Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 1122 | New Age Oils & California’s Corrupt History

Episode Date: January 14, 2025

In today's episode, we're diving deeper into the ongoing situation with the Palisades wildfire in California and how decades of environmental activism and forest mismanagement led to this point. We also get into the woke DEI policies that contributed to the failings of the Los Angeles Fire Department and how illegal immigration may have also played a role in the fires. And is the delta smelt, an endangered fish, responsible for the lack of water available for firefighting? We also go over Pete Hegseth's Senate confirmation hearing and a few of his fantastic responses to the absurd questioning. And is anointing yourself with oil really biblical, or is it just another New Age, witchcraft-adjacent trend? Buy Allie's new book, "Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion": https://a.co/d/4COtBxy --- Timecodes: (01:47) Pete Hegseth Senate confirmation hearing  (07:41) CA wildfires update (15:38) CA environmental policies timeline (32:05) Delta Smelt protection (35:08) LAFD DEI program (41:30) Fire hydrant tanks empty (43:20) Illegal alien firestarter (45:13) Anointing oils  ---   Today's Sponsors: Seven Weeks - Experience the best coffee while supporting the pro-life movement with Seven Weeks Coffee; use code ALLIE at https://www.sevenweekscoffee.com to save up to 25% and help save lives. Good Ranchers — Go to GoodRanchers.com and use code ALLIE at checkout to claim $25 off, free express shipping, and your choice of FREE ground beef, chicken, or salmon in every order for an entire year. Life or Death Con — Join Allie, Seth Gruber, and Eric Metaxas, and other pro-life advocates in Washington DC on January 23. For more information on the event and to register, visit LifeorDeathCon.com and use code ALLIE10 for 10% off your ticket.  A’del — Try A'del's hand-crafted, artisan, small-batch cosmetics and use promo code ALLIE 25% off your first time purchase at AdelNaturalCosmetics.com --- Related Episodes: Ep 1051 | The Hidden History of Margaret Sanger, the Nazis, & the White Rose Resistance | Guest: Seth Gruber https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-1051-the-hidden-history-of-margaret-sanger/id1359249098?i=1000665341355 ---   Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: https://alliebethstuckey.com/book Relatable merchandise – use promo code 'ALLIE10' for a discount: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey

Is anointing yourself with oil biblical or is it witchcraft? We will get into this controversy on today's episode of Relatable. But first, we are going to take you through a detailed timeline of the political history of California and even the United States that has led to the disaster that we are seen in the LA wildfires. What specific environmental policy decisions? decisions and social policy decisions have been made over the past several decades that have made it so difficult for California to control these fires. We will go through all of those today. And then at the top of the show, we will take you through a little bit of a summary of Pete Hedgeseth's confirmation process so far as he is sitting before the Senate as he is up for the Secretary

of defense position. So we've got all of that on today's episode of Relatable. It's brought to you by our friends at Life or DeathCon. Go to Life or Deathcon.com, code Allie 10. It's a conference on January 23rd in D.C. Life or Deathcon.com code Alley 10. Hey guys, welcome to Relatable. Happy Tuesday. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far. So we've got a good theological segment for you at the end of this episode. We're going to get to all of the California. wildfire stuff, but I first just wanted to give you some kind of breaking news. What's going on right now on Capitol Hill. Pete Hedgeseth right now is going through his Senate confirmation process for Secretary of Defense. You'll remember we've talked about a little bit, all of the

accusations that have been lodged at him, sexual misconduct, even sexual assault, sexual harassment and so a lot of people think that he's just not going to be able to get through the confirmation process but others are saying no he probably has the votes and i think what he promises to do as secretary of defense is going to be really really positive um for the united states my understanding is that he is a repentant and redeemed man husband father and i hope and and pray that's true I don't really know him personally, but I think we have no reason not to take him at his word there. And actually in his opening statement today, he does give glory to Christ. And I really appreciate that.

Here's someone. And as Jenny and I pray together every morning, all glory, regardless of the outcome, belongs to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His grace and mercy abounds each day. May his will be done. Okay, so good for him. Good for him. He is going to get a lot of really tough questions.

He's already fielded several senators, Masey, Hirono, Hawaii, Tim Kaine, of Virginia, both questioned Hedgeseth on the sexual assault allegations against him. Hedgeseth responded to Kane's questioning by saying, Senator, I was falsely charged, fully investigated, and completely cleared. So he says some of these accusations just aren't true. Other ones like, you know, the stories of him cheating on his wives. I don't think he denies that those things were actually true. But again, he says, you know, that was my past. It's not who I am anymore.

Senator Kevin Kramer of North Dakota questioned head set about the cross tattoo on his chest because there was this ridiculous accusation at one point that this is some kind of Nazi symbol. And he responded by saying, it's a tattoo I have right here, Senator. called the Jerusalem cross. It's a historic Christian symbol. In fact, recently I attended the memorial ceremony of President Jimmy Carter. On the front page of his program was the very same Jerusalem cross. That was a good catch, good inclusion. Obviously, Jimmy Carter is a Democrat. So it's like, what are you going to do? Senator Kramer and all you Democrats, are you going to call Jimmy Carter a Nazi? Come on. During the remainder of Kramer's questioning, he also said that service members who

were discharged from the military for refusing to get the COVID vaccine would be, quote, So during the remainder of Kramer's questioning, Hedgesa said this, that service members who were discharged for not getting the COVID VACs would be apologized to and reinstituted with pay and rank because, of course, that's justice. They never should have been discharged in the first place. That is absolute insanity and cruelty. So, again, I think you would do a really good job as Secretary of Defense.

