Free Republic

"I got more water coming outta my eyes than DWP had in both of our reservoirs" -@spencerpratt Television personality Spencer Pratt, who lost his home in the Palisades Fire and has been a vocal critic in the months since of the city's and state's preparation for and response to the conflagration, announced Wednesday that he is running for mayor of Los Angeles. Speaking at a "They Let Us Burn" rally held by the Palisades Fire Residents Coalition to mark the one-year anniversary of the fire's start, the 42-year-old Pratt again repeated his complaints about authorities' handling of the blaze, then...

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing intense backlash for making racially-charged comments about Hispanic Americans serving with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Bass, a Democrat, was speaking with CNN’s “The Situation Room” on a recent network feature that profiled Border Patrol and ICE agents training to work along the southern border. CNN noted that a large percentage of recruits were of Hispanic heritage and at one point asked whether they had any reservations about apprehending their “own kind.” “They didn’t come in the right way so they aren’t my kind,” one recruit said without hesitation. Border Patrol Agent...

Los Angeles Democratic Mayor Karen Bass expressed disappointment and concern Friday with Hispanics joining Border Patrol – arguing they’re only doing it for the paycheck. “Well, in a way, I think it’s sad,” Bass said of a CNN report on Border Patrol’s new recruits, many of which are Hispanic. “I think that those Border Patrol agents are going to have a difficult time when they’re out in the field and they see what actually happens in real life separate from their training,” the mayor told “The Situation Room” host Wolf Blitzer. The report Bass was asked to respond to included...

If you’ve ever thought of visiting the crocodile-shaped island of Cuba, or run into someone recently returned from sultry nights in the country’s salsa halls, there’s a good chance you’ll have heard the phrase “See it before it changes.” And I don’t mean because of Hurricane Melissa. The idea is that the centrally planned communist state, one of the last on Earth, will soon morph into America and a balmy Brigadoon full of people unencumbered by money, modern cars or Alexa will evaporate. I think most people, if they knew what Cubans have endured, wouldn’t use that phrase, which is...

As the traditional entertainment industry continues to contract, Hollywood’s allure to visitors clearly loses its appeal — and that has massive implications for L.A., which for decades has counted on Hollywood to bring in billions in tourism dollars. According to the Hollywood Partnership, a nonprofit dedicated to the beautification and economic vitality of the neighborhood, foot traffic around the entertainment district has dropped about 50 percent the past year and has never fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. And it’s clear why: The area is neglected, dirty, uncomfortable to be in. Plus, what is there really to see or do in...

Anthony Jackson, the session legend widely credited with pioneering the six-string bass, has died aged 73. The news has been confirmed by high-end bass manufacturer Fodera Guitars, with whom Jackson worked very closely. Jazz fusion virtuoso Al Di Meola has also paid tribute to Jackson’s inventive legacy. “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Anthony Jackson – one of the most visionary and influential bassists in the history of our instrument,” Fodera Guitars wrote. “Anthony’s impact extended far beyond the notes he played,” it says. “He pioneered the concept of the six-string ‘contrabass guitar,’ revolutionizing the role...

The Altamaha bass has light gold scales with olive margins, darker brown blotches on their sides and orange on the edges of their fins. Credit: Special ============================================================================ Bartram’s and Altamaha bass, first identified in the 1980s, are now officially recognized as distinct species. Researchers at the University of Georgia have formally identified two previously unrecognized species of black bass in a newly published study: Bartram’s bass and Altamaha bass. Though descriptions of the two species are new, sightings of the fish are not. Ecologist Bud Freeman first encountered Micropterus pucpuggy, now known as Bartram’s bass, in the 1980s. A couple...

>I? Seen as a face-off between the old and new guards in jazz, Duke Ellington’s ‘Money Jungle’ album proved they were on the same continuum. First released in 1962 via the United Artists label, Duke Ellington’s collaboration with bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach, Money Jungle, was a momentous jazz summit. Though often seen as the moment where the old guard (Ellington) squared up to jazz music’s young lions (Mingus and Roach), the generational differences between its three participants are often exaggerated. Certainly, Ellington was entering his twilight years – he had just turned 63 – but Mingus, then...

