Karen Bass will never recover from this

If only she had gone to Cancun, instead. No problemo!

LA should just become the world's biggest outdoor mall because Ms. Bass went out of town.

Mein Fuhrer.

You know what I love? Mayor Bass, Fire Chief Crowley, and all the LA first responders and city officials still managed to save lives and save Hollywood last night despite the MASSIVE distraction caused by the Orange Menace, Elmo, Murdoch's Fox News and their many, many flying monkeys on the media on down to shittty chaos agents all over the Internet.

Makes you wonder who really cares about America — let alone their fellow Americans— and who cares about themselves doesn't it? Nothing that those assholes brought up couldn't wait until things were under control.

She should have lead the charge to fight the flames. She could've sat on the front of a fire engine like a deaf dalmatian. She would've been able to extinguish the flames with a wave of her mayoral hand.

LA's version of Lori Lightfoot.

She's not up for re-election until 2026. Given what comes next in Washington, who knows what the mood will be by then? It's a tough spot, but there's been tougher. Still, voters are merciless and unreasonable these days. She might be a one term wonder.

It's not that she was out of town that will do her in. It's the budget cuts to the fire fighting budget.

What legitimate reason does an American mayor have for going to an African country’s inauguration? It seems like a black/DEI thing, which is why she’s being criticized.

I saw on X that someone reposted a tweet from her from several years ago condemning Ted Cruz for not being in Texas during a disaster.

So read on Bluesky a link to Politico this morning it isn't true she cut the budget.

"That assertion is wrong. The city was in the process of negotiating a new contract with the fire department at the time the budget was being crafted, so additional funding for the department was set aside in a separate fund until that deal was finalized in November. In fact, the city’s fire budget increased more than $50 million year-over-year compared to the last budget cycle, according to Blumenfield’s office, although overall concerns about the department’s staffing level have persisted for a number of years.

But the mayor’s team did not push back on the record to inquiries about Soon-Shiong’s post, allowing the incorrect information to circulate widely online for most of Wednesday. Bass briefly noted in the news conference that LAFD’s budget was higher than what was allocated on July 1."

Bass’ critics have also seized upon reports that water tanks in the besieged Pacific Palisades neighborhood had not been full, causing fire hydrants to run dry and crippling first responders’ ability to stop the vast property damage.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in a Wednesday press conference refuted those claims. The three tanks in the area had been filled to capacity with around 1 million gallons of water each, department officials said, but those supplies were tapped out by early Wednesday morning. High winds made it impossible for firefighters to use aerial means to combat the flames, putting inordinate pressure on the fire hydrant system."

Still, facts and truth don't matter any more.

OFFS, Mayors are not supposed to be chained to their desks. They can travel. If you have a good team in place, that's all you need. And when shit goes down in cities with white leaders, why isn't that called a DEI problem? People need to fuck off.

[quote]I saw on X that someone reposted a tweet from her from several years ago condemning Ted Cruz for not being in Texas during a disaster.

He took a vacation. Bass was in Ghana to lead a delegation representing the US at the inauguration of the new President of Ghana.

We called out Ted Cruz for not doing his job and we should call her out too.

This was an entirely foreseeable event that news and weather forecasters were talking about. This was not a surprise.

And frankly, Los Angeles may be better off if she isn’t in town. She looks like Kathleen Blanco all over again.

R13, I see, so he had a much better reason to be away than she did.

[quote] So read on Bluesky a link to Politico this morning it isn't true she cut the budget.

I wouldn’t expect her allies in government and in the press (and on DL) to say, “Yep, all the criticism is true.” Maybe the truth lies somewhere in between.

She was god awful yesterday. Should have skipped the whole thing for the lack of effort she put in.

Maybe the Christians prayed her away from her job the same way that they pray away hurricanes or floods or prayed Orange Jesus back into the White Power House.

Have they taken credit for the fires destroying all of the sinners' homes, yet? Or are they giving that to God?

What was the actual total budget after she cut the $17 mil? $3 mil?

Her future political career will be slightly less dead than the career of the captain of a navy ship that was off duty enjoying his sleep when some ensign runs the ship aground.

Not much less deader

Mayor of New Orleans kind of political dead future

Trollin' trollin' trollin'

[quote] Maybe the Christians prayed her away from her job

I don’t think they would pray for something so specific like that. Also, the bad karma that Southern Californians had for mocking the hurricane victims in Florida and North Carolina is not part of Christian theology.

Today's headline: Ghana Girl.

[quote] Today's headline: Ghana Girl.

Sung to the tune of Tarzan Boy.

This was a once in a lifetime event and no, she didn't know this was going to happen in advance as some troll upthread suggested.

Contrast to the Texas ice storm where Rafael Cruz fled to Cancun. He left the state WHILE the ice storm was underway. Totally different-Karen Bass wouldn't have gone to Ghana had the fires were already underway.

You MAGA trolls can GFY. You politicize EVERYTHING.

I believe the Bass allies have a response to this, but still, it is what it is:

A leader has to seem strong and “on it” during a crisis like this. And there’s precious little time and few chances to establish that image. That’s the one thing Rudy G did effectively during 9/11 and its immediate shocked aftermath.

Mayor Bass has flubbed this so far, on several small to mid size ways that all add up badly for her. She may yet recover in the coming months but it’s doubtful.

“This isn’t time for ‘Finding Your Roots’…. WE HAVE A FIRE HERE!!!!!”

R19 nearly $900M.

Progressives and other supporters can’t be delusional enough to think this fire and her public response so far won’t be a major future problem for her politically.

All the righteous indignation here in her defense doesn't mitigate her befuddled old Aunt Clara from Bewitched demeanor.

She shouldn’t have been elected Mayir.

Mayor!

