The Cruel, Morally Bankrupt, and Irresponsible Fire Department

There has been a lot of talk about privatizing government institutions, Police departments, schools, etc. On paper, this could potential be a good idea. In practice, well we didn’t know, until last week.

Have you ever forgotten to pay your electric bill and had services stopped? It’s inconvenient, but a family in Tennessee found out the risk of forgetting to pay for fire services. The South Fulton Fire Department refused to show up to a burning house because the homeowners had not paid a $75 fee. They eventually showed up, but only because the neighbor had paid the fee and his property was in danger. While their house caught fire, the homeowners begged, and offered money to have their home, belongings, memories and pets saved. The fire department watched the house burn to the ground.

This case shows us the cruel, morally bankrupt, and irresponsible actions taken when we run the government like a business. Conservatives on National Review called the homeowners “jerks, freeloaders, and ingrates”, and Glenn Beck mocked them for sponging off their neighbors. Wasn’t there a man who spoke about loving thy neighbor? I can never remember his name.

Was it right to allow someone’s home to be burnt to the ground for not paying a $75 fee? I don’t think so, and I suspect people will disagree with me. I do hope people will agree with me when I say; it’s irresponsible to allow a fire to continue in a populated area. For this alone I hope the mayor, fire chief, and firemen are reprimanded.

So what was the benefit of the fire department running like a business? I guess people will never forget to pay their fees, and I guess now there is one less house to worry about. But at what cost?

Stephen is my hero.

The Path to Socialism

After watching Glenn Beck talk about all the hidden symbols of socialism throughout New York, I had an epiphany. Could it be possible that the socialist propaganda could go much deeper than we had thought before? I started my research early in history and looked at our most recent president, George W. Bush. I didn’t think it could be possible for this president to be socialist, but the horrific reality soon struck. I looked at his tax cuts, make sure the rich stay rich. I heard him talk about trickle down. He wanted the rich to have more money so they could spread their wealth down to the least fortunate. It couldn’t be possible, was he actually claiming that more spending by the government in order to allow the rich to spread wealth was a good idea. My knees became weak.

If President Bush was sponsoring socialist ideas could others be doing the same? What about our founding fathers? My stomach felt empty as I researched the founding fathers. Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson had asked for public schools. He had asked for the government to pay for socialist program. Fortunately he was turned down. Who knows what could have happened if he would have lead us towards socialism 200 years ago.

By this point I knew that I must let go of my fear and look deep into my heart to find how far this conspiracy goes. I knew Mr. Beck had asked us to step away from churches preaching social justice. So I opened my Bible and read Mathew. Jesus was preaching social justice. My whole reality shattered. Could it be that 2,000 years ago Jesus was creating the groundwork for Socialism? The truly explains why the Romans needed to stop him from spreading his ideas.

How hard is to live and let live?

Gay marriage is a sensitive topic, and in my small town of Beloit things get heated. This is what I think, but others have some pretty wild ideas.

As far as I can tell there are only three arguments for denying adults the right to spend the rest of their lives with the person they want. The first is based on tradition. That is to say, that we cannot change something that we’ve had for so long. The idea that we can’t change tradition is well, wrong. We can and have. There’s quite a list of traditions that have been changed over time. Slavery, women’s rights, even things like monarchies were all traditions we no longer have. So the argument for tradition doesn’t really hold up well.

Then there’s religion. Judeo-Christian belief, a belief that is not universally believed in, a belief whose rules are not universally followed is used to deny people right to marry whom they please. It is, after all, against the bible to eat pork, and shellfish. There is an entire book, Leviticus, dedicated to the many rules and laws that should be followed yet many of Christian faith don’t. Are all Americans expected to follow one rule out the Bible while the Church’s own followers refuse to follow the rules themselves?

Finally there’s the constitution. I will give you that nowhere does it appear that gays have a right to marriage, but by the same token nowhere does it appear that you can deny this right. Also there is a reason courts exist. Courts exist to check that our laws are upheld; otherwise the Supreme Court would be out of a job. There is a reason for courts and that’s to make sure that no one, not citizens, politicians, or presidents go against the constitution.

Read the BDN Opinions, and let me know what you think.

Supreme Court should decide

Off again on gay marriage

I was in the BDN again, no surprise there, but I got called a socialist. The funny part is my letter was about not calling people socialist and other sound bite words. Personally I get annoyed at people not knowing what the hell they're talking about.

http://www.beloitdailynews.com/articles/2010/08/17/opinion/letters/let1701.txt