LA has No Water

This is what I imagine when I think of Johnny Odae . That he was a hoop superstar . And that he’d be out from sun up to sun down ballin’ out at the courts playing pickup basketball . And that he had that sweet jumper to where you couldn’t leave him open . Like maybe they called him “ All Day Odae “ , and that maybe his girlfriend with the big chest and the hoop earrings came to watch him play . Maybe they went to Sizzler afterwards . And maybe he jumped into bed with some of her skeezer friends for a foursome of fun and carnal jubilation as a nightcap after all the sports action that happened during the sunshine hours came to an end . Maybe he caught the crabs from one of them . Maybe not . It’s up to you . Use your imagination . 

@spockgato

 Bro, did play hoops, 7th man, saw a lot of mop up time. Did have the 10 fter down which is how I made the team. Lacrosse was my sport come springtime. Couldn't wait. Lots in my neighbourhood had hockey sticks at the ready, me always had 2 beauty lacrosse sticks one a little whipper. You got to hit people the whole game. Played high level and against great competition. The Indian Reserve teams all across my province were very skilled and loved beating up on the white man. Epic games were played. Chased out of arenas in certain spots.! Good times. Then it was off to school and couldn't do both. History Major with a minor in Metallurgy for backup. 72 now and set. Money guy tells me I'm good to 93 before the well runs dry. My total nut per month is 4,350. Easily doable. I am an open book, my only critique would be the older and wiser I get, as you should learn something everyday, is I don't suffer fools well. Been told that since retiring @ 63 in the early fall it is my weakness. Nobody's perfect.

I remember watching Johnny play in those short shorts many moons ago...It was magical for a young Canadian kid 

thank you for being so forthcoming and honest . I completely could hear the truth in your voice as I read what you wrote because your letters leapt off the page with resounding sincerity .

God bless .

Maybe that’s what this forum needs . A good ‘ol fashioned “ getting to know ya . “ maybe this thread is the place to do it too .

Yo I woulda never known you had them freakish roundball skills like that . Blessing the hardwood with your rhythmic ferocity and lightning quick handle as you stop and pop that J from 10 feet , leaving the hand out so the disgruntled defender could see it is something I didn’t know about you . Cuz I never thought to ask .

Huh . Funny how a little open communication brings to light so many unknown details . Yeah I hooped too . Good long range shooter . Pretty good in the post . Nice footwork . I watched all the Kevin McHale videos . But my favorite part of the game is for sure rebounding . Yo I’m the king of the box out . Motherfuckers are afraid to really stick their ass out cuz it’s weird and makes em look silly . Not me son . I’d be pokin’ my glutes out so far blocking your access to that crucial area of the paint where the ball is most likely to carom to that motherfuckers I played against would catch feelings and ask me out on dates . But I don’t swing that way . Not that there’s anything wrong with that . Ya dig ?

Flipmode was the greatest, still is.  Countdown to extinction level event.  Did you know Donald Trump delivered Bustas newspaper and he didn't ever tip him?  He drove a Rolls Royce pickup truck to the mailbox just to get the mail.  Hell with these platinum credit cards, I got me a uranium card

Chuck D crew 

California governor Gavin Newsom has requested 40B in federal aid to help rebuild The City of Angels and surrounding areas in the aftermath of 'The Fire!' Why should US taxpayers take care of California when they knowingly allowed the brave fireman to hook up their hose to hydrants with no water? Why should the country trust Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass, the mayor of LA? 

One reason they should is that California pumps an insane amount of tax dollars into the federal government.

They also collect the most in tax revenue for their own state.

So, I am not so sure that it should completely absolve them from making changes or having responsibility for inactions to prevent, or lower costs for disasters.

I am not sure how conditional federal funding should be, but they for sure need to take some responsibility on their own and make changes and hold their politicians and administrations accountable.

At some point, if they have to pay more out of their own revenue and receive less from federal, maybe they will make some changes.