R33 thank you

And for the trolls saying she has no business going to Ghana--LA is a city of 3.8 million people, larger than the population of shithole states like Wyoming or South Dakota. I didn't hear you MAGA trolls criticizing dog killer Kristi Noem for taking overseas trips.

Why do mayors of any state need to travel outside the U.S. regardless of size? Mayors should travel within the U.S. to confer with and collaborate with other mayors. What benefit does her presence in Ghana bring the citizens of Los Angeles?

Any overseas travel for governors should be based on specific objectives and benefits for their state or the U.S. Same goes for Senators/Congress people.

Leave the overseas travel and diplomacy to President, Vice President and Cabinet members.

She’s lost the Times

It's hilarious that the MAGA chuds of the DL think that american voters have a memory. If they had one, your boyfriend Donald wouldnt be president. Her election doesn't come up for another year. You all are poisoned assholes.

Looks like the Los Angeles fire chief sent an ass covering memo late last year about the effect of the Mayor’s budget cuts in responding to large scale emergencies

It’s over for Bass but that's politics. When this is over she should just resign-game over.

She may have gotten away with going to Ghana if she was black-black.

It's so weird how online Republicans have zero interest in why this happened or how to stop the next one or how to help the people affected by it. All they want to do is take a victory lap over an "enemy" going down.

It's such depressing nihilism. They don't think the real world exists. To them, it's all a game.

As opposed to DL where we are only concerned with how to prevent the next one and helping people survive this one. OK no DL threads are about that But we think it. We mean well.

protecting the mayor from any right wing criticism. . Sure but that is the correct thing to do.

What legitimate reason does an American mayor have for going to an African country’s inauguration? It seems like a black/DEI thing, which is why she’s being criticized.

DEI is conservative/RWNJ code for "Any Black person in a position of authority is never, ever qualified and only got there because they're Black." Just the latest example of the subtle, but ever-present racism coming from the right. Using their code words only diminishes the credibility of the person who decides to use it.

[quote]OFFS, Mayors are not supposed to be chained to their desks. They can travel. If you have a good team in place, that's all you need. And when shit goes down in cities with white leaders, why isn't that called a DEI problem? People need to fuck off.

THANK YOU! The double standards are clear and hypocritical.

No one's protecting anyone from anything, R43, but its just instructive how joyful these Klan Grannies are at a fire consuming a major American city cause it makes a Democrat look bad.

R45, they are doing nothing different than we do when a disaster hits a red state. The glee on Datalounge at a hurricane in Florida is completely uncontained.

🤷🏽‍♂️

Except being unready for a disaster that winds up killing thousands of your constituents isn't a problem for Republicans.

Sure it is, r47. George Bush suffered immense political damage from his careless response to Katrina.

RECALL HER. She sucks. And always has.

R6 nails it. Thread OVAH!

[quote]George Bush suffered immense political damage from his careless response to Katrina.

Nah. It was the Iraq war and the real estate collapse.

She won’t recover from this. Just like Kamala coupdjt overcome being “border czar.”

R51, the real estate collapse happened after the 2006 midterms when Republicans lost everywhere. And they lost everywhere in the midterms because of the incompetent response to Katrina as well as the Iraq war.

Dead bodies were floating down the streets of New Orleans. People were rightly appalled by that and the lack of response by Bush's FEMA director, horsie lawyer Michael "heckuva job Brownie" Brown. It wasn't a good look for Bush.

Yes, Louisianans were so mad at GWB and the Republicans that they elected BOBBY JINDAL (his predecessor didn't run).

They were so mad at Bush's incompetence that 60% of the state voted for McCain

Louisiana is full of dumbass rednecks. I was referring to the rest of the country.

If she stopped smiling mindlessly, it might help her come across like less of a moron in search of a village, but I doubt it.

Also, the village has been reduced to kindling on her watch and she doesn't seem capable of reacting naturally to this. There's not much there, there.

The lights may be on, but they just blew a fuse and set fire to the neighborhood.

I like Rick Caruso and genuinely wish he had won. But I HATE HATE HATE this reflexive Trump like instinct to come out and attack with misinformation at a time of crisis. He didn’t used to be like that. Sad to see.

R4, except for the fact that fucking cretins like YOU would be all over the mayor, fire department et al like a house on fire (pardon the pun) and putting the blame on them if they weren’t democrats. Leadership clearly did not prioritize things like, I dunno, making sure water reservoirs were full, hydrants were capable to handle a catastrophe like this, etc. Someone is going to be blamed for it and people are going to demand answers. It’s lunatics like you who cannot handle the fact that they’re democrats.

Reservoirs aren’t the problem. It was the 4x sustained usage for 15+ hours drained the tanks to which water must be pumped into uphill. LA had the water, but the tanks couldn’t be refilled faster than they were draining. That meant low pressure at the hydrants. If only LA were flat.

The reservoir thing is a BS MAGA talking point for the social media rubes/trolls. The fire wasn't even put out before Muskrat and the reich wing propagandists started in.

Karen, you in danger girl!

The wingnut propaganda sewage distribution system is still up post-election I see.

The Pacific Palisades fire is not contained AT ALL as of now.

Fun fact: Karen Bass in fact increased the LAFD budget.

But why let reality get in the way of a good wingnut talking point?

r59 = troll

[quote] I saw on X that someone reposted a tweet from her from several years ago condemning Ted Cruz for not being in Texas during a disaster.

Cruz fled AFTER the TX disaster started.

[quote] A leader has to seem strong and “on it” during a crisis like this. And there’s precious little time and few chances to establish that image. That’s the one thing Rudy G did effectively during 9/11 and its immediate shocked aftermath.

Dump bungled through Covid-19 and he just got re-elected.

Shocking that the opposition, any opposition, would take advantage of a mayor being out of the country, during a major disaster,

I bet this is the first time something like this happened

[Quote] We called out Ted Cruz for not doing his job and we should call her out too.

Completely moronic.

