In the latest episode of the Obliterated Place podcast, I was joined by a member of our extended Pacific Palisades family, Michael Geller. Like any family, we don’t share all the same political views. Mike and I vote differently. When we sat down, we became so immersed in conversation about life and loss that we never discussed the LA mayoral race (which we’d been debating online). Mike is friends with Spencer Pratt and an avid supporter. I’ve previously shared why I don’t support him. This episode illuminates why Pratt’s message resonates with many voters. Although we didn’t discuss him, Mike articulates his righteous fury over what’s happened in the Palisades and the reality for local businesses and homeowners that many misunderstand. @MayorOfLA and @nithyavraman should listen. All Dems should. It’s easy to dismiss Pratt like smug @jonfavs but it would be a political mistake. Mike grew up in the Palisades, surfing, riding motorcycles and idolizing his older brother, Damon. Our audience will remember Episode 5 with Damon’s wife, Lili. Mike took us back to the night when he was surfing with Damon and suddenly couldn’t find him. When he paddled in, Damon was face down on his board. Despite doing everything humanly possible to save his big brother, Damon couldn’t be resuscitated. Weeks later, Mike and his wife, Jaimie Geller, held her father’s hands as took his last breath. Mike found himself in an obliterated place because of these profound losses. When light finally started to emerge through the darkness, Mike, Jaimie, and their three sons built their dream home. They’d recently moved in when the Palisades fire burned it to the ground. They also lost their business, Jaimie Geller Jewelry. Mike takes us inside the fire’s aftermath, sharing the surreal story of recovering his business safe — full of melted gold and jewels — days after the destruction. We talk about the exhausting, ongoing battles with insurance adjusters, the false narrative that our community is “just fine” and doesn’t need help, and the local support that is allowing Jaimie Geller to reopen. Last December, Mike’s mother died from pancreatic cancer. After a grueling medical trial, she utilized the California End of Life Option Act to choose her final day. Mike once again finds himself in an obliterated place, asking, “How much more can I take?” We’re all carrying more pain than most people realize. It’s infinitely more bearable when we lock arms and lift each other up during the long journey home. Links below to watch on YouTube or listen on Apple Podcasts. Please be sure to follow the show and leave us a review 🙏. youtu.be/UCDE65_fjk8?is=DvcY… podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…

Fuck her.... she said there's no difference between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump...

Being dismissive of Nazi tattoos, and having bigoted views about women, Black ppl and Jewish ppl, and wanting to rape men is disappointing. As African American man, the luxury / privilege you are affording Platner would never be afforded to someone who looks like me.

Remember when they got mad about how Michelle Obama planting a vegetable garden would ruin the landscaping.

I NEED people on the left (and the right, but they're a lost cause) to acknowledge anti-Semitism is a real problem in your community. I need you to push back when it's on your side. She's an American singer at a basketball game.

Yesterday we saw a woman be brutally mocked on social media because she attended a Knicks game while Jewish. Just a few days before, we saw a class of Jewish girls be called roaches and rats because they accidentally entered a drainage system tunnel while on a field trip. In the midst of that, Gwyneth Paltrow, a Jewish celebrity, was lambasted online for promoting homes in Herzliya. Existing as a Jewish woman isn't a crime, but the internet is intent on acting like it is, apparently.

Try: "Israel fought a just and proportionate war of self-defense against aggressors who committed mass sexual violence and used civilians as human shields, among other heinous war crimes."

Meet L.A.-based resident Dylan Keese-Forster. Dylan thinks it’s ok to cut down the Israeli flag at a private eatery, climbing on top of the bar to do it. This brazen vandalism and hate should never be tolerated.

BREAKING: Alexander Vindman has a 91% chance to win the Florida Democratic Senate primary

So Zelensky desecrated the White House by not wearing a suit but this is ok?????

“Silent?” What do you want her to say? That she’s sorry for being in a commercial? To apologize for making an ad for an apartment in the most non-controversial city in Israel that was founded in 1924? Or…for being Jewish?

The antisemitism isn't the real balckpill for me, but how void of a soul the average person is. That the average person will engage in gratuitous cruelty, just so long as there is no threat of social consequence.

Congrats to Coach Brown, Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, OG, and the rest of these incredible NBA Champion @NYKnicks! What a run!

The Haim sisters did everything "right" They didn't speak about politics They worked hard and made music that their fans appreciated And yet the haters still came for them As they always would Because at the end of the day, the antizionist hate movement will always come for any Jewish person who has even the slightest connection, real or imagined, with Israel

"It's over! It's over Knick fans This is not a dream Your long long wait has ended Go ahead and cry After 53 years The Knicks are finally NBA champions once again" –– Mike Breen

While I agree with @RoKhanna on some economic issues and share his extreme dislike of Trump, I find it offensive that he’s honored in a Jewish space, the Skirball Center, after falsely accusing @Israel of genocide and leading @TheDemocrats in piling on against Israel. Also, as someone who’s been involved in politics for many years, we’re in trouble if this is our new standard-bearer. Blah speaker. Uninspiring. No fire in the belly. Meh.

It's the small things you notice as a Jew that you would have no idea otherwise: In 24 hours the city home to the second largest Jewish population in the world may win an NBA championship or lose the game. Either way, it was critically important for the NYPD to erect concrete anti riot barriers in front of synagogues and Jewish daycares. Because something something Zionism something something.

Democrats massively outnumber Republicans in LA by nearly 4 to 1. Republican Spencer Pratt ran an in-your-face MAGA campaign in deep blue LA. If you’re screaming fraud because Pratt lost, then what you’re really saying is you hate democracy. Or you don’t get math. Or both.

Trump's past-the-deadline attempt to defy court orders on restoring the name of the Kennedy Center reminds why it's vital not to "take his word for it" on the $2 billion payout to Jan 6 criminals - and his own reach for lifelong tax immunity. In the immortal word of NY Deputy Mayor Alair Townsend, "I wouldn't believe Donald Trump if his tongue were notarized."

Spencer Pratt claims to love God but he perpetuates hate and intolerance. His vision of LA is dystopian, which is why MAGA eats it up. Do us all a favor, Spencer, and make good on your promise to leave LA. Leave the adults to do the hard work of addressing our serious problems.