WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:03.160 I want to talk about the horrible wildfires. 2 00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:08.199 In Los Angeles and kind of what this might mean 3 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:13.160 for the Gavin Newsom legacy. The obvious human toll of 4 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:16.320 it is terrible, their homes being destroyed, their people's lives 5 00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:23.960 on the line. First, though, let's talk about city government 6 00:00:23.960 --> 00:00:26.519 in Los Angeles. 7 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:28.879 And the total. 8 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:39.280 Incapacity of modern day liberal When you have modern day liberals, 9 00:00:39.320 --> 00:00:42.759 with their modern day liberal approaches to the world, their 10 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:48.799 focus on DEI, I think it leads to a competency crisis, 11 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:55.920 where basically, when the far left completely controls an area, 12 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:58.920 they are incapable of running it. You see this in 13 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:01.679 city after city after city that is completely governed and 14 00:01:01.719 --> 00:01:06.319 administered by the left. When the left completely controls your 15 00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:10.959 criminal law enforcement, it's a disaster. When they control the 16 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:14.840 provision of city services, those city services suffer. They do 17 00:01:14.920 --> 00:01:20.120 great with diversity, equity, and inclusion, but not very good 18 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:26.200 at the actual purpose of those city services. Here's a 19 00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:32.239 news story from recently about the new LA Fire Department 20 00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:36.599 fire chief, which, by the way, they've got problems because 21 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:42.680 I guess apparently in La Fire hydrants weren't fully loaded, 22 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:49.079 like they didn't have enough water on hand, so this 23 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:53.280 is leading to problems with fighting fires. But here is 24 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:57.280 a news story from looks Like from ABC seven in 25 00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:03.920 Los Angeles about the first gay female fire chief for 26 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:05.799 the LA Fire Department. 27 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:10.000 Ellen Caulleen. The discrepancies are a start, even just on paper. 28 00:02:10.919 --> 00:02:14.560 The LAFD this year hired its first ever female chief, 29 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:18.159 and it says so far this year, eight percent of 30 00:02:18.199 --> 00:02:20.719 its applicants have been women. That might sound like a 31 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:23.759 small number, but it's actually twice the percentage of female 32 00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:28.560 firefighters currently in the department. Every day, the LAFD is 33 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:31.080 called upon to respond to crises, and today it is 34 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:33.120 taking a step to resolve one of its own. The 35 00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:36.719 department's first ever Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Bureau will launch 36 00:02:36.759 --> 00:02:39.919 in January, one year since its first ever female fire chief, 37 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:41.639 Christian Crowley, was appointed. 38 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:45.520 So by creating this new bureau, our Diversity Equit Inclusion Bureau, 39 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:48.919 now we actually have the staff to do the work. 40 00:02:48.960 --> 00:02:51.319 When it comes to doing a deep dive in regard 41 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:53.000 to how we do business, how we take care of 42 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:56.319 one another in the fire stations and in our work environment. 43 00:02:56.439 --> 00:02:58.360 The plan is to do so by adding training and 44 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:01.919 enforcing accountability. Calls for accountability have echoed for years. In 45 00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:06.639 twenty twenty one, women's advocacy groups, including one representing female firefighters, 46 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:09.960 pushed for changes at the highest level, saying, all right. 47 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:10.879 It goes on and on and on. 48 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:17.080 So first the news report calls it a crisis that 49 00:03:17.159 --> 00:03:21.879 within the LA Fire Department women are underrepresented. Then you 50 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:25.599 had this quote from the LA Fire chief that, oh, 51 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:28.479 thank god we have a DEI department because now we 52 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:31.240 can really get down to doing the work. 53 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:38.159 To solve how we take care of each other within 54 00:03:38.199 --> 00:03:41.439 the fire station. Which is like. 55 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:45.360 And I see this, by the way, again and again 56 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:53.159 and again and again with liberal government workers, teachers' unions, 57 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:58.639 public sector unions, I think have a lot to do 58 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:09.199 with this attitude. The focus of government work as being 59 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:17.120 a job's program for the workers, an inward facing. 