http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/firefighters-let-home-burn-after-finding-owner-didnt-pay-annual-fee/19662595 (http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/firefighters-let-home-burn-after-finding-owner-didnt-pay-annual-fee/19662595)
"(Oct. 6) -- A small rural community in western Tennessee is outraged and the fire chief is nursing a black eye after firefighters stood by and watched a mobile home burn to the ground because the homeowner hadn't paid a $75 municipal fee.
South Fulton city firefighters -- equipped with trucks, hoses and other firefighting equipment -- didn't intervene to save Gene Cranick's doublewide trailer home when it caught fire last week. But they did arrive on the scene to protect the house of a neighbor, who had paid his fire subscription fee.
"I just forgot to pay my $75," Cranick told ABC News. "I did it last year, the year before. ... It slipped my mind."
Later that day, Cranick's son Timothy went to the fire station to complain, and punched the fire chief in the face. . ."
So now municipalities are starting to impose "fee's" for services historically paid for via real estate taxation. (Think trash fee, sound familiar?) Clearly this is their way of getting around the real estate tax caps, and another means of taxing the shit out of everyone. . . And now you'll either pay up or have your home burn down around you and lose everything. Next, insurance rates will go up to pay for the wienie roasts the fire departments are holding. . . :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
I had a telemarketer, calling on the behalf of volunteer fire departments tell me that "They's hate it if something happened to my house and the FD couldn't respond b/c I hadn't contributed". This was a voluntary donation though. Truthfully, I don't know that he was authorized to represent the voluntary fire departments, but it sounded like a threat to me.
That's the first thing that I thought of when I read this story.
I find it ludicrous to realize that there are cities within this country that would have their public services personnel stand by and watch a home and all its contents burn over a questionable municipal practice like a "fee", putting peoples lives and livelihoods into dire jeopardy!
Tax payers have been paying their salaries for decades! If I ever were subjected to such treatment, or witnessed my neighbors being subjected to such treatment, I'd sue the pants off everyone involved, including the damned city! There is NO reason in the world to stand by and watch anyone's life burn to the ground. NONE!
If the cities want to charge user fees for services that have been provided and paid for historically through real estate taxation, then they need to eliminate the real estate tax all together and let the users pay! You cannot have it both ways! (And that includes schools!) Either public safety is a concern or it isn't. Clearly public safety is not the concern it was a hundred years ago to the police, fire, and refuse portions of our city systems. They, like everything else, have become for profit entities that are only concerned with the bottom line and nothing else.
I am not saying that all police, fire, and refuse personnel are money grubbing jackasses; although I am sure some are, most of these folks get into their careers out of a sense of service to the public and a strong desire to be the individual who provides a vital service when it is needed most. (And at the same time provide a source of income with which to provide for their own families).
The operations of such "public services" has become a business enterprise with which to generate revenues, instead of a self supporting public service entity that exists out of a need to protect and serve the public safety of a given community.
75 bucks or 126 bucks, is not going to break the average family that have adults working within them, but to me it is more about the "double taxation" that such fees represent! It's underhanded and stealing!
I have mixed emotions. If the man had forgot to pay his insurance of his house by one day, the insurance company would not payed off. Everybody knows that. We have seen it over and over with car and all other insurance. No pay, no insurance.
If you're living in an area where they pay for the fire department with tax money they have to put out your fire. All back through history in this country you paid for fire protection, that where the fire badge came from. Buy a badge and put it on the front of your house. All of the big cities in the East had them. If you didn't have a badge, they would let your house burn down.
But we have some people who think they don't have to pay for anything. In our small town we have a library and if you want to be in the system you had to pay a library tax. Stony Creek paid, but in Jackson township it was turned down, the library tax. People from Jackson would get real mad when they came to the library and they wouldn't let them take out books. They could come in and read, but nothing more.
Small voluntary fire departments don't have to put out your fire if you are not contributing. There are a few things you don't get if you're a dead beat. Every year our fire department comes around for extra money to keep it going and I pay. It's called peace of mind.
On researching this county the information I have found does indeed appear to support the statement that it is a user pays type county, wherein you are required to pay a 75 dollar fee in order to receive fire protection within the county. This being the case, I do not see why it would have been a situation wherein the fire department refuses to respond to a call of a structure fire with entrapment of animals!