It'll be interesting to watch these confirmation hearings over the next few weeks. obviously a week from now. We've got the inauguration. We're super pumped about that. There's going to be a lot of celebration. It cannot come soon enough. Let's be praying for President Trump. These next 100 days, or after he officially becomes president, are absolutely crucial for the policy setting for the next four years. So let's just pray that he has the best, most effective people around him, that the Lord would protect him and all the people around him, keep them safe, that God would give them grace and biblical wisdom and discernment and the courage to do the right thing and that God would show his mercy and a really good and wise and strong presidency. So let's just be praying for that fervently,

especially over the next week or so. On Monday, we will have Kevin Roberts, the head of the Heritage Foundation on and he will be talking about the first 100 days of Trump's presidency. Also a little bit about Project 2025. You'll remember how crazy the media was about that. but specifically what Donald Trump should do is going to do when it comes to encouraging the family, mom, dad, kids helping make sure that those families are cohesive and are flourishing and safe. What is President Trump going to do to make America the best place to raise babies? So be sure to tune in to that conversation. It will give you a lot of clarity for what to look for as a Christian as Trump's president.

residency starts. All right, let's get into everything that's going on with these fires and then my response to the big controversy that was stirred up by me saying that using oils for spiritual uses that are not found in the Bible is witchcraft. We've got all of that today. But let me pause and tell you about our first sponsor. And that is seven weeks coffee. Seven weeks coffee is America's pro-life coffee company. They are awesome. I love them so much. They create clean, mold, pesticide-free, high-quality coffee, but they donate 10% of every sale to pro-life pregnancy centers, which is what I love most about them. They have donated over $750,000 to these pro-life pregnancy centers, which is translated into so many resources to pregnant moms and need, which is then

translated into baby lives that have been saved. So you can allow your coffee to serve a higher purpose. When you subscribe now, you get a free engraved coffee spoon plus 15% off of every order so you get that box of coffee to your front door every month. Plus when you use my code Allie, you get an extra 10% off. So use code Alley for up to 25% off your first order that 7weeks Coffee.com code Alley. Okay, I want to give y'all a thorough update of what is happening in California with these fires and not only an update, but also to take us back to look at the timeline of how this disaster occurred. As I said on Instagram, this disaster was not inevitable. There were deliberate policy decisions made that have, if not enabled,

exacerbated everything that has gone on and has led to the loss of life and the loss of homes, the loss of wildlife. And so I am going to go through specifically what some of those policy decisions were when they happened and why they happened. And I hope for, many in California that this is a wake-up call. Not that this is a primarily political conversation. I think no matter who you are across the political spectrum, that your life matters, that your family matters. And I mourn with those who have lost their valuable treasures and their homes and their memories. There's so much there. I'm not trying to chastise people who politically disagree with me. But just to say that, again, our political decisions, our worldviews actually have consequences.

And it's really important that we look with specificity at the choices that have been made over the years that have led California to where it is now. But first, let me give a bit of an update. Firefighters are working to contain still three active blazes in the Los Angeles area ahead of a predicted return of wins this week. So you'll remember it was kind of a perfect storm. Like leave policy decisions out of it. It was a bad mixture of things that were occurring, even outside of human control. You had the start of the fires and you had the crazy winds. You had the lack of rain.

L.A. hasn't seen rain, really good rain in a really long time. And so that caused the wild fires to spread and cause the damage that they have. have a week ago, Tuesday morning, a wildfire broke out along Piedra Marada Drive in Pacific Palisade. So this has all been a week now. By evening, it had grown to 2,900 acres. And then the two other fires also started near Los Angeles. The wildfires have now burned over 40,000 acres, an area bigger than San Francisco. They've killed at least two dozen people, just devastating loss of life. This is bigger than the Chicago fires that happened decades ago that are infamous for the damage that they caused. A wind warning is in place for parts of the city and county wind

gusts up to 70 miles per hour are expected as of Monday evening. The Palisades fire, the largest fire, the first one that started, was 17% contained. That is, I know that sounds really small. that is better news than we've been hearing. We heard just a few days ago, even after so much effort that it was actually 0% contained. The Eaton Fire, which just killed 16 people, was about 33% contained. As of last night, at least 150,000 people have been forced to evacuate. The potential property damage and economic losses in this area could amount to as much as $150 billion. We are looking at years and years of recovery.

