09:32 – It was 46.4F (8C) when I took Colin out this morning. That will probably be our high for the next five days or so. We’re to have highs around freezing and lows in the low 20’s (-5C) for the next five days, with snow starting Saturday evening and continuing through Monday.
Barbara leaves this morning for Winston, to attend the funeral of family friend Gilbert Sloan, who died Tuesday evening. She’s staying with Frances and Al tonight and heading back up to Sparta tomorrow afternoon.
Not everyone thinks like us. I got an interesting email overnight from a guy I’ll call Dan.
Hello!
I’ve been reading your blog since the “build your own PC” days. I strongly disagree with most of your political beliefs and don’t share your view that the US is nearer to a societal collapse than at any other time in recent history. I am a progressive liberal. I voted for Bernie Sanders and think the super rich should be taxed heavily to subsidize the live of those with fewer means. I think our gun laws should be much stronger and automatic weapons should be banned without exception. I’m a vegetarian.
But, I like to hear arguments from those with a different point of view because being a critical thinker means being open to changing my opinion if a convincing argument is made by someone with a different view. In that vein, I thought it was interesting that the New Yorker (a “liberal rag” if there ever was one) published an long article about super-rich preppers.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/30/doomsday-prep-for-the-super-rich
I still think prepping because one fears a societal breakdown is an overly dramatic and incorrect interpretation of modern human nature. I don’t think society would devolve that quickly – I don’t think the threads that hold societies together are that thin. But I have never lived in a major metropolitan area and have never been the victim of random violence from another human. Even though it may be naive, I think positive and caring members of society would rally and far outweigh and out number those looking to take advantage of the chaos. I think, by and large, we would survive because of our compassion.
Anyway, thanks for your blog. I have learned a lot and always value hearing and understanding beliefs far different from my own.
* * * * *
And my response:
Hi, Dan
I hope you’re right, but I fear you’re wrong.
As I’ve said repeatedly, I don’t expect a societal collapse unless there’s a trigger event such as the power grid going down or a lethal pandemic or widespread terrorist attacks on our infrastructure. If something like that happens, and it’s a very real possibility, all bets are off.
As it happens, I have seen a society collapse. I was in Rhodesia briefly during its final days, and it was not pretty. Nor was the aftermath, when Mugabe’s thugs turned what had been the wealthiest country in Africa into a third-world hellhole over the space of a few months. If you read history, one of the lessons is that societies do collapse, they collapse very suddenly, and it comes as a shock to their citizens.
US society has been under attack for most of a century by the progressives, embodied by the Frankfurt School and the Alinsky-ites. They’ve pretty much destroyed our society, our schools, and everything else that matters. And the non-progressives, what I call Normals, have finally had enough. We’re a pretty easygoing group, but decades of constant attacks on our lifestyle has finally driven us over the edge.
Truth be told, I don’t fit in with either group. A lot of people would consider me to be a progressive. I support things like gay marriage, legalization of drugs, dramatic reductions in military budgets, and so on, which puts me in opposition to most Normals. I’m also an atheist, which is very unusual amongst Normals. But I’m forced to choose between two very large groups: Progressives or Normals. Given that choice, I’ll side every time with the Normals.
I think our gun laws should be much stronger and automatic weapons should be banned without exception.
And
because being a critical thinker means being open to changing my opinion if a convincing argument
Don’t go together IMHO. Why not outlaw cars since they cause more deaths than guns per year. But, but, *people* drive cars and it is their fault…you get the point.
I have to agree with MrAtoz on the automatic weapons / guns point. However, firearms are demonstrably emotive objects for some otherwise open-minded people, who are therefore resistant to fact and logic as regards that particular topic.
I find it interesting that RBT feels he fits in neither with the Progressive nor the Normal group. After following his writing for over a decade, I have the impression he belongs to the same group I do, which is neither “progressive” nor “normal”, but “thinking”. Unfortunately, it seems to be a very small group, compared to the others.
“Most people can’t think, most of the remainder won’t think, the small fraction who do think mostly can’t do it very well. The extremely tiny fraction who think regularly, accurately, creatively, and without self-delusion — in the long run these are the only people who count.” — RAH
I agree with far stronger gun laws!!!
All crimigrants (AKA illegal aliens) should be immediately deported when found possessing firearms of any sort.
Contrary to the ACLU, those here illegally have no constitutional rights whatsoever.
Just saw link in Drudge that just less than 50% Chicagoans are illiterate. And how do they vote?
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Just saw link in Drudge that just less than 50% Chicagoans are illiterate. And how do they vote?
They get ‘help’ from community organizers.
I’ve always thought that registering to vote should require passing both a literacy test and a means test, both strict enough to eliminate at least 95% of adult citizens.
lol! President tRump says countries that don’t take back their illegals are gonna get it. Do we need anything from south of the border?
Tequila?
