Received via Email 10.08.09 I'm not going to do any math but I'll tell you all this much. When someone who's been PROVEN to be a spy for the administration and for the city gets fire officer of the year it diminishes the award. Few of you would have this man for a friend but you'd vote him in as being representative of the best that we've got to offer? This move should offend every officer on this job. This isn't about union or non union. This is about what's right and what's wrong with some of the people who are employed here. The supposed crackhead at station 8 has done us less harm this some of these other fools. Mr. Pumpkinhead put on a razzle dazzle presentation that was sure to put council to sleep and in the end we still lost a lot of money. Hurray for us. FTM
Received via Email 10.08.09 Correction......making me feel welcomed at #3 b
Received via Email 10.08.09 While watching Glenn Beck tonight, two doctors waded through all the bullshit surrounding the swine flu pandemic. The subject of "just what's in the flu shot" came up. "Thimerosol" used as a preservative will probably be utilized by the majority of the vaccine manufacturers, making the availability of thimerosol-free vaccine a slim reality. Take a look at the website and also look at the video that's listed at the top of the page. http://www.nationalautismassociation.org/thimerosal.php
Received via Email 10.08.09 Who the **ck believes Glenn Beck? You probably believe his tears are patriotic necture, what a AH!
TEAM: We found the Glenn Beck video on Youtube. It's in three parts with the two opposing Dr.'s beginning in part two:
Received via Email 10.08.09 Here is our newest Nobel Peace Prize winner:
Received via Email 10.09.09 Dear team,
I love the way the dumb stack of Beck, cant spell, he sshould use a smart screen with built in spell check! What a AH!
TEAM: Yeah. Bad spellers should all dye.
Received via Email 10.09.09 Zach Hughes rocks thanks for for keeping it up wherever you are and thanks for your service. Thats some positive stuff there!
Received via Email 10.10.09 Obama in the British Media
Here is an interesting editorial from someone outside our country as to what is going on!
Barak Obama and the CIA: Why does President Pantywaist hate America so badly?
If al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the rest of the Looney Tunes brigade want to kick America to death, they had better move in quickly and grab a piece of the action before Barack Obama finishes the job himself. Never in the history of the United States has a president worked so actively against the interests of his own people – not even Jimmy Carter.
Obama’s problem is that he does not know who the enemy is. To him, the enemy does not squat in caves in Waziristan, clutching automatic weapons and reciting the more militant verses from the Koran: instead, it sits around at tea parties in Kentucky quoting from the US Constitution. Obama is not at war with terrorists, but with his Republican fellow citizens. He has never abandoned the campaign trail.
That is why he opened Pandora’s Box by publishing the Justice Department’s legal opinions on waterboarding and other hardline interrogation techniques. He cynically subordinated the national interest to his partisan desire to embarrass the Republicans. Then he had to rush to Langley, Virginia to try to reassure a demoralised CIA that had just discovered the President of the United States was an even more formidable foe than al-Qaeda.
“Don’t be discouraged by what’s happened the last few weeks,” he told intelligence officers. Is he kidding? Thanks to him, al-Qaeda knows the private interrogation techniques available to the US intelligence agencies and can train its operatives to withstand them – or would do so, if they had not already been outlawed.
So, next time a senior al-Qaeda hood is captured, all the CIA can do is ask him nicely if he would care to reveal when a major population centre is due to be hit by a terror spectacular, or which American city is about to be irradiated by a dirty bomb. Your view of this situation will be dictated by one simple criterion: whether or not you watched the people jumping from the twin towers.
Obama promised his CIA audience that nobody would be prosecuted for past actions. That has already been contradicted by leftist groups with a revanchist ambition to put Republicans, headed if possible by Condoleezza Rice, in the dock. Talk about playing party politics with national security. Martin Scheinin, the United Nations special investigator for human rights, claims that senior figures, including former vice president Dick Cheney, could face prosecution overseas. Ponder that – once you have got over the difficulty of locating the United Nations and human rights within the same dimension.
President Pantywaist Obama should have thought twice before sitting down to play poker with Dick Cheney. The former vice president believes documents have been selectively published and that releasing more will prove how effective the interrogation techniques were. Under Dubya’s administration, there was no further atrocity on American soil after 9/11.
President Pantywaist’s recent world tour, cosying up to all the bad guys, excited the ambitions of America’s enemies. Here, they realised, is a sucker they can really take to the cleaners. His only enemies are fellow Americans. Which prompts the question: why does President Pantywaist hate America so badly? http://tinyurl.com/nwda4k
Received via Email 10.12.09 what a bunch of sore losin ass knockers, that hate blacks, girls, mixed breeds, hahaaha, go ahead and bop your batch to the beck pic, you closet acorn homos!
Received via Email 10.12.09 May Johnny and Butch and Tim Hill all rest in peace.
Received via Email 10.13.09 Congrats to the men who made the recent rescue previously mentioned. A good size up, and quick action indeed.
Received via Email 10.13.09 Bill Foster is an ass. I saw it myself. Did you catch his snob nosed stance he involuntarally used each time Mrs. Ford Spoke? It was so natural that you know that its his normal demeanor. Dont think that we as city employees are going to be treated any differently. If you dont have wealth of $50 million or more you wont rate a thing in his eyes.
Received via Email 10.15.09 Mr Admin, Thanks for posting my message this time about the rescue, I meant it, good job by the men. DCFD
Received via Email 10.15.09 50 million? I doubt there are more than three members of our department worth more than ten million.
Received via Email 10.15.09 I saw Stan Wasielewski at a union meeting tonight. He missed them all for the past 30 years but managed to show up after he retired. Just goes to show you that there's hope for some others that can't find the place unless we're holding a Christmas (yeah that's right) party.
Received via Email 10.16.09 Wasielewski has been busy the last 35 years working 100 hours a week. This is the first night off he has had to make it to a meeting.
Received via Email 10.19.09 Ok, so we have fire truck xyz motoring down a 4 lane road with 2 way traffic. Along comes citizen from opposite direction and is determined to take over the lane truck xyz is in so the driver of the fire vehicle sedes the lane and moves to the curb lane. Nope it aint working. The citizen wants that lane too, so the fire driver takes the truck onto the curb, nope citizen still manages to come into contact with the fire truck. Ohhh, I wonder how the Punisher is going to handle this? Did the fire driver do EVERYTHING he could to prevent this from happening? I mean really do everything? I am sure the Punisher will scrutinize this one back to front and side to side. It wont be long before we will need to have tires mounted all over our trucks to keep the other vehicles from banging into us. On the other hand I am sure whatever he comes up with will be just as assinine as his other forms of prevention. What an idiot, FTM. By the way, Dusi, in my opinion ya did good.
Received via Email 10.20.09 It looks like the coalition is trying to damage Ford. After all dont we have a HNIC That would be JOW. Those people are scared that when she wins the coalition will be out of a job. By the way how many Uhurus do we have on the job? I know of at least 2.
Received via Email 10.20.09 #1 10-19 leave it to zamp to try to screw you. He will write you up no matter what. Now I know why the military wouldnt take zamp. he is a back stabber and liar. Anybody who trusts him is a HQ boy
Angela Rouson Campaign Sign Waving Schedule for week of October 19th - 23rd
- C Shift 10/19 - 5:30 to 6:30 @ 4th St. N and 22nd Ave. N. Done!
- A Shift 10/20 - 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM @ 31st St. South and 54th Ave. S. Done!
- B Shift 10/21 - 5:30 to 6:30 @ 5th Ave. North and 4th St. N. Done!
- C Shift 10/22 - 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM @ 22nd Ave N and 58th St. N. Done!
- A Shift 10/23 - 5:30 to 7:00 @ 5th Ave. N and 66th St. N. Done!
The campaign season is getting short. If you have some time to spare to work towards your future, please call C-Shift Vice President Jon Pearl on the two-way communicator @ 481-2031 while the EVP Rick Pauley is out of town. Jon has signs and Gold Tee's available.
Received via Email 10.20.09 i would not help you wave signs ever cause you suck
Received via Email 10.20.09 Listen. We don't need to go out and wave signs. We can just hang around at the union hall and work on sentence structure. Would that be better for you? Would that help you to feel less like an outcast? We're all here to help.
Received via Email 10.20.09 So because I suck you wont help to fight for your future? You need more help than you realize.
Received via Email 10.21.09 In response to 10/19: Thank you very much for your kind words. After analyzing my "wreck" up, down and back and forth......my conclusions are as follows. First he was drunk, he swerved into my lane approximately 20 feet prior. Tim and Shaun heard my last statement....Holy SH**. I honestly thought it was a head on collision. I never took the truck off the road. NOW..In that split second, IF, and I mean IF I would have taken the truck in a more drastic move to avoid any impact, I may have ended up off the road and MAYBE hit a pedestrian or more likely hit a telephone pole. So he would never have been involved and I would have to explain my actions. After all the bad press we could only imagine.... Hmmmmmm I'll take a sideswipe with a drunk. Punitive action, I doubt it and if Admin is that screwed up, oh well - Fight. Again thanks. Welcome to the mainland. LOL
Counting down months, 100's of lives I have saved and a brotherhood I brag about. That's what it is all about Wayne
BTW the crew at 3B is awesome.
TEAM: So this is what it takes to get out of an engine that should have been surveyed long ago? We're glad you're all okay!
Received via Email 10.21.09 Yea, Wimberly and Large are that screwed up. They will find a way to blame you and give you time off, after all they were such great engine and truck drivers themselves. Get ready to go all the way to arbritation and fight, since they are ALWAYS right.
Received via Email 10.28.09 Dear 10/23,
Get a life.
Received via Email 10.28.09 I see the paper is doing a full court press of negativity against Kat Ford because they are scared she will win. What are the 2 Jimmies and crowd going to do when she wins? It will be bye bye. They know it. Thats why they are helping Foster. Did I mention that Foster's brother lives behind Large? I wonder how often they visit?
Received via Email 10.28.09 The two Jimmies and many of their like ilk know their days are numbered. But they also know that they should have never gotten to where they are now. So no loss.
Received via Email 10.28.09 American taxpayers doled out $24,000 per vehicle sold under the government's "Cash for Clunkers" auto program, according to a study released Wednesday. THANKS OBAMA
Received via Email 10.29.09 Wink and nod to my favorite boyfriend at16:33
Received via Email 10.29.09 A judge in Illinois sentenced an admitted Al Qaeda agent Thursday to less than two years in prison in addition to the six years he already has spent behind bars - much less than the 15 years requested by prosecutors.
Thanks again OBAMA.
Received via Email 10.29.09 OBAMA blah, blah blah. OBAMA blah, blah, blah
Received via Email 10.30.09 You are right all OBAMA has done for the last 9 months is blah, blah, blah, has not accomplished much of anything except spend tax money on his POOR people that are unwilling to work. Too bad you are not going to get any!
Received via Email 10.30.09 blah, blah, blah, blah POOR people unwiling to work, blah, blah, blah and blah?
Received via Email 10.31.09 And Bush was so great...get real they are all crooks no matter which side your on.
Received via Email 10.31.09 Well it looks like Ford is still leading although the regime has tried to silence us. When she wins all of you all will go down.
TEAM: As screwed-up as our political system would seem to be, where else can a simple Fire Fighter be so empowered? Where else can you work to 'choose' your own boss with a like-mined group of guys?
As to the poster's comments - what's really remarkable is the fact that with the Ford's, what you see is what you get. Kathleen and her husband Harvey are not posers. It's nice to hear them say how proud they are to have several of our people working out of their office on a daily basis. See you in the winners circle, Bro/Sis.
Received via Email 11.01.09 WASHINGTON - Recipients of stimulus aid created or saved more than 640,000 jobs this year, the Obama administration said Friday. Sure was not in St. Petersburg!
Received via Email 11.02.09 Hey Obama. The only car company that didnt take stimulas money, FORD posted a Billion dollar profit.
