are not cool but you have laid the blame because, oh fuck, they are Democrats. There’s much to unpack here, I am sure budgets will be part of it, but geeeeee, Larry, do you think 100 mph winds, a dry season during the rainy season, old buildings built before codes changed for modern climate-changed extreme storms, and so, so, so much more might enter into your assessment? Ready, fire, aim because you’re at a win-lose position so damn the men and fire those torpedo’s!!!
Just as the Florida tragedy is more than just a safety check interval; there was less rebar than needed in the collapsed columns, more salt water corrosion than expected, and I dare to say, they still don’t have all the answers today. That does not lay the blame at DeSantis’ feet just because it’s on his watch. And it wasn’t even Florida’s first pancake. In the same general area. I mean how many examples do you need? But really, Florida tightened the safety checkup intervals, and I bet code changes have already been made with more perhaps coming. California will do similar; they will not build to the same codes that got hit in the burn. Codes that for many areas were established before these severe burns became common burns because we are burning up the Earth. And they will raise the budgets, the resources, to match the new normal of massive fires driven by 100 mph winds. Newsom added so much $$$
when they had a budget surplus (when was Florida’s last budget surplus?), so it looks like he cut back in recent years, but really the increase was a one-time blue bird. And yes, I am sure forest management will have a play, but again, picking up leaves is only part of a story that you, or I, don’t have a clue what’s in it yet. So stop profiting by spewing conclusions before the evidence is presented in it’s entirety. Like Trump claiming DEI caused the DC plane/copter crash, it’s a bit early for that call. Give it rest, let them assess before you attest to their abject failures that, in the case of Newsom, you didn’t even broach, much less prove.
I spell my name: danger, and dem’s the facts so get back jack and give Newsom some slack. Burma Shave.
We don’t give a damn how you spell your name. The only dangerous thing you ever did was burn your asshole trying to light farts with a grill lighter. That’s probably why your wife divorced you. So quit being so negative and be glad that Trump got elected.
Danger, danger, danger Wil Samplerson. Warning, wampler, warning, Wil Robinson.
Glad to give you a place to vent spleen even if at third grade level. But really, my wife? Other times my daughter? Methinks you is projecting. I have none, must be yours. But all we see is dog. Ugly dog.
I still spell my name: danger. And you don’t spell shit. Or do you?
Frank, your buddy, Tom talked about your daughter about a month ago. I still have the post to prove it, liar!
Wrong Tom rocket scientist. Wanna guess who fake Tom is?
AF: this is ET or Evil Tom who is the same guy that talks about my daughter all the time. This is not Tom from North Carolina, our Independent, ex-school teacher, amongst other accomplishments. My, you are easily fooled.
What’s in your wallet? Apparently, my posts, Tom’s posts, my what a life you must have.
BUSTED
Jim Wampler ….. Lighting a fart is not the worse thing Frank Danger ever did — if he even did that. The worse thing we know he did was to pay for his college by being a drug dealer — and we know that because he bragged about it on PBP.
Horist hyperinflating again, as is his way. I made some money selling pot, I never paid for college totally, much less with pot money. Good try. Then again, you are the guy that picks a fight and then blames the other guy for starting it. So fucking obsessed with me. Bragged? Here’s the PBP King of Braggadocio, supporter of locker room talk demeaning women, going at me for telling the truth, which other passages he claims is a lie, or at least parts of it.
Let’s deal with your past: from Larry’s “friend” in the 1996 Chicago Reader: “In 1989 Karen moved out and filed for divorce. Even though she didn’t seek custody of the children and the divorce itself was no-fault and uncontested, the settlement proceedings were nasty and took four years. Larry grew depressed to a degree that alarmed Monte, who knew something about depression. Despite a little consulting work, Horist was one mortgage payment away from bankruptcy.”
That’s his friend quoting him. Nasty is as nasty does. What kind of woman does not want custody? Or maybe the woman DID get custody?
How personal do you want to go with your feckless, false, or misleading attacks? I am right here. Ask me before you either assume or just freaking make it up to serve your spin.
You know, he has never fessed up as to whether he ever tried pot, smoked pot, or totally abstained. Look at his picture, is that a bong in the background? Are those eyes squinty?