Cameras captured the wild moment when dozens of people on minibikes blocked an intersection in Downtown Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon. The video posted on Citizen.com showed the riders blocking traffic while performing stunts at the intersection of Francisco Street and West 8th Street, not far from the 110 Freeway. Witnesses reported seeing the group riding throughout the Downtown L.A. area the rest of the day. It was unclear whether any arrests were made or if the police ever intervened.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass repeatedly dodged answering directly on whether all illegal immigrants in the sanctuary city should be allowed to stay. In an interview with ABC's "This Week," Bass further criticized President Donald Trump's decision to federalize 4,000 National Guard troops and deploy about 700 Marines to Los Angeles amid anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) riots and protests. The Democratic mayor was questioned by ABC host Martha Raddatz on who she thinks should be deported – whether that should be just people convicted of crimes – given Los Angeles has about a million "undocumented workers." "What should happen...

Los Angeles Democratic Mayor Karen Bass, a critic of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, is being mocked for pushing a story about an LA woman being kidnapped by ICE that ended up allegedly being an elaborate hoax. The Department of Homeland Security posted on its official X account on Friday, "Mayor, you pushed a HOAX. There is still time to delete this." This comes after Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, a 41-year-old Mexican illegal alien living in Los Angeles, was charged with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers, according to the DOJ. On July 1, Bass posted a link...

The City of Los Angeles has declared itself to be in a state of rebellion against federal law. See Mayor Karen Bass’s executive directive, which officially aligns the city on the side of lawbreakers–in many cases, violent lawbreakers–and against the rule of law.Violence against federal law enforcement officers has gotten out of hand. Most recently, in executing a raid on a marijuana farm in California, federal agents were attacked by a mob of 500 rioters and fired upon. They made 200 arrests and rescued ten children who were being exploited as laborers.Outraged at escalating violence against law enforcement, President Trump...

During an interview with FOXLA on Monday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said that she didn’t know what the mission of federal agents in MacArthur Park was but wanted to get them to leave and “having it look like there are troops on the ground, that could create a crowd, and then we could have a lot of problems. So, instead of solving problems, they’re creating problems.” Bass began by saying, “I was horrified. What went through my mind was those occasions when I would travel overseas and see a city or a country under siege by their military in...

Federal agency reminds Bass of her controversial Ghana trip while Los Angeles wildfires raged.. Immigration and Customs Enforcement clapped back at Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after she suggested that federal immigration authorities "go home." .... "I don’t know if there’s a deal to be made. Like I told you, the deal that needs to be made is for them to go home," the Democrat said. ICE directly responded, noting that they will continue their operations in the city and in the region. "ICE isn't going anywhere and will continue to do what Mayor Bass has utterly failed to do...

I knew it! Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass were lying when they said it would be “easy” for fire victims to get a permit to rebuild their homes. From March 1 through June 30, 2025, more than 5,000 fire victims have visited the government’s “one stop center,” and 948 of them have applied for a building permit. But only 44 of them have actually received a building permit.By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)June 30, 2025The very first time that I heard California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass say that they were creating a “one...

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said "the ICE raids are scaring immigrants from going to their jobs to earn the income they need to pay their rent. Everyone I talk to says that as long as ICE is here we need another rent moratorium to prevent these folks from being evicted." Kenia Alcocer, representative of the Los Angeles Tenants Union and an illegal alien herself, says "we know that many immigrants will not be able to pay their rent come July 1. Without a rent moratorium landlords will be able to kick us out of our homes. We had a...

Mayor Karen Bass took aim at JD Vance Friday for the comments he made during his visit to Los Angeles, accusing the vice president of "spewing lies" and disrespecting Sen. Alex Padilla. The heated exchange comes just hours after the vice president's own press conference, where he took jabs at both Mayor Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom, claiming their decisions and policies are "endangering" federal officials

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass compared the impact of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids to the coronavirus lockdowns that her party imposed on California, in that both kept people at home. Bass made the comparison over the weekend in visits to small businesses in a neighborhood that, the Los Angeles Times, depended on the “immigrant” economy (the Times never used the word “illegal). The Times reported: Bass visited a number of small businesses in Boyle Heights with Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez (D-Los Angeles), including Casa Fina, Distrito Catorce, Yeya’s and Birrieria De Don Boni, as well as the Estrada...

On Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Weeknight,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass responded to a question on whether the LAPD should tip off neighborhood leaders if they know ICE enforcement is coming by saying that “the problem is, is that they don’t. They don’t have any idea. And so, they cannot be helpful in that way. They are excluded. They’re just as in the dark as we are.” Co-host Alicia Menendez asked, “Mayor Bass, to your point about L.A. being an experiment, you had the president today saying that he wants to step up deportation efforts in many Democrat-run cities....

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