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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Well, they can't really do anything about current fires, but they could enact some policy changes on how we prevent and mitigate future ones. California doesn't do nearly enough controlled burns, for one thing. We need to burn away all the detritus and fuel that's been building up over the years, rather than wait for a big out-of-control fire to burn it all.
It typically goes like this-
Unaligned Media: It is reported that the President did <x horrible thing>.
Trump's allies in the media: The President would never do such a terrible thing.
Trump: I did it and I'd do it again!
To semi-quote Marx, first outrage then farce.
Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Sep 9th 2020 at 9:50:42 AM
"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji YangQuite. Hype-mongering is the only skill Trump has. It's what both his campaign and Presidency run on. He does shit like this all the time because that's what he is: a showman.
He views the American public not as his constituency but as his audience and he goes out of his way to try and build hype both for Presidential acts that he's taking (usually terrible ones) and for things unrelated to him. And now he's hinting at a Series Finale for COVID-19 because he knows that nudges and hints of exciting episodes to come are how you keep an audience addicted.
Unaligned Media: It is reported that the President did <x horrible thing>.
Trump's allies in the media: The President would never do such a terrible thing.
Trump: I did it and I'd do it again!
To semi-quote Marx, first outrage then farce.
That's not always the case. Sometimes Trump's line is, "I didn't do it. But if I did it, it would be okay, because there is nothing wrong with doing it. It's perfectly fine to do it. But I didn't do it. And I'd do it again!"
Edited by TobiasDrake on Sep 9th 2020 at 9:59:07 AM
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.It's from Bob Woodward's new book, so I expect the "Hoax!" Cries from Pennsylvania Avenue shortly
"You can reply to this Message!"Yeah, with Trump, I argue it’s better to think of him less as an idiot and more as a rather clever con/showman. He doesn’t know how to run a country, but he does know how to keep the attention of the masses. Indeed, I’d say part of of why he has as much power as he does is because his base is having more “fun” in politics than they’ve had in a while.
He’s a clown, but he’s very good at being a clown.
Edited by Protagonist506 on Sep 9th 2020 at 10:16:08 AM
Leviticus 19:34I would not agree with that. Trump is a passable entertainer, who can rise to those levels because of the systemic erosion of political trust, education and a bunch of other assorted things. He's mediocre at best - his magnum opus The Apprentice wasn't really that good.
And mediocrity is fine for entertainment, but not for governance.
Edited by Aszur on Sep 9th 2020 at 11:23:03 PM
It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothesActually, controlled forest fires is a good way to prevent uncontrollable fires. And Trump is hindering that effort with his import ban on Chinese drone components. So yes, Trump is making fire season worse.
You know what else is making things worse? Gender reveal parties using explosives and setting fields and forests ablaze. Really, it's high time the US makes those illegal. Every year for several years now it is the same thing, reckless idiots setting their garden or a local field ablaze because they insist on using fireworks or just plain explosives for a gender reveal.
You know, maybe do it in a way that doesn't pose a fire hazard in the middle of a dry spell?
Hope shines brightest in the darkest timesFlorida man is the modern Paul Bunyan: A state-transcendent being representative of all things 'Merica at its drunkest, highest, and criminalest.
It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes![]()
That's not what Florida Man means. Only in Florida refers to the fact that we hear about Florida's weird shit more often because Florida is very transparent about its weird shit.

The sky is gray and it's raining ash here in California so, you know, same old.
Edited by danime91 on Sep 9th 2020 at 8:50:25 AM