“Available for free today from Amazon for Kindle:
Preppers Pantry: The Top 10 Things You Must Have In Your Survival Pantry
by The Healthy Reader”
I just went over and took a look. This is one of those junk “books” that are actually booklets that someone puts together, often with text they’ve grabbed off web sites, formats it, and then tries to sell a “30 page” “book” that’s actually about half that or less, and charge $2.99 for it. The information is nearly always superficial–“store water”, “store food”, etc.) and often just flat-out wrong.
I still think prepping because one fears a societal breakdown is an overly dramatic and incorrect interpretation of modern human nature. I don’t think society would devolve that quickly – I don’t think the threads that hold societies together are that thin.
If you are saying that some substantial fraction of the population wouldn’t begin to act uncivilized if things went bad, well, I respectfully disagree. But that is just my opinion.
If you are saying the there couldn’t be major event of some sort here in the good ol’ US of A, well, you are flat out wrong. History (ancient and recent) plus current news is replete with all sorts of societal failures. They happen. A lot.
Dan, ask yourself what would you do if you hadn’t eaten in a week, no food is coming your way, and the only chance for a meal is to violently take it from someone else? That’s one of the reasons I am prepared. I’d rather be the guy defending my meal than taking it from someone else.
What the chances of any of this coming to pass in my lifetime? I don’t know but I am certain it is above 0%.
I hadn’t noticed the phrase “modern human nature”. I think human nature is immutable. Meet the new boss…
I’d say we have plenty of examples of modern societies descending into chaos, including regions of our own. We’ve also got multiple examples of what happens when services are disrupted by manmade or natural disasters.
I was in LA for the Rodney King riots. People were getting burned out of their homes, shooting at random strangers (and looters, and firefighters), my roommate was hospitalized in a racially motivated attack, businesses and lives were destroyed, and NOTHING had even happened to the rioters personally.
Ferguson.
Katrina, and the aftermath in LA (Louisiana).
Detroit, any day of the week.
Chicago in any of the areas shown in red on the “murder map.”
Bosnia. Somalia. Venezuela (now). Argentina (during currency collapse).
Hurricanes IKE and RITA along the Gulf Coast.
The Northridge and Oakland quakes in Cali.
9/11
We have examples domestically and internationally where public order and social norms have broken down. Sometimes permanently, sometimes only temporarily, but always a disaster for the residents.
The media has their own reasons for down playing the true state of failed and dangerous cities. This is one of those things you can’t truly understand unless you’ve seen it with your own eyes. There are several good projects online, try google for time lapse Detroit- where someone took streetview images and compared only a few years apart to show how quickly things are falling down.
Finally, groups of people are Hobbsian in nature. The mob rules and has rules (and life) of its own. People will do things in groups that they would never even consider individually.
I can assure you from my personal experience that when the city is burning around you and angry mobs are attacking strangers, you DO NOT want to leave the house for bread and milk.
We do see this to greater and lesser degrees during natural disasters. But you must be in an area that already HAS “positive and caring” people, who HAVE the resources to DO anything about their feelings. During the time following IKE and RITA, my positive and caring neighbors cleaned up our mess, and armed up, and were a very visible presence to the cars full of “disadvantaged urban youths” who came cruising slowly thru our neighborhood. We shared electricity and water around until services were restored.
The key takeaway is that we had resources to share. Without those resources you can’t do much except hold the afflicted’s hand. The other takeaway is that these were natural disasters, without someone to blame for their cause, they were regional in nature, and short term. We could count on resupply and aid from outside the affected area. Take that away and you have the situation Selco lived thru.
If you haven’t read Selco at shtfschool.com go and read his posts. A modern “western” society completely collapsed. Especially take note of his posts regarding what happens when people realize no outside help is coming, and that they are stuck for the long run.
nick
And there is an old saying that a conservative is just a liberal who has been mugged by reality.
I’ve always thought that registering to vote should require passing both a literacy test and a means test, both strict enough to eliminate at least 95% of adult citizens.
I disagree. Only people who are citizens and own property in the USA should be allowed to vote. After, property owners pay the majority of the taxes.
Can you tell that I am still smarting from paying $29K in property taxes in December for my home and investment properties ?
Awesome, the upper levels of the State Dept just self deported!
“The Entire Senior Management Team At The State Department Just Resigned
by Tyler Durden
Demonstrating just how ideologically alligned with the Obama administration was the entire US State Department, moments ago the WaPo reported that “the entire senior level of management officials resigned Wednesday, part of an ongoing mass exodus of senior foreign service officers who don’t want to stick around for the Trump era.””
Lots of cliche’s spring to mind, good riddance to bad garbage, a new broom sweeps clean, etc.
Nice of them to GTFO of the way, instead of digging in and fighting.
n
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-26/entire-senior-management-team-state-department-just-resigned
I was in LA for the Rodney King riots. People were getting burned out of their homes, shooting at random strangers (and looters, and firefighters), my roommate was hospitalized in a racially motivated attack, businesses and lives were destroyed, and NOTHING had even happened to the rioters personally.
Ferguson.
