The following comes from new info released on csis.org..a good read.

http://www.csis.org/html/y2k2g.html#ben

SENATOR BENNETT: Your alternative is inaccurate information. Your alternative is panic. For example, my daughter who listens to me far more now than she did when she was a teenager, has decided that she's going to fill her garage with food on the assumption that there won't be any food on the shelves of the supermarket as a result of the year 2000. And then she turns to me and says Dad, why don't you do that? I say well, you know, that really wouldn't send too good a signal if the Chairman of the Senate Committee was filling his garage with dried food.

Just makes me wonder. I'll bet she knows more than me.

Mike Lang

-- Mike Lang (webflier@erols.com), October 16, 1998

Answers

Excellent article Mike, thanks.

I don't think his daughter knows anymore than you do, this article is as straightforward as he can get to even his daughter IMO.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), October 16, 1998.

A very sobering read indeed. Sen. Bennett is feeling the same frustration as I am in trying to get hard, accurate, reliable data by which to judge the Y2K 'readiness' of our critical infrastructure ('readiness' being a consession to Woe from an earlier thread. For example, I would consider my power company Y2K 'ready' if they continue to provide power without interruption. My phone company will be considered Y2K ready if I have no trouble getting a dial tone to call the power company and notify them that my neighborhood has no power. And so forth...)

Sen. Bennett's statement goes a long way towards arguing for independent auditing and verification of Y2K status for such corporations and government. Thanks much for the link.

Arnie

-- Arnie Rimmer (arnie_rimmer@usa.net), October 17, 1998.

just had a very interesting conversation in Y2k Chat room on AOL.

I talked to an 8 year Marine who's father works for Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) in the Northwest. His father has said that the grid simply too fragile and it will absolutely go down. No question. The only issue is for how long.

Tonight has been very sobering.

Preparation is a very good idea. __________________________________________________________________

-- anonymous (no_email@please.com), October 17, 1998.

This is not a religious statement, so don't hop all over me. Okay?

I do not know the relegious affiliation of Sen. Bennett or his daughter, but being from Utah there is a darned good chance they belong to the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints (aka the Mormons). As I understand it, the LDS church urges it's members to stockpile a year's supply of food at all times no matter what.

Perhaps Y2K is simply providing the nudge that it is taking for these folks to follow the teachings of their church? If they are indeed LDS members, they have heard about maintaining a supply of food all of their lives anyway. It shouldn't take much to urge people who have heard a message all of their lives, especially a message coming from their church, to begin to heed the message.

I'm not saying that these people are not genuinely concerned, or even that their actions are wrong. All I'm saying is that the people in question may already have had a very strong pre-disposition towards taking this action, and it took only a small nudge to drive them to do it. They may not provide the best example of how the seriousness of the situation is getting through to people.

-- Paul Neuhardt (neuhardt@ultranet.com), October 17, 1998.

WHERE IS THE CHAT ROOM ON AOL FOR Y2K???? I've been TRYING to get an answer for weeks.

-- aolchat (no@aol.com), October 17, 1998.

Paul,

I'm not sure what Mr. Bennett's religious beliefs are or those of his family.

Because I have friends that are LDS followers, I can verify your belief that the LDS church does ask that their followers keep such a supply. Yet, Mr. Bennett himself says he doesn't have such a stockpile so it may be that he isn't a member. I would think that if he were, and as a Senate member who is gone for extended periods of time, he would maintain such a supply for his family.

Of course, if there were a nuclear or terrorist attack, Mr. Bennett and his family would be secure in an underground bunker somewhere where they would have such supplies.

One thing is clear, Mr. Bennett has been very outspoken about Y2k and he has real concerns about what may happen. He has even taken his share of sarcasm from fellow members of the Senate who say when he walks by "Hey Bob, you're gonna fix that Y2k thing for us, right!"

This quote hits home, "Your alternative is INNACURATE information. Your alternative is panic."

So, I wouldn't discount the fact that his daughter may be worried. Mr. Bennett has all the inside information that you and I never hear. _______________________________________________________

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), October 17, 1998.

Didn't I read on one of the threads here that FEMA's policy has always been to urge Americans to stockpile some food just in case a natural disaster occured? FEMA's not Mormon affiliated. Natural disaster or man-made disaster, it's a disaster all the same.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), October 17, 1998.

