Remember there's a big difference between kneeling down and bending over.--Frank Zappa

What do you know? One of the saner minds is trying to prevail afterall. From that forum page:

City Council Meeting -- Rob Sudnick, 22:09:15 06/12/04 Sat [1]

I for one am worried about the future of our Fire Department and the safety of our citizens, not to mention the safety of my family and friends. My advice to everyone is to please attend the City Council Meeting, Tuesday June 15th, Work Session at 5pm and the Meeting will follow, it should be an eye opener for all. Thanks, Rob

There ya go! Continued conversation instead of hysterical posts on the internet.

why the changes? -- read your own posts, 21:12:03 06/12/04 Sat [1]

mark,i find it hard to believe that you now are considering eliminating this blog. That reek's of censorship. Who are you trying to protect? You say in your last post 6-11-2004 if we really (the city)can't afford the award which was given to us(fire dept),then we are basically barking up the wrong tree.Well I ask you to read your post from 4-25-03 as well as all the hosedudes also,look at the picture of everyone you put up in that post, all the hosedudes for leighton who posed for that ..and read your post carefully,and let me throw out a few of what you typed.(He has been actively working to reduce the staffing of the fire dept. and close a firehouse or two for years,all in the name of cutting costs). here's another from that same post.(Public safety is taken for granted until it's your little girl that lies unconscious on the floor of a second story bedroom.Should we downsize our fire dept. to save money,or should we elect a mayor who eliminates wasteful overtime and maintains the level of the outstanding emergency services that we have come to expect?)
hey mark,do you remember that? Why was it wrong then,but it's just fine now to do this to the dept? who's side are you on?

Censorship??? Eliminating the forum would not censor anyone's voice when one considers that a voice without a name attached to it will get zero consideration from any of the folks that run this city anyway. The elected types ignore SAYSO and I'm sure they could care less what Voice@voice.com has to say about anything. Mr. Sudnick has the right idea. Get down to the council chamber en masse and push this issue towards some sort of equitable conclusion for all of those involved. Namely, all of us.

Who am I trying to protect??? Um...lemme see...the mayor? Is that where you're going? As if anyone actually could. He has chosen to live his life in the public eye and nobody can protect him from constant scrutiny, second guessing and all sorts of verbal abuse from every possible source. He's a big boy. He'll get by without me having to guard his left flank.

Gee, this is cute. Now we're seaching the internet and reprinting my words in an effort to show that I somehow contradicted myself:

(He has been actively working to reduce the staffing of the fire dept. and close a firehouse or two for years,all in the name of cutting costs). here's another from that same post.(Public safety is taken for granted until it's your little girl that lies unconscious on the floor of a second story bedroom.Should we downsize our fire dept. to save money,or should we elect a mayor who eliminates wasteful overtime and maintains the level of the outstanding emergency services that we have come to expect?)

hey mark,do you remember that? Why was it wrong then,but it's just fine now to do this to the dept? who's side are you on?

Now we're questioning my near photographic memory. 10-4! McG wanted to slash the fire department and with every Tom, Dick and Harry calling 911 every time they break a pinkie, I don't see how we can afford to and still maintain public safety. And I never said that putting engines out of service was hunky dory, I merely assumed that the mayor was being honest when he said that we can't afford to increase the number of guys on a given shift. Everything was rolling along just fine, or so I thought, until this arbitration award came due. And I find this situation increasingly frustrating. To listen to everyone tell it, nobody wants these engines out of service. Not the mayor, not the guys who would ride on them and not the residents of this city. Yet...they are still out of service. Why is that?

who's side are you on?

Spare me. I'm assuming that both sides are bargaining in good faith. I'm also taking the mayor at his word when he says that our financial situation is by no means rosy at this point. Does anyone out there think he's lying? I also sat with a union rep and heard his concerns for the safety of his own men. You know, those very same union reps you guys electronically crucified right after the engines went down. Then you got around to lashing out at Leighton. And now it seems as if it's my turn. And all of this has helped how exactly? I don't know what went on at your recent union meeting, but it's obvious that further negotiation is needed if we're going to come to some sort of arrangement that both sides can live with.

Who's side am I on? I find it difficult to believe that any card-carrying member of Local 104 could be sheepheaded enough to even pose such a ridiculous question to me. If there is a single resident of this city that has tried any harder than I to get the message across that our firemen and police officers are completely worthy of our respect and our support as residents, I have yet to meet them. F**kin' A!

I for one am worried about the future of our Fire Department and the safety of our citizens, not to mention the safety of my family and friends. My advice to everyone is to please attend the City Council Meeting, Tuesday June 15th, Work Session at 5pm and the Meeting will follow, it should be an eye opener for all. Thanks, Rob

Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

From the e-mail inbox:

*******MArk

Did you blow a gasket? You went off on evreybody. What gives with that?*******

Nope. No gasket was blown anywhere near me. I'm just getting tired of reading complete nonsense bordering on hysteria. I think the word that annoyed me the most had to be "shenanigans." After what we've been through in this city during the past eight years, how the hell could anyone accuse Tom Leighton of perpetrating anything even close to shenanigans? He said he needed more help with everything he has going on and he finally hired a bright young guy after being told to do so by this resident. But, as it turns out, someone objects to the last name of the guy hired who will earn his paltry salary and then some. There it is! Proof! Shenanigans! We barely survived eight long years of McG's utter nonsense and Leighton is pulling shenanigans? Come on, people. I tend to believe that we're a bit smarter than that.