Katrina, and the aftermath in LA (Louisiana).
Detroit, any day of the week.
Chicago in any of the areas shown in red on the “murder map.”
Bosnia. Somalia. Venezuela (now). Argentina (during currency collapse).
Hurricanes IKE and RITA along the Gulf Coast.
The Northridge and Oakland quakes in Cali.
9/11
Can I add the Boston Marathon bombing to this superb list of horrific examples of societal breakdown ? The whole city was terrorized for days. Dad and I are thinking about going to see the movie “Patriots Day”.
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/patriots_day_2016
“I disagree. Only people who are citizens and own property in the USA should be allowed to vote. After, property owners pay the majority of the taxes.”
Um, how is that disagreeing with what I said?
“I disagree. Only people who are citizens and own property in the USA should be allowed to vote. After, property owners pay the majority of the taxes.”
Um, how is that disagreeing with what I said?
You don’t have to be literate to own property. But you must have common sense or else the property will be taken from you.
So you want people who can’t read the ballot to vote? Or be citizens, for that matter?
countries that don’t take back their illegals
This is a non-amusing problem. What do you do in a case like that? Skip Mexico – think about every other country that is a plane flight away. If you fly a plane there, land, and force the illegals off the plane – that’s great and all, but likely your plane will not be allowed to leave, and your pilots and security personnel are in danger. That’s low effort: all it takes is a couple of trucks to drive up next to the landing gear.
So, what do you do with illegals whose countries don’t want them back, or will only take them back if you pay a massive bribe? I hear the snarky answers already, but no, I don’t actually believe anyone is going to push these people out of a plane without a parachute.
The Swiss solution, unsatisfactory as it is, is
briberyoffering international aid.Federal Offices; No. of votes = IRS tax $
State Offices: No. of votes = ƩState Income, Sales, Vehicle, Property
County Offices: No. of votes = ƩSales, Property
City Offices: No. of votes = ƩSales
@brad, did a long series of comments on this some time ago here.
For the non-criminals, the only practical answer is changing conditions to the point that they self deport.
for the criminal scum, dump them in some african shithole if their own cultures won’t have them back, with some aid money bribe. DON”T reward the country they are from.
For the criminals who may not be scum but ran afoul the law? No good ideas.
This all has to be coupled with strong disincentives like work gangs, desert camps, life at hard labor, etc. Well publicized, fast, and brutal punishments. Looking at the pix of Brazilian jails, who wouldn’t rather try committing crimes here?
n
… the entire senior level of management officials resigned Wednesday, part of an ongoing mass exodus of senior foreign service officers who don’t want to stick around for the Trump era.”
Looking online, what happened was that the senior political appointees, as every other appointee did, submitted resignations to the White House. In some cases, the White House (under Trump) accepted them. In some cases, they asked people to stay on a while, in some cases they said “we’ll get back to you soon”. In this case, they White House accepted the resignations Wednesday. Just business as usual in a transition, except the WaPo and allies want to make a big deal of it.
but likely your plane will not be allowed to leave,
C17 proceeded by “Puff”.
Nice of them to GTFO of the way, instead of digging in and fighting.
I wonder how many were *promised* a cushy private sector job. Media Matters, Clinton Foundation, Soros bootlicker?
So you want people who can’t read the ballot to vote? Or be citizens, for that matter?
If you own property in the USA and are a citizen, you generally can read the ballot.
Doesn’t the USA citizen naturalization require English literacy ?
I would like to see an English only federal constitutional amendment. That would go a long way to solving issues in the states. I have no idea about what to do with protectorates like Puerto Rico. Maybe it is time to set them free.
I wonder if we could set DC free ?
… the entire senior level of management officials resigned Wednesday, part of an ongoing mass exodus of senior foreign service officers who don’t want to stick around for the Trump era.”
Sean Hannity just said that they were fired along with the head of the border patrol.
Looking at the pix of Brazilian jails, who wouldn’t rather try committing crimes here?
No joke. I saw where the prisoners in Brazil were barbecuing their fellow prisoners.
http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/01/25/brazil-prisoners-grilling-eating-fellow-inmates-prisons/
It would, of course, take a vast leap of feverish racism and xenophobia plus fascist nativism and ethnonationalism to imagine for even a millisecond that this sort of thing, i.e., people roasting other human beings over fires, could ever happen here.
Amusingly, no matter what tRump and his administration do from here on out, whether building walls, stopping future Syrian “refugees” from coming, more rigorous visa requirements, etc., millions of mestizos from south of the Rio Grande are already here.
Add to these tens of millions, a few million from the Sandbox shit-holes and Afrika.
What could possibly go wrong? After all, as former National Administrator candidate Jethro Bush says, ‘they come here out of love.’
RBT wrote:
“I’ve always thought that registering to vote should require passing both a literacy test and a means test, both strict enough to eliminate at least 95% of adult citizens.”