In such instances it is not uncommon for fire departments to submit billing to the owner(s) and insurance company for services rendered. To quibble over 75 bucks when animals and property are burning seems to be an extreme and not an acceptable one. And since they subsequently responded to his next door neighbor's home as a result of the fire, (who had paid his 75 bucks), it is surreal to me that the firefighters would have stood by watching it burn while spraying down the neighbor's yard to make sure it didn't spread. . .
The intention of a fire protection service is to secure public safety and well being, and allowing another's property to burn to the ground, and animals trapped inside to roast alive over 75 dollars is unacceptable. You are not paying for insurance here. . . Insurance would indemnify you against a loss of property or life, and compensate you for the loss of same.
It seems to me it is one short step from this pay-for-service fire fighting team, to a full-blown protection racket, where the shake-down goons come by your place once a week to collect, and are ostentatiously careless with matches if you have trouble finding the cash.
I hear all this stuff of you have to do something.
In other words, if your owned a big fancy fire truck and you paid to buy it. You paid for the insurance for it. You paid to house it and maintain it and paid for all the cost to own it.
A guy who live down the street from you calls you in the middle of the night and tells you to get your ass down to his house and put out his burning house. The same guy who doesn't speak to you and never gave a minute of work to keep up your fire truck or gave you one dime to help pay for it or man it. you don't show up and you're the asshole. Give me a break.
You guys surly heard the story about the little hen who baked a loaf of bread and couldn't get any help. They all wanted to eat. Well, she did it once, but never baked again. The next time a neighbor wants to go to town to get a loaf of bread and a quart of milk and he wants to use your motorcycle better let him or be an asshole.
Troll, the problem with your story is that the fire department is privately owned. Be careful not to fall for the Nirvana Fallacy like many do.
The best way to avoid a house fire is to have your home constructed out of fire proof materials. My favorite is Insulated Concrete Forms or ICFs. Not only are they fire proof, they are supposed to withstand sustained hurricane force winds, are insulated extremely well, sound resistant, and so tight air cannot infiltrate so that you lose heat or cool air. Or you could in a cave if bats don't bother you too much.
Quote from: Lester Sasquatch on October 06, 2010, 07:42:30 PM
Be careful not to fall for the Nirvana Fallacy like many do.
Lester, you can't use three-syllable words, or esoteric terms from philosophical studies, and expect him to understand. But I do. Let's you and me get a bottle of Patron and talk about it. Tequila makes my clothes fall off, remember?
Quote from: LOsborne on October 06, 2010, 07:56:22 PM
. . . Tequila makes my clothes fall off, remember?
I knew there was a reason I liked mexican moonshine! :icon_twisted: :biggrin:
Quote from: LOsborne on October 06, 2010, 07:56:22 PM
Lester, you can't use three-syllable words, or esoteric terms from philosophical studies, and expect him to understand. But I do. Let's you and me get a bottle of Patron and talk about it. Tequila makes my clothes fall off, remember?
Yes I remember very well. I guess you recall how tequila makes my hair stand on end? That's why I have the rest of that bottle we shared put away for your return.
I don't know Lolly, I took Troll for a deep thinker and maybe a follower of Western Philosophy. I wondered why he didn't get the Quaker Oats post.
Quote from: Lester Sasquatch on October 06, 2010, 08:38:41 PM
I guess you recall how tequila makes my hair stand on end?
Oh yes. And you have a
lot of hair!
Pardom me while I go scrub my eyes.... :spooked: :biggrin:
Quote from: Sandy Eggo on October 06, 2010, 08:51:20 PM
Pardom me while I go scrub my eyes.... :spooked: :biggrin:
You've been hitting the bottle already haven't you!
It would seem that way; I need to spellcheck ;D
Quote from: LOsborne on October 06, 2010, 07:56:22 PM
Lester, you can't use three-syllable words, or esoteric terms from philosophical studies, and expect him to understand. But I do. Let's you and me get a bottle of Patron and talk about it. Tequila makes my clothes fall off, remember?
La dee daah, you been to college, a big time HR person. So smart your brain drags on the ground.
Lady I know I could do you your job. Saying NO and covering your ass and sucking up to the boss can't be that hard. But I know you could not have done my job. I did my job without having to brown nose to keep it. Also you might break a nail or mess up your white collar clothes. Go back to work and screw around with the people who might be scared of you and you can hurt.
I would rather have my brain drag the ground than my knuckles.
Quote from: Lester Sasquatch on October 06, 2010, 09:43:45 PM
I would rather have my brain drag the ground than my knuckles.
