"1 Million Strong Against our SOCIALIST Fire Departments"

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:





:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Libertarian Reluctantly Calls Fire Department


CHEYENNE, WY—After attempting to contain a living-room blaze started by a cigarette, card-carrying Libertarian Trent Jacobs reluctantly called the Cheyenne Fire Department Monday. "Although the community would do better to rely on an efficient, free-market fire-fighting service, the fact is that expensive, unnecessary public fire departments do exist," Jacobs said. "Also, my house was burning down." Jacobs did not offer to pay firefighters for their service.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/32825

Excellent!

:rofl:

At least that has been my experience. One of my best friends is a retired firefighter and I have attended several functions at his home. Everyone of his firefighter buddies are rabid anti-Obama right wingers. I don't believe it is an aberration since my other friend from high school was on the police force and he said that being a Democrat he was in the minority. He told me that he only knew of one other person on the force that was a liberal and that person was a female minority who took a lot of flak from the Neanderthals.

Tell your cop friends you hate socialism. After they agree with you, tell them you hate socialist police forces & fire depts. Tell them their Free Market Ideals would certainly do a better job than their socialist employer - the Evil Goberment.

But using reason & facts on Americans is like putting a finger in Boulder Dam when it started failing. America is doomed as long as the Conservative Media (i.e, all of them incl NPR) keep the drumbeat of "1% good, 99% bad"

Many of the cops and firefighters never attended college or if they did they majored in law enforcement. They have a macho mind set and picture themselves as being strong independent self sustaining real Americans. You know the NASCAR type of just simple patriotic beer drinking, tailgating Americans. Yet, what I have also noticed is that of the ones that I know, very few ever served in the military. One that I know that served was in the military police and this helped him get a job on the force. He spent his military career guarding the fort entrance and saluting officers.

The police and firefighters have pensions and entitlements that far exceed what most workers have and ridiculous early retirement. All of the firefighters have second jobs and the guy that I went to school with had a lawn service company. Hell they only had to work three days a week and got paid for sleeping. Its the same with the cops who moonlight at sporting events and nightclubs. Our state pension fund is in trouble and instead of retirees getting a 3.5% increase in their pensions this year they will only get 2.0% and on top of that they have taken the draconian step of raising the retirement age for NEW employees from 55 to 60. My heart really bleeds for them.

... in a previous place of employment I had to attend some federal defense convention. Which was an interesting experience, since basically everyone I met was either a card carrying libertarian or wing nut self-professed "captain of industry." It was fun being lectured on "free market dynamics" during meals by a bunch of guys whose employers' line of business depended directly on governmental contracts. I got very uncomfortable looks, and all sorts of awesome mental-contortion type of justification as to why I was wrong for pointing that "tiny bitsy itsy" detail out.


This whole "free market" and privatization-no-matter-what is a crook of shit invented by conservatives, who could not compete in a real free market due to their lack of talent, under education, non-competitiveness, lack of creativity, and supine inefficiencies. So rather than working for the government directly, and being accountable to the public at large for their products... they simply adds a middle man to funnel taxpayers into their coffers. Because for some reason... these untalented jackasses feel entitled to "profit." I am starting to develop that this very entitlement to profit no matter what is what a lot of these capitalist types feel is what their beloved capitalism is all about. No wonder they fear "socialism" like a vampire fears garlic holy water in a sunny summer midday.

Same goes for all those people in Wallstreet, so fond of telling people to pull themselves by their own bootstraps (how does that actually work btw? I could never figure that figure of speech out). While at the very basic level, their whole enterprise depends on government bailouts and federal exceptions and protection laws.


The ironic part of it all: the most market-sabby and efficient companies I have experienced, have been worker-owned co-ops (in high tech and food distribution fields) in a socialistic hell hole.

is not and the video at the FB page is of Cenk from The Young Turks doing an interview with one of the leaders of the movement and he said that years ago, (Cenk said) people had to buy fire insurance and they would have a sign in front of their house to tell the fire department that they had paid for their services beforehand.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

commie welfare queens expecting something for nothing!

collecting. If the Commie Welfare Queens in the FD did not exist, homeowners' insurance could charge MORE.

They certainly would charge more if fire departments were non-existent.

So, it seems the other beneficiary of fire departments are the ins cos,?
I mean, the ins cos would not be able to survive. The numbers just wouldn't work without fire people getting over there and putting out the fires.

house is from a fire department.

At least a couple are hardcore 'cons. I have a feeling I'll have to explain what real Socialism is to them.