Wimminz also should be denied the vote. So many sane posters here have wimmin folk who are just rusted on progs. Even my own sister and elder niece, who are usually sensible, were supporting the Hildebeast last November. I haven’t been able to talk sense into them.
I’ve often said that giving women the vote was the biggest mistake of the last hundred years, and that includes all the wars we’ve gotten into.
“Even my own sister and elder niece, who are usually sensible, were supporting the Hildebeast last November. I haven’t been able to talk sense into them.”
Welcome to the club. Up here, both wife (with an ABD PhD from Dartmouth) and Princess (soon a BA in languages and music from McGill) and MIL and others of wife’s female relatives all went for Bernie first and then Field Marshal Rodham. They all profess utter terror of tRump and even knowing the Rodham record over decades, apparently think she was the better choice. Truly amazing.
All I got was a lousy BA in English and could see the difference. Of course I come from the vastly mostly male background y’all are familiar with already and much of it was with the military and police. So I guess that makes me one of the patriarchal oppressors, etc., etc. and I just checked my privilege again and yup, it’s still WHITE Catholic Christian cis-hetero married male war veteran, like a few tens of millions of others in this country and we’ve about had enough of the bullshit by now.
Wimminz also should be denied the vote. So many sane posters here have wimmin folk who are just rusted on progs. Even my own sister and elder niece, who are usually sensible, were supporting the Hildebeast last November. I haven’t been able to talk sense into them.
Ever heard of Pandora’s box ? Once opened, can never be closed.
My wife voted for Trump with severe misgivings. I’m not sure who my daughter voted for.
We were under strict orders not to discuss politics at Thanksgiving since my sister-in-law was a fierce supporter of Her. I mentioned that my county voted for Her to my brother’s bother-in-law and my brother jumped on me immediately.
BTW have y’all seen the controversy over VDARE? All the major media keeps referring to them as a white-nationalist group. After the The Southern Poverty Law Center says so.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Anti-immigration-group-riled-by-Yosemite-resort-s-10883942.php#photo-12255016
If not for VDARE over the many years, we would never have heard countless stories and accounts of what mass immigration has caused in this country.
Given a choice between the SPLC, MSNBC, and the Feds, versus VDARE and American Renaissance, I’ll take the latter without batting an eye.
From the Informative Read If You’ve Got A Couple of Hours Department:
https://status451.com/2017/01/20/days-of-rage/
Starts out as a review of the book “Days of Rage,” and covers a fair amount of territory with which I was already familiar, but I didn’t realize the extent of the Puerto Rican terrorism. He’s right; nobody remembers any of this chit.
Your humble northern correspondent spent part of his high skool years involved at a very low level with SDS, Progressive Labor Party, and the Socialist Workers Party. I even got got all three of them to send reps to speak at our junior and senior year “Seminar Days.” So the names, places and events are all readily familiar to me. IIRC, our host knew one or more of these sorts of people back in the day, too. The late 60s and the 70s were freaky years in this country; I spent the better part of the 70s in military and cop work which was the other end of the spectrum, so to speak. And got my eyes and ears opened considerably in the process.
Later on he discusses how things might shake out this year with political events and potential violence and he is not optimistic about it. If you read through the piece, you’ll see that what has occurred with VDARE, and previously, American Renaissance, is a typical tactic of the organized Left and its mainstream enablers.
If you’ve got an hour or two it’s well worth your time, and most Murkans have no idea of that history and what it might portend for our future. These fuckers are still around, and they’ve spawned many, many more, with updated technologies, and they’re very well organized and can whip together all kinds of chit at a minute’s notice. On the so-called Right? We’re a bunch of bumbling idiots who prefer to fight each other and excommunicate each other.
I do think, however, that the writer may not realize the extent of the anger out here and the increasing willingness and readiness to stop putting up with what the Left has gotten away with since, pretty much, the 1930s, but it really took off in the 70s.
Recommended.
Federal Offices; No. of votes = IRS tax $
State Offices: No. of votes = ƩState Income, Sales, Vehicle, Property
County Offices: No. of votes = ƩSales, Property
City Offices: No. of votes = ƩSales
@CowboySlim, I am confused what you are trying to say here. BTW, in The Great State of Texas, we do not have a state income tax on individuals. Nor do we have property tax at the state level. All property taxes are local: city, utility district, school and county. Nor do we have sales taxes for the county, just property and use taxes.
I just think that if people own property somewhere that they care about that somewhere. Private ownership is a sign of buy-in to an area. And, many political decisions affect property, from taxes to usage.
“I am a progressive liberal. I voted for Bernie Sanders and think the super rich should be taxed heavily to subsidize the live of those with fewer means.”
Regarding taxation I follow this approach:
Taxation = a form to contribute to the community;
where Community = different people of different ages, with different abilities and possibilities;
but only Time = equal for everybody;
so Solution = each member works 1 hour per day for the community;
in Percentage = 12% of your work day;
using Money = 12% of your day income;
An “unskilled” member, day income of $100, tax 12% = $12
A “skilled” member, day income of $100,000, tax 12% = $12,000
So both of them spend the same amount of time of their lives to work for the community. None is doing less, none is doing more – equal shares. The time left is the same for both and can be used however they see fit.
