When firefighters negotiate for higher pay and better benefits, they routinely argue that they deserve them because they "put their lives on the line" for public safety. Yet a behind-the-scenes story from the Capitol last week shows the degree to which California's unionized firefighters are willing to put union issues above everything else, even above the public's safety. In the last week of the legislative session, a seemingly innocuous bill, AB 823, was brought to the Assembly floor and received nearly unanimous support - quite a feat in a legislative body as divided as the California Assembly. As the water...