The new conservatives who have been mugged by a wildfire
Gavin Newsom, surveying the hellhole his
policies created. Looks proud, doesn’t he?
The news today is about how numerous Hollywood celebrities who have lost their homes in the wildfires that have been destroying huge swatches of the Los Angeles metropolitan area are one-by-one expressing loud public outrage at the mismanagement and failures of the Democrats running California’s state and city governments.
The list is long and detailed at the link. This comment is quite typical:
Actress Sara Foster also took to X to lament how Los Angeles residents pay exorbitant taxes but the state was still completely unprepared to take on such massive wildfires. “Our fire hydrants were empty. Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared. Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor. But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits,” she wrote.
The politically active actress, who is the daughter of music mogul David Foster, called on [LA mayor] Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom to resign, writing, “your far left policies have ruined our state. And also our party.” [emphasis mine]
The highlighted words tell us however that Foster is not yet ready to reject the corrupt, bigoted, and incompetent Democratic Party that she so loves. This has been the pattern now for decades. No matter how bad its policies, the partisan adherents to the Democratic Party have too often consistently resisted opening their minds to other choices.
It immediately occurred to me however that this present outrage is only a foretaste of the real outrage soon to come. You see, all of these celebrities have enough money to rebuild. All of them love where they live. And all of them have not the slightest idea what they will face when they attempt to weave their way through California’s Byzantine regulations to do so.
You see, most either bought houses already in existence, or built their house many decades ago. As the decades have passed and these partisan Democrats have voted time and time for radical socialists to run their city and state, those socialists have piled on new building regulation after building regulation, almost all related to some absurd environmental cause pushed by activist groups.
Ordinary citizens have been struggling with this red tape for years. Many simply give up and flee the state. Those that stick it out find the cost many times greater than it should be, almost bankrupting them, with the construction taking many more years than needed to finish.
These celebrities haven’t cared because it didn’t impact them. They voted for these “feel-good” environmental causes pushed by the Democrats because it allowed them to brag about their virtue at cocktail parties.
Well, these regulations will impact them now. In a spot-on rant on X today, Comedian Adam Carolla outlined this reality.
“You guys all voted for Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles. You all voted for Gavin Newsom, and now you [#$%?$&] get what you get. now that your house is on fire.
So here’s what’s going to happen. All these people who are deep blue Democrats are now going to have to pull a permit to rebuild, and they’re going to get the 28-year-old bitch from the Coastal Commission telling them to go [&(%$#\] off.
The last reference has to do with all those beach front homes. The Coastal Commission is likely going to resist having any rebuilt. And if any at all do get approved, don’t expect the building to proceed fast or at a reasonable cost. For example, just to replace their in-ground pools is going to require an absurd amount of money. As Carolla notes, California regulations now require such pools to be built like fuel tanks, with double hulls, to guarantee swim water will not leach into the environment.
It is an insane regulation that should never have even been considered. But that’s what California’s Democrats made law, and all these celebrities shrugged and voted for it, because it didn’t affect them.
The changes at the ballot box have barely started
Carolla predicts these leftist actors are all suddenly going to become Trump fans. I myself now would not be surprised. For the first time it has become acceptable in this crowd to say bad things about Democrats. Newsom might scream, “Pay no attention to that man in the corner,” but the curtain has been lifted. His and his party’s insane failures are now in stark display for all to see.
Thus we might finally see the opinion cascade against the Democrats that should have occurred several decades ago. The Democrat Party has been bigoted, corrupt, incompetent, and generally irrational for many many years. Its supporters have refused to face this, however, because it only hurt others.
Now it hurts them also. This makes it difficult for them to rationalize this reality away, as they have for decades.
In fact, the Democratic Party doesn’t have many people left it has not hurt. What else can happen but an opinion cascade against it?
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I found this interesting: Salaries of the LA Dept of Water:
https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2023/los-angeles-department-water-and-power/
You have your “Pay”. $184K
You have your “Overtime Pay”. $396K
Then you have “Other Pay”. $205K
Total Pay: $785 to 800K
That is interesting where your overtime pay is twice your regular pay.
