Monthly Archives: January 2025

LAT: L.A. fire officials could have put engines in the Palisades before the fire broke out. They didn’t

Posted on January 14, 2025 by Luke Ford

Kudos to the Los Angeles Times for this important story: As the Los Angeles Fire Department faced extraordinary warnings of life-threatening winds, top commanders decided not to assign for emergency deployment roughly 1,000 available firefighters and dozens of water-carrying engines … Continue reading →

Posted in Los Angeles | Comments Off on LAT: L.A. fire officials could have put engines in the Palisades before the fire broke out. They didn’t

The Dog Who Didn’t Bark – Nobody Argues California Has Great Governance (1-14-25)

Posted on January 14, 2025 by Luke Ford

01:00 NR: Why Did California Cut Fire Prevention Spending While Keeping a Rainy-Day Fund?, https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/why-did-california-cut-fire-prevention-spending-while-keeping-a-rainy-day-fund/12:15 The FBI is terrible at background checks, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtgtSNMGBt014:50 Jonathan Haidt is wrong about morality | Prof Kurt Gray, https://www.aporiamagazine.com/p/jonathan-haidt-is-wrong-about-morality19:00 Alpha: Eddie Gallagher and the War … Continue reading →

Posted in America, California, Los Angeles | Comments Off on The Dog Who Didn’t Bark – Nobody Argues California Has Great Governance (1-14-25)

Alpha: Eddie Gallagher and the War for the Soul of the Navy SEALs

Posted on January 14, 2025 by Luke Ford

Here are some highlights from this meticulous 2021 book: * Like Eddie [Gallagher], [Chris] Kyle claimed to have more sniper kills than any SEAL in history. But by his own telling, he was repeatedly investigated for needless deaths of civilians, … Continue reading →

Posted in Armed Forces | Comments Off on Alpha: Eddie Gallagher and the War for the Soul of the Navy SEALs

Who By Fire? (1-13-25)

Posted on January 13, 2025 by Luke Ford

01:00 Judaism’s Haunting Prayer/Unetaneh Tokef, https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/255977?lang=bi08:00 New York: Los Angeles shouldn’t rebuild the same way, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/los-angeles-shouldnt-rebuild-the-same-way-after-wildfires.html11:00 Bloomberg: These Homes Withstood the LA Fires. Architects Explain WhyIn Pacific Palisades and Malibu, some houses with fire-resistant designs remained standing amid neighborhoods of … Continue reading →

Posted in America, California, Los Angeles | Comments Off on Who By Fire? (1-13-25)

Decoding LA’s Fires (1-12-25)

Posted on January 12, 2025 by Luke Ford

05:00 WSJ: Fighting Fires—and the Rumor Mill—as L.A. Burns09:00 Politics Fueled LA’s Fires, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=15855510:00 California voters destroyed private home insurance, https://apple.news/AeXdYZP1qSfeNes1AGLzSAg11:00 Fire experts describe how we can reduce these urban blazes, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-11/fire-experts-asses-los-angeles-blazes-amid-changing-times12:00 Disputes kill people, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzHFz5Jj7a021:00 Your Home Can Survive … Continue reading →

Posted in America, California, Los Angeles | Comments Off on Decoding LA’s Fires (1-12-25)