A bunch of them are vegetation fires. We are very dry here right now, so any thrown cigarette is a risk. We are supposed to get some rain this weekend.

It’s wildfire season unfortunately so some fires are expected

My parents live in a small town in Texas and are in the MAGA camp. They came to Portland a couple of years ago to visit and said "oh, it's not like what was on TV"... Yes, that's what I was trying to tell you.

Now they are saying I should move based on what they see on Fox News. I'm dumbfounded; Don't you remember what it was like when you were here? It hasn't changed.

Part of it is a small town mentality, the big city is just dangerous. The rest of it is just being spoon fed clips of the same protest footage over and over and over again.

What do you suggest?

I had an argument with someone earlier who commented on a post I'd made and was all in on the MAGA position. They accused me of ignorance and I invited them to post some video of supposedly 'war-ravaged' Portland (a phrase used by the WH press secretary recently). First they told me to go and look on the timelines of their favorite right wing influencers, and when I declined to go on a wild goose chase they followed up with a mix of invective and random factoids, like the Portland fire department responding to 9 fires in the last 24 hours. (Since I live near a fire station in a similarly sized city the idea of a few minor fires every day impresses me not at all.)

It's tedious and unrewarding, but calling people's bluff is somewhat effective.

I noticed that too. The cynical part of me observed it's a Sinclair-owned news station, and I can't help wondering if they made it unavailable because it doesn't support the position of their corporate owner.