Frank Danger … Just going by your own admission. You claim to have sold “a lot” of pot and paid for your college with the money. Have you forgotten what you wrote here. You were a drug dealer by your own admission. I did not make that up. And I have no idea why your think that small portion of an article is so damaging to me, Yes … those were hard times. But I got through them without dealing in drugs or anything else illegal. No … I got custody of the kids. She signed the custody of the youngest to me when she filed for divorce. I played Mr. Mom for years to six kids — and damn proud of it. The rest of your bogus attack is pure made up bs. I don’t even have squinty eyes. LOL You are such a crock or crap — obsessed, bitter and nasty. But thanks for being a regular reader.
Horist and AF are like junkyard dogs over my selling some pot in the 70’s as if this is the mark of the devil tainting my citizenship, principles, and moral fiber throughout my life. Even after legal, they feel I should be a felon like their President. You know pot and sex are a good combo, surprised they didn’t go for sexual abuse like their President. As to the defamation of women aspects, hey, there’s only one woman on deck in this and self-abuse is the word. Fact is they squawk all the time about innocent until proven guilty, but they want to hang me on words alone, and they call me a liar all the time…. Fact is many here say Trump, the Felon King is innocent because he has an active appeal. But for Danger —- NOOOOOO.
Their belief in second chances stops at the liberal doorstep. I have always been open about my intemperate youth. But starting in college, I cleaned up my act and have been a model citizen, keeper of the corporate capitalist faith, supporter of our military, ever since. There are things done, I would love undone, but done is done. Who amongst cannot say that? Larry has never said he never smoked pot. I have asked numerous times. Pretty sure we know the answer, so the question morphs to how many times? AF did not, ever, but, come on, really? Wow, gotta feel people who live under rocks. And if you smoked it, you bought it illegally. Give me a break.
Yes, I sold a good amount of pot, but I don’t think I said I financed college with it as I did not finance college, only helped around the edges. Larry embellishes when he’s in win-lose mode. Other things I did to make money included cafeteria work, my kosher catering work, my time managing the work release team, or just handing Kaplan LSAT signs around campus. Also was one of the first call center sales agents, before 1-800. Perhaps I said that, perhaps Horist is projecting his own truth as is his way, but nope, no way did I finance college through pot sales. More like concert tickets to see the Stones.
Meanwhile – MARYLAND POT LAWS – since AF and LH re so, so, fascinated, so in tune with the law, it’s amazing in that they don’t seem to know that Maryland first, of course, grew hemp, meaning the stuff is growing by the side of the road still. But in 1933, at the end of prohibition, ahead of the Federal Government, MD, criminalized it ahead of the Fed. Given my level of activity, we’ll keep it at the State, don’t think I even saw the DEA ever. In 2014, MD decriminalized. But consider it prohibited with really stiff punishments up until the mid-1970’s when I came on the scene. In 1975, the state decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, reducing the penalty from a criminal offense to a civil fine. Bite me on the felony, and suck it. Maryland was one of the first states to take this step. And that was my time folks. As I said, for the amounts I carried, there was no felony, I never had more than a z and the time/fine was negligible. IF you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime. I held no stash, just grabbed small amount a z at a time for lots of friends, the football team, even young Republicans. I entered the market with fine in pocket, lawyers on a list (it’s DC, they are everywhere. My best friend’s dad did a few cases, my Mom worked for one), and never carried much more than the decriminalized rate. I was pretty small time, but made it up in turns, thus yes, I sold a good amount, but I was the end of the value chain, not a big timer in the middle, I never sold to another dealer. Tell you truth, by the time I was mid-college in the late 70’s, was pretty much done, since moved away from sources, my college sources graduated, no car, and, in all honesty, my art-work festooned sand terrarium business frankly had higher margins. That only lasted a year though —- they all turned green. But no large glass container was safe: we turned them all into plant sanctuaries.
Now, it is still illegal to sell pot without a license. That’s like not reporting a yard sale or private sale type penalty for the chump change I was dealing with.
I don’t know what to say except what your thing about felonies does not seem to be based in fact for Maryland in 1975 and don’t even get me started on DC. I was there and I don’t remember any fear of felony, nor incarceration frankly. Sure, it happened, but not to guys like me. We would walk, no felony, probably even record expunged. I was never arrested, never in court, so not only innocent until proven guilty, but not even caught. Trump is a felon, he got caught, indicted, arrested, in court and convicted. A number of appeals have been squashed and he’s just playing his game now, hoping for the Trumpremes to intervene.
