Among the more interesting rhetorical questions raised by the most recent California wildfires is “can Democrats/socialists/communists (D/s/cs) confronted with blazing reality they can’t ignore or explain away, change?” It’s a rhetorical question because like all rhetorical questions, the answer is so obvious—hell no!—it need not be spoken aloud. Alternatively, it might be answered by another rhetorical question: “are you kidding?”
HBO “Real Time: host Bill Maher, long an apparent D/s/c, has in recent years, shown signs of having been whacked good and hard by the reality stick. He has breached one taboo after another and actually criticized D/s/cs, including former President Biden, long before it became more or less permissible for true believers.
In a recent monologue, he went even further, perhaps farther than he’s gone to date in breaking with D/s/c holy writ:
Author” src=”https://images.americanthinker.com/yx/yxkgjwyt6fazqmxf3knv_640.jpg” />
Graphic: YouTube Screenshot
A lot of Democrats in this one-party state this week went right to, don’t blame politicians, you can’t do anything about the wind, which is exactly half true, the wind part. Yes, fire is a tough fight out here, and yes, global warming absolutely makes it worse. But that’s largely out of our control. What are we going to do? Pass a ballot measure to make sure [the] Chinese stop burning coal?
He’s pretty close to seeing global warming—doesn’t he remember it’s now “climate change?”—as a hoax, but he’s not quite there.
“Axios ran a story on how getting the water out of the hydrants in Pacific Palisades was more complicated than it seems. I’m sure it is. I’m sure it’s very complicated. That’s why I pay 13% of my income in this state every year to people who I assumed were working on things like this. When asked why so many of the hydrants in the Palisades ran out of water, Gov. Newsom (D) said, ‘The local folks are trying to figure that out.’ Yeah, you’ve got to do that before the fire. At least in the Palisades, the hydrants were still there. 300 other ones around the city are just gone, stolen for parts. One of the three reservoirs for the Palisades was offline at the one time of year when it was most needed.
This is better:
L.A.’s Mayor, Karen Bass, the Nero of American politics, was fiddling in Ghana while the city burned and later placed the blame on eight months of negligible rain and winds that have not been seen in L.A. in at least fourteen years…Maybe look in the history books to see how our ancestors handled it back in 2011. The Mayor said about cuts to the fire department’s budget, there were no reductions that were made that would have impacted the situation. The fire chief here had a slightly different take. She said, we are screaming to be properly funded, and yes, the budget was cut and it did impact our ability to provide service. And by the looks of all the fire engines in the boneyard out of service because we didn’t fix them, she’s right.”
He’s doing much better on taxes:
He added, “California is the place that spends money and gets nothing, which is why you may have noticed when the fires broke out, no one escaped by high-speed rail. We have the highest marginal tax rate in America, higher than almost all other states, and soon, Greenland. What is included for that? Breadsticks? Because it clearly doesn’t cover fire. That’s government’s job, protect us from crime, violence, theft, fire… We just got our ass kicked by fire, something Neanderthals fought to a tie.”
He does have a way with words when he doesn’t let political correctness get in the way. Even this is trending in the right direction:
Author” src=”https://images.americanthinker.com/nr/nrk3pkmaxtjxjvutiwv5_640.jpg” />
Graphic: YouTube Screenshot
Maher further stated, “The good news is, our fire chief is a lesbian. Am I against a lesbian being chief? Of course not. Do I think a lesbian can do the job? Of course, I do. And maybe she’s the best person for the job or maybe they really wanted a lesbian in that job and she’s just the best lesbian for the job, and with essential services, that’s not good enough.
He ended strong, and reasonably, with this:
But it’s also not wrong to associate some of the unforced errors our government made with the things normies see as hallmarks of uber-progressive politics, questionable budget priorities, high taxes that get you nothing, making everything about identity politics, virtue-signaling overseas instead of tending to the nuts and bolts at home. Cali has no shortage of safety commissions and agencies and bureaucrats and regulators, and, of course, sign language interpreters who communicate with their face. But common sense? We better get some of that back soon, because wildfires in California are like boob jobs in a strip club, inevitable, and they’re only going to get bigger.”
Will some Californians fully recover? Maher demonstrates it’s possible, but it’s a long process.
On a different subject, if you are not already a subscriber, you may not know that we’ve implemented something new: A weekly newsletter with unique content from our editors for subscribers only. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription.
Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
This article was originally published at www.americanthinker.com
