Yes, be political
As a victim of this disaster, let me just say:
Politicize the fuck out of it.
#EatonFire
— Gwen C. Katz (@gwenckatz.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 12:19 AM
But fact-check your information.
Supposedly: "last year LA City Council approved the mayor's budget to cut $23 million from the LA Fire Dept, as well as cuts to many other departments, so they could give the LAPD a $138 million increase"
Supposedly: Bluesky
Can't speak to this source, but the article says it was a $23,000,000 cut to FD and a $138,000,000 increase to the PD.
patch.com/california/l...
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— anonymoustroll.bsky.social (@anonymoustroll.bsky.social) January 8, 2025 at 8:56 AM
I don't know if the LA fire department is properly funded or not but the claim that the city cut its budget last year — which is circulating widely on the right — is false.
As Politico notes, the budget actually INCREASED by $50 million. A portion of the funding was approved in a separate bill.
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— Judd Legum (@juddlegum.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 9:02 AM
LINK:
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— Judd Legum (@juddlegum.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 9:02 AM
You will read countless times today that the LA mayor cut the LA Fire Department's budget by $23 million.
That is a lie.
The budget was actually *increased* by $50 million.
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— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Amanda Smith shares numbers on Bluesky.
Chris Hayes says "it’s still actually not 100% clear to me":
Yes there was an official budget reduction of 2% ($17.5 million, not $23) but it’s unclear if the increases in the contract negotiation add up to a larger amount in total (as article says) or the mayor’s office is basically double counting.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 5:56 PM
As best as we can tell there was a 2% cut that did eliminate a number of administrative positions and overtime. Then in November an additional $76 million of unallocated funds was given to the LAFD as part of the wages package. Which means the total spending for it was up $53 mil yoy.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Which means it’s technically true that
1) there were budgets cuts that eliminated positions
2) there was an increase of the total funding the LAFD was given by city council appropriators.
More here.
abcnews.go.com/US/los-angel...
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— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Put another way. The head of the LAFD can say, truthfully “we had budget cuts” and express concerns about impact of readiness and the mayor and council can say, truthfully “we gave the FD millions more than the previous year.”
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 6:15 PM
And put another way, we can say that when police unions managed to make the LAPD into a well paid and armed military force, they sucked up untold resources that are now missing as Southern Cal tries to face global warming. Unbelievably, LAPD got $2.14 billion in funding last year.
— rogergathmann (@rogergathmann.bsky.social) January 10, 2025 at 10:27 AM
It's a narrative.
So sorry. Yet another rant:
We are losing the information war in real-time. LA is on fire, and the conservatives are seizing the moment, drafting on the fear, the panic, and the pain to target democratic officials, policies, and power centers and salting the earth along the way.
A thread. 🧵
— Yosi Sergant (@a35mmlife.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 11:48 AM
It’s a five-alarm fire alongside an actual five-alarm fire, and the proverbial water is run dry.
Listen, it’s hard to put out fires and save ourselves when our neighbors are arsonists.
Ignore it, again, at our own peril. But there is a coordinated political attack campaign underway.
— Yosi Sergant (@a35mmlife.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Should we be having to spend ANY time defending politicians and policies in the middle of a crisis of this scale and urgency? Fuck no.
But, there will be significant fallout from allowing these narratives to fester without checking their shit and quickly.
— Yosi Sergant (@a35mmlife.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 11:48 AM
The narrative that somehow a $17M cut to a massive $800M+ LAFD budget is to blame is insane, illogical and fucked on so many levels but taking root across the media and social media landscape.
It's matched by an equally ridiculous narrative about water running out that's equally garbage.
— Yosi Sergant (@a35mmlife.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Let's be clear - this is targeted and methodical. Trump, Musk, Shapiro, NYPost, and all the regular conservative talking point amplification networks are echoing the same shit.
While Dems, and most normies are out here just trying to do the work of surviving, the GOP is fanning flames of discord.
— Yosi Sergant (@a35mmlife.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 11:48 AM
We all know it’s completely dishonest and disingenuous. Budget hawks calling out a 2% decrease in a budget being used as justification for public sacrifice of an elected official. The same people creating DOGE are bemoaning a 2% budget reduction because- own the libs and get points on the board.
— Yosi Sergant (@a35mmlife.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Worse yet, it’s not even subtle in its racism, misogyny, and ignorance. One comment in, and you are awash in "DEI hire" nonsense and ‘good old times’ nostalgia for a world that never existed. People posting pictures of the 3 amazing women who run the $800M LAFD as a gotcha... you know, 'cuz - women.
— Yosi Sergant (@a35mmlife.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 11:48 AM
The number of people who are calling out the Mayor of LA being in Ghana who was on a scheduled trip as an official delegate for the US to mark their new Presidents election.
Oh the hypocrisy from the folx who justified or were silent when Cruz went to Cancun
— Yosi Sergant (@a35mmlife.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 11:48 AM
… and the ‘running out of water’ thing? We’re fighting wildfires on urban fire systems - in Santa Ana conditions without air support.
WT-actual-Fuck don't you get about supply and demand? They were using the water faster than the tanks could refill.
— Yosi Sergant (@a35mmlife.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Fact-check other political claims too.
I know, I’m a Fire Commissioner & I’ve been doing my best to tamp down some of the worst, but honestly, it’s impossible. James Woods, famous Maga gadfly,whose house burned down, is blaming Gavin Newsom for not keeping the resevoirs full. So ridiculous.
— Rick Giolito (@aldoinla.bsky.social) January 8, 2025 at 10:56 PM
"The absolute barrage of garbage being pumped into the brains of people is unbelievable," says @chrislhayes.bsky.social on the LA wildfire misinformation. "It does not help when the guy who owns the so-called digital town square is tweeting about globalist plots and blaming wokeness for the fires."
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— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Watch for disinfo jargon. https://bsky.app/profile/hntdove.bsky.social/post/3lfd46xfmhc2k
Fact-check images.
People think AI images of Hollywood sign burning are real
AI generated slop is tricking people into thinking an already devastating series of wildfires in Los Angeles are even worse than they are — and using it to score political points.
🔗 www.404media.co/hollywood-si...
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— 404 Media (@404media.co) January 9, 2025 at 2:40 PM