Monday evening Mayor Karen Bass. She's back from her trip. She was in Ghana. We don't know why in L.A. mayor was in Ghana. Like what business did she have there? It's not necessary for the constituents that she serves for her to be in Africa for some kind of business or political trip. But she's back. I guess. I think she's back. She issued an executive order, I suppose, locally and not all the way from Africa to speed up rebuilding efforts after the White House. wildfires, will that actually be helpful or productive? I'm not sure. It directs city departments to expedite building permit reviews and creates task forces to speed up debris removal. This followed Governor Newsom's executive order issued on Sunday that would cut red tape and regulations, including environmental review requirements to allow faster rebuilding. There were a lot of memes and justifiably angry responses when Gavin Newsome announced that he was cutting red tape, people were like, who put the red tape in, Gavin? Who put the red tape in? Was it not you? So Democrats are really good at this. Politicians in general are really good at

this, but it seems especially progressives who rely on government large as to keep power. They love to solve problems that they created themselves. And so he's coming in like a hero to solve a problem that he helped create. Here is a map of the fire. So here's what we're looking at. Right now, these three areas, you can see the varying sizes that we're dealing with. Just devastating. It looks small relatively on the map. But when you think about how densely populated, L.A. is, again, you're talking about a lot of lives affected. So I want to get into the timeline of everything here.

I want to get into how this started because you've heard a lot, both on this show and elsewhere about DEI, about environmental policy. Maybe you've even heard about Gavin Newsom giving in to tribal demands to save certain kinds of fish that has led to the emptying of the reservoirs. But what is actually true? When did this all happen? Because this is not just recent. It's not like this has been policy that has been put into place just over the past year or the past few months. We are talking about years and years, really about 30 plus years at this point, if not more, in some cases, as we will see, of mismanagement, largely in service to very arbitrary, environmental whims of the radical green activists. So we'll get into that. Let me go

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All right. Let's get into it. As I said, a lot of this has to do with environmental policy. So before I get into the years that each decision was made, let me give you a little more background to set this up. The California that we know today, this is via California Insider, by the way, is only possible because the state moves water around, which makes sense when you think of the location of the state from areas of abundance to areas of need. Two-thirds of the state's water falls in the northern part of the state, while most of the population in, agriculture are in the south. So since the early 1900s, engineers have been developing ways to store and transport water across the state, allowing California to grow into the state with the largest economy, population, and agricultural output. And for many, many years, California was the

place to be. It was an immaculately, immaculately run state. It was run mostly by Republicans, really until I believe it was the 1990s. It was not only clean, but it was safe and it was fun and it was beautiful and it has just deteriorated because of progressive policy over the past several years. Over the last 50 years, environmental focused laws, environmentally focused laws, both federal and state, have deeply impacted how that water, which California relies on for everything, is prioritized. California produces one-third of the nation's vegetables and over three-fourths of the fruits, and that's especially right there in central California. It is also the leading dairy state providing 20% of the country's milk.

When I visited Bakersfield and Visalia several years ago, first of all, I've said this before, but some of the nicest people in the world. And I grew up in Texas, have lived in the south, and that part of the country is known for being hospitable and kind. I'm telling you the people, strangers I'm at in Central California were some of just the randomly nicest people that I've ever met. And I learned a lot during that short visit about the output of that part of the state. Not only is it extremely conservative, but as I just read, much of the food that not only the state relies on, but the country relies on actually comes from that part. And the food there is amazing. No matter like what.

What restaurants you go to, I went to like a variety there, it was all really good and really fresh. California produces virtually all of the U.S. supply of almonds, pistachios, and walnuts, food production. You might not think of it this way. It's also a national security issue because of our country can produce our own food. We are less dependent upon imports from other countries, which can be cut off during conflicts, etc. This is also a personal anecdote note from our researcher Debbie. She says, my family has been farming in California for four generations since 1929. They have given tours to Department of Defense officials.

And when asked what their biggest threat to production is, they respond that the biggest threat to California's food supply and agricultural output is the state's own environmental policy. So all of this is working together. And I will explain how with the water supply and how the water supply, and how the water supply, can be used for wildfires. One example of water policy that is currently being discussed by many, including President elect Trump, involves this tiny fish called the Delta Smelt. And I remember the citizens of Visalia and of Bakersfield telling me about this several years ago when I was there.

This is a small endangered fish in northern California's Delta region. Environmental policies aimed at preserving the smelt's habitat have led to water regulations that send excess water to the habitat rather than to storage for the state's large population in agricultural uses. And this has led to a lot of difficulty for the farmers there. Natural resource economist Dr. Scott Hamilton estimates that the amount of water supplies restricted due to protecting the Delta smelt exceeds 10 million acre feet, which is enough water to supply Los Angeles for about 15 to 20 years. That is, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water in Power, the cost to replace that water is about $5 billion. So all to protect that little

Delta smell. And we'll talk a little bit more about the Delta smell. Is she really, that vital? Is she worth protecting that much? And have their efforts really worked? How is this worked out for not only the state of California, but for the country who takes all of that? the exports from California for our food supply. So let's look at this timeline. The 1960s and early 70s. This saw the beginning of the environmental movement in the U.S. For example, the first Earth Day was on April 22nd, 1970. I'm pretty sure Earth Day was started by like some weirdo freak. I don't know, Bree. You might have to tell me the specifics. No, I'm pretty sure he like murdered someone and like composted their body. So the environmental, the environmental movement,

while I'm sure there are a lot of great people in it, like it's got some really weird roots when you look into it. We don't have time to do all of that today. In 1970, Republican President Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act, requiring federal agencies to fully determine the environmental effects of any actions they take, known as environmental impact statements. I'm sure that President Nixon thought that he was doing the right and sophisticated thing at the time. Also in 1970, California Governor Ronald Reagan sent these. are two Californianmen signed into a lot of the California Environmental Quality Act, which also required environmental impact studies before any major construction project. You know, growing up is realizing that my favorite president, Ronald Reagan, he actually signed

a lot of policies, both on the state and the federal level, or he supported a lot of policies, at least on the federal level, that have laid the foundation for bad things today when it comes to immigration when it comes to things like environmental law. This law that Ronald Reagan signed is central to California's regulatory landscape. The law's purpose is to ensure projects with significant environmental impacts are mitigated or stopped. And that all sounds good until you realize that these regulatory agencies have so much power and are really able to make these kind of like arbitrary decisions that can greatly harm individuals, their businesses, their ability to farm.