Bass was in Ghana when this happened. She rushed back.

Cruz went to Mexico WHILE THE CRISIS WAS HAPPENING.

Sorry r67 I just saw your post.

Fuck Bel Air. Africa is more important. Biden knows this. If we don't woo them, China and Russia are going to divide the continent up between themselves.

The interview asks stupid questions hoping to undermine her. Just STFU—she’s trying to deal with a major crisis—she doesn’t have all the answers right now

Bass couldn’t have predicted this would go so suddenly out of control. She took a flight back as soon as it did,

I don’t understand the controversy here

This kind of devastating fire was inevitable and very little could be done about it. Joe Rogan said today on his podcast that he spoke to a LA firefighter years ago who told him that one day a fire would start with the right kind of winds and LA would burn all the way to the ocean. It finally happened.

I WAS misgendered !

[quote]making sure water reservoirs were full

How are they supposed to do that? Summon rain by by magic?

Thanks R76. I was wondering when a trans-hating loon would show up

OP is the same MAGAt that spread talking points about how Gavin Newsom needs to be recalled again and again.

If Bass did a jerk move then Trump is our boyfriend. Another great mind shares.

On the bright side, Angeleno-Ghanaian relations are stronger than ever.

MAGATS all over social media trying to pin this on Newsom. They just dont ever miss an opportunity to point fingers no matter how irrelevant the situation.

[quote] MAGATS all over social media trying to pin this on Newsom.

The parties blame every disaster and negative event on the other. That’s nothing new.

Yes, r83. And who cares what MAGA does, after seeing the heart of Blue America fuck up so colossally. I’m supposed to be more afraid of DeSantis than Newsom? Ok …..

NO, not playing "Both Sides" game r83. President Biden, Obama, Clinton never went there blaming the governor of Florida for Hurricane disasters for example.

R85, I stated “the parties”.

She's a ghana for sure!

r83/r86 is also:

*Shifting Gears with Tim Allen and Kat Dennings premieres January 8!*

[quote]This shows sounds promising. They’re both very funny.

'nuff said

R1 what goes around comes around

R89, the preview and the linked article don’t match.

But the irony is clear R90

r89 appears to only post fecal matter.

Trolldar r91

R79 shows how much you know! I am the Pro Gavin Newsom troll.

Karen Bass happened out of the country when this happened, flew back the next day. Cruz LEFT DURING THE CRISIS. How do you not get the difference? Are you that much of a simpleton R91?

the trollina at R92 and R93 has worn out the letters T-R-O-L on her keyboard

Nowadays it is absolutely impossible to change a narrative once it has taken hold. The truth does not matter at all - it just doesn’t. Information comes at us so fast, there really isn’t time to go back and reassess things we’ve already decided.

She dropped the ball by NOT looking like a leader when she needed to. Point blank. That’s her undoing. Facts don’t matter. That’s her narrative now - she’s not a leader.

She is similar to Lightfoot in that both of them are Black women experiencing the glass cliff. And just as in Chicago, her male replacement will be four times as inept as she was.

Seems she chose a poor time to reduce the fire department's.

[quote] Nowadays it is absolutely impossible to change a narrative once it has taken hold.

It’s also harder to replace a simple narrative with a more complex one. I was going to say regarding the Cruz situation that people could post their points on X about why the situations are different between Bass and Cruz, but would that make any difference to people who have already heard the simpler “She criticized him for being out the country during a disaster and now she was out of the country during a disaster”?

and should be criticized for reducing the fire department's budget by $17.3M

[quote] She is similar to Lightfoot in that both of them are Black women experiencing the glass cliff. And just as in Chicago, her male replacement will be four times as inept as she was.

That’s a story of voters who are incredibly inept.

I hope Karen at least got some good Ghana dick to have made all of this worthwhile.

R95 didn’t she happen out of the country on one of the lizard planes. Or she did happen to happen after?

Remember when she was going to be Vice-President?

This would never have happened if the Mayor had been WHITE.

During a major catastrophe, r96 chooses to be an attention-starved, trifling idiot.

[quote]and should be criticized for reducing the fire department's budget by $17.3M

How would that money have reduced the wind, r101? You seem to have all of the answers.

trollina strikes again Thankfully I have her blocked and see no posts for R107 R108

It's terrifying that she was in topping running to be the VP. Why are all the elites in this country so totally useless?

[quote]It's terrifying that she was in topping running to be the VP.

r110 = retarded

She's no Mayor Pete.

The Democrats need to figure out how to fight disinformation.

Like, yesterday.

Nobody gives a fuck what is true or untrue. The only thing that matters is getting the most outrageous horseshit out first.

[quote]The Democrats need to figure out how to fight disinformation.

What are your suggestions, r113?

Racist troll trash all over this thread. Death to you all.

This is why I rarely come to DL anymore. It's overrun with brain-dead MAGAfags, straight MAGAts, and real or aspiring Russian trolls.

Bass has not handled this well, but old DL would have sent her up with wit and style.

None of that's in evidence here.

A significant portion of her campaign was based on vibes. "I'm a black woman and we've never had a black woman mayor. Aren't black women amazing, am I right?" It was nonsesne. But Democrats just eat up that kind of stuff.

[quote]What are your suggestions, [R113]?

Aggressively call out pure horseshit the moment it hits the internet.

Say, blaming the LA fires on DEI hiring. Too fucking stupid to respond to, right?

Now all the wingnut trolls on Twitter are calling this the "DEI fire".

Bullshit needs to be loudly and aggressively called out as bullshit within one business day, before it becomes accepted wisdom.

By the way, Bass was in Ghana as part of a delegation from the State Department sent to the swearing in of the new president. While she was in the House, she had worked on foreign affairs. She didn’t just pick up and traipse over there on her own.

Sadly r118, what you’re suggesting is like some guys with fire hoses trying to put out these colossal fires. As hard as you work and as brave your efforts, the sewer pipe of rightwing lies is just massive.