And I wonder what “Other” pay is?
And do I not begrudge someone who has a specialized job and skill set and does it well being compensated properly.
Lots of top-heavy (D) executive job slots to be filled in LA.
They use the inverted pyramid model of civil service job description in California.
Cotour: Very obscene, in more ways than can be expressed.
The head of LA DWP has a $750k base salary. And probably works a 30 hour week.
The mayor of LA that completely screwed this up, was totally unprepared, went on a political junket to Ghana as this was being predicted, and then went completely deer in the headlights at the conference yesterday, was the runner-up choice after Kamala to be Biden’s VP.
DEI delenda est.
Adam Carolla Evacuates from the Palisades Fire:
A Solo Show | The Adam Carolla Show (January 8, 2025)
https://youtu.be/ppAEZ900JPA
49:34
The DNC needs to go back to its roots and kick the Greens out once and for all—lest folks call this AGW, the reason CA is fire prone is orographic–without the Pineapple Express–it could easily be the Atacama–proof that proximity to an ocean is no guarantee.
FDR men looked at nature as the she-wolf it is–something that has to be beaten into submission.
Don’t expect the DEI folks to actually be able to help you in a fire!
https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1877459877263528282
Yet, I wonder — even after this — if a sufficient number of LA / California voters will finally connect the dots and quit voting for people like Gavin Newsom, Kamela Harris, and Karen Bass. What we appear to be looking at in California is a literal suicide cult that makes Jim Jones’ operation look quaint by comparison. Or perhaps something more like the Heavens Gate affair, in which millions of California residents have come to believe that they can leave their earthly concerns behind, suspend reality, and be transported to nirvana on the great DEI / Woke comet.
If the people of California *should* quit drinking the Democrat Kool-Aid, it would mark a turning point in American politics that is as significant as President-elect Trump’s victory in November, but –again — that state’s electorate seems to have a near infinite apatite for being gaslighted by corrupt and incompetent officials. As everyone who has ever been to California knows, life there is “different.”
PS — I note in particular that Official Washington’s reaction to this tragedy is to *borrow more money* and then pay the State of California and its legions of bureaucrats to “fix” the very disaster that it collectively helped to create. Now that the Congressional Kool-Aid pitcher in Washington is beginning to be looked at with suspicion, it will be interesting to see how this actually plays out in terms of “aid” for the state.
Gary,
What an educational video. The firemen aren’t there to help put out the fire. They are there to look like you so that you feel better, “a little bit more ease,” that your house burned down and your husband died in it because “he got himself in the wrong place” before the fire broke out. The firefighter is now there just to understand your situation better, not to help with your situation. Come to think about it, that is exactly why I call the police, the fire department, or an ambulance. Just to feel better about the situation, not to get out of the situation.
Knowing the true purpose of the city’s Emergency Services is already making me feel so much better.
Of course, if I want someone who looks like me, I will have to wait until a white guy with gray hair, hazel eyes, and glasses is available to come to my rescue. Up to now, I hadn’t been aware that I would feel uncomfortable with anyone else.
They’re from the government and they’re here to help — with your feelings, not your troubles.
Yeah…. don’t care about LA burning to the ground.
Metallica
“No Leaf Clover”
https://youtu.be/Sh5S3OxiE-s
It looks like Elon Musk reads BtB
Elon Musk @elonmusk
The real red pill will come when people try to get permits to rebuild their homes and face multiyear waits.
This might finally spell doom for the Coastal Commission, which should not even exist as an organization.
Quote
Heisenberg @Mr_Derivatives
Jan 9
California is gonna flip red next election cause of this. Watch.
11:31 PM · Jan 9, 2025
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1877619372237136205
And of course we have memes
https://n9.cl/n8cdz
Re: the apparent suicide cult of the left in California and elsewhere. I think this and the 30-page article CDRsalamander references goes a long way to explain the wave of apparent madness all over the place; Permission Structure and the PSYOP against the American people
I would bet that these VERY well compensated civil servants in the water department were all very generous Democrat party financial contributors.
