[Today, I ran across an article in the New York Times on-line news about the fact that authorities were overwhelmed this 4th of July by irate citizens calling 911/311 services to complain about the proliferation of so-called ‘illegal fireworks’ in our state, which has already reduced California by the present combined effects of climate-change and drastically reduced snow pack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (that provide, via snow-melt, almost all of the state’s water supplies, to little more than a sere tinderbox awaiting a casually discarded cigarette (or a deliberate act of arson) to incinerate it completely. This prompted the below ‘Letter to the Editor’, since civic irresponsibility (and particularly the flagrant abuse of rules and regulations that prohibit ‘illegal’…exploding or airborne…fireworks) are among my chief complaints about the idiots that we must share this formerly serene and beautiful state with, these days! For what it’s worth, here’re my inputs on this BIG problem.]

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Sirs, Ms’s and ‘a diverse universe of Others’,

"Ref the 3 Jul 21 article on-line, titled "Why Are Fireworks Going Off Every Night in California?" by Marie McDermott & Jill Talwin, I, my wife (who is Chinese, from the PRC), and our adult female Husky (who is American, from Siberia), are among the 'aggrieved complainants' mentioned in this NYT piece about California's illegal firewrks problems.

"We live in a fairly quiet, safe neighborhood in the political armpit of the state (Suckatomato, as us locals have labeled it) and today is the 5th, the morning after one of the worst abuses of these 'unsafe and insane' fireworks in recent recorded history. The cacophonous barrage began just prior to sundown here and continued until at least 3 AM...SOLID!

"To shut your eyes, one could easily imagine being in the front trenches at Pusan, Korea, back in the 50s, or at Fallujah, Iraq, or even near the Reichstag in the center the German capital, when the 'Fall of Berlin' occurred in 1945; I do not include the wars I was personally involved in (Vietnam) or the Iraq War I in 1991, but you can take your pick! Stalingrad? Perhaps. The Rape of Nanjing? Maybe. Earplugs and double-pane windows were certainly of no help whatsoever, last night...especially when the whole house shook!

"At any rate, it was not only annoying to be denied even a smidge of sleep by all those three-brain-cell cretins responsible, all night long, but extremely disturbing to reflect upon not just their flagrant disregard for public safety, but for the fate of the sere tinderbox that Californica (sic) is at present. This year threatens to be the absolute worst wild-fire season the state has ever had [disregard for brevity’s sake the fact that Governor ‘Gravel Nuisance’ has been insanely dithering away the 18 BB surplus the state had this year on non-essentials, despite the obvious need to prepare fiscally for the coming firestorms across the state, in his desperate efforts to stave off the coming recall!]

"Add to all this, the enthusiastic gunfire from thousands of weapons that locals also brought out, to fire into the night sky, completely unmindful of the obvious risks implicit in such recklessness! [The streets outside many homes were littered with spent ammunition cases this AM, in addition to the usual fireworks detritus.]. In short, this matter has grown exponentially from a serious public nuisance to a major problem of crisis proportions and it needs to addressed w/o further delay.

"Even the so-called ‘safe and sane’ fireworks (non-explosive/non-aerial) pose substantial risks, since the safety of any of these pyrotechnics depends largely upon the safety (or lack of) evidenced in their use by individuals (which is typically very little).

"In past years, after each 4 July celebration I would contact the California State Fire Marshall and complain about these so-called ‘safe’ fireworks sold to support charities and each time my letter was rebuffed by said authority with the explanation that “Sorry, but…it’s the only opportunity our charitable organisations have to make an estimated 80 or more percent of their annual donations”.

"I did not thereupon bother to point out to these blithely indifferent souls that such bureaucratic blandishments fail to comfort or console as one’s home merrily adds to the atmosphere’s CO and CO2 content, amidst a conflagration of flames!

"And thus, we have what is California’s SOP policy today: permit ‘safe & sane’ arson agents (since it’s ‘for a worthy cause’), turn a blind eye to the far more deadly ‘illegal fireworks’ (all made in China or the Far East) that are now flooding into the nation over our southern borders, thanks to the colossally STUPID sentiment underlying the ‘defunding the police’ (i.e. enforcement) movement, and pretend (in politically proven Ostrich-style manner) that the coming fire season won’t burn the entire state down this year due to manpower shortages.

"All of this, my friends, is the legacy of the sort of weak-minded sentiment that the liberal progressive political Left is leavening upon us all in this God-forsaken state, like it or not! Just be glad you live in the east of America, rather than in this ever-changing crisis-zone called the Late, Great State of California.

"Thanks to Marie McDermott at NYT for that particularly salient commentary in today's edition.

"[My personal solution? I am recommending that the State of Californica arrange with BCA (Boeing Commercial Aircraft Division of Boeing Aircraft) to provide the state with a fleet of its infamous Boeing 737 Max-8/9 series planes for all official government use (in hopes that the sudden anarchy that would sweep our state, in the ensuing spate of air crashes, would probably be slightly better...all other things being equal, as my poly-sci professor used to say…than the effects of the current ‘cranial-anal’ pandemic that has afflicted all of our beloved legislators).]

"I am, and remain, despite all my cynicism and pessimistically-optimistic ‘Eeyore-posturing’, a firm believer in Arthur Schopenhauer’s philosophical take on humanity, although contrary to Arthur's thesis, I do not for a second believe that humanity will EVER fully wise-up!]

"Actually, my beautiful fur-kid (Nala) expressed it all with exquisite class on this AM’s early walk, when she squatted and took a long, satisfying whiz on a pile of spent fireworks in front of a neighbor’s home! Atta girl, pup!"

Mischievously, K. Kalei
Suckatomato, Californica (sic)