Some Much Deserved Kudos

Having spent the week on fire watch as events unfolded, I'd like to extend some HolyCoast kudos to a couple of websites that I found to be especially helpful:

• In San Diego, SOSFireBlog.blogspot.com is the blog run by the San Diego Union-Tribune which is constantly updated with the latest news on the fires in that county.
• In the mountains, RimOfTheWorld.net has done a wonderful job of updating incident reports about as fast as they could be recorded.

Other kudos have been earned by State and local public officials, and yes that means politicians, of all political parties and persuasions who have really done a masterful job of handling the multiple emergencies...with the exception of three particular politicians that I'll deal with in a minute.

The Governator has shown the nation and the state what a governor is supposed to do in a major emergency. When I think back to Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco's lip-quivering performance in the aftermath of Katrina - especially when she admitted to being overwhelmed by the whole thing - I'm thankful Arnold is in charge. Louisiana will soon have a new Republican governor thanks to the performance of Blanco.

I previously singled out Assemblyman Todd Spitzer for praise in his tireless efforts to get more resources to the Orange County fires before we started losing homes. His complaints have paid off with more air assets, though it took the loss of some homes to get the message across that we really needed them.

And to all the other mayors, supervisors, councilpersons, emergency management people who have had a hand in the emergency response, well done. They're not Republicans or Democrats right now but people who are doing the work they were elected to do and doing it well. And whoever designed the Reverse 911 system that worked so well in San Diego, my hat's off to you. You probably saved a great many lives.

Of course, without the brave firefighters and police officers from all over the state who responded and risked their lives so that others might live, we are grateful to all of you and thankful that there are people like you willing to serve.

And now, the other three I alluded to above. Two of California's dim bulbs, Senator Barbara "Dumb as a Box of Rocks" Boxer and Lt. Gov. John "Dumb as a Boxer" Garamendi both tried to blame the disaster on the Iraq War. These people are a one-note samba of stupidity and are a disgrace to their office and the people they're supposed to serve.

And a special award goes to loose cannon San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre who, in the early hours of the fires, recommended to both local and state officials that the entire city of San Diego be evacuated. If you think they had chaos down there in the areas where the fire struck, can you imaging the nightmare that could have unfolded had the wiser heads listened to him? There might have been thousands of people stuck on freeways as the fires swept over them. He's a dingbat.

To the rest of you, keep up the good work. You've earned your tax dollars these past few days.