I’ve spent most of the afternoon pushing back against rightwing trolls spreading nonsense in Instagram comments. It’s an exercise in futility.

“ I’ve spent most of the afternoon pushing back against rightwing trolls spreading nonsense in Instagram comments”

Are you retired?

[quote]Sadly [R118], what you’re suggesting is like some guys with fire hoses trying to put out these colossal fires. As hard as you work and as brave your efforts, the sewer pipe of rightwing lies is just massive.

Then we need a few media entities that can generate a firehose of pushback. If it's fact-checking combined with some solid ridicule, all the better.

[QUOTE] Karen Bass will never recover from this

She's a former astronaut who's orbited the earth, Mary. I think she can handle it! She will bounce back from this by the next news cycle.

[quote]It’s an exercise in futility.

That's why there isn't a lot of push back. Nothing any Democrat or Democratic Party supporter could say would ever change the views of right-wing nuts and their idiotic beliefs. Calling it the 'DEI fire' just shows how fucked up and racist they are. Anything a Black person does is being called DEI because the assholes don't believe any Black person is ever qualified for any position of authority. How does someone argue with that? I say leave them alone and let them make fools of themselves. They feel emboldened now, but it won't last forever. There are more of us than they are of them.

[quote]should be criticized for reducing the fire department's budget by $17.3M

And yet had she INCREASED it by 17 million Repugs would be SCREAMING about taxes going up or how they are spent. Just like the douche Realtor on X who wanted to private firefighters to come in and save his house even though he had already left.

I’m sorry but those pin curls are not happening.

[quote]Bass was in Ghana as part of a delegation from the State Department sent to the swearing in of the new president. While she was in the House, she had worked on foreign affairs.

She’s no longer in the House. Therefore, she shouldn’t be part of a State Department delegation or working on foreign affairs.

She’s now a Mayor, a local official. She should be spending her work days dealing with local issues…like the fact that Los Angeles is literally on fire.

Did she have meetings scheduled that dealt with trade or business and LA? Trade is the one good reason to be there. That is the only reason to be there?

Even if Bass had simply went to Ghana on vacation, it would have been less controversial. People are upset because she was doing the political equivalent of raiding the gifting suite at the Oscars.

Well isn't that what political jobs are for? To enrich oneself & family members?

No, R130, that’s not what political jobs are for…although many do engage in it. For those who are caught or called out on it…the backlash they receive is warranted.

The MAGA lie machine clicked into action immediately to blame these disasters on lefty anything. We can see the evidence of it here.

Is it DEI? Trans people? Immigrants? Women in leadership roles? Take your pick.

Have Democrats run to the cameras and blamed this on decades of Republican climate denial? The actual culprit? No, but they should.

Ditto R132. You should be spokes person.

[quote] Have Democrats run to the cameras and blamed this on decades of Republican climate denial? The actual culprit? No, but they should.

There is significant climate change coverage all over these fires.

[Quote] Are you retired?

Hi obsessed stalker at r121! Have you murdered any Palestinian children this morning? 💕

r127 is also:

[quote]What legitimate reason does an American mayor have for going to an African country’s inauguration? It seems like a black/DEI thing, which is why she’s being criticized.

Is that what it seems like, r127?

R137 interesting. What else has R127 said?

You can check for yourself, r138.

the fire chief warned that budget cuts would hamper emergency response

Keep trolling, r140.

[quote] MAGATS all over social media trying to pin this on Newsom. They just dont ever miss an opportunity to point fingers no matter how irrelevant the situation.

Yet Orange Jesus has never set a foot wrong. It is beyond preposterous, it is terrifying. If Dump were ever in this position he would have done everything "perfect" and he would loudly object to any suggestion he should be accountable for the basic duties of his office -- like with Covid-19. So much effort to undermine legitimately elected and responsible government figures in the face of an Act of God.

[quote] the fire chief warned that budget cuts would hamper emergency response . I don’t know why people claim the cut didn’t happen when news organizations like CBS state that the $17.6 million cut did occur.

The $17.6 million cut was only 2% of the Fire Dept's budget.

Don't feed the trolls.

All of this will be laughable when Trump & Co eliminate social security and medicaid.

Nobody is saying that the cuts didn't occur, r143. Kindly prove that that 2% cut caused the winds.

Progressives not understanding how the voters will look at millions in fire dept cuts , opposed by the fire dept, for a mayor who was not in the country and her city burned and many died.

You thought this was going to play out some other way?

She is toast

Progressives put Newsom and Bass in office. Progressives tend to be smarter, better-educated and less susceptible to reactionary propaganda. None of us believe Newsom or Bass are responsible for climate change, our drought, the Santa Ana winds, or the acts of an arsonist. This was a long-predicted and largely unavoidable disaster.

[quote]Nobody is saying that the cuts didn't occur

Why would you post such a ridiculous lie?

Example:

R148 so why is the fire chief on record talking about the negative efects of the budget cuts?

[quote]r148 = Why would you post such a ridiculous lie?

I was referring to DL, Princess, not your specious X-cretions.

she's walking back remarks that she made a month ago. It seems absurd to cut the budget after California has experienced a record number of wildfires in 2023 and 2024

These right wingers who believe social nets are bad because charity and community can pick up the slack? Well, they haven’t given jack shit about helping. Just more divisive rhetoric. Even Jillian Michaels is whining and clawing for another 5 minutes of fame. “I don’t want to make this political.” Yeah you do dumb cunt.

The inability to blame trans people for the LA wildfires is just a complete failure of imagination, imho.

If you want to see how the fire chief really feels about the cuts to the dept don't look at old public comments don’t pay attention to any comments they may be walking back now

Look at the original dept budget request that went to the mayor. That is what the dept thought they needed.