Received via Email 11.02.09 We all have to be vigilant though if FORD does not win. You never know. remember how curtsinger lost? 2000 votes came from an area of st pete where nobody lived? Do not put it past people. Have your attorneys ready to go after admin and DCs if and when they try to retaliate against us. And Winnie better let national know if that happens to us.
Received via Email 11.02.09 We're going to be fine no matter what the outcome. I think Winnie spends more time on the phone with HR than The Invisible Man, The Punisher and Mr. Pumpkinhead.
Received via Email 11.03.09 Obama. blah, blah, FORD blah, blah and blah?
Received via Email 11.04.09 In the scheme of things this Local just did the finest job ever accomplished when it comes to political activities by the Union. To each and every member who waved a sign or passed out a leaflet I take my hat off to you. To every member who got involved and did their part to contribute to the election I give you credit. The membership of the Local is truly a force in the political action arena. Never before in the history of the SPF&R has the membership understood the reasoning behind the action and performed this admirably. You are to be congratulated and acknowleged. In the process this time we were unsuccessful in winning the race. But this should not be indicative of the effort that was made to make our candidate a winner. It's very difficult to feel successful right now with the opposing candidate about to take office but the history of the Local will reflect the honest and aggressive strides made by this membership to become a factor in every election in the future. Be very proud of the job you did and know that those who went before you are very proud and happy with your success. For the first time you have shown what can be accomplished if you want it badly enough. This was a learning process in many areas and the things you learned will be useful in the future. I appreciate the progress the Local has made under the leadership of Winnie and Billy. I look forward to more achievements in the political arena in the future and say congratulations on a job well done.
Dick Tully
Received via Email 11.04.09 Hey Dick our union has another leader Rick who you forgot to mention
Received via Email 11.04.09 Thank you Dick for telling the story to many of the members dont want to hear. While I agree with what you are saying I must take this moment to state the facts. Not enough of the members really wanted this, or should I say not enough of them thought they had to do anything more than make sure that a $500.00 check was written to the candidate of choice. They gave of themselves to the tune of $1.34 cents and that was all they were willing to do. Enough of that, yes I concur, thank you to each person that made this an issue that they believed in and thank you to the families that allowed the many extra hours that many of our members spent.
Here's a wake-up call that comes from outside of our ranks...
Losers
The Firefighters: Two years ago, the endorsement of St. Petersburg's Firefighters was the most important in city politics. Today, in the wake of Ford's and Rouson's losses, the Firefighters nod of approval is secondary to the support of the Police's rank-and-file. And with a looming fight with Pinellas County over EMS, it's not a great time for the firefighters union to show weakness
Received via Email 11.05.09 None of us who were in the trenches working to promote our candidates and advance our cause should feel like we are losers. One blogger's opinion does not a union make! It's easy to get behind the heir apparent of the 'obvious choice' but they seldom pay off in the end. We do what we need to do because it's the right thing to do, not because it's expeditious or pleases e-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y.
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
Some just don't choose to ride with us.
Received via Email 11.05.09 Given the fact that several races around the country were lost by Democrats to Republican opponents in a pushback against Obamacare, we really shouldn't be too hard on ourselves for not getting a fiscally conservative Democrat into office. It would seem that the timing was not in our favor no matter how great a candidate we had to back. New Jersey's Governor John Corzine (a Billionaire) in a state that's long been a Democrat stronghold, couldn't outspend his Republican opponent fast enough to win.
While I do wish that our candidate had won, in no way do I view the loss as an indightment against L747. We worked our asses off and we continue to Do The Right Thing every day for our members in spite of the fact that some of them can't find their way to the union hall.
Received via Email 11.05.09
All that's necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." -Benjamin Franklin
"No man who refuses to bear arms in defense of his nation can give a sound reason why he should be allowed to live in a free country" -T. Roosevelt
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who are not." -Thomas Jefferson
Received via Email 11.05.09 Forgot. I look at it this way. Anyone who would not fight for this great country is a COWARD. Cowards have no business on the FD and PD. We have a lot of those people on my Dept. And they should be tried for Treason. Cowards die many deaths where the Valient die only one time.
Received via Email 11.06.09 After yesterdays event in Texas. Does anyone know of any muslims on the dept? Could this be a threat to my safety at the stations if it isnt identified. I did not see any muslims condemning the attack yesterday at the Base. What does that tell you. They condone it. We at the stations need to be extra vigilant for suspicious behaviour or weird things. You never know. Just think the damage a radical muslim in our ranks could do
Received via Email 11.07.09 Yea I think Iva Beene Fartin is at #3 and Youa Sucka Mi Deek is at #7.
Received via Email 11.07.09 Do like everyone else on the job. Keep a gun in your locker.
Received via Email 11.07.09 I may or may not keep a gun in my locker. But, unless you keep it on you it would be too late. We have to find out those people that are out there that want to do us harm because of their religion or group organization. Do not put it past the uhurus to team up with the taliban or al quaeda. The uhurus have threatened politicians before. You never know when they may take it to the next level. I know we have members in the FD that belong to the Uhurus. Is that even legal?
Received via Email 11.07.09 Health care bill passes in the House
OBAMACARE ENDORSEMENTS: WHAT THE BRIBE WAS
By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN
Published on TheHill.com on November 6, 2009
As the suicidal Democratic congressmen proceed to rubber-stamp the Obama healthcare reform despite the drubbing their party took in the '09 elections, the president trotted out the endorsements of the AMA and the AARP to stimulate support. But these -- and the other endorsements -- his package has received are all bought and paid for.
Here are the deals:
* The American Medical Association (AMA) was facing a 21 percent cut in physicians' reimbursements under the current law. Obama promised to kill the cut if they backed his bill. The cuts are the fruit of a law requiring annual 5-6 percent reductions in doctor reimbursements for treating Medicare patients. Bravely, each year Congress has rolled the cuts over, suspending them but not repealing them. So each year, the accumulated cuts threaten doctors. By now, they have risen to 21 percent. With this blackmail leverage, Obama compelled the AMA to support his bill...or else!
* The AARP got a financial windfall in return for its support of the healthcare bill. Over the past decade, the AARP has morphed from an advocacy group to an insurance company (through its subsidiary company). It is one of the main suppliers of Medi-gap insurance, a high-cost, privately purchased coverage that picks up where Medicare leaves off. But President Bush-43 passed the Medicare Advantage program, which offered a subsidized, lower-cost alternative to Medi-gap. Under Medicare Advantage, the elderly get all the extra coverage they need plus coordinated, well-managed care, usually by the same physician. So more than 10 million seniors went with Medicare Advantage, cutting into AARP Medi-gap revenues.
Presto! Obama solved their problem. He eliminates subsidies for Medicare Advantage. The elderly will have to pay more for coverage under Medigap, but the AARP -- which supposedly represents them -- will make more money. (If this galls you, join the American Seniors Association, the alternative group; contact sbarton@americanseniors.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)
* The drug industry backed ObamaCare and, in return, got a 10-year limit of $80 billion on cuts in prescription drug costs. (A drop in the bucket of their almost $3 trillion projected cost over the next decade.) They also got administration assurances that it will continue to bar lower-cost Canadian drugs from coming into the U.S. All it had to do was put its formidable advertising budget at the disposal of the administration.
* Insurance companies got access to 40 million potential new customers. But when the Senate Finance Committee lowered the fine that would be imposed on those who don't buy insurance from $3,500 to $1,500, the insurance companies jumped ship and now oppose the bill, albeit for the worst of motives.
The only industry that refused to knuckle under was the medical device makers. They stood for principle and wouldn't go along with Obama's blackmail. So the Senate Finance Committee retaliated by imposing a tax on medical devices such as automated wheelchairs, pacemakers, arterial stents, prosthetic limbs, artificial knees and hips and other necessary accoutrements of healthcare.
So these endorsements are not freely given, but bought and paid for by an administration that is intent on passing its program at any cost.
Received via Email 11.07.09 The House had begun debate on the nearly $1.1 trillion health care bill. Pelosi's office has said the bill would cut the federal deficit by roughly $30 billion over the next decade. Net cost to the taxpayers of this country - $1,070,000,000,000 thats One trillion seventy billion dollars that we and and our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great grandchildren will have to pay for. This is going to save our country money and not be a deficit. I wonder who taught those idiots math.
Received via Email 11.08.09 Obama is an idiot. Anyone considering dropping in the next few years better hang on to their ass if they expect to have any pension left after they pony up for healthcare. F*cking democrats.
Received via Email 11.09.09 Yeah, lets blame it ALL on the Democrats. This city has been run by Republicans for years and we are in constant fear of losing our future benefits, no benefits for new hires and no chances of future improvements. Tell how much better we are now? Also if you are elegible to drop do it now. Dont wait another day. Five more years of the unknown is to much of a gamble to leave in the hands of the punisher and his henchmen.
Received via Email 11.10.09 Is is just me or is calling station 12 to ask about time off a hassle? I rarely take time off but when I do I'd rather not hear the groans coming from the other end of the phone when I make the call
Received via Email 11.13.09 Well we will get what is coming to us in the city and country. They did To Ford what they did to Curtsinger. The city does not want an educated white person in charge or it will be the end of corruption for the people in there. They could not afford to have FORD in office or there would be arrests and firings. I mean how Foster can keep Chief Large after he makes the statement. "Even if I was given the money I wouldnt properly staff the trucks". Is this kind of leader you want? If someone dies because of manpower the chief just sealed the citys fate in court with that statement. Also when are we going to stop being politically corrrect to all the minority groups and now the muslims. This behavior has hurt our contry more than anything else. And will continue to do so till we stop it and say enough is enough. We need to take back our COuntry and make it great again.
TEAM: Great site but where's Ayn?
Received via Email 11.13.09 Atlas, but she's dead....or is she? Great notice there author. It's all going to come around. It always does. It's cyclic.
Received via Email 11.13.09 When did Large say he wouldn't staff the trucks if he had the money? I smell some misquoting here.
"If they gave me the money tomorrow," Large said, "my minimum on a ladder truck would still be two."
Received via Email 11.13.09 The actual quote is more damaging than the misquote. I reread the whole article and couldn't believe that I also read, "Whether I put six men on a truck or two men on a truck, when there's a fire I make sure I have a minimum of 15 people show up," Large said. "If they get there on 15 trucks or one truck, I don't know what the risk is."
An emperor hires two tailors who promise to make him a set of remarkable new clothes that will be invisible to anyone who is either incompetent or stupid. When the emperor goes to see his new clothes, he sees nothing at all — for the tailors are swindlers and there aren't any clothes. Afraid of being judged incompetent or stupid, the emperor pretends to be delighted with the new clothes and “wears” them in a grand parade through the town. Everyone else also pretends to see them, until a child yells out, “He hasn't got any clothes on!”
Received via Email 11.14.09 Im sorry I misquoted the article. My bad. Thanks though for letting everyone know the real truth. Thanks.
Received via Email 11.14.09 The chief doesn't want to put the trucks out of service like Clearwater does when their manning drops down. Makes sense to me. A truck at a fire with two guys has more potential to be helpful than a truck with nobody on it back at the firehouse. That seems pretty simple. Sure, four guys is better. So is three. But this is the real world, not the fantasy land that lots of you guys seem to live in.
Seeing that the city is more interested in reducing manpower than increasing it, it obviously makes more sense to reduce minimum manning instead of putting trucks out of service. Again, this is real world thinking, not fantasy land.
The only arguments against the chief's theory call for "wishing." Wishing is what we tried when the probies were losing their jobs. We wished like hell that the city would magically change their minds and open up their rainy day bank accounts. We wished and we wished and we wished. Then we wished some more! We just kept wishing as the probies were turning in their bunker gear instead of just saving their jobs ourselves by reaching into our holiday pay. Lots of nice blustery arguments, but wishing let us down. Damn that fantasy land strategy!