Bree, did we get something on Earth Day? Yeah, yeah. Ira Einhorn, he was on stage hosting the first Earth Day event. He claims to have co-founded it in Philadelphia. And then seven years later, police raided his closet and found his ex-girlfriend's composted body after she had broken up with him. It's very stable. Okay.

Earth Day. Yep. And yet we are still celebrated. It's just like Kwan. I think I'm pretty sure the guy who founded Kwanza was like a murderer too. Like we don't have to do. There's no law saying that we have to have these holidays. Well, I guess there is.

But, well, I don't know. Actually, I'm not really sure the process of declaring these national holidays. But you don't have to declare national holidays that are started by murders. I just feel like that's a good rule of thumb. Okay, 1980. The last time a big dam was completed in California. this means no significant water storage products have been built in California in over 45 years, despite the state's population increasing roughly 67% from 1980 to 2020.

Farmers and conservatives cite increased environmental regulations and bureaucracy as their reason for no new water storage projects being started, being built in the past several decades. Then if you look at the early 1990s, this period marks a crucial. critical shift in California water policy with growing federal intervention and a stronger focus on environmental protections for endangered species. So 1993, Delta Smelt was listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act, ESA, and the California Endangered Species Act CESA. 1994, the Environmental Protection Agency established federal water quality and flow standards for California's Delta region. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also designated the Delta region as

the critical habitat for the Delta Smelt. 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adopted a recovery plan to improve habitat conditions for the Delta smelt. And then in 1994, and this part doesn't have to do with the Delta Smell, doesn't have to do with environmental regulations. It's pertinent to the conversation about the water supply in California. 1994, billionaires, Stuart and Linda Resnick purchased a controlling stake in the Kern Water Bank, which refers to both the facility and one of California's largest underground aquifers. This facility in 32 square mile basin was initially developed with taxpayer money in order to store water for drought years. It was later transferred from state control to private entities, including a significant portion to this billionaire couple, the Resnix.

This was legal under California water law, but despite the legality, this was unusual and controversial, given that such water facilities are usually managed publicly and with different regulations, accountability, transparency that is supposed to ideally come with the public control of something like water supply. The Resnics also owned the wonderful company, which is a major producer of mandarin's, pistachios, and pomegranates. They have been criticized for using the water resource to not only irrigate their vast agricultural lands, but also for selling water back to the state or to other or to other users, especially during droughts at a profit. This practice has been seen as turning a public resource into a private profit center. Yeah, I would say that that's

problematic myself. The Resnics have many political allies. We're also atop, owner to Gavin Newsom when he was recalled in 2021. So some people are saying they are accusing this couple of hoarding the water and of making it more difficult not only for other farmers to be watering their crops, but also for the state to be able to access as much water as they need. Some people are saying in 2008, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a biological opinion, so this is back into the environmental world or scientific data that included regulations regarding Delta water flows to protect the Delta smelt. This created water restrictions that meant water must be sent to the Delta to protect fish rather than being used for farms, cities, or storage.

2009, the delta smelt status was changed from threatened to endanger 2011. Then California governor, Jerry Brown, issued an executive order which required state agencies to develop consultation policies with Native American tribes. Native American groups who consider the Delta, their ancestral home, the Delta in California filed a petition in 2022 to state regulators and local water districts, along with several environmentalist groups, to request updates to the water quality control plan in order to protect salmon. So not specifically the Delta smell, could have included the Delta smell, but salmon because the salmon was significant to these tribes, apparently tribal members, and activists called the failure to regulate water on their behalf, so in service to their

interests to protect things like the salmon, quote unquote, cultural genocide. That is according to the guardian. All right. So now you've got pressure from environmental activists, those groups, you got pressure from the tribes. You've also got this billionaire couple that owns a good portion of the water supply that the state doesn't have access to without having. to pay for it. And so you've got a lot of groups who have a claim over the water. That is part of why the water is not as accessible or easily used as it should be. But again, these were all decisions by the state over many years. 2014, California approved Prop 1, which allocated $7.5 billion to build dams and other vital water facilities that would serve as new water storage and help

protect California's people in agriculture from the effects of drought. Okay, so it seems like, okay, they're waking up. They realize this is not good. Something bad's going to happen. We're going through a drought. What if we get a wildfire? Maybe they foresee that kind of disaster. And they're like, all right, we got to allocate some money. But over 10 years later, over 10 years later, okay, this is just look into how government so often works. Not in well-run states like the state of Florida, but in states like California with so much money and so many resources. As of today, over 10 years after Prop 1, no major construction has been completed due to lengthy engineering environmental impact studies, along with slow permitting processes, as even the LA time to

admitted. So remember, go all the way back several decades to Nixon and Reagan making sure that all of these studies and all of these very complicated permits had to be conducted, had to be given before anything could be built. The proposed dam, so it's still proposed, would have stored as much as 1.5 million acre feet of Sacramento River water and could eventually boost water supply, especially in dry years for more than 24 million people, mostly in Southern California, and 500,000 acres of Central Valley farmland. Okay, so they need that. Construction on a new dam in Northern California is now expected to begin this year in 2025, 11 years after Prop 1. Also in 2014, we're looking at forest management on the federal level. Republicans in Congress proposed an amendment to the Healthy