Then for shits and giggles you could look at the entire cities budget to see what they spent their money on instead. DEI type of spending instead of fire dept type of spending that sort of thing.

That’s exactly what the press should be doing. And if she runs again for anything it’s going to come up.

[quote]—She’s fucked

No, r154, *you* are. Fucked *and* rancid.

Even if the fire dept's budget were increased, it couldn't not have stopped this crisis. The damage was just too swift

R154 .California has spent $20 billion over the past five years dedicated to the state’s homelessness crisis, including funneling money toward supporting shelters and subsidizing rent. Still, homelessness grew 6% in 2023 from the year prior, to more than 180,000 people, according to federal “point in time” data. Since 2013, homelessness has grown in California by 53%.

and they ran out of water even faster R156 leaving neighborhoods to burn

Stealth Trumptard thread.

you mean other Californians R159 because that's where so many are moving to

[quote]and they ran out of water even faster [R156] leaving neighborhoods to burn

Are you capable of *not* being retarded, r158?

Try ESL, R160.

Let’s find everything I don’t like about California and blame the wildfires.

OP is MAGAT trash lurking 24/7 to denigrate anyone who disagrees with Nazis.

R164 When you look in the mirror, are you blinded by the sign that says IMBECILE?

I wonder how many posters who have worn out the lettters M-A-G-T on their keyboards discussing the LA fires are actually from Caifornia?

Karen Bass is inept. She has done nothing to improve conditions for Angelinos both homeless and homed, bolted to Africa when she knew extreme weather conditions were approaching and continues to avoid valid questions with that permanently implanted smile on her face. She is indefensible.

r165 = bloody stool

r165/r167 - You don't live in California...butt out. DL doesn't need your imbecilic trolling right now. Go beg for attention somewhere else.

Crowley speaks out in recent interview.The fire chief said that staffing shortages and lack of resources has been a pressing issue facing the department for years

Of course you link to FOX, r170.

R169 I live in Silverlake, you idiot! Get a fucking clue.

R171And of course, you failed to comment on to the content of what the LA fire chief said, and your response is basically an excuse to use that old GIF

Echo Park is NOT Silver Lake, ghetto MAGAT @ R172.

Caruso's recently completed shopping center, guarded by private fire service, houses what is now the ONLY supermarket left in that part of town.

He's a tool, and as a Repub, is not above suspicion, and I'm being sorta serious. Craven mentality and shamelessness is their superpower.

So impressed you could spell “Imbecile,” R165. Now, keep going for that GED passing grade! You MAGATs are known for being Felonious Fatty’s most reliable demographic: the uneducated. Not a wise tactic to go after the intellect of Democrats, Progressives, etc. It is the Achilles Heel of fascists. You keep doing you though, Jethro, I’m enjoying the show! Lololol

You're fucking insane. Don't skip your meds R176.

Are there actually any good female elected officials?

[quote]Are they actually any good elected officials?

Fixed it for you and only 0.5% are. It may be lower.

I mean, it would be a significant lift for anyone to get re-elected after 350,000 acres — 23 times the size of Manhattan — and $150 billion of your city was vaporized under your watch.

This "private fire service" Caruso has:

WTF is a private fire service?

Do they have a private water supply also?

R179 I'm not saying women would necessarily make bad elected officials, I'm just saying the ones currently elected seem terrible.

R179 And you're right, lately almost all of them of any gender are bad.

The lesbian Fire Chief just pulled the rug out from Mayor Karen.

Heard on local radio here today “there are two groups of people you don’t want to mess with. People who have nothing to lose and rich people. And rich people have just been messed with. And they are about to lay down the law. This may finally change politics in California.”

Rung very true to me.

R181 Oh please. It all happened so fast. He had a couple security guards on the roof with hoses and has now transformed that narrative into his “private fire service”. Even if he had a “private fire service” nothing could have been deployed that fast.

R185 do you think it will affect how they vote?

Karen Bass will be fine...just had a bad day. NYC Mayor Adams has more felony charges upcoming so he is in bigger peril.

[quote]Karen Bass will be fine

I agree with anyone who says that she's basically the face of the problem but the causes extend beyond her. It would take massive reform of California politics to fix the systemic issues with the state and local governments.

[Quote] Karen Bass will be fine...just had a bad day.

And you’re a moronic MAGAT, R177. You are literally the LAST person who should comment on anyone else’s mental health. Lol. It is quite clear you have a personality disorder, I’d guess cluster B. So eat shit and die, you gravy sucking pig.

[Quote] Bass couldn’t have predicted this would go so suddenly out of control. She took a flight back as soon as it did,

[Quote] Even if the fire dept's budget were increased, it couldn't not have stopped this crisis. The damage was just too swift

Officials said that the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been closed since about February for repairs to its cover, leaving a 117-million-gallon water storage complex empty in the heart of the Palisades for nearly a year.

[quote] He's a tool, and as a Repub, is not above suspicion, and I'm being sorta serious. Craven mentality and shamelessness is their superpower.

It was arson and Caruso would definitely be on my shortlist of suspects.

[quote]This may finally change politics in California.

So this fire and the victims will lead the charge to turn the state Republican? Or they believe the right-wing misinformation?

Seriously, what's the logic behind this? I'm just trying to figure it out.

R185 = James Woods.

They were so unprepared no matter what the cause was. Firefighters routinely check hydrants by opening them to see if they working to capacity. This in a state that has experienced so many wildfires!

Too many fucking people on the planet! And that includes LA. Things would be much nicer if you assholes wouldn't keep popping out babies.

This has nothing to do with Karen Bass but her job would be easier with less people.

FEWER people, R197.

You can die in a fire and reduce the surplus population, as far as I care.

Or acquaint yourself with the very basic grammar rules about "less" and "fewer."

Well the good news is that the mayor has a lot of company with other major city mayors around the country

Underfunded under staffed under equipped fires depts.

