According to the Washington Post, Washington, DC, has realized that it "likely" won't be ready, and therefore is adopting major contingency plans. Of course, I expect the pollys will claim that "it's just business as usual", but I don't think that will fly this time.

-- Steve Heller (stheller@koyote.com), June 27, 1999

Answers

I'll repeat:

So the newsey (reporter fyi) calls FBI public affairs three weeks ago and asks:

I understand that an order has been issued canceling all leave for FBI Special Agents from December 15, 1999 until the 1st or 2nd week of Januray 2000 because of the y2k problem and all agents will be placed on stand by?

The public affiars person says "Who told you that? We do not comment on internal FBI communications".

12,000 FBI agents called out for a 72 hour snow storm?

Also, why are IRS-CID Special Agents attempting to stem y2k bank runs in Utah and Montana by threating peope with "structuring" violations for with drawing their money from the bank?

Deo Vindicie, BR

-- brother rat (rldabney@usa.net), June 27, 1999.

brother:

*******Also, why are IRS-CID Special Agents attempting to stem y2k bank runs in Utah and Montana by threating peope with "structuring" violations for with drawing their money from the bank? ********

where did I miss that? gotta link?

-- justme (finally@home.com), June 27, 1999.

Matt Drudge has made that story a red-letter bulletin right now at his website.

This is likely just the tip of the proverbial "iceberg" so to speak.

Interesting.

-- R.C. (racambab@mailcity.com), June 28, 1999.

hope those 12,000 agents have plenty of walkie-talkies or semaphore equipment 'cos they are in all likelyhood gonna be on their own...

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), June 28, 1999.

WhooHooooo! Check out this thread ;^)

D.C. comes clean in DC Post 6/28

xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), June 28, 1999.

Steve,

I'm not surprised by these developments, but it does make me sad. My family and ancestors have been in Washington since the days of the American Revolution. I wonder, for example, how a young lady named Emily, living in the wilderness territory of Wisconsin, would feel about Y2K today -- in comparison to what she must have felt in 1861 when she received the following letter from her fiance, my great-great- grandfather Daniel Webster Prentice, who was an 18 year old medical intern in Washington, D.C.:

Washington D.C. July 22, 1861

Dearest Emily,

I received your letter yesterday at the same time I posted one for you, and so waited till this evening to write again. Thank you for the beautiful rose bud that you gathered for me, on the 4th of July, to be sure! I shall take good care of it, though it does not go into our collection but into my drawer. Neither have I collected any flowers since the last you sent,have been but seldom in the country and then had no way to carry them. You say I must describe "home scenes" to you,I don't know hownever attempted it, and you are so hard to please that I am afraid to attempt until you tell me howdescribe a "home scene" next time you write and I will try. Do you not think you were [not] very goodnatured to tell me that "everything else" I have written was uninteresting "of course," after I have written about twenty letters! If you meant to scold me, it is all lost because you did not say what you were scolding me for, and I do not feel conscious of deserving itperhaps it was something in that letter that "required no answer." If it was, I don't remember it.

Please write me good natured lettersI need them now and will try to deserve them. You are not teasing me when you [say you] do not expect to be home in six times three months -- you would not be so cruel as to say it without you had a reason for it -- though I can see none. Ma says positively you shall come home in the fallshe only wishes she had never let you go;and though the Dr. keeps his own counsel, Ma says she knows he will not consent to let you stay.

So, you see, my dear, not being wanted at home will be no excuse for staying away and I shall still anticipate seeing you in three months. I only fear one thing and that is your "folks" moving away.

You know the war is not far off and there is a possibility of Congress being moved. There was a terrible, terrible battle in Virginia yesterday about twenty five miles from here, the greatest battle ever fought in this country, -- the lowest estimate of those killed is five thousand of the federal troops, the highest ten thousand, so that the truth is probably between the numbers.

The place is called "Bull's Run" about three miles this side Manassas Junction, and is mostly strongly fortified with entrenchments and masked batteries. The place furnished water to the Confederate Army and Gen. McDowell thought if he could get possession, they would be forced to retire from the Junction. The slaughter was awful, the number killed on both sides seems to be about the same judging from the reports from those engaged.

The wounded, dying and dead have been coming into the city all day today and those escaped come staggering almost dead with fatigue, some barefooted, without coats, guns, knapsacks and cartridge boxes everything thrown away in their haste to get away.

In spite of the rain, the avenue has been crowded today with people seeking newsgroups on almost every corner with a soldier in the midst telling of the battle. The second R.I. Regiment was almost cut to pieces and of the N.Y. Five Zouaves only three hundred are yet accounted for, they charged a battery in the woods and when nearly up to it, the masked battery in the woods just at their side, opened upon them and mowed them down like grass.

Of a Connecticut regiment only four men are accounted for, a Captain and three privates. The Captain thought he alone of the whole Regiment was left until he met the men.

What I tell you is what I have heard from the soldiers engaged in the battle. The 69th and 79th N.Y. Reg'ts suffered severely as in fact did every regiment engaged. The Confederates had the best arms of every kind and knew how to use them too. I heard an Ohio officer say that he saw them fire upon a regiment advancing upon a battery and the men fell like leaveshe never saw such an awful sight in his life. The road was strewn with baggage, wagons, horses and men, spades, picks, knapsacks, canteens and muskets lying around in every direction . . . .

