INIT915

I could have been more specific, sorry. I meant what ladder would be called upon in this general area, not this specific fire.

None of those three agencies have a ladder, do they? Who would you call? Peekskill, Mohegan?

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/24/us/houston-police-killed/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

That's a great point, Bill. And I'm not specifically referring to YFD, many agencies have this type of arrangement, I don't even know for sure that YFD is among them, so I'll speak in generalities. How can you argue that a service is invaluable, out of reach for bean-counters when you yourself have come up with criteria when it is allowed to take a backseat. If BLS-FR is so crucial, then it should be as important as your other tasks and you must find a way to fund and deliver it. If it's so unimportant that it can be suspended routinely during times of high call volume or other conflict, then how can you argue for it so strenuously? That's not even unique to fire. Both law enforcement and EMS can and do often have similar issues.

If it's every morning, it's probably a take-home vehicle for someone subject to recall. That's different from going shopping at a mall in another State.

Yes, totally different. I clearly failed to see the distinction. Everyone should have thick skin? Ironic. If by saying I have no affiliation with either YFD or Empress, therefore no opinion means I have an opinion, then I guess your right!

You can call me whatever you want, but I stand by it. I'm not going to interject my opinion into a war between two Unions when I know nothing of the facts or the issues they are debating. You on the other hand, obviously don't have the same reservations. You've already chosen sides.

Well, I know all I need to know then.

A decision which you no doubt support, am I right? Our founding fathers were not infallible, as many like to believe. I mean, as one example, for nearly a century we have the "three-fifths compromise." Do you argue that this was brilliant solely because the "founding fathers" came up with? If you do, I don't share your sentiments.

I'm not sure if your saying I'm dramatic? If you are, let me just say I have no association with YFD or Empress. I don't even go to Yonkers for anything, so I personally couldn't care less how this whole situation plays out. Just interesting from an outside observer how the website was worded, especially in relation to an organization that they have a quasi-partnership with.

Tension in regards to Empress?

Why didn't they go with something larger than Chargers? We have limited the number we purchased so far, partially due to their storage capacity.

I still fail to see your class warfare argument. But, nonetheless, I respectfully disagree with your hate-crimes argument. And seeing how the issue has been decided by a unanimous 9-0 Supreme Court, it is the law of the land, which I support.

I'm not sure how hate crimes legislation has anything to do with class warfare. But, let's imagine this. Two men are walking down the street, one white and one black. One of the men, let's say the white man, is attacked and assaulted for no other reason then he is white in a black neighborhood. If not for that single trait, he would have been allowed to go about his business. Now, the perpetrators are the one who choose the victim and held him out for special treatment. Why should the law not have a mechanism to adjudicate that crime with a special level of punishment? The victim wasn't afforded the Constitutional protection of equal treatment under the laws that you hold so dear, but the attacker should? How come, all else being equal, the victim's rights are subservient to the attacker's, again remember, a crime which would never have occurred except the the victim was singled out and attacked for being a member of a protected class.

How can you so strongly defend their right of Freedom of Speech, yet in the same post advocate physically preventing them from certain public places, thus violating thier Freedom of Assembly? Seems to me, it's either all or nothing.

Exactly. So to blame it on a lack of religious conviction as Mike Hukabee did (and you endorsed) is pointless. Guess what. This is America. Not everyone believes in the same God or in some cases any God at all. So to imply you must do so to be free from bodily harm, is to me, insane. Everyone should be safe in school, whether you believe in God or not!

Exactly. No one will ever be able to rationalize why this happened. It's the work of a single deranged individual. Gun control would not have stopped this, but at the same time, to blame this attack on the level of (or lack of) religiosity of a group of citizens, an entire community, or the nation, is personally outrageous to me.

No, even if it turns out to be true, he has no point. But if you believe he does, you must also agree with ALL of the following: -9/11 was the fault of the ACLU, feminisists and gays (Rev. Jerry Falwell) -Hurricane Katrina was the fault of gays (Pastor John Hagee) -2010 Haiti earthquakes the reuslt of a "pact with the devil" (Rev. Pat Robertson) Shall I go on?

Yes. That was the problem. These kindergartners weren't religious enough. Pathetic.

Without beating a dead horse, as this topic has been addressed a number of times before, how come so many law enforcement agencies respond to burglar alarms no lights/no sirens, yet FD's roll a fleet of equipment, lights and sirens. I believe Capt. Nechis has provided some useful stats in the past on the number of actual fires. Is the risk to the dozens of first responders, civilian motorists and pedestrians worth the risk? It's not to the police, so I don't know why it is to our fire service brethren. I'm willing to bet more civilians and MOS's have been injured or killed in responding to false alarms then have been injured or killed as a result of the FD taking an extra minute or two to respond. And I'm not persuaded by arguments related to problems with the alarm company. How much sooner do you really arrive with lights and sirens? It's negligible, we all know that, and it's not worth the risk.

For background, that Trooper was an Emergency Dept R.N. prior to joining the NYSP, so he has considerable experiance.

Good question. Under the current dichotomy between State and Federal Law, marijuana, even for medicinal purposes remains unlawful under Federal Law (see 21 USC 801, 802 and 812) and use of illegal drugs does not constitute a disability actionable under ADA protections (see 42 USC 12111) .

Employers can take action based on your nicotine use, and many now do. So, I imagine marijuana will be no different.

I don't know much about the inner workings of Beacon, but many here will agree that cash strapped or not, police and fire services are paramount and should be a fiscal priority. I'd personally rather have the City Recreation Department leaders position vacant than the police or fire chief. Is morale an issue or just bruised feelings? And given the low starting salary, it doesn't seem like a significant fiscal drain, and if a good leader is brought in, the benefits will probably outweigh the cost. P.S. Why is city in quotes? Beacon is an actual city, no?

Well, the OC Exam will be useful if the one guy the Promotional Exam was designed for cannot pass it.