Government says - STOCKPILE SUPPLIES

[FortunateSon]

Chertoff: Preparedness Depends on People By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer
Mon Oct 31, 5:35 PM ET



WASHINGTON - Stockpiling supplies and developing family response plans in case disaster strikes not only might save lives — it's also a civic duty, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press.

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Two months of hurricanes ravaging the Gulf Coast should prove that people need to make preparations so emergency officials can focus on those who are poor, elderly or otherwise can't help themselves, Chertoff said.

"For those people who say, 'Well, I can take care of myself no matter what, I don't have to prepare,' there is an altruistic element — that to the extent that they are a burden on government services, that takes away from what's available to help those who can't help themselves," Chertoff said. "That is a matter of civic virtue."

Chertoff's comments mark a new stage in Homeland Security's "Ready" campaign — which was widely ridiculed two years ago for urging homeowners to stock up on duct tape and plastic sheeting to safeguard their homes against a chemical or biological attack.

Now, Chertoff said, the department plans to reach out to school students to carry the preparedness messages home to their parents. Additionally, Homeland Security and the Ad Council launched a newspaper and radio campaign Monday pitched at small businesses to develop disaster plans for workplaces.

Whether the public will listen, however, is another matter.

Even with a week's notice of Hurricane Wilma, many Floridians failed to evacuate areas the storm flooded or to stock up on food, water and other essentials. The cavalier attitude prompted Republican Gov. Jeb Bush to scold constituents, noting that people who sought relief from Wilma "had ample time to prepare."

"It isn't that hard to get 72 hours' worth of food and water," Bush said last week.

Michael A. Wermuth, homeland security director at the RAND Corp. in Arlington, Va., said getting the public to participate will be a struggle lasting years.

"Even something like Katrina — where everybody watched that unfold and understood what those poor folks were going through — as compelling as that was, we're all busy people. And how long does it stick if you don't get reminded again and again and again?" Wermuth said.

Pitching the preparedness campaign to school children could be successful, he said, noting the fire prevention and anti-smoking programs that targeted students.

But Dr. Vincent Ferrandino, executive director of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, cautioned against using the schools as messenger except "when it's absolutely necessary, and we consider it an issue of national importance."

"Schools need to be a place where important issues are discussed," Ferrandino said. "But we need to be careful that we don't use the schools constantly for everybody's latest and greatest new idea."

Chertoff's plans are an optimistic and pragmatic mix.

If gas stations keep power generators on hand, Chertoff argues, they can pump fuel for commuters to drive to work. If utility company employees can get to work, they can provide power to grocery stores. Once grocery stores are open, households can restock food, water and first aid needs while emergency responders focus on people who can't get their own.

"The great lesson of all of these events is interdependence," Chertoff said. "We're all dependent on everybody else. Everybody has their role to play, and if people fail in their role, it's going to have a cascading effect."

___

On the Net:

Homeland Security Department: http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/

DHS "Ready" campaign: http://www.ready.gov/

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[ftierson]

Of course, if you do stockpile stuff (and you certainly should), these same "officials" will come back and call you a hoarder and probably attempt to seize your stockpile to distribute it to those in need (read that as, too stupid to stockpile anything).

They'll also probably try to figure out some way to tax your stockpile while you're storing it...

Sorry.

Rant off...

Forrest

[ftierson]

Probably should stockpile flu vaccine too, right?

Oh wait, people are trying to do that so let's pull the vaccine from the market to prevent the civilian hoarding of it...

And I'm not a big fan of laying in a supply of the available vaccines either because I don't think that they'll be very effective against what people are grabbing them for, but I think that you can figure out my point...

Forrest

[gunplumber]

Originally posted by ftierson
Of course, if you do stockpile stuff (and you certainly should), these same "officials" will come back and call you a hoarder and probably attempt to seize your stockpile to distribute it to those in need (read that as, too stupid to stockpile anything).

They'll also probably try to figure out some way to tax your stockpile while you're storing it...


Forrest

I read somewhere that stockpiling food is illegal in some juristictions..

I am hoping some Morman gets arrested for stockpiling food and makes it a freedom of religion case - his religion mandates it. But it also mandates obeying the law. What to do when a commandment from God conflicts with a commandment from some local governemnt.

I am working on raising my 3 month supply to a year.

Storage in a AZ is a problem. Supposedly I have to go 20 feet deep to maintain 70 degrees and canned food shelf life is really cut short by hot temps. Heck, my garage is 120 degrees in the summer - that makes any stored food good for about 6 months.

[Sailor553]

Then, of course, you can hump all of your stockpile with you when the local .gov mandates an evacuation.

[gunplumber]

"The great lesson of all of these events is interdependence," Chertoff said. "We're all dependent on everybody else. Everybody has their role to play, and if people fail in their role, it's going to have a cascading effect."

Group Hug anyone?