60 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:19.240 Set up. 61 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:26.160 As opposed to this, government work is ordered towards helping 62 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:30.639 other people. The point of the fire department is not 63 00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:36.319 to benefit the lives of fire workers. The point of 64 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:40.160 public schools is not to be a job's program for 65 00:04:40.360 --> 00:04:43.920 teachers and school administrators. The point of the police department 66 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:48.959 is not to represent the diversity of the community. The 67 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:53.959 point of city workers is not again that it's some 68 00:04:54.040 --> 00:04:58.279 kind of government jobs program. The point of all of 69 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:01.920 these things, which when liberals get in charge, I think 70 00:05:01.959 --> 00:05:06.079 this is lost sight of because they are so obsessed 71 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:12.120 with DEI, so obsessed with being pro labor, so obsessed 72 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:18.240 with all of these this panoply of sort of leftist 73 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:23.959 concerns that we forget what's the whole point of these jobs. 74 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:28.639 Like within the context of schools, if someone says, hey, 75 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:32.920 should maybe teacher pay be somehow tied to teacher performance? 76 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:37.000 Oh my god? What what kind of a monster are you? 77 00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:38.680 That's outrageous. 78 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:43.600 That's the genuine reaction you'll get from from the teachers 79 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:49.600 union if you dare breathe the suggestion that maybe teacher 80 00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:52.839 pay should be tied to student outcomes in some way, 81 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:53.800 shape or form. 82 00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:57.639 WHOA, what the heck are you talking about? 83 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:06.879 That's a anti labor and it's missing the point. What's 84 00:06:06.920 --> 00:06:11.759 the point of the teachers It's not to be a 85 00:06:11.879 --> 00:06:14.639 jobs program for teachers. What In the context of this 86 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:19.120 fire department discussion here for the l A F D, Oh, yeah, 87 00:06:19.160 --> 00:06:21.279 we need to get the DEI program because oh, we 88 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:24.319 got all this problem. This is massive underrepresentation of women 89 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:28.839 within the fire station with this baffled. Ho, why could 90 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:31.560 that possibly be that there aren't as many women who 91 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:35.040 sign up to be firefighters? Hmmm, as if it's one 92 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:37.519 of life's great unscrutable mysteries. 93 00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:47.959 Inscrutable, I guess, unscrewab inscrutable. Yeah, oh, we gotta really, 94 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:49.560 we gotta bump up these numbers. 95 00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:54.000 We need a DEI proper as opposed to, Hey, what's 96 00:06:54.040 --> 00:06:57.120 the job of a fire station? It's to put out fire, 97 00:06:58.839 --> 00:07:05.199 It's to respond to emergencies. That is the t lose 98 00:07:05.560 --> 00:07:09.120 the end goal towards which the fire department is oriented, 99 00:07:09.240 --> 00:07:14.360 not DEI whatever. Also, by the way, every employer the 100 00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:20.600 idea that you need a DEI department in order to 101 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:24.519 correct I'm not sure if that's exactly where this news 102 00:07:24.519 --> 00:07:27.519 story was going, But if there are allegations of sexual 103 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:31.600 harassment or something in the workplace, or improper treatment of 104 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:34.800 female employees within the fire station, you don't need a 105 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:36.759 DEI department. 106 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:36.839 To deal with that. 107 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:41.639 We already have laws on the books in California, laws 108 00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:48.959 governing how employers conduct themselves that can address problems like that. 109 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:53.759 You don't need a DEI department. You don't even need 110 00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:59.439 a DEI department to deal with like hiring discrepancies, If 111 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:04.680 they are actually the result of discrimination on the part 112 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:08.000 of employers, you don't need a DEI department to deal 113 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:20.439 with that. Unlawful Gender based discrimination is already unlawful. But 114 00:08:20.680 --> 00:08:24.040 the focus here is so much on these things that 115 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:29.560 are just ancillary internal workings of the internal mechanics of 116 00:08:29.560 --> 00:08:33.480 the fire department, without any sort of sense of no. 117 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:39.759 The actual job of the fire department is putting out fires. 