In his posting of Friday 11 June 2010, "What More Motivation Do You Need?", Chief Instructor at Accept The Challenge blog site noted how a lot of people take on the attitude that they don't feel a need for self preparations because, "the government will take care of things" in the event of some catastrophic event.
If Chief Instructor will allow me, I'd like to expand on that idea a bit.
Personally, I'd like to think that our goofy ass Uncle Sammy would come charging in to support us after the SHTF or, we face TEOTWAWKI. (especially since they should have done their best to shield us from such an event to begin with) It just seems to stand to reason that our elected public servants would be falling all over themselves to insure that the public they serve is, well, being served. That's why we are paying those big bucks for big government... right?
Ladies and gentlemen, please assume your crash positions now by bending forward, placing your head between your knees, and kissing your (soon to be left on it's own) ass bye bye.
As far back as the 1950's, Big Gov was working on an emergency action plan for that "extra special just in case scenario" that would likely change the face of everything. Of course, back then, that scenario was pretty much centered around the fear of an all out nuclear exchange between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union. (no one was putting much thought into the concept of meteor strikes, solar storm EMPs or Deepwater Horizon oil spills)
So, Big Gov rolled up it's sleeves and took on the arduous task of spending big bucks on big bunkers built deep underground. And they paid extra big bucks so those bunkers would have a minor spartan accessory or two... like independent electrical power plants, air filtration systems, water filtration systems, furnished dorms, staffed emergency medical services, kitchens, dining halls and food supplies to feed the masses!!! That is, of course, referring to the masses that make up the executive and legislative branches of Big Gov.
For an online bunker tour and an interesting story click here.
Big Gov had a slightly different plan for us peon (read: pee-on) masses, though. If given the signal, we were instructed to "head for the nearest fallout shelter", usually found in the basements of schools or other public buildings. And Big Gov spared no expense to insure our safety and comfort... NO independent power plants, NO air or water filtration systems, NO furnished anything, NO protective clothing, NO blast proof doors, NO... (perhaps it would be easier to list what you would find in these "shelters" and that would be damned little) Spartan would have been a two star upgrade.
Imagine, if you will, that sweet scent of dank, mold encrusted basements found in any third world country on planet Earth. (France immediately comes to mind) Add to that the sudden crush of an undetermined, unregulated number of human beings and the inevitable not so sweet scents they will emit and / or become encrusted with during those fun filled days "in shelter". Now, add to that, the aroma coming from the "sanitation system". (a paper board drum with a clip on toilet seat, lined with a plastic sheet and most often separated from public viewing by little more than a couple of blankets suspended from the ceiling)
Shelters administered by state Civil Defense offices did in fact stock public shelters with these highly innovative schmooze receptacles in a drum, along with water in a drum and food in a drum. The number of drums allocated to each shelter was determined by the number of "shelterees" these basement "radiological safe zones" could "reasonably" accommodate. (an estimated figure decided by a low level bureaucrat and which, in reality, could not factor in any of several possible causes for shelter overcrowding)
Breakfast from the drum consisted of crackers or wafers and hard candy as a carbohydrate supplement. (yumm!!!) Lunch... see breakfast. Supper... well, you guessed it. At this point, it would not require a doctorate in human plumbing to understand the most likely consistency and odor quality from the stuff soon to be filling those "crappers in a can". After a few days in shelter, I could easily suspect shelterees would throw all caution to the wind and gladly embrace the radioactive glow found outside of shelter.
And back then, they were thinking a post nuke shelter stay in terms of days... not weeks, not months or even years. DAYS!!! (nuke stuff had a much shorter half-life in those days?)
If you think for one nanosecond I'm spreading it on a tad toward the thick side, click here for a Civil Defense Museum story and photo gallery. Click back and forth between this link and the one above for a serious blood shooting from your eyes experience.
And when members of Big Gov felt compelled to explain the logic behind their survival needs over the survival needs of the people: "In the aftermath, the people (read: mutants and zombies still alive, if any) will need their government, in tact, to lead them through the period of national recovery." (sure... that make perfect sense to me)
For all of those folks who believe the government is here to help you, I have some good news and I have some bad news. The good news is, you won't have to worry about a stay in a Civil Defense "suite" anytime soon. The Civil Defense program was phased out a few years back, along with all those shelters.
