http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_bresnahan/19990304_xex_government_p.shtml

"In a crisis and emergency situation, the free market may not be the best way to distribute resources... If there's a point in time where we have to take resources and make a judgement on an emergency basis, we will be prepared to do that," said John Koskinen in a Dec. 3, 1998, report of the President's Council on the Year 2000.

-- Jack Mercer (mercerjack@usa.net), October 03, 1999

Answers

Ooops. Ol' Johnny's Nazi uniform is showing through his business suit.

-- cody (cody@y2ksurvive.com), October 03, 1999.

I remember seeing my mothers ration stamps for food and I think gas.I would not be surprised to see something like that again.I believe years ago when gasoline was rationed,certain occupations were alocated extra.Many changes ahead.

-- Maggie (aaa@aaa.com), October 03, 1999.

I assume you haven't forgotten how to vote?

-- You Know... (notme@nothere.junk), October 04, 1999.

Koskinen's comments on 'taking' what they may need in an 'emergency' really angers me.

An insurance company will NOT cover a 'foreseeable' event. They only cover fortuitous events. Unforseen events.

The consequences, of Y2k, while unclear to many are, inherently, a realistic potential. The are foreseeable. Preparations OUGHT to be made whether you 'think' it will happen or not.

If there was a fire on a street of row houses and the ONLY way to prevent the consumption of them all was to 'take' one of them and bulldoze it, then that would constitute a legitimate emergency 'taking' by an authority as long as compensation was paid for the taking.

In Y2K it is altogether different. This has been something that the government and citizens could have easily prepared for fro over two years and yet they have done next to nothing. Now, at the eleventh hpour they talk about emergency takings?

"Poor preparation on THEIR part does not constitute and emergency response on MY part."

THIS COUNTRY AND ITS CITIZENS HAS HAD ABUNDANT AND OVERWHELMINGLY AMPLE OPPORTUINTY TO PREPARE WELL WELL WELL IN ADVANCE.

IT WAS ***NOT*** A FORTUITIOUS OR UNFORSEEN EVENT.

The people of this country have SQUANDERED their opportunity. And so, if an 'authority' shows up at my place to 'take' what they need, they will find NOTHING.

I may be called many things, but one thing I am not is stupid. Blackbeard himself with a pile of maps could not fing one ort of food here.

And if they go after livestock, I'll shoot them (The livestock ) dead myself.

If they behave like enemies they will be treated like enemies. They will have done no more than to have declared WAR on the citizens whose RIGHTS they swore to protect under the Constitution.

Paul Milne "If you live within 5 miles of a 7-11, you're toast"

-- Paul Milne (ffedinfo@halifax.com), October 04, 1999.

They should ration. That's fine. But they hadn't ought to requisition...oh, maybe from Bill Gates--okay, then.

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWayne@aol.com), October 04, 1999.

There's too many people with too many guns who will not hesitate to shoot anyone who tries to take their freedom of personal property rights away. No one should ever assume that average Joe Blow American is asleep and does not see the handwriting on the wall. The government knows this and is ill equipped to deal in hand-to-hand combat with it's own citizens, and don't forget that military personnel are citizens too.

-- we shall see (we sahll see@weshallseeee.xcom), October 04, 1999.

I'm Joe Blow. I've ignored y2k for the last couple of years. I believed it was a load of hype, that they'd get it fixed in time. I've got enough together for a 3-day BITR, just like they told me. But I was wrong, disastrously wrong, together with 99% of my community. So a couple of weeks into January, things ain't looking good, they're getting worse, we're living on the remains of Xmas candy. Some local people call a meeting to get organised. Word is out from what's left of the local government that we're on our own, at least for the next 2-3 months. First meeting, someone brings up the idea of pooling resources, everybody's got something that could be useful - just like wartime. Someone suggests that anybody who has more than a two week supply of food, should donate the surplus into a common pot, for the good of everyone, especially the elderly, the children. Another one angrily declares that these hoarders are partly to blame for the predicament we are in - they sparked off the last- minute stockpiling. Some of these people, I think there's a chap called Paul Milne living out on a ranch somewhere nearby - some of these people have three, six months worth of food, livestock, seeds, wood for heating. I've even heard of some people stocking up for a year. These people, he declares to cheers, should be asked to hand over anything they've got beyond two weeks worth of supplies. And if they don't, then we'll make examples of a couple of them - they'll be faced with the choice, hand over your stash or be done with you. Other hoarders will follow pretty smartish, you can be sure. But some of these y2k hoarders are armed, another shouts. So what, responds the guy next to him. We're 99 people in this hall and we got guns too. We also got motivashun, declares another - if he the only thing standing between me and my family starving, then I'm willing to take the risk of a gunfight. Adding reassuringly, we only need a coupla examples - that we mean business, the rest will do as they are told. Hey, shouts a lone voice from the back, you can't just go after guys like this Milne fella. He aint responsible for y2k or last-minute stockpiling. He been louder than most trying to warn people, jez nobody listened to him. This man a hero. What you saying sounds like communism. Bullsheeet! growls the hard-faced blue collar slouched in the front row. The fruits of the lord are for all gods children, thunders a preacher at the podium. You think America be where it is today if people didn't rally round in hard times and help eachother, says another. He gonna help, or we'll make him, spits a tobacco chewing hillbilly.

