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Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Real Cost of Budget Cuts

Police and firemen in Alameda, California watched a man drown on Monday after realizing they did not have proper certifications for water rescue, leaving them open to possible lawsuits if they attempted to save him....

A crowd of about 75 gathered to watch the bizarre scene, which saw police and firemen just standing at shoreline watching helplessly. After the man had drowned, authorities couldn’t even go into the surf to retrieve the body. They instead recruited a passer-by for the job.

City officials reportedly blamed the incident on budget cuts and said they would have a discussion about why Alameda, an island city, does not have proper authorization to rescue people from the waters surrounding it.


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7 comments:

  1. Matt FrankoJune 1, 2011 at 2:14 PM

    Arizona nixes transplants:

    link_http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-11-17-arizona-cuts-liver-transplant_N.htm

    Tom,

    This is humiliating to be of the same biological species as the morons making these decisions.

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  2. AnonymousJune 1, 2011 at 4:05 PM

    This is pathetic. Grown men and women can't do the right thing unless big government allows them to do it?

    Since when did common sense become so rare?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tyler FJune 1, 2011 at 4:11 PM

    Couldn't agree with you more, Matt.

    ReplyDelete
  4. beowulfJune 1, 2011 at 4:18 PM

    Wow, now that's taking the Firemen First* principle to the next level! Of course, if just one of those 75 witnesses swore out an affidavit that they were a strong swimmer and would have rescued the drowning victim but for rescue personnel already being on the scene-- the victim's family has a case against the city for wrongful death. Moral of the story, if you're going to watch a man die, its not going to end well unless you watch all the witnesses die too.

    *This tactic is based on the principle that the public will support the [Clever Bureaucrat's] valiant fight against the budget reduction only if essential services are endangered. Thus, the C.B. always picks the teachers, policemen, and firemen first.
    http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n1-2_v25/ai_13323396/

    ReplyDelete
  5. MarioJune 2, 2011 at 1:44 AM

    jesus christ that is beyond insane!!!!! Magic realism anyone?!?!?!?! WTF!?!?!

    This is what you get when you combine neo-liberal economics/accounting, political corruption, and greedy/immoral lawyers.

    Good luck with that one!!!!!!! Lord help us all!!!!!!

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  6. mike normanJune 2, 2011 at 10:13 AM

    Horrible. Terrible. What kind of nation are we becoming?

    ReplyDelete
  7. CrakeJune 2, 2011 at 12:02 PM

    Mike,

    Do you have anyway to contact George Clooney’s people?

    He bought the movie rights to Jennifer Government, which was Max Barry’s satire novel about a world where libertarianism run a muck (everyone takes his last name as that of his employer’s.) Basically it is comical anti-Atlas Shrugged.

    Most people learn from movies/tv and humor is actually one of the main way we learn about subjects (i.e. the classic sophomoric joke to learn what is acceptable in society), so if Clooney could get fellow box office stars to make the movie a big draw, it might help turn the tide on public sentiment against all the privatization talk.

    Someone make this movie!


    Brief description:

    The world is run by American corporations; there are no taxes; employees take the last names of the companies they work for; the Police and the NRA are publicly-traded security firms; the government can only investigate crimes it can bill for.
    Hack Nike is a Merchandising Officer who discovers an all-new way to sell sneakers. Buy Mitsui is a stockbroker with a death-wish. Billy NRA is finding out that life in a private army isn't all snappy uniforms and code names. And Jennifer Government, a legendary agent with a barcode tattoo, is a consumer watchdog with a gun.


    http://maxbarry.com/jennifergovernment/

    ReplyDelete