Seems to me that wishing is a poor substitute for actual brotherhood. But then I don't live in fantasy land.
Received via Email 11.14.09 Any engine with less than four and any truck with less than five should remain in quarters. Hard fact to hear, but without proper manning, the job should always be done safely, and two and three man rigs is unsafe period!
Received via Email 11.14.09 Again, when did it become the firefighters responsibilty to fund the cities payroll? (Holiday pay give back)
Received via Email 11.14.09 There you go again: four man engines and five man trucks--- WISH WISH WISH! How's life in fantasy land?
And true, payroll is not our responsibility, but brotherhood is. While you were explaining your job description, you let the city f*ck five of your brothers. Congratulations on understanding your minimal responsibilities. The city did exactly what cities do while you did nothing but watch. Good job brother f*cker.
Received via Email 11.14.09 http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/st-petersburg-city-council-delays-rainy-day-fund-deposit/1049667 RAINY DAY FUND stuck in my head so I did a little search on the Times web site for it. Read this and tell me you don't feel lke you've been played. How is it that we've got members who constantly work against all of us by wanting to pick our pockets for money when the city keeps falling over piles of it? I personally don't remember employing anyone but I do remember the city employing several new guys at the same time Charlie Crist was pushing for propasition 1. It stunk then and it stinks now. If you think keeping people on the job with holiday time that we bargained for is smart please keep that under your hat. I don't want Winnie to go into negotiations in the future with city council laughing behind our backs at this bunch of assholes that just bailed them out of a situation that THEY created. If the new guys were treated better by management they'd be clawing to get back here. We know that's not happening now is it? Another thing........ when Large stood before council and told them he'd done EVERYTHING could, he meant to say he'd done EVERYTHING THAT HE CARED TO DO. If the mayor hadn't stopped him he'd still be making promotions.
Received via Email 11.14.09 The chiefs in the video are just full of shit. I know for a fact that none of them bounced their ideas off of Large of Baker before getting all blabby for the video. St. Pete's a JUGGERNAUT!
Received via Email 11.15.09 Hey 11.14.09 #5 how much of YOUR paycheck did you give to the 5 brothers? Sounds like you're part of the city admin. and part of the problem!
Received via Email 11.15.09 Lets face it, this place isn't what it used to be. The goofs that put the new guys thru the fire academy are all frustrated Rambo wannabe's. Just when thee new guys think they're free of these frustrated drill instructors, half of them turn our to work at St. Pete where they treat them like shit. Ask any of the new guys and they'll tell you that going through the MFS isn't an opportunity to learn about anything but pushing a mop. New guys show up and all the lazy asses at the station get lazier. No wonder they don't want to come back to this nonsense.
Received via Email 11.15.09 Word has it that the new Lealman boys have asked the city to bring Coleman Vail back before picking up any of them. Apparently Lealman put them all on the same shift together and they've gotten closer through adversity. Winnie and HR are cool with bringing Vail back first but Large wants no part of it. Large has a bigger problem than he could have ever imagined and he's about to get egg all over his face again and again and again. If you wrote a book and put all this shit in it you would have to title it 101 Ways Labor Unions Fool Everyone Into Believing Management's Really In Control.
Received via Email 11.15.09 Please. Do you really think any of our chiefs care about us. Now that they have a mayor that they want in office. Whatever they say will go. Foster is a "nice guy" and thats all he ever will be. Tell you one thing and do another. Just like Baker, Large and Wimberly and the rest of HQ. Our chiefs could care less if we live or die. Oh yes they would show up at the funeral and give some big sermon on how great they are. I have told my family that if I die in the line of duty I do not want any of the chiefs or city leaders there because I know they are phony. Why doesnt our union do a vote of confidence on the leadership of the dept?
Received via Email 11.15.09 pssssst, over here, Glenn Beckis a pecker head, and so are you!
Received via Email 11.16.09 Bill o reily and Glenn Beck are going to be at the Sundome on Jan 29th at 7 pm. Also. People are only offended by the truth.
Received via Email 11.16.09 11/15 #2- I happen to be a former MFS ff but apparrently on a different shift than the one your refering to. The B shift there has turned out some pretty stand up guys who are well respected even with little time on. Not saying it is just them, but probies do far more on the B shift downtown than push a broom or mop. I could understand if it were "A" or "c" shift you were talkin about. I think A shift is responsible for half the quiters and C shift is responsible for the lazy ones.
Received via Email 11.16.09 I Bill and Glenn in Tampa............I just got the email today and all the good seats are already gone! http://www.boldfreshtour.com/
Police Honor Fla. FF for Saving Officer's Life
"The firefighters continued to distract Cruz. O'Berry went to his car and got his Glock .40 and ran after Cruz as the paramedics attended to Rua, who suffered a broken arm and fractured skull. Cruz pointed Rua's gun but O'Berry fired, striking him several times. Police Officer Joseph DeRogatis also fired at Cruz. The paramedics rushed to tend to Cruz after he was shot, but he later died."
Received via Email 11.16.09 If that happened here Zamp would have written you up for doing your job too well and he not looking good.
Received via Email 11.16.09 The astonishingly high cost of health care "reform"
Posted Nov 16, 2009 at 01:32 PM
Updated Nov 16, 2009 at 02:07 PM
Cassie Smedile, U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite's press secretary, alerts us to parallel reports from publications not ordinarily regarded as Republican-friendly, both concluding - as the GOP has asserted from the start - that Nancy Pelosi's recently passed health care "reform" bill is bad news. Bad news for seniors, who will face benefits cuts and access to care (death panels, anyone?). And bad news for anyone sensitive to medical care price increases.
GO OBAMA!!!!
Received via Email 11.16.09 Watch to see how long it takes Tampa to sell out of the Bill and Glenn tickets. I checked earlier on the good seats and they were already gone. By tomorrow Tampa will probably be sold out. For a pair of supposed assholes that everyone supposedly hates, they sure sold out of those $120 tickets in a hurry.
Received via Email 11.16.09 A vote of No Confidence only matters if your city administration cares about its employees. I dont see anything shocking happening here.
Received via Email 11.16.09 Wasting good $$'s on cock O'reily and anal gland Beck? what an assknocker you are! Spend your money where it counts, Mons Venus!
Received via Email 11.16.09 I love it. Firefighter ON DUTY goes to his car that's parked ON FD PROPERTY got get his GLOCK to pop a perp. You gotta love FLORIDA LAW.
Received via Email 11.17.09 Dude, you weren't kidding. Beck and O'reilly sold out Tampa overnight! I guess they don't have to wait on the bell anymore.
Received via Email 11.17.09 It's already started --- HEALTH CARE RATIONING!
Received via Email 11.18.09 Hey does Chief Johnson have any good attorneys to represent him besides the union. And how come the paper isnt notified?
Received via Email 11.18.09 Here is a little quiz that some of you may want to take or have your officer take:
Received via Email 11.19.09 saw a Rubio sticker on one of our members car today. WTF are you thinking? Remember amendment 1 a**hole? He isnt finished yet. Florida will be an all volunteer state if he continues and our people continue on their mis-guided ways
Received via Email 11.19.09 What is wrong with Bob McKee? He did a great job for Lt. Martin. Kicked the city's and both Jimmies butts.
Received via Email 11.19.09 Why would Richie need any attorney than the one he's had sitting besides him every step of the way? As a brother recently told me............
A. We don't bring the fight to them, they bring the fight to us
B. We actually like to fight for our firefighters, not against them
C. We like to do the right thing
Received via Email 11.19.09 Do the right thing? Like watch five probies lose their jobs? We sure dropped that ball.
Received via Email 11.19.09 Carnac the Magnificent predicts, the two EMT's will be back with us and the three Medics will remain with a department that isn't so full of itself as to use it's people as pawns.
Received via Email 11.20.09 Let the health care RATIONING begin! GO OBAMA!!!!!
Received via Email 11.20.09 How old do you have to be to make Carnac the Magnificent references? Save a probie and consider retirement.
Received via Email 11.23.09 choices choices hitler or large. hmmm thats tough.
Received via Email 11.23.09 Boy oh boy. That Glenn Beck sure has the people fooled. In one of his bookstore stops this weekend here in Florida an estimated 35,000 people showed up to be fooled.
Received via Email 11.25.09 Nahhh... can't print that.
Received via Email 11.25.09 No the only one that is a fool is you and the Communnist News Network!
Received via Email 11.25.09 The Senate Democrats' bill, unveiled last week, would impose a 40% tax on insurance premiums above $8,500 for an individual and $23,000 for a family. Those thresholds represent the total paid by both employer and employee. Yea, no tax increases for people making under $250,000. YEA RIGHT! GO OBAMA!!!
Received via Email 11.26.09 Great article about Eddie Jackson:
Received via Email 12.01.09 Dear Obama Haters,
I am convinced that close to 90% of you have no clue what you're even protesting.
If it's the debt or the deficit, where were you the last eight years? You scream about ignoring the Constitution, but when pressed for specific examples you stutter on about Socialism. Most of you don't even know the definition of socialism, it's just a buzzword rich corporate sponsors injected into the debate to further their own agenda.
You shout people down in town halls while they talk about loved ones who were denied care by health insurance company "death panels." Classy.
And stop calling it a "government take over of health care," if anything, the current bills are the opposite, driving more people into the free-market health care system and making those insurers even wealthier. Shouldn't that make you happy?
Also, Please stop bringing up the founding fathers. You did not know them. You do not have some sort of special access to their views on the current debate if they were alive today. For all you know, they would have voted for Barack Obama.
If you want to go back to the days of the founding fathers as your misspelled signs and civil war garb suggests, you will also have to give up the following:
Cars,Sneakers,Fast food.Telephones,Chocolate chip cookies,Fox News,Medicare,Rush Limbaugh,Automatic weapons.
I knew those last two would change your mind. Oh, and the founding fathers read....a lot, and not books by Glenn Beck.
Maybe you should start by reading the Constitution, I suggest Article I Section 8.
Received via Email 12.01.09 We need to change this union's consitution and by-laws now so that we can properly identify members who are not in good standing. Mark Sweet spent the day calling around to all the stations urging people to opt out of giving pool time. Mark hasn't been to a union meeting in forever and is the worst example of a good dues paying member. He's a member whose dues money we can afford to lose.
Received via Email 12.01.09
There once was a shit stirring guy
Whose nickname was "company spy"
He claimed to be a "brother"
But could find no other
He was cut-off and simply allowed to die
Received via Email 12.02.09 Still laughing at the idea of our slave owning founding fathers voting for Hussein Obama. Good one.
Received via Email 12.02.09 New Haven Firefighters Promoted After Winning Landmark Supreme Court Case
Received via Email 12.02.09 I guess the Tampa PD got a nice contract. How do they get those things along with their FD and we do not? Oh thats right. They have a real mayor and admin.
Received via Email 12.02.09 I wonder what all the captains who are looking to be promoted are thinking about Sweet's comments on the phone when administration is pushing for downsizing in middle management? There aren't any DC's who are giving to the pool time account and many of the captains looking to get promoted are kissing the master's ring and are in the same boat. Adamides is the first one not to contribute to your welfare and mine. So Mark gets his way and a few more don't contribute to pool time. Come the day admin decide to cut some middle management positions I wonder how hard any of these guys think the union is going to fight to keep those positions when they don't contribute shit. Where's Marks supposed promotion going to come from when Knight and Large get their way and cut middle management positions? I wouldn't be shocked to learn that Foster is onboard with these cutbacks either. Funny how you'll all kiss the devils ring but you won't do right by your brothers and sisters in the union.
Received via Email 12.02.09 “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them” (Romans 16:17).
Received via Email 12.03.09 Maybe our Union attorney at negotiations should take notes from Tampas. She is was the leading force in their new contract.
Received via Email 12.03.09 I say throw out the bums!