R197 don’t worry tobacco smoking and AIDS is still killing plenty of people even if these fires don’t.

Breathing the toxic air in Los Angeles may very well kill them as well R200

r183 Female politicians/elected/appointed officials are every bit as bad as males.

AOC/Bass dem ticket🤣

"Too many fucking people on the planet!"

sooo, whatcha waitin for r197??😅🤣

Lots of anger at MAGA here. Meanwhile, Gavin and Karen ....

R202 another in a long line of Americans sitting and watching and yacking on the Internet while others try?

We don’t run for office we don’t serve in the military we don’t serve as police or fire—-but we have lots of complaints about those that do.

This is america on the left and right and in the middle.

Serving is what others do then we complain when they do.

^I agree, Maybe bringing back mandatory military service with options to work on climate change would be a good idea.

R207 A mandatory draft for climate change, active duty military, peace corps or similar, urban or rural clean up, border security, etc

We are now a country of non serving slugs who fucking complain about everything.

Bass’s collapse is complete; she will never be president.

Fire chief has the last word.

[quote] Bass’s collapse is complete; she will never be president.

That is too bad, it was her heart's desire to be the first, 80 year old Black female President.

Bass/AOC 2028

Don't even joke about it, R212. This is the Democratic party we're talking about.

"Why that's so crazy it might just work!"

[Quote] Well the good news is that the mayor has a lot of company with other major city mayors around the country

[Quote] Underfunded under staffed under equipped fires depts.

Hopefully R199 those words will bring some small comfort to those 180,000 people who had to evacuate their homes with little more than the clothes on their back and in some cases leave their cars on the road as their city has become 38,000 acres of debris roughly two and a half times the size of Manhattan. Schools, places of businesses to say nothing of homes are now a pile of rubble. The cleanup and the rebuild will be massive and will take years. Meanwhile many will be out of jobs, students will be out of school and people will have to look for somewhere else to live.

[quote]And rich people have just been messed with. And they are about to lay down the law.

Bitch excuse me?

The rich built tacky, ginormous wooden houses nestled between gigantic piles of dry tinder.

LA's water system is built to handle individual house fires, not an entire fucking burning city.

Unless they have plans in the works to limit emergency services to households with over $5 million net worth I don't see what they plan to do.

R214 just as your words on DL will bring those poor people small comfort.

Recall effort underway. 65,000 signed in so far—-that number being reported anyway.

[quote] the fire chief warned that budget cuts would hamper emergency response

I saw that bitch on CNN. Blaming everything on budget cuts. To which I say, when does a fire chief of a big city ever say We don't need any more money? Just once I would like a TV talking head to mentions the $200,000 salary they get in LA. It's a bit excessive in my opinion. Why is it every time the people vote to give them more money they just increase the salaries but never higher more firefighters?

[quote]Recall effort underway. 65,000 signed in so far—-that number being reported anyway.

Ah yes, lets recall the Democrat and put in the other guy who lost because nothing says competences like more Billionaires running the country and now the city. That is what this is all about.

R218 The Daily Mail reports the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) CEO Janisse Quiñones was hired by Mayor Karen Bass on a $750,000 salary in May.

I don't care if they recall Bass, but for the love of god we dont need another Billionaire. That guy who almost won is a rich version of Tulsi Gabber. He changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat just to run for mayor. He's on a power trip.

Billionaire developer and former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso hired private fire crews to protect Palisades Village - an upscale outdoor mall owned by the businessman. No word on where he got his private water.

"So Rick directly or indirectly contributed to the fires by diverting resources to himself and away from the greater population. I think this needs to be investigated ASAP', one user wrote on X. "

That would be an interesting investigation: the mayoral candidate who lost managed to keep his properties from burning down while the mayor was jetting off on a vacation. Please definitely do that investigation!

R218 if some makes $200,000 running one of the largest fire depts in the world, then I am guess that people who write for TV shows should make about $35,000 a year?

Just as many wealthy people have private security, they may employ private fire companies as well R233

Did the private fire fighters take from what was needed by thr LA fire dept to fight these current fires or where they involved all along preventing and protecting these rich people homes from fires?

If it’s #1 caruso needs to be in jail if it’s #2 he is a hero that saved people

[quote] if some makes $200,000 running one of the largest fire depts in the world, then I am guess that people who write for TV shows should make about $35,000 a year?

R223, that is not the salary of the fire chief, [bold]that's the average salary of the Firemen! [/bold]

What's wrong with 100k? Most people don't even make half of that. It's not supposed to be a job you go into for high income.

R220 = Euro MAGAT

That article sourced from the Daily Fail. There were NOT empty reservoirs and every city on the planet has a few broken fire hydrants. Which were not the problem by the way. The pumps didn't work because the DWP turned off the power to prevent even more fires starting from downed electrical lines.

R226 I am going to guess that you have no link of substance that shows the average firefighter salary in LA to be $200,000

My link R228 is I know someone personally. That figure is what they make, which is kind of hidden from the public because they get paid double time and overtime. It adds up. But dont take my word for it, here you go:

"The average total compensation for a full time firefighter in a California city is $207K per year. This consists of $105K in base pay, $40K of overtime, $14K of “other pay” (including “lump sum pay”), for an average total pay before benefits of $159K. Employer paid benefits added another $49K, with $33K of that being a contribution towards their retirement pension, along with $16K for other benefits, mostly current health insurance."

Firefighters earn similar salaries in many major cities across the country.

[Quote]There were NOT empty reservoirs

R227 Where do you get your misinformation from? Your prolapsed bASS?

What is it with some of you that you can't accept a Democrat can fuck up too? Tribalism is no use.

Let's please get rid of the inept mayor with a Joker smile permanently implanted on her face as the world falls apart around her. She has done NOTHING for LA except enlarging the bureaucracy at a cost of billions of dollars. No progress on the homeless (actually, we have more homeless now than when she took over), no progress on crime, and no water for these fires. Stop defending her ass, she's inept and focused solely on her own career.