San Diego County voters consistently turn down sales tax increases to help fund firefighting. Then the Cedar Fire of October 2003 comes along and burns 2,400 homes, kills 16 people and these same voters are complaining that the response time wasn't fast enough and there wasn't enough manpower. Hello?!?!?! They refused to fund it then they are complaining that it isn't there!?! Even after that, still vote down sales tax or property tax increases, and then still complain after the 2007 fires. Can these people put 2 and 2 together? If you won't pay for the service, then there is no service there when you need it!

If the government is given any money, it will be spent on whores and liquor. Public employees do not need wages, they should serve for the pleasure of being dogbit and doorslamed, as they all steal anyway. Police cars, fire trucks, and snowplows should be donated by local dealers, who pocket half of the price of new cars.:sarcasm:
Seriously - I meet seemingly average, regular folks who really think like this. "Tax Free" NH draws 'em like flies on a gut pile. It is someone else's responsibility to pay for government services - they don't care who, as long as it ain't them.:banghead: :spank: :crazy: :mad: :puke: :spank: :crazy: :mad: :puke: :spank: :crazy: :mad: :puke:

i've already told him multiple times that fire departments are socialism.

and SO ARE SNOWPLOWS. and cops.

" "Private" fire departments are just socialists in sheeps' clothing! The capitalist way is to let the fire run free, just like the markets. Laissez-faire, baby!"

" Some people are using the fire department for socialized health care! Why just the other day I drove by a car accident, and what was there? Yep, one of those big red trucks! Not to mention one of those socialized law enforcement people were there too. But, there was no ambulence in sight. Clearly this loophole must be fixed."

"Yeah, the next thing you know, Obama,as part of his socialist
firefighting agenda, will instate Barbeque Sqads, where some bureaucrat
will decide whether your kitten or puppy, trapped in that blazing
inferno of a house, gets a pass or becomes a crispy critter. Oh, but
they bring the potato salad."

:rofl:

Cracked me up!!

:rofl:

I'm sure most of my Facebook "friends" don't get it. They use Facebook for posting bible verses and shit like "God is so good. . . .", "God has a plan for you. . . ." (I REALLY need some new friends!!)

But if you are unlucky enough to have an account, by all means, become a fan of this group.

:spray:

Big Red Firetruck -- a big, red, socialist, government-run, universal-coverage firetruck

I am definately joining this one!

Gives new meaning to "better dead then red"

this is too funny

I also joined "I bet this picture of a poodle in a tinfoil hat can get more fans than Glen Beck".
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Can-this-poodle-wearing-a-tinfoil-hat-get-more-fans-than-Glenn-Beck/334162806080?ref=ts

That poodle is getting pretty damn popular! :rofl:

People, especially conservatives, don't want to subsidize other people's poor choices.

Health is probably 50% lifestyle choices made by an individual, with 25% genetics and 25% environment playing into that. Meaning 50% of the bad health circumstances are a choice.

Are 50% of fires set on purpose?

:eyes:

These people made a choice to live in the only developed country in the world that doesn't provide general health care to all of us.

They could move to France, Canada, British Isles, etc, where everybody is treated equal, but Nooooo, they have to stay here. Bad choice, people. Too bad.

Wood is flammable. If you want to live in a flammable structure, that's your private choice: just don't ask me to pay for putting it out with my tax dollars.

Living in a wood house is exactly like living in a human body: much like a wood house can burn, a human body can get sick. And sickness can spread from person to person like a wildfire through a subdivision. This is why even a rational, self-interested Republican ought to realize that health care and fire protection are both public goods.

I do reject your idea that people can choose to be healthy. The idea that there is some correct set of choices that we can make to avoid disease and death is a bourgeois conceit. The sad truth is that we are frail creatures, and that the gods are capricious.



Jim Fixx 1932-1984

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The picture was the best. He had to be the fittest person they ever put in the ground. And he died with his running shoes on.

but, how many fires are the result of carelessness? Faulty wiring in a house that isn't repaired... something flammable that gets out of control (stove top, outdoor grill, etc) due to carelessness... etc. I bet a whole bunch of them.

Using that logic, why should I pay for a fire department to put out the fire at somebody's home that can't afford to have the wiring fixed or is too careless when cooking or similar?

Not MY problem.

:sarcasm:


Hey, this ignorant freeper stuff is fun!

just like the person that above that said they shouldn't pay just because somebody else isn't healthy.

Or are they in fact just making bad choices?

If you house burns, the goverment should not pay for putting it out, because you could just have made it all from fire proof materials.

Calling it a bad equation and then making a decidedly worse one does not help your argument.

I choose to contract depression/infant diabetes/MS/lymphoma. It was my fault all the way.

What a large pile of dogshit. I've noticed that the rich always insist that their insurance cover treatment for addictions.

You have defined "on purpose" as the choices people make that are not necessary to survival. In your example, people choose lifestyle, which contributes to health problems. Which leads you to suggest equating fire departments and health care is misleading.

