03/11/11 Laguna Beach, California – We’ll begin today with a couple of important announcements. First, a massive tsunami unfurled along the California coast this morning…and your editor observed it firsthand.
At 8:25 A.M., on the button, sirens blared and a tidal wave descended upon Main Beach here in Laguna. There weren’t any giant waves, of course, nor even the slightest visible ripple along the surf. But there was a massive tsunami of police cars and emergency vehicles crowding the beachfront to protect the public from the “emergency that wasn’t.”
The photo below, snapped moments after the tsunami’s predicted arrival, shows very clearly that the only thing that swept across Laguna Beach this morning was a hodgepodge of uniforms and badges swirling about as purposelessly as driftwood.
California’s treasury may be running on empty, but somehow, we still manage to find the money to send police down to the beach to watch the waves roll in.
Please understand, we have no quarrel with this state of affairs; we’d much rather see a cop car on the beach, for example, than in our rear-view mirror.
We just don’t understand the math that makes this system work.
Next item on today’s agenda:
It seems we have once again annoyed the folks over at the Darwin Awards. We are sorry to have done so and wish to issue a public apology. To view some of the real work these fine, actual Darwin Award folk do, we present this link directly to their website. Feel free to visit it or not, as you wish.
Further, in consideration of our respect for the folks at the Darwin Awards – and in recognition of their trademark – we will heretofore refrain from utilizing any portion of the term “Darwin Awards” in our little spectacle here at The Daily Reckoning.
It’s difficult to find a new name for our contest on such short notice. But fear not, after putting our heads together here at Daily Reckoning headquarters, we came up with the following: “The-name-of-the-guy-who-came-up-with-the-idea-of-evolution-but-who’s-name-we-cannot-use-due-to-trademark-infringement-constraints-Award.”
For short, we have renamed our event the “Dodo Derby.” Joel Bowman provides some details on the Dodo Derby’s first runner up – a state flush with movie star governors, gaping budget deficits and tsunami-gazing police forces – right here.
Eric Fry
for The Daily Reckoning
Eric Fry
Eric J. Fry, Agora Financial’s Editorial Director, has been a specialist in international equities for nearly two decades. He was a professional portfolio manager for more than 10 years, specializing in international investment strategies and short-selling. Following his successes in professional money management, Mr. Fry joined the Wall Street-based publishing operations of James Grant, editor of the prestigious Grant's Interest Rate Observer. Working alongside Grant, Mr. Fry produced Grant's International and Apogee Research — institutional research products dedicated to international investment opportunities and short selling.
Mr. Fry subsequently joined Agora Inc., as Editorial Director. In this role, Mr. Fry supervises the editorial and research processes of numerous investment letters and services. Mr. Fry also publishes investment insights and commentary under his own byline as Editor of The Daily Reckoning. Mr. Fry authored the first comprehensive guide to investing internationally with American Depository Receipts. His views and investment insights have appeared in numerous publications including Time, Barron's, Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune, Business Week, USA Today, Los Angeles Times and Money.
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Now that Charlie Sheen has gotten rid of the constraints of his 2 and a half men show, perhaps California can put him to work as in position that truly reflects his value as a “Golden State” Ambassdor- let’s start him with a salary of $500 million a year – with bonus linked to the number of twitter followers.
Don’t really see your point about the cops, but whatever…
Some how I have less problem when they are at least tying to provide the public a service. If they are watching the waves, at least they are unavailable for radar trap duty.
The real problem is two patrol vehicles and a motorcycle will be destroyed by the tsunami. They could have parked 100 yards away up the hill and saved their equipment. But these union employees don’t care, the taxpayers will just have to buy them new toys !
Yeah, I agree with the first two posts.
Eric, you’re being way to glib, dude. Stick with what you . . . know?
As to LBHS, no public property was destroyed and the police were doing their job, keeping people out of the real danger zone down on the beach.
Just another union basher without a brain, it seems.
Let’s be real here. Suppose a giant wave had hit and no police or emergency services were around, then the claim of negligence would have been uttered,I’m sure. I wonder Eric did you go down to the beach and tell them thier vigilance was going to be unnecessary or stand back and just see what happened.
Me I’m just happy that no one was hurt. nd I thought Mogambo was the glib one of the reckoning bunch!
I gotta agree with Clay. The cops get blamed for everything. Mindless union buster being employed by the Koch Bros.
If sirens would blared because of coming tidal waves I don´t want go out at all. But patrol cars have gone there to protect citizens. That is what are they paid for, so we shouldn´t blame them for that. We should consider also that fact that when they are in real danger they should save preferably their own lives.
My favorite example of this was a CNN clip of a bunch of people jogging along the beach a few minutes before the waves were due.
In the foreground was a bunch of cops and lifeguards just watching them go by.
As for “union bashers,” I can only dream of a world where that was the default position of the brainless…