The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 1.9 The LA Fire Problem is Crazier Than You Think, VA Doctor Ruined Lives with "For-Profit" Surgeries &

Episode Date: January 9, 2025

Subscribe for New shows every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday @ 6pm ET/3pm PST & watch more here: https://youtu.be/xXw9ysyAW-4?feature=shared  PDS Debt is offering a free debt analysis. It only takes thirty seconds. Get yours at https://PDSDebt.com/defranco  https://BeautifulBastard.com $20 Mystery Boxes and the Best Tees & Hoodies on the Internet according to my mom! WATCH YESTERDAY'S SHOW: https://youtu.be/xXw9ysyAW-4?feature=shared – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Updates to the LA Wildfire Disaster: 5 Dead, 2,000 Structures Destroyed, & More 10:17 - Sponsored by PDS Debt  11:25 - VA Hospital Indicted for Enabling Doctor to do Needless Surgeries for Profit 15:37 - Patchwork WEA System Leaves Many with Little to No Warning About Disasters 21:13 - Comment Commentary  ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxwell Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks, Matthew Henry Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Chris Tolve, Star Pralle, Jared Paolino  Associate Producer on WEA: Star Pralle ———————————— For more Philip DeFranco: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-philip-defranco-show/id1278424954 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ESemquRbz6f8XLVywdZ2V Twitter:   https://x.com/PhillyD Instagram:   https://instagram.com/PhillyDeFranco Newsletter: https://www.dailydip.co TikTok:   https://www.tiktok.com/@philipdefranco?lang=en ———————————— #DeFranco #LosAngeles #JoeRogan ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's going on in Southern California right now is worse than we could have imagined, and it's getting even worse. With the quick numbers right now being tens of thousands of acres burned, over 2,000 structures destroyed, at least tens of billions of dollars in damage, and five dead.

Also, the number of active blazes has expanded from three to five, with new ones popping up near the Hollywood Hills and Antelope Valley. Now, the one in the Hollywood Hills drew a lot of attention in particular last night because it was threatening not only famous landmarks like the Hollywood sign and the Griffith Observatory,

but also the densely populated areas of the famous Hollywood strip as well. With that then leading to mandatory evacuations in these areas, although that was lifted as of 7.30 a.m. local time. And reportedly, while that fire hasn't been contained at all, it is slowing down, which could explain why the evacuation orders were lifted.

But unfortunately, that is nowhere near the only fire that firefighters are struggling to stop. The Palisades fire and the Eaton fires continue to blaze and grow and their destruction has just been fucking devastating. In the Palisades we've seen entire neighborhoods and historic shopping districts completely destroyed. In a lot of Altadena where the Eaton fire

has done most of its damage and where the most buildings have been lost so far, it's almost literally entirely gone as we can see from satellite imagery. And neither the Palisades nor Eaton fires have been contained as a recording, and it's possible for a variety of reasons. Like I know yesterday that we talked about

there being hurricane force winds, but I don't think just saying it really conveyed just how crazy it is. I mean, this is what I mean. Those winds fling embers all over the place and they send them flying, making it so that these fires move crazy fast. Which is also why if you're in the areas affected,

like you should get the fuck out when they say get out. Or when one's closing in, not only is it moving fast, but an ember can be thrown way ahead of you and start a new fire that cuts you off. And also because of everything that we're seeing, it's led to discussions about how these fires have gotten so crazy. And it's led to this five month old Joe Rogan comment

going viral. I talked to a fireman once and he goes, dude, one day, he goes, it's just gonna be the right wind and fire's gonna start in the right place and it's gonna burn through LA all the way to the ocean. And it's not a fucking thing we can do about it. I go, really? He goes, yeah, we're just we just get lucky.