I want her to stay her entire term. It’s important that voters feel the full brunt of the consequences of their votes so that they learn from the experience.

Sorta like Trump's next 4 years? Did work last time.

*didn't

[Quote] What is it with some of you that you can't accept a Democrat can fuck up too? Tribalism is no use.

TDS

[quote]This consists of $105K in base pay, $40K of overtime, $14K of “other pay” (including “lump sum pay”), for an average total pay before benefits of $159K. Employer paid benefits added another $49K, with $33K of that being a contribution towards their retirement pension, along with $16K for other benefits, mostly current health insurance."

All that’s relevant here is the “base pay” of $105k. That’s their salary. The overtime pay is additional money they can choose to earn if they want. And employer-paid benefits like retirement and health insurance are just that…benefits. That money is not part of one's salary and isn’t part of their take-home pay.

R232, = MAGA troll posting from LA Times, the same source that refused to endorse the Harris after all other years picking someone to endorse. It's run by Patrick Soon-Shiong: the billionaire LA Times owner.

But even so, one tiny reservoir does not prove jackshit, the fires were all over LA and there are many many other reservoirs to pull from. Ever hear of Lake Hollywood? It's 1,000 times larger than the little piss pot you posted about.

[quote]What is it with some of you that you can't accept a Democrat can fuck up too? Tribalism is no use.

Get back to us when MAGA or Trump admit to ANYTHING they have fucked up. Until then, stop clutching your pearls about tribalism.

And you enjoy Narnia, little ostrich.

R240 Sorry Miss Information but your proplased bASS is wrong again. The Governor is calling for an independent investigation into the matter. And your attempts at diversion are as obvious as they are irrelevant.

A reservoir that could've helped fire crews fight the Palisades Fire was out of use when the fire began destroying Los Angeles County.

The Santa Ynez reservoir had been closed for repairs to its cover, and was empty of its usual 17 million gallons of water.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, in a statement, ordered an investigation into the lack of water, said that Californians "need answers to what happened," and called the issue "deeply disturbing."

Sorry MAGAT R243, why don't you fill in the rest of the statement from your own article:

Governor Newsom has ordered an independent investigation, while the [bold]DWP general manager Martin Adams said that the Santa Ynez Reservoir being filled with its 117 million gallons of water would have “helped” but not “saved the day.”

[Quote] My link [R228] is I know someone personally. That figure is what they make, which is kind of hidden from the public because they get paid double time and overtime. It adds up. But dont take my word for it, here you go:

Sure, Jan Your link is up your ass, and we don't have a colonoscope and you don't have any credibility.

R244 Martin Adams the DWP is covering his ass. So like you he's trying to downplay the imprtance of working hydrants and an empty reservoir

Gus Corona, business manager for IBEW Local 18, the union representing DWP employees, supported Newsom’s call for accountability. He encouraged city leaders to evaluate the work of the DWP’s general manager and the entire water group leadership.

^^^Martin Adams the general manager of the DWP

I know Glenn Greenwald is not liked around here but Maybe Lee Fang is? Anyhow, this is a very informative interview I liked about Karen Bass's trip, etc.

Karen Ass

Karen Bass is going to resign, but there's no way Caruso would replace her. He's widely despised, another asshole billionaire. He hired a private firefighting team to fight protect his Palisades mall development, but used county water.

[quote] [R218] if some makes $200,000 running one of the largest fire depts in the world, then I am guess that people who write for TV shows should make about $35,000 a year?

The Fire Chief makes $700,000 a year, firefighters make $200k+.

It is staggering how MAGA controls the narrative with fake news and social media. No half-wit need bother to try to think for themselves and discern fact from falsehood if some lame brain media entertainer wants to blames wildfires on DEI, a Black mayor or a lesbian fire chief. Everyone is just so dumb and gullible and hateful. But not hateful enough to blame a natural disaster on a white guy like Trump, DeSantis or Abbott.

Oh please OP.

It's not like she was prez during a deadly epidemic that killed 2 states worth of citizens.

That would be a dealbreaker for most of the voting public.

She is 71 y.o. Does it matter if her political career does not recover from this? Or does America only elect Geriatrics to high office now?

R254 in an era of Biden, McConnell, Pelosi, and Kay Granger, yes, 71 = spring chicken.

[quote] but used county water.

Was he supposed to use water from Neptune?

Seriously? The implosion of her political career is the LEAST of her problems. $50 billion (and climbing) in insurance claims, most of which are unlikely to ever be paid out by a teetering insurance industry? She'll be lucky if she's able to flee to Ghana again and get some form of refugee status, with 24-7 security from the military.

How is she responsible for the actions of insurance companies and the industry as a whole? They've been fucked up for a while now. They might run her out of office, but out of the country is a bit of a stretch.

Insurance prices and dropping people have been off the hook for that last 2 to 3 years. This started long before she was elected to office. What is DeSantis doing about it in Florida?

Oh, look over there! And what is Gov. Nuisance doing about it?

I know nothing her, but criticism of a local politician for leaving his home base seems far-fetched. Mayors are ambassadors as much as they are wearers of a few other hats. Had she been there the moment the forest started it wouldn't seem that the problem would not have happened, or that it might quickly have been extinguished. Politicians travel outside their constituencies, it's to be expected. The one precaution is that they should always have an eye to returning home in the event of crisis, and of not spending government funds frivolously. Their first comment on a crisis at home should be from the airport after aborting the foreign mission. Being photographed sunbathing at an oceanfront luxury hotel and having the per night rates published is not a good look to contrast to a city destroyed by storms or fire, but to expect she should never leave town is stupid.

Criticism of budget cuts is fair play, of course.

