Bill Maher is back and took no prisoners regarding the Los Angeles County wildfires. I know he’s bound to make some stupid remarks about conservatives in due time, but the man might be pushed toward leaving the Democratic Party if the lack of common sense keeps up. In the closing editorial, he had taken a flamethrower for California liberals for the gross incompetence and outright negligence exhibited in responding to what will become the costliest natural disaster in American history.
The HBO host appears to have had it with the excesses of American liberalism. Sure, he likely doesn’t mind paying high taxes, but he also would like to see results. He aptly described California as a state where paying high taxes gets you nothing, threading a quip about the long-overdue, over-budget, and all-around quagmire that is the high-speed rail network.
He later took a speargun to the political leadership, like Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said the local folks would figure out why there was no water. The reservoirs were not filled, fire hydrants were disappearing, robbers stripped some for their parts, and the comedian called Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass the Nero of American politics for partying in Ghana as the state burned.
Maher also touched on the irony regarding protocols blocked to prevent wildfire outbreaks, like clearing vegetation around the hills and under powerlines. I don’t care about global warming, but these people do., and for all the whining about saving this flower or that bush, a wildfire is immensely more damaging to the planet. The 2020 wildfires wiped out almost a generation of greenhouse gas reductions, which Maher quipped meant that people suffered for nearly 20 years driving those early model Priuses for nothing.
The HBO host then tore into the woke DEI nonsense, saying that the Los Angeles area got their asses kicked by fire, something the Neanderthals were able to handle, but at least their fire chief is a lesbian. Yes, LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley has been right to call out the mayor’s office for the budget cuts, which degraded her department’s capabilities. Still, her diversity obsession also killed the LAFD. No one cares if the firefighter who saves your home or life looks like you. Maher noted that this would be rightly viewed as racist if a southern sheriff said the same line.
No, woke initiatives aren’t the primary reason for the fires, but as Maher concluded, “It’s also not wrong to associate some of the unforced errors our government made with the things normies see as hallmarks of uber-progressive politics, questionable budget priorities, high taxes that get you nothing, making everything about identity politics, [and] virtue signaling overseas instead of tending to the nuts and bolts at home.”
Common sense must return, or another wildfire will burn out of control, and it could engulf the heart of LA.
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RealClearPolitics transcribed the entire commentary:
BILL MAHER, HBO: And finally, new rule, we may not be able to do much about the weather, but we do need a better plan for putting out a burning city than waiting for rain. America is so partisan now that even when there's a disaster of any kind, so many people choose to defend their own team, even over death. A lot of Democrats in this one-party state this week went right to, don't blame politicians, you can't do anything about the wind.
Which is exactly half-true, the wind part. Yes, fire is a tough fight out here, and yes, global warming absolutely makes it worse. But that's largely out of our control.
What are we going to do, pass a ballot measure to make sure Chinese stop burning coal? It's also, yes, undeniably true that LA is built in a stupid place to build a city. But when it's not on fire, it's really quite lovely.
And it's my home. And stupid as its origin may be, it's not going anywhere. Axios ran a story on how getting the water out of the hydrants in Pacific Palisades was more complicated than it seems.
I'm sure it is. I'm sure it's very complicated. That's why I pay 13% of my income in this state every year to people who I assumed were working on things like this.
When asked why so many of the hydrants in the Palisades ran out of water, Governor Newsom said the local folks are trying to figure that out. Yeah, you've got to do that before the fire. At least in the Palisades, the hydrants were still there.
300 other ones around the city are just gone, stolen for parts. One of the three reservoirs for the Palisades was offline at the one time of year when it was most needed. L.A.'s Mayor Karen Bass, the Nero of American politics, was fiddling in Ghana while the city burned and later placed the blame on eight months of negligible rain and winds that have not been seen in L.A. in at least 14 years. Yeah, that's not that long a time. Maybe look in the history books to see how our ancestors handled it back in 211. The mayor said about cuts to the fire department's budget, There were no reductions that were made that would have impacted the situation.
The fire chief here had a slightly different take. She said, We are screaming to be properly funded. And yes, the budget was cut and it did impact our ability to provide service.
And by the looks of all the fire engines in the boneyard out of service because we didn't fix them, she's right. Exposed power lines keep causing fires and keep not getting buried underground because it's expensive. I've heard people say, Do you want to pay more taxes to fund this?
No, I want you to use the exorbitant taxes you already collect to prioritize it. The power lines that cut through Topanga weren't upgraded because it endangered an herb, the milk vetch, which sounds like something they serve at Passover. I mean, talk about not seeing the forest for the trees.
You know what the absolute worst thing for the environment is? Wildfires. A 22 study found that the smoke from just the two in 2020 wiped out 18 years of carbon reduction in the state, which means we suffered the pain of driving those early model pre California is the place that spends money and gets nothing, which is why you may have noticed when the fires broke out, no one escaped by high speed rail.
We have the highest marginal tax rate in America, higher than almost all other states and soon Greenland. What is included for that? Breadsticks, because it clearly doesn't cover fire.
That's government's job. Protect us from crime, violence, theft, fire. I'm not saying Alabama would have done better with fires by fighting them with prayer in school, but look me in the eye and tell me anyone could have done worse.
We just got our ass kicked by fire. Something Neanderthals fought to a tie. The good news is our fire chief is a lesbian.
Am I against a lesbian being chief? Of course not. Do I think a lesbian can do the job?
Of course I do. And maybe she's the best person for the job, or maybe they really wanted a lesbian in that job and she's just the best lesbian for the job. And with essential services, that's not good enough.
Crowley's official bio says, Chief Crowley leads a diverse department, creating, supporting and promoting a culture that values diversity, inclusion and equity while striving to meet and exceed the expectations of the communities. Well, you didn't exceed my expectations, which was that the whole city wouldn't burn down. But it's telling that diversity is mentioned twice before we get to while, while striving to meet expectations.
Now, can you do two things at once? Yes. But it matters where your head is.
Deputy Chief Kristen Larson said this.
DEPUTY CHIEF KRISTEN LARSON: LAFD FIREFIGHTER: You want to see somebody that responds to your house, your emergency, whether it's a medical call or a fire call, that looks like you.
MAHER: Which would sound kind of racist if a Southern sheriff said it. So, so, so we should be sending white firefighters to white houses and black ones to. Who teaches people this bullsh*t?
No one cares what someone looks like when they're pulling you out of a burning house. Larson also seems to believe that if a female firefighter can't pick up a man, it's his fault. She said he got himself into the wrong place if I have to carry him out of a fire.
Well, tell that to these guys, because who pays the highest price when politicians don't prioritize basic services? The first responders are heroes who every time go above and beyond because they have to, because we leave it all to them. Now, is wokeness the main reason for the fires?
Of course not. But it's also not wrong to associate some of the unforced errors our government made with the things normies see as hallmarks of uber-progressive politics. Questionable budget priorities, high taxes that get you nothing, making everything about identity politics, virtue signaling overseas instead of tending to the nuts and bolts at home.
Cali has no shortage of safety commissions and agencies and bureaucrats and regulators and, of course, sign language interpreters who communicate with their face. But common sense? We better get some of that back soon, because wildfires in California are like boob jobs in a strip club.
Inevitable, and they're only going to get bigger.