And how many other department executives are there within the state- and city-wide governments in California?
And again, if they were able to take care of business, I would not have much to say about their VERY nice compensation packages (Can you imagine what their pensions look like?).
But their current results indicate that they all need to be investigated for their collective incompetence and failures.
Total and complete destruction primarily IMO due to politics and the accompanying incompetence that walks hand in hand with it:
https://youtu.be/FVPx_lCjvGU?si=HGNNcCfypfdU2_NI
I don ‘t know how many people went down the link Cotour posted – thanks very much – but over ONE THOUSAND LA water department employees are paid over $300k a year. Positions like “mechanic” and “lead dispatcher” were making in the range of $380k/year in 2023. That is obscene. Most everyone gets overtime AND this “other” pay.
And now we know virtually all of these people are failures or incompetent at their jobs. And yet they are making over TWICE what the private sector pays for all but the most senior, executive positions. I know, I’m involved in the hiring of dozens of high-level professionals in both Texas and California.
This is how the democrat graft machine works. Starting under Obama and around the country, government employees began receiving exorbitant pay, particularly in blue states, to go along with lifetime employment and gold-plated benefits. California is perhaps the most egregious example, but far from the only one.
This is an area conservatives need to focus on and attack vociferously. This is where much of the Democrat machine’s manpower and operating budget comes from.
Re: the apparent suicide cult of the left in California and elsewhere. I think this and the 30-page article CDRsalamander references goes a long way to explain the wave of apparent madness all over the place; Permission Structure and the PSYOP against the American people
Larry: Your first attempt posted. I suspect you are not seeing all comments but trust me, they are there.
I just sent this LA fire Department promo to a buddy who was a 6’7″ man from San Francisco. I asked him for his professional opinion and a comment on this video.
You might think this is an SNL clip, but I do not think it is: https://youtu.be/0DxU3kJgn0A?si=XYPqGram2sYynwm0
As a young man he applied to become a San Francisco fire fighter and was told he was a white male and would have to reapply in the future if he wanted to become a fire fighter. That did not happen.
He left his home state and moved to NYC where he became a 30year fire fighter and retired a decorated Captain. He saw it all, including working the pile on 9-11. He has some real interesting observations about the day.
He is quite humorous and should get a kick out of it and have an interesting comment :)
Just like the people whose houses burnt to the foundations should get a kick out of it.
“People knew that something was not right, but could not see the hidden hand. They could see the effects, but could not see the cause.”
CDR Salamander
Thank you, Larry, for sharing this game-changing analysis. CDR Salamander’s cogent summary of David Samuels’ thesis affirms the kind of unformed, intuitive understanding of our present circumstances that many of us have struggled to comprehend (Jim Kunstler* has labeled such organized efforts to engineer social consensus as “mindfuckery”), and gives us a way to make sense out of what has been happening to our country / culture / civilization.
*https://www.kunstler.com/p/apocalypse-still-unspooling
The following paragraph is central to understanding the nature of the attack on conventional, consensus-based reality, and it becomes the lens through which nearly everything that is happening in our present culture can be viewed:
“The permission structure machine that Barack Obama and David Axelrod built … is totalitarian in its essence, a device for getting people to act against their beliefs by substituting new and better beliefs through the top-down controlled and leveraged application of social pressure, which among other things eliminates the position of the spectator. The integrity of the individual is violated in order to further the superior interests of the superego of humanity, the party, which knows which beliefs are right and which are wrong. The party is the ghost in the machine, which appears to run on automatic pilot, using the human desire for companionship and social connection as fuel for an effort to detach individuals from their own desires and substitute the dictates of the party, which is granted the unlimited right to enforce its superior opinions on all of mankind.”
