Dave: (dave-deleteme[at]-deleteme-squishycomics [dot] com) 2010-10-08 09:04:19

Sleep? What's That?

I don't need much sleep to function. I got through last week with only fourteen hours of sleep from Monday through Friday, with the weekend allowing me to get in two good night's sleep. This week was marginally better, I've gotten Sixteen hours of sleep since Monday. There's a myriad of available drugs to keep me wired and stave off pain should I need it, as well as vitamin C to keep my immune system from calling it a day. Now if I can only find some way to drown out the voices...

Last week I predicted snow. Well, we didn't get a blanket of white fluff, but we did get some thunderstorms, and far more comfortable temperatures. While I'm glad that the heat let up, the high temperatures gave us bikini clad Kimmy. Now, at least one reader wants to "see more of Kimmy's backside". Kimmy playing in the rain was considered both hot and cute as well. Kimmy's now a fan favorite. I'm not complaining as Kimmy's up there on my list of characters I like to draw.

On a more serious note, the news of the Obion County, TN firefighters that stood by as they watched a family's home burn down really angered me. It seems that they don't have a county wide fire department, so rural residents have to pay an annual fee of $75 dollars or go without fire coverage. Mr. Cranick apaprently didn't pay that fee. What happened? Firefighters showed up when they were called about the fire, and then just watched the house burn down. They were there in case the fire spread to neighbors who did pay the fee. Tell me that's not fucked up.

Firefighters around the country are appalled by how this was handled, pointing out that a firefighter's DUTY is to protect life and property, in that order, no matter what. They do their duty FIRST and then worry about whether or not they're in their jurisdiction.

I'm sure some of you might be thinking, "well, he didn't pay the fee, so that's how it goes". To you I say that you're not looking at the bigger picture. Forget about "the right thing to do", "human decency", etc. Let's look at the numbers. Mr. Cranick didn't pay the $75 annual fee. You might think that's money lost to the local government. Well, don't you think that having his home burn down will also bring down his and his neighbor's property value? How much money do you think the local government is missing out on in property taxes now? Hundreds? Thousands? I'm willing to bet it's much more than the $75 fee. Did I mention that the county reports that it would only cost a 0.13 cent increase in property taxes to cover all expenses of expanding fire coverage to the whole county? How about that there were several other ways to fund county wide fire coverage that would be better than a $75 fee, as the fee would put the firefighters in an awkward spot, "Your house is burning? Did you pay the fee?".

If you argue that you shouldn't have to pay for other people, then by this logic, the police should also work on a fee basis. Getting assaulted? Did you pay the fee? No? Sorry, can't help you. Personally, I firmly believe that it's the government's responsibility to provide for the public welfare (it's in the constitution), and that both police and firefighters are essential civil services which we the people fund with tax payer money. Hey, if Benjamin Franklin thought it was a good idea, who am I to argue with the man?

Link to the story, which also provides links to expand the story from other sources
The source I used to find the cost of county wide firefighting
Link to Ben Franklin fire fighter thingie


Well, not wanting to end today's post with a downer I'd like to... uh... damn... getting hard to think with this lack of sleep... uh... Here watch this!


Enjoy the strip and have a good weekend!