He goes, we get lucky with the wind. She goes, but if the wind hits the wrong way, it's just going to burn straight through L.A. And there's not going to be a thing we can do about it because these fires are so big, dude. When you're talking about like thousands of acres that are burning simultaneously with like 40 mile an hour winds and the winds just blowing embers through the air and those embers are landing on roofs and those houses are going up and they're landing on bushes and those bushes are going up and everything's dry. And once it happens, it happens in a way where it's so spread out that there's nothing they can do. Although also with that, I will say anyone from or who has lived in SoCal will tell you that this is kind of an open secret.

Like the state has a fire season, like it's fucking Armageddon. The climate is perfect for massive forest fires and the ecology is relying on them. But also some like the nonpartisan outlet CalMatters, they've pointed out that these fires aren't during the normal fire season and they could be fueled by climate change, which has led to crazy swings in weather. And I mean, you only need to look at LA to see what they mean. Almost a year ago, this exact place was flooded under record rainfall, and just the span of a few days, it got a year's worth of rain.

But 11 months later, it's dry, on fire, and there's no water to be found. Speaking of which, that's been a big question for everyone, because it quickly became apparent yesterday that firefighters in places like the Pacific Palisades were running out of water at even the fire hydrants. With that then leading to a lot of speculation and accusations of incompetence.

For example, Donald Trump saying on Truth Social, "'Governor Gavin Newsom 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, "'including the areas that are currently burning "'in a virtually apocalyptic way.

He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt by giving it less water. It didn't work, but didn't care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to flow into California. He is the blame for this.

On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, no firefighting planes, a true disaster. Now with all that, there are a number of things to dive into, like regarding the smelt. That is a small fish native to the San Francisco estuary and is endangered both statewide and federally. It's also considered what's known as an indicator species, meaning that the health of its population is a good sign

for how healthy that ecosystem is. And for years now, their population has been declining. So efforts backed by Newsom to help the species have included limiting how much water is being diverted from that area to other parts of the state. All of which has been the source of a ton of lawsuits and legal battles as many parts of the state are feeling the effects of not having enough water.

Though this also, as some people have tried to debunk this as the reason for a lack of water, saying things like, the reason there is no water available in fire hydrants in LA is because the water lines have been broken or burned by the fire. So there is no water pressure in addition to low water pressure due to eight months of drought. Resist politicized accusations and conspiracy theories.

However, that appears to be a bit of misinformation as even LA officials were saying that was not the reason. I wanna be very clear that the water continues to flow in the Palisades area through our main system. We haven't had any disruption into the water system, but because the winds were severely limited, the air operations, the number of fire hoses connected to the fire hydrants depleted our tanks in the area, specifically in higher elevations. We immediately implemented our contingency plans to provide water trucks to support our firefighters, and our crews are working on how to refill those tanks during this very moment.

You also had LADWP's CEO and chief engineer saying earlier in the conference that this was not a case of the LADWP activated its emergency preparation plans and filled all 114 available water reservoirs and storage facilities throughout the city, including the three one-million-gallon tanks in the Palisades area. We also fueled all our generators serving our pump stations to ensure water will flow out through the emergency. And so the short version, according to LA's Department of Water and Power, is that the water was being used faster than it could be replaced since they couldn't rely on helicopters and planes to fight the fires. And in general, she also emphasized

that they were searching for solutions to get even more water and also asking residents in Western LA to please conserve water. Now, with all that said, you also had a lot of people pointing fingers, you know, trying to say who's responsible for what's happening,

with many actually looking at LA Mayor Karen Bass. And as it turns out, Bass was in Ghana when the fire started, almost literally the second she landed, she was asked questions about the situation. And at the press conference, she really didn't offer much new information and just reiterated what others said.