Thanks Mike for the link.

Hey, Paul N! Back in May the CIA was urging it's members to prepare. Do you figure they're LDS, too? Puuuuleeze! There are MANY people in Utah who are not Mormons. That is SUCH a stereotype!!! I think you're grasping at straws with that one!

-- Gayla Dunbar (privacy@please.com), October 18, 1998.

Gayla, it's a known fact that you MUST me a Mormon in order to work for the CIA. Wait!! I think that's Moron.

-- Dave (dave22@concentric.net), October 18, 1998.

This article illustrates one of the real Y2K problems, to wit:

Accurate information may be available much later, say mid 1999. However, if the best information available at that time indicates that we should be preparing for shortages and power outages, it will simply be too late.

Most of us on this forum expect that at some point in time the American people will decide that there _really_ is a problem, and that they should do something (anything) individually. At that point in time we expect panic.

Those among us who are preparing anticipate this and hope to have what they need well in advance of this onset of buying. The motto has always been, "Prepare for the worst, hope for the best."

I see this article as simple confirmation of this. No one knows, so it's wise to be prepared for viable scenarios that can be coming.

The alternative is to sit around and question every little piece of news that comes down the line, ascribing ulterior motives where such is necessary to discredit information that reinforces the need for preparation. Some are inclined to do this. If they later see their belief that it isn't going to be very bad shattered, it will be AFTER the panic.

BTW, I expect that they'll then blame the very people preparing ......"if those people hadn't gotten the idea to store food, they'd be food on the shelves," rather than deciding they, themselves, are to blame for not preparing. It has always been easy to blame others for our own choice of the wrong path.

Good find, Mike Lang

rocky, who is wondering if the Senator's daughter is preparing a place at the table for her father?

-- rocky (rknolls@hotmail.com), October 18, 1998.

<< Yet, Mr. Bennett himself says he doesn't have such a stockpile so it may be that he isn't a member. >>

True, but then again I understand that complience with the recommendation is pretty low amoung the members of the LDS church. From what I understand, it's a suggestion and not a requirement.

Gayla, (and everyone else, for that matter) I said up from that this wasn't a religius comment. Yes, I know there are lots of non-LDS members in Utah. However, the overwhelming majority of Utah residents are indeed Mormon (last figure I heard was 85%+). So, if you are playing the odds, it's a lot safer to figure that someone from Utah is an LDS member than it is to assume that they are not.

Besides, the real point here had nothing to do with the religious beliefs of the Senator or his daughter. The point was that if they were members of that church then they had been hearing for their whole lives that preparing emergency supplies of food, water and other essentials was a good and proper thing to do, and that might make it easier to convince those people to take that action if they had not already. It wouldn't matter if they heard it from their church or their state government of the morning-drive DJ on their favorite radio station.

-- Paul Neuhardt (neuhardt@ultranet.com), October 19, 1998.

Paul, if you're right about the percentage of people in Utah being LDS, then the Sen. would very likely have frequently heard about the food recomendation whether or not he is himself LDS. Besides, the more I read about survival (most books I've found are about surviving natural disasters), the more it make sense to me to have at least a month's supply at all times!

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), October 19, 1998.

I have no problem with keeping supplies around at all times. I have always kept a 1-2 week supply of food, water and fuel around the house. I may boost that level by the end of next year. I grew up in Tornado Alley and have since lived in two different high-risk hurricane areas so believe me, I endorse the concept wholeheartedly.

-- Paul Neuhardt (neuhardt@ultranet.com), October 19, 1998.

Just how big is a "stockpile"?? Sen. Bennett may have his one or two years supply of food and water, which he has been accumulating over the years, but is that a stockpile?...you could say a definition of one would be guns, ammo, alternate heat/power, barter items, medical, and anything that would make a person self-sufficient. Bill Gates' stockpile would be bigger than mine I guess, so the Senator probably has enough for his needs, but would not consider it a huge hoard. His may be bigger than mine and I think I have quite a lot of preparations. Those who really know and believe it will be bad are doing what they need to do for their families, no matter which words they use to the media.

-- Laurane (familyties@rttinc.com), October 19, 1998.