The great lesson of all these events is INDEPENDENCE! Rely on yourself, your family, and maybe some like-minded folks from your neighborhood. But definitely don't rely on uncle sam to rescue you from your own choice to remain helpless.

[gunseller]

Does the statement,"We are all dependent on each other." Mean that we who have because we stockpiled will be forced to share with those who did not. I guess I will have my 72 hourss where they can find it so it can be shared.
I out for the group hug. You are not cute enough and you do not have bumps where I like to see them.
Gunseller

[doubletap]

Originally posted by gunseller
You are not cute enough and you do not have bumps where I like to see them.
Gunseller

http://www.falfiles.com/forhttp://www.falfiles.com/forums/icons/icon14.gif
Thumbs upums/icons/icon14.gif
BWAhahaaahaaa !!! Best reason I can think of to have a "secret" stash around!

[gunsmoke]

Originally posted by gunplumber
The great lesson of all these events is INDEPENDENCE! Rely on yourself, your family, and maybe some like-minded folks from your neighborhood. But definitely don't rely on uncle sam to rescue you from your own choice to remain helpless. :cool:
Originally posted by Faltitude (in another thread)
I fully prepare to be a "loner" if something were to happen that caused colapse of infrastructure for a long duration.
Prepare for the worst, pray for the best, and watch your back. :cool:

And to quote myself:

The only thing I can add to this wisdom is "...and store lots, and lots and lots of ammo."

[Fallschirmjager]

No, No, No. You have it all wrong. Its "You should store supplies, because we are the government and we are here to help you be a good citizen by helping you redistribute your supplies to those who are too freekin' stupid to provide for their families.

That is what the government means. Everyone just misreads what the government says, thats all.

Yea, right, we are here to help you...:rolleyes:

[gunseller]

When I was single I used the words, "trust me" when I was talking to females. I now have three kids. Does the gov'ts words have the same results? I am willing to share with those who are trying but not with those who just want a hand out.
Gunseller

[Blood of Tyrants]

Your stockpile isn't going to do one bit of good if it is under 11 feet of hurricaine storm surge.

[Treborer]

If you do stockpile food and water, keep your mouth shut about it.

SSHHH!

:wink:

[ftierson]

Originally posted by Treborer
If you do stockpile food and water, keep your mouth shut about it.

SSHHH!

:wink:

What's a "stockpile?"

:)

Forrest

[Artful]

Originally posted by Blood of Tyrants
Your stockpile isn't going to do one bit of good if it is under 11 feet of hurricaine storm surge.

I want to see a an 11 foot storm surge reach to Arizona, Now that would be a perfect storm. :bow: (or maybe a Meteor hit:uhoh: )

You have to prepare for your local conditions - in AZ you have to worry about H20 (it's a desert I tell you), food, and you need to worry about cooling/shelter.

Worst Case is here is No Water or Food/ No Shade/ No AC and or Power

Oh and did I mention Phoenix's emergency plan for if there's a big problem (Local Nuke reactor goes up, Bio/Chem/Dirty Bomb, Muslum Riots etc.) is for us all to walk away into the desert:confused:, as the roads out of town don't have enough capacity to allow escape of the population.:sad:

Marks plan to have underground storeage is a good one for this enviroment and to be able to stay in a defendable position that offer's stored water, Shade and hopefully help to keep the unprepared away. At least the mormon's as neighbors can take care of themselves.;)

[fire for effect]

Originally posted by ftierson


What's a "stockpile?"

:)

Forrest

It is a pile of old wood, sitting in the corner, off of different guns I have rebuilt.

[fire for effect]

Originally posted by gunplumber
"The great lesson of all of these events is interdependence," Chertoff said. "We're all dependent on everybody else. Everybody has their role to play, and if people fail in their role, it's going to have a cascading effect."

Group Hug anyone?

The great lesson of all these events is INDEPENDENCE! Rely on yourself, your family, and maybe some like-minded folks from your neighborhood. But definitely don't rely on uncle sam to rescue you from your own choice to remain helpless.

You are absolutly right Gunplumer. Look what happened in NewOrleans, when you depend on the Government for help. And I do not necessarily blame the Government, but the Beuracracy involved only slows everything down. It is best to never to have to depend on anybody but yourself. Then you will never be dissapointed.

I truly believe that there is nothing that the Federal, or even State Government can do for me, that I cannot do for myself, better, and cheaper.

[Treborer]

Move to higher ground, N.O. was 8-10 feet below water and surrounded by water.

Shit for brains fools.:beer:

I say let the ocean reclaim it, or get bigger Dikes-Not a sexist remark-.

[SHARPSHOOTER]

Gunplumber posted:

I read somewhere that stockpiling food is illegal in some juristictions..

Mark I have a very simple answer to this problem .

1. I do not tell anyone what I am buying or how much, I also avoid letting people know that I have stores of food, ammo , fuel and other life essential items.

2. I try to avoid buying large amounts of Survival Provisions locally so that my