:biggrin: :thumbsup:
Quote from: Lester Sasquatch on October 06, 2010, 07:42:30 PM
Troll, the problem with your story is that the fire department is privately owned. Be careful not to fall for the Nirvana Fallacy like many do.
The best way to avoid a house fire is to have your home constructed out of fire proof materials. My favorite is Insulated Concrete Forms or ICFs. Not only are they fire proof, they are supposed to withstand sustained hurricane force winds, are insulated extremely well, sound resistant, and so tight air cannot infiltrate so that you lose heat or cool air. Or you could in a cave if bats don't bother you too much.
Damn it Lester, didn't you read where I live, since my wife ran off with my best friend and took my Trollmobile :bike: with her :witch:. I didn't know his name, but when he took her he became my best friend. :kiss: :love: I truly miss him :cry:.
I live in a troll hole under a concrete bridge. Remember me telling that the bridge has been so poorly maintained since the Republican has destroyed the economy I can watch up and through it, the girl scouts march over it.
The only thing that will burn in that hole is the Troll, hot plate, coffee pot, the computer :computer: and the air when I read some of Ozzyborne's posts. Ozzyborne :devil4: Troll. With Ozzyborne beating the dead horse :deadhorse: :rotfl: :bliss:
:tiphat: the Troll :no1: :flag: :dark: :seeya2:
Quote from: The Troll on October 07, 2010, 05:49:03 AM
Damn it Lester, didn't you read where I live, since my wife ran off with my best friend and took my Trollmobile :bike: with her :witch:. I didn't know his name, but when he took her he became my best friend. :kiss: :love: I truly miss him :cry:.
I live in a troll hole under a concrete bridge. Remember me telling that the bridge has been so poorly maintained since the Republican has destroyed the economy I can watch up and through it, the girl scouts march over it.
The only thing that will burn in that hole is the Troll, hot plate, coffee pot, the computer :computer: and the air when I read some of Ozzyborne's posts. Ozzyborne :devil4: Troll. With Ozzyborne beating the dead horse :deadhorse: :rotfl: :bliss:
:tiphat: the Troll :no1: :flag: :dark: :seeya2:
Ever hear of spontaneous human combustion Troll? It is when a person just bursts into flames for no apparent reason. It happened to a guy up in Indy name of Ed Pierson who lived but the fire burned off one of his arms and a leg. People teased him, calling him Bernie Burnside, and laughed at him when he got mad. Ed got so mad one night he murdered his wife with a tire iron when he caught her laughing at him after the neighbor yelled "Whatcha doing Bernie Burnside?" over the backyard fence. Ed tried to burn her body in the backyard but that neighbor seen him and called the law. The Sheriff went to arrest Ed but before they could catch him he jumped in the river behind his house and tried to swim across. Only problem was, with his missing appendages Ed kept swimming in circles and couldn't make any headway. Soon he tired out and began floating down river and disappeared under the dark water and they never found his body. People say sometimes real late at might they can catch a glimpse of Ed's ghost from the top a concrete bridge that goes across the White River, paddling in circles down below.
I knew a machinist that worked for a place that made auto parts up in Indy, or maybe in Anderson I don't remember, and he retired probably shortly after the time you started. His name was Joe Chambers and he passed away a while back. Joe told me the story about Ed more than 30 years ago when he was fixing my car so I could get to my machine trades classes. Joe knew a lot about those Voltswagons, put a lot of parts on mine, a manifold and two carburetors from a Karman Ghia motor, and wouldn't take a dime for all his work or parts either. After he was done working on my car we sat in his backyard sipping ice tea and that is when he told me the story about Ed. My speedometer didn't work and a couple of days later I got pulled over on the four lane by a state trooper who said I was running 93 mph. He let me off with a warning, said he never seen a Beetle moving that fast. Another time I was late to class and passed Doug Campton in his big block 396 Chevelle. Later that day Doug told me he put the pedal to the floor trying to catch up but couldn't. Old Joe sure knew his motors and he swore that story about Ed was true, said he seen his ghost once himself.Troll, did you hear that story about Ed?
Which fee do I have to skip to get the police to stop protecting me from my unsafe high-speed driving practices?