Received via Email 12.03.09 Funny...I spoke to Sweet on Tues. and he never urged me to opt-out. I guess people are putting their own spin on the subject. Personally, I'm glad to have the information and wonder why it didn't come from a union official. I guess it was left out like during the explanation meeting...funny. I would also like to thank the person offering scripture...guess you don't realize that christianity and unionism do not exactly blend...remember the Masons. Beware of organizations who have an agenda that doesn't positively affect the masses.
Thursday December 10th; A-shift
and
Friday December 11th; B-shift
11:00AM to 4:00 PM
St. Petersburg Association of Fire Fighters
Attention: All members and friends of The St. Petersburg Association of Fire Fighters
5240 1st Avenue North
Come and enjoy the company of your brothers and sisters at the Annual Union Office get-together. We will be having a two-day event at the office to allow everyone a chance to reminisce over the events that have taken place during 2009, and to meet the new employees that have been hired during the past year.
There will be food and drinks provided for all, so come and enjoy yourself and finish out the year with pleasant memories.
Received via Email 12.05.09 I wonder why the union dont warn us in advance when we will receive the burden of a pay increase?
Received via Email 12.07.09 To 12-3-09 #3
"Funny...I spoke to Sweet on Tues. and he never urged me to opt-out. I guess people are putting their own spin on the subject."
So you're saying he had some positive things to say about the union and that he was asking people to weigh their options? Right!
"Personally, I'm glad to have the information and wonder why it didn't come from a union official. I guess it was left out like during the explanation meeting...funny."
Information? Wonder? Can't use a phone? What information are you talking about? We haven't had an informational meeting for months so I don't know what meeting you're talking about. Maybe you meant UNION MEETING? See, if you came to one of them instead of going to Mark Sweet who doesn't attend them you would look like a hero right now because you could have asked all the questions you wanted and gotten all the answers without going to someone who doesn't know shit about shit. Some people actually pick up the phone when they want to know what's going on.
One thing everyone of us needs to know is that giving pool time is not a novel idea. It's done all over the state and it's the oil that keeps the engine running. Large doesn't want you or me or anyone in the union hall to regularly use pool time because it hurts their cause. You really need to think about a few facts.
The fire chief and his staff work FULL TIME to protect what they got, not what you want.
HR works against us FULL TIME and if there's ever a question of loyalty, they're loyal to dept. heads not you and me.
The city employs an entire floor of attorneys that will work FULL TIME against you and me and spares no expense.
The fire chief and his peeps regularly cozy up to us just to gain our trust. They prey on the weak minded FULL TIME.
Try this on for size. When the dept. holds you accountable for something and you disagree, what do you do? You go with tail between your legs to the union and ask the union to spend money to defend you. But when the union holds you accountable for running this operation and you disagree, you proudly proclaim that you're going to pull your whopping 5 hours vacation time contribution off the table like a little bitch.
Received via Email 12.07.09 Let me say this to all of you that have a problem with donating to UNION POOL TIME. You need to really think about what happened to me. I spent 34 years on this department and was only reprimanded ONCE and that became a non issue, no discipline. Then I refused to sign a legal document that could be upheld in a court of law. This was not just another piece of paper that the city or department wanted signed, it was something that had the potential of financially devastating myself and my family (this is the same one that all of you had signed prior to me not signing). Then the full forces of Large, Wimberly and the City of St. Petersburg came to bear down on me. Remember that I did not violate any rule or policy of the fire department or of the city except to refuse an UNLAWFUL order and their presumption that I was the ring leader of a conspiracy to change the way the City administers the physicals (which I was NOT). I did not get in an accident, damage any equipment, lose any equipment, or any other of the many minor infractions that the administration likes to hang on us. If there were no time donated to the UNION how are the officials supposed to defend YOU? That's not counting the countless hours they put in working on our contract, legislative matters both on the local, state, and federal level to help firefighters. The city is the one that will BENEFIT from you not donating. The less time that the UNION has available to them the less they have to defend YOU! What will YOU say when you get in trouble (and you will) and the union tells you, sorry but we can't defend you because we have no pool time available to us. Will you have to go and defend yourself against the city legal department and HR, maybe? Good luck. Again 5 hours of time is a very small token of gratitude to show the union leaders that we care about what you do for us and to the city the solidarity that we have.
Fraternally,
Bob Martin
Received via Email 12.07.09 Bob is right. To put it another way, if you opt out of donating pool time you are a brother f***ing piece of shit c********r.
TEAM: We get it. We get it.
Received via Email 12.08.09 These faggots that opt out of pool time are the same brother fu**ers that were against saving the probies jobs on SPFR with pool time.
Received via Email 12.09.09 I hope to see you at the union's Christmas party, Bobby.
Received via Email 12.09.09 Speaking of time donations, why make it mandatory? People should give of their own conscience and free will. I would bet that most of those who have opted-out have given time, gladly, in the past. Others are probably tired of donating since the president is off on union time all of the time. Does this bother anybody?
TEAM: As another member said on one of the other pages, recently, there's a plethora of people employed full time by the city, not to mention at the state and national levels (ICMA and League of Cities to mention a few) that don't rely on donations of time given by their constituents to bend you and me over.
"...why make it mandatory?" It's not mandatory. It's an option because your fire chief persuaded HR to create an opt-out provision and that's the best they were offering at the time.
"I would bet that most of those who have opted-out have given time, gladly, in the past." Willing to bet future pay and benefits on it? And why would you mandatorily pay union dues to help ensure that you employ the latest methods to advance your cause but then stop short of using them? It's akin to the city purchasing tools and then hiring mechanics to work on fire apparatus and then not providing them with the time needed to go to school to learn how to use the tools they just bought for them to use.
Why would anyone be tired of seeing their union president appear in Washington D.C. (last week and you didn't even know it) or at the city's last budget cleanup meeting, (this past month) or in council chambers working to increase this lame department's manning or in a myriad of venues trying to secure better wages and terms and conditions of employment? Why can't you accept that there has to be someone on the wall - 24/7, safeguarding you and your family? The TEAM could care less if our union president ever shows up in a fire station again. Open up your eyes and see what's coming down the pike. You're about to be robbed of more benefits while the city packs nearly $300M in the bank -- and you're worried about whether or not one of three people protecting your way of life is shoveling shit out a window at 3 AM? That's fucked up! Stop listening to one fire chief who's trying to protect his $17,000 a month and start listening to one union president who's trying to protect the wages and benefits of three hundred.
Received via Email 12.09.09 How about this. Lets settle things the old fashion way. In a boxing ring. How about it Sweet. Me and you in a ring. Alot of us here at the MFS would love to get you in the ring. Are you man enough or would you be an admin coward and not accept the challenge. Let me see. 1st you would complain to the chief and then to Obama if you didnt get your way.
Received via Email 12.09.09 Sometime you must ask any of the 3 Elected Officers whom they have seen on the same planes while traveling, seen in the halls of the Florida Capital or while in this Nation's Capital. Better yet ask whom has sat in the same meetings when they have attended labor Relations and Pension Seminars. I'm willing to bet, you will be surprised that your city has no problems sending 1, 2, or even 3 people to these same events and places. I dont know if I have ever heard anyone including the 941 followers complain that those on 40 hour work weeks are gone more often than they are in the building. Does Todd with two D's ring a bell? I didnt think so. What a bunch of panty wastes. I'll stick with giving my 5 annual plus 24 quarterly hours so MY UNION can CONTINUE protecting my rghts and learning more than the enemy. We all need someone on that wall and I want the best we have to have every chance that is available to them to stay one step ahead.
Received via Email 12.09.09 GO TEAM! I don't do all that I can do to make this a better place but at least I don't work against myself.
Received via Email 12.10.09 Anyone who forgot to go the the union's party yesterday missed a great time. If you can make it by tommorrow you ought to and thank you to Winnie, Rick and Bill for putting on a great party.
Retired, not missing the bullshit but missing my friends.
Received via Email 12.11.09 What a great Christmas party at the union hall today. I saw old friends that I haven't seen in a while and even heard one say that he was sorry that he'd stayed away from the union hall all these years and that every time he's been there recently he's had a hell of a time. I also enjoyed the spiral cut ham and the smoked chicken and ribs and the rolls and the stuffing and the sweet potato sufflet (sp) and the Hook n Ladder beer. Mostly, I sat back and enjoyed being with some of the best friends that a man can be blessed to have. Tom Kitchen came by and provided some great insight while Andy Shea kept us all in stitches. Stan Wasielewski came by in between calls to eat some lunch. Stan's driving a wheelchair transport van a few days a week and is still smiling. Stan wants everyone downtown to know that he thanks them for his latest EMT renewal. The twin towers from 9A cam by and gave Bernie Williams a huge manly double team hug. They lifted him off the ground a couple of times causing him to go to the little boys room to adjust something. While I have never met Norm Legue before, he's a very nice man in his 80's who's been doing well since he left in 1983. He's Garth Swingle's grandpa. Norm told us all how much he loved the job and that he thought it was the best job in the world. He wasn't the only one to say that today. I also found it very nice to see people come in and say thank you, over and over again to our principle officers for protecting the brotherhood because they know the wolves are always just outside the door.
Received via Email 12.11.09 12.09 #4 Attach your name so Sweet will know who to ask for.
Received via Email 12.11.09 12.10.09, You so need a life, or a strong mental health couselor.
Received via Email 12.13.09 GO LEALMAN!
Received via Email 12.13.09 The Christmas party was first rate. I was impressed with everything from the food to the flowers on the tables. Winnie, Billy and Rick do a great job making us all look good. It looks like we've invested in all the good stuff and don't have to ask the city for anything. I'm just wondering how much of our stuff Large and company are going to beg to borrow because don't care to invest in good relations.
Received via Email 12.14.09 Check this out. A little bird told me that they've installed this technology at Fire HQ. I don't go there. http://www.idstronghold.com/
Received via Email 12.14.09 ***Firefighter Michael Hudkins resigned effective 12/28/09. His last shift will be 12/27/09.*** Well, we've managed to run another one off. I hope the union is keeping track of all of these guys that are being run off. Hudkins ought to go after Fatburger for creating a hostile work environment that was pushed by the new 941 chief. And to think that we used to laugh at smaller departments.
FRONTLINE NEWS ALERT
December 15, 2009
To My Brother and Sister Fire Fighters and IAFF Members:
In 1988, I retired from the love of my working life, the Fire Department of New York. For 32 years I gave my all - my guts, my heart and yes, my knees - and I gave it at 110 percent. I spent 20 years on 31 Truck in the South Bronx, housed with Engine 82 in what we called "La Casa Grande." As the South Bronx burned, we put out fire after fire, tour after tour. And as a fire fighter I gave 110 percent.
I left the Bronx in 1977 when I was promoted to Lieutenant and was assigned to Ladder 26 in Harlem, quartered with Engine 58 as "The Fire Factory." Similar to the fire activities in the Bronx, we were doing over 6,000 runs annually. And as a fire officer I gave 110 percent.
From my first day on the job, I was a proud member of this IAFF. I served as a Company Delegate, then on the Executive Board as the Financial Recording Secretary of Local 94, the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York. After being promoted, I became a Battalion Delegate and then was elected to the Executive Board of Local 854, the New York Uniformed Fire Officers Association, as a Lieutenant's Representative, and within one year I was elected President. And as a local union official, I gave 110 percent.
During this time, I was the First Vice-Chairman of the largest fire fighter pension fund in the United States and Canada, then over $2 billion. I chaired the annuity trust fund for my local and worked to increase it from $6 million in 1978 to $36 million when I left 10 years later. And for the sound and prudent financial management of my union members' money, I gave 110 percent.
We worked for our members tirelessly, during labor strife, layoffs and even a short-lived strike, increasing their pay, benefits and retirement. We worked to improve our members' life and medical insurance, as well as the continued and improved benefits for our retirees and widows. And I gave 110 percent.