118 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:42.960 It's right there in the name fire department. It's not 119 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:46.960 the DEI department. It's not the making government employees feel 120 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:50.200 good department. It's the fire department, and its chief goal 121 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:54.240 should always be effectiveness of emergency response. 122 00:08:55.240 --> 00:09:04.840 That's the point. And I. 123 00:09:06.679 --> 00:09:08.279 There are some people who will try to make the oh, 124 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:11.240 there's a walk and chew gum fallacy. They can be 125 00:09:11.240 --> 00:09:14.600 concerned about DEI and also be concerned about, you know, 126 00:09:14.840 --> 00:09:20.559 firefighting effectiveness. I don't believe that. I honestly don't believe that, 127 00:09:21.039 --> 00:09:22.120 not all the time. 128 00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:26.720 I do. Yes, I acknowledge that people can walk and 129 00:09:26.759 --> 00:09:27.159 chew gum. 130 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:30.159 At the same time, I acknowledge that maybe there could 131 00:09:30.200 --> 00:09:34.720 be a scenario where someone can spend a lot of 132 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:39.799 time and effort focused on DEI initiatives, but also really 133 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:44.240 be focused on firefighting really effectively, and that maybe one 134 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:47.000 won't detract from the other, But. 135 00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:46.799 I don't know. 136 00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:50.440 I mean, if you have a fire chief, that person 137 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:52.759 only has so many hours in their day. They have 138 00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:54.679 only so many hours of their day to work on 139 00:09:54.960 --> 00:10:00.679 buttress support, engage with problems within the fire department. 140 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:02.759 And I think if you're. 141 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:05.000 Spending a lot of time on exit does lead to 142 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:14.279 less time on why. And you know, and again, let's 143 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:17.200 let's look at Los Angeles. This is a city government, 144 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:28.039 city government, county government completely dominated by Democrats. They only 145 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:31.600 just now got rid of George Gascon, their ultraliberal district 146 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:35.480 attorney for La County, but short of that they had 147 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:40.799 complete one left control. Karen bass Is their mayor, who, 148 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:46.200 by the way, as of early this morning, was not 149 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:51.639 in Los Angeles. She was in Ghana for the inauguration 150 00:10:51.879 --> 00:10:58.639 of its president Ghana, the African country of Ghana. I 151 00:10:58.679 --> 00:11:00.720 hope in the next election that she will be a 152 00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:05.440 Ghana But you know, if she loses, it'll only be 153 00:11:05.480 --> 00:11:06.320 to another Democrat. 154 00:11:08.120 --> 00:11:12.039 But it's astonishing to me how every. 155 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:16.360 Single part of this country where Democrats have complete control 156 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:20.679 over some over a city or over a state. The 157 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:24.000 whole thing has fallen a hell in a handbasket. And 158 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:28.000 more and more commentators, even of the left, are starting 159 00:11:28.039 --> 00:11:35.240 to notice the massive ineffectiveness of the left in being 160 00:11:35.240 --> 00:11:39.240 able to actually build infrastructure projects, being able to actually 161 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:43.759 govern cities effectively, being able to actually reduce crime, actually 162 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:46.720 address homelessness. I mean, they are even Liberals in California 163 00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:49.240 who are starting to be like, how many billions of 164 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:52.720 dollars has Gavin Newsom spent on homelessness and it's the 165 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:56.919 situation is still not improving. How many billions of dollars 166 00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:59.000 have we spent on the high speed rail and it's 167 00:11:59.159 --> 00:12:04.279 still not anywhere close to being done with any real 168 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:08.519 prospects of getting finished. How many gazillions of dollars have 169 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:14.320 we spent on you know? I think Biden had some 170 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:19.840 whole like Wi Fi infrastructure thing, a broadband infrastructure program 171 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:20.120 that they. 172 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:22.559 Spend billions of dollars on, and it's accomplished. Jack. 173 00:12:27.559 --> 00:12:33.519 I think Liberals are having some real trust deficit problems 174 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:39.000 because it's very hard for someone who's a genuine although 175 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:41.240 they keep voting for Democrats in California. 