Another one:

*******F88K YOU! Why stop at the forum? Delete your entire site you skinny twirp.*******

Twirp? I think you meant "twerp," but why quibble over your spelling inadequacies? Skinny??? Was that meant to upset me. Trust me, it fell well short of the mark. I, unlike most adult men, do not confuse excess weight with muscle or machismo. One more time. According to the federal goverment's height/weight charts, at 6'1", 175 pounds-I am perfect. So F88K YOU TOO!

One more time:

*******Mark,
I've got to respond to your last post concerning the FD. You've got to understand something. We stepped up to the plate for the city and gave them millions over the life of the contract. We could have gotten the same deal as the PD, but instead the overwhelming majority of us chose to do our part to help the new administration get the city back on track. We expected a new "spirit of co-operation" with the city, but instead we got our numbers cut and stations closed. The union wants a number. Something in writing that guarantees XX amount of FF's per shift. For the safety of the public, and the FF's. Why the city cannot provide this number is beyond me. Believe me Mark, after the last 8 years of taking crap from the last mayor, this was the last thing I expected. The union is not forcing the 3 man engines on the city. You can't possibly think that the union wanted 14 men on a shift with 2 engines out of service and a house shut down. Without any minimum manning number, it's all they have to guarantee at least 3 men per piece. The administration decided to do all that without any regards for the safety of the public, or the FF's. (It's ironic that the house that is closed has no council representation in it's first due area, and was one of the busiest) The city never extended any offer in writing to the union. None. All they did was threaten ACT 47, and plead poverty. So tell me, do you think the guys have every right to be just a bit preturbed that the city just thumbs their nose at them? If they post anonymously, it's because they fear retribution....something I thought would be gone with this administration. Though I will not post anonymously, not all of us are protected. Thanks, Paul*******

Dude, you know I respect your opinion and I certainly can understand why your guys would be a bit perturbed as of late, but something just doesn't add up here for me. The sh*t sure seemed to hit the fan when the 'three guys' award became an issue, or so I thought. Before that bubbled to the surface, all of our engines were still in service. Is there something I'm missing here? If there is, please fill me in, because I'm not following this to some degree. One union rep told me we needed three guys on every engine to safeguard the lives of those entering burning structures. Yet another told me Leighton listens to his "bean counters" and no one else.

Leighton told me, "We will not run out of money. I can not run out of money." And I gotta tell ya, he looked somewhat disheartened while discussing this distressing turn of events. This guy has never once lied to me while discussing anything of note regarding this city, so am I to believe that he's lying to me now? For me, there's a serious disconnect going on here and I firmly believe that Rob Sudnick has tendered the best advice yet. Show up on Tuesday night and force this issue to appear on Page 1 of both of our local newspapers. Give it a major nudge forward towards some amicable solution.

And as far as possible retribution is concerned, I just can't feature that and I never will be able to. I have never cowered in fear of any higher-up and I never will. I have always given 110% and if that's not good enough then fire my dead ass. But never, ever expect me to become a "Yes Man," or lose any sleep over whether or not some boss has a problem with my opinion. The worse they can do is fire me and that would probably amount to my having found a better job anyway. But what do I know? I'm skinny.

From that very same forum:

Can't Wait For The Block Party -- Roger Carpenter, 18:09:37 06/12/04 Sat [1]

Dude, I'm in for the party. I just want to put in a request now. A summer party would not be complete without some Randy Newman. Nothing specific, just some great old songs.

Roger

Yet another bogus e-mail address, but Randy Newman sounds like a plan.

Ethel was so correct by stating: "Markie, you need to lighten up the mood around here."

How are procrastination and masturbation alike? At first its all fun, but then in the end you just realize your f**king yourself.

If smoke was seen coming from an ancient smokestack, would that result in another call to 911?

Someone had better dial up those folks at CityVest and make them aware of the fact that the miscreants have found another way into the Hotel Sterling building.

Here's the latest from Rory in Iraq:

*******Hey whats up? Yep still hot here. How are things back home? Pretty busy here all day everyday. Just counting down the days till I come home safely. We still dont have any idea when we will be sent home for good but we should find out in a month or two. We are waiting to see the outcome of the transfer of power on June 30. I hope it goes smooth. The better for them then us too. Well just wanted to say hi. I got to get a shower. Be good hope to hear from you soon.

Foot Soldier*******

Trust me, man. When June 30th finally arrives, I will be holding by breath, as will plenty of others. I honestly believe that the useless nut-jobs of the world will do everything in their power to make sure that plenty of blood is spilled on that fateful day. We shall see.

Someone planted a blue river horn on the front porch of the adobe that is identical to the one that Gage left in Kayak Dude's boat. Very strange.

Gotta roll. This vacation thing feels real good.

Later