Who do those Firemen think they are?

I was sitting in a local restaurant having a comfortable meal with my wife when we overheard a rather loud conversation at a nearby table.

Both of the men were complaining about the "self serving" Fire Department collecting money and interfering with traffic with their boot drive.

One comment heard repeatedly was "They think they are 'heros.'" Another was "they are collecting for their parties - they don't work a full work week."

Well, I decided to ask a fireman.

First of all, I have not heard any fireman claiming to be a hero. There are people in all walks of life who perform heroic acts. And, they are usually not public acts. This is as it should be. Now, about not working a full work week. I wonder how many of those folks have to work holidays, spend Christmas and Thanksgiving Days at a fire house or riding patrol while the rest of us are at home with our families? These are the men and women who don’t have the highest paying jobs in the world and occasionally have to put their lives on the line for us!

Yes, the firefighters get to sleep at their fire station, but they also put in 52 hours per week that they are away from home

The monies collected in the boot drive are not for the use of the firemen. This week they were collecting for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Next week they will be collecting for the benefit of burned children.

No monies are ever used for department parties. Or, for that matter, for any parties.

It is easy to criticize. But, we should always make sure of our facts first.

In Alpharetta we have an outstanding Public Safety Department which includes both Police and Fire. Both work closely with civilian volunteer organizations and both are the better for it. We can be proud of the public servants employed by the City of Alpharetta. And, I suspect the same can be said for Roswell, Sandy Springs, John's Creek and Milton.

Bruce Maynes

Alpharetta, GA

Me? Or We.

Where are the Police of my youth?

Our country, in the 1950s, was focused upon the small town. But, even in large cities the police were friends to whom our parents turned in times of trouble. the Police themselves were pleasant and friendly. Jails and prisons were the residence of a small percentage of our population.

Today, we have the highest percentage of our population in the developed world in prison. Prison populations are disproportionately black and gangs grow and prosper in them. Islam has found our prisons to be fertile recruiting grounds. That’s Islam, the fanatics, not Islam the people who wish to worship in their own way and willing to let others do the same.

Our police are more feared than respected. Police work attracts a different kind of person today. There is a tendency for police to become isolated from society and the populace in general is happy to let them be by themselves. Because, “who wants a cop around when you are having fun?” Alpharetta, at least, has a program to try and integrate the police into the community. A very good idea. But, I digress.

More and more laws are written and enforced with less and less intelligent thought brought to bear. Schools take a zero tolerance (read no common sense need be present here) attitude to the most minor infractions. Some fear that we are becoming a Police State. Others fear that the “trash” are destroying our neighborhoods. Gangs are growing and more and more citizens are afraid for their children, their elderly and themselves.

Why?

Why? In my opinion the why is simple. We have become a nation of “Me.” Me, the Pro Life zealot. I know what is right and you must live with my rules. Me, the overly religious nut who says “it is a sin to sell wine on Sunday.” Me, the Pro Choice activist. I know what is right and you will live by my rules.

What about Me, the gang member. This is my turf and I rule here. Give me your purse or wallet or I will beat you. Or, Me, the teacher. Your child is a disruption because he/she doesn’t fit my mold. I can’t have a child who needs my attention in my class. Or, Me, the parent who can’t be bothered to get involved. It is school’s job to raise my child.

Our politicians are self involved. They are all on the take. Look at health care. I don’t care which side you are on. Just look at one fact. None of the Congresspersons or Senators or their staffs will be a part of whatever health care system they finally adopt. They are too good for that. They are exempt.

Whose fault is this? Well, you don’t need me to answer that. Everyone knows the answer. It is this same Me.

Only We can make this better. And We means a lot of mes working together with mutual respect and with joint purpose. And, you know what? If Me becomes we, a lot of police will become our friend again; protecting and serving. It is not They. It is not we. It is Me.

Are you a Me or a we.

Bruce Maynes

Water and Energy

An Opinion on Energy and Water in Georgia

Bruce Maynes - August 1, 2009

Our State, and indeed our Country, is suffering from a potential shortage of affordable electric power and a very real shortage of potable water. We constantly see talk of negotiations with our neighboring States; talk of high cost wind farms and solar energy. And, yes, we often see talk of studies (and more studies and more studies) of the viability of geothermal, tidal and even coastal sea flows and vibrations as potential sources of energy.

While making a lot of noise from which political fortune can be mined, these efforts are doing more harm than good for our State. We need leadership from the Governor to make a plan, fund the plan, start the plan and finish the plan. We do not need more studies.

There are many ways of reaching our goals. But, only one lends itself as a viable and sustainable solution to both problems.

It is my contention that we should embark upon two fronts with the construction of very large nuclear power plants on the coast which will double as desalination plants. The technology is safe and it is already there.

I know whereof I speak as I have worked directly with both the Saudi government in their desalination plants which provide significant water and the Chinese Daya Bay Nuclear plant which provides the power now being used to further develop Southern China.

The problems in Georgia mimic those of the Nation. A fundamental lack of leadership, of courage and it seems that politicians care only for those problems which can be solved with resulting political currency during the tenure of the individual’s term of office.

As citizens we have the right, even the duty, to say get off your duff and get moving or we, the electors, will fire the lot of you.

Healthcare Reform Real or Smokescreen?

Healthcare Reform

Real or Smokescreen?

All politicians, whatever their Party affiliation, want healthcare reform. And, reform is needed; no one disputes this fact. But, not one single Senator nor one single Congressman is proposing any real healthcare reform.

The only reform being suggested with any real validity is toward the fact that (pick a number - 4 million, 10 million, or the absurd 46 million) some of our citizens are uninsurable or simply cannot afford insurance. In addition some have chosen not to be insured. Their choice and their problem. This problem could easily be solved by creating (or expanding existing programs) a subsidized insurer of last resort. We do not need a complete overhaul (read destruction or government takeover) of our healthcare systems.

The real problem in healthcare is not healthcare at all. The problem is a broken legal system coupled with a public attitude which accepts absurd awards and looks at these awards as “no one is really hurt. It is paid by the insurance company.”

This causes insurance companies to raise malpractice insurance premiums to ruinous levels and causes doctors to order expensive tests to avoid malpractice suits. Both add many billions of dollars each year to healthcare costs. This is how healthcare is broken.

Politicians will never attack this problem because most of them are lawyers themselves or are beholden to lawyers. Only the voters can force a solution on politicians and they will fight it all the way.

When I was young it was illegal for lawyers to advertise. This was changed to “allow attorneys to identify their areas of expertise.” Too bad we didn’t think about one of these areas of expertise being “how to screw the doctor, or the hospital, or the insurance company or even your boss.” Is this, perhaps, a part of a general falling of our standards of honesty and decency?

Tort Reform. This is a fancy term for limiting those huge awards. Texas recently has made an attempt to do just that. But, tort reform can be more. It can help eliminate the ambulance chasers by making the losing attorney liable for a part of the legal fees of the winner of the suit. And it can impose upon those losing attorneys the court costs resulting from their suit. This is of particular value in those cases where the judge can identify the suit as a frivolous law suit. In such cases could there not be punitive fines for both the attorney and the plaintiff.

Of course any such reform would require careful study and an oversight process. But, it would limit the power of unscrupulous attorneys and plaintiffs who think they may just have won the lottery.

Bruce I. Maynes