That seems fair to me, even that, in money talk, the “skilled” member pays a tax 1,000 times bigger than what the “unskilled” pays.
What’s really unfair is for someone to pay nothing, and the other to pay like 40%. The former doesn’t contribute a minute to the community (assuming he’s able to work), while the latter (and more “skilled”!) has to work 3.2 hours out of 8 for it!
No, what’s really unfair is slave labor.
“C17 proceeded by “Puff”.”
Roger that, 10 years ago, I was a Systems Engineer on that plane.
10-4, on my confusing tax method of allocating votes, yes it was base on that which we are mandated to pay here in CA and is variable to other states.
About deporting crimmigrants and others back, in his last day Obama revoked the wet-foot dry-foot policy for Cuban asylum speakers. As a result, the government of Mexico sent a plane load of Cubans that were waiting there to get in here back to Cuba. Yes, it can be done.
And no, as it was reported as happening elsewhere we were not a taxpayer rip-off on the C17. We earned our pay honestly……anybody see a crash lately?
Can you tell that I am still smarting from paying $29K in property taxes in December for my home and investment properties ?
Welcome to Texas.
We paid close to 3% on our house this year, about double what the same size/neighborhood/schools go for in FL. The tradeoff is that property insurance which would actually work in a hurricane is about equal to the taxes — 3% either place.
“Regarding taxation I follow this approach:
Taxation = a form to contribute to the community;…..”
OK, here is my definition of theft:
Theft: That is when an involuntary delivery of money is made at the point of a gun.
OK, who has the gun in their hand? The average working citizen? Or, an employee of a government tax collection bureau?
What could possibly go wrong? After all, as former National Administrator candidate Jethro Bush says, ‘they come here out of love.’
If you want to believe Florida conspiracy theory, Jethro’s marriage was an arrangement between Poppy and one of the ruling families in Mexico. He did it out of the same kind of ‘love’.
I will give him credit for being an effective Governor.
Ima gon leave off participating in any discussions concerning Murkan tax policies; I’d like to keep my BP at a reasonable level and also not have the top of my head blow off in a cloud of noxious smoke and flames.
Hypothetically, if such a thing were to happen, I’m sure all of us would appreciate it being streamed on YouTube or other service. For, um, science.
Have I shared my “stupidest ways to die” thoughts here? The stupidest way I’ve thought of to die is to be picking your nose while driving in heavy traffic, get into a tiny accident, and have the air bag go off and drive your finger into your brain. Other thoughts and entries are more than welcome.
I’m sure all of us would appreciate it being streamed on YouTube or other service
I was going to say FaceCrack, but that is for live streaming your suicide.
Have I shared my “stupidest ways to die” thoughts here? The stupidest way I’ve thought of to die is to be picking your nose while driving in heavy traffic, get into a tiny accident, and have the air bag go off and drive your finger into your brain. Other thoughts and entries are more than welcome.
While the individual did not die in this particular scenario, working in the ER one night, my wife treated a gay man who swallowed a Barbie doll while demonstrating his ability to [sexual practice omitted] deeply.
Trivia note — Barbie does not show up on x-rays but the little heels do.
Really some myths are eternal, comparing Bosnia or Somalia to Argentina on currency collapse is a, well, some kind of misleading (and big).
I understand that the people sells books, but, since I was in Detroit some times it was one normal parking wars of a week in Detroit, no more, not even approaching to Rodney King riots.
But, I understand, you must stress the point of chaos, but maybe geography works against this, Argentina is form north to south equal to the distance from Chicago to San Diego, and maybe half the midwest E W so, if something similar to Somalia happened, we, Chile, Brazil and all the neighbourgs were on fire surely (Uruguay surely). Nothing happened, so, the thesis is false.
Nick, I remember that you read a book stating something else, but, again, I understand, he lives selling books, so…..
Best Regards
PS As if all the people living on the Appalachians were hillbillies or the Dukes of Hazzard ,sort of, forgive the maybe, not well applied geography, and, of course, my english, but I am bored to hear about currency collapse, that, was 3 months, 5 presidents and thats all, worse was 76/83
“This CEO got laser eye surgery to prep for an apocalypse”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/01/24/reddits-ceo-got-laser-eye-surgery-prep-possible-apocalypse/96985412/
I have been thinking about this. To quote OFD, I approve. It is easy to find reading glasses. Not so much for bifocals or progressives (which I wear for my non-matching eyes, -4.75 and -6.25). Lens replacement is better though.
@ayj, the list was not meant to be equivalent, or examples of widespread collapse, but a list of actual disasters and disruptions that have happened showing a broad range of bad things happening. All within a short living memory.
