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"Creating, supporting, and promoting a culture that values diversity, inclusion, and equity while striving to meet and exceed the expectations of the communities..."
That is an excerpt from the bio on the Los Angeles Fire Department website of Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, who by the way bears a striking resemblance to Fox News Channel's Saturday morning host Will Cain.Â
On the same website you can read the bio of the Director of the Equity and Human Resources bureau, Kristine Larson, who is paid $399,000 per year. "She has completed a DEI certification program from Cornell University and is participating in the International Association of Fire Chiefs' Diversity Executive Leadership Program which aims to advance DEI within the fire service."Â
And then there's Central Bureau Commander Richard Fields IV, whose bio describes him as "an advocate of personal and professional development, his leadership and mentoring efforts are dedicated to the equity, diversity, and inclusion of all members in advancing the future leaders of this department."
LA Mayor Karen Bass, who just had her political career destroyed by Sky News reporter David Blevins, cut $17.6 million from the fire department's budget for fiscal year 2024-2025, although she tried to cut $49 million but fortunately failed. Where did the money go? To fund the following programs- a "Midnight Stroll Transgender Cafe," the "Gay Men's Chorus of LA," the NAACP Awards, the "One Institute Gay and Lesbian Archives," "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Heritage Month Programs," and "Social Justice Art-Worker Investments," among many other far left pork barrel causes. Â
While Los Angeles burned, Bass was in Ghana on the taxpayers' time and dime at the inauguration of its new President, for no apparent reason. You might remember the big freeze in Texas in winter 2021. During that crisis, Bass tweeted at Senator Ted Cruz, "Ted Cruz fleeing Texas in the middle of a deadly crisis is part of a larger pattern of the GOP abandoning folks in crisis." Karma really is a female dog, isn't it Ms. Mayor?
In 2014, the citizens of California approved Proposition 1, which green lighted the issuance of $7.1 billion of bonds to finance water projects, including $2.7 billion to finance water storage infrastructure. Only one of those projects has commenced construction, after 10 years mind you, and none will be completed in the next 3 years. Out of the $7.1 billion borrowed, only $177 million has been actually allocated, and because of inflation, the amount borrowed will fall far short, by as much as 30%, of the amount needed to make the improvements. Meanwhile, due in large part to these projects not being completed, the fire hydrants in LA have run dry.
In 2007, the Sierra Club successfully sued the National Forest Service and Federal Bureau of Land Management to stop them from creating a program for controlled burns- also known as fuel reduction- which is successfully practiced nationwide to reduce wildfire risk. By the way, the Sierra Club is a radical left-wing group that practices institutional capture, meaning that it sues governments to stop proper land and water management and development, and then in many cases buy the land after the suit for pennies on the dollar. They also are part of the Obama strategy of sue and settle, where left wing organizations sue a particular federal agency, keeping in mind that both are aligned with the left. The agency settles and that settlement becomes codified by the court as law while sidestepping normal legislative and rulemaking processes.
This morning, Joe Biden stated that the federal government- meaning you and me- will cover 100% of the costs of the wildfires and he said he told Governor Newscum to spare no expense to do whatever he needed to do. So just like Europe and NATO, California gets to borrow, tax, and spend on far-left social causes and welfare with little to no regard for their own safety and defense, because We the People will always bail them out, whether we like it or not.Â
As recently as 1988, the GOP won California's electoral college votes and the GOP had a say in the state government. Those days are long gone. The likes of Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Nancy Pelosi, Gavin Newsom, Kamala Haris, Karen Bass, and Adam Schiff have destroyed the state, killed their people, and are breaking them financially, and it affects all of us.Â
Fret not, though, the California Assembly has called for a special session starting today. However, it is not to address the fires, it is to strategize on how to use lawfare and the courts to stop the coming Trump administration.
What is happening in Los Angeles is a cautionary tale of the very real dangers that result in the emphasis on DEI and the de-emphasis on meritocracy, the pursuit of innovation and excellence, and running government like a business.
Perhaps we should all heed the words of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote "The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness." The government of California and Los Angeles have failed miserably in that regard. As for the people, they are having to live the proof of another Jefferson quote, "The government you elect is the government you deserve."Â Â
God speed to all those affected.Â
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