An email from a resident in Denver: Weather "happens"...

Up here in the "Mile-Hi City", we just recovered from a Historic event -
some even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions." It arrived in the
form of a blizzard containing up to 44" inches of snow, winds to 90 MPH and
greater... broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded
hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated
scores of communities, and cut power to tens of thousands.

FYI:

* George Bush did not come.

* FEMA did nothing.

* No one howled for the government.

* No one blamed the government.

* No one even uttered an expletive on TV.

* Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit.

* Our Mayor did not blame Mr. Bush or anyone else.

* Our Governor did not blame Mr. Bush or anyone else, either.

* CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC did not visit - or report on this
category 5 snowstorm.

* Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.

* No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House.

* No one looted.

* Nobody - And I mean Nobody ...demanded the government do
something.

* Nobody expected the government to do anything, either.

* No Larry King, no Shepard Smith, no Oprah, no Chris Mathews and no
Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson.

* No Sean Penn, no Barbara Streisand... without fanfare... simply no
Hollywood types to be found.

* Nope, we just melted the snow for water.

* Sent out caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow engulfed
cars.

* ALL Truck drivers hauled people out of snow banks and didn't ask
for a penny.

* Local restaurants prepared food for police and fire departments to
deliver to snowbound families, elderly, and anyone else in need.

* Families took in stranded people, typically, total strangers.

* We fired up wood stoves, broke out kerosene, propane, or Coleman
lanterns.

* Fire wood was distributed to those that needed it.

* We put on extra layers of clothes because up here, it is "Work or
Die".

* We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us
out of a mess... created by a government sponsored welfare program that
trades votes for 'sitting at home' checks.

Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this
early in the season, we know it can happen; and how to deal with it
ourselves.

In my travels, I've noticed that once above 48 degrees North Latitude, 90%
of the world's social problems evaporate. It does seem that way, at least to
me.

There may be a message inside this message... "The world does Not owe you a
living!" Any part of this you don't understand?

Fire Districts, Others, Upset About Hidden Parts of Proposition B

Well, it seems that the real reason the union thugs were supporting the increase in minimum wage this year WASN'T because it was a mere increase in the minimum wage. Nooooooooo ... in fact, there was much more to it than that. They just didn't want anyone to know it!

Many were aware that there was an indexing factor built into the proposal, which has upset business organizations such as Associated Industries of Missouri and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce because it means there will be an annual increase in the minimum wage, associated with the CPI, and every year it will increase by a greater number.

However, a little known factor hidden well within the proposal, which got absolutely ZERO talk time during the debates, has managed to rear its ugly head toward fire districts.

Chapter 290.505 has to do with overtime. Unions have long-tried to protect the "coveted" 40 hour work week, as well as the 8 hour work day, throwing aside those that wished to work four ten-hour days or more than 40 hours for comp time with their family.

But now, thanks to this ridiculous proposal, the very manner in which fire departments and fire districts create their schedules is up in the air. Firefighters "work" over 40 hours a week. When they are on duty, they stay at the fire station, which is equipped much like many homes. They have beds, a kitchen, a living room, and there's nothing wrong with that. They do get paid to be on call, whether they are working an accident or not. They simply have to be there.

But the scheduling becomes a nightmare under this new proposal, because now, anything over 40 hours a week MUST be paid as overtime. This means that every firefighter is either going to have to take a cut in pay, or the district (a taxing entity) is going to have to start paying them all time-and-a-half in overtime!

This has the fire districts all going crazy, asking for exemption from the new minimum wage law.

Stay tuned -- this ought to be good!