And now, the bad news, folks. Think Superdome, 2005, and the lavish service all those Hurricane Katrina refugees received (read: were subjected to) at the hands of local, state, federal governments AND their neighbors since none of the government entities were providing any real security measures. AGAIN, there are no dedicated, well stocked public shelters in America. (not that there ever were, for us anyway)
And so I ask you. With some very real potential for any number of far reaching catastrophic events looming on the horizon, who do you trust to help you survive? In my shelter, it's God and me. And I'm kind of insisting, God will have to bring his own MRE's.
MikeH.
If Chief Instructor will allow me, I'd like to expand on that idea a bit.
Personally, I'd like to think that our goofy ass Uncle Sammy would come charging in to support us after the SHTF or, we face TEOTWAWKI. (especially since they should have done their best to shield us from such an event to begin with) It just seems to stand to reason that our elected public servants would be falling all over themselves to insure that the public they serve is, well, being served. That's why we are paying those big bucks for big government... right?
Ladies and gentlemen, please assume your crash positions now by bending forward, placing your head between your knees, and kissing your (soon to be left on it's own) ass bye bye.
As far back as the 1950's, Big Gov was working on an emergency action plan for that "extra special just in case scenario" that would likely change the face of everything. Of course, back then, that scenario was pretty much centered around the fear of an all out nuclear exchange between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union. (no one was putting much thought into the concept of meteor strikes, solar storm EMPs or Deepwater Horizon oil spills)
So, Big Gov rolled up it's sleeves and took on the arduous task of spending big bucks on big bunkers built deep underground. And they paid extra big bucks so those bunkers would have a minor spartan accessory or two... like independent electrical power plants, air filtration systems, water filtration systems, furnished dorms, staffed emergency medical services, kitchens, dining halls and food supplies to feed the masses!!! That is, of course, referring to the masses that make up the executive and legislative branches of Big Gov.
For an online bunker tour and an interesting story click here.
Big Gov had a slightly different plan for us peon (read: pee-on) masses, though. If given the signal, we were instructed to "head for the nearest fallout shelter", usually found in the basements of schools or other public buildings. And Big Gov spared no expense to insure our safety and comfort... NO independent power plants, NO air or water filtration systems, NO furnished anything, NO protective clothing, NO blast proof doors, NO... (perhaps it would be easier to list what you would find in these "shelters" and that would be damned little) Spartan would have been a two star upgrade.
Imagine, if you will, that sweet scent of dank, mold encrusted basements found in any third world country on planet Earth. (France immediately comes to mind) Add to that the sudden crush of an undetermined, unregulated number of human beings and the inevitable not so sweet scents they will emit and / or become encrusted with during those fun filled days "in shelter". Now, add to that, the aroma coming from the "sanitation system". (a paper board drum with a clip on toilet seat, lined with a plastic sheet and most often separated from public viewing by little more than a couple of blankets suspended from the ceiling)
Shelters administered by state Civil Defense offices did in fact stock public shelters with these highly innovative schmooze receptacles in a drum, along with water in a drum and food in a drum. The number of drums allocated to each shelter was determined by the number of "shelterees" these basement "radiological safe zones" could "reasonably" accommodate. (an estimated figure decided by a low level bureaucrat and which, in reality, could not factor in any of several possible causes for shelter overcrowding)
Breakfast from the drum consisted of crackers or wafers and hard candy as a carbohydrate supplement. (yumm!!!) Lunch... see breakfast. Supper... well, you guessed it. At this point, it would not require a doctorate in human plumbing to understand the most likely consistency and odor quality from the stuff soon to be filling those "crappers in a can". After a few days in shelter, I could easily suspect shelterees would throw all caution to the wind and gladly embrace the radioactive glow found outside of shelter.
And back then, they were thinking a post nuke shelter stay in terms of days... not weeks, not months or even years. DAYS!!! (nuke stuff had a much shorter half-life in those days?)