We drafted and worked to implement legislation that directly affected our members' lives, including changes in the New York State Toxic Tort Law which gave injured fire fighters the right to sue for their injuries and exposures. We aggressively and passionately lobbied for the passage of fire fighter occupational health and safety legislation, including the New York State Right-to-Know Law, the New York State Public Employee Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the New York State Fire Gas Toxicity Legislation. We also drafted and fought hard for the New York State First Line Supervisors Program, which provided training, at the expense of the State of New York, for newly promoted first line supervisors for ALL paid fire departments in the state. Each of these legislative successes remains in effect for fire fighters today, and it was our union that won these legislative battles. And I gave 110 percent.
During my presidency of Local 854, we were the first in the state to be awarded funds to develop a safety and health office within our local, which allowed us to hire professional health and safety personnel, conduct seminars and send bi-monthly health and safety newsletters to each of our union members. When the IAFF asked, I proudly represented them on numerous NFPA committees, addressing fire fighter health and safety, incident command, infectious diseases and safety officers. I was a charter member on the NFPA 1500 committee and assisted in drafting the first edition of that standard ? 26 years ago! I am on the Board of Directors of the NFPA to ensure that issues affecting the IAFF are addressed in their standards. And I gave 110 percent.
Of course, my proudest union moment came in 1988 when I was elected as this great union's General Secretary-Treasurer. I accepted the challenge to serve as the IAFF's financial officer, leaving my beloved city and retiring from the only job I ever wanted to have, a union fire fighter.
During my 21 years as your General Secretary-Treasurer, I partnered with our General President and the IAFF Executive Board to take our union's finances and administration to a place we never dreamed of just a few years before. We implemented new programs, updated processes and provided tools to the affiliates to assist with membership and accounting issues. We have worked diligently to grow our membership, not just in finances and numbers, but also in influence, especially within the North American labor movement. We have spent your union dues money wisely and our membership is getting the most for their per capita dollar, particularly in this tough economic time. And despite some difficult financial years, we continued to significantly increase our level of services to our members. And I gave 110 percent.
The lowest moment in my life was of course September 11, 2001. I walked Ground Zero with General President Harold Schaitberger, talking to our members and digging to find our comrades. As I read list after list of the names of the fallen Brothers -- many my dearest and closest friends -- as I sat and worked with the executive boards of Local 94 and 854, I knew we as a union needed to rise where we never had been before -- and we did. It became the proudest time in my career. We came to the plate and provided for our New York locals, our members and the families of the living and the lost. We gave our all and I gave 110 percent.
It has now come the time in my cherished union career, as one of your principal officers, to retire. After 32 years of climbing ladders, humping tools and crawling through smoke-filled hallways and over the thousands of parapets, combined with over 50 years of union work as a fire fighter representing fire fighters, this body of mine just can't give anymore.
I won't allow myself to hold onto such a critically important office just to maintain the position when I know I can no longer give that 110 percent, and so I am now regrettably ready to turn over these reigns and leave a job that I love for the second time.
But I am not going far away. I have assured Harold and our Executive Board that I will work with them and our next General Secretary-Treasurer to assure a smooth transition. I will continue to serve and counsel our great union, whenever and wherever the call arises.
And I will spend my time -- time that I have often missed over the past 50 years -- with my wife, Linda, as well as my children, Janice, Suzanne, Chrissy, Kathy, and my six grandchildren.
It has been a great ride. May God bless each and every one of you -- my brothers, my sisters, my fire fighters, my friends!
Fraternally,
Vincent J. Bollon
Received via Email 12.17.09 Vince, I appreciate your sincerity, but I don't know if I would let a guy near a trust fund that actually thought it was possible to give more than 100%. It's physically and mathematically impossible.
Received via Email 12.17.09 If this health plan is so great for the American people why is it that even the democrats can't get 60 people to vote for it? Seems to me that if it was a great plan like the left wing liberals say, all 100 senators would be voting for it. I mean after all this is what we what isn't it? NOT!!
Received via Email 12.17.09 To the 12.17 MUTT that decided a stupid comment was necessary, When you get close to putting in the 10% of Mr. Bollon's impossible 110% then you can make your uneducated remark. Otherwise you should fly to DC and tell him of your disappointment, yourself.
Received via Email 12.19.09 MUTT? I'm a mutt because I point out a mathematic impossibility stated by a man with a history of being responsible for other people's money? Pay attention this time as I type extra slow just for you: You can't give more than 100% of anything. Try it sometime. Take only $50 into a store and try to spend 110% of it. When you realize that it is impossible, you will know that it's a stupid thing to say.
It's like the word "literally." When you say something like "that fire literally killed me," or "I literally knocked that guy's head off," or as the guy that called me a MUTT might say; "I literally throated that guy until his dick fell off." If you literally did these things you would be either dead, in jail, or dating a dickless guy.
Regarding the 110% dude, I'm not saying he's a bad guy. I'm merely pointing out that I wouldn't ask him to help my kids with their math homework. Now calm down, stop throwing the MUTT term around so loosely, and have a nice holiday. Don't make me literally crawl through cyberspace, enter your home through your computer, and whip 110% of yours and your boyfriend's asses.
Received via Email 12.19.09 Again, who wants this health care bill? Not even 60 liberal democrat senators want it!! So why are they trying to shove it down the throats of the American people?
TEAM: It's hard to stop Socialism's 'death by a thousand cuts'...
Received via Email 12.19.09 A few years ago couldn't you get a 110% loan for your home purchase? Just saying.
Received via Email 12.19.09 "Now -- for the first time -- there is a clear majority in the Senate that's willing to stand up to the insurance lobby and embrace lasting health insurance reforms that have eluded us for generations," Obama said. "Let's bring this long and vigorous debate to an end." After bribing and threatening to withhold funds from their states he finaly got 60 votes. So 60 people will DICTATE what the American people will have. No matter come all those democrats up for election WILL be voted out. If by some slim stretch of the imagination it does get slammed down our throats, in 2012 the next President will just issue an executive order to rescind this socialistic bill.
TEAM: And Midterms are going to be a slaughterhouse.
Received via Email 12.19.09 Yes, you can factor over 100% of a monetary value. And a stock can increase by several hundred percent. But it is still impossible to give more than 100% of your potential energy. Anyone who says that they gave 110% to a cause is a f***ing c*******er dumbass liar.
Received via Email 12.20.09 I'll stick with a mans math that has been responsible for overseeing multi million dollar budgets any day. If anyone else would rather stick with someone of less possiblites then you had better get used to your kids living at home for the rest of your life.
Received via Email 12.23.09 The official White House Christmas Tree, which features controversial ornaments including an orb depicting Mao Zedong and another showing drag queen Hedda Lettuce. WAY TO GO.....OBAMA FOREVER! NOT.
Received via Email 12.24.09 All of your Faux and Obama hating crap belongs on the Bullshit page, where maybe the BS can be understood by you mentally challanged numb nutts. News Flash: Senate passes historic health care bill.
Received via Email 12.24.09 Trouble is what is being done by the democRATS isn't BS. This is the straight dope that they are shoving down our throats. News Flash: They WILL get theirs in 2010 and 2012.
Received via Email 12.24.09 God Bless you Lt Kasper (Orlando FD).....God Speed!
Received via Email 12.24.09 Hillsborough firefighter and part-time restaurateur dies in North Carolina accident.
Received via Email 12.27.09 You got to feel a little sorry for the C shift. Hoping to be rid of the doe man only to watch him have more power than ever on their shift. At least Rosie or Rock will bring some normality back to the C once Moore leaves. A bright note for the new year.
Received via Email 12.28.09 Here's a few sentences taken out of context (admittedly) but still worthy of some consideration when defining the cronies who hang with the new Mayor and his predesessor. Talk about honor among thieves. And then Foster has the stones to say he doesn't know the guy. Make your own judgements as to just how trustworthy the new Mayor might be and watch closely how the public will be manipulated into cheering when Baker is made head of SPC. It would have only taken a little more help to get Kathleen elected and we couldn't muster it. Those who DID work made a monumental push in getting the firefighter's union into the mainstream. After this Baker clone gets through with us I can't help thinking political action will mean something to EVERY member.
Quoted for an article on the Tampa Bay Times site on 12.28.09
-------------------------------------------------------------
Convicted of theft and perjury, disbarred and divorced, onetime rising local political star Angelo Cappelli has landed in an unlikely place.
His employer: Republican political operative Nick Hansen's Poli Solutions Consulting.
Cappelli began working for the 27-year-old Hansen's firm while on work release from prison and continued after his sentence was complete, court records show.
Hansen's firm, incorporated in St. Petersburg, worked for Mayor-elect Bill Foster's campaign in the final months of this fall's election. Before that, Hansen worked for unsuccessful mayoral candidate Deveron Gibbons and as a field operative for presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Hansen is currently helping St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker with his bid to be St. Petersburg College's next president.
Hansen declined to elaborate on what Cappelli does for Monroe's firm.
Foster paid $4,500 to Hansen's firm's Safety Harbor address in September and October, according to his campaign finance reports. But Foster said Cappelli was never part of his campaign.
Received via Email 12.31.09 What some of you may have not seen was a picture of the oh so respectable Jimmy Large endorsing his buddy and now ex convict Angelo Cappelli on Cappelli's web site when he was running for office and robbing old ladies of their savings. They're all corrupt and in bed together.
Received via Email 12.31.09 Bad fire chiefs are a dime a dozen and this city's got plenty of money to spend on them.
Received via Email 01.03.10 GREAT youtube video! It does say it all. Obama and all of his croonies are going down!
Received via Email 01.04.10 You know I forgot when I got up this morning that there was global warming. So I went out in my shorts and no shirt and realized it was cold.
Received via Email 01.05.10 Why don't you politico's stop bitchin about the national governemnt, and start zeroing in on our current,local and future mess? So what your guy/girl didn't get elected, get over it. The country will decide who rules next time around. Think locally, because if you, or a family member loses their job, because you didn't support Ford, just how excited will you be to wear a Palin for Pres pin? FTM, and fight local battles.
Received via Email 01.06.10 I would be PROUD to wear a Palin for President pin..........sure beats the one that we have now, ashamed to wear an American Flag pin.
Benefit for the Kubala Family
Attention all members. There will be a fund raising benefit this Friday to help out the family of one of our retired members. It would be a great help if you could attend.
Received via Email 01.06.10 Hey Mark. Are you going to be at the fundraiser to help a fellow brother? Oh no probably not. There is no way you can screw him or get him in trouble. How's life now that your DC boy had to switch shifts? I know Richie isnt fond of you.
Received via Email 01.06.10 What happened to Paul Kubala and his family?
TEAM: The economy and Joyce has CA.
Okay, put on your firefighter hat. What's wrong with this picture?
Received via Email 01.06.10 The Kenneth City Fire mentioned above had two of the guys St. Pete Layed off at that fire helping to save that woman. Way to go guys. You did good staying with Lealman. You will have a much better and appreciated career there than St. Cheapersburg.
Benefit for the Kubala Family
Attention all members. There will be a fund raising benefit this Friday to help out the family of one of our retired members. It would be a great help if you could attend.
Received via Email 01.07.10 You wrote:Received via Email 01.06.10 I would be PROUD to wear a Palin for President pin..........sure beats the one that we have now, ashamed to wear an American Flag pin.
What an idiot you are! Are you as stupid as Palin is? Sure thing, I want a so called leader, that can't even hack Alaska to lead the US? Obama is a true born American.Guess what, I saw him on tv last night and he had a flag on his jacket! So go and **ck yourself, you American hater!
Received via Email 01.08.10 Yea, when you liberals can't come up with anything good to say about your person in office you just shout and cuss and downgrade everyone else. And one time that he has had a flag pin on doesn't say he is a great American that you would like to believe, after all he is only wearing it after he was told about it. I still would have Palin over BHO anyday. PS: get used to it he is a one timer!!
