What most analysts say is that it's not likely that police will be out looking for people holding their phone at a stop light, and are not likely to ticket people if they do spot someone.  (Though if they did, this being Los Angeles, they could probably make enough money on fines to get rid of the national debt...)  Still, with the cost of the fines and risk of getting points on your record, that's a lot to rely on "likely."

There's a lot that's great in the law.  But there's so much, too, that makes you want to shout, "What are earth were you thinking???!!"​

​ 
DATELINE:  June 14, 2024.
TIME:  8300 hours Pacific Coast Time
LOCATION:  Warzone L.A.
 
Concerned by stories of Los Angeles being overrun by terrorists, Insurrectionists and socialists, I knew it was important to find out the status of the city I was living in, to understand the level of destruction that had taken place all over, sending terror and mayhem through every neighborhood.  Had the city government been overthrown?  Was there still “burdensome leadership” in charge, as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, who should know.  How much of Los Angeles was in flames?  How much chaos was there throughout the city?  Has it been "liberated" yet?
 
Scared, but certain of my duty, I donned as much protective gear as I had and – to keep as safe as possible – I left the security of my home and, keeping to the back alleyways and hidden in the shadows, I carefully crept to the light-rail station a half-miles away to take me into the belly of the beast downtown, not daring use a car in case it got caught in a riot and I had to escape quickly on foot.
 
I documented my journey into hell.  And happily, but still-shaken, survived to pass along the report for future generations.
 
As I walked to the light-rail station, this is how out of control my neighborhood is –

Making it to the rail station, out of breath from fear, and still looking over my shoulder for any worrisome movements, I joined my fellow-refugees, most of whom had packed the platform to overflowing, carrying only one suitcase, looks of desperation in their eyes in hopes of escaping the madness and traveling as far away as possible to the safety of a distant town.

I took comfort when the light-rail train went underground, giving me at least a momentary sense of protection.  But since that occurred near downtown, the center of the storm, I remained apprehensive as I so-carefully creep up the long stairs to the sunlight, not knowing what darkness I would encounter.
 
And terrifying it was, because I was just a mere two blocks away from where the protest was gathering.  And everywhere I looked, so close to the epicenter of disaster, the streets were overrun by rioters. Cars everywhere, bumper-to-bumper madness, the blare of honking cutting through one's soul, so loud you couldn't hear yourself think.

As I made my way stealthily through the crowds, people like animals pushing and clawing every way possible, I didn’t know if I could continue on, even though I was but one long block away from my destination.  But then, almost like a beacon of light shining from heaven, I saw security.  There, to my joy, was the National Guard (I think that’s who it was, and not the Marines, but it didn’t matter to me, it was the military.  When caught in the blazing sun of a desert, you don’t stop to ask what branch of a tree is giving you the shade you crave to survive) -- making me feel safe as they protected the streets from the Insurrection and rioting all around us.  And ever on the alert to liberate this fair city.

I knew I would now make it to my goal.  It was an inexpressible relief, having had no idea that this would be awaiting me.  These joyful images of true valor are not one one we see on TV, are they??!!  How blessed they were.

 

​And while I carefully continued walking the final block to Zero Center Point, the police and National Guard kept up their heroic defense of the city, keeping us safe, as they blocked off the swarming streets filled with traffic.  I could breathe in comfort, if only for a moment, knowing too that the U.S. Marines were just around the corner and could rush in, weapons drawn, if needed.

​​In fairness, for all the protection, yes, there was great risk from crowds of protesters, when I finally reached them.  The Insurrections and radicals all gathered outside Los Angeles City Hall.  They may seem calm and polite and totally tranquil.  Not throwing rocks and being violent, but politely holding up signs. However, this is just a still photograph, you don’t hear the noise blaring from megaphones screaming at people to "Stay Peaceful!", and boomboxes blasting mariachi music, putting everyone’s senses on edge.  Moreover, we all know there is a calm before the storm.  And Insurrectionists, rioters and terrorists are devious, well-known to try to lull opposing forces into a false sense of security.

​​Further, ratcheting up the sense of danger and the concern of vandalism, there were gangs present, which only raised the tension and put everyone on their guard.  Here, wearing their gang “colors,” all dressed in unifying blue shirts are members of the notorious Writers Guild of America.  Very dangerous folks.  To my great concern, I got sucked into their circle when they saw I (foolishly) had worn my own blue shirt, so they thought this identified me as one of their own.  I thought the safest action on my part was to stick with the gang, rather than cause a disturbance by trying to break away and been seen as a threat.