Right on! they whooped. Set a deadline. Search their houses. And on it went, the collective will of the people. Post y2k. TEOTWAWKI. Somewhere in Virginia.

-- No hoper (3iFkjdY@Qp9$.int), October 04, 1999.

"Ooops. Ol' Johnny's Nazi uniform is showing through his business suit. "

I think "Progressive" is the preferred term...

-- Anonymous999 (Anonymous999@Anonymous999.xxx), October 04, 1999.

From my quick reading of EXECUTIVE ORDER 12919, commercial property and materials may be requisitioned (not personal property and materials) in the event of infrastructure failures. However, a work force may be recruited from the civilian population without any renumeration. In other words, YOU may be at risk for recruitment, but not YOUR STUFF.

Sincerely, Stan Faryna

-- Stan Faryna (faryna@groupmail.com), October 04, 1999.

And on another note, in another community, in another state, on the 3rd of January, a group of the citizens have gathered in the fire- house to discuss what they are going to do, since there isn't any power in town, and the reports around the state aren't any good, and the NATIONAL reports look like something out of Bosnia.

The fire chief says, "OK, Phil and Tom, we talked about this a few months ago. You have the trees marked on 39 and 82? Got your chainsaws? Go get em and do the trees. Mike and Seibert, you have the trucks set up? Go get em and put em where they belong."

"Folks, we are going to have to shut down the traffic on 39 and 82 because we are ALREADY getting people comming up the road 'looking' at the summer homes here. Most of us talked about this and decided it had to be done. Anyone got a problem with what we are doing?"

"Where's Mayor Gray and Chief Donaldson, and the rest of the Police Department?" asks one of the uneasy folks in the meeting. "Why aren't they here? What is this, a revolt or something? You have GOT to be careful if you're doing this. What about Ambulances? What about fire mutual aid? What about deliveries to my store? You gonna stop THEM TOO? Well? what about it?"

"Mayor Gray is covering the roadblock on 39, and Chief Donaldson is covering the roadblock on 82. Believe me, they are in agreement with what is being done. We HAVE to work together. The village has soem suplies, and most of you have the usual winter supplies, so I think we'll be OK, as long as we all cooperate, and work together"......

To be Continued...

Night Train

-- jes an ol fotballer who sees life in fiction, or fiction in life (Nighttr@in.lane), October 04, 1999.

It's worth remembering that Mr. Koskinen made those remarks in early December of 1998 -- I think it was part of a speech that he gave in San Francisco. In any case, it was 10 months ago, in a field (Y2K) that moves very quickly.

I don't agree with his comments, and I'm certainly not trying to justify them ... but I don't recall hearing anything like this from him, or from any other government official, in the ensuing 10 months. Has anybody else seen anything? Any speeches, reports, recommendations from Congress or the President's Y2K Council?

If not, there are at least three possibilities: (a) it was a completely ad hoc remark, and Mr. Koskinen immediately suffered amnesia, and never thought of the idea again, (b) it was a trial balloon, to see how people would react to the idea, or (c) it was an inadvertent example of letting the cat out of the bag -- i.e., the plans exist, as they do for any other kind of "emergency" or "crisis," but the government would prefer not to talk about it, for comments such as Mr. Koskinen made run the risk of unleashing the Mighty Power of Paul Milne. (Just teasing, Paul, I thought your comment was passionate, eloquent, and 100% right.)

Ed

-- Ed Yourdon (HumptyDumptyY2K@yourdon.com), October 04, 1999.

All the same,I think I'll take advantage of said free market and pick up a few more rounds of buckshot(#4,of course)

-- zoobie\ (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), October 04, 1999.

It may be difficult to understand his comments since they are so slippery. But consider the following scenario:

The major railroads get completely gridlocked. Coal-fired power generating stations begin to lose their fuel and go out. Meanwhile there are trains stuck in the way, filled with all kinds of "useful" things like rubber chickens and New Kids on the Block CDs and smoked caviar and (non-y2k compliant) digital, brass aromatherapy atomizers.

In such a situation, it will be of utmost importance to our national security to nationalize the railway system--and maybe even the interstate highways--and give priority to cargo that is for fuel, food, or medicine. I say the rubber chickens from taiwan can wait a few weeks and step out of the way.

Of course, there is a big difference between this kind of measure and drafting people into mandatory "work camps" as dictated in executive orders that can be enstated during emergecy.

-- coprolith (coprolith@rocketship.com), October 04, 1999.

From: Y2K, ` la Carte by Dancr near Monterey, California

Ed said: ...there are at least three possibilities: ...

Another possibility, and what I believe, is that Mr. Koskinen intended for this warning to be a word to the wise. (Get your stuff early and hide it.) Therefore, he said it only once, and early. I believe that he knows that it is in everyone's best interest to have as many people as possible stocking up, so as to cause production ramp up's in the most relevant industries.

When Koskinen said recently that "we have done our job too well" the press took it to mean that the administration had done too good a job of scaring everybody. Of course that gets a big laugh around here. Maybe what he actually meant is that they had done too well their job of preventing a panic.

-- Dancr (addy.available@my.webpage), October 05, 1999.