Joseph Merritt

You cut fire prevention; LA burned. You spent $24 billion on homelessness; it rose 40%. You reduced penalties for violent crime; it's 31% higher in California than in the US as a whole. And instead of taking responsibility, you're trying to become an influencer. It's pathetic.

Nothing could have been done to stop the catastrophic L.A. fires that killed 24, incinerated 12k homes, and cost $250B, say the media. Nonsense, says an LA firefighter. The failure by Newsom & Bass to mobilize firefighters before the fires began led to an avoidable catastrophe.

They defunded the fire department, drained the reservoir, and cut the budget for fire prevention. Yes, incompetence. Yes, ideology. But the underlying reason they let LA burn is because, deep down, they hate civilization. Me with @JillianMichaels

There's no shortage of police in L.A., said @GavinNewsom a few hours ago. In fact, L.A. has far fewer police per capita than other big cities. And now, the protesters have overrun the police and blocked the highway. Video: @anthonycabassa

A lot of people are upset about these images of violent protesters in Los Angeles waving the Mexican flag. If they love Mexico so much, why are they so upset at enforcing our laws against illegal entry? To fully appreciate their significance, it’s important to understand that, over the last several decades, the people who run California and its major cities came to a new consensus: a large number of our laws were racist and oppressive. Democrats increasingly viewed laws against illegal camping, open-air drug dealing, shoplifting, burglary, arson, and unlawful border crossing not as tools for protecting neighborhoods and preserving public space but rather as tools for putting poor people and racial minorities in prison. The idea took root that order itself was a façade, a way for the rich and comfortable to criminalize the marginalized. So, one by one, Democrats stopped enforcing and weakened laws against drug dealing, illegal camping, prostitution, public defecation, and drug use on sidewalks. Cities stopped enforcing anti-camping ordinances. State leaders directed prosecutors not to charge certain drug crimes. Federal immigration laws were nullified by city policy. In the name of compassion, progressives dismantled the foundations of public order. Over the last few days, we’ve seen the consequences of this ideology erupt in the streets of Los Angeles. Protesters attacked federal agents during ICE operations, hurled bricks and fireworks at officers, torched vehicles, and defaced public buildings. All of it was filmed, cheered, and amplified on social media.... These weren’t quiet acts of nonviolent protest. We don’t know whether all the protesters were American citizens, and I am on the record vigorously defending the rights of the accused, including due process for those in the country illegally. But just as I believe the government must obey the constitution I also believe people must obey the law and our leaders must enforce it. And yet California’s leaders not only did not defend the law, they condemned those who tried. Governor Gavin Newsom called the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to restore order “purposefully inflammatory.” Mayor Karen Bass said, “We will not stand for this,” referring not to the attacks on police officers or destruction of public property, but to the federal response. She reaffirmed her administration’s ties to immigrant advocacy groups and made clear her allegiance was with the protesters, not with the law. What’s truly inflammatory is not sending in the Guard. It is standing by while mobs pelt law enforcement with bricks and fireworks, then accusing those officers of oppression. It is watching public spaces descend into chaos while calling the enforcement of laws the problem... If you're not already a subscriber, please subscribe now to support Public's award-winning reporting, watch the full video, and read the rest of the story! xitter.gq/shellenberger/status/1…