Forest Restoration Act, which would remove some of the regulatory hurdles and simplify the process for hazardous and flammable trees to be cleared through controlled burns and timber harvesting. The bill did not make it past committee thanks to environmental lobbyists, according to the California Policy Center. Worth noting, the California Policy Center points out that overgrown forests also reduce the water supply. Also, the brush that environmentalists don't want to be cleared because they say, oh, it just needs to go through a natural process. That is what exacerbates and spreads the fires more quickly. In 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued another biological opinion and imposed

continued environmental regulations to protect the Delta Smell under the Endangered Species Act. This led to the unnecessary restriction of vital waterways. We're going to get back to the Delta Smelt in just a second. In 2020, then President Trump signed a memorandum that would allow the federal government to redirect millions of gallons of water to the Central Valley and Southern California rather than be needlessly flushed into the Pacific Ocean. gosh, the federal government should not have to be involved in that at all. California, the states should be able to run that.

Newsom then filed a lawsuit to block Trump's move, arguing this would harm endangered species like the Delta smelt. Newsom succeeded in blocking Trump's order. 2021. This is, again, a different realm, but it all works together. 321 firefighters from the LA Fire Department filed for an exemption for a rule requiring them to get COVID vaccines. 113 of those were laid off. 2002, in a report for the California water blog, UC Davis Fish Biologist Peter Moyle,

was critical of the recovery efforts for the Delta smelt and has pointed out that even with increased water flows, even with all of these regulations, even with preserving all of the water for the Delta smelt that can't be used for watering crops, that can't be used for putting out wildfires, that the Delta smelt have still not recovered because other environmental pressures like invasive species and food have not been adequately addressed.

Since 2007, there have been 20 studies analyzing the effectiveness of the water increased to protect the smelt. The majority of the studies found no benefit or the results were inconclusive. Survellers from the California Fish and Wildlife Department netted two Delta smelt in 2017. So apparently, they found two delta smelt in 2000. After all of these efforts, after all of the harm that they've done, they only found two of these fish. So there is actually no proof whatsoever that these regulations, that these programs, that all of these efforts, this blocking of water access has actually helped the survival of the Delta smelt at all. And since 2017, they have caught zero delta smelt. So that is at least partly, in large part, what has happened.

what has happened to the water supply in California. It is largely environmental. But as we articulated, there are other factors playing into this, but none of that was inevitable. None of that was accidental. All of it was the result of a deliberate policy decision. All right, we've got more on that in just a second as we get into the DEI programs that have been put into place over the past few years that have also impacted California's ability to deal with these fires. But let me pause and tell you about our next sponsor. That is Life or DeathCon. So Life or DeathCon is going to be an amazing pro-life conference in D.C.

Next week, ahead of the March for Life. You guys love Seth Gruber. He sat down on this couch and y'all just absolutely loved that conference. as he talked about the history of the abortion and eugenics movement in the United States and throughout the world and called Christians to clarity and courage. And that's what this conference is going to be. I am going to be speaking there as well as some other amazing speakers. And we are going to be calling people to clarity and courage. It is going to be a rallying cry. For those on the front lines of the pro-life movement, you do not want to miss it. Go ahead. Get

your ticket, especially if you're already going to be there for the March for Life for Life or Deathcon. Go to Life or Deathcon.com. Use promo code Alley10. Get 10% off your ticket. That's Life or Deathcon.com code Alley 10. Okay, 2022. We've got new LA Fire Chief Kristen Crowley, who announced a new program to allocate resources to a DEI program that focuses on meeting sexual orientation, racial and gender quotas. Here's at 1. March 27th, that will change as Crowley becomes the LAFD's first ever female chief. She took time out of her already busy schedule to tell us about her vision for the department's future, one that includes a three-year strategic plan to increase diversity.

People ask me, well, what number are you looking for? I'm not looking for a number. It's never enough. Out of 3,300 city firefighters, only 115 are women right now. She's already looking at ways to change that. The chief also checks another box when it comes to inclusivity and diversity at this department. She's a proud member of the LGBTQ community. Okay, because that's what's most important when you are saving people's lives from fires, but apparently so.