And, in terms of the ongoing push-back against this kind of soft totalitarianism, Mr. Samuels seems to have nailed the history and significance of Elon Musk:
“As the reputational cost [of acquiring Twitter] spread, Musk would have no choice but to eat a loss of tens of billions of dollars and sell, or else face the destruction of his other businesses—which the party could speed up by *canceling contracts with NASA and other government agencies and opening multiple SEC and Justice Department investigations that would further augment his reputational risk* — until he agreed to kiss the ring.”
Exactly as we have been reading about in Behind the Black.
As for the light that this analysis sheds on the inexplicable, Kool-Aid-swilling behavior of the citizens of the Golden State, California
has long been the place where the future is beta tested, and rapid onset alignment seems to have come into full bloom there. Sadly, this phenomenon seems to be even *more* advanced in much of Oregon and Washington State — no one loves the Democrat Kool-Aid more than the urban voters in these states — but, at least so far, there has been nothing corresponding to the LA fires in those provinces to snap them back to reality.
Again, thank you, Larry, for providing us with this incredibly useful and important insight into the real nature of our situation. It’s appreciated.
And of course we have memes
That URL triggered a corporate “blocked” notice, which I have never seen before and didn’t even know corporate had – and I’ve done a lot on the corporate VPN that could reasonably be blocked, including leaving this comment. It also has a certificate error (didn’t bother to look at what sort).
FYI
My fire fighter friend responds: (I had to do some editing in order to make his response compliant with the rules here on BTB, but I think he makes his point)
“So . . .
Say YOU smell smoke. You DON’T have to search for that number, it’s 911, (saving TIME)
An operator will answer promptly, (saving TIME)
You describe what’s going on, (Police / Fire / EMS, whaddya need?)
She / He / They / Them forward this emergency call, this PLEA for HELP to, in this case the NEAREST Firehouse, (saving TIME)
The Firefighters get the alarm, DROP whatever they’re doing, and?
Rush to the scene, some, sliding down a POLE to SPEED their response, (saving TIME)
The Fire Engine, facing OUT of quarters, (to save TIME), has flashing lights, a siren, and air horn, (some still have a bell)
Traffic is SUPPOSED to yield to us, though, they don’t always do so very readily, but all this to? Save TIME
We can run red lights, cross double yellow lines, shoot one-way streets the wrong way, in OUR effort against TIME
We carry hundreds of gallons of water so we can hit the fire quickly BEFORE we’re even hooked up to a HYDRANT, (more on THIS in a bit)
(Thus, saving TIME) Parking IFO one of these, same as IFO our firehouse, is ILLEGAL, (because THIS saves TIME)
While we’re responding, we’re donning our protective gear, so that when we arrive, we’re READY to spring from the rig, and into action (Saving MORE TIME)
We RUN UP, (in Gotham), to any fire on or below the SEVENTH Floor), to save TIME.
In Gotham, (though lately, tragically, the entrance standards HAVE BEEN relaxed), we’re the MOST physically fit people to do this, with our MINIMUM, of an 85 pound combat loadout, (our gear & tools), as the entrance exam was a COMPETITIVE process, (the resultant hiring list running, as the saying goes, ‘from first to worst’, to SAVE TIME).
We break down the door to the fire apartment, (WE have the, ‘keys to the City’) Waiting for, say, the Super would NOT save TIME
According to your video, IF, through the blinding, choking SMOKE, the victim were in a wheelchair, She / He / They / Them would REFUSE MY help, because I don’t XXXXXXG, ‘look like them’ ?!
EVERYTHING we do is a RACE against TIME, when LIVES are in danger.
ALL the above I’ve listed in order to REDUCE the amount of TIME it takes for us to make a difference would be okay with LESS than the optimal, MOST Physically FIT, (admittedly, young), men / women / they / them?
IF the ABILITY OF the folks who’ll be dragging the hoses, (Assuming there’s WATER), doesn’t matter, favoring instead, WHAT the folks LOOK like, (XXXX, IF what we WEAR is a COSTUME, given to a performer, rather than a UNIFORM, EARNED by its wearer),
THEN WHY ALL the OTHER things we do, to save TIME?
