Welcome to America, Inc.

Frequent reader(s) of this blog know dreams don't die, they simply get misplaced as disappointments pile up around them...er...we mean know that we hale from the Volunteer state and even though we came north years ago, still like to look back in fondness on the old sod. Well, usually we're just making fun of the bubbas in their attempts recapture the magic of the 19th century but, giving credit where credit is due, we suddenly realized after running across this that Tennessee is on the cutting edge of the creation of the new America.

A Tennessee couple helplessly watched their home burn to the ground, along with all of their possessions, because they did not pay a $75 annual fee to the local fire department.

See, now in the old, antiquated America folks--or as those political scholars in the Tea Party like to call them--the We The People got together to decide on things that were good for the whole community--like say a fire department--then as a community they would contribute to the maintenance of  those "common goods" through the collection of taxes.

Shoot.  Where's the profit in that?

South Fulton Mayor David Crocker defended the fire department, saying that if firefighters responded to non-subscribers, no one would have an incentive to pay the fee.

 Oh you don't have to convince us Mayor Crocker, we mean, what's the point of having a government at all if it's going to be off doing things like putting out fires, maintaining the roads, police, schools and on and on. Cripes, you think the Founding Fathers created executive, legal and legislative institutions to ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity? That's crazy talk, man!

Vicky Bell told the NBC affiliate WPSD-TV that she called 911 when her mobile home in Obion County caught fire. Firefighters arrived on the scene but as the fire raged, they simply stood by and did nothing.

Now, some may ask why the firemen showed up in the first place if they never intended to put out the fire. Well, that's obvious isn't it? If you had a chance to drive a firetruck around town with lights and sirens, wouldn't you do it in a heartbeat? Plus when you get to the fire you don't have to do anything. Win win!

The South Fulton policy produced precisely the same nightmare scenario last year, when homeowner Gene Cranick--who had likewise failed to pay the $75 annual fee for rural Obion County residents--saw his house engulfed by flames as South Fulton firefighters watched close by.

 Well, all we can say is some people never learn.

That incident sparked a debate among conservative pundits over the limits of fee-for-service approaches to government.

Debate huh? That's odd. We would think conservatives would be behind this sort of thing. Self reliance, small government, get out of the way of the free market and all that. Let's ask one of the debaters to clarify. Kevin Williamson, would you indulge us?

The world is full of jerks, freeloaders, and ingrates — and the problems they create for themselves are their own. These free-riders have no more right to South Fulton's firefighting services than people in Muleshoe, Texas, have to those of NYPD detectives."

Right on Mr. Williamson. Andrew Jackson couldn't have said it better, or maybe that was Teddy Roosevelt. Yeah, it was Teddy Roosevelt. It's like you're channeling him, Mr. Williamson.