Firefighters and cops have jobs that involve medium to low-hazard deadly risk. Less risky than truck-driving, traveling salesmen, commercial fishers, ironworkers, loggers, helicopter pilots, farmers, oil rig workers, heavy construction, and so on. And get huge "line of duty" benefits denied soldiers and others in gov't and private industry.

Even the NYTimes gets it right now and then. It is as wrong for firefighters to whore themselves out advertising for store promotions, restaurants where they get freebies as it would be for an active duty soldier trading in on his uniform to sell used cars in battle gear.

I blame long-time cop-worshipper Giuliani for creating a 9/11 Victim's Heros vs. Zeros mentality. "They rush towards danger, while cowardly ordinary zero citizens trying to flee can only genuflect in awe of their heroism".

As for the "Jersey Girls", Dorothy Rabinowitz gave a good essay on how they are really perceived in the NYC metro area - self-promoting media whores out to push their personal agenda, shouldering aside other victim's families. The two worst are Kristin Breitweiser, Monica "Bush and Giuliani are Murderers" Gabrielle, and Sally Regenhard, also known as Sally Blowhard.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/medialog/?id=110004950

Does the Times care how deeply these few self-promoting bitches are reviled in the NYC Metro area, and by many of their fellow 9/11 families? Of course not! Journalistic integrity in impartial reporting 3 years after 9/11 is outside the NYTimes political agenda sphere. Hence their promotion of Kerry, claiming the Jersey Girls (5 of 2,782 victims) are the true spokespersons of 9/11, firefighters as America's Greatest Heroes, and David Libeskind as the "Healing Architect of America".

The NYTimes is as trustworthy as CBS...no maybe more, since they lie daily.