(And, I played football, from my youth, up through college, and even on the FDNY team, which competed in a semi pro league.
TOUGH game, (my old Pop Warner coach, Horgan, told our parents at the spaghetti dinner: ‘Football is NOT a contact sport, it’s a COLLISION sport”), TOUGH GAME. Fighting fires is even tougher, and? It sure as HELL AIN’T a GAME . . .)
The DEI argument, as applied to the fire service, should then allow that I’d finish my meal, BEFORE answering the alarm?
Or, that the rig face IN to the firehouse? (So, it’d take a little longer to BACK out, it’d be easier pulling IN)
How about, I don’t put on my protective clothing until AFTER arrival, and, ‘OH XXXX, It IS a FIRE! Guess I’d better put on my gear!”
The fire service’s mission is: The protection of LIFE and property, from LOSS by fire or other emergencies.
Does THAT answer your question, Sir, and or Madam / Otherwise
RIP ALL victims of DEI, which, in the fire service, is spelled: DIE . . .”
———–
He continued: “Testing for a cop or EMS worker, though they too respond to 911 calls, (LIFE threatening emergencies), requires some physical ability, but consider, a smaller, male or female, officer points his / her / they / their Service FIREARM at a perpetrator,
HOW much physical effort IS needed to pull the trigger? The gun is the leveler of that field.
The Officer should also be able to persuade the perp, with other than force, to comply.
(We never did ever negotiate a fire out)”
So it is looking like at least some of the fires are a terrorist attack made by Mr. Climate Change. When apprehended Mr. Climate Change was noted to have a exceptional tan, and carrying things that connected him to the United Nations. That could mean these fires were set on purpose.
I blame the government unions and the politicians who refuse to stand up to them for the exorbitantly high pay rates. Far far above the average for the area. Which I do believe adds to inflation in some ways.
As for the fires themselves I am stated by thinking they are a result of arson. They did catch one guy walking around with a blow torch but he could be totally innocent..
The water situation is all on the government of California.
Letting the green whiners have so much influence is all their fault.
Six months ago they had record amounts of rain and not one single way to save it and keep it from going into the sea.
They cut the budget of the fire department by what I would guess is maybe 50 to 60 jobs. 17 million dollars. Maybe good but not appreciated now.
The real problem is like has been mentioned above.
Permits to rebuild could be very slow in being approved. Years in fact.
Because of this they will loose billions in taxes because all those people will have to move. Will they all stay in Cali?
The federal government giving them cash to rebuild is a joke and should be limited to the same amount the state pays to the federal government each year. Maybe a small percentage more if they did not use all the available cash from the previous year. Less if they over drew in the past.
Insurance companies have the correct idea. Stop handing out the cash, especially when your taking a loss on each policy you have to payoff.
If they had to self insure against high probability natural disasters people would not move into those dangerous areas. Prices would naturally come down.. I have heard of a few people who have lost their homes 5 times in 20 years and refused to move.
Is Karen Bass a communist?
https://www.independentsentinel.com/mayor-karen-bass-revolutionary-communist/
PBS blames Climate Change on January 10.
Can anyone find someone making the claim earlier?
Man!
The more I read about the consequences of this DEI agenda, the more I am thrilled my family never got on that ‘Go West, Young Man’ bandwagon.
Sometime, somewhere, these lessons about how to destroy a state have to be written down. Future generations need to understand that older don’t just resist new initiatives because:
– They are fuddy-duddies.
– They don’t understand the science or technology.
– They just haven’t been FORCED to do what is in their best interest. Once they experience the wonderfulness, they will be grateful.
– They must be resisting because they are greedy with their wealth – of course, the solution is to tax/fine that wealth away!
– They are Racist, Sexist, Homo/Transphobic, probably secretly KKK or Proud Boys – or worse, MAGA!
If these oldsters and their controllers won’t go along, it’s just evidence that they need to be put in a nursing home, under powerful psychotropic drugs, until they conform to what has been determined to be their only choice. If they resist, refer them for Compassionate Assistance in Dying.
