And it’s happened again: Firefighters watch couple’s home burn to the ground (because they hadn’t paid $75 subscription fee) – 12/6/2011 www.dailymail.co.uk

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Battle cries are great things, because they remind us what we’re fighting for. Here are some terrific ones.

“Remember the Alamo!” “Remember the Maine!” “Remember the Lusitania!” “Remember Pearl Harbor!” “Remember Gene Cranick!”

Gene Cranick? You might remember hearing about Gene . He’s the man whose house burned to the ground while the fire department watched, because he hadn’t paid a $75 opt-in fee for the city fire department.

Remember Gene Cranick, because he is your possible future. A Tea Party future. A future of “One for me … and all for me.”

Glenn Beck likes this future. He agrees with it. And so does his producer, Pat Gray.

I’m going to play an audio clip for you. While you’re listening to it, keep in mind that the second voice is NOT Gene Cranick. It’s producer Pat Gray doing a crude and insulting imitation of Gene Cranick

Here they are in their own words, courtesy of YouTube and ThinkProgress.org:

Beck On Family Whose Home Burned Down As Firefighters Watched Oct 6, 2010. (1:46 to 3:36)

“Those who are just on raw feeling are not going to understand,” Glenn Beck said.

“Compassion, compassion, compassion, compassion,” he mocked.

This, in front of Glenn Beck’s “Charity” poster. The thing that’s sad, that makes me angry, is the mockery. This family had just lost everything. Family heirlooms, children’s pictures, every memento they ever owned.

It’s bad enough that Glenn Beck and Pat Gray think it’s acceptable to lose your house and all your possessions, and for four of your pets to burn to death over $75. I think that’s pretty cold-blooded, but they’re entitled to their opinion.

But listen to their mockery of him!

When I saw Gene Cranick’s interview with Keith Olbermann, I was touched. I couldn’t help but be struck by this man’s dignity as he explained his willingness to accept his fate, while expressing his disappointment with the policies and people that allowed it to happen.

Gene Cranick is not a trained speaker. His accent is rural Tennesseean and he is not skilled in articulating his thoughts and feelings. And why should anyone expect him to be?

But he expressed courage and acceptance and showed great strength at a moment of terrible tragedy and adversity. [Personal Disclosure: Our house burned down on September 13, 2008. It was in the middle of Hurricane Ike, and the courageous Houston Fire Department firefighters DID try to extinguish the fire, against instructions to take shelter! – Mike]

Glenn Beck and Pat Gray couldn’t see any of that. Instead, they mocked him!

This the future that Glenn Beck and his ilk want for you. A future where firemen are ordered to watch your house burn. A future without a safety net for old people. A future without medical care for sick people. A country with opt-in fire departments.

If this is the country they envision, why do they want a country at all?

What is the point of a nation, if not to help those who need it when they need it? When Louisiana has a Katrina, 49 other states should line up to help. When Washington has a Mount St. Helens, 49 other states should line up to help. Whether it’s floods in Pennsylvania, earthquakes in California or Alaska, or tornadoes in Oklahoma, there should always be 49 other states lined up to help. That’s the whole point of being a part of a nation. It’s supposed to make us all stronger and safer. There’s no point to any kind of union or community if the operative slogan is, “Everyman for himself!”

If it comes to that, we’ll all have to become survivalists; locked in our bunkers, stocked up with food, weapons and ammo, and watching the world through gun slits.

“Remember Gene Cranick!” This is the Tea Party future of user fees, personal responsibility, and pay to spray.

“Remember Gene Cranick!” This is the Tea Party future of heartlessness, cruelty, and mocking of the unfortunate.

“Remember Gene Cranick!” This is the Tea Party that wants to take away your minimum wage, your Social Security, and your unemployment insurance, and dismember the government regulations that protect your health and safety on the job.

“Remember Gene Cranick!” This is the Tea Party country where employers can coerce you into working off the clock with impunity, because there’s nothing to say that they can’t.

“Remember Gene Cranick!” If you can’t pay the toll, stay off the road. If you can’t afford housing, go find a refrigerator box or a bridge. If you can’t afford vaccinations or medical care, hurry up and die. Or as Scrooge would say, “If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”

“Remember Gene Cranick!” You better go through that mail really, really carefully, otherwise the fire department might stand by and watch your house burn down. If you don’t pay the city fee, don’t expect firefighting.

“Remember Gene Cranick!” Three dogs and a cat died — burned to death — in Gene Cranick’s house while the firefighters stood by and watched. The burning question (pun intended) that has never been answered is this: What if the Cranick’s had been trapped in that house. Would the town firefighters have watched them burn to death with their dogs and cat for lack of a $75 fee?

“Remember Gene Cranick!” Because if you don’t vote, if you don’t consider the consequences of how you vote, soon you could be living in his world.

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See Gene Cranick’s initial interview with Keith Olbermann.(Oct 5, 2010) MSNBC.com

Hear Glenn Beck’s Mockery of Gene Cranick YouTube.com

Read the transcript of Glenn Beck mocking Gene Cranick GlennBeck.com

Tennessee County’s Subscription-Based Firefighters Watch As Family Home Burns Down ThinkProgress.org

Glenn Beck speaks against compassion while ‘Charity’ sign hangs on wall (video) Examiner.com

Tennessee Firemen ignore burning house over unpaid subscription fee London Telegraph

Tennessee County’s Subscription-Based Firefighters Watch As Family Home Burns Down ThinkProgress.org