ATTA? Who is the asshole here? Karen Bass mayor of Palisades who was in Ghana when the fires broke out? I mean how could she have known it was going to get to this level? Or the reporter for asking such questions in what appears to be an enclosed space.
I know right. Unfortunate. Maybe she would not have been of much help if she was in town. https://www.nationalreview.com/the-...lifying-conduct-during-the-l-a-fire-disaster/
She's the asshole, and I was honestly surprised the reporter had the intestinal fortitude to actually ask a question that might hold a politician accountable for something.
"Imagine" being more objective and less subjective (Yes, I'm aware that applies 100% to everyone here, and to everyone globally. Let me have my snark )
She cut $17 million in funding to the fire department before this happened. Source: https://abc7.com/post/los-angeles-c...e-palisades-signed-mayor-karen-bass/15782731/
That extra $17m would have saved the Palisades! Get your head out of your ass already. There is no preparing for something like this.
Releasing your water into the ocean while you're running a kindling garden next to a homeless pyromaniac colony probably didn't help.
That extra $17.6 million would have helped significantly. I'd say get your head out of your ass but how do you separate one half of the brain from the other?
As I understand it, that money was earmarked for training in 2025 so no, it wouldn't have helped with the current situation. And I also understand the mayor cut her trip short to come back to L.A. So other than people trying to score points from this awful affair, this all seems like a nothing burger on the political front.
I still think she's the asshole for it. Any time you cut fire service budgets in an area that is severely prone to fires, while upping the police budget yet again, you're being an asshole. Of course she came back from her vacation, though, I mean, that's her job. Plus, no one wants to look like Ted Cruz, who goes well beyond asshole.
Then there's this: LA Mayor Karen Bass faces critical leadership test as questions emerge about wildfire response Source: https://apnews.com/article/mayor-karen-bass-la-fires-leadership-99e52cf69cc656ee7e0328c6b609be74 The fire chief was begging her to increase funding in a memo last month. Don't cover for politicians who make shitty decisions. Call them on it.
Sounds to me like someone is getting caught up in all the hype without actually understanding the issue or how L.A. city council actually works.
You can just say you like her and don't like criticism of her. I see it all the time. It doesn't change that the buck stops with her, she signed the budget bills, and regarding the current situation, the pleas for more funding and resources from the fire chief fell on deaf ears. I'll gladly blame the LA city council for their bullshit, too, but the question was whether Karen was the asshole here, and yes, she's the asshole here.
Until the awful events of this week, I didn't even know who the heck she was. Conflating the current conflagration with budgetary cuts that weren't going to impact operations until months later (if at all) just reeks of finger-pointing and blame-seeking. You could have given the fire department $100 million and it wouldn't have prevented what happened or mitigated the ensuing destruction. Sweet merciful Christ.
You're free to feel that way. Also, I knew who she was before that so... I don't know how that works for you? Anyway, I was just answering the point of the thread asking whether or not she's the asshole, and I believe she is. You don't have to agree with it.
It actually validates my opinion, because I'm not coming into this conversation with bias. I took an objective look at the facts and came to a different conclusion than you. (She could still be an asshole, however. Just for different reasons. I'll defer to any of our posters who actually live in L.A.)
Some interesting quotes from this CNN article: https://us.cnn.com/2025/01/10/us/california-la-fires-emergency-prep-invs/index.html “I don’t know a water system in the world that is that prepared for this type of event,” said Greg Pierce, a water-resource expert at UCLA. ----- “We’re fighting a wildfire with urban water systems and that is really challenging,” Janisse Quiñones, chief executive officer and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said. “This is an unprecedented event.” ----- “We don’t have enough fire personnel in L.A. County, between all of the departments, to handle this,” L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said. ----- Jon Keeley, a senior research scientist for the US Geological Survey, echoed this sentiment, saying the rare combination of circumstances behind the Los Angeles wildfires made the widespread destruction unpreventable.
Anyone up for some nuance? https://www.latimes.com/california/...the-l-a-fire-department-really-cut-its-budget
If this is the case, then a lot of news outlets, including ABC, are only reporting half of the story, and if Bass really was actually increasing the budget of the LAFD rather than cutting it to supplement police, then I cheerfully withdraw my statement of her being an asshole in this particular scenario. My apologies to @We Are Borg if I seemed snippy.
I'm just curious when people are going to finally figure out not to jump to conclusions on these type of sensational headlines until they have actual facts. No one cuts a budget "because they are being an asshole." If the total amount of revenue collected by the state is X and you think your favorite program didn't get enough, then make sure and say what should be cut to make room for more money. Don't just follow mob rule and say "Duh, fire budget cut so fires out of control."
I had a news director who when discussing how to report breaking news stories used to caution us "Early reports (which are often wrong) say..."
Everyone is just happy that California is burning down due to liberal wokeness. They won't stop to breathe.