What are they supposed to do? Rain dances?

@StumpTownStu

 That may get them more water, sure.  Giving them more money certainly will not make it rain more.  It obviously does not make them store it better.

But that is not where the problem starts.  Prevent the fires, manage the forests better, have water supply on hand, etc.  

Perhaps, do not allow folks to build in certain areas.

Have resources ready for these disasters.  Save money and put it aside for these things instead of other things they spend money on.

Same as anyone anywhere does on a personal level.  You decide what is the priority to plan for.

States should do this also.

States should have some accountability for their actions and inactions, etc.

Just giving more money to them has proven to not fix the parts of the problem that can be fixed.

How about, behind closed doors, hiring a recovery consultant who is far-left, had two employees plead guilty to fraud in New York for Huricane Sandy relief funds??!!!   Done.

Or how about firing your Fire Chief. Done.

My wife watches the show "HOARDERS". When one of them said "What am I supposed to do?" I thought of your 1st rain dance post. This is your 2nd. Sorry man, but I see a lot that should have been done.

@Raiders22

 Any money would be for disaster relief. And what is meant by storing it better? There certainly isn't any problem with capacity. I would also posit that there isn't anything wrong with the aqueduct system. What exactly could be better and how?

Saying "prevent the fires" is like saying "prevent the hurricanes," or "prevent the tornadoes." Most wildfires don't occur in actual forests, though some do. The LA fires weren't in a forest. Portions of the region are wooded but much of it is heavily developed. Mitigation isn't as simple as some media would have you believe. It's a chaparral region. It's borderline desert. You can hack that shit until the cows come home, it just grows back. The vegetation in these regions is heavily drought resistant and just explodes. Much of the area is private property, and management falls on the ownership. As far as water, when too many valves are open, pressure is going to drop. The system was simply overloaded.

Sure, disallow new construction. Most of the homes have beem their for decades. Some since the 40s and 50s.

As far as saving money rather than spending on ridiculous programs, and elected official accountability, we already know we are on the same page on such things.

If you see a lot that should have been done, please enlighten me.

@StumpTownStu

 "95% of California’s wildfires are caused by people, whether purposeful, reckless or simply careless behavior."

I am simply saying they need to address the things that they can address and have failed to address.

Storing the water was a reference to the empty reservoirs and empty fire hydrants.

Mitigation is not even being done at all is my point.  

They have to take some responsibility and be proactive.

Same with states that have hurricanes and tornadoes.

Everyone realizes the issues they have with drought and vegetation.  Many other places have done things that have worked.  California has not done any of those things.

The disaster relief has been shown to be much more effective when done at the state level.  The Federal agencies are nearly inept at it.

So, I was just addressing the point he Brough up about why give them more money if they are not even going to attempt to be more prepared and preventive.

Everything from infrastructure to preparedness needs to be addressed.

We have always, always had the dry winds that explode these fires.  They knew these were predicted and still acted as if they were caught off guard.

Same with Florida and the hurricanes.  They keep wanting federal help.  Why give it to them if they are not going to try to fix the problem.

You cannot just give folks money with no expectation of them not doing better, or they keep wanting more money each time it happens.

Then the states are surprised when they cannot even get insurance now that the companies are leaving the states.

Stop building in hurricane-prone areas and expecting federal money to repair.

It is not fair to the individual in Iowa, or wherever, that has his home destroyed by a major wind storm.  His house will not be declared a federal disaster.  Yet, hi taxes still subsidize bad behavior in fire/hurricane states.

If these folks know they are always getting bailed out -- they will continue to build there.

If the states do not enact better measures but keep getting federal bailouts -- they will continue to not be proactive.

You are right that the system got overwhelmed -- but did it need to happen and did they learn from it this time and decide to do something different?

Instead of just letting the Fire Chief go because she basically out the mayor on blast -- how about addressing the things you can address?