You know, that the city was repaired and is working together to tackle the issue. We also saw a lot of people talking about her push to slash the cities and the LAFD's budget, which you know was something that we talked about yesterday. So I won't go fully into it again, but there are some new things. Like for example, a warning that LA Fire Chief

Kristen Crowley gave to Bass last month that the budget cuts would hurt the department's ability to respond to emergencies just like this. But still, you know, there are those who are defending Bass' decision and claim that conservatives are trying to play both sides of the issue. But essentially the main argument being that Bass

had a lot of pressure to cut the city's budget in 2024 to close a massive deficit. But then when a massive disaster like this strikes, the city's asked why was spending cut? But to be very clear here, right? It wasn't just conservatives who have been critical of the city and state's leadership. You had everyday people and folks like the Young Turks,

Anna Kasparian, for example, being heavily critical of democratic control of the state. Saying with us, California and especially LA is controlled by Democrats. They are responsible. No more passing the buck. Our mayor, who was in Ghana as fires exploded in our city, cut the fire budget by $17 million. Endless amounts of money funneled to bullshit scammer homeless nonprofits. We're the highest taxed, yet we have encampments and squalor everywhere. Even worse, we don't have enough firefighters to respond to the absolute disaster we're experiencing right

now. Rather than conserve the record rain we got last year, we just drained it into the ocean. We are a failing city run by a sick excuse for local government. You wanna radicalize people against the modern democratic party? Send them to LA. Though that was not the only person or thing

that was getting blamed for this disaster. With one of the big narratives being pushed around right now by accounts like Libs to TikTok being that LA fires leadership or DEI hires, and so with that, that also makes them incapable. They're saying, meet Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristen Crowley. She boasts about being the first female and LGBTQ fire chief in the LA Fire Department. Promoting a culture of DEI is her priority. Does this make you feel safer? Though with that, you had plenty of people

countering that Crowley being solely a DEI hire, that doesn't match with her career. With it being noted that she is a 22-year firefighter vet, she's done essentially every job within the field, including leadership positions like captain, battalion chief, assistant chief, fire marshal, and deputy chief. And actually, when she took her first firefighter exam in the late 90s, she was in the top 50 out of 16,000 applicants,

with former mayor Eric Garcetti, who appointed her explicitly stating that she was appointed because of her credentials. Now also with this, similar claims have been made about the head of the LADWP. So again, you have people pointing to her extensive resume,

noting that she was a Coast Guard commander for 15 years, including a five-year stint working in incident management. And also just before getting to the LADWP, she was a senior vice president in Pacific Gas, an electric company. However, I will say separate from the whole DEI narrative thing, I should note that even with all those credentials,

it doesn't mean that the ball couldn't have been dropped. It's just that on that front, we really don't know that yet and likely won't know until some kind of investigation's done, which I'm willing to bet will be coming after things calm down. But then finally with this to wrap up a few other details, we have seen a ton of conspiracy theories

related to all of this. Some just kind of funny and some just weird. Like there was one guy who was implying something was up because the streets weren't burning when everything else was to which The community notes had to just say uh concrete doesn't burn But then this also as others were going the full elites are up to something narrative saying things like rumors are circulating at the pacific Palisades fire was started by a satanic ritual pay close attention to the location where the fire began

The address stems from behind this creepy red roof mansion that is straight out of a horror movie. I am launching a full investigation into the neighborhood and the owners of those compounds. The elites will never again be able to operate in the shadows. And with that, like every good conspiracy theory, there's just a dash of truth at least in there. Because yes, the fire was reportedly started

in a backyard according to officials. Now to mention that the creepy red roof mansion is just kind of a way to say you're not from Southern California without saying you're not from Southern California. That's just a generic Spanish colonial style home. It's something that's very popular in SoCal. Like every house in that neighborhood has it

and not because they're secret Satanists. Also, as far as why this guy was saying this, you had community notes saying apparently that he makes these insane claims all the time to generate ad revenue on his posts, which is a common criticism of X's blue check mark program. But with all of that said, how I'll close this is just by saying everything just feels crazy and chaotic there. If you are out there, please listen to the authorities. Please be safe. And for now,