Practical outcomes don’t really alter anything important for people who desire, more than anything, to be smugly superior to hoi polloi, members of The Smart Set. The incentive remains, and Kipling was right. Sow, mire, dog, vomit, etc. They will just go looking for *more competent communists* to install, suffering none of the cognitive dissonance which the concept should create.
Great article…but…if anyone thinks this event will change their minds about political parties, not buying it. Not for one second. The people that have left California haven’t changed either. Had to leave Colorado last year because they just brought it all with them. They won’t change, maybe a handful, but most will go on voting for feel good measures without thought to consequence..
Mel Gibson was on Rogan the other day. He has a home in the path of the fires. He just wasn’t concerned, he can get another. Good for him. But the average person, their life may have just been upended with little hope.
I’m trying very hard to keep away from commenting on political subjects here.. but this needs to be said…
Your country need a total reset of your democratic party… Get rid of the loons and reastablish a realistic and transparent, more socialist opposition to the Republicans.
It breaks my heart to see the democrats over there shooting themselves in the foot over and over, blind to public opinion.
My politics need no further explanation, but as I have said many times, your left is not my left.
However it is important to have an opposition to push back against whoever is in power.. Imagine a US governed by the right for perpetuity… It would surely not end well. All governments need a rival to point out failings and missteps, left or right.
I have no idea where the next 4 years will take you guys… Trump is a loaded gun with the safety off… If you recall I said I would rather have Trump over Clinton last time… I’m undecided this time around… As long as he doesn’t invade Denmark I’m quite happy to be an outside observer ;-)
Good luck and health, wealth, and happiness to you capitalist right wing loonies ;-)
Lee S:
Democrats become More Socialist in America?
The Democrat party in America because they have fully embraced their Socialist social experimentation are being revealed as being authoritarian and entirely incompetent. (I call it political treason)
They value their social experimentation in the “progressive” agenda over what the people actually hired them to do, which in California for example was to have water in fire hydrants and have the man / women power in place to put out fires. It is either wildfires, mud slides or earthquakes in California that one must be ready to deal with.
And while the fires are burning today the mud slides and earthquakes are right around the corner.
https://www.sigma3ioc.com/post/never-did-ever-negotiate-a-fire-out
The Democrat party is preparing for 20 years out of political power of any consequence IMO.
All well deserved.
Let the re-founding of America commence!
Lee S,
“… but as I have said many times, your left is not my left.”
This may be true, but the Democrat Party is working very hard to become as left as your left, right down to your favorite: nationalized healthcare.
The ridiculous regulations won’t affect the rich celebrities all that much. They are wealthy enough that they don’t deal with reality, and still won’t have to. Their permits will be approved (as rich Dem donors, Newsome and his ilk will be interested enough to assure they can navigate the process) and the rebuilding will be a bit slower than otherwise. But not enough to make them reconsider their voting choices. Those who aligned themselves with conservatism will probably be unable to rebuild, of course.
The people who will really get hurt by the regulations are the more ordinary people whose wealth was largely a product of the ridiculous housing prices; they won’t have the money to rebuild anything resembling what they had, If they choose to stay in California, they will have traded their houses for condominiums in mass transit-friendly, densely populated enclaves; they’ll be fairly nice until the “urban campers” take over and the local green spaces become open sewers.
The art here is great—even if the article isn’t
https://www.groundzeromedia.org/show/1-9-25-fireside-theater-w-deborah-tavares
Chinatown (1974)
“Capable of Anything”
https://youtu.be/ppGd-2nEOVQ
Well, not so fast. Seems Gov. Gruesome finally got a clue. He’s said he’s going to fast-track building permits and suspend some of the regs, and that he’s going to go after “price-gouging” contractors and building supplies businesses.
He will probably tell Bigmouth Bass to make sure all the Dim celeb donors have as painless a process as possible (the middle classes? to heck with them, of course…).