So, I open up, tell you a story of my life, you jump up and down screaming felon, felon, felon, and you just can’t let it go. But the guy who is adjudicated as a felon, his business has felonies, he’s a sexual abuser, defamer of women, he ripped off his University student, he stole from his own charity foundation, that guy you elect President. My God, you should be putting me on a pedestal.
And actually, when you look at it; I am better than Trump. He got caught.
Frank Danger … I caught the first graph …. Nay…. I just like to poke you like you like to poke me about Spanky the Clown. The only difference is that the Spanky thing does not other me. I find it funny …and often refer to it myself, sometimes in speeches. When I tell people that I was beaten by a clown, I have to then explain I am being literal. LOL
Jim, his new aka name is danger. Probably trying to tell us he will come after us in a Democrat way to do away with us. HJow can anyone think any other way. He can’t even remember what he says in posts to me for two days ago and denies it. His dementia is in his way.
That’s right, hate. Hate away. Let your venom fly. Attack the person. Let your hate wrap you head like a halo. Save all my posts. Live with them, sleep with them, imagine all those things about me that hide the tragedy that is your life choices. Whine how I’m the guilty one. It’s not my facts, my arguments, it’s me that’s your problem and when uou attack me, if you can vanquish me, somehow your pitiful, miserable, life will be better.
It won’t, your choices define you. You can’t beat the discussion so you beat the person. Because he spells his name: danger. And you sre neither America, or first.
Wow, you’re right. I feel better.
1/16 Al Jazeera sourced
“As wildfires in California caused at least two dozen deaths and billions of dollars in damages, some social media users accused Governor Gavin Newsom of slashing money to prevent fires.
Many posts including by Fox News stated Newsom cut about $100m in fire prevention from the state’s budget months before the Los Angeles fires.
Some of the posts drew on a January 10 Newsweek article that reported Newsom signed a budget in June which cut funding for wildfire and forest resilience by $101m. California Assembly Republicans made similar statements about fire prevention cuts citing information from the state budget. President-elect Donald Trump posted an article by Breitbart that repeated the $100m claim, citing Newsweek.
Newsom said it was a “ridiculous lie” that he cut $100m, a retort he included on his new website, California Fire Facts. But the website didn’t dissect the $100m; it focused on the big picture of the budget during his tenure, asserting that the budget had grown for California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Cal Fire.
Newsom is right that the budget increased. But it’s not a lie that money (actually more than $100m) was cut.
State fire department budget facts
In 2021 and 2022, California had a budget surplus. The state dedicated an additional $16.3bn to address issues ranging from droughts and sustainable agriculture to wildfires and extreme heat, said Gokce Sencan, a research associate at the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan think tank.
As part of that, the state allocated $2.8bn towards wildfires and improving forest health. However, following 2023 and 2024 budget deficits, the state shaved that amount by $191m ($47m in 2023, $144m in 2024). The budget deficit was tens of billions of dollars.
Cal Fire, which oversees about 12.5 million hectares (31 million acres), responds to hazards and disasters including fires. The department has a budget of about $4.2bn for 2024-2025. Most of its money comes from state funds but it also includes reimbursements from local departments and the federal government.
Newsweek’s story cited an analysis by the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office, a nonpartisan office that works for the state Assembly, that it said showed the $101m cut. That office told PolitiFact that Newsweek had cited a report that summarised the governor’s proposed budget for 2024-2025.
The proposal included $101m in reductions to the wildfire and forest resilience funding. That represented a cut to previous surplus years’ budget agreement that called for one-time wildfire funding to be spread over a four-year period, from 2020-2024, said Rachel Ehlers, who works in the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
The adopted budget’s spending plan reduced that planned multiyear one-time wildfire-related funding by $144m.
“To underscore: These were reductions to one-time augmentations, not reductions to Cal Fire’s ongoing base programmes and funding,” Ehlers said.
Of the $144m in reductions, the largest – $46m – was for a pilot focused on creating hydrogen from biomass through the Department of Conservation. The forest management project’s goal was to address forest health and wildfire risk in the Sierra Nevada.
