SFFMA Legislative Alert

Here is an email that received form the SFFMA If you are a volunteer Firefighter Please call your representative . On the surface this may sound like a good idea, but DO NOT confuse the term education with training.  These people are talking about not allowing someone to volunteer unless they have an as yet determined amount of education. Sorry, but in a fire fight I don't care if the man/woman beside me has a college degree of even finished high school I just need to know that they are trained.   

SFFMA Legislative Alert - Immediate Action Needed!

Tuesday of this week, Representative Linda Harper-Brown laid out the committee substitute to House Bill 3390, which is the Sunset bill for the Texas Commission on Fire Protection.  At the request of the Chair, Representative Yvonne Davis, the substitute includes language requiring the Commission to regulate volunteer firefighters.

Section 17 of the bill requires the Commission to establish minimum educational and training standards for volunteer firefighters.

Section 28 of the bill authorizes the Commission to prohibit someone from being a volunteer firefighter if they don’t meet minimum requirements, don’t meet continuing education requirements, and don’t meet other “certain requirements determined by commission rule.”  The bill does not specify what these other requirements might be!

The bill was voted out of the Urban Affairs committee late last night and is now heading to the House floor for a vote.

At a time when we are struggling to raise the funds to put fuel in our trucks, purchase much needed equipment, and fight the wildfires that are sweeping across large parts of the state, the last thing we need is more regulation from Austin!  The Legislature should be helping us protect the state of Texas, not discouraging people from VOLUNTEERING their time to serve their communities. 

WE NEED YOUR IMMEDIATE ACTION ON THIS MATTER! PLEASE CALL YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE!

Tell whomever answers the phone who you are and that you want the Representative to support volunteer firefighters and vote for an amendment to strip Sections 17 and 28 from CSHB 3390.  The person on the phone will tell you that they will advise the Representative.  Tell them thank you for their support and hang up.  Please be professional.  In most cases your Representative had nothing to do with this committee substitute and we need their help. 

You can find your State Representative’s Austin office phone number by going to The Texas Legislature online at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us . 

Please do not call legislators who are not your representative – this is counterproductive.

For further information please check www.sffma.org 

Posted via email from Musings, Ramblings and Other Assorted Rubbish

The Art of Lawn Mowing…

Today sucked… A lot of things went wrong that should have been easy, but that’s ok, it ended well.  I was reintroduced to the joys of mowing my yard with a push mower. It may sound strange to say something like this, but hear me out:

As a kid, the mindless tedium of mowing gave me the chance to ponder the really big questions of life… Like ‘I wonder if what’s her and I will get together” or going over the newest additions to the play book from Coach.  I had time on my hands and a restless mind; which I used for good… Usually. 

Today, my mind is still restless but my questions are a bit more serious.  While walking behind that mower I began to think about some of the news stories that I’ve read, like the Department of Homeland Security painting what seems to be any dissention against the current administration as “rightwing extremist activity” or state governments finding it necessary to reaffirm their sovereignty in accordance with the 10^th Amendment of the US Constitution. I mean, what is going on with our MY country? Has it come to the point where you’re either Liberal or Conservative, Democrat or Republican with no room for being an American? 

I choose to be an American first and a party member later! I choose to live my life and conform my civic philosophies to those of the Founding Fathers, men who knew and believed in words like sacrifice, honor, courage, and patriotism. I choose to cling to my guns AND my religion and dare anyone to try to take them away!  Finally, I choose to stand up and be counted as one who still thinks Freedom and Liberty are things worth fighting for.

I guess the burning question I had running around in my head was this:

Are you man enough to live in the United States as envisioned by the Founding Fathers? 

Think about that before you answer.  There are several things that go along with it.  Are willing to stand up to your party ideologies when they are morally wrong – or go contrary to the Constitution? Are you willing to take responsibility for your own actions? Are you willing to rely on yourself and, God willing, your church for help? In short, could you take every political and social entitlement belief you have and find where the Constitution grants them? Then, if they are not in there, could you throw them out or revise them to bring them inline with the Constitution? Can you resist the compulsion to negate one civil liberty to protect other ones? Can you truthfully tell me that you would vigorously defend the right to free speech for someone whose beliefs are repugnant to you?

Folks we are at a cross road of American History. We stand on the brink of destruction by a government that is not fiscally responsible, or morally representative of our core values, and is out of compliance with what was written all those years ago.

