bearister said:
Dan Walters has written many articles bashing Newsom.*
Newsom, Bass are targets of blame game for LA fires | Opinion
https://calmatters.org/commentary/2025/01/la-fires-newsom-bass-blame/
"Newsom can be fairly criticized for many things he has done or not done, but he is absolutely blameless on the fires, no matter what Trump and other critics might allege.
Newsom has done exactly what one expects a governor to do in disasters marshaled state assets, issued emergency orders, sought factual information to convey to the public and solicited help from other states and the federal government."
*"The major issues facing the state when he won the governorship in 2018 remain largely unresolved, and in some cases have worsened, despite his promises to attack them."
Will Newsom's governorship become a White House campaign? | Opinion
https://calmatters.org/commentary/2025/01/newsom-governorship-white-house-campaign/
I don't recall Walter's being this illogical and uninformed in the past, or maybe I've become more discerning. Here is a half baked recent article he wrote:
Disaster-prone California should adopt a preventive approach, rather than a reactive oneFirst, he spends 11 or so paragraphs recounting the natural disasters Governor Pete Wilson handled.
Then he offers a few 'preventative' approaches, which includes new building codes and escape routes.
Not a single sentence about fire prevention, fuel reduction, fire breaks, water supplies, appropriate fire equipment, non-banned energy sources, poor leadership, political posturing, etc.
In the article downplaying Newsom's failures, he ludicrously writes: "One reservoir had been taken down for routine maintenance,
which had some effect on the water system, but that wasn't a managerial failure, just an unfortunate coincidence."Idiotic. The 117-million-gallon reservoir was offline for ten months after two wet winters (vegetation growth); and then nine months of drought (extreme fire conditions). Insurance companies noted the high risk and pulled out.
https://calmatters.org/commentary/2025/01/disaster-california-adopt-preventive-approach/I guess if I decorate a dry Christmas tree with flammable PVC tinsel and put Christmas candles on the tree, when my house erupts in flames its an unfortunate coincidence.
I'd figure well-paid fire professionals would look for bottlenecks and problem areas.