Camden, NJ firefighters turn in their gear - pics

[Kadie]

Laid off firefighters march along a street in protest Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011, in Camden, N.J. , on the way to turning in their gear. The layoffs affect close to one-fourth of the city government workforce in one of the nation's most impoverished places.


Firefighters applaud Andy Delgado, back to camera, a five-year-veteran of the Camden Fire Department, as he tells them to keep their hopes up Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011, in Camden, N.J. , as they prepare to turn in their gear after being laid off. About 335 workers, representing one-sixth of the local government work force, lost their jobs, according to Mayor Dana Redd. It was worst in the public safety departments, where nearly half the police force and close to one-third of the city's firefighters were laid off.


Firefighters turn in their gear Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011, in Camden, N.J. , after being laid off. The layoffs affect close to one-fourth of the city government workforce in one of the nation's most impoverished places.


Shoes of laid off Camden police officers line a street Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011, in Camden, N.J. The layoffs affect close to one-fourth of the city government workforce in one of the nation's most impoverished cities. About 335 workers, representing one-sixth of the local government work force, lost their jobs, according to Mayor Dana Redd. It was worst in the public safety departments, where nearly half the police force and close to one-third of the city's firefighters were laid off.

[Brickbat]

1. They shoulda kept the gear. What, the police would have arrested them?

[tabatha]

3. This garners a lot of public attention.

And sends a clear message.

[Brickbat]

4. Keeping it would have garnered even more attention, and sent a louder message.

IMO.

[Historic NY]

6. It will be out of date by the time they get re-hired....

gear is replaced on a timely schedule.

[Brickbat]

7. I meant as a symbolic protest.

[DonCoquixote]

2. And Christie wants to be president in 2012

Forgive me for saying this, but there is one GOP member who might be as big a disaster as palin herself, CC is it.

[slackmaster]

12. She'll play the fiddle while Camden burns to the ground

:nuke:

[TorchTheWitch]

14. Gov. Chris Christie is male n/t

[slackmaster]

15. I didn't know that

How embarrassing.

[TorchTheWitch]

19. well, now you know

But with a name like Chris Christie I can see why the automatic assumption that he's female could be made since it just sounds like a female name. First time I heard his name I pictured a woman also.

[slackmaster]

25. The City Attorney of San Diego is named Jan Goldsmith

I think a lot of people voted for him because they thought he's a woman.

[GalleryGod]

26. That's Governor Crispie Cream!

:puke: Total fuck-wad :puke:

[vssmith]

31. good thing, he would be an ugly female

[defendandprotect]

32. ... I'd love to know how in the hell he ever allegedly got elected? I'm in NJ!!

[AC_Mem]

5. This is heartbreaking

And I'm afraid that this is just the beginning.

Cutting firefighters and policemen but protecting the pocketbooks of the rich and their corporations - my God.

Annette

[PBS Poll-435]

22. Yes

:thumbsup:

[bobbolink]

41. cutting food stamps and disaiility and LEAP are even more heartbreaking, but there doesn't

seem to be much outcry about that.

[leftstreet]

8. This will create a lot of jobs! Private firefighters and cops for rich people!

Yay!!!

[freshwest]

9. They have that in KY or TN, right? The house that burned up with the animals inside?

[defendandprotect]

33. Rich will have Fire Defense ... for the rest of us, "Burn, baby, Burn" ...???

[freshwest]

10. BTW, sad, sickening, enraging.

[Urban Prairie]

11. Vivid images of how our nation has its priorities upside-down and inside-out

Billions for war, but nothing for government-funded infrastructure repairs and improvements, or social, law-enforcement, and emergency services.

Too bad that it won't always be teabaggers' homes that are burning down to the ground, for the lack of enough firefighters, or being robbed due in broad daylight, due to the lack of sufficient police patrols.

But hey, them there teabaggers sure got themselves a real leader with a BRAIN, in the blood-libeled Sarah Palin, morans!!

[defendandprotect]

34. +1000% -- this is purposeful ... right wing taking us back to pre New Deal days ....

One of the Repugs in Congress was talking about the Child Labor Laws the other day --

not imporiving them!!