And then the protest and march began, and I got sucked along, caught in the middle, like being dragged out into the ocean by an undertow.  Packed almost like sardines.  So many caught up there praying to be liberated.  At one point, I heard a chant, but couldn’t identify it because it was in a foreign tongue.  Someone near me, who spoke a smattering of Spanish, thought they were saying, “F*ck immigrants,” which struck me was odd.  That’s when another person who spoke better Spanish – likely because it was her native language – make a correction.  She said that, no, the words sound similar, but they were saying “F*ck ICE.”  I replied that, “Oh, okay, that makes more sense.  For a minute I thought I’d gotten into the wrong line.”  She burst into laughter.  And told her teenage son – who burst into laughter.

​One thing I noticed was that – perhaps to be disruptive and counter-culture, perhaps because handwritten signs don’t have spell-checkers, perhaps as an indictment of cutbacks to our educational system – there was uncertainly on occasion about the correct spelling for some placards.  This one ahead of me caught my eye.

​The flow of the socialist Insurrection out to overthrow Los Angeles swept us to Pershing Square, appropriately named after an Army general.  Indeed, looking all around me, I sensed that it was the empowering legend alone of General John J. Pershing that kept the rioters and vandals in order.  Yet even here, seven blocks from the original gathering point, there was brutal violence, and it was where I myself was attacked and beaten.  It happened so quickly, before I could defend myself.  As I was desperately trying to cross safely through the teeming mass of bodies, from out of nowhere a young woman was pointing out something to her friends, and as she turned, her hand brushed across my cheek. "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry," she quickly said. "That's okay," I replied instinctively, careful from my emergency preparation not to inflame the situation, knowing I could get First Aid later, if necessary, when I was safe. 

It was a large crowd, and there were a great many others on either side and behind, and waves of more and more coming, and yet the spirit of authority dating back to WWI had the violent protesters intimidated, looking instead like they were waiting for the gates to open and get into the Hollywood Bowl to hear a pop music concert…

​Over 20,000 people were reported in Los Angeles on Saturday.  (Double-check notes for clarification:  I don’t mean reported in all of Los Angeles since my research shows there are 3.8 million residents.  And to be fully accurate, 12.9 million in the metropolitan area, which covers 4,850 square miles).  And I’m not referring to all the rebel terrorists being here at Pershing Square, since they were spread throughout the city. (Well, again, to be clear, yes, linguistically it was "throughout the city," but physically focused solely downtown -- although not over the entire downtown, but basically an eight-block area,)  But still, that’s a lot of rioters, Insurrectionists and vandals in a metropolitan area of 12.9 million.  And there are a lot more you can’t see. 
 
And sure, they may seem peaceful, just walking along with signs, and occasionally chanting, and maybe dancing sometimes.  But as we saw later in the day, when law enforcement fires tear gas and rubber bullets at a calm crowd for no apparent good reason, you never know how people will react.

And in the middle of all this mass protest – with the police, county sheriff, National Guard and Marines thankfully protecting the city under siege from what they describe as mayhem, rioting, violence and vandalism – liberating Los Angeles from socialists and "burdensome leaders" -- well, gosh, sometimes Insurrectionists just get flat-out hungry.  Protesting and trying to overthrow the government is hard work, and it was a hot day.  Luckily, because this is the kind of city Los Angeles is, the City of Angels there was an outdoor café nearby to help feed The People…

And one thought remains, as  I make it safely back home, thanks to the protective support of law enforcement:

If Trump, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Border Czar Tom Homan and others are truly as interested as they insist and show here in Los Angeles to deport immigrants who got into the country illegally, I pass along the suggestion which appears to have fallen through the cracks:  they should go after Elon Musk -- whose brother Kimbal says on camera, with Elon uncomfortably sitting there, that they were "illegal immigrants."

There’s a point to this all, so bear with me.  It’s not about a favorite food, though it may seem so on the surface.
 
The tale does begin though with what has become a favorite food.  It’s known as “Nashville hot chicken” and has become very popular in Los Angeles, and apparently has been spreading through other parts of the country.  It began back in 1936 when Thornton Prince opened the BBQ Hot Chicken Shack (in Nashville, of course…), which later changed its name Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack in the 1980s.
 
I became a big fan of the food five years ago when Kim Prince (great-great niece of the original) opened her wonderful Hotville Chicken in South Central Los Angeles.  The inveterate Chris Dunn -- who introduced me to the place -- and I began frequent lunches there, and I wrote about Hotville four years ago here, if you want to know more about the place and its history.  Though that’s not the point here.
 