Received via Email 01.09.10 Speaking of the American Flag. Don't we have a chief who refuses to say the pledge of allegiance or display any flag. He only wears one on his uniform because he dont want to lose his job. WOW.
Received via Email 01.10.10 01.08.10. You right-wingers are ALWAYS the first to shout down anyone, that doesn't agree to your biased agenda. Again, Palin is an insult to, #1, women, Governors, hunters, yes hunters! You, sir, or Miss, fit the bigot profile if there ever was one. I'd bet, that Pres. B.H.Obama will be a 2 termer. Will see you here then, unless of course your mom kicks you out of her retirement community house spare bedroom..
Received via Email 01.10.10 While I was attending the Promotional Farce the other day, I was wondering to myself why there was no Oath of Office given to the new Officers.
Received via Email 01.10.10 Rumor has it Chief of Ops is considering to shift the Captains to different shifts. Example is MFS captain will become c shift and station 7 will become b shift and so on. To tell you the truth, I don't think he has the guts to actually go through with it. The captains would not allow prince to make such a move. Most of the current captains would have the ops chief crying to his mamma after that meeting.
Received via Email 01.10.10 Received via Email 01.06.10 Condo's fire hydrant clears first hurdle in Belleair Beach - Yeah, I see something wrong with it. Removing and replacing and entire bldg. fire pump, and plumbing with a fire hydrant places the lives of the citizens and the firefighters in danger. Looks like some stupid shit they'd do in St. Pete. Like riding 2 on a ladder truck. FTM
Received via Email 01.11.10 **This just In, Sarah Palin said it was,"God's Plan" for her to be on the Repub., ticket!? WTF? She could be a chief..lmao
Received via Email 01.11.10 Nah, they don't use the word God, they say Jehovah, as in JW.
Received via Email 01.11.10 Today it was proven, that the city's attorney is one hottie, also she is one dumb blond. The perfect combination.
Received via Email 01.12.10 News alert: OBAMA SCREWS FIREFIGHTERS - Schaitberger was more blunt. "It's a disaster, a nightmare," Schaitberger said of the excise tax. "Our membership will see it as a betrayal."
For those who don't recognize the name Mr. Schaitberger is the President of IAFF.
Received via Email 01.12.10 Which attorney are you talking about? There are several cute attorneys.
Tall, skinny blond with the catwoman botox treatment.
Received via Email 01.12.10
Be Cautious!!
THIS IS PRETTY BASIC ADVICE;
Be Cautious About Giving Info to Census Workers, by the BBB.
With the U.S. Census process beginning, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft. The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country. Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data.
The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:
If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don't know into your home.
Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census.
REMEMBER, NO MATTER WHAT THEY ASK, YOU REALLY ONLY NEED TO TELL THEM HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE AT YOUR ADDRESS.
While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION. The Census Bureau will not ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers, nor will employees solicit donations. Any one asking for that information is NOT with the Census Bureau.
AND REMEMBER, THE CENSUS BUREAU HAS DECIDED NOT TO WORK WITH ACORN ON GATHERING THIS INFORMATION.. No Acorn worker should approach you saying he/she is with the Census Bureau.
Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in person at home. However, the Census Bureau will not contact you by Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census.
Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.
For more advice on avoiding identity theft and fraud, visit www.bbb.org
PLEASE SHARE THIS INFO WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
Received via Email 01.12.10 I still trust Obama over Palin, I mean Falin
Union Meeting this Thursday night (1-14-10) at 7:30pm
(this message brought to you by us not them)
Received via Email 01.12.10 Didn't know that Palin ran for President.
Received via Email 01.13.10 Lights, sirens boast Sunstar’s ‘excellence’
"That’s why Sunstar underwent an exhaustive process to improve all aspects of its operations that culminated in the receipt of the 2009 Governor’s Sterling Award, the state’s most prestigious award for performance excellence."
While SPF&R management employs heavy handed union busting techniques that result in few loyalties at home.
Received via Email 01.15.10 Next term make sure we fight hard against the 4 council members who shot down the free FEMA grant money. If they don't care about public safety they need to be replaced next term, PERIOD.
Received via Email 01.16.10 Obama to IAFF - screw you!
Received via Email 01.16.10 "the ISO rating is an "antiquated system for looking at fire departments," based mainly on accessibility to water. He said the rating system's usefulness as a measure of a fire department's expertise and capabilities went out of style with disco."
Chief J. Gordon Routley
Received via Email 01.16.10 Count the Lies: Obama Vowed 8 X to Televise Healthcare
Received via Email 01.19.10 SCOTT BROWN WINS!!!! The rest of you democrat left wingers are NEXT.
Received via Email 01.19.10 News alert: 6.5 quake reported in Arlington National Cemetery. Quake is attributed to Ted Kennedy rolling over in his grave.
Received via Email 01.19.10 The loss by the once-favored Democrat Martha Coakley in the Democratic stronghold was a stunning embarrassment for the White House. AWESOME the truth comes forth.
Received via Email 01.19.10 Thanks Obama, Pelosi and Reid.
Received via Email 01.20.10 Obama, tell us again that our middle class taxes won't increase? Payroll taxes increase for many employers across USA By Olga Pierce, ProPublica. In 2009, the average business owner paid $95 per employee. This year, the tax will be $171, according to estimates by the state workforce agency. "It's another added expense to hiring somebody," Miller says. "Everything's going up, and business is going down."
Received via Email 01.20.10 You are an angry, mean spirited, nasty person. To insult a dead honored Senator, after years of fighting for middle class Americans, you should be ashamed. Yeah, he screwed up, got drunk, drove off a bridge, and someone died. He more than made up for that in the constant yells from the right. What about your hero's? GW Bush, coke head, draft dodger, killed more honorable Americans going to Vietnam because he lacked the guts to do what any American should, and had his Daddy buy him a spot in the Texas Nat Guard? Your old VP, he hates everyone, lies about WMD's, shot his pal in the face. You Limbaugh lovers, he suggest the Donations for the travesty in Haiti via Obama, would be used for Political gain. Curse you. God is forgiving, but I think there may be an exception for you, with your evil thoughts, words, and deeds. I did not vote for Obama, but most America's did. I think the Kennedy's did a lot for America too. So pal, go and look at this place you live, support your government, regardless if you like them or, not, and stand behind the efforts put forth by them. Rescue yourself from the path you are going, it is surely a dead end. God forgive you, and God Bless America
Received via Email 01.20.10 Ok, I'm sure everyone knows the words to the song Santa Claus is coming to Town, well now we can all sing along by changing the words Santa Claus to the "Punisher". What with the latest installation of the 2 way camera and listening devices that are being installed in each of the stations, J.O. will now have the capability of watching over each of us whenever he chooses. How do we combat this you ask? Unplug the damn thing. Make sure any cable that connects from the wall to the equipment needs to be positivly disconnected whenever we are not scheduled to be sitting in front of the things. Pretty simple solution if you ask me. If you forget to do it, remember that you were the one that forgot. FTM's dont give J. O. the satisfaction of getting one over on any of us.
Received via Email 01.21.10 #2 - 1.20.10: get a clue buddy, you and your left wing nut jobs are going down the tubes and there is nothing you can do about it. The bluest of blue states just said that. This country doesn't want your srewball "redistributing wealth" ideas. If you didn't vote for Obama why not? At least I am willing to vote for my principles, I guess that your not. The ONLY reason Obama got elected that he got out the ACORN vote, the ones that never voted before in their life and they never will again.
Received via Email 01.21.10 AMERICANS HAVED RULED!! Out with the socialist Obama agenda.
Received via Email 01.21.10 You know you are dealing with a left wing loon when he has the nerve to defend the Kennedy clan.
Received via Email 01.22.10 Did you give him a break? Hahahaha... doesn't Mike Deeson know he's talking to THE PUNISHER? It don't matter if you're innocent or guilty to that guy. How many of our people has he and Large given time off to before we even had a chance to try the case? All of you retirees who keep saying "loved the job but hated the bullshit" now know why you left. Moore was guilty as sin but who's watching the farm?
Received via Email 01.22.10 At least Bush never directly killed anyone like Kennedy did, and to top it off he ran with his tail tucked between his legs to mommy and daddy. He did not have the balls to stay at the scene like a man. Yes, I can see why you would like the Kennedy's, no principles or integrity!
Received via Email 01.22.10 Government & Politics
'The People's Seat'
"Here's my assessment of not just the mood in Massachusetts, but the mood around the country: The same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office." So said Barack Obama when asked about Tuesday's special election to fill the Senate seat held for 46 years by the late Ted Kennedy.
Naturally, to Obama, everything is about him; though, in a sense, Brown's shocking victory was about Obama -- but not in the way he thinks. In fact, we're hoping the president campaigns for more Democrats come fall. Voters have responded to his presence on behalf of fellow Democrats with resounding rejections in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races, and now in deepest-blue Massachusetts.
Then again, Obama says, it's Bush's fault. "People are angry and they're frustrated," he explained, "not just because of what's happened in the last year or two years, but what's happened over the last eight years."
So Scott Brown became the first Republican senator elected in Massachusetts since 1972 because voters are still angry with George W. Bush?
In reality, Brown won for several reasons. First, he was a first-rate candidate. His regular-guy persona resonated with voters and he communicated the right message -- that we need less government, not more. He ran explicitly against ObamaCare, saying, "I can stop it." In his victory speech, he said, "People do not want the trillion dollar health care plan that is being forced on the American people, and this bill is not being debated openly and fairly. It will raise taxes, it will hurt Medicare, it will destroy jobs and run our nation deeper into debt."
Best of all, in a debate with Democrat opponent Martha Coakley, Brown answered a challenge from moderator David Gergen about taking Ted Kennedy's seat only to derail health care: "Well, with all due respect, it's not the Kennedy seat, and it's not the Democrats' seat, it's the people's seat."
That's when the sea change in the polls began.
Second, Martha Coakley was a lousy candidate. Briefly, for example (and there are many), in a state with a large percentage of Catholic voters, Coakley offered the advice that if you object to abortion and are a devout Catholic, then "you probably shouldn't work in the emergency room." She derided Red Sox hero Curt Schilling as a "Yankee fan" and scoffed at greeting people in the cold at Fenway Park, which is precisely what hungry candidates do in sports-crazy Boston. In addition, a member of her staff was caught on video knocking a conservative reporter to the ground. In short, her arrogance and inanity are out of touch.
Finally, health care became an albatross for Coakley, and the Leftmedia didn't help, continuing to refer to the seat as "Kennedy's seat" in order to play up that debate. Kennedy spent a lifetime fighting for socialized health care, and, when he died, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) even suggested naming the health care bill after him. The irony is that the senator from Massachusetts was supposed to steer socialized medicine to passage; now it looks like the senator from Massachusetts could be the one to sink it. As PBS's Judy Woodruff sobbed, it would be "a tragedy of Greek proportions if Ted Kennedy's successor ... is the one who was responsible for the death of health care."
Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment.
Received via Email 01.22.10 Re: 1/22/10 Post #4
Excellent well stated post. Need more like that on here.
Deserved at least a gold star.
Received via Email 01.22.10 Air America loses bout with capitalism
It's a sad day for the fives and tens of Americans that listened to the progressive radio network Air America. They declared bankruptcy in a press release that also explained why they folded. It was simple, “Our company cannot escape the laws of economics." That was a more diplomatic way of saying, “Our programming was complete crap, plus the DNC was done using us.” Glenn Beck delivers a moving eulogy for the now (and always) lifeless network. http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/35400/
Received via Email 01.22.10 I'm ashamed of this section of Us vs Them. Its not an open forum, its an AM radio talk hate, I mean talk radio station in written word. I have not seen such anger on other people's differances, and insane joy over the American people's loss. So you don't like the Kennedy's? You must hate MLKing, too, how about that ole, whats his name, Abe Lincoln? Seek professional help, as soon as possible! I feel your pain, and yes You are a small lil person. One more thing GWB ran to his daddy after they were gonna send him to Vietnam, he insults every man, women that ever served. Shame on your odd ball righties, now go and bake me a PIE!