we're just going to have to wait to see what happens in this just devastating situation. But from that, taking a quick break from the news, you know, I'll say it's that time of year again, right? It's new beginnings and fresh starts. Whether your goals are transforming your health, breaking bad habits, or hitting the gym, this is the time where we all hit reset. So with that, I gotta ask, are you feeling overwhelmed by mounting debt, watching those balances stay stubbornly high despite your monthly payments? Because this can be the year to finally take control, and that's where today's sponsor, PDS Debt, comes in with their personalized solutions. They understand that everyone's financial situation is unique, whether you're grappling with high interest,

credit cards, personal loans, unexpected medical bills, they're equipped to help. And their customized programs are designed for anyone carrying $10,000 or more in eligible debt. And don't worry about your credit score. Bad or fair credit is totally fine. And you know, let's be honest, we have all faced financial struggles at some point.

I mean, debt can feel like quicksand, pulling you deeper despite your best efforts to stay afloat. And PDS Debt's team takes the time to understand your specific circumstances, working to create solutions that not only help you save money, but accelerate your path to becoming debt-free. Make 2025 the year you transform your financial future. Take the first step by visiting pdsdebt.com slash DeFranco for a free 30-second debt analysis. It's pdsdebt.com slash DeFranco. Don't wait. Start your

journey to being debt-free today at pdsdebt.com slash DeFranco. But then, shifting gears to different news, we need to talk about this craziness. A Virginia hospital has now been criminally charged for enabling a doctor to perform unnecessary surgeries on women for years so it could reap millions of dollars in profit. Right, and this new indictment centers around the case

of Javid Perwez, an OB-GYN who was employed at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center from 1984 until 2019 when he was arrested for his actions. With then Perwez, an OBGYN who was employed at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center from 1984 until 2019 when he was arrested for his actions. With then Perwez ultimately being convicted of 52 counts of healthcare fraud and false statements in healthcare matters and getting sentenced to 59 years in prison. And in that case, the jury found that Perwez had performed unnecessary hysterectomies and other invasive surgeries, induced pregnant women before they were at 39 weeks without medical need, and sterilized Medicaid patients

without consent form signed 30 days in advance as required by law. With also several former patients testifying at the time that the doctor falsely told them that they had cancer in order to operate on them. With some of the unnecessary procedures leaving these patients with permanent physical damage. But now this latest legal action charges the hospital itself

with healthcare fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States. With it specifically accusing CRMC of being complicit in Perwey's illegal actions in order to boost their own profits. With prosecutors alleging here that CRMC explicitly enabled Perwey's to do these unnecessary procedures so they could collect $18.5 million in reimbursements

from private insurers, Medicaid, and Medicare from 2010 until his arrest in 2019. And a big key thing is that the indictment claims that CRMC first granted Perway's privileges in 1984, despite the fact that his executives knew that he had literally been barred from operating at another hospital earlier that year for performing unnecessary surgeries.

And they also did so at the objections of their own department of surgery, which initially declared his appointment unacceptable. What's more, CRMC continued to grant the OB-GYN privileges after he pled guilty to two felony counts and quote, "'Admitted in public filings "'to extensive fraudulent conduct, "'including, among other things,

"'falsely claiming a Ferrari luxury sports car "'as an ultrasound machine "'so that he could write it off as a business expense.'" With the hospital then continually renewing his credentials every two years until his arrest, even though his recredentialing packet allegedly contained quote, "'Information regarding his felony conviction,

"'his prior hospital suspension, "'and notes regarding medical malpractice lawsuits "'resulting from procedures he performed at CRMC.'" But then also the prosecutors say that the hospital went way further than just allowing him to keep practicing. They also claim that CRMC and Perwez actively agreed together that he could continue performing

unnecessary surgeries and other procedures. With them specifically outlining how Perwees would list two delivery dates for pregnant patients on obstetric flow sheets. Right, one that was accurate, and one that falsely listed the patient as being at or after 39 weeks so he could induce them. And he would do this so he could induce patients

