- cross-posted to:
- wired@rss.ponder.cat
- cross-posted to:
- wired@rss.ponder.cat
Summary
As California battles its worst wildfire, consuming 28,000 acres and killing five, MAGA figures, including Trump and Elon Musk, blame DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) initiatives instead of climate change.
Trump attacked Gov. Gavin Newsom over false claims about water policies, while right-wing media targeted Kristin Crowley, LA’s first LGBTQ fire chief, for prioritizing DEI.
Musk amplified conspiracy theories, and MAGA commentators linked DEI to the state’s firefighting challenges.
Critics dismissed these claims, citing unprecedented fire strain, climate change, and misinformation.
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This is eerily similar to the disinformation campaigns that ran during Australia’s bushfires. So many people were parroting the lie that somehow the Greens with no majority in government sneakily introduced “green tape” that prevented the firefighters from their usual hazard reduction burns. In reality, firefighters were prevented from doing hazard reduction burns due to the increasingly small window to safely do so due to climate change. The situation was so frustrating that the Rural Fire Service had to specifically address all the “bUt whAt aBouT HaZarD REduCtiOn bUrNs” during a press conference
Disinformation and lies are spreading faster than Australia’s bushfires | Bushfires | The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/12/disinformation-and-lies-are-spreading-faster-than-australias-bushfires
DEI is the reason the mayor took millions from the fire department and gave it to the police department while letting private fire fighting companies use the public fire hydrant system.
To fight DEI, we need to defund the police and ban private fire fighting.
- Musk blames DEI
- DEI is corporare scapegoat for capitalism
- Therefore Musk blames capitalism
How did this happen?
Obviously a DEI fire.
The fire chief likes the wrong genitals, that is why the fire is so big! Logic!
The fire chief likes the wrong genitals, that is why the Lord sent a scourge! Logic!
Dei is reason for:
Global hunger, micro plastics, long lines at the voting booths, the lies about there being long lines at the voting booths, shoes not being comfortable, electronics not lasting very long, cars breaking down, bad bridges, pot holes, bad drivers, long wait times at the doctor, sun burns, fat people, diabetics, no cure for cancer, bad singers on singing shows, ….
Really? We have prisoners fighting the fires, and arguably they are a very diverse group of minority and white people, more likely a lot of minorities thanks to our legal system and poverty. Perhaps we should make sure this diverse group avoids republican voter’s property so they won’t be offended? They can wait for the all-white fire crews to get to them. Eventually. Maybe. If there are any all-white crews.
Are they 10% minority though?
“all-straight-non-millenial-white-guy fire crews”
There is no bad thing in the world that the right-wing can’t and won’t blame on a group of people they hate for simply existing.
That’s very Nazi-esque of them.
… and not very cash money of them.
Including all the many, many wonderful things they will say are bad
To be fair, there are a lot of people who somehow find a way to blame Trump for every bad thing.
Trump is responsible for a lot of bad things.
Hard to argue against facts and truth, yet MAGA finds a way.
Right, but not ALL of them.
Blaming Trump for the few things that aren’t his fault vs HIM GETTING AWAY WITH TREASON seems to be the best trade we’ll get.
If Musk and Trump were actually as smart as they think they are they would have kept their mouths shut. There was obvious mismanagement by the state and local government to allow this to happen but that’s going to get buried in a pile of right wing conspiracy theories. The only people who are going to lose in this situation are LA residents.
Can you clarify the obvious mismanagement? It doesn’t seem obvious to me
They cut the fire department budget to give to the LAPD
Is there documentation of this?
Los Angeles reduced its fire department budget by $17.6 million (2%) for the 2024-25 fiscal year, while increasing the LAPD’s budget by $126 million. This decision has drawn criticism amid devastating wildfires, with concerns that the cuts hindered emergency preparedness and response capabilities[1][2][9]. Mayor Karen Bass defended the budget, citing firefighter raises and equipment investments, but critics argue the reductions impacted core operations like training and brush clearance[1][8]. The LAPD now receives 15% of the city’s budget, compared to 6% for the fire department[2].