As great as their food is -- and it is great, in fact a “Best of L.A.” award--recipient from Los Angeles Magazine and making the Los Angeles Times 101 Best Restaurants list -- the owner/chef Kim Prince is even better.  She’d visit with the customers, and Chris and I have always loved our conversations with her, not a perfunctory "How's it going, how was your meal?," but stopping to talk, sitting down sometimes ​for 10-15 minutes. Full of kindness, not just for her customers, but her community, but even (actually) for her competitors.  She wants everyone to succeed, and puts actions to her words, a dynamo going out through the city relentlessly.  But that’s not the point here either – though it gets closer to it.
 
Because of COVID and the restaurant’s difficult location (though one Kim insisted on because of the community), Hotville Chicken unfortunately had to close down.  However, she teamed up with another pillar of the community, Greg Dulan of the legendary L.A. spot, Dulan’s Soul Food on Crenshaw – and the two created a successful food truck, Dulanville, which has relentlessly (of course) traveled throughout the city for the past several years.  And no, that too is not the point, but we’re getting close.
 
The point (and finally, we’re there…) is that last week, Kim Prince and Greg Dulan were on Jimmy Kimmel Live!  The reason is that he’s been featuring local chefs who have shown up in wildfire zones to feed people in need – and Kim and Greg, being who they are, are among those.
 
But it’s even more impressive than that.  To put it in perspective, when I sent an email to the Hotville account about how nice it was to see her on Kimmel’s show, she wrote back the following note, the details of which blew me away.  Though (being who she is), I wasn't surprised at that.  She wrote –

​​Here’s the video of their appearance on the show –
​

On this week’s Naked Lunch podcast, hosts Phil Rosenthal and David Wild have a special episode where they take listeners’ calls to discuss the recent wildfires in Los Angeles -- among them, check-ins from Brad Paisley and David's wife Fran Wild. They also write that “To learn more about building community through food and ‘Somebody Feed the People’ visit the Philanthropy page…” here at philrosenthalworld.com.

I believe this is where some people might insert "What would Jesus do?" so that the faux-religious right can understand it in their language.

It would be so cool to know what changes does the Great Swami suggests, since I am certain he doesn’t have the slightest clue of all the detailed planning that is truly done in the state.  Being Tuberville, maybe he thinks that California should cut down all the trees here and install Astroturf in the forests.
 
Still, Mr. Tuberville is welcome to the Hurricane Helene emergency relief that California helped pay for – and pay more for than any other state.  Which, in fact, it pays more for than any other state for all disaster aid, all the time.  In fact, contributing more in federal taxes than it gets back, so that all the states that underpay (like, say, Alabama) can use for their disaster relief.

And all MAGOPs in Congress know this.  Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) knows it.  But that didn't stop the faux-wannabe religious leader from saying with his veneer of devout emotion, when asked about emergency aid to California, "I think there should be conditions."  (No word yet if this is what Jesus would do.  Though if anyone does knows, it could be the self-proclaimed Moses, Mike Johnson, as he directs the people trying to escape Pharoah into the fire.)  By the way, when Louisiana screwed up building its levees, I might have liked to have said there should be conditions on emergency aid to them after Hurricane Katrina drowned New Orleans, but...well, I didn't because I'm not cruel and heartless, nor a religious hypocrite about my fellow citizens when in catastrophic need.

That’s just four MAGOPs (including Trump) out of all the self-righteous MAGOP officials they represent spewing intentional cruelty and ignorance – while the wildfires are still burning, and millions of people remain at risk.  Because that's who've all seen the MAGOP is today.  Splitting families. Denying healthcare.  Caging children.  Banning books, banning the teaching of Black history, banning drag shows.  It's just business as usual.  And it’s all the more pathetic for their inhumane vindictiveness not only being directed at the tens of millions of people (most who don't even live in the area) simply because the majority of the state votes in a way these MAGOP officials don't like, but also ignoring there are over 10 million people in their own party here -- and ignoring, too, that everyone in the state is a part of the same whole, taking on the same burdens of helping and rebuilding (because that's how states and community work) and suffering the same.  To refute every MAGOP lie, misinformation, ignorance, disinformation and conspiracy theory would be like playing the world's most hellish game of Whack-a-mole.  ​

I’m not suggesting all the country would rise up in outrage – it won’t.  But 5-10% (or 25%) recognizing how totally unacceptable this would be to Americans whose lives and communities have been destroyed, seeing it all on TV endlessly for a week – I don’t think that is unreasonable to consider.  I don’t think Trump can come away from withholding funds unscathed.  That doesn’t mean he still won’t do it, only that even he might get pushed enough to act, but if he doesn’t, if he withholds federal funding,  or starts layering on "strings" and "conditions," I think he’ll pay a price.
 