The LA Fire Department assistant chief, Christine Larson. She also heads the Equity and Human Resources Bureau because you need that at a fire department. She claims that they're doing all of this because when you are about, to incinerate to death, you want to see someone running towards you who looks like you. Here's that too. You want to see somebody that responds to your house, your emergency, whether it's a medical call or a fire call, that looks like you. It gives that person a little bit more ease, knowing that somebody might understand their situation better. Is she strong enough to do this? Or you couldn't carry my husband out of a fire, which my response is. He got himself in the

wrong place if I have to carry him out of a fire. There's so much to be. There's so much to be. be said there. First of, can we start at the end with that evil statement that she just made? Like, okay, so your husband, he has just saved you and saved your children by making sure that you were able to get out of the window safely as your house is burning down. But now after he has saved his family, he is unable to get out. And so you see this 250-pound lesbian catching her breath, making her way towards the house and like we're supposed and and you say hey can you are I'm sorry but like are you able to get my like 200 pound husband out of the house and she's like well serves them right I guess what's he doing in a burning house loser like is that is that supposed to be the attitude of firefighters I'm just confused also if I am in a burning building and I see someone who looks like me, who looks like Ali Stucky running towards me to save me, I'm just going to jump out of the window because I'm telling you right now, I wouldn't be able to save most of you. I just

wouldn't. I'm not strong enough. I'm not brave enough to do that. I don't have the ability. Like if I see someone that looks like me trying to save, I'm like, you know what, I might as well just do this myself then. I will make a rope out of my t-shirt. and I will get out of this building before I allow someone who looks like Ali Stucky to run into the building to save me. That is absolutely stupid. I want someone who doesn't look anything like me. I want like a 250 pound marine-looking male with a buzz cut to be running towards my house to save my family and me, obviously. And so all of this DEI stuff is misguided. And when you put resources towards creating these arbitrary, stupid, and I would say even deleterious quotas, people are going to

die. When you prioritize the color of someone's skin or someone's sexual orientation or so-called gender identity over competence, people are going to die. That's not only true when it comes to the fire department. That is true when it comes to the police department. It's true when it comes to the military. You should be looking at competence, effectiveness, lethality when it comes to the military. And that's it. No matter what the skin color is, what the people, people look like. In 2003, California sent 600,000 acre feet of water, which is more than the total annual water use of Los Angeles through the Delta for the purpose of attempting to protect

the endangered fish. All right? 2004, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass cut $17 million from the Los Angeles Fire Department budget. Now, there is debate over this, I will say. There is debate over this. Some people said that that was what she proposed, but that it ended up increasing. But there are many sources that say, no, it was actually a decrease. It ended up in a $17 million decrease. I have seen some like a Politico article, I believe it was, said, no, it actually increased by 24 million. So it seems like there is some disagreement over that.

Last week, LAFD, chief Kristen Crowley told CNN, we can no longer sustain where we are. We do not have enough firefighters. Yeah. Then there's the whole union contract issue. Some news outlets like ABC 7 in LA are pointing to an overall increase in an LAFD budget. But this is referencing the union contract. Okay. So this is kind of what I was talking about earlier with the disagreement. So they're reconciling that disagreement by saying, no, it's not an increase in the budget that actually gives more firefighters or makes them more effective. But it's an increase in the budget because of union negotiations. that makes their retirement and makes their salary really high, which, of course, means that they can't afford to hire enough firefighters. I'm not saying that firefighters shouldn't be paid well or that they shouldn't get any retirement, but obviously there needs to be some kind of limit on that.

A 2002 report from the California Policy Center wrote that the biggest cost to employ firefighters is paying for their pensions, which on average cost California cities $52,000 per year. per firefighter. 2025. During the recent fires in LA, firefighters discovered that many fire hydrants were empty. The city has 114 massive tanks that store water and help ensure consistent flow.

All were full when the fire started Tuesday. Three one million gallon tanks supply the hydrants in the Pacific Palisades. The first was empty before 5 p.m. There's just not enough water. NBC News and other media have been reported that the reservoir would not have made much of a difference. People are saying that reservoirs were, um, were empty and NBC is saying it wouldn't have made much of a difference given the size of the fire. However, a whistleblower came forward to environmental journalist and author Michael Schellenberger to say that this is not true. She has

two decades of experiencing California water utility and said that the reservoir never should have been drained. It was drained for some reason that we don't really understand. 117 million gallons is a huge amount of treated water storage to have available for firefighting massive. Maybe one of the biggest treated water storage reservoirs on the whole West Coast. And it was empty, presumably for environmental reasons. The person added that the reservoir should have been kept full for emergency use and only drained for repair after the fire risk was far lower. Gavin Newsom said he's going to get right on that. He's going to investigate that. He's super worried about it. Now he's going to invest.

it. Kyle Mann points out that a Babylon B prophecy was fulfilled. Gavin Newsom demands answers from whoever's in charge of California. Going to find that guy. Um, 20205, California government continues to ignore a growing issue of homeless encampments that could have played a part in all of this. Also, the illegal immigration problem. Apparently, um, one of the people who helped start one of the fires was an illegal alien. This is according to Bill Malugan of Fox News, who reports on the border. He says that a man seen in a viral video being subdued by residents and arrested by police with a blowtorch near the Kenneth fire in West Hills is an illegal alien from Mexico named Juan Manuel Sierra Leva. So apparently that is part of the problem.

The homeless encampments creating these fires and them getting out of control, that's part of the problem. California has refused to deal with that in several parts of the state. Donald Trump is calling this out. He said, Governor Gavin Newscombe refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water from excess rain and snow melt from the north to flow daily into many parts of California. On Thursday, President Biden announced the federal government would cover 100% of the cost for the initial disaster response to the Los Angeles wildfires. And so now we all have to subsidize the disaster that is the leadership of California. Politics matter because policy matters because people matter.