[fascisthunter]

13. the Libertarian Dream... whacked

I guess some people need to see it happen to learn a valuable lesson... shrink the government by bankrupting it on purpose, then cut all gov. paid first responder jobs. And yet the politicians tell you the Patriot Act is to protect you. Hey fuckheads? How is being unemployed protecting those losing their jobs... how are we citizens protected with less cops and firefighters? Exactly... frauds.

[Bandit]

16. Can the people there place a referendum on the ballot?

They should get a referendum there raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for services.. Then there would be nothing either Christie or the Mayor could do about it....It would be interesting to see whether the people would actually vote to raise taxes to better their society.. Americans really don't seem that bright though....:shrug:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

18. Not everyone has the initiaitive power the electorate has in California

[Sirveri]

21. That is a good thing, the initiative system is why CA is so screwed up right now.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

24. It has its pros and cons

It does put controls and some fear into pols. That is a good thing at times.

[Caretha]

42. Check with the Firefighters laid off

and see how that balance of good vs con works.

Check with the people that need their service and they didn't get it or it was to late...see how that works for them

Check with the community when a house or 2 on their block burns down...see how that works for them.

Check with the people who have their house or businesses burn down...see how that works for them.

Some firefighters are volunteers, some of them are funded by taxes from their communities, some not. I've talked with every type for hours and hours in over 65 individual

firefighter areas, whether he/she was a volunteer or paid by the city/community every single one of them were dedicated to their fellow man. I have worked intimately with

fighters, some in the union, some not, in over 65 different firefighter areas, encompassing hundreds and hundreds of miles.

You have no idea how dedicated and loving these men and women are. I've had them cry as they told me of children, elderly, pets, they could not save, because of a fire.

I hugged them, I cried with them, and I knew what good good people they were. People who cared about their neighbors, their friends, their community. They loved hard, they

cried hard, and most importantly they cared more than the majority of their community would or will ever know.

They gave up their time off, their wives and children made the extra effort to make their lonely lives better and go to see their boyfriends, husbands, fathers, mothers at work,

because they didn't have the same time at home that most people do and take for granted.

And still they kept on....irregarless of politics, irregardless of the uncomprehending public, irregardless poor/rich who took them for granted and the services they provided

them and that made them secure in their home or business, and allowed them to live in their safe environment whether they realized it or not.

This is the saddest saddest post I've ever read on DU.

It breaks my heart, for here lies the best of the best, buried and shunned by the worst of the worst. Those who think these services that firefighters provide fund themselves.

It highlights the selfish brain dead citizen that never thinks what it would be like to live without those services.

These public servants are not out fighting worthless money making wars for the corrupt corporations and greedy corrupt politicians.

NO! These are the men and women that care about their friends, their community, their neighbors, their country! ....irregardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, citizen

or even illegal immigrant. Those questions are not asked in the fire station when an alarm goes off!!!!

They only know the words GO - HELP - STOP THE DISASTER!


I'm going to end this diatribe with a few words, and I hope that my DU friends get it.

Firefighters are the best of the best, they know no boundaries. They will go to every neighborhood, county, community, state, country that needs their help. They don't qualify

why the fire started or the damage, loss of life or harm it will do....they just do what it takes, even if it means their lives.....

How many of us can say that we will put our lives on the line, everyday, every time, irregardless like firefighters do?

The answer.....












Not very many.

May you stay safe and never ever ever need help and need these brave, underpaid men and woman at your side.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

43. Not sure why you posted what you did on this subthread about initiatives

To review the sub thread:

- Bandit asked why there was not a referendum on the ballot
- I pointed out that not ever state allows referendums and initiatives like CA does
- Sirveri posted that initiatives is why CA is so screwed up
- I replied saying that they were good and bad and some fear into pols
You post about firefighters is a nonsequiter to the sub thread, though the content is excellent.

My daughter was a member of a volunteer company for several years, and I have other family members in public safety. None of us think this was a good idea or otherwise welcome it.

[Caretha]

44. I posted on the sub-thread

because....I'm tired. I worked over 10 hrs today. I meant to post it to the OP.

Does that answer your question?