Received via Email 01.23.10 From the posts here it looks like that your the odd ball. Go back to your smoke filled room and lick your wounds, lefty.
Received via Email 01.23.10 Well MLK and his papers in college were plagerized. But, I am sure you all knew that. But cant have that in the open public.
Received via Email 01.23.10 Say what you want about Bush's service career... but he flew jets in the Guard while Clinton was smoking dope in England. This was well before Obama's college aged drug addiction, when he was getting grades that he still refuses to release. Like his original birth certificate.
You lefties keep letting the press pick your heroes for you. Even though you America haters are slow learners, at least you always overplay your hand. Obama didn't make it through his first year as the first foreign born White House resident before the independents were ready to tar and feather him. What a moron. And he's smarter than his voters.
Received via Email 01.23.10 Campers upset over U.S. Forest Service changes to "lifetime" discounts.
Thanks again Obama. No tax increases for the middle class --- yea, right.
Received via Email 01.24.10 Obama has even screwed up the national park system. What a moron.
Received via Email 01.25.10 Quip of the day, from columnist Charles Krauthammer on Friday's (January 22) Special Report with Bret Baier on FNC. Baier wondered: "Conservatives, pretty good week?" Krauthammer affirmed: "You know, this is an amazing week. Massachusetts goes Republican, health care dies and the Supreme Court unshackles the First Amendment. It's the best week I've had since spring break in medical school - and I don't even remember it [laughter from other panelists]. And there was another item which you mentioned: Air America, the liberal talk show network went out of business - which is a redundancy because nobody was listening anyway."
Received via Email 01.25.10 Hey everybody........don't forget to get your wishlist and and load the shit out of it. The Invisible Man and the Punisher have decided to adhere strictly to the contract now and have decided they want your future vacation picks in by at least 2000 on the shift before you plan your time off. They don't like surprises and the more of you asshole firemen miss out on an open slot the better they look. Remember, manditory overtime is not the problem. It's all you asshole firemen taking contractually agreed to vacations and sick leave and R Days and military time. If you fu**ers would just hang around the station more often and feed the chief more donuts and iced tea we'd all get along a lot better. Yeah right.
James D. Large. The most embattled fire chief since Clearwater's Jamie Geer. FTM
TEAM Wow. Significant tag line.
Received via Email 01.25.10 Beau Biden Decides Not to Follow Dad.
"My first responsibilities are here in Delaware," he said. "Therefore, I cannot and will not run for the United States Senate in 2010."
Kaufman followed with a statement soon after, affirming that he would not seek election for the remainder of the term.
They can't get off the sinking ship fast enough!
Received via Email 01.26.10 If you're in the mood for a good laugh, visit You Tube and search clearwater 600 vs pinellas county. The sad thing about it, thats really how Ops Chief Riley in Clearwater acts and what the neighboring agencies think of him. Be safe and stay strong.
Received via Email 01.26.10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkqdvKRbz9g I saw it and it's a hoot. Our assistant chief is just like him. No experience except on tha rescue truck and he's yelling at Sr. officers at fires as if he's got any tactical experience that didn't come out of a book.
Received via Email 01.26.10 Once they become a division chief, all of a sudden they have experience at firefighting and tactics and strategy. What a joke. Glorified secretaries are all they are.
Received via Email 01.26.10 Hey are any of our tech rescue guys being honored for helping in Haiti?
Received via Email 01.26.10 I think the only guys out of the country were dog guys from Tampa.
Received via Email 01.26.10 A stunning new poll conducted by Newsmax/Zogby reveals that Massachusett's new Republican Senator-elect Scott Brown could defeat President Barack Obama in a presidential election.
The Newsmax/Zogby poll released Tuesday found that the pair would be statistically deadlocked if the presidential election was held today.
Received via Email 01.28.10 I have a question to all the guys and girls. What if you know that a certain Lt. is having an affair with a blue shirts wife. Do I tell? Can he be written up for conduct unbecoming? WIll he get demoted?
Received via Email 01.28.10 BARBARA, Joseph M. Jr. 56, of Palm Harbor, passed away on Jan. 26, 2010, at home. Joe was a retired Lieutenant with the Dunedin Fire Department for 30 years.
Received via Email 01.29.10 More reality from Clearwater!! Go to You Tube and search cl 500 vs acls then check out clearwater 600 vs chief interview. Once again dead on. They ALL just need to go back where they came from.
Received via Email 01.29.10
Received via Email 01.30.10 1/28/10 #1 : It does not matter it has been happening throughout our wonderful 100 years. White shirts doing blue shirts, blue shirts doing white shirts and even believe this, blue shirts doing blue shirts. So get off your horse and stop stirring the pot. I would like to believe the Editors would not post that crap you spew anyway.
signed: blue shirt doing blue shirt :-)
Received via Email 01.30.10 I look at these videos knowing that we're not that far behind them. Their problems stem from hiring the wrong people and ours from too much inbreeding.
Received via Email 02.02.10 Hi. I'm a long time listener, first time caller. You can't blame Obama for being a shitty president, it's not his fault. Hell, he wasn't even born here, why SHOULDN'T he hate America? No, the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the loons that voted for him. Tree hugging f**kheads, all of them. Thank you for letting me vent. I love your show.
Father Anthony D'Amico
St. Fabio DeLatoya Parish of the Questionably Salvageable
Received via Email 02.02.10 All politicians are the same; make promises and break them. Our new mayor says public safety is first. Is he proving it by making right choices or breaking promises like all others ?
Received via Email 02.04.10 Democrats Close to Vote on Jobs Package Without Bill in Hand
By Trish Turner
- FOXNews.com
Senate Democrats are holding a news conference Thursday on a jobs bill without an actual jobs bill, an apparent sign that the Massachusetts Senate vote that is bringing Scott Brown to Washington is still reverberating through the U.S. Capitol.
Whatever it takes to screw to American public!!! GO OBAMA!
Received via Email 02.04.10 Washington (CNN) -- President Obama called Thursday for high-level talks with Republicans on a Democratic health care bill, then putting the resulting legislation to a vote in Congress.
Too bad he didn't do this earlier. Now he wants to talk with the GOP. Before it was, just shove it down their throats...we don't need them.
Received via Email 02.06.10 I just watched the above mentioned video. I was wondering if I can put in for 2 hours of training thru the SPFR's log-on log-off training Division.
TEAM: Whadya do, replay it like a hundred times?
Received via Email 02.07.10 Finally another idiot demo dead. Murtha is gone and Pa. can begin anew.
Received via Email 02.08.10 What ever it takes to get out of the democratic party!
Received via Email 02.09.10 This is an quote from the article found on the Tampabaytimes.com website. The article deals with police foot patrols in downtown St. Petersburg. Apparently there was some concern about where the money would come from to pay for the extra hours required to perform these duties efficiently.
"The solution: pay officers to show up two to three hours before their shift. Now they spend lunchtime walking the beat and talking to business owners. They're paid through a three-year, $370,000 federal grant dedicated to police overtime."
A nice 3 year grant for overtime for police officers. Apparently the police chief applied for the grant some time ago since the Baker clone has only been in office a few weeks. No doubt he applied around the time the fire chief could have applied also for the grant that would have put more men on the apparatus. Unfortunately the fire chief doesn't think his department is in need of said manpower and didn't apply. Meanwhile the police are making big bucks in overtime and laughing all the way to the bank. And the firefighters are still undermanned at fire scenes.
I was outspoken in my thinking that a three year shot in the arm to the fire service that would have provided more manpower on the trucks was a good thing. Those who said I was deranged made the argument that after the three years was up who was going to pay for the additional firefighters who had been hired under the grant? If the economy hadn't pulled itself up by the end of the three years we'd be in the same place we are now and the new hires would have to be fired.
My thinking was that for at least three years we would have had more people responding to fires than there are now. And the economy will have responded in a positive manner. That's a given. But I was told to rethink my facts and go away. Now I have a question for the police chief. Chief, do you think that after the grant runs out in three years that the foot patrols in downtown St. Petersburg will go back on the shelf like they've been for the past forty years or will the city find a way to come up with the overtime money to continue the program on its own? Hmmmmmm? We'll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile it's two to a truck at fire headquarters and it's not gonna change any time soon.
VCF
Received via Email 02.09.10 To VCF, it is an unfortunate thing when you and all of the rest of the WORKERS in the ranks of SPFR that must wake up and realize that Chief Large is more concerned about hardship that decision would place on Mayor Baker, I mean Mayor Foster than how much safer it would have been for the firefighters to have more help on the fire scenes. On the other hand, it looks like the Police Chief is more apt to look out for his men then to worry about a mayor that makes $150K and has a staff of plenty that all make in excess of $100K. Wow did I just say that?
Received via Email 02.09.10 So 2/9/10, at the end of the 2 years of the grant Large passed up on, when the city has the option to either keep those guys or say thanks but we can't afford you, do you actually think the city will step up and pay the salaries originally paid by the grant. The city wouldn't cover 5 salaries not paid for by a grant and laid those guys off. If you want more guys laid off in the future great but I personally don't want to see it happen again. I agree 110% that we need manpower and we need it like yesterday, but hows it going to help when they just get laid off and we are back to square one. I am just as frustrated as you but no more lay-offs please.
Received via Email 02.12.10 Rep. Patrick Kennedy Will Not Seek Re-Election. Another one bites the dust. Doesn't want to face the humiliation of defeat at the election polls.
Received via Email 02.12.10 OPPAGA
Florida Retirement System Funds and Investment Returns Declined with the Economy; the SBA Reports That Its Investment Strategy Is Designed to Withstand Losses
Membership in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) is open to all public employers in the state, with school districts (48%) and counties (23%) currently comprising nearly three-quarters of the membership. Members can choose between three retirement plans: the Pension Plan, the Investment Plan, and the Hybrid Plan. The FRS is managed by the Department of Management Services' Division of Retirement and the State Board of Administration. FRS Pension Plan investment returns declined with the economy during the past fiscal year. At the end of Fiscal Year 2008-09, the Pension Plan's rate of return was a negative 19.03%, and the fund decreased by $27 billion from the previous year. Results for the Investment Plan were similar, with a rate of return of negative 15.16% and a decrease in fund assets of $293 million. As of June 30, 2009, the FRS Pension Plan had 88.5% of the monies needed to pay all current and future expected benefits for existing participants and their beneficiaries. However, State Board of Administration managers report that the board's investing horizon is 15 to 30 years and its investment strategy is designed to withstand short-term losses and economic turndowns.
Received via Email 02.12.10 Now the department has fallen to having a respected fire captain to go out and try to drum up interest in the TRT. Now let me see, the Punisher sez you dont get the premium pays unless you are physically at the station that houses the specialty team...Now they get Rosie to try to get people interested in joining. I say we let these idiots know that we arent hired guns, we are professionals and we should be paid as such. It is also interesting to see that an elected member of OUR pension board is seeking to get people to do something extra that means no improvement to your pension but he wont put the same effort into getting improvements for your pension.
TEAM: It's no secret. Nobody really tells us what to do. We do exactly what it is that we want to do. And until people on this job start to pride themselves in not being slaves to simple notions and suggestions put forth by management, we'll always be slaves... slaves to our own lack of sense of self. Thanks for noticing some of the indiscretions that many would have you believe don't exist. Now let's go back to our previous modus operandi...
Received via Email 02.13.10 What Capt. Todd didn't go out to drum up interest for his team? Oh, wait a minute you did say "respected" Capt. didn't you.
