08/05/26
Title
BELIEVE That
Good morning! It’s Wednesday, August 5th.
National Oyster Day
You know what goes great with oysters? Gin and tonics. Trust me, I’m going somewhere with it. It’ll work at the end, I promise. You’re just gonna have to deal with, you know, a whole episode of the news first.
And now, the news.
Spokane Arson
-via AP News
Starting in Washington State, where the Old Trails Fire, which, as of this recording, has burned over 3,600 acres, destroyed at least 700 structures, sent tens of thousands of people out of their own homes, and is still 0% contained… was arson.
There are three fires wildfires burning in the area right now. The Old Trails Fire is the second-largest – it’s currently unknown what caused the other two fires.
37-year-old Aaron Farinacci (fah-ree-NAHT-chee) was arrested on Monday. He’s no stranger to prison system – he spent a decade in prison after being found guilty of killing his dad in Arizona in 2010. Last year, he was questioned in two fire-related cases in Spokane. One was a wildfire and the other was one of several bus-sized fires in an area near his apartment. He wasn’t arrested in either case.
Farinacci’s bond has been set at a $1 million.
Not high enough.
Eaton Fire
-via LAist
Speaking of preventable fires…
According to two reports released on Tuesday, the January 2025 Eaton Fire that burned and closed more than 10,000 structures in Los Angeles, including historic Altadena, and killed at least 19 people, was because of Southern California Edison. No surprise there.
Arcing electric lines emitted sparks into dry vegetation, and it was only twelve seconds after that, that the Eaton fire broke out.
They were asked multiple times, MULTIPLE TIMES, to turn the power off. The winds were between 65 and 70 MPH. At 4 PM, two hours before the fire started, they turned off a few local distribution circuits, so they knew that leaving the power on would be a danger. But they still left it on in the canyon.
Firefighters were called to Altadena 35 times BEFORE the Eaton fire officially started, because sparks from powerlines had started little fires here and there.
Since 1992, more than 3,600 wildfires have been linked to power generation, transmission, and distribution equipment. In 2023 alone, state utility monopolies were responsible for 480 wildfires.
The 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive in California’s history, was caused by PG&E. And we learned, like, we as human beings, learned that you have to cut the power to cut the danger.
But what Southern California Edison learned was – how can we make more money? At all times. And you can’t even punish them by saying you’re going to cancel your account and go with someone else because I don’t know if you caught what you called them earlier – these companies are monopolies.
They have a $775 million payout fund that’ll be split between the 4,000 or so applicants. And if that sounds like a lot, that’s just under $194,000 per applicant. How much do you think it costs to buy a house in Los Angeles? How much would it cost you to restart your life?
There are so many things that can’t be replaced. But for the things that can… there is no world, no world, where $194,000 is enough. This report comes just after the company released their quarterly earnings – a casual $669 this QUARTER. That’s $193 million more than they made last year.
In 2025, the year of these fires, their CEO got a 20% raise.
$194,000.
This report isn’t a surprise. These companies have never learned a lesson, even on accident. And… you know… they suck.
Arrest at LA Golf Course
-via ABC News
President Trump visited Los Angeles on Tuesday (he comes here a lot for someone who pretends he hates it so much) for an RNC dinner at his own golf course (don’t worry, I’m sure he made zero money for it happening there).
On Sunday, however, a man was arrested after allegedly taking photos and video of the golf course. Agents thought he was suspicious and then found out he was being investigated for a robbery in El Segundo, and so they arrested him. When they arrested him, he had a 16-round magazine with hollow-point ammunition from his pants pocket, a loaded pistol, and more ammunition in his car. When they searched his home, they found more firearms, body armor, and "multiple notebooks containing concerning statements."
And… that’s… that story.
Pirro Tries to Save Her Job
I can’t believe I have to talk about this Reflecting Pool again… Remember yesterday, when I said that Trump is so mad that Jeanine Pirro dropped the vandalism storyline? Well apparently, on Monday, Pirro… this is so lame, these people are so embarrassing…
On Monday, Pirro brought over a box of evidence to show our brightest boy that the Reflecting Pool was damaged by the construction company that he, himself, approved and not by the VANDALS his Temu Tweets would suggest.
The company that did the original construction was Atlantic Industrial Coatings and now that they need to redo the pool, they’re going with, well it says here… Atlantic Industrial Coatings. The same company. Gotta give him a second chance, ya know? We’re giving Trump a second chance at the presidency and look at how that’s going—oh nooooo. The Reflecting Poooooool…
Election Night in Michigan
-via NY Times
And of course, it was election night in Michigan on Tuesday (my favorite) and this one’s a big one!
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who has transformed and safeguarded democracy in the state, has easily won her primary. No surprise there but just because it’s not a surprise doesn’t mean we shouldn’t celebrate it. A good person who’s in politics to do good? That’s something to celebrate.
In the mitten state Senate, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed won a primary that seemed like it might be a tricky one, but when Mallory McMorrow dropped out after low polling, it seemed like the primary was all but sealed for the good doctor. His other opponent, Haley Stevens, was more of a centrist, and it seems even in Michigan, the progressive movement is a tough one to beat.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
Coupla things. First of all, Mitch McConnell’s still alive. AS WE ALL KNEW HE WAS. No no – I don’t think his state of definitely for sure conscious wink wink has changed, I just think that they didn’t want to make an announcement that omg we’re all totally surprised that he’s taken a turn for the worse. Poor little lamb.
Also… before I go on I want to remind you that this show is free and I’ve never ONCE been off brand… Ted Lasso is back baybee. That thing about the gin and tonic from the beginning? It’s because on Tuesday night, which is last night for you but still a couple of hours from now for me (time, dude…) I made myself a gin and tonic to watch Ted Lasso since it USUALLY comes out at 9 PM on the pacific coast. And if not… well I’ll still have had a delicious gin and tonic. Unbeatable.
I called it on day dang one. In fact, here are multiple times I’ve called it.
Going all the way back to August 26th, 2024.
From Halloween, 2024.
September 16th, 2025.
September 30th, 2025.
And then this one goes out of order but I felt like I wanted to end on this one from March 18th, 2025.
Because we’re 90 days from the midterms. And we do need to find those little sparks, little moments, little pieces of joy. Find it anywhere. Find it where you can.
Because we are going to win in November.
BELIEVE that.
I’m proud of Ted Lasso. I’m so so proud of Jocelyn Benson.
And of course, because you are better and crisper than a perfectly ratioed G&T on a 78* summer night (something we’ll never see again) during a beautiful sunset… I’m proud of you.