If we were living in 1955 NO ONE would be arguing that war in Europe couldn’t happen, as the memory was fresh. Only a fool would think we could never have war again. Ask Crimea how that goes…
Since I live in an area with frequent natural disasters, I can’t afford to say that the last hurricane was the last one ever, so I don’t need to prep.
People seem to forget the bad things that have happened and can happen again. RBT’s correspondent said he doesn’t believe society would break down in a disaster, but there are examples of just that from each of the things I listed.
nick
On another topic, mission creep: From the US Fire Administration-
Only 5% of calls to Fire Depts were for fires. Jeez.
n
Since I live in an area with frequent natural disasters, I can’t afford to say that the last hurricane was the last one ever, so I don’t need to prep.
Does a tornado at the Ozarka water bottling plant in east Texas count ? HEB finally went back to a 24 bottle case of Ozarka water for $3.50 last week after nine ??? months.
Only 5% of calls to Fire Depts were for fires. Jeez.
If you are old, fall and cannot get up, the nice young EMS people will come over and pick you up for free. And, very very very important, they know how to pick up old people with severe joint issues.
I know this because my father-in-law was calling them weekly before he had to go into the nursing home XXXXXXX rehab XXXXXX skilled nursing center. My mother is calling them once a month now.
The late Gore Vidal used to call this country “the United States of Amnesia.” Hell, even I had forgotten about all the Puerto Rican terrorism back there 40 years ago. And no one in the generations coming after us knows or remembers just how wild the 60s and 70s were here; major riots in the big cities nationwide; the wars still going on in southeast Asia; our own domestic terrorists bombing stuff left and right; the same crew of hardcore commie bastards running a nukular-armed Soviet Union; proxy wars in Afrika; and…disco.
Latest nooz from Retroville; the combined might of several law enforcement organizations busted another meth house, this time out in bustling Bakersfield, Vermont, a dozen miles to our east, pretty effin rural. A young married couple, charged with the meth production and child endangerment. Must have a youngster in the house with them, and I’m sure the child has now been swept away to the mercies of the State’s foster care system somewhere. I’ve read “Methland” by Nick Reding and this kinda chit tends to happen in depressed rural Murka where there are no jobs and no hope of any jobs coming round, other than working the slurpee dispenser at the all-night gas station, stocking shelves on the midnight shift at Wall-Mutt or going in the Army to kill or be killed in stupid foreign clusterfucks.
There are gonna be a shitload of casualties before we have a national cash disbursement welfare system for everybody and/or SHTF.
And wife called from OK City, OK; bad news from Floriduh; her remaining uncle, the Korean War vet, is discovered to have cancer spreading from his jaw throughout his body after going in for a dental appointment where whatever work was done resulted in nonstop bleeding. Stage Four, they said. They’re gonna chip out some bone in his jaw and replace it with bone and marrow from his leg, apparently. He’s in his mid-late-80s. Wife is upset because he’s the only surviving father-figure she had growing up and he was nicer than her other uncle, now gone, the Pacific War vet.
They’re starting to drop, the older family members; her mom will be 89 or 90; one aunt is 93 and the other is in her early 80s; I only have my mom, mostly out of her mind, and turning 86 next month, her sister, and her brother, neither of whom I’ve seen in years.
Next up: us.
That’s how it goes.
And we gon be habbin sum big fun in the next few years as we slide on out into Eternity.
He’s in his mid-late-80s
That’s going to be a tough one, my friend. During my Mom’s declining health and passing, I noticed it was taking her longer and longer to recover from only minor procedures. I wish him well.
From the Department of Walls and Borders:
http://buchanan.org/blog/trumps-wall-says-world-126472
We will live to see how this all pans out, I guess. But they need to be serious about it, none of the usual half-ass gummint projects that make things even worse. Or don’t bother doing it at all.
“I wish him well.”
Thanks, man. He’s a good guy; worked his ass off his whole life building a construction business down there by Lake George, in the Vampire State tropics. (where six-foot timber rattlers are found swimming).
He’s also the last link to the cousins who fled Northern Ireland with prices on their heads after the 1916 Easter Rebellion.
Just for laffs, take a stroll downtown, y’all, and ask peeps if they’ve heard of the Easter Rebellion. Of course that’s grad-skool level these days; start ’em off easy with “What year did our Constitution become valid?”
Oh wait–ask ’em first if they’ve heard of that.
Latest nooz from Retroville; the combined might of several law enforcement organizations busted another meth house, this time out in bustling Bakersfield,
We ain’t got no meth houses here. Oh, you mean that other one, near you.
Yup. All you got in yours is fine country-and-western music and nice warm temps with no snow or ice. Paradiso!
Yeah I like the snow and ice up in the mountains where I can go there. About an hour away right now. I’m still more a rock n roll kinda guy. But I really do envy the small town in the hills.