If you think for one nanosecond I'm spreading it on a tad toward the thick side, click here for a Civil Defense Museum story and photo gallery. Click back and forth between this link and the one above for a serious blood shooting from your eyes experience.
And when members of Big Gov felt compelled to explain the logic behind their survival needs over the survival needs of the people: "In the aftermath, the people (read: mutants and zombies still alive, if any) will need their government, in tact, to lead them through the period of national recovery." (sure... that make perfect sense to me)
For all of those folks who believe the government is here to help you, I have some good news and I have some bad news. The good news is, you won't have to worry about a stay in a Civil Defense "suite" anytime soon. The Civil Defense program was phased out a few years back, along with all those shelters.
And now, the bad news, folks. Think Superdome, 2005, and the lavish service all those Hurricane Katrina refugees received (read: were subjected to) at the hands of local, state, federal governments AND their neighbors since none of the government entities were providing any real security measures. AGAIN, there are no dedicated, well stocked public shelters in America. (not that there ever were, for us anyway)
And so I ask you. With some very real potential for any number of far reaching catastrophic events looming on the horizon, who do you trust to help you survive? In my shelter, it's God and me. And I'm kind of insisting, God will have to bring his own MRE's.
MikeH.
Yep, it's all about Animal Farm - "Some animals are more equal than others."
ReplyDeleteI for one think that the ones who choose not to prepare are the same ones that have gotten us, this far down the spiral, with socialism just a stones throw away and a population of passive babies who just figure that everything will just be handed to us, Those are the first to get the real shock when the S H T F, and most likely the ones who will be the zombies when the riots begin.
ReplyDeleteSo my question to you MikeH. is what do we do about it? let the weak raid what ever surplus we stock? or try to educate these mindless idots that the future may not be as brite as they all think?...
With all of the different possibilites, ie electromagnetic pulses, the obvious oil peak and depleation, oh yeah let us not rule out nuclear world war III, I feel that every person in this country stands to loose something be it money, property, family, or even their own lives, and most of us think that our government gives a shit what happens to us---------------WRONG--------------.
So i say O T S S only the strong survive,
and for the rest God have mercy on their souls.
Furthermore, I think that America needs a change, and I'm not talking about our current presidential situation, maybe a catastrophic event is exactly the answer.
ReplyDeleteCI,
ReplyDeleteIt's either like Animal Farm or the mutant petting zoo at the freak show.
FF,
I sense some frustration in your tone. Welcome to the neighborhood.
What do we do? I'm not sure there is anything that can be done. For what it's worth, in my opinion and, I could be very wrong: I believe there are a few too many forces working against us. I think we have passed the point of a safe return. We are in a free fall without a parachute and the best we can hope for is enough time to prepare ourselves a well padded spot for the splat down.
I want to be wrong in my assessment and I will continue to pray for the absolute best but, I will also continue to prepare for the worst.
The world at large only needs a high colonic. A catastrophic event would mean a lot of lives lost and I have grand kids I'd like to think will grow old and die from that cause alone.
MikeH.
Yeah, I think as individuals, we're past the point of being able to do something pro-active to actually change the situation we're in. Just on the financial side, you can't erase $109 TRILLION of unfunded liabilities the US has.
ReplyDeleteWell, you can do that, but the result would be devastating. You'd have little old grannies out firing upon .GOV troops!
We CAN do things to soften the blow. Store what you need, have it in multiple locations so "all of your eggs" aren't in one place, and start learning skills that might be in short supply (medical, public safety, etc).
There is good news and bad news. The bad news is that it is undoubtedly too late to prevent an economic crash. The good news is anyone with good common sense and who isn't completely wrapped up in American Idol can see what is coming and prepare. The grocery stores are full, go buy a years supply of basic foods. Buy an extra cord of firewood. Buy what you need to cook in the event your electric and NG are shut off. Test your survival plan and refine it where there are problems. Put some cash some place in your home (make sure you have small bills and change too). It is likely that even when something dramatic happens that anyone with cash in hand will still be able to buy some last minute supplies. It is also likely that the first bad news will be accompanied by all the banks shutting their doors for a really long time. Sell your new car and buy something cheap and dependable. Pay off your debts. Prepare, it's later then you think...
ReplyDelete