Yet more job security

Any member of the Emergency Services will tell you that stupid people are our bread and butter. If it weren't for people incapable of good judgment the demand for Police, Fire or EMS service would be greatly reduced. But sometimes stupidity unnecessarily puts resucers at risk.

FRESNO, Calif. — Last month two men and their teenage sons tackled one of the world's most unforgiving summertime hikes: the Grand Canyon's parched and searing Royal Arch Loop. Along with bedrolls and freeze-dried food, the inexperienced backpackers carried a personal locator beacon - just in case.

In the span of three days, the group pushed the panic button three times, mobilizing helicopters for dangerous, lifesaving rescues inside the steep canyon walls.

What was that emergency? The water they had found to quench their thirst "tasted salty."

If they had not been toting the device that works like Onstar for hikers, "we would have never attempted this hike," one of them said after the third rescue crew forced them to board their chopper. It's a growing problem facing the men and women who risk their lives when they believe others are in danger of losing theirs.

This is an easy one to cure. Immediate arrest for false public alarm and a bill for emergency services rendered when no emergency existed. Then again, that would result in accountability. With the current climate in Washington, we can't have that.

The rest here.