earlier than necessary in order to better fit his schedule, a move that resulted in nearly 40% of his patients being induced before they needed to be. With him also saying not only did CRMC knowingly allow him to continue those practices, they also allegedly submitted reimbursements to both public and private insurers and helped Perwais do the same

so they could all profit off his fraud. But also according to the indictment, that's just the tip of the iceberg. With him claiming that the hospital knew that he was performing sterilizations without valid consent forms and let him do so anyway. And they also knowingly allowed him to intentionally misclassify inpatient surgeries as outpatient surgeries because they get higher reimbursements for the latter. And then when insurers denied those reimbursements, hospital executives would allegedly try to bill patients directly, a move that sent certain patients to debt collections.

And, and I know there's a lot of ands, the hospital is accused of continuing to do this even after Perweys was arrested. But then that is everything. I'm kidding, I'm lying. Because the indictment also states that CRMC went to great lengths to protect Perweys for years, like allegedly defending him

when regulators questioned his license by writing a letter spotlighting how he was one of their top billing doctors, with them also allegedly punishing whistleblowers who came forward to report his practices. Though, with all that, you have CRMC denying these new allegations and issuing a press release today calling the claims unfounded and an excessive overreach and vowing to respond in court. But with that, as you have the Washington Post explaining, this indictment is a very big deal because it is very, very unusual for prosecutors to see criminal charges against hospitals. In adding that CRMC could face serious fines and restrictions that

while its executives have not been charged, they could face individual legal liability. So while that is where we are today, we have to keep our eyes on this because this is huge. Then for this next bit of news that I want to talk about, I actually recorded this story while we were on holiday break. I was going to upload it possibly this weekend as its own thing, but with everything that's happening in California right now, it feels more relevant than ever.

So I'm going to just include it here. We need to talk about the hidden flaws of America's emergency alert system because it is a life or death problem. Red tape, language barriers, technological issues, and public trust are just a few of the issues putting people at risk when the weather gets dangerous

thanks to the inconsistent way the wireless emergency alert system is handled. Because you know, usually there's a couple of different ways to tip at risk when the weather gets dangerous thanks to the inconsistent way the wireless emergency alert system is handled. Because you know, usually there's a couple of different ways to tip you off when the weather is getting bad. Sometimes it's just the way the sky looks, sometimes it's sirens, and sometimes it's an alert coming through your phone. But that alert, it's not just something that happens.

Someone has to push the button to send out what's called a WEA or a wireless emergency alert. And while officials have to be trained on how to use the system, it's actually up to local jurisdictions to determine exactly how that training is used, according to the Deputy Director of FEMA's Integrated Public Alert

and Warning System Division. So what that means is that there is no clear, universal standard for how the WEA system works. Instead, it's just a patchwork of different approaches, which then often puts people at risk while each emergency manager deals with their own issues in the community. Right, and so in some places, it's a problem of bureaucracy,

like one emergency department head from a city on the East Coast saying that she needs approval from local elected officials before actually using the WEA system. That's a big thing, because getting that approval, it can take hours, and that can be incredibly dangerous in areas prone to short notice emergencies. For example, one former staffer

in the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management saying, with a tsunami where you have 10 minutes to get to higher ground,the logistics of trying to find everybody "'to approve the alert while also keeping "'everybody else safe is really challenging.'" And then you've got the issue of who is actually pressing the button. So while major cities usually have dedicated

emergency managers to deal with the alerts, that often is not the case in small towns. There, it often comes down to first responders like 911 dispatchers to put out the alerts while also fielding calls. For example, Jeanette Sutton, Director of the Emergency and Risk Communication Message Testing Laboratory at the University of Albany said,

"'We need emergency managers to prioritize alerts and warnings, but I don't know where it gets prioritized in the scheme of the 500 other things they have to prioritize.'" And then there's also the issue of the actual content of the messages that are being sent out, with Sutton also driving a lot of the studies

in recent years regarding what sort of messages motivate people during a disaster. So with that, last year, she and her team drafted a lexicon with suggested language for dozens of possible disasters. And this is they also created an online best practices training and a message design dashboard for FEMA, which helps streamline the process of drafting these warnings.