176 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:41.960 Jes Louise. 177 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:44.639 But I'd have to think if you're a genuine independent 178 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:48.080 who is looking at the situation of California right now, 179 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:52.440 you can't look at the situation and think, boy, the 180 00:12:52.440 --> 00:12:54.679 Democrats sure are doing a great job governing the state 181 00:12:54.679 --> 00:12:58.399 of California. All of the things that were problems ten 182 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:05.559 years ago are still problems today, worse. I'm not sure 183 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:09.360 that there's a single thing. I mean, if they're not worse, 184 00:13:10.039 --> 00:13:13.759 they're about as bad. 185 00:13:14.919 --> 00:13:15.120 Here. 186 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:21.720 We've got massive wildfire problems, you know, after four years 187 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:25.240 ago we had horrible wildfires, and Gavin Newsom in all, oh, 188 00:13:25.639 --> 00:13:27.440 this wildfire thing is such. 189 00:13:27.320 --> 00:13:28.240 A terrible problem. 190 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:30.559 He did the sort of Gavin Newsom thing where something's 191 00:13:30.600 --> 00:13:32.840 been a long standing problem in California, but then it 192 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:35.200 happens while he's governor, and then he's like, oh my gosh, 193 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:37.679 this thing just fell into my lap. What a what 194 00:13:37.799 --> 00:13:40.840 a terrible thing that now I must deal with? Ah, 195 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:44.360 poor poor me. This problem has fallen from the sky. 196 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:46.639 I could have never predicted it, could have never imagined it. 197 00:13:46.679 --> 00:13:48.799 When everyone could have predicted it, imagined it. It's been 198 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:51.480 a long standing problem in California for years and years 199 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:57.440 and years. The problems without controlled wildfires. So Newsom in 200 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:00.000 twenty with the bad wildfires we had in twenty twenty, 201 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:02.879 twenty twenty one's, oh my goodness, how terrible this is. 202 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:10.759 What a surprise that this has become a problem? Makes 203 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:13.480 all these grand promises, for all these wonderful ways he's 204 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:16.240 going to fix a beefing up, CalFire, beefing up all 205 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:19.399 this stuff, and then mean to in the meanwhile, here 206 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:24.039 we are with these horrible wildfires in Los Angeles, threatening homes, 207 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:32.159 threatening lives. Clearly he hasn't done enough to be able now, 208 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:35.559 And I mean, I'm I'm trying not to be unfair, 209 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:41.519 Like how you know, how fair is it to judge 210 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:46.080 Gavin Newsom on? You know, can you is it possible 211 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:50.039 to fully eradicate the problem of wildfires in California? I 212 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:54.759 don't know that that's fully possible. There are a lot 213 00:14:54.759 --> 00:15:01.960 of things that are outside of his control, but I 214 00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:04.679 know that the kinds of I mean, he was resisted 215 00:15:04.759 --> 00:15:07.559 in a lot of the policies he was promoting by 216 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:11.799 people like the Sierra Club, who were constantly pushing on 217 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:14.879 him to never dare cut down any tree ever, even 218 00:15:14.919 --> 00:15:18.679 though thinning of forests and things like that controlled burns 219 00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:21.399 and things like that are actually a useful way to 220 00:15:21.480 --> 00:15:28.879 reduce the risk of more serious wildfires. So, you know, 221 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:32.200 I can't say I know one hundred percent how Newsom's 222 00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:35.840 policies may have contributed or not contributed to this problem, 223 00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:42.159 but it's certainly nothing has really improved, it doesn't seem. 224 00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:47.080 I mean, we've got this Palisades fire that's burned over 225 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:56.519 twenty nine hundred acres, it's threatening ten thousand homes, and meanwhile. 