The most recent 20 comments posted to Electrolite by sennoma:

Scott Lynch: thanks for your reply. I stand corrected.

I was making a distinction between volunteer and paid firefighters that clearly doesn't exist in the US and, on reflection, almost certainly doesn't exist in Australia either. Or anywhere: you just can't *be* a firefighter on an "amateur" basis; no one would let you near the equipment or a fire unless you met the same requirements as the "pros". This is kind of a no-brainer really, which shows you how much thought went into my comment.

I apologize for any offence my ill-considered remarks may have caused.

/off-topic

Somewhat offtopic:

This is, of course, why Benjamin Franklin's paid fire departments are still around, crushing the specter haunting our nation, the specter of community involvement.

I dunno about you, but I want professionals hauling my ass out of a burning building. Community fire brigades are wonderful (there's a strong tradition of same in Australia, where I'm from), but they're a supplement to, not a replacement for, the pros.

XJ is the reason I stopped reading BoingBoing; I just couldn't take her gobshite any more. That said, I am not sure she's doing more in those two posts you link than poking fun at Gates' blockheaded assertion.

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