With the Maui wildfires, I’ve seen reports that the only road leading out of Lahaina was barricaded and I have no idea when or what the reasoning was for that, but here’s a post I saw on X today and this lady’s sentiment, ““Only those who disobeyed survived” is going to be the slogan of our times.” struck a chord with me.
Today the Washington Post reports, Maui utility may have compromised evidence in fire probe, lawyers say. Here’s a bit of that WaPo story:
“LAHAINA, Hawaii — The Hawaii power utility believed to have started the deadly Lahaina fire removed damaged power poles and other equipment from a key fire scene, potentially affecting evidence that is part of an official investigation into how the blaze ignited.”
“Hawaiian Electric — which acted quickly to restore power on the island after Aug. 8 — hauled away fallen poles, power lines, transformers, conductors and other equipment from near a Lahaina substation starting around Aug. 12, documents show, before investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) arrived on scene. ATF usually responds to bombings and shootings. This is only the agency’s third wildland fire investigation, a spokesperson said. Usually, it’s the U.S. Forest Service’s role, but since the Maui fires were not on any national forest lands, ATF is the primary federal investigative force.”
So, there’s no definitive finding on Hawaii Electric’s actions and lawsuits are already flying.
This DailyMail yesterday reported: EXCLUSIVE: FEMA officials are staying at $1,000-a-night luxury hotels in Maui amid recovery efforts in Lahaina. Here’s a taste of this scathing report:
“Bungling U.S. government bureaucrats dispatched to the Maui disaster zone are shacked up in $1,000-a-night luxury hotels on the Hawaiian island, DailyMail.com can reveal.”
Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have been slammed by locals over their slow response to the devastating wildfires that have claimed at least 114 lives and left thousands of people homeless after their houses were scorched to the ground.
But that has not stopped the under-fire agency from splashing taxpayer cash to put up more than 1,000 of its personnel at four bank-breaking resorts in Wailea after the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. for more than a century that caused more than $5 billion in damage.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12430203/FEMA-officials-staying-luxury-Maui-hotels.html
It’s odd that the death toll has been stuck at 115 for a couple days now, with reports of around 1,000 people (many of them kids) still missing. This story is going to get much worse, I fear, and Democrats and the liberal media sure seem to be trying to find a way to slow-roll details and downplay the tragedy.
Yes, I think, “Only those who disobeyed survived,” is a thought to ponder as the gargantuan administrative state, those trillions of dollars in COVID spending and the Dems “Inflation Reduction Act,” becomes turbo-charged as the politically-connected, big business and fraudsters rush to cash in on more government “free money” to chase the green dreams. Dems, now a year later, are bragging that their Inflation Reduction Act was really the biggest green spending bill ever passed – not about inflation reduction. Go figure… Assuredly, there will be more and more fraud, waste and downright deadly outcomes with so many incompetent nincompoops joining the ranks of the green dream federal bureaucracy. What matters most is their allegiance to the gods of social justice and regurgitating the liberal narrative, not competency.
The first GOP debate was last night and Trump’s big interview with Tucker Carlson, but rather than that, I was thinking about an essay I wrote on my blog back in 2013, The Quest For American Leadership In The 21st Century: A Few Home Truths and I recommended three steps to follow with finding leaders in America. My steps still might be worth thinking about:
President Abraham Lincoln stated “Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap. Let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges. Let it be written in primers, spelling books, and in almanacs. Let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in the courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation.” Few would argue that our leaders should be men of good character. Defining what constitutes good character, a task that should be simple, will produce a confusing array of answers, if you do a quick survey of your friends. Going back to my father’s, “if you give your word; you keep it” belief, demanding our national leaders possess basic honesty, propels us further in this quest than dissecting political platforms, plank by plank, ever will.
The challenges facing America, from the war against radical Jihadists to our escalating economic crisis, demand leaders willing to build renewed faith in our governmental institutions; to find solutions and protect our nation or we face the very real possibility of massive civil unrest and collapse. Machiavelli, endlessly quoted for his “the ends justify the means” line, offered advice for republics too. He stated, “A republic may, likewise, be brought back to its original form, without recourse to ordinances for enforcing justice, by the mere virtues of a single citizen, by reason that these virtues are of such influence and authority that good men love to imitate them, and bad men are ashamed to depart from them.” We need to demand that type of leader in this century.
The quest for our 21st century American leaders starts with you. Step One: Think for yourself; move away from being swayed by political partisans hurling talking points at you. Take the time to study issues, candidates and find your own moral compass. President George Washington, my favorite founding father, wrote a list titled, Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior In Company and Conversation”, 110 rules covering everything from admonitions not to clean your teeth with the tablecloth to don’t run in the streets. He ended with #110: “Labour to keep alive in your breast that Little Spark of Celestial Fire Called Conscience.” That should be your guide.
Step Two: Be the leader of your own destiny. Don’t be a follower of populist movements. left or right, unless you have completed Step One. Before becoming a political lemming, allowing professional media figures to press your political hot buttons, calmly discuss issues with family and friends. In our 24 hour news cycle, internet-connected world, misinformation, disinformation and outright lies can circle the globe in minutes. Don’t let these control your political reasoning, refer back to Step One.
Step Three: Follow the rules. President Lincoln’s call for reverence for the laws provides the keystone to rebuilding a stronger America. When political aspirants lack personal integrity, obfuscate on public issues, or find excuses for not following the rules; move on and continue your quest for worthy leaders. To honor those who sacrificed all, to secure our blessings of liberty, at the very least we all have a duty to become informed citizens, who demand men and women of character to lead us in this century.
In 2023, I’d add one more step to my 2013 essay:
Step Four: Pray for our country.
libertybelle diaries 
There is something super fishy about the whole situation in Maui.