Here are the FACTS:
#1 Cause: Cooking. 28 percent of all house fires attributed to cooking. There are over 14,000 people injured and 850 people killed in cooking fires each year.

So, by your logic we should all be RawFoodies. Nothing cooked. Ever. Because eating cooked food is, indeed, a choice. We can survive very well on raw foods. In fact most people thrive on this diet. High in nutrients and fiber.

#2 Cause: Fixed and Portable Space Heaters. NOT the home heating system. Secondary heaters that ARE NOT NECESSARY FOR SURVIVAL!!!

The leading cause of death from house fires: Smoking. Again, a CHOICE. (except for the whole - more addictive than Heroin thing) Nearly one in four people killed in fires in the United States were killed in smoking-related fires.

So your argument is not just misguided. It is incorrect. Wrong. No wiggle room wrong.

Are you still in favor of Socialist Fire Departments?

Thank you.

50% of all people who make up stats & post them on the internet are boobs, 25% can't help it because of their genes, 25% is because of where they live playing into that. Meaning 50% of the dumbass posts are a choice.

Are 50% of dumbass posts submitted on purpose?

See, I can play too.:evilgrin:

They didn't teach you that in the coffee shop?

But then again, maybe you are one of those that thinks that instead of using medical expertise to try to influence healthy choices in our patients (low-fat diet, smoking cessation, etc.), we should just enrich big pharma by shoving pills down their throats because "it's not their fault" they got sick? Thanks for showing your true colors.

Warm hugs and kisses,
newtothegame

ed for sp

Unintended consequences of voluntary but irresponsible behavior don't necessarily happen "on purpose." In the absence of a scientific sample, I submit that upwards of 50% of fires probably happen because of irresponsible behavior that could be avoided, much the same as many health problems in this country.

I think it is more genetic than you think. My family all die in their 80's, my husband's family all seem to live into their 90's. Health choices or genetics???

a "lifestyle choice". And smoking in the home, which leads to many fires, is a "lifestyle choice". So is burning scented candles.

"First of all let me tell all of you liberal democrat idiots a thing or two. I have been a fireman for 28 years. I have seen almost every type of disaster that you can possibly imagine. Since you all are ignorant about just exactly what your tax dollars are paying for let me educate you. Not only do firefighters put out fires, in most departments today they are cross trained to the paramedic level. We do Hazardous Materials mitigation, High Angle Rescue, swift water rescue, Dive team, confined space rescue, we cut your kids out of cars when they wrap them around trees, we provide advanced life support.
While most of you are at home sleeping in your bed we are up battling a house fire in extreme temperatures, baby sitting downed power lines during ice storms. I could go on and on and on. We train very hard and take our jobs very serious and if you think for one minute that you would get that kind of service from a contract you are out of your mind. Fire departments ARE NOT SOCLIALIST !! They have a history going back to our founding fathers. Wake up people....what are you thinking ???????????????????
Everybody wants to bitch about the fire department until they need them. Just because you people havent had cause to call on the Fire Department yet you cant fathom the people that have. One day you will need us and when you do, I hope you change your mind about supporting such a worthless cause !!"

:rant:

Just guessing.

They're rabid Repugs who hate taxes. They BOTH work for a state University and the local fire department so every single cent of income they see comes from tax money but both of them would go into a full-on red-faced tirade if you pointed out the socialist nature of the institutions they rely on for a living.

It boggles the mind.

that they have a knee jerk reaction to catch words.

"We recognize that having universal fire protection is in the public interest, so we fund fire protection through our taxes. That is socialism. We do the same thing with our mail service and our police protection. It works pretty well. We'd like to do the same thing with health care. Live with it. Some socialism is good."

It's possible, of course. But it seems more likely to me he was a typically rabid yet uninformed rightie who's only understanding of the word "Socialism" is that it's bad...and thus how DARE anyone accuse the noble firefighter of being any part of it!?

That's the way I read it, anyway.

everyone "uneducated idiots"

It doesn't work. Epic firefighter fail.

I was just about to post that.

At this point my irony meter is so broken I don't assume anything is a joke anymore.
I've actually had people tell me the Volunteer Fire Department was a waste of taxpayer money. One of which said it while we were putting out his fucking house.
I put nothing past stupid people. Nothing.

Edited to add: Never mind. Just started flipping through the pictures.

This is real life. Fire departments in the US are one of the premiere Socialist features. Next to highways, the DoD, schools, etc. the Fire put'er outters just sit around most of the day just waiting for some poor schmuck to make a boo-boo so they can be heroes and collect big pay like oh, say, Hollywood actors who are all free agents and the epitome of capitalism.