Quote from: Lester Sasquatch on October 07, 2010, 08:56:51 AM
Ever hear of spontaneous human combustion Troll? It is when a person just bursts into flames for no apparent reason. It happened to a guy up in Indy name of Ed Pierson who lived but the fire burned off one of his arms and a leg. People teased him, calling him Bernie Burnside, and laughed at him when he got mad. Ed got so mad one night he murdered his wife with a tire iron when he caught her laughing at him after the neighbor yelled "Whatcha doing Bernie Burnside?" over the backyard fence. Ed tried to burn her body in the backyard but that neighbor seen him and called the law. The Sheriff went to arrest Ed but before they could catch him he jumped in the river behind his house and tried to swim across. Only problem was, with his missing appendages Ed kept swimming in circles and couldn't make any headway. Soon he tired out and began floating down river and disappeared under the dark water and they never found his body. People say sometimes real late at might they can catch a glimpse of Ed's ghost from the top a concrete bridge that goes across the White River, paddling in circles down below.
I knew a machinist that worked for a place that made auto parts up in Indy, or maybe in Anderson I don't remember, and he retired probably shortly after the time you started. His name was Joe Chambers and he passed away a while back. Joe told me the story about Ed more than 30 years ago when he was fixing my car so I could get to my machine trades classes. Joe knew a lot about those Voltswagons, put a lot of parts on mine, a manifold and two carburetors from a Karman Ghia motor, and wouldn't take a dime for all his work or parts either. After he was done working on my car we sat in his backyard sipping ice tea and that is when he told me the story about Ed. My speedometer didn't work and a couple of days later I got pulled over on the four lane by a state trooper who said I was running 93 mph. He let me off with a warning, said he never seen a Beetle moving that fast. Another time I was late to class and passed Doug Campton in his big block 396 Chevelle. Later that day Doug told me he put the pedal to the floor trying to catch up but couldn't. Old Joe sure knew his motors and he swore that story about Ed was true, said he seen his ghost once himself.Troll, did you hear that story about Ed?
Never heard that story, but it sure is a good one. :rotfl: :rotfl: I can just see him swimming circles.
But I do know a little about Volkswagen, I built a Benson Gyrocopter. It had a 4 cylinder 72hp, 2 cycle McCullough drone engine. I had seen some gyro flying with VW engines. So I found a VW engine out of a bus and put bigger jugs and pistons, increasing the cubic inches and a larger carburetors and a few more items.
It ran great and it flew, but I didn't know the the bus engine weight so much more the the one in the bug. The added weight VS the HP it flew like a log wagon.
So I went back to the McCullough engine had the intake manifold milled down and put a new manifold box on it with twin Ford carburetors. This made the engine produce around 90 hp. 18 more HP with less than 5 more pound of weight. Now this little Gyro could really fly.
If you want to see what the Troll built and flew for almost 100 hours actual in air time hours. Not counting the amount of time learning how to fly it solo. Goggle in "YouTube - Gyrocotper"
Quote from: Exterminator on October 07, 2010, 11:04:11 AM
Which fee do I have to skip to get the police to stop protecting me from my unsafe high-speed driving practices?
:biggrin: Your property taxes. But then, the city will kick you out of your palatial digs and you will be living in that motor vehicle, and you will
still get the protection you do not want! :biggrin:
QuoteGlenn Beck, the guy who love his country so much he'd cry for it, was all in favor of the Tennessee Fire Department that allowed a family's house to burn down because they had not paid their subscription. Beck made a show of sympathizing with the family. But the house "had to" burn, Beck said, because if the firemen put out the fire, that meant another domino had fallen to Obamacare. Really.
During their discussion on The O'Reilly Factor last night (10/8/10), Bill O'Reilly he was "almost" with Beck but thought the fire department should have put out the fire and then charged the family.
But multi-millionaire Beck thought the family needed to pay up first. Period. "I don't know how the firemen stood there and didn't (help put out the fire) but they had to," Beck said. "...As cold and as awful as it sounds."
He likened O'Reilly's idea to buying health insurance after you get cancer. "It doesn't work."
Actually, it's not like insurance, which is money you pay to guarantee compensation in the event of some kind of loss. This was a subscription fee, similar to garbage collection or a road toll. But apparently, Beck will use any opportunity to hate monger against Obama and/or public services.
Uncompassionate Conservative: Beck Says Fee-Based Fire Department "Had To" Let Non-Paying Family's House Burn Down (http://www.newshounds.us/2010/10/09/uncompassionate_conservative_beck_says_feebased_fire_department_had_to_let_nonpaying_familys_house_burn_down.php#more)