Sorry to have disturbed you.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

45. As I said, your content was excellent, thought I might have missed the connection

[Sirveri]

46. Not really, the populace is easily duped with TV ads.

Which is why we can't raise ANY taxes anymore. Any tax increase requires a 2/3 vote in the legislature and a public vote. We can't raise any fees or anything else with the last election which totally eliminated the ability of the government to raise taxes. Then we've got the people on the other side who put props onto the ballot to enact mandatory spending amounts. So we're required to spend money we don't have and we can't raise taxes to do it, and we can't declare bankruptcy or perform deficit spending. So now we're going close to 30 Billion in a shortfall because the voters don't want to pay taxes. Thankfully it's Jerry Brown at the helm, but either way it's going to hurt. My state level senatorial rep (DeSaulnier) is trying to start a constitutional convention (SCR 2) to fix the ridiculous situation we're in, but it's not going anywhere. I guess everyone in CA likes Grover Norquist and just wants to drown CA in a bathtub.

[loudsue]

17. Don't they understand we have to build a $100 Billion embassy in Iraq?

They don't need their jobs NEARLY as bad as Halliburton needs the building contract.

is the :sarcasm: tag necessary here??

[defendandprotect]

36. Embassy = corrupt government w/o conscience -- and Obama should be ashamed!!

This is the second one, btw -- !!

[dixiegrrrrl]

20. I hope they know whose fault these job losses are

and remember that come the next local election.

[mimitabby]

23. oh New Jersey, what have you done with all that $$$$??!!!

[defendandprotect]

37. Crozine was putting the state back on its feet a bit -- how this guy got elected, I have no idea!!

Not that Corzine was a dream -- he was also corporate --

We seem to have a machine here that eats Democratic Governors!!

Florio was terrific -- they got rid of him in minutes!!

Right into the shredder!!

[LynneSin]

27. I would not want to live in that city - it's scary

And the fact they laid off all those cops makes it even scarier.

They claim it's about pay. How can you bicker of pay to a person willing to face death on a regular basis like our cops & firemen do.

[badtoworse]

28. The city is broke; what alternative do they have?

[defendandprotect]

38. Probably many alternatives -- like ending these two BS wars - bailing out states, not corrupt banks

and criminal capitalists --

And many other alternatives --

What we have to understand is we're merely dealing with organized crime by

the elite few --

One alternative would be to move Obama out in 2012 -- if there's anything

left of government by then!!

Let's see if we can get Bernie Sanders to run on the Dem ticket?

[badtoworse]

47. The City of Camden has no control over those things

The federal government spent way too much in Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm not sure if we'd be better off now if the bailouts hadn't happened, but it doesn't matter because they did and we can't change history. We are where we are today, so let's deal with reality:

Christie ran on a platform of cutting spending and not raising taxes. He's doing exactly what he said he was going to do, so expecting him to help Camden out is not realistic.

The federal government is broke and there are a number of states that are on the verge of bankruptcy (California and Illinois come to mind). Even if the feds had billions to bail out the states, I don't see this House approving it.

What is happening in Camden will be happening in a lot of places - this morning I heard that Gov. Cuomo is planning on 10,000 layoffs in NY. It's a rotten situation.

[defendandprotect]

48. What we are talking about is organized crime by elites ... increase taxes on rich ...

Camden has been split -- the wealthy changed their city's name -- and the poor

were left behind --

Of course this can be changed -- not necessarily by poor voters, by by all Americans

understanding our stake in overturning fascist rule in America --

The government didn't spend "way too much in Afghanistan" -- !!

Both are illegal wars of aggression which should never have happened except for American

imperialism.


The bail outs were a scam on the Ameridan public -- a huge financial coup -- and just more

of the organized capitalistic crime wave.

Given that we're all voting on computers, we have no idea whether Christie was legitimately

elected. Certainly we know that W wasn't legitimately elected. And would question every

election back to Nixon/Humphrey where computers were first used.

I don't expect Christie or any other right wing fascist to help Camden -- I do expect the

American public to understand how they the poor are being exploited and how it should be of

interest to them.

The Federal government is broke because of a right wing/fascist crime wave -- under the

guise of "capitalism."

Why would fascists in government be expected to do anything "positive"?

What we have is a new engineered depression -- and organized crime in control of government.

It's not a "situation" -- it's crime.

[vssmith]

29. Now instead of paying taxes these men and women will be drawing unemployment

[uppityperson]

30. Those still working will have to get overtime and burn out.

[jillan]

40. Exactly! This is insane.

[sarcasmo]

35. This should be the #1 news story everywhere in this country. Guess the media doesn't want to upset

Idol fans.

[defendandprotect]

39. Anyone left watching TV .... ? Really??