West Coast, Messed Coast™: Hey Hollywood, How's That Defund the Police Thing Working Out for You?

Welcome, West Coast, Messed Coast™ readers. This week, I've got what is becoming an annual PSA to help dear readers differentiate fact from media narrative regarding the Western states' wildfire season, which has gotten off to a boffo start this summer. But before that, let's find out how that "defunding police" situation is working out in La La Land.

Police for me, but not for thee

It wasn't too long ago that a ravaging fire in wine country uncovered a relatively unknown business of private firefighters. People were shocked that the hired firefighters would only put out the flames of their customers' homes, but not others.

The next big shoe is dropping after Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson's home was ransacked by a burglary gang in L.A. Their home is part of a string of burglaries at high-end homes in Southern California. In San Diego, thanks to Joe Biden and his Border Czar, Chilean gang members have been ransacking homes of rich people for months.

Joe Biden and his Border Czar's "notoriously violent" Tren de Aragua Venezuelan gangs have done the same in other parts of the country.

And now, an organized theft ring is breaking into home after home in La La Land. It's causing panic in Encino, which is ground zero for the theft ring.

The L.A. Times reports that rich people are buying their own cops. No, not your typical security guys with pagers but gunned-up guards to patrol their homes full-time after the rash of burglaries. They're buying guns too.

LAPD is increasing patrols, but when seconds count, cops are only minutes away.

Isn't this the same bunch of California swells who encouraged the "defund the police" movement? Come to think of it, isn't one of the BLM founders' mansions nearby?

Next up, Steve Garvey

Senate candidate and former big leaguer, Steve Garvey, has seen the damage and heard the stories from Oakland, Calif. He said he's seen enough. He's called on the Oakland mayor to resign.

"The people of Oakland deserve to feel safe whether they are grocery shopping, working, or sleeping at home. No one should live in constant fear of being robbed or shot," Garvey said. He's asked his Democrat Adam Schiff to join him in the call for getting rid of this disastrous mayor.

Oh, they're 'man-made' fires, all right

People in the East and South have little idea of what an important story this is because they don't share the problems. California has between 40%-50% of the nation's homeless in its borders.

Of course, we're told that these fires are caused by man-made global warming climate change climate catastrophe. Besides changing the scary nomenclature, we're also told that the annual wildfires humans have seen for millennia are caused by men and women driving SUVs and using air conditioning. But not so fast. Many fires start by lightning, others by sparking up at a homeless camp. It's getting worse.

Let's start in Washington, where "Tacoma residents share wildfire concerns following multiple fires near homeless camp," according to KOMO News. We're told of "multiple fires coming from homeless camps in the woods that could lead to a larger, and more destructive wildfire." But woke local weather reporters also routinely tell viewers that wildfires are due to climate change. Over and over.

Seattle is on pace for a "record number of fires set at homeless camps this year."

In Bend, Ore., an "Abandoned cooking fire at homeless camp" caused acres of burned ground and "threatened hundreds of homes on Bend’s north end, prompted evacuations and knocked out power before a major air and ground attack stopped its spread."

What came to be known as the Darlene 3 fire in Oregon that burned thousands of acres is believed to have been started by a homeless camp fire. A viral video of a burned homeless camp added fuel to that theory.

Thankfully, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said, "that decades of fuel treatments on BLM land helped stop the fire in its tracks."

Not so with another fire in Oregon, where the AP reliably reports that "Climate change is increasing the frequency of lightning strikes as the region endures recording-breaking heat and bone-dry conditions." You know, maybe if we just go to electric cars, lightning strikes will lessen.

In the L.A. area, "Calif. residents, activists worry about increasing homeless encampment fires," especially in the Sepulveda Basin where FireRescue1.com reports that activists with the Audubon Society are astonished that homeless people can bring in construction materials and live in the sticks.

Indeed, they should be concerned. Elsewhere in L.A., "Westlake residents call on officials to clean up homeless encampment after fire causes damage," ABC 7 reported earlier this summer.

In San Francisco, "Homeless encampment fires in San Francisco doubled over 5 years, causing millions in damage" are man-made, according to The Standard. But if the crack pipe falls into a garbage pile and makes no sound, can anyone hear the truth?

Things are so bad in California that the big thinkers there have a solution. "Homeless advocates say cities, counties should distribute tools to prevent fires in encampments," reports the state public radio network.

You may wonder if authorities knew where all the encampments were that they'd clear them out, but that's wrongthink, silly! In fact, "Unhoused people are really the first responders in these fires and if we give them the resources and tools they can and very much want to prevent these fires from doing damage and extensive harm,” one of the advocates said. There's definitively some truth to this, but why encourage the illegal behavior?

I spent years in San Diego, and I know at least one person who lost their home to an out-of-control wildfire and covered dozens of fires as a reporter. San Diego's indulgence of homeless encampments has made fire risk worse.

Homeless advocates say there are no stats to show homeless encampments start fires, but people who live above the county's copious canyons can see things with their own eyes. Indeed, "Of the 430 brush fires 'likely' started by unhoused residents last year," reports inewssource.com, "San Diego Fire-Rescue officials acknowledged they’re not certain how many of them actually came from an encampment."

They'll keep arguing while San Diego burns.

Keep an eye on this

Judicial Watch has put the state of Oregon on notice that the state has been violating the National Voter Registration Act. The NVRA requires Oregon and all states to remove inactive voters from their voter rolls.

Oregon, which is too busy giving illegal aliens driver's licenses and voter registration cards, hasn't replied yet.

Judicial Watch says it will sue if the state doesn't comply before the election.