Received via Email 02.13.10 49 states dusted with snow; Hawaii's the holdout. Where's Al Gore when you need him? Global warming -- yeah right.
Received via Email 02.13.10 WARNING TO ALL FIREFIGHTERS:
Police: Suicide victim may have created poisonous gas.
Received via Email 02.13.10 Captain Double DD doesn't have enough time to sit down at a computer and try to get something down for the benefit of SPFR, only himself. I think he is actually off more than President Newton. However SPFR admin looks the other way because they think Double DD is spreading good words to everyone he meets at his meetings. Or could it be that Capt Double DD looks so menacing when he wears that strap on thingie about his shoulder and waist. The other day I saw an entire engine company wearing their Double DD strap on harness's, what a bunch of Ketchup Dicks. We are in big trouble brothers and sisters when we have a bunch of idiots running around trying to look like Double DD's wrestling hero the big boss man.
Received via Email 02.13.10 2/12 #2 thanks for sharing information about what condx FRS is in. It's a good bet that our upsidedown local law plan is even further in the shitter. I'm always thankful that we have guys like Large out there giving us all survival tips like "it's going to be a tough year with the county underfunding EMS again. And the city's in another budget crunch". Thanks chief. Why don't you just come clean and tell us that you're part of the problem and have nothing to do with the solution.
To 2/12 #3 you are dead on the money my brother. The Invisible Man and the Punisher are in the CYA mode. Stealing specialty pay from you and me doesn't remove a dollar bill from their pockets. Work at HQ and get HQ assignment pay. Thank you union. Wear a medic patch at HQ and get paid for it. Thank you union. Work at HQ and realize that you're on a 7 day work cycle getting time and a half overtime each and every pay check and never break a sweat. Thank you union. Wear an EMT patch as an officer at HQ and get paid for it. Thank you union. I guess you cheesedicks fooled everyone. Truth is, tomorrow you'll still wake up a cheesedick.
Received via Email 02.13.10 I have some snappy responces for you right winged a ho's, but my notes washed off my hand. Let me call Palin and use her sharpie!
Received via Email 02.13.10 Did you forget, all of the sharpies were taken into custody a few years back by that a**hole Duh-meme during his in depth investigation
Received via Email 02.13.10 So in the above Company photo let me guess, top left is Chief Large who aint going to tell the truth no matter what, bottom right is Chief Wimberly who doesnt want to hear the truth from anyone, and the top right is Mayor Foster who is willing to look the other way when it comes to the safety of his firefighters and the citizens of St. Petersburg. Yup thats the picture all right
TEAM: Be Nice!
Received via Email 02.14.10 The "Experts agree."
1. RFK Jr. Said Global Warming Means No Snow in D.C.
Back in September 2008, environmentalist Robert Kennedy Jr. wrote an article raising the alarm about global warming and the resultant lack of winter weather in Washington, D.C.
On Monday, Feb. 8, as the nation’s capital dug out from under a ferocious snowstorm, The Washington Examiner reran an article from last Dec. 21, published as Washington was struggling to dig out from under an earlier snowstorm.
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who flies around on private planes so as to tell larger numbers of people how they must live their lives in order to save the planet, wrote a column last year on the lack of winter weather in Washington, D.C.,” wrote The Examiner’s Online Opinion Editor David Freddoso.
He quoted from the article written by Kennedy, a lawyer specializing in environmental law, which ran in the Los Angeles Times: “Recently arrived residents in the northern suburbs, accustomed to today’s anemic winters, might find it astonishing to learn that there were once ski runs on Ballantrae Hill in McLean [Va.], with a rope tow and local ski club.
“Snow is so scarce today that most Virginia children probably don’t own a sled.”
He reminisced about ice skating on a Washington canal, “which these days rarely freezes enough to safely skate."
“Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil and its carbon cronies continue to pour money into think tanks whose purpose is to deceive the American public into believing that global warming is a fantasy.”
Freddoso observed on Dec. 21: “Having shoveled my walk five times in the midst of this past weekend’s extreme cold and blizzard, I think perhaps RFK Jr. should leave weather analysis to the meteorologists instead of trying to attribute every global phenomenon to anthropogenic climate change.”
Last weekend’s snowstorm paralyzed the Washington area, knocking out power to thousands of homes, closing schools and businesses, and shutting down the federal government.
Dulles International Airport near Washington received a record 32.4 inches of snow, and a town in Maryland close to D.C. was blanketed by 40 inches.
Another snowstorm walloped Washington on Wednesday. As of 2 p.m. that day, the snowfall total for the season had surpassed the 54.4-inch record set in 1899, and it rose to 55.6 inches by 4 p.m. in the city and to 72 inches at Dulles.
Received via Email 02.14.10 Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting.
Well, for example, the other day my wife and I went into town and went into a shop.
We were only in there for about 5 minutes. When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket..
We went up to him and said, 'Come on man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?'
He ignored us and continued writing the ticket. I called him a Nazi turd. He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn tires.
So my wife called him a shit-head. He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote.
Personally, we didn't care. We came into town by bus, and the car had an Obama sticker.
We try to have a little fun each day now that we're retired. It's important at our age
Received via Email 02.15.10
An open letter to Chief Large.
Received via Email 02.15.10 Well, it took me a few minutes to find it but I did on the editorials page. It was the first thing I thought of when I read the 1st 2/15 post. Read the following and tell me if you think Large can ever be the man.
“We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.” —C.S. Lewis
Received via Email 02.17.10 To 2/15 #1 I just watched the video and I can tell you that even if Large watches the video he'll never be able to nut up. The guy in the video is a rare breed of man. He was put in that position because the company needed someone who could lead. Jimmy Large simply did what everyone before him did. He got an education and he sat back and waited. When he got promoted nobody saw it coming so that ought to tell you something. Pure politics.
Received via Email 02.17.10 Everyone needs to go and log onto the downloads area of the union website and see who's sucking the life out of this department. Large keeps beating the drum that he wants to make captain upgrades and we just laid off 5 firefighters and he didn't do shit about it. His best answer was for the union membership to dig deep. F**k that.
Large $129,956
LeCroy $135,006
Received via Email 02.17.10 And Lecry is worth every penny, just ask him.
Received via Email 02.18.10 I can understand Large's pay because if the union ever stopped fighting for better pay and benefits his pay wouldn't go up either. But pay Lecroy $135K to do what? Here we had a potentialy dangerous situation on our hands with with a suicidal hazmatter who locks himself in a car. We come to find out by watching a slide show presentation FROM THIS WEBSITE that this is becoming an epidemic problem in the fire service in this country. If Lecroy's spending up to 32 hours a week on 7 DAY WORK CYCLE TIME AND A HALF OVERTIME, why shouldn't we expect him to help the training division dig up some of this stuff instead of pretending to chase boogeymen? If this fire chief is going to continue to squeeze those of us on specialty teams for the few pennies per paycheck that we actually earn, why don't we squeeze these non producers of anything at all at the top? I'm not feeling the love and it's time for revolt.
Received via Email 02.18.10 Funny thing is.....................I didn't see any of this posted over on www.stpete.org.
Received via Email 02.18.10 Cardboard I mean Keyboard fire chiefs all of them
Received via Email 02.18.10 The current you tube videos of chief 100 have been a great success. Almost 500 hits in a week. Look for something big to come out on Tuesday February 23, 2010. A launch of new channel on youtube. The channel "AnotherCleawater" where all the funny videos have been coming from are going to be coming from "SPFD Funny". Same folks but different channel. These new ones are really funny. Stay tuned and look for it next Tuesday.
Received via Email 02.18.10 I've said it before and I'll say it again. A people that values its privileges above its principles will soon lose
both. And I'm talking about these pampered chiefs.
Received via Email 02.18.10 Here's what you get for $129K:
"Whether I put six men on a truck or two men on a truck, when there's a fire I make sure I have a minimum of 15 people show up," Large said. "If they get there on 15 trucks or one truck, I don't know what the risk is."
"If they gave me the money tomorrow," Large said, "my minimum on a ladder truck would still be two."
One thing troubles me though. I still haven't figured out where the puppet master hides his hand on Jimmy.
Received via Email 02.18.10 Captain "I's" job should have disappeared when it was determined that we no longer had a need to keep NAAK's on each 1st response vehicle.
Received via Email 02.18.10 Awesome site and learning tool for firemen, take the time to read through some of the threads, it may save your life someday. www.vententersearch.com
Received via Email 02.19.10 I still can't follow the logic of thinking that NO ladder truck is better than a ladder truck with two men on it. Can someone help me here?
Received via Email 02.19.10 There is no logic there. It is just a statement to combat the ridiculousness of 2 on a ladder truck. Having 2 is so dangerous that it could be better to not have one at all. Both statements are not smart. Lets do the right thing, like they all ways tell us to do, and put more than 2 on our trucks. 4 or 5 is what we used to have years ago, for a reason.
Received via Email 02.19.10 The new funny channel is up and running. We should see some funny stuff coming soon. this is going to awesome.
Received via Email 02.19.10 Are you serious? NO ladder truck is better than a ladder truck with two men on it? That makes no sense at all. Clearwater takes theirs out of service when they don't have the manpower to keep three guys on it. It makes it sound like they are running their trucks with more men, which is true, but it hides the truth that they frequently put their trucks out of service.
I still think two is better than zero. Four would be even better, but we may as well wish for five man engine crews. That will never happen either.
Received via Email 02.19.10 here is a neat idea //// instead of 4 2 man trucks how about 2 4 man trucks / when was the last time we needed 4 trucks in the air /
Received via Email 02.20.10 Great idea. Compromise with the bastards. Forget life safety for all areas of the city. That sounds like a chief or ex chief talking.
Received via Email 02.20.10 I like that idea. And the two empty ones can be brought to the scenes when needed by the Mayor, JL, and JO
Received via Email 02.20.10 In any other industry in the world, when short staffing occurs management chips in to lend a hand. Not here. Have you ever seen anyone from a blue shirt to a white shirt working at HQ be told that today they need to get their bunker gear and fill a hole. "We're short stafffed and this is more important." Not only do we still ride 2 on the trucks, we do in fact put them out of service. We run short all the time and depending on what shift your on this this happens more often than some realize.
Received via Email 02.20.10 3 on a truck is a dirty little lie. Every time your truck drops to 2 people someone should be calling the union hall.
Received via Email 02.20.10 Oh my, do you think the chiefs would ever fill a hole. dont think so. they will continue to run the department on overtime.
Received via Email 02.20.10 The problem with going to two ladders trucks with 4 firefighters, is when the mayor tells the two Jimmies that they need to cut funding for next year, guess where the cuts will come from? You guessed it, they will cut the 2 extra positions on the 2 ladders trucks so we will be in the same boat again except that instead of 4 trucks in the city with 2 firefighters there will be only 2 trucks with 2 firefighters, and Large will still tell the mayor that will have 4 to a truck. The mayor will tell Jimmieboy great job, you reduced your payroll without laying anyone off and we still have 4 trucks with 4 firefighters on them!
Received via Email 02.20.10
Jim Large
Prince
Neither or you have balls!
Received via Email 02.20.10 Yes they do. They are in XX's mouth. Sometimes XX's.
TEAM: Puleeeze. Both of those guys are vegans.
Received via Email 02.20.10 Thats ok, at least most of the firefighters have balls. Even some of the female firefighters have more than Jim or jim.
Received via Email 02.20.10 But isnt man juice a non meat product?
TEAM: We called the IAFC and they said that it can be whatever the chief wants it to be. Just what we expected. (Meat byproduct?)
Received via Email 02.20.10 To the TEAM. I am surprised that you would contact such an outdated and out of touch once looked up to group as the IAFC. Do you know that the IAFC still believes that a 5 man engine crew is the base for operating at 100% profiency, while a 3 man crew is only 38% effective? This group of believers that makes up the IAFC must be getting smaller every day.