In fact, for all I know, if Trump does nothing, despite Dr. Sen. Barrabasso’s contention of "ultimate" aid that comes with all his "strings" (along with Coach Tuberville's "changes" and the Very Rev. Mike Johnson's "conditions"), most members of Congress might even ignore them and vote to put together an aid package because, as much as they follow Trump, they aren’t Trump and know that their own states might well face far-less emergencies at some point and need assistance.  And this is a national disaster.
 
Though maybe not as much as what used to be the Republican Party.

​In an interview late last week, Dr. Pat Soon-Shiong (owner of the Los Angeles Times) said it's “crazy” that California “doesn’t elect leaders with competence.”
 
This from the man who blocked his newspaper from endorsing Kamala Harris against an incompetent convicted felon, found liable of rape and guilty of fraud -- with dementia.
 
Moreover, Dr. Soon-Shiong had what seemed to have been a TwiXter meltdown last week, as well, and posted a relentless stream of tweet rants about the Los Angeles fire which not only come across as repeatedly ignorant -- and wildly irresponsible, not waiting until after the fire is contained and lives are saved -- but he doesn't appear to even be reading his own newspaper.
 
Reading through his TwiXter timeline on Saturday and seeing a stream of almost manic statements from him continually slamming Mayor Karen Bass so shamelessly in ways that had little bearing on the truth, I tried responding to them all until it just became far-too many and got to the point where if I continued replying to many more, I might have been detained for stalking.  At a minimum, I got tired of typing different versions of “For someone so supposedly-concerned with ‘competence,’ your comments, which purportedly are supposed to seem wise and profound, are shockingly devoid of knowing the truth.  Which is a starting point of competence.”
 
As I say, there were far, far, far too many tweets from him – each and every one overflowing with inaccuracies, or lies or disinformation (take your pick, it was a buffet…) – that I can’t repeat them all, but as an hors d'oeuvres here’s just one that will serve will as an example of them all.  He wrote --
 
“Proactive vs reactive planning and the need to fund water infrastructure is so clear. Why no fire breaks when we clearly anticipate wildfires? #competencematters.  State to probe why Pacific Palisades reservoir was offline, empty when firestorm exploded.”
 
What I replied was --
 
"You have experts at @latimes you own -- ask them, they'll tell you!

"January is NOT wildfire season. It's May-Oct. So, we don't "anticipate' fires NOW, let alone SIX CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRES!

"The article YOU QUOTED explains the reservoir was damaged & they were doing maintenance!"

And yes, honest, the Los Angeles Times article he himself quoted really did write about the repair work being done on the Santa Ynez Reservoir.  There is nothing to "probe."  As the article clearly states -- and that's the "Los Angeles Times" he owns -- there had been damage during the previous Palisades fire last February, and it was being repaired.  You couldn't miss it -- it wasn't buried, it was in the second paragraph!  "Officials say the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been closed since about February for repairs to its cover."
 
But further, what Soon-Shiong got wrong is that Santa Ynez Reservoir is a small, standalone faciiity in Pacific Palisades – not connected to the main system, and it isn’t even the reservoir that the Palisades relies on!  That’s the Stone Canyon Reservoir near UCLA, which was operating normally and flowing water to the Pacific Palisades.  The Santa Ynez Reservoir, on the other hand, is used for the higher ground of forestland  above the Palisades – but because of the massive demand on the water system dealing with six fires (in January, not the wildfire season), experts say that even if had been operational, the water pressure would likely have been too low to reach the higher altitude of the foothills and been of little use.  And had no affect on the village of Pacific Palisades.
 
Hey, if I knew this, one would like to think that Competence Maven Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong would know it, too.  He owns the Los Angeles Times, after all.  Or at least check it out with his staff (or Google) before trying to sashay his supposed expertise and posting online.  That would have been really cool -- and competent! -- especially given that (did I mention?) he owns the Los Angeles Times and a great many people probably assume that he reads his paper, knows what he’s talking about and trust him.  Silly them.
 
And this was just one tweet out of a bundle that he kept posting.
 
The good news is that, seeing all of his pontificating, smarmy, inaccurate posts made me feel slightly better about having canceled my subscription to the paper.  Something I’d been torn over doing.

I can’t imagine what it must be like for people working at the paper.  Who are career journalists.  Who believe in journalism.  And fact checking.  Getting your story right or risk being fired if you get it wrong time after time.  And knowing that this is their Peerless Leader.
 
