My sister, who – God help her – still lives in Southern California, has just informed me that the “Burbank police will be on the lookout for illegal fireworks, celebratory gunfire”!
Sounds to me like you’re living in an oppressed state. The more the state official bearing their clipboard shows up, the more it becomes obvious it’s time to leave.
I used to live near Burbank for many years. That was over in a small city named Pacoima. Just about every night you can hear non-celebratory gunfire, even automatic weapons on occasion, in the distance. Pacoima, apart from being the home of the late Ritchie Valens also has the distinction of being under the rule of the most notorious and evil gangs in Southern California.
You might think that I mean something like the (locally known) "Pacomia Flats" gang. Nope, in this case I am referring to the infamous LAPD Foothill Division which was responsible for the beating of Rodney King and the resulting LA Riots years ago. I do not think their turf extends into nearby Burbank, but I might be mistaken.
I am old enough to remember what that area was like in the 70s. It was actually very nice before the liberal cancerous rot that has turned it into what it is today. These days, people have been shot for going down the wrong street, looking at someone/something the wrong way, and if not speaking Spanish in a certain area. No joke.
In any case, I think the degradation of the entire area is perfectly linked to increasing government overreach and tyranny. Especially after what they did during the Corona Hoax, there are clearly few less-free areas of the country than Southern CA.
Good lucky clawing freedom back in places like that. They've been working on taking it away for decades with great success because they don't play by the rules. Only we have to play by the rules, not the government, and in some cases, those rules are arbitrary, capricious, and even illegal.
Burbank actually has its own police force, which is one of its best features. Also its own power company (so, after the big earthquake in '93, they got their power back up in a day or so, while people in LA were waiting over a week.)
That sounds very scary - but not completely surprising, given what I've been hearing about LA generally lately. And yes, it's all a result of the socialism that has been eating the state alive for decades now.
I'm resigned to the fact that I have to stick in ear plugs at night a few times a year, July 4th and the days around it being one example. But I have to take mild exception to the assertion of this column that freedom is dead unless we can make lots of noise, disturbing everyone for blocks around. Practicing freedom and being obnoxious do not have to go together!
Of course not! And that is not the impression I meant to give - but rather that restrictions on fireworks is just one example of the myriad ways in which the state controls our lives.
Absolutely. And when the CA government stops deliberately letting the entire state burn, with its idiotic land-management policies, that's when I'll start worrying about individuals setting off fireworks.
Shocked you could possibly compare setting off fireworks to guns! Kindly explain the reason for the illegal fireworks other than to scare the living hell out of every animal within earshot! Secondly, how could anyone in their right mind be proud of a Country that starts wars for profit and myriad other nefarious reasons - that provides Israel the ammunition and funds to slaughter how ten of thousands on innocent civilians in addition to sending how many innocent Ukrainians to their imminent deaths on behalf of a proxy was for the good ole USA?
GOD bless America?!? You're kidding right? GOD BLESS THE PEOPLE WHO CELEBRATE THE CARNAGE OF WHAT THE USA CONTINUES TO INFLICT ON OTHERS! We had a great laugh at the folks that are displaying the flag today in solidarity with Israel and the slaughtering of innocent people. Great Country, my ass! Wake-up America and see why we are rightfully hated throughout the world.
Thank you - the more people who stand up and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and finally start to fight back (we desperately are in need of a massive revolution) perhaps what little is left of this Country can be saved. In the interim, I stand behind what I said - we are a Third World Country! I live 20 minutes outside of NYC and it's like the slums. Manhattan itself is gone and never coming back. It is no longer SAFE to walk anywhere at any time of the day. Yet when the college kids protested how quickly they were subdued and arrested but crime continues completely unbated and actually encouraged when no arrests are made.
"Manhattan itself is gone and never coming back. It is no longer SAFE to walk anywhere at any time of the day. "
I've heard this from a number of people. It makes me very sad. I lived there for seven years, not that long ago, and it was great then. What a tragedy.
A prime example okay? They're now advertising tickets to Hamilton whereas before, there was a year waiting list, if not more. The overall caliber of the city itself is frightening. The entire island reeks of marijuana and the number one pejorative term is - rhymes with duck. I worked in Spanish Harlem for years and it was SAFE! I always said although I spent my life in NYC I slept in NJ. I feared nothing or no one. Now? You can't walk anywhere fearing who is going to attack you - from behind or even walking past you. Every single day there is yet another incident of someone getting pushed into the subway tracks, slashed, punched in the face, hit with a brick or anything else they can get their hands on. You can't defend yourself because you don't know where it's coming from.
I swear it was deliberate, you cannot possibly tell me this could not have been prevented. Again, they spent millions rounding up hundreds if not thousands of police officers to combat the peaceful protestors - but every day there is yet another attack and NOTHING is done about it. Things were so bad the governor brought in the National Guard to patrol the subways. Store after store after store are now vacant all throughout the city. The only people that are in NYC are stupid tourists who don't know any better and believe the advertisement that the city is SAFE! GONE are the classy and wealthy people who either moved to Florida or the Hamptons. Stand on Madison Ave it's shocking and so very sad.
None of that was happening when I last lived there. It sounds like the death of a once-great city. And yes, absolutely: There are people who benefit from civilization falling into chaos. I believe it is deliberate.
> The implication, of course, being that all other kinds of gunfire can carry on as usual.