That pilot never got off the ground, Ehlers said. The budget also reduced $35m for wildfire resilience projects on state-owned land and $28m for projects undertaken by state conservancies.
Many of the programme cuts were small, percentage-wise. For example, the forest health programme declined from $555m to $552m, about a half-percent decrease. Prescribed fire and hand crews, who use hand tools to suppress fires, dropped from $134m to $129m, almost a 4 percent decrease. Fire prevention grants stayed the same at $475m as did fire prevention projects at $90m.
Jim Stanley, a spokesperson for the state assembly’s Republican Caucus, also pointed to the figures showing the proposed $100m cut and the actual $144m cut. We asked Stanley whether the Republicans had objected to the cuts at the time. He quoted Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher as saying in June 2024 that the budget failed to adequately fund public safety.
In 2021, Cap Radio (a former PolitiFact partner) reported that Newsom had “misrepresented his accomplishments and even disinvested in wildfire prevention. The investigation found Newsom overstated, by 690 percent (a near-eight-fold increase), the number of acres treated with fuel breaks and prescribed burns in the very forestry projects he said needed to be prioritised to protect the state’s most vulnerable communities.”
Cal Fire’s total base wildfire protection budget has nearly tripled over the past 10 years (from $1.1bn in 2014 2015 to $3bn in 2023 2024), according to a March analysis by the Legislative Analyst’s Office before the 2024-2025 budget was approved.
Cal Fire’s overall budget has also increased, with its combined budget for fire protection, emergency fire suppression, resource management and fire prevention more than doubling over the past 10 years from $1.7bn in 2014 2015 to $3.7bn in 2023 2024. Newsom’s office sent us similar information showing budget increases.
The number of staff members working in fire prevention has similarly grown during that decade, rising from 5,756 to 10,275.
Another way to look at Cal Fire is through expenditures rather than the budgeted amount because it’s not unusual for the state to dip into other pots of money to spend more than budgeted for addressing fires.
The California Legislative Analyst’s office estimated total Cal Fire expenditures have risen during Newsom’s tenure from $2.74bn in 2019-2020 to $4.59bn (not adjusted for inflation or including additional costs incurred for the current Los Angeles wildfires) in 2024-2025.
In November, California voters approved Proposition 4, a $10bn climate bond that allocates $1.5bn to forest health and wildfires.”
DANGER TO THOSE AROUND HIM, IF IT IS A HIM (TRANS)!! CALIFORNICATION IS NOW NOT JUST A CESSPOOL OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU, BUT SOCIALIST TRAINED GOONS!! THOUSANDS HAVE LEFT YOUR PISSHOLE STATE FOR BETTER PASTURES AS YOU GUYS HAVE DROPPED YOUR TURDS ALL OVER SO NO CAN’T KEEP FROM STEPPING INTO ONE REGULATION OR ANOTHER!! MIGHT AS WELL CALL CALIFORNICATION THE MARXISTCALIATION STATE!!!!
I genuinely feel bad for the victims of the L A Fires.
This as stated was Stupid decisions made by Stupid people put in charge by Stupid people.
If you as victims voted Republican, you were surrounded by Ass Holes.
On the other hand if you voted Democrat for Biden and Newsome, you were
put in the correct place you belong.
You my friends WERE some of the STUPID PEOPLE!
I hear ya Darren, just as I feel for NC, FL, TX, as well where it’s a lot of Republican votes. Katrina planning and recovery is on you too. Especially NC where we normalize, let CA fires block their news, and probably feel a bit forgotten right now.
But this was an unprecedented storm that no one could have planned for. I am sure they will find where they could and can do better, but these storms, like our hurricanes, tornados, and for us in the NE, just plain fucking weather are more extreme and getting worse.
The 2018 CA Campfire fire killed more and is bigger and that’s on Trump’s watch. What did he do?
I think it’s best to take party out of it, do root cause assessment on all aspects and moving parts, and then do better going forward. I expect code changes, zoning changes, and they will not use the same building techniques or density going forward. But just generalizing to “all things democratic” is as logical as saying all things republican are bad.
My nephew is out there, just over the hill, and although miles away, had to evacuate and today —- it’s not normal for him even outside of “the zone.” Hey, construction workers, grab a mobile home and head on out to help and make some good bucks for a few years.
Trump just changed the name of the San Andraes Fault to “Gavins Fault. Gotta love it!