Citations: [1] A month before fires, L.A. fire chief warned budget cuts were hampering emergency response https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-wildfires-los-angeles-fire-chief-budget-cuts/ [2] LA Budgeted Money For Cop Jobs While Cutting Fire Department Positions. Now the City Is Burning. https://theintercept.com/2025/01/08/la-police-budget-palisades-fires/ [3] Los Angeles mayor slashed fire budget last year, prioritized homeless population https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/los-angeles-mayor-slashed-fire-budget-prioritized-homeless [4] LAPD Budget Approved: $2.14 Billion Spending Plan for 2025-26 https://svanc.com/2024/11/27/lapd-budget-approved-2-14-billion-spending-plan-for-2025-26/ [5] Los Angeles cut $17.5M from fire department budget months before deadly fires https://abc11.com/post/los-angeles-cut-175m-fire-department-budget-months-before-palisades-signed-mayor-karen-bass/15782731/ [6] A Closer Look at Mayor Bass and the Budget Cuts to the L.A. Fire Department https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/09/us/la-fire-department-budget-bass.html [7] Los Angeles cut $17.5M from fire department budget months before … https://6abc.com/post/los-angeles-cut-175m-fire-department-budget-months-before-palisades-signed-mayor-karen-bass/15782731/ [8] Did Mayor Karen Bass really cut the fire department budget? The answer gets tricky https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-10/how-much-did-the-l-a-fire-department-really-cut-its-budget [9] Yes, Los Angeles cut $17.6 million from the fire department’s budget https://www.krem.com/article/news/verify/money-verify/yes-los-angeles-cut-176-million-from-the-lafd-fire-departments-budget/536-4b902910-08f5-42d5-bc5e-bdfad1cb0560 [10] Los Angeles Fire Chief: City Failed Residents with Fire Department … https://www.nationalreview.com/news/los-angeles-fire-chief-city-failed-residents-with-fire-department-budget-cuts/ [11] Los Angeles Democrats Cut Fire Department Funding while … https://www.leftvoice.org/los-angeles-democrats-cut-fire-department-funding-while-boosting-police-budgets/
Oooooooof god damn, ok then
When the real news is in the comment section
Thank you
Conservative Playbook:
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Find something. Anything. Literally anything. Doesn’t matter if it’s real or not.
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Whine and complain.
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Convince the other absolute dumbest members of society that the people they also don’t like are the root cause of the thing, whatever it is, real or not.
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Gain control through these fear/ignorance tactics.
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Do absolutely, positively nothing, at all, for the average American while in power.
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Rinse and repeat.
The richest person in the world bought the Speaker’s Corner so that he and the slightly less rich people won’t get the blame for anything because he can nip in the bud any contrasting narrative. Point 2, 3, 4 are esponentially easier.
True.
And the saddest part? The majority of Americans are so feeble and uninformed that they HELPED him do it and idolize him for it.
It’s like a poorly written made for TV movie.
I would change step 5: Do things that make life actively worse for the average American while in power. Convince the morons that it was somehow the other parties fault.
Canada is at step 4.5: push the incumbent non-conservative out of office so that can be used in election attack ads later: “cool hair guy ran away.”
Fascism is a disease. It spreads. That’s why Nazi Germany didn’t act alone. They had allies. Canada’s neighbor is flirting with fascism (a far right extremist ideology) and now Canada is getting infected. Parts of Europe too.
That’s why you stamp fascism out with extreme prejudice as soon as it rears its ugly head. America has categorically failed to do so. Hopefully Canada can correct itself.
Fear centers engaged. Brain disabled.
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LA destroyed by woke firestorms.
Don’t look up
Hey, WIRED and the rest of the corporate news excuse for journalism, look at this. This? This is bullshit. Don’t report on it.
Specifically don’t repeat it uncritically. Especially in the headline.
This is your first and only warning of this pathetic and incompetent administration.
Tell em, dude.
It’s been driving me nuts watching these corporate news clowns keep repeating/amplifying this kind of bullshit.
Corporate news isn’t about reporting. It’s about clicks. They will always be biased to clickbaity, sensationalist shit.
It isn’t fixable without changing the system within which the media operates.
That’s quite the stretch but I also didn’t expect a brain worm to be nominated for secretary of health
while right-wing media targeted Kristin Crowley, LA’s first LGBTQ fire chief, for prioritizing DEI
“Chief Crowley, people are trapped because others abandoned their cars on the highway! How can we get through to them if the roads are blocked??”
“Give me a moment, damnit! I’m checking our response team ratios. We should probably let Eyeless Joe drive the truck, that feels a lot more inclusive.”
What on earth do these people think is happening? And if you believe the fire departments are incompetent due to diversity, volunteer to fill out the ranks. Think of it as an unpaid internship, you know how much they love watching people suffer for free.
They’re taking advantage of the tragedy to tie negative emotions to their political boogieman of the month. They’re all aware of what they’re doing, they’re all in on it
Literally every fucking time. If it wasn’t DEI it would be Newsom or whatever else he can use to his benefit.
I get that part from the side of the people spinning the narrative. It’s the ones believing and repeating it that truly confound me. Like, spend 3 seconds imagining how DEI propagates fires and then ask why the people you elected would say something that stupid.
It’s an epistemic immune system. Every event that could challenge US conservative beliefs and value gets instantly reinterpreted as PROOF of those values.
School shooting? Shooter was secretly trans Domestic terror? Terrorist secretly an immigrant Climate disaster? False flag by eco-terrorists and elites.Under-regulated corporation fucks up? It’s DEI. Global pandemic? Actually the sick people were well and the vaccinated people are dying.
When a person sees events that conflict with their worldview, that can create cognitive dissonance, the uncomfortable mental disturbance that can be an opportunity for growth, learning and personal development.
That’s when the right-wing social mediasphere and broader demi-media kick in. Instead of resolving cognitive dissonance by re-evaluating beliefs, people can wait for an X Blue Tick or Tim Pool or whoever to tell them why their old beliefs were right and they didn’t see what they thought they saw.
They support their team and don’t give a flying fuck about honesty, factual reality, or fair play. End of.
An alarming amount of people don’t go beyond first thoughts. They don’t follow through with executive functions.