Our Fort Bend County Sheriff is crowing today. He caught a 17 member Colombian gang who was burglarizing people’s homes in the subdivision where I live and a couple of other subdivisions. 120 homes were burgled in 2016 alone. All 17 Colombians are illegals. Not a very pretty bunch.
http://www.fbherald.com/news/arrested-in-connection-with-multiple-burglary-cases/article_ff39cff2-e3dd-11e6-9255-a3898cda40f1.html
Right next to the front page article and the 17 booking pictures was an article about how Trump is tightening up immigration. Cool !
Our county sheriff is a retired Major in the Army with two deployment tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. He does not put up with much crap.
“stupidest ways to die” thoughts …
This ditty is rather catching: https://youtu.be/IJNR2EpS0jw
Nick
Since my grandpa fought on Spanish Civil war, my mother was at a shelter in Ebro campaign etc. I understand the prepper concept (my grandpa until his 80s stored condensed milk as example)
But, compare Katrina with dystopia is wrong, at least, an hurricane, recurrent, yes, is a on off situation, dystopia es longer, a lot longer.
So, for me, compare on off to dystopia (Somalia is dystopia as example) is wrong, and the abilities that you need to survive are completely differente, in extremis, an hurricane or earthquake needs water, food , some kinf of communication etc for 1 to 2 weeks, for distopya the span is years or decades, and our host is planning for the later, not the former.
Is true, if you plan for the longer, you are able to survive better the shorter, but, again, the abilities are different. Generally speaking you dont need the kind of sorcerer that our host is becoming.
And believe me, since we have a collapse of money once a decade more or less, here we know a bit about it, it is worst than a hurricane.
But I dont wish to bother with comparisons, and forgive me my english.
Beste regards
Lynn, your county voted for the Hildebeast? What sort of hellhole are you living in?
@OFD – I too wish your wife’s uncle well.
From what you described, I would encourage a realistic second opinion. Considering his age and this condition, quality of life and expenses become a serious condition. At 80-years old, if he has bone removed from one place to go to another, there are a lot of complications and a very long recuperation (if at all). Getting bone grafts (as well as the harvest site) to heal in a relively young healthy person is a crap shoot. Even worse is if they offer a donor bone graft. Let’s just say I have had experience and it was not good, and that is, unfortunately, an all too common outcome.
Medicine and science are great things, but just because we can do something does not mean we should do it. Quality of life is where I am at. I do not want to spend days, let alone months or years, as a virtual vegetable unable to get out and unable to eat real food, not to mention living in a fog.
“At 80-years old, if he has bone removed from one place to go to another, there are a lot of complications and a very long recuperation (if at all).”
He’s in his mid-80s and the (retired) orthopod surgeon is another family member (he consulted for the U.S. Olympic Team also for many years). (wife’s cousin’s husband).
Wife told me last night that they were gonna go ahead and that he’d be in the hospital for 20 days. We are hopeful and prayerful but not really that optimistic concerning the outcome.
“Quality of life is where I am at. I do not want to spend days, let alone months or years, as a virtual vegetable unable to get out and unable to eat real food, not to mention living in a fog.
This is also a concern for us in the vets group I go to fairly regularly; we have several guys in their 70s now and in at least one case, the guy is alone almost all the time and depressed, and has had a bunch of major surgery himself. His sons live in the Northeast and he stays in touch with them but both are several hours’ drive away. He is a comedian and uses humor a lot to joke around, but other times he’s really down in the dumps. Things become bad enough and then we start getting into gray areas regarding quality of life, mobility, diet, etc. versus wanting to struggle anymore with it. At the other end of the scale we have kids coming back from the Sandbox who have things bad enough and they don’t wanna deal with it anymore, either.
I’ve seen this stuff impact others lately, and have had a very tiny taste of it myself, concerning mobility, pain and depression, and as we all get older it becomes a real concern.
Only 5% of calls to Fire Depts were for fires.
One of the things that the FD unions don’t want you to know is that residential fires are a declining problem in the US. As the article said, most calls to the FD are for EMS dispatch. I see fire trucks being used for hazmat cleanup at car accidents more than anything else.
“I see fire trucks being used for hazmat cleanup at car accidents more than anything else.”
Same up here. Mostly ambulance calls w/EMS and the trucks out to accidents and hazmat chit. Occasional brush fires, overseeing burn permits, etc. It’s a completely volunteer department here in town but I think the chief’s position might be a paid one.
Back in the Bronze Age, we cops would get calls all the time for some elderly person having fallen outta bed, always fun traipsing up three or four flights of stairs with all our gear on in the wee small hours to hoist people back into bed; they were either massive behemoths that took two of us to struggle with, or a very frail and delicate old bird we were afraid to even touch.
And I’m always reminded of the old Benny Hill sketch where the bluff and blustery doctor (Hill) gets called to check on the old duffer (that skinny little bald guy he used to riff off of) in an upstairs bedroom. He cheers the old guy up with hale and hearty encouragement and as he’s descending he informs the wife “Be a hell of job getting the coffin down these stairs…”
When I was in undergrad, a friend of mine worked summers as an orderly in the local emergency room. One of the attendings, who shall remain nameless, was famously outspoken. (Back then, they didn’t call it Asperger’s, but I suspect it was.) My friend recounted the time a guy was hauled in to the ER by ambulance, seizing. They went to work on him immediately, but he died.