And again, this is also the guy, ranting about “competence,” who blocked his newspaper from endorsing Kamala Harris who was running against an incompetent convicted felon, found liable of rape and guilty of fraud -- with dementia.  That can't be said too often.

Of the many things that's galling about such reactions during the disastrous fires – not just by Dr. Soon-Shiong but by almost everyone who has been “slamming” Mayor Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom during the fires – is their utter ignorance of not understanding that the wildfire season here is May through October.  For even just one fire to occur in January is deeply uncommon – but to have six catastrophic wildfires is otherworldly.  It would put a stress on the system even if it occurred in August, when fires are expected.  But...in January??? 
 
And galling, too, their not understanding that that was traditionally the wildfire season, but now with Climate Change (that so many on the extreme right want to deny), many experts now call it a “fire year.”  We see monstrous hurricanes.  Monstrous tornadoes.  Monstrous winter freezes.  Monstrous heat waves.  So, of course we’re now seeing monstrous winds – during monstrous droughts.  And end up with six catastrophic wildfires at the same time, in January.

But despite all that reality and their ignorance of it or intentional disinformation, there’s so much hatred by MAGOPs of Gavin Newsom because he’s a liberal and may run for president in 2028, and of Karen Bass because (I’m sure because) she’s not only black and a woman, but a black woman.  But beyond not grasping that January is not traditionally wildfire season, there have been all the lies about Mayor Bass – like that she fired the female fire chief (she didn’t) and shut down the Santa Ynez Reservoir (it was, as noted, being repaired) and not being prepared for six catastrophic wildfires in January, which has never before happened in the 243-year history of Los Angeles, and so many more falsehoods.  Including, perhaps at the top of the list, that she supposedly cut the fire department budget by $23 million, when in fact, a) the Los Angeles Times (Dr. Soon-Shiong’s newspaper…) reported that with other additions, the fire department budget actually increased by 7% (darn, if only Soon-Shiong read his own paper), and b) such a charge misses the ludicrous irony of conservatives crying out in fury at a budget being cut -- when “cutting budgets” is what they do for sport.  Man, I can’t even imagine how much they’d cut the fire department budget if MAGOPs were governor, mayor and controlled everything in the state.  For those scoffing, consider that Trump is saying he might not give emergency aid to Callfornia!!
 
But even putting aside that these “critics” don’t grasp that January isn’t the wildfire season, that six catastrophic fires puts massive stress on the system, and that most of their supposed facts are wildly untrue – what might be worse  is that they’re doing all this slamming right in the middle of when officials and the fire department are fighting six catastrophic active fires and trying to save lives and structures…and that the time to criticize how it was handles is not now, when everyone should be working to help those in desperate need, but after everything is contained and you have time to study and assess what didn’t work and what did.

(Side Note:  Things were done wrong.  And right.  This was a catastrophe, after all.  Things go wrong in all catastrophes.  That's a big reason why they're catastrophes.   You know the expression:  "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans."  That and “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy."  Or Mike Tyson's adage:
“Everyone has a plan: until they get punched in the face."   This is not to let anyone off the hook for mistakes.  Just putting it all in perspective.  There are understandable mistakes based on conditions, and there are inexcusable mistakes based on lack of skill.  The point is, this is why you make adjustments as needed during an event, but wait until after to do an assessment of what went wrong and why.  And what worked, and why.)
 
By the way, to be clear, I don’t know if the attacks against Mayor Bass (who was my Congresswoman for many years) are because she is a black woman.  Many may not be, some or many may be.  But I do know that when you wrongly attack a Black woman in charge, whatever your motivation (and especially when you don’t correct the record and apologize), it gives fuel to all those who are always extremely happy to attack a black woman for racist reasons, and as a supposed “DEI hire.” (Never mind that the people of Los Angeles voted for her after a distinguished career in Congress).  Just like others are happy to hug the lie that Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley was fired and believe that none of these six catastrophic wildfires in January would have happened if there was a white man in charge.  Because, of course, that’s apparently how wildfires work.  And as we know, nothing ever goes wrong when white men are in charge.
  
But in the end, it brings us back to Patrick Soon-Shiong and his World of Competence. If only we had elected officials in California who are competent.  That we wouldn't have six catastrophic wildfires in January.

Me, if I had the same wishes as Dr. Soon-Shiong, I'd have used them for two different things.

One, that all people believed in Climate Change, and we didn't have wildfires in the first place.

And two, I was we had an owner of the Los Angeles Times who was competent.