Gaslighting the tabs ...
I'd settle for the media to stop pretending these haven't been violent from the beginning. And I never said the entire city was on fire, Jonathan. Maybe you can lend that straw man to the rioters as kindling, eh? https://t.co/XKYVl1JwUP
— Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) June 9, 2025
Ed: Via, uh ... Twitchy. Most of the media reactions tonight fall into this gaslighting category. They mostly speak for themselves.
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Waymo has suspended service in downtown Los Angeles after multiple autonomous vehicles were set ablaze on Sunday amid protests against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. ...
According to a 2024 report by the Wall Street Journal, analysts estimated that Waymo’s driverless cars cost between $150,000 and $200,000 each.
With the five burning robotaxis, the cost of damages would amount to roughly between $750,000 to $1 million, based on WSJ’s estimate.
Ed: There are real-world consequences to riots. Studies of the 1965 Watts riots and then the 1992 Rodney King riots found that the economic impact of both turned out to have devastating long-term consequences for these communities. Central Minneapolis demonstrates that too, although I don't believe any studies have been published about it. Generally speaking, communities never recover from riots outside of outright gentrification because outside private capital simply will never get deployed due to the risk, and government capital just strengthens the status quo.
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According to MSNBC, these rioters are people who have "inflamed passions."
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) June 9, 2025
Can't make this up. pic.twitter.com/SqAYIyYqUu
Ed: Yes, they can, and they usually do.
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X Gets Results!
— Tom Maguire (@Tom_Maguire) June 9, 2025
WaPo bows to history - Gov. Wallace is now a Democrat. pic.twitter.com/ye4Kjxr1cD
Ed: Talk about gaslighting!
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WATCH: ABC News wants you to know what is happening in California isn’t a violent riot.
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) June 9, 2025
It’s “just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn.” — ABC 7’s Marc Brown. pic.twitter.com/xjiQZJyuDq
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As I watched the reaction of regular citizens, and even the growing fatigue of our local leftwing media’s “mostly peaceful” narrative, my January feelings were confirmed.
Everyone here has absolutely had it. The Democrats have managed to do the impossible - they have driven away their own cult members. This chaos has matriculated to the doorstep of nearly every Californian now. There is nowhere left to turn for safety or ignorance.
I don’t care what you see on MSNBC. Californians of every stripe are fed up. We have no compassion left. We have no money left. Most of us are barely hanging on to even our housing. We are not interested in this mass immigration experiment anymore, and we are certainly not interested in the fake sob stories of those on the growing deportation lists.
Ed: I hope my friend Kira is right -- but Californians need to show that at the ballot box. Until they stop electing Democrats, the state will continue down the sinkhole of Marxist incompetence.
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On air just now I said a lot of people don't want to hear good-faith attempts to distinguish between peaceful protesters and violent rioters... and the resulting comments here on X confirm the point pic.twitter.com/7iUIurURGP
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 9, 2025
Ed: That's because the media refused to even acknowledge the violence. Even this morning, media outlets chin-stroked about conservatives calling the riots what they are while they insisted that 99% of the city was peaceful. Stelter's argument is in such bad faith that he'd make Baghdad Bob blush with embarrassment.
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But, it is quite possible that the invocation of Sec. 12406 was meant as a de facto invitation for Newsom to cooperate by letting the mobilization go forward. But it seemed to clearly make the point that Pres. Trump was not asking for Newsom’s permission or approval — it was going to happen and Newsom could either get on board or at least remain silent. In the White House they might have seen this as a way to send a message to other states/cities who pride themselves on being “sanctuaries” for illegal aliens.
For 24 hours Newsom seemed to opt for silence, but as the protests became more widespread as the day went on, Newsom issued his letter. But by taking this step Newsom has opened the door for Pres. Trump to act even more aggressively. He now has the factual justification called for under the provisions of the Insurrection Act to take similar steps in direct contravention to the wishes of Newsom and Bass.
The language of the Insurrection Act is not nearly as controversial as the spin that has been put on it by the media and interest groups. Title 10 U.S.C. Sec. 253 is most directly applicable AFTER the issuance by Newsom of his letter calling for the National Guard to be withdrawn.
Ed: Be careful what you sue for? Read all of Ship's analysis on this point, because the Insurrection Act may well come into play sooner rather than later ... although not soon enough for the Angelenos who are hostages to the radical Left in LA the past few days.
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JUST IN: LA Mayor Karen Bass says the people of LA have a “rapid response network” to protest and disrupt on demand.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 9, 2025
The mayor appeared glum on CNN as she tried blaming Trump for her riots.
“I will tell you that it is peaceful now, but we do not know where and when the next… pic.twitter.com/XLs3N95CPY
"I blame crime on the police" https://t.co/WuzMe0bO4o
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) June 9, 2025
Ed: Back to back gaslighting from Bass, who was already a pariah after the torching of the Palisades and Alta Dena. Bass and Newsom want the rest of Los Angeles to burn now rather than allow ICE to perform its legitimate enforcement of immigration law.
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I used to wonder if heroism was a thing of the past, but then, on a sunny day in June, I encountered this extraordinary woman, who saw rioters attempting to prevent the execution of federal law, and took a stand by going out for pizza. https://t.co/J9X5Nmhw0f
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) June 9, 2025
Ed: All signaling, no virtue.
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Mayor Karen Bass, the city’s Leftist mayor, seems unwilling to even broach the difference between legal and illegal immigration. Meanwhile, the Democratic Socialists of America’s Isabel Jurado, recently elected from East LA, is even worse. Not satisfied with defunding the police, she wants to abolish it too.
In today’s climate, no major political figure in California dares to publicly support the enforcement of immigration laws. Governor Newsom, for instance, has dismissed the presence of the National Guard — even in the face of attacks on government buildings — as unnecessary. This posture reflects not just ideological leanings, but also the influence of California’s most entrenched political force: public employee unions. Some of their leaders have even been accused of obstructing immigration enforcement efforts. Meanwhile, the media, particularly the Los Angeles Times, reliably echoes whatever narrative the protesters promote, blurring the line between coverage and advocacy.
This leaves America’s second-largest city projecting not glamour and prosperity, but chaos and decline. It’s a troubling image at a time when the future is increasingly being built elsewhere, in places willing to rein in their violent or politically unhinged fringes.
Ed: As I said above, capital will go where risk is well managed and the conditions are best for growth. Los Angeles no longer qualifies. That's because of their own leadership choices. They have no one to blame but themselves. Good weather can only get you so far.
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Again, I ask, if they’ll lie about something this obvious, countering video evidence, what won’t they lie to you about?
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) June 9, 2025
How did we get four years of lying about Joe Biden’s health? This is how. There are no limits. https://t.co/c6UCzs289G
Ed: The Protection Racket Media is a propaganda industry, not a journalistic profession.
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