Dr. Nameless walked out to the waiting room to give the guy’s wife the bad news. She rushed over to him to find out what was going on. My friend said the last thing she said to Dr. Nameless was “He must be okay. This happens all the time.”
He looked at her for a moment, and then said (and I quote), “I think it’s safe to say that this is the worst one yet.”
Lynn, your county voted for the Hildebeast? What sort of hellhole are you living in?
Fort Bend County, the most diverse county in the USA. The repuglicans took all of the seats in the county except for the presidential ticket.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/us/what-ethnic-diversity-looks-like-fort-bend.html
“Fort Bend County was 19 percent Asian, 24 percent Hispanic, 21 percent black and 36 percent white in 2010, according to the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice.”.
These stats have changed to be more Asian since then. The war zone between I-610 and Beltway 8 (the inner and middle rings around Houston) are causing more Asians to move out here to be safe from the gangs. And per my previous posting, the gangs are following them out here. Not good.
And since my wife is apparently Native American (and my kids), they are over counting the whites.
And I’m always reminded of the old Benny Hill sketch where the bluff and blustery doctor (Hill) gets called to check on the old duffer (that skinny little bald guy he used to riff off of) in an upstairs bedroom. He cheers the old guy up with hale and hearty encouragement and as he’s descending he informs the wife “Be a hell of job getting the coffin down these stairs…”
Around these parts, the EMS folks tag you, bag you, and carry you out on the gurney for delivery to the morgue. Or in the case of my grandmother down in Lake Jackson, the EMS people called the JP (justice of peace) who called an informal inquest when he arrived, I testified that she had died of natural causes, and the JP ruled death of natural causes. The EMS people then called the funeral home to pick her up instead of them taking her to the morgue. It was a fascinating experience on a sad day.
IIRC we used to have these institutions called Old Soldier and Sailor Homes. These were a place where those who had no one (or no one who cared) could go and get 3 hots and cot as well as medical care and comradship. The one I remember was mostly self-sufficient as it was a farm.
These suffered the same fate as the Mental Hospitals when the Progressives determined that they were “unfair”.
And there you have it, the Reader’s Digest extra condensed version of why we have crazies and Veterans homeless and on the street.
We have at least two veterans’ housing operations up here; one in Northfield that IIRC has maybe eight or ten vets living there while they get squared away and back on their feet, maybe with part-time jobs, volunteer stuff, etc. Then there’s the larger Veterans Home run by the state down in Bennington.
But yeah, the progs and gummint bureaucrats thought they would be do-gooders and release all those poor people from institutions and dumped them out on the streets. WTF were they thinking??
And a lot of rural small towns up here had what were known as “town farms,” where down-on-their-luck residents could live and work; you still find a lot of “Town Farm Road” street signs in the countryside.
[snip] If you want to believe Florida conspiracy theory, [snip]
Sorry, I’m calling BS on that one. John Ellis Bush met his future wife while he was in high school, doing a “help raise up the brown people” stint; his wife (Columba) is about 6 months younger than he is. When they married, it was still scandalous for a proper, preppy, wealthy, WASP boy to marry a Mexican, and even more so to convert to Papacy. By all accounts they’ve been as happily married as any two people can be for 40+ years.
[snip] Only five percent of the 23,315,600 reported calls in 2014 were fire-related. [snip]
I assume that measures the total call volume to various 9-1-1 centers. In this county, all such calls are routed to a central office. The operators determine what sort of aid you need (Fire, Police, EMS, or some combination) and which jurisdiction you’re in, and then directly contact the appropriate dispatcher. Each of the seven incorporated cites has their own fire & police departments, plus the two military bases’ fire & police, plus the county Sheriff’s Office & Fire Department. All EMS is run through the large public hospital. The actual number of ‘Help me! My house is on fire!’ calls is probably the smallest % of the total. There is a concerted effort to train the police & fire crews to the first level of EMS standards; as with all things the finite budget is the limiting factor.
The small town where I grew up had EMS as part of the FD, but after a certain point, every cop needed to be at least EMT-B qualified. With a gear bag in the trunk, and taking their squad cars home at night, we had one of the shortest response times for EMS in Illinois.
We had a very progressive (in the good way) Fire Chief who thought we should be very well equipped. Our volunteer dept had the jaws of life long before most stations in Chicago did. They were also an early adopter of thermal vision and scba breathing packs. The citizens of our town were in agreement with the Chief and funded most of the toys out of donations, including a motorola voice pager alert system. My dad was a volunteer for decades and will probably be buried in his formal uniform. The volunteers were eventually mostly squeezed out by full time guys.
n
I spent a lot of time hanging around the station. Never forget that smell.
EDIT- turns out he wasn’t. He wanted to be cremated. RIP dad, Aug. 12, 2018 I miss you