Disasters, Disasters, So What Else Is New?
We’ve suffered the worse and then some…
But I’m sorry to tell you my suffering friend,
of the terrible scourge yet to come.
Tom Paxton, 10 Million Lawyers
We’ve been innundated with disasters of late. Hurricanes, Fires, Blizzards. So where is it safe to live? FEMA, that agency of the 400% rack rate hotel rooms, has an answer. They have published a chart showing, by county, where the presidents have made disaster declarations since 1965. So where is it safe to live? The lowest number appear to be in Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. Of course, there are also fewer lawyers there as well.
Turning to our local disasters. The “Topanga” Fire continues to burn (and it is smokey at our house). As of noon, they were indicating the fire has burned 20,600 acres and is 20% contained. The weather is cooling down, but there are still occasional hot spots (as I was driving home, there was one in Simi Valley, for example). The Governator had a very amusing news conference related to the fire. For those unaware, the Governator is in a big fight with the unions over such things as political speech and pension benefits. The firefighters don’t like him. However, the supervisors ordered 20 firefighters to stand behind him at the press conference. During the press conference, he was asked about this. His response? He said it was part of the presentation of the press conference. As for ordering: He orders a podium. The press is ordered by their bosses to cover the story. He saw no problem with having the officers ordered to stand there and look good (alas, an exact quote is not online). Sigh… he just doesn’t get it.
There is also a large fire burning in Burbank/Glendale. Now around 600 acres, it has burned up the Burbank hills. It is not immediately threatening homes yet, but could burn down into Glendale and Verdugo.
No fun, and the air is really bad here in the valley. But so far, the firefighters are doing a good job, and the weather will be cool-ish over the weekend. After that, it will heat up again? I know this without even consulting the weather channel. How? Just as matzah never breaks along the perforation, the High Holy Days are always the hottest days of the year!