R261 Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass previously told The New York Times in 2021 that she didn't plan to travel internationally when elected mayor of the city, as reported by the outlet on Sunday.

Bass said in 2021 that should she win her election, "not only would I of course live here, but I also would not travel internationally — the only places I would go would be D.C., Sacramento, San Francisco and New York, in relation to L.A," the Times reported.

She didn't see the bid for the Olympics that early? She was in Paris for the closing ceremony.

The New York Times reports that Bass has taken five international, city-funded trips since taking office — despite committing to stopping international travel in a 2021 interview as she ran for office.

In addition to her Ghana trip, Bass has traveled once to Mexico and three times to Paris for the Olympics.

This is pretty simple. This is a traumatic time. People are lashing out because they feel powerless, frightened and confused. They usually lash out at authority figures. Unfortunately for her, there's circumstances that make her the best target for people's emotions. Had she been in town and buckled down right away, maybe it would be somebody else. Probably whoever runs water, given what people think happened with the hydrants. Or the fire chief.

None of this is fair but it is one of the risks of crisis, for the people in charge.

You could speculate it shows a weakness is Bass' popular support or performance. I don't know the lady or how she is at her job or what life in LA feels like under her tenure. But it's like Biden and Harris getting the boot over inflation. Bad things happen that aren't really in your control but you get held responsible anyway because it happened on your watch. It's just one of the ugly realities of political life. Emotion prevails far more often than reason and understandably so, if regrettably so. It's just how people react to huge bad things they can't control.

R265 Despite Proposition 1 being approved by voters 67.13% Yes/32.87% NO no new reservoirs have been built in the last 10 years!

The measure enacted the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014. Proposition 1 authorized the issuance of $7.12 billion in general obligation bonds for state water supply infrastructure projects, such as public water system improvements, surface and groundwater storage, drinking water protection, water recycling and advanced water treatment technology, water supply management and conveyance (storage, dams, and reservoirs), wastewater treatment, drought relief, emergency water supplies, and ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration. It also authorized the appropriation of money from the General Fund to pay off the bonds and required certain projects to provide matching funds from non-state sources in order to receive bond funds.[2]

The measure enacted the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014. Proposition 1 authorized the issuance of $7.12 billion in general obligation bonds for state water supply infrastructure projects, such as public water system improvements, surface and groundwater storage, drinking water protection, water recycling and advanced water treatment technology, water supply management and conveyance (storage, dams, and reservoirs), wastewater treatment, drought relief, emergency water supplies, and ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration. It also authorized the appropriation of money from the General Fund to pay off the bonds and required certain projects to provide matching funds from non-state sources in order to receive bond funds

Specific spending proposals in the proposition included:

$2.7 billion for water storage, dam, and reservoir projects

I hope the New York Times will remain that attentive to federal government officials once the Orange menace and his cult occupies the White House again.

R267 I imagine you think your response somewhat negates the validity of complaints against the government in California.

She needs to resign or be recalled. But, we shouldn't forget the other leaders of the city/county. The city council members and the county Board of Supervisor have some blame too. All those have blood on their hands for the detestation and murder that was caused.

Does she though? I am (sadly) old enough to remember the sound and fury over Clinton/Lewinsky. Everybody was fucking furious with him (and rightly so, the old, undignified dawg.) But time passed, emotions cooled, and his resignation was neither wanted nor necessary, even though you know who pressed on.

There's retarded and then there's r269.

R269 - help me understand why you feel my statement is "retarded". Please elaborate.

R70, hearing that your president got his dicked sucked in the White House is nothing compared to your home buring down. The only thing IMHO that will help Newsom is when the Republicans overreach and try to deny Californians financial aid unless they change their environmental policies. I'm not sure if Bass will be helped by this.

Karen Bass sucks ass.

[quote]Had she been in town and buckled down right away, maybe it would be somebody else. Probably whoever runs water, given what people think happened with the hydrants. Or the fire chief.

Nope, any Democrat who was Mayor would get that attack. Just look at how they are ALSO trying to blame Newsom. This is pure political attack strategy, has nothing to do with the actual problem. No one on their side has so much as a freak out calling for a resignation when Ted Cruz of Texas went to Cancun during the actual power disaster happening there.

Of course it’s political. But Cruz is a legislator. He had no authority to do anything during that power disaster. Bass is the chief executive of LA. She is in charge of the city response. Very different.

That's BS r276. Cruz is still a servant of the people of his state. And he left during the crisis not like Bass who was out of state when it happened. If Cruz were a Democrat, guarantee Fox News would be all over that.

Large cities like LA run on their own, with hundreds of top level managers and heads of departments, they don't just sit there and wait for the Mayor to chime in. In most cases the Mayor is really just a figure head.

[quote] We called out Ted Cruz for not doing his job and we should call her out too

She was doing her job, dumbass. Cruz was on vacation.

Cruz left for the Cancún vacation [bold]AFTER[/bold] the disaster in Texas was underway and the state population was in big trouble.

Bass had no business on that trip at all. She clearly enjoys globe trotting, even after vowing not to do so. Three trips to Paris for the Olympics this year? The inauguration in Ghana, please. Warnings on the potential for these fires were well underway before she left.

The utter incompetence is staggering in the response to this disaster .

The Paris trips make sense though, since LA is hosting the Olympics next. She accepted the Olympic flag.

Either way, you can't live down partying in Ghana during one of the biggest natural disasters in US history.

Oh please, look at all the MAGA fks whining about a per-electiion comment from the Mayor, meanwhile Dump as done this thousands of time and no one says his career is over.

[quote]Either way, you can't live down partying in Ghana during one of the biggest natural disasters in US history.

Now that would be scandalous if there were photos of her actually partying and living it up in Ghana. If there's actual proof of that, then yes, she'd be in deep shit. Otherwise, the criticism has been normal politicking by people with their own ambitions and motives.