226 00:15:56.120 --> 00:15:58.120 The fire chief for the city of la. 227 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:01.840 Is going on and on and on about DEI and 228 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:03.879 she's far from the only one. I mean, the government 229 00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:07.799 of workers all up and down the state, in Democrat 230 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:12.600 controlled areas have had this massive focus on DEI initiatives 231 00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:17.480 while their city services or county services or governmental. 232 00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:20.279 Services that they were actually supposed to provide were not 233 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:21.279 really being provided. 234 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:27.440 When we return, more thoughts on governor gave his various 235 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:30.879 wardrobe changes for when he's roughing it, and more about 236 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:33.360 the fires next on the John Gerardy Show. 237 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:36.399 One question I have. 238 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:41.240 About these wildfires now I know what is causing them 239 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:46.759 to spread. You have the Santa Anna winds, you have 240 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:53.960 dry conditions. Once a fire gets started and the Santa 241 00:16:53.960 --> 00:16:57.159 Ana winds are blowing. That's, you know, in some of 242 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:02.279 the foothills and mountainous areas around Los Angeles, US. You know, 243 00:17:02.440 --> 00:17:06.839 that is a perfect recipe for disaster, and especially for 244 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:10.160 areas with lots and lots of trees. I've got ember 245 00:17:10.200 --> 00:17:11.799 I've seen some of the videos of these fires. 246 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:12.440 You've got these. 247 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:15.000 Embers just flying all over the place, floating all over 248 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:18.039 the place like you know, dry conditions. 249 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:19.519 This is a recipe for disaster. 250 00:17:21.400 --> 00:17:29.200 I'm wondering what started them, though, very often wildfires get 251 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:39.480 started by human activity, whether it's a car, some kind 252 00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:42.839 of car explosion, or something sparking, like a kind of 253 00:17:42.839 --> 00:17:48.039 a converter, something going wrong with a car that's often blamed. 254 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:54.960 Sometimes wildfires get started by arsonists. Sometimes it's started by 255 00:17:55.039 --> 00:18:00.319 lightning strikes, although that doesn't seem like that's the right 256 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:09.880 explanation for this particular wildfire. So my mind is starting 257 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:13.039 to wander, and I will freely admit here I am 258 00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:18.440 going into the realm of wild reckless, possibly irresponsible speculation. 259 00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:21.839 So just understanding that I don't know this at all 260 00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:26.960 to be true. Understand this is again John gerlready engaging 261 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:30.720 in wild wild somewhat reckless speculation. 262 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:34.240 Okay, here we go. I've given you that caveat means 263 00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:35.200 I can say whatever I want. 264 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:45.160 I wonder with these wildfires, given that it seems like 265 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:51.119 some of them are starting near major roads, given that 266 00:18:53.599 --> 00:19:01.200 the you know, given that starting around populated areas. Also 267 00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:04.079 given the timing of it, this is a weird time 268 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:09.000 for big wildfires to happen, even in La right. I mean, 269 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:13.279 it's January. It's not like this is, you know, September 270 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:18.880 or October. Yeah, I could understand September. It's tinder dry. Still, 271 00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:21.920 it's still pretty hot. You've had three months of no rain. 272 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:25.519 You know, it's a tinderbox just waiting to go up. 273 00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:31.680 It's January. 274 00:19:31.720 --> 00:19:32.480 It's not. 275 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:39.920 That kind of conditions. And I genuinely wonder the following 276 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:46.039 at my office a right to life, and I know 277 00:19:46.119 --> 00:19:47.960 this is a problem throughout the city. There are problems 278 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:56.240 with homeless people lighting fires. Okay, my office. In November 279 00:19:56.279 --> 00:20:00.440 of twenty three, I had someone break into my office, 280 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:02.799 into the bathroom and light a fire under my bathroom 281 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:10.799 sink because presumably this person was cold. I've seen people 282 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:14.440 lighting small fires on the street right outside of my business, 283 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:19.839 asked the fire department to come out for it. Actually, 284 