With Sutton saying that the idea here is to take out the frozen panic of staring at a blank screen while in the middle of an incredibly stressful situation. And one of the issues here is that while FEMA recommends this particular training, and nearly 800 emergency managers have taken it, it's not required. This is others have argued that it's difficult

for small town operators who juggle multiple roles during an emergency to make time for optional training. But those people are arguably the ones who need that training the most. Then also while those best practices are great, they're not doing much for residents who can't read English. For example, Joseph Trujillo Falcone saying that when he started learning English

after moving to Texas from Peru, he became the translator for his community in times of emergency. Saying, whenever a tornado warning would come out, I'd start sending text messages or calling friends and family telling them in Spanish that this is what we need to do. And with that, as it stands now,

the WEA system supports sending alerts in English and Spanish, and it's up to local offices to translate alerts further from there. And that sometimes just means punching the text into Google Translate, which can present some pretty serious issues regarding misinterpretation.

For example, Sherry Badger, chair of the Language and Accessibility for Alert and Warning Work Group saying, "'The fact that we can watch our phone "'and watch our pizza being delivered, "'but we can't get a WEA message translated, "'come on, the capability has to be there.'" Though with that, I will say,

it's not like nothing's being done on that front. I mean, last year, the Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules to make WEAs available in more than a dozen additional languages. But where the problem is, is the implementation with the agency still trying to figure out exactly how to make this new standard happen. And that's also the case on a more local level

with Badger forming a group with over 200 other emergency managers in Washington state to figure out how to reach underserved populations better. But this also is in the meantime, the lack of language accessibility continues to put people at risk. While the human element is definitely a contributing factor to the WEA system mess as we've covered here,

it is not the entire problem. There are also many technological issues that put lives at risk. Like pretty famously in Lahaina, Hawaii last year, when the fires ate through the power lines, meaning that a lot of people didn't get adequate warning. And in fact, Maui County even sued four major cell carriers for failing to tell officials about their blackout,

saying that their emergency managers would have looked into another way of alerting the public had they known that their messages weren't being received. And this type of technological issue, it's happened in other places as well, like Rockdale County, Georgia, when the Conyers tornado tore through 77 homes in the area earlier this year.

Or for example, during the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, where they decided against using the WEA system, but the system they did use reached no more than a third of the people who signed up for the warnings, according to the LA Times. And that's in addition to all the other issues with how that fire was handled.

So there's clearly a technological issue when it comes to emergency alerts, but also a big thing. As places like Rolling Stone have reported, there is a lot of money, attention, and energy being poured into addressing that. We're seeing researchers looking at how to get these alerts on more platforms, like streaming providers or car consoles, and energy being poured into addressing that. We're seeing researchers looking at how to get these alerts on more platforms like streaming providers or car consoles and the ways that AI could help.

Then also let's say, even if the technology is there, there is trained staff to send out these alerts and the language and wording is right. It still then requires for people to act and with the general mistrust in the government, that's gonna be hard to accomplish with a national system like WEA. In fact, right before a nationwide test of the WEA system,

the internet was bursting with conspiracy theories about what the test was actually gonna do. And while a study reportedly showed that 91% of adults got that alert, one in six were reported to have opted out of at least one type of emergency alert, which is why you had one emergency manager saying, "'Nobody trusted the government to begin with,

and then COVID-19 happened, and they really didn't trust the government.'" See ya, all together, fun times. This has been yet another daily edition of Shit's Fucked and now you know specifically why it's fucked and why it may never not be fucked. Thanks for tuning in. But then as far as the final thing today, let's talk about you and yesterday with some comment commentary. Because y'all were definitely sounding off in those comments, but it was mainly around two stories. The fires raging in Los Angeles and the whole scandal and controversy around that nine-year-old who wanted a Trump tattoo

