These fires have been horrific, but it is not going to be Trump/MAGA's DEI Hire "Blame the Black Woman" narrative as it pertains to Mayor Karen Bass, not as long as I have a voice and a platform, as well as millions of others who see straight through the bullsh*. This was not her fault, she doesn't control the weather. The truth is, California has been in the middle of serious drought conditions for a very long time, couple that with these hurricaine force wind events the last few days, it was a perfect storm to trigger what happened with these destructive fires.
And no one should listen to this opportunistic billionaire Rick Caruso. He was on a local news station here in Los Angeles, talking sh*t about Karen Bass, and that is a foretelling that he's going to run for mayor again. Additionally, there have been openings for firefighters and other personnel for a long time. So the budget cuts didn't have any effect on the shortage of firefighters. As a matter of fact, The Los Angeles Fire Department spent more than the allotted budget of fiscal 2023/2024.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, a White woman who was a Eric Garcetti hire, and you know where I'm going with this, in an interview with a Fox 11 reporter said said the city of Los Angeles, by implication, her boss Mayor Bass, had failed her and her department. She went on to describe the Fire Department as understaffed and underfunded, saying the situation is “no longer sustainable.” But understand this, LAFD went over their budget by approximately 66 million.
Hours later after the interview, Crowley was inside Bass’ office for a meeting so long that it intruded on the mayor’s nightly media briefing on the wildfires. Crowley also ran her mouth to Jake Tapper on CNN saying “We can no longer sustain where we are.” Crowley told Tapper that her department does not have enough firefighters. She also said the agency lacks enough mechanics to repair broken-down emergency vehicles. However, once again, there are tons of openings for firefighters and other personnel, so what is Mayor Bass supposed to do? Make people apply for the job openings? I'll wait.
City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, who helps prepare the city budget, said the department’s budget is expected to grow by more than 7% this year, once new firefighter pay raises and vehicle purchases are factored in. The department faced no financial constraints on the number of firefighters who responded to the blazes, or how long they worked, Szabo said.
The media should fact-check all of this propaganda, but unfortunately, they won't. As Mayor and even when she was in Congress, Karen Bass has worked diligently for the betterment of the people of Los Angeles, her district and for all communities. I will not stand by and allow anyone to try to blame Mayor Bass for this tragedy or try to say "you see, a DEI hire." As a Black woman myself, I saw this coming from 100 miles away. Are there some valid critiques? Of course there are. But ultimately, this calamitous fire event can be blamed on Climate Change....full stop.
I'm damn sick of Trump and his right-wing MAGAs always talking about DEI hires as if no one can run anything but a White man. Trump is the most prominent DEI hire in this country if you ask me. An adjudicated rapist, insurrection-inciter and 34-count convicted felon, will once again be the President of the United States. Let that sink in for a moment.
They can take their DEI hire narratives and shove them right up their MAGA right-wing a**es. Block out the noise and stay focused on what needs to be done to get us through these next four HELLISH years.