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:21.799 what I was really doing was asking nine to one. 285 00:20:21.799 --> 00:20:23.920 I was just calling nine one one. Mostly I was 286 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:26.640 wanting the police to get the person to leave. I 287 00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:29.519 didn't actually really need a whole fire truck to deal 288 00:20:29.559 --> 00:20:31.960 with the situation. I wanted the police to make this 289 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:34.240 almost person who had let a fire in front of 290 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:40.519 my business to go away. But in winter, that's what's happening, 291 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:47.400 and it's a very common phenomenon throughout California, where homeless 292 00:20:47.400 --> 00:20:50.759 people are cold at night and they try to find 293 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:54.240 a way to keep themselves warm, they light fires. These 294 00:20:54.279 --> 00:20:56.680 are often not people who are making the best decisions 295 00:20:56.759 --> 00:21:00.480 or practicing you know, ideal eagle scout level fires safety. 296 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:11.319 And sometimes homeless people are living near on under freeways 297 00:21:11.400 --> 00:21:15.440 freeway overpasses that have a lot of dry grasses and shrub. 298 00:21:16.519 --> 00:21:18.359 There was a big, really. 299 00:21:18.119 --> 00:21:21.680 Bad fire near freeway in Los Angeles I believe last 300 00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:26.440 year that was caused by homeless people. This is not 301 00:21:26.519 --> 00:21:35.200 an uncommon phenomenon, and it seems as though no one's 302 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:38.119 It seems like fire authorities have not really identified the 303 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:41.519 source of the fire yet, Like I don't know, I 304 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:43.960 did a Google search how did the wildfires in Los 305 00:21:43.960 --> 00:21:45.960 Angeles start? And I get to a USA Today story 306 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:48.000 how do the wildfires in Los Angeles start? And it 307 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:50.440 says we don't actually know, so it seems like that 308 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:53.480 has not been identified. So I apologize if I'm engaged 309 00:21:53.519 --> 00:22:01.119 in wild speculation here, but it doesn't feel like and 310 00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:04.440 again I'm engaged in speculation here. I don't know this 311 00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:09.640 for effect, but I will say, if it turns out 312 00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:13.240 that this was caused by homeless people lighting fires, it 313 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:19.079 wouldn't shock me. It wouldn't shock me because this is 314 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:22.400 a weird time of year for wildfires to be happening 315 00:22:22.440 --> 00:22:27.920 in January, it's cold at night. It would sort of 316 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:31.160 make sense that if it was started by something, it 317 00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:34.640 could have been started by homeless people lighting fires and 318 00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:36.480 all of a sudden that fire gets out of control. 319 00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:41.079 I'm again, I don't know that that's what happened. It's 320 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:45.000 kind of speculation. It's one hundred percent speculation at this point, 321 00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:51.039 but it would perhaps be consistent with my own experience 322 00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:54.920 and with a phenomena that is phenomenon that is happening 323 00:22:54.960 --> 00:23:01.039 all up and down the state. I want to talk 324 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:05.400 about Gavin Newsom and his wardrobe changes. We got some 325 00:23:05.559 --> 00:23:10.440 updates on the high speed rail and the competence gap 326 00:23:10.759 --> 00:23:13.640 that we see in California. That's next on the John 327 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:19.079 Gerardi Show. Good Old Gave, Good Old. Gavin Newsom I 328 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:22.559 think is sort of desperate for some aspect of the 329 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:28.200 high speed rail to be functional before he leaves office, 330 00:23:28.759 --> 00:23:31.039 or certainly at the very least for some aspect of 331 00:23:31.079 --> 00:23:34.279 it to be functional before twenty twenty eight when he's 332 00:23:34.359 --> 00:23:40.240 running for president, because he had a very consequential decision 333 00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:45.279 that he made in January of twenty ninth. Is starting 334 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.400 in January of twenty nineteen, after he became the governor, 335 00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:53.640 there was a lot of thought that Newsome was not 336 00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:57.440 as enthused about the high speed rail project as Jerry 337 00:23:57.440 --> 00:24:00.480 Brown had been. I mean, the high speed Rail was 338 00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:05.799 already looking like a disaster, a complete flop in twenty 339 00:24:06.519 --> 00:24:12.200 twenty eighteen and twenty nineteen, and there was a thought 340 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:18.480 that Newsom would retreat from Jerry Brown's just unbridled commitment 341 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:24.000 