Whoa, dude, is that smoke coming from your chair?

You think it's funny that America's most celebrated and richest heroes are the capitalists who get paid 1,000 times more than a firefighter, for once in a while just acting like a firefighter? Which makes me think.... firefighters aren't actors, are they? They are re-actors, they react to a fire. 'Course some have been known to set fires so they could do a firefighter act. Still, methinks what we need are just a few actor-like firefighters. Y'know, John Wayne type: "I put out 837 fires all by myself."

Save some serious bucks we could, eh?

I gotta get a new irony meter. The current one is reading low.

Roughly: Unless something on the Internet is explicitly marked as satire, you can't know whether it's serious or not.

But yes, this is a joke.

:rofl: K&R

ever notice that firetrucks are red, just like the commie flag?

Let Georgia-Pacific and Weyerhauser prevent, detect, and fight wildfires too.

I mean who and what ultimately defines private property ownership? The government, that's who. I say scrap all property rights. Everyone can defend (or take) property with force.

(sarcasm)

If I hadn't heard too many right-wing idiots make these claims SERIOUSLY. And then try to use misleading/misinterpreted "studies" to back up their stupidity.

I swear, these morons would sing a different fucking tune if they had to deal with private firefighting corporations -- most of which would probably be organized on the Crassus model from ancient Rome.

The Crassus model is: Private firefighting corporation shows up, physically drives away everyone else who's trying to put out the fire. You pay, and THEN they put out the fire. Or, if you've got a house in an expensive area, they make you an offer for the house, and if you don't sell, they let it burn.

So...its back to the street gangs and bloated privatized commerce of NYC and Boss Tweed in the 1800's? How *is* that going to work after all :dilemma:

And joined

sad. . . yeah, sad for me but nevertheless . . sad.

literally an arm of insurance companies. There we so many private fire departments running around that the cities finally took control of the situation.

They would brawl while fires destroyed building one company was suppose to protect so that that company would go out of business....


Ah the good old days...

but not only are there people on the right that do believe that you should have to pay for out of your own pocket for the fire department but it's starting to happen right now irl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwsbNtBJsSA

hell, the socialized military as well. i've never had occasion to use it, why do i have to pay for it?

Mish's site is full of rants against public unions especially firefighters and police holding taxpayers 'hostage' he wants them all privatized. Truly. They claim that kids will be slaves to their pensions and are using that to woo kids into the libertarian movement saying that privatizing fireman and police and jails will 'free' our youth from this burden blah blah blah...

It is ridiculous. And stupid.

Libertarians really really believe that and are encouraging kids to fight public unions like police and firefighters:

God Bless Justin In Albany; Won't Be Bullied In Phoenix; You Can Speak Out Too!
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/02/god-bless-justin-in-albany-wont-be.html

Reader response to Inspired Reader Stands Up To Union Mobs is running strongly in favor of Justin who had the courage to publicly protest the remarks of Albany Police Officers Union President Chris Mesley to the Albany City Common Council.

(more at link)

----------------------------------------------------------
The facebook page is funny, until you realize there are lots of idiots who honestly believe that.

"Health is probably 50% lifestyle choices made by an individual, with 25% genetics and 25% environment playing into that. Meaning 50% of the bad health circumstances are a choice."

Yes of course. Because if you are always within the "normal" BMI range and you never smoke, YOU WILL NEVER DIE!

You know what? I'm sick of people rock climbing and having accidents and wasting MY tax dollars to go to the ER. I'm sick of bikers getting hit and wasting MY tax dollars by going to the ER. I'm sick of those health food nuts slicing their fingers off trying to cut up carrots and going to the ER to yet again waste MY tax dollars. And I'm really sick of those people who dare to drive or walk across the street and getting hit and having to waste my tax dollars. This sh*t is preventable people. STAY INSIDE YOUR HOUSES AND WRAP YOURSELVES IN BUBBLE WRAP AND STOP WASTING MY TAX DOLLARS!

military, police....asking for more jails and bridges to nowhere and they are the first to complain when it turns out 65 DOT workers looking into 30,000 safety complaints can't find out what Toyota engineers working full time can't figure out.

"letting Halliburton, Blackwater, or Enron run Fire Care" I can begin to imagine..

Fires themselves are socialist! The start and spread to anything without being paid and with no regard to the property rights of those whose stuff gets burned. Fire inflames rich and poor, young and old just like the 1917 revolution! Those damm libruls are at it again!

:shrug:

til now. not to blame anybody for their idiocy and utter lack of conscience. just a crying shame, is all.

Great Moments in Tea Party History...


"Keep your government Hands off My Medicare"

or

"I want my Medical Bankruptcy.. and you can't take it from me"

i`m now a proud facebook member of the SSFD!