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Bill Maher trashes Karen Bass, Cali officials for response to fires: 'Fiddling in Ghana while the city burned’
HBO host Bill Maher trashed the local government for how officials are handling the wildfires that have ravaged Los Angeles in the closing monologue of his show on Friday.
The “Real Time” host slammed local officials for not being prepared and prioritizing DEI initiatives over competent fire response. He also savaged the city’s Democratic mayor, Karen Bass, for being out of the country when the blazes began in LA County.
“L.A.’s mayor, Karen Bass, the Nero of American politics, was fiddling in Ghana while the city burned,” Maher said.
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HBO host Bill Maher ripped Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for her wildfire response this week. (Bob Riha Jr / Contributor | Rodin Eckenroth / Stringer)
Maher went after the government for not having the resources to fight the fires, sharing an article from Axios about how complicated it was to get water out of fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood in L.A. particularly ravaged by the inferno.
The host saw this as a weak excuse, stating, “I’m sure it is. I’m sure it’s very complicated. That’s why I pay 13 percent of my income in the state every year to people who I assume were working on things like this.”
Maher ripped Bass’ excuse for being unprepared. He quoted her saying the fires were so bad because of “eight months of negligible rain and winds that have not been seen in L.A. in at least 14 years.”
The host ridiculed the line, saying, “Yeah, that’s not that long a time. Maybe look in the history books to see how our ancestors handled it back in 2011.”
He also hammered Bass for cuts to the Los Angeles Fire Department. For the 2024-2025 fiscal year, Bass cut $17 million from the LAFD’s budget, having originally wanted to cut $23 million.
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People watch the smoke and flames from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on Jan. 7, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Tiffany Rose/Getty Images)
As Maher noted, Bass insisted that the cuts didn’t affect the city’s preparedness. In response, he brought up LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley’s “slightly different take.”
“She said, ‘We are screaming to be properly funded,’” the host said, adding, “And yes, the budget was cut, and it did impact our ability to provide service.”
He then mocked the city for appearing to prioritize DEI initiatives among its first response units. “We just got our a—kicked by fire, something neanderthals fought to a tie. The good news is our fire chief is a lesbian,” he said, mentioning Crowley again.
Maher clarified he sees nothing wrong with there being a lesbian chief but suggested that she was chosen because of her sexual identity. “Or maybe they really wanted a lesbian in that job and she’s just the best lesbian for the job, and with essential services, that’s not good enough.”
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To back up his hunch, Maher read from Crowley’s LAFD bio, which stated, “Chief Crowley leads a diverse department… Creating, supporting, and promoting a culture that values diversity, inclusion, and equity while striving to meet and exceed the expectations of the communities…”
The host savaged the bio, stating, “Well, you didn’t exceed my expectations, which was that the whole city wouldn’t burn down. But it’s telling that diversity was mentioned twice before we get to ‘while’ – ‘while striving’ to meet ‘expectations.’”
Maher savaged his home state as a place that “spends money and gets nothing, which is why you may have noticed when the fires broke out, no one escaped by high-speed rail.”
“We have the highest marginal tax rate in America, higher than almost all other states … What is included for that? Breadsticks? Because it clearly doesn’t cover fire,” he said. “That’s government’s job. Protect us from crime, violence, theft, fire. I’m not saying Alabama would have done better with fires by fighting them with prayer in school, but look me in the eye and tell me anyone could have done worse.”
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LAS VEGAS, N.M. (KRQE) – Las Vegas police and firefighters are warning residents that they are on the lookout for illegal fireworks this Independence Day. Following the area’s severe drought conditions and elevated risk of wildfire, the City of Las Vegas said they will be strictly enforcing fireworks laws.
Banned fireworks this year include aerial devices like bottle rockets, roman candles, and mortars, as well as any ground firecrackers that make loud noises.
SCOTUS upholds state bans on transgender athletes in female sports
The Supreme Court ruled that states can bar transgender women and girls from competing on female sports teams.
States can ban transgender women and girls from competing on female sports teams, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in a June 30 ruling celebrated by Oregon’s Republican candidate for governor and criticized by Democrats.