Eureka! You found a loophole! :-D
🤣
Sounds to me like you’re living in an oppressed state. The more the state official bearing their clipboard shows up, the more it becomes obvious it’s time to leave.
Nope - we left a couple of years ago. Much better now!
I used to live near Burbank for many years. That was over in a small city named Pacoima. Just about every night you can hear non-celebratory gunfire, even automatic weapons on occasion, in the distance. Pacoima, apart from being the home of the late Ritchie Valens also has the distinction of being under the rule of the most notorious and evil gangs in Southern California.
You might think that I mean something like the (locally known) "Pacomia Flats" gang. Nope, in this case I am referring to the infamous LAPD Foothill Division which was responsible for the beating of Rodney King and the resulting LA Riots years ago. I do not think their turf extends into nearby Burbank, but I might be mistaken.
I am old enough to remember what that area was like in the 70s. It was actually very nice before the liberal cancerous rot that has turned it into what it is today. These days, people have been shot for going down the wrong street, looking at someone/something the wrong way, and if not speaking Spanish in a certain area. No joke.
In any case, I think the degradation of the entire area is perfectly linked to increasing government overreach and tyranny. Especially after what they did during the Corona Hoax, there are clearly few less-free areas of the country than Southern CA.
Good lucky clawing freedom back in places like that. They've been working on taking it away for decades with great success because they don't play by the rules. Only we have to play by the rules, not the government, and in some cases, those rules are arbitrary, capricious, and even illegal.
Burbank actually has its own police force, which is one of its best features. Also its own power company (so, after the big earthquake in '93, they got their power back up in a day or so, while people in LA were waiting over a week.)
That sounds very scary - but not completely surprising, given what I've been hearing about LA generally lately. And yes, it's all a result of the socialism that has been eating the state alive for decades now.
I'm resigned to the fact that I have to stick in ear plugs at night a few times a year, July 4th and the days around it being one example. But I have to take mild exception to the assertion of this column that freedom is dead unless we can make lots of noise, disturbing everyone for blocks around. Practicing freedom and being obnoxious do not have to go together!
Of course not! And that is not the impression I meant to give - but rather that restrictions on fireworks is just one example of the myriad ways in which the state controls our lives.
Cali fires are nothing to mess with
Absolutely. And when the CA government stops deliberately letting the entire state burn, with its idiotic land-management policies, that's when I'll start worrying about individuals setting off fireworks.
Shocked you could possibly compare setting off fireworks to guns! Kindly explain the reason for the illegal fireworks other than to scare the living hell out of every animal within earshot! Secondly, how could anyone in their right mind be proud of a Country that starts wars for profit and myriad other nefarious reasons - that provides Israel the ammunition and funds to slaughter how ten of thousands on innocent civilians in addition to sending how many innocent Ukrainians to their imminent deaths on behalf of a proxy was for the good ole USA?
GOD bless America?!? You're kidding right? GOD BLESS THE PEOPLE WHO CELEBRATE THE CARNAGE OF WHAT THE USA CONTINUES TO INFLICT ON OTHERS! We had a great laugh at the folks that are displaying the flag today in solidarity with Israel and the slaughtering of innocent people. Great Country, my ass! Wake-up America and see why we are rightfully hated throughout the world.
It was the Burbank Police who put fireworks and guns into the same category, not me.
As for being proud of this country - I'm not. And didn't say, or even imply, anywhere in this post that I was.
Thank you - the more people who stand up and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and finally start to fight back (we desperately are in need of a massive revolution) perhaps what little is left of this Country can be saved. In the interim, I stand behind what I said - we are a Third World Country! I live 20 minutes outside of NYC and it's like the slums. Manhattan itself is gone and never coming back. It is no longer SAFE to walk anywhere at any time of the day. Yet when the college kids protested how quickly they were subdued and arrested but crime continues completely unbated and actually encouraged when no arrests are made.
"Manhattan itself is gone and never coming back. It is no longer SAFE to walk anywhere at any time of the day. "
I've heard this from a number of people. It makes me very sad. I lived there for seven years, not that long ago, and it was great then. What a tragedy.
A prime example okay? They're now advertising tickets to Hamilton whereas before, there was a year waiting list, if not more. The overall caliber of the city itself is frightening. The entire island reeks of marijuana and the number one pejorative term is - rhymes with duck. I worked in Spanish Harlem for years and it was SAFE! I always said although I spent my life in NYC I slept in NJ. I feared nothing or no one. Now? You can't walk anywhere fearing who is going to attack you - from behind or even walking past you. Every single day there is yet another incident of someone getting pushed into the subway tracks, slashed, punched in the face, hit with a brick or anything else they can get their hands on. You can't defend yourself because you don't know where it's coming from.
I swear it was deliberate, you cannot possibly tell me this could not have been prevented. Again, they spent millions rounding up hundreds if not thousands of police officers to combat the peaceful protestors - but every day there is yet another attack and NOTHING is done about it. Things were so bad the governor brought in the National Guard to patrol the subways. Store after store after store are now vacant all throughout the city. The only people that are in NYC are stupid tourists who don't know any better and believe the advertisement that the city is SAFE! GONE are the classy and wealthy people who either moved to Florida or the Hamptons. Stand on Madison Ave it's shocking and so very sad.
None of that was happening when I last lived there. It sounds like the death of a once-great city. And yes, absolutely: There are people who benefit from civilization falling into chaos. I believe it is deliberate.
This all happened almost overnight and it had nothing to do with Covid. In less than 2 years the city was destroyed.