Listen to the Friday news roundup with Victor Davis Hanson and cohost Sami Winc as they discuss the Palisades fire in LA and the issues of water, insurance, DEI, Newsom, Mayor Bass, fire Chief Kristin Crowley, and other news from the week — Zuckerberg, Trudeau, Greenland and Panama.
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“Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward.”
— Oscar Wilde
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In your recent YouTube blog about The LA Fires, you repeated yourself several times by calling them a total system breakdown. But, the reality is that they are not a (sic) “breakdown.” The system did not break down on its own. Instead, a bunch of mentally ill manics actively ruined the system on purpose. It was an active not passive matter. It was a conscious, willful, deliberate, knowing destruction of the system by a bunch of influential people who hate the system and want to abolish it. They are determined and implacable fanatics who are seemingly irrepressible. When you keep saying it was a breakdown, you ignore what is going on and you excuse the malefactors and trouble makers. Say what people will, nevertheless Freud was right-there are indeed defense mechanisms of repression and denial. You are not alone in mentally blocking out the truth because it is so awful and scary. It is sad to see that so many Americans are lacking in the ability to see reality clearly. They recoil from it and make up fairy tale supposed explanations of the phenomenon. It is admittedly hard to believe that there are people whose life goal is destruction, but it is a fact.
You are correct. I think VDH see what can come..he has alluded to it very occasionally. I wonder whether that Scandinavian reticence that doesn’t make big deals out of things and that looks for the most positive spin impedes him here.
Of course this is terrorism and we are are war.
You’re right, Irwin.
I see that same in people who rant about the Dems and the deep state ruining the country, but can’t bring themselves to say the 2020 election was stolen. Even Victor doesn’t go there…and even complains how Californians continue to vote for these people. I don’t believe they do.
56,000 is the population of Greenland. Victor said 56 million.
Sir, A little history on salt water fire fighting.
Before the 1906 Earthquake and Fire, Dennis Sullivan, Chief of the Fire Department proposed the engineering of an independent, redundant salt water sourced distribution system, gravity fed with separate hydrants. The water storage would be below ground cisterns high in the many hills. These large tanks would be filled by pumping bay water up to them. Since they were independent the system could grow with the City.
The system would operate by gravity.
Chief Sullivan was mortally wounded in first hour of the quake, he died a couple of days later.
If you are ever driving around in the hills of SF and see a ring of red bricks circling the intersection, you are over one of the many cisterns, the hydrants for the high pressure system are twice the size of a standard one.
The system operates off of fresh water.
With today’s technology, metallurgy, and ceramics fixtures and fitting could be engineered to over come the reluctance to create the solution necessary after all, salt water swimming pools have been around for a long time.
All it takes is men of vision and the political will, like we had along time back.
Thank you
Joe Mullane, thank you for this information. We also have fire boats in our harbors that have plumbing and distribution systems that can withstand salt water. Hoses may be the weak point? America was a place of giants at the turn of the 20th century. Now we vote for our leaders based on their hair and fantasies about reality. We need every one of Trump’s nominees if we are to begin cleaning the cesspit that is DC. Getting rid of the rot won’t be enough. We need to hold these men and women responsible with real penalties, both financial and time in the slammer.
A lot of people equate Artificial Intelligence with Wisdom, but there is no such thing as Artificial Wisdom, for Wisdom is an aspect of Deity.
When President-Elect Trump discussed Canada, he spoke to erasing that artificial line between us. Many thought that he implied removal of Canada’s sovereignty but he said that wasn’t his intent.
There is also the Schengen Line in Europe which “erases” lines and facilitates commerce. It is not synonymous with the EU. There are countries in the Schengen area NOT in the EU and EU countries not in the Schengen area. This type of arrangement with Canada might be mutually advantageous. Might require melding our currencies but that could be accomplished.
A magnificent session, wonderful on both the background of the California fires, and on the political strategies of Trump. Must listening.