So I was watching an old "Family Guy" the other night, and I was struck by the situational similarities of the plight of the citizens of Quahog and Rockford.

See, Quahog's mayor is Adam West and he's arrogant,self-centered,and really doesn't care about the citizens' needs. He spends the entire budget(and adds DEBT) on a solid gold statue of the Honey Smacks' mascot, Dig'Em in the city's center.(Rockford's 'Dig'Em statue'??? the MetroCentre?removing the downtown mall??? YOU DECIDE)

So there's a frame in the show showing taxpayers picketing around the statue with signs like 'Don't Cut Basic Services'...ironically real....so the mayor figures he needs to distract the people and proposes a bill to outlaw gay marriage(OK,so not gonna go THERE, )but in Rockford the distraction is Firefighter Pensions...(LarryBoy made contemptous remarks in last Council's 'Officers' Report' then the AdamWesthead admits nothing can be done with the CURRENT firefighters' and retirees' pensions....what a maroon....