Think about what we are doing to our country! We need to elect people that are strict Constitutionalist and fiscally responsible. Do not vote for someone just because you share a party affiliation. Vote for those that follow the rule of law and will make the tough choices to up hold our sovereignty in the face of opposition from abroad. Vote for those that will let the military fight the wars and give our fallen and wounded soldiers the respect they deserve. But most importantly vote for those who would never see our nation as arrogant or intolerant.  

I’m @dkirkland and I AM a true American! 

Posted via email from Musings, Ramblings and Other Assorted Rubbish

City of Burleson Tea Party

Below are emails exchanged between my self and the mayor of Burleson.  As you can see from his response, he must have gotten a few undignified emails from some people.

Mr. Shetter,
I am trying to find out before I forward http://www.freedomworks.org/comment/reply/19372 to the national media if the City of Burleson is in the process of denying free citizens their constitutional right to a peaceful gathering.  It is my understanding that you are not the one blocking this teaparty, but rather one of the city employees, an unelected “street supervisor” Ray Gonzales,  that believes the event is "not in the public interest".  To help further this along, Mr. Gonzales reports to city manger  David Wynn.  Please consider having a review this situation and resolve it soon.

Respectfully,
Dennis Kirkland
twitter @dkirkland

      FROM:            Mayor Ken Shetter, City of Burleson

RE:                  Burleson Tea Party

SUBJ:             City of Burleson is Not Shutting Down Tea Party

 

 

Concerned Citizen:

 

The City of Burleson is NOT TRYING TO STOP THE APRIL 15 TEA PARTY. 

 

Members of the Burleson Tea Party group have contacted the City of Burleson wanting permission to conduct a demonstration in an area near the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard (State Highway 174) and Hidden Creek Parkway. The area is across the street from the location of the Burleson Super Wal-Mart, and adjacent to a residential area. The area where the demonstration has been planned includes right of way for the state highway, municipal right of way, and a city street. The organizer said the event is expected to draw between 300 and 500 people to participate in the demonstration.  

 

From the beginning the city has made it clear that no city permit is required for the gathering.  This being said, the city has also made it clear that there are a number of safety related concerns that need to be addressed at the originally proposed location. It is one of the busiest street intersections in the city.  The posted speed limit on Wilshire/SH 174 is 50 mph. It is a 4-lane highway with a center turn lane. It is a heavily travelled highway, particularly during the hours of the planned demonstration (3-7 pm) when school is dismissing and evening going home drive-time traffic is at its peak. The original request also included the barricading of four residential streets to keep group members from parking in the neighborhoods. The city’s main concerns are safety of the demonstrators and other pedestrians, traffic safety,  and the ability for fire trucks to get in and out of the residential streets and hook up to fire hydrants. In speaking with representatives from the Texas Department of Transportation, it is clear that TxDOT and the city share the safety concerns.

 

The city has a special events committee that reviews requests for street closures (for example, neighborhood block parties, festivals). That committee met Thursday to review the request. Due to the topography of the area and the design of the highway, the number of anticipated participants in the demonstration, and the other safety concerns the special events committee has suggested that an alternative site be considered.  In fact, in an attempt to accommodate the group, City Hall, site of many community festivals, was offered as an alternative site. Nevertheless, although the site originally proposed for the demonstration presented numerous safety concerns, the committee was willing to take steps to accommodate the event if certain steps could be taken by the organizers of the event to assure safety for everyone involved.

 

At the time the attached news release from the city was issued this morning, we had not heard back from the organizers of the event. We since have had several discussions with the organizers and it is our understanding that an alternative site has indeed been secured.  You can contact the organizers of the event for the final location.

 

There are a few things that need to be made clear.  First, Rey Gonzales, one of the members of the city’s special events committee,  is a good man and dedicated public servant that works very hard every day to make our city a great place to live.  He is not trying to stop the tea party, and from my understanding has worked hard to accomodate the organizers.  Second, our city functions with a Council-Manager form of government.  As such, the mayor is not responsible for running the city on a day-to-day basis, and I have no authority to try to stop a function like the tea party.  Third, a number of people have e-mailed nasty comments about our city and our city government--Burleson is a great place to live, work, learn and play.  The members of our City Council and staff are concerned with one thing only--doing what's right for our citizens.  If you come to Burleson I think you will agree it's a great place, and I hope you spend some time in some of our great stores and restaurants--you might want to check out our "Old Town" area.

 

By the way, I have read and studied our Constitution--I've even taken an oath to preserve, protect and defend it.  I take that oath very seriously.

 

Sincerely,

 

Ken Shetter

Mayor of Burleson, Texas

Just thought you should know...

Respectfully,
Dennis Kirkland
twitter @dkirkland

Posted via email from Musings, Ramblings and Other Assorted Rubbish