WTF News

[Pete Zicato]

Originally Posted by classicman

all 12 of them would die eventually.

But new bigots will rise in their place. I gotta go with V on this one. The best way to kill bigotry is to expose it.

I find this works even in small more personal situations. When I hear veiled bigotry, I repeat it back, but explicitly. "Are you saying you think that [veiled bigotry made explicit]?".

People will often backpedal when their opinions are brought out into the open.

[classicman]

I was being sarcastic - see the "right" smilie.

OTOH I think that exposing bigots has worked really well, for example WBC.

[Spexxvet]

A Tennessee couple has lost everything after their home burned to the ground as firefighters watched and did nothing.

Vicky Bell told WPSD-TV that she called 911 when her mobile home in Obion County caught fire. Firefighters responded but did not put out the blaze because she does not subscribe to the local fire service ( http://bit.ly/t639Wo).

Bell says she could "look out my mom's trailer and see the trucks sitting at a distance."

Rural residents who want fire protection can get service from the nearby town of South Fulton, but they must pay a $75-a-year fee. South Fulton Mayor David Crocker said that if the city's firefighters responded to people who didn't pay there would be no incentive for anyone to subscribe. He said firefighters will help when people are in danger, regardless of whether they have paid.



Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/06/410...#ixzz1frZFHMNZ.

[Sundae]

Wow.
You sure do things in a funny way over there.

[Spexxvet]

Extortion isn't funny.

[glatt]

People in rural areas have strong opinions about the role of government. They would be pissed if you forced them to pay taxes that would cover fire protection. But this is the other side of that position.

[Lamplighter]

South Fulton, TN is about 5 miles from my ancestor's homesteads
and my summer stomping grounds, so I took an interest in this article.

For me, it does not pass the sniff (Snopes) test.
This looks to me more like a political ploy that was picked up
and spread across the nation by the news media.
Here is a 2010 article with the same story, but with different names.

Yahoo News
Oct 5, 2010
Rural Tennessee fire sparks conservative ideological debate

Here's the short version of what happened:
In rural Obion County, homeowners must pay $75 annually
for fire protection services from the nearby city of South Fulton.
If they don't pay the fee and their home catches fire, tough luck --
even if firefighters are positioned just outside the home with hoses at the ready.

When Cranick's house caught fire last week, and he couldn't contain the blaze with garden hoses, he called 911.
During the emergency call, he offered to pay all expenses related to the Fire Department's defense of his home,
but the South Fulton firefighters refused to do anything.
<snip>
The incident has sparked a debate in many corners of the Web.
Writers for the National Review, arguably the nation's most influential right-leaning voice,
have seized on the episode to discuss the relative merits of
compassionate conservatism versus a hard-line libertarianism

P.S. The embedded video of this incident is "no longer available"
-----------------

This is from a 2008 report presented to the Obion County Study Committee
A Presentation Regarding The Establishment And Implementation of a County-Wide Fire Department

The municipal fire departments which utilize a subscription service
are not bound to and do not respond to fires on rural properties
which do not have a subscription for fire service.

The only rural property owners guaranteed to receive fire protection services are those who choose to pay for it.
It they choose not to purchase an annual subscription and require fire protection services,
they fall on the mercy of a municipal department who provide services on an as needed basis.
When such occurs, the responding fire department normally provides those services without compensation.

According to survey information, over 75% of all municipal fire department’s structure calls are rural.
All fire departments in Obion County charge a $500.00 fee per call in rural areas,
but collections are, less than 50% and the fire departments have no way of legally collecting the charge.
Therefore, the service was provided at the expense of the municipal tax payer.

[Scriveyn]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

... incentive for anyone to subscribe ....

[Pete Zicato]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

Extortion isn't funny.

I think you're off base on this one, spexx. This is just how it works in the country. You probably get fire coverage through your taxes. You pay in case the fire department needs to come out to your home.

If you live in unincorporated areas of the boonies, you can choose to pay a yearly fee to the fire department or not. Everyone understands this and knows what the risks are.

[Spexxvet]

Ever see "Gangs of New York"? If it's not extortion, it's still a shitty way to treat your fellow human beings, let alone your neighbors and those in your community. We have volunteer fire departments here. They ask for donations. If you don't donate, they still put out your fire.

[ZenGum]

: stares at you guys in amazement :


Man that's crazier than your health care thingy. Enjoy your feedom.


LMAO, just noticed that I typed feedom not freedom. Imma leave that one.

[Pete Zicato]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

: stares at you guys in amazement :
Man that's crazier than your health care thingy. Enjoy your feedom.

How is it done there?

[ZenGum]

Cities have a metropolitan fire service, funded by the state government, with fully professional firefighters. All fires are dealt with for free. A system false alarm - your shopping centre computer keeps calling the fire brigade when there isn't a fire - cost (last I heard) $600.

Rural areas have a volunteer fire service funded by the state government with volunteer firefighters who train two to four evenings a week. They do a bit of fundraising, but again all fires are dealt with for free. I think they also charge for system false alarms.

A malicious false alarm is a criminal offence.

The country firies are supposed to deal with local structure fires, car crashes and bushfires. For the latter, having a large number of firies to call on in emergencies is crucial.
The metro firies deal with city stuctures, high-rises, industrial fires, and help with bush fires, although (at least in South Australia) their help with bush fires is limited - their insurance does not cover their firetrucks unless all wheels of the truck are on a sealed road. Otherwise, the truck officer is personally liable for the truck. [/brother of a firefighter in both services]

General rule is that if it is burning and it shouldn't be, we put it the #$%& out ASAP.

[Bullitt]

That is basically how it works here as well. This situation in TN is by far an exception tot he rule, and seems like would only happen in an incredibly rural area. Lives first, property second. And it seems that in that particular area, residents have no choice (well, besides not living in the middle of nowhere) but to rely on another town's fire dept. Mutual aid is what we call it when one area's dept has to cover for another's. In those cases you are pretty much guaranteed a large bill for services provided, since you pay no taxes to the town of the service that responded.

[Spexxvet]

A cloaked Enterprise spotted near Mercury.


http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow...154443870.html