. . . You asked me to picture home scenes, but you had little idea, dearest, that you would hear such news from so near home. But, for all, the city is as quiet as can be expected under the circumstances, the weather has cleared off and the tired soldiers are asleep almost at every corner "down town". There was much fear expressed yesterday evening that Beauregard was coming into the city, and some talk of militia being ordered out, but I have not heard anything of it yetthey would be of no use, since they are not drilled, only be in the way of other troops. If it had been Davis' intention to take the city, he would have had it by this morning, while our troops were all exhausted. As I said before, the rain has stopped so we did not get wet going to Georgetown today. -- I didn't deserve the scolding you gave me for taking Charley out in the rain -- he went on business for Pa and I went to oblige him.

So my dear, you may apologize and thank me for not scolding you for writing such a cross letterperhaps I should but for other more important matters which I would have let you read in the papers, if you had not said once you had rather 'hear them from me rather than a stranger', though everything else is "uninteresting." . . .

*****

I still have this letter, written in a spidery script on old, old paper. It reminds me, from time to time, that no matter how bad things seem today, they have to be put in historical perspective...

Ed

-- Ed Yourdon (lurking@offtheradarscreen.com), June 28, 1999.

Thanks Ed, very poignant... how could "they" let this happen???

You know, Billy Jeff and Gore, the Inventor of the Internet, both asleep, snoring, at the wheel...

I hope to God there will be Tribunals...

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), June 28, 1999.

this is a big one...

I wonder if this action is being taken now because July 1 will bring about problems that just cannot be covered up?

Mike ===================================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), June 28, 1999.

Good catch Mike - why now..... why now.....

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), June 28, 1999.

The Washington d.c alert on drudge is not good news this early. 1 maybe incoming problems with solar max flares, possibility # 2 war things in europe or south asia must be not good. or maybe genuine y2k preparedness in lew of nuke plants getting ready to be shut down ,I think not. This media action is going to send shock ways in the market across the planet tomorrow am. They wouldnt do it this early unless big trouble is on immediate horizon. Hold on to your hats the ride is about to start.

-- y2k aware mike (y2k aware mike @ Conservation . com), June 28, 1999.

I wonder if there's any connection between the Washington Post article and the appearance this morning of "Mild Mannered Reporter":

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0010hf

"Don't take the money and run" says FDIC

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), June 28, 1999.

Another thread on the Washington Post article is at...

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0010eK

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), June 28, 1999.

Quotes from cpr's take on DC article (over on Der Boonkah):

http://www.InsideTheWeb.com/messageboard/mbs.cgi?acct=mb237006&MyNum=9 30539562&P=Yes&TL=930464740

Now Duct Tape has D.C. to point to. Watch the Cultist play on that. Sunday, 27-Jun-1999 23:12:42

"The D.C. story will be the 'last hurrah' for the Doomers. After that it will be clear that D.C. is the 'worst case' and 'it won't be so bad' (or will it??).

I hold Clint-Gore responsible AND..all the Y2k Elected Big Mouths who went traipsing around the country while the District they are responsible for could have melted down. Where were Horn and Bennett vis a vis D.C.?? Where was the Administration?? And where were the Idiot Memes from GWU with their Socialistic Plans for the rest of the country while their own home District was left exposed??...."

"...Read the difference between the sensationalist reports planted on EY re: Drudge's story vs. the actual Washington Post story which calls for the '3 day storm'."

"...Over on C.sy2k Milne is rejoicing in the story as you would expect of a part time pig farmer within walking distance of the refugees from D.C."

-- OutingsR (us@here.yar), June 28, 1999.

Another version of the Washington Post article is at this link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1999-06/28/074r-062899- idx.html

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), June 28, 1999.

The most ludicrous quote I have ever seen!!!!!

Cmdr. David McDonald, the supervisor of police Y2K planning tells the POST: "We want to reassure the residents and visitors to the District that even if Armageddon comes, we will assist and protect the public."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/y2k/y2k.htm

Aren't you glad that our illustrious congress will be home for their holiday vacation. Klinton will be at Camp David and we can rest easy.

Let's all charter a tour bus and visit our nations capitol.

Joe Stout

-- Joe Stout (joewstout@iswt.com), June 28, 1999.

Yeah Joe they'll assist the public into body bags in a guarded enclave to prevent cannibalism... doncha just love those Projects...

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), June 28, 1999.

Thanks for sharing that one Ed.

A keeper, and a great reminder. I still have an 1828 sampler created by family descendants of a Revolutionary War officer. Love the old family "history." Adds humanity and perspective to the here and now.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), June 28, 1999.

As an aside to a very poignant and timely letter:

The Union Army was slaughtered at the Battle of Bull Run. The Union was considered the hands down favorite. The confrontation was to be viewing spectacle. The confidence in the Federals was so high, many of of the city's elite were encouraged to take view the battle. A VERY large procession of carriages took the ladies and gentelmen, in their finery, to viewpoint on the ridgelines of the battlefield....

The carnage was indeed horrific, a complete opposite outcome.

I too was saddened when - I read the news today, oh boy.

Thank you very much for sharing the letter Ed.

-- Tom McDowell (bullriver@montana.com), June 29, 1999.

Well, guess we'll batten down the hatches here in DC and ride out the storm. We're having a individual/community prep meeting at our house tonight. Should be an interesting conversation -- to say the least. Please keep those of us who live in DC and cannot leave in your thoughts and prayers. peace, Libby

-- Libby Alexander (libbyalex@aol.com), June 29, 1999.

DC isn't the only city in equally bad trouble - just the one most visible. (Now.)

After all, all infrastructure problems are local. Just local failures. Minor, localized failures. Minor, localized speed bumps in the road of life.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), June 29, 1999.

Yes, only those who live in local areas should be concerned. Think globally, live locally?

-- Steve Heller (stheller@koyote.com), June 29, 1999.

Aren't the president and Hillary planning to throw a new year's party on the mall? It could be an interesting soiree...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), June 29, 1999.