At a moment of extraordinary human vulnerability and loss the immediate reaction of Trump, Musk and the right wing media was to lie about what was going on. So what is going on?
Mike, I trust your expertise based on your knowledge of California politics & environment plus your candor.
We’ve never had a president who works so diligently to pit Americans against each other & lie to attack people’s faith in all levels of government. Trump’s Big Lie about 2020 election, then his all offense/no defense approach to his indictments were awful yet mainly self-focused. I’m not sure what he hopes to gain personally by attacking NOAA & FEMA over hurricane & flood, and now the LA fire. Obviously this weakens the fabric of American society and fans distrust of civil servants and authorities. Seems the greatest beneficiaries of the Trump-Musk media opp will be every adversary of America.
Putin, Iran, Kim Jong Un - your men in power here are serving you well
Don’t forget Xi! Elon managed to throw a wrench in the stop gap bill in order to prevent investment guardrails affecting his electric car manufacturing in China being put in place.
As usual, you eloquently state the clear-eyed truth. Thank you for this, Mike. We all need to get the migration to Bluesky to happen in earnest. “Red” states have already had our lights get dimmed and misinformation prevails here. “Blue” states won’t be far behind if we don’t get ahold of the narrative and return it to actual facts. I think Mark Cuban put it best when he stated that the migration from X would destabilize these powers. He’s right. I just reposted that skeet from him on my bluesky if you’d like to see it. Thank you for including your personal story on how you first encountered the fire disaster.
Side note: I tracked the breaking news of Jimmy Carter passing. First to report was a lawyer I follow on substack, but I saw it in his chat feed for subscribers, not in notes. (Algo here on substack will push stuff that is days old). My Mastodon broke at was same time as my substack chat from that journalist. Close second was bluesky. No TV outlet carried it for 30 min. Fox was first. Family was with me. They didn’t get it on twitter or IG for a long while after I got it, but they probably don’t follow accounts there that would break the news either.
Thank you Mike. This is Trump’s most damaging attribute to our country. The amount of blatant lies that just became mainstream and take over the narrative. There is no crisis that we could face that Trump and his jerk-off advisors wouldn’t spin for political gain.
They don’t care about truth, and worse they don’t care about people. Musk, Trump, the whole lot don’t register empathy. They are truly sick. I am horrified and disgusted that others support “leaders” who would rather cause real harm than help to save lives. Perhaps Mar a Lago will burn down. At least he would know loss for the first time ever.
At bottom of the article (on apple) bottom right arrow. Click and then select an option on how to share. You can share via email or copy the link to text to someone. On Substack click the orange logo.
Damn, Mike. It's all so tragic and the lies/disinfo causing divisions among us is shamelessly unconscionable.
Thanks for this.
So well said. I was both enraged and heartbroken to see those posts by the President and Musk, particularly given what it portends for the future.
Spot on Mike.
Thanks Treat! Appreciate your support 🙏🏼
Mike, I trust your expertise based on your knowledge of California politics & environment plus your candor.
We’ve never had a president who works so diligently to pit Americans against each other & lie to attack people’s faith in all levels of government. Trump’s Big Lie about 2020 election, then his all offense/no defense approach to his indictments were awful yet mainly self-focused. I’m not sure what he hopes to gain personally by attacking NOAA & FEMA over hurricane & flood, and now the LA fire. Obviously this weakens the fabric of American society and fans distrust of civil servants and authorities. Seems the greatest beneficiaries of the Trump-Musk media opp will be every adversary of America.
Putin, Iran, Kim Jong Un - your men in power here are serving you well
Don’t forget Xi! Elon managed to throw a wrench in the stop gap bill in order to prevent investment guardrails affecting his electric car manufacturing in China being put in place.
Tipping my hat to ya for this addition!
Thank you for this, Mike. I have family in Pacific Palisades. To hear the lies and finger pointing is heartbreaking and enraging.
As usual, you eloquently state the clear-eyed truth. Thank you for this, Mike. We all need to get the migration to Bluesky to happen in earnest. “Red” states have already had our lights get dimmed and misinformation prevails here. “Blue” states won’t be far behind if we don’t get ahold of the narrative and return it to actual facts. I think Mark Cuban put it best when he stated that the migration from X would destabilize these powers. He’s right. I just reposted that skeet from him on my bluesky if you’d like to see it. Thank you for including your personal story on how you first encountered the fire disaster.
Side note: I tracked the breaking news of Jimmy Carter passing. First to report was a lawyer I follow on substack, but I saw it in his chat feed for subscribers, not in notes. (Algo here on substack will push stuff that is days old). My Mastodon broke at was same time as my substack chat from that journalist. Close second was bluesky. No TV outlet carried it for 30 min. Fox was first. Family was with me. They didn’t get it on twitter or IG for a long while after I got it, but they probably don’t follow accounts there that would break the news either.
Thank you Mike. This is Trump’s most damaging attribute to our country. The amount of blatant lies that just became mainstream and take over the narrative. There is no crisis that we could face that Trump and his jerk-off advisors wouldn’t spin for political gain.
They don’t care about truth, and worse they don’t care about people. Musk, Trump, the whole lot don’t register empathy. They are truly sick. I am horrified and disgusted that others support “leaders” who would rather cause real harm than help to save lives. Perhaps Mar a Lago will burn down. At least he would know loss for the first time ever.
Another incredible thoughtful & well written article...
The only positive thing I can say is that it makes your role even more important, and I believe you are up to it. Godspeed, Mike!
Thank you for this piece.
The absolute least we have lost…
Thanks for your writing!
So well said. How do I share? I’d in the substack app….
At bottom of the article (on apple) bottom right arrow. Click and then select an option on how to share. You can share via email or copy the link to text to someone. On Substack click the orange logo.
Thanks for the help.
Turns out when I open it on my laptop, I was given a link. Serves me right for using my phone....