The decision is another setback for the LGBTQ+ community from the high court, which has issued a series of recent rulings against transgender Americans.
The court said West Virginia’s and Idaho’s bans on female transgender athletes do not violate either the Constitution or a federal law barring sex discrimination in education.
Writing for the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said schools “may determine eligibility for women’s and girls’ sports based on biological sex.”
“Separate sports teams for biological males and biological females are reasonable,” he wrote.
In a partial dissent that was joined by her two liberal colleagues, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she would have given the student challenging West Virginia’s law a chance to show that the ban should not apply to her.
“In opting otherwise, the majority extends great sympathy to those it favors: the young cisgender girls and women who play sports,” she wrote. “Because the majority, however, inflicts a hardship on those it disfavors without giving them the fair and full opportunity the Constitution requires to litigate their contentions, I respectfully dissent.”
Twenty-seven states have passed similar bans, saying they are trying to ensure fairness and address safety concerns for non-transgender women. Similar proposals have not been successful in Oregon.
The transgender students who challenged the laws said hormone therapy and other medical treatments they’ve taken have blocked any physiological advantages from being born male. The laws, they said, should not apply to them for that reason.
The students were also banking on a landmark 2020 Supreme Court decision protecting transgender employees from workplace discrimination.
But since that unexpected 6-3 decision by a conservative court, the justices have often ruled against transgender Americans. That includes their 2025 decision that states can ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
Sen. Christine Drazan, Oregon Republican gubernatorial candidate, celebrates ruling
Oregon Republicans have proposed legislation to ban transgender students’ participation in sports.
Sen. Christine Drazan, R-Canby, who will face off against Gov. Tina Kotek in November, raised the issue during an April Republican gubernatorial debate.
“We’ve got to get politics off of our sports fields. No more boys in girls’ sports, no more men in girls’ locker rooms,” Drazan said.
Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio, and Chris Dudley, who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican Party’s gubernatorial nomination, promoted similar stances while campaigning.
Drazan issued a statement June 30 in support of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“This ruling is a victory for fairness, common sense and for the progress achieved by generations of women who fought for and earned the right to compete,” Drazan said. “Girls and young women across Oregon are still competing on an unfair and unsafe playing field.”
Drazan said she’s always supported women’s right to compete and as governor would do everything she could to ensure girls can have a chance to compete.
Diehl also thanked the court for the ruling on social media, saying in part, “this ruling upholds Equal Protection and clarifies Title IX does not force male athletes onto girls’ teams.”
OSAA reviewing ruling, Oregon Democrats speak against court decision
The Oregon School Activities Association, which oversees high school sports and other extracurriculars in Oregon, said it was reviewing the ruling with its legal team.
OSAA’s policies allow students to participate on the team that aligns with their gender identity.
“The association will work with the Oregon Department of Education on the ruling’s impacts on state law and OSAA policy in order to provide updated guidance to member schools as needed,” a spokesperson said in a statement to the Statesman Journal. “The OSAA remains committed to ensuring interscholastic activities remain a safe and welcoming environment for all student-athletes.”
Kotek’s office did not provide comment by deadline.
Two Democratic state representatives issued statements against the justices’ decision.
“Today’s ruling is a devastating departure from decades of civil rights progress. By inviting discrimination, the court has empowered a coordinated effort to push transgender people out of public life altogether. We cannot go backwards on the road to inclusivity,” Rep. Jules Walters, D-West Linn, said.
Rep. April Dobson, D-Happy Valley, similarly criticized the ruling and said she would fight to defend Oregon’s laws.
Kyndall Mason, executive director of Basic Rights Oregon, a nonprofit group that advocates for LGBTQ rights, said in part the group wants to “assure Oregonians that trans kids are still allowed to play in our state.”
Anastasia Mason covers state government for the Statesman Journal. Reach her at acmason@statesmanjournal.com or 971-208-5615.
State Sen. Todd Weiler previously shared a six-post thread about opponents of the Box Elder data center allegedly being paid by China.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, says a few words during a ceremonial bill signing to highlight landmark legislation that establishes Utah as a national leader in protecting kids online, in the Gold Room at the Capitol, on Friday, April 4, 2025.
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