and ended up getting a tattoo of the American flag on her arm. And let's start with that one, because in the comments, you guys were generally less angry at the tattoo artist than what we saw with kind of the general public. With some of the most popular comments on this topic reading,

on the tattoo, whilst I think it's still terrible for children to be getting tattoos, I can see the logic behind the artist who convinced this girl to not fuck up her face and life by tattooing Trump onto her neck, but instead just to get an American flag on her arm. If he said no, that girl goes somewhere else until she found somebody that would do it, and somebody would eventually do it. Personally, in a world of stupid people, trying to convince them to take the lesser of two stupids is sometimes the best option. Or the classic tale of two stupids. Sometimes y'all have a way with words.

While there, there were plenty of people who agreed with that, there were also people who pushed back. Replying things like, that's not the point and that's not how the tattoo industry works. I'm a tattoo artist. These people going somewhere else does not put his business or financial standing in jeopardy

if he doesn't do the tattoo. People love tattoos. And if he's got a walk-in shop, he's gonna have more clients that day who will likely pay him twice as much without him having to deal with all the trouble he's dealing with now. He could pay rent at a tattoo shop, his bills are likely well paid, he didn't need to do this. Though again, this is people generally said that Sosa handled this the best way he could. Though those same people also adding, obviously the parents should have not

allowed this, but what Sosa did convincing her to get something different and on the shoulder is probably the best case scenario compared to what could have happened. Some of y'all were also sharing your own situations and stories. Like Charles, for example, who wrote, "'My daughter has desperately wanted a tattoo "'since she was 12. "'We live in Georgia where you can get one at 16 "'with parents' approval.'

"'I ended up making a deal with her. "'We would pay for one on her 18th birthday. "'However, she had to want the specific tattoo "'for at least a year, know the placement, "'get it done in henna, and fully research "'the shop and tattoo artist, "'so she had one that was specialized in the style she wanted. These were non-negotiable.

On her 18th birthday, we paid for her first tattoo, a half sleeve, and it is beautifully done. Over the years, she changed the tattoo idea six times. And because I made her get them done in henna first, we discovered she's allergic to red dye. With pretty much then every response to that being applauding good parenting. But then finally, and unsurprisingly,

a lot of the comments were about those fires overreaching. With some seemingly frustrated at the people that seemed to wait to the last second to leave. With Dubs Ross saying, if the smoke alarm in your house is going off because of an uncontained fire outside, you should have left hours ago. Though there you had some pushing back saying,

you'd be shocked how fast that happens. And I would add there that the speed of this thing has been one of the most concerning aspects. And the people that are experiencing this in different pockets in LA, they're experiencing different fires at different speeds. Meanwhile, you had others chiming in saying things like, "'West Coast to here, we have a fire season

"'due to the high density of forested area. "'It is not fire season. "'Mid-January has never been fire season. "'This is an absolutely unprecedented disaster. "'I just wanna scream what the actual fuck into the sky.'" With that, I will say as someone that had lived in Los Angeles for 15 years, like anytime it got green, you'd be like, oh man, it's so beautiful.

And then you'd also go, oh no, this is a lot of fuel. And well, yeah, fires in California are not this rare thing. The way that it went through populated areas is just fucking insane to see here. Also with this, and I guess it kind of extends to a number of stories. We had people saying, we're not even 10 days into 2025 and it already feels like hell.

Which with all that, I was talking to someone recently about just kind of what feels like just a never ending onslaught and we shouldn't really expect anything to slow down. And they were like, God's testing us. And I was like, well, I guess I didn't study for this one. Which, wow, on that warm, fuzzy, happy note,

I think that is the end of today's show. Thank you for being a part of this show and just really anything this week. It's our first week back in 2025. Hopefully things are going to calm down over the next three days, though who knows. But either way, I'll be back here on Monday. So let me just say, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love your faces and I'll see you on Monday. Please stay safe out there.