to the project, and from most of the reporting, it 342 00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:27.000 sounded like that's what was going to happen. And then 343 00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:30.720 Organized Labor got to him and basically convinced him to 344 00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:34.519 change his position to not abandon high speed rail, but 345 00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:38.759 to focus on we're gonna get Merced to Bakersfield done, 346 00:24:40.160 --> 00:24:43.519 and that's been the Newsome pasture ever since. We're gonna 347 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:48.559 get Merced to Bakersfield completed. Once we complete mer said 348 00:24:48.599 --> 00:24:52.119 to Bakersfield, that will demonstrate the viability of the system 349 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:57.000 more broadly viability, that's the term they used. And from 350 00:24:57.039 --> 00:24:59.960 there that will give us the momentum needed to get 351 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:04.400 the funding necessary to extend this all the way from 352 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:10.240 San Francisco to Los Angeles. That was the new some postures. 353 00:25:10.279 --> 00:25:14.599 So Newsom had the opportunity to just cut bait from 354 00:25:14.680 --> 00:25:21.759 this sunk cost or to carry on, and he chose 355 00:25:21.799 --> 00:25:23.799 to carry on, and that was I think it's going 356 00:25:23.880 --> 00:25:26.200 to be a very consequential decision of his. It's going 357 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:30.240 to be very consequential for his prospects of whether or 358 00:25:30.279 --> 00:25:35.359 not he can be president because by choosing not to 359 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:40.559 cut out this sunk cost, I think Newsom has doomed 360 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:43.599 his chances or or severely harmed his chances of being 361 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:46.559 president because there's no way the high speed rail is 362 00:25:46.599 --> 00:25:49.000 going to get done in the timeframe that he wants. 363 00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:51.640 There's no way the high speed rail is going to 364 00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:53.400 get done in a way that's not embarrassing to him. 365 00:25:53.400 --> 00:25:57.359 So yesterday, excuse me. 366 00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:01.160 On the sixth, rather, Newsom tweets out, we're opening twenty 367 00:26:01.240 --> 00:26:04.400 twenty five with a bang. We're moving into the track 368 00:26:04.519 --> 00:26:08.680 laying phase for the California High Speed Rail And there's more. 369 00:26:09.079 --> 00:26:13.240 California is also building towards connecting California High Speed Rail 370 00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:17.880 Authority with other projects, beginning a regional high speed rail network. 371 00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:26.400 Now it shows him laying track, but it's not the 372 00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:29.640 actual high speed rail track. It's just track that seems 373 00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:33.480 to be laid purely ceremonially so that he can stand there. 374 00:26:34.039 --> 00:26:38.519 And I my wife sent me the tweet about his 375 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:42.319 tweet about it, and my wife and I have noticed 376 00:26:42.359 --> 00:26:48.240 this that Newsome is never wearing, you know, less than 377 00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:52.119 a five thousand dollars suit, but when he is, he's 378 00:26:52.200 --> 00:26:54.640 now started to have a lot more of these photo 379 00:26:54.680 --> 00:27:00.880 ops of him quote roughing it and his wardrobe anytime 380 00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:04.839 he's doing some kind of outdoorsy quote roughing it job. 381 00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:06.640 Is so funny. 382 00:27:06.640 --> 00:27:13.720 It's so funny just how obviously carefully he's selecting his 383 00:27:13.880 --> 00:27:18.319 wardrobe to be just precisely so, like, yeah, he's got 384 00:27:18.319 --> 00:27:19.359 his sleeves. 385 00:27:19.240 --> 00:27:21.400 Just rolled up about a quarter length. 386 00:27:22.880 --> 00:27:25.599 He's got you know, he's got a shirt that's it's 387 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:27.720 kind of like a rough in it sort of shirt, 388 00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:31.839 but it's almost certainly costs like two hundred dollars, you know, 389 00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:35.960 three hundred dollars para jeans, you know, two hundred dollars 390 00:27:36.079 --> 00:27:41.839 pair of boots. My my sister in law, My sister 391 00:27:41.880 --> 00:27:45.599 in law who manages I think it's a bunch of electricians, 392 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:50.880 like like an electricians, an electrical company. So she's she's 393 00:27:50.920 --> 00:27:53.160 sort of the one who's sending electricians off one place 394 00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:55.599 or another. So she's around all these working class dudes 395 00:27:55.640 --> 00:28:00.680 all the time. She noted, Ah, let's see, she noted, 396 00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:07.200 nothing says roughing it like unused goat skin gloves, immaculate 397 00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:11.359 goat skin gloves. That he's wearing an unblemish pair of 398 00:28:11.400 --> 00:28:14.079 white goat skin gloves. So he's got this pair of 399 00:28:14.160 --> 00:28:17.720 gloves on, and he's grabbing like a pickaxe or something like, Oh, 400 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:22.640 I'm working on the railroad. Yeah, And my wife texted 401 00:28:22.680 --> 00:28:27.920