Politics affects policy. Policy affects people. People matter. You are seeing right now the result of elections, the result of putting people in power who are corrupt, who are beholden to these progressive activist groups and who care more about lining their own pockets, taking trips to Africa, appeasing billionaires. who want to help control the water supply, then actually serving their constituents.

And so while we absolutely need to have compassion for everyone, no matter what their political background is, like let us remember this during the next election. All right. I want to end on a theological topic. And this is like, this is OG relatable. And this subject of anointing ourselves. with oils came up because of a video that I posted over the weekend that caused like a huge

controversy and made a lot of people, a lot of people mad. So we'll get into that last theological segment in just one second. Let me go ahead and pause and tell you about our last sponsor for the day. And that is Adele Natural Cosmetics. Adel Natural Cosmetics is a Christian family owned company. They've been formulating packaging high quality cosmetics and skincare products in the U.S. for years. They focus on using locally grown nutrient-rich ingredients. Their faith plays a central role in their work. I've met them.

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Okay, the question that is being debated, right? Now, thanks to my video on Instagram, should we be anointing ourselves with oil for the purpose of declaring or endowing ourselves with certain powers? Over the weekend, I posted a short reaction video to a Christian influencer who shows herself rolling oil on herself while saying that she is anointing herself to heal the sick, raise the dead,

cast out demons, to prophesy, and to hear directly from the voice of God. And I said in response, this is witchcraft. This is an attempt to wed the new age with Christianity at syncretism. I did not anticipate the massive blowback that this would cause. Some people respectfully disagreed, which is great. I always appreciate that. Others lost their wits entirely and evolved into all kinds of personal insults as people often do when they don't have a substantive response to what you're saying. But those in both camps had a common theme in their rebuttals to what I said, which was that, quote, this is biblical. Anointing oil is biblical. We see it all over scripture. So I wanted to respond to that assertion as well as

to some other criticisms that I received. I want to give my theological defense for what I said. But before I get into the theology of anointing oils, a couple things I want to say. So first, I want to assent to two criticisms. I want to validate them. I will take these two fair critiques and apply them because I think that there is some truth to them. One criticism I got from this video that my video was done in a mocking way rather than a loving way. And while my words themselves were not mocking, they weren't. They weren't rude. They weren't attacking. They weren't making fun of her. My expressions, the elements used in the video did amount to mockery. And I would say that that was counterproductive. So I'll take that. A second criticism I received, there wasn't enough

explanation of my statements in that short video, which is part of the reason it elicited such an intense response, and that may be true. I agree that when dealing with theological claims, we should provide as much clarity as possible, so I do apologize for not doing that. Second thing, however, I will not apologize for publicly rebutting a public theological claim. It is stunning how many Christian conservatives take on the progressive tactic of calling disagreement hate or an attack when it comes to their own personal beliefs. I make a lot of content and it gets responded to publicly constantly there's so many videos out there giving responses to things that I've said some are respectful some are not at all but I truly don't

get my feelings hurt by that or lose my mind about that I understand that that is part of publicly saying things that many deem controversial I think the debate and the discussion is really good and productive actually as long as it doesn't sink to the level of the person And if that is not something that you can stomach, like if you see all disagreement or even someone defending their own beliefs as a personal attack, then truly, and I say this sincerely, I encourage you not to be on social media. That's just not something that seems to be healthy for you. Now, on to the question of anointing one self with oils specifically to declare certain

Christian powers available to you. Is that biblical? And does it really, does it really matter? It is true that the Bible speaks of anointing oils. I count 20 times in Scripture, both in the Old Testament and the New, where the Bible talks about this. In the Old Testament, we mostly see oils used by priests in the tabernacle or four priests in the tabernacle. There are a few examples of this. In Exodus 29, God gives instructions to Moses to consecrate priests.

Verse 7, you shall take the anointe. oil and pour it on his head and anoint him in Exodus 40. God gives instructions to Moses for building and consecrating the tabernacle. Verse 9, then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle in all that is in it. And then we see Leviticus 812. Moses pours anointing oil on Aaron and consecrated him. And then we also see oil used in a different way. Ruth 3.3, Naomi, tells Ruth to anoint herself before going to Boaz to see if he will be her kinsman Redeemer. And then in Psalm 23, David says of the Lord, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. In Micah 615, God says to the wicked,

you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil. And then in Matthew 617, Jesus says, when you fast, anoint your head with oil. It doesn't say with oil in my version, but I'm adding that in other versions it does say with oil. In Luke 746, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees who looked down upon the prostitute, who worshipped at Jesus' feet, who poured ointment on his feet. Jesus says, you did not anoint my head with oil to the Pharisees, but she, this woman of the night, has anointed my feet with ointment. He goes on to say, yeah, she's got a lot of sins, but she has shown more humility and

honor than you have, and she's forgiven for her sins. And Mark 6, the apostles cast out demons. And in verse 12, I think I have a typo there, it says that, Anointed with Oil, many who were sick and healed them. Actually, I think it's verse 13. James 514, if someone is in, if someone is in your church is sick, then this passage in James says, call for the elders of a church, pray for him, and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. Okay. So in order to understand what these examples mean, we need to

define a couple words and then look at the context and then decide, okay, is anointing yourself with oil, rolling on oil, saying that you can hear directly from God prophesy, raise the dead is that biblical. So first, this word anoint. This just means to smear with oil. In the Old Testament, we see that God commanded anointing with oil some individuals or even objects that were. were set apart like priests or tabernacle furnishings. This is the main purpose of anointing oil in ancient Israel. In Exodus 30, God tells Moses the specific ingredients of the sacred anointing oil that included Cain, Cassia, olive oil, this oil, and this oil alone was to be used for the particular purpose of consecrating priests in the tabernacle. People were anointed who

were set apart. David and 1 Samuel 16 was anointed as king of Israel. So, this, This word anoint is also used to describe God's chosen ones. Psalm 288, for example. He is the refuge, the saving refuge of his anointed. That was ancient Israel. That's us today who have been adopted into God's family through Jesus's blood, his sacrifice, his redemption. That word consecrate that we see over and over again in these passages is very similar.

It doesn't necessarily have to do with anointing oil. It means to separate oneself from that which is unholy. There are many commands throughout Scripture to consecrate themselves to consecrate someone in a variety of ways. But in some cases, oil was a part of the consecration process for certain people in particular roles. Now, how about when we see oil used in other ways throughout the Bible, when we're told to put on oil, when we're fasting, or when we're told to use oil when we're praying for a sick friend's healing, not every reference to oil in scripture is about setting a person apart like the priest and ancient Israel. It was also used for aesthetic purposes. So when Jesus says to put oil on your head when

fasting, for example, in context, we see that this isn't some kind of like anointing, but because at the time, people used oil to make themselves, make their faces look better, more alive. So in that passage, Jesus is telling people to fast in a way that only the Lord sees, not in an obvious, gloomy way to everyone else so that we can get their applause. And then in Mark 6 and James 5 when oil is used for the sick, the best understanding that we have for why they do this is that oil was used symbolically. It could be that they believed that there was some medicinal benefit, but we have no reason to believe that they believed the oil in itself had any power. And in fact, in that passage, that James 514 passage, we see that we pray that a person would be healed

in the name of the Lord. Okay. So it's the Lord who heals, not the oil. but the Lord. So all of this said, I think oil can be used in a symbolic way for some purposes. And of course, there are actual benefits to some essential oils. This doesn't carry spiritual significance, but of course, not against using essential oils for fragrance or some ailments as it applies. But what I am against is using oil in a way that is not biblical. We see nowhere in scripture, not a single place where anyone anoints themselves with oil to declare. layer over themselves or to endow themselves with particular powers. This is not even a debate over whether the gifts of the spirit like prophesying or speaking in

tongue still exist today. That is a cessationist versus a continuationist debate. That is absolutely worth having. I've talked about it before. But that is a longer discussion that we do not have time for right now. This is about anointing yourself with oil to activate certain abilities, which is not biblically founded at all. Now, the question is, is it really witchcraft, as I said, or is that just like way too harsh? It is certainly closer to sorcery than it is to scripture. It is very

similar to using a potion or a crystal or a sage or if you remember those power beads. Do you remember those power beads that you could get? It was like, this will make you like happy. This will make you fall in love. And they were like marketed to eight year olds. So strange, very strange time in 90s. But all of these things are thought to give you some kind of special power. Witchcraft seeks supernatural power outside of God's bounce. And it often relies on some kind of medium, some kind of object or material or liquid or plant while also repeating a mantra. This, as we see throughout scripture, is strictly forbidden by God. I don't think this person in the video that I reacted to, intended it in that way, but we should be very careful when

encouraging any spiritual practice that is not explicitly rooted in scripture or is even close to something that we know is forbidden in scripture. We shouldn't mess around with that kind of thing at all. And this is why I think it is important to refute this kind of theology. Whether you think so or not, it places a difficult yoke and a heavy burden on people, just like all superstition does. It treats God like a genie. If I do this, this extra biblical or even unbiblical thing, then God will do this for me in return. But then when he doesn't, because he's not a genie, then that often causes a crisis of faith. Remember Leviticus 10 when Nadab and Abihu offered a sacrifice to God that was not in alignment with his rules for sacrifices.

Leviticus 101 described it as an unauthorized fire. Some translations say a strange fire. God rejected it. And not only did he reject their sacrifice, he consumed the two men with fire. So I think we see here, no, we're not in Old Testament Israel, but I think we see here that God takes our worship very seriously and that he actually cares, that we are honoring him, that we are honoring his protections and parameters in how we serve him. And that is a good reminder for all of us.

I'm not just talking to my charismatic friends, but really for all of us. This is an issue, though, with much of the hyper charismatic world that's seeking, it seems, in many cases, the thrill of emotional experiences rather than a biblical life. And I am not saying that this is everyone who is charismatic. There are a lot of charismatic that I follow that I really respect that I partner with when it comes to really important issues like the pro-life cause. I really appreciate how in general strong charismatics are when it comes to issues like abortion and gender, something that really can't be said. For many Christians, I appreciate the charismatic enthusiasm for Jesus, the desire to see people know him. But all of us in our different subsets of Christianity have to be really careful not to veer into.

two unbiblical realms, no matter how that might look. All right, guys, so we got time for today. And did we keep it under an hour? No, we did not. But many of you have expressed that you like the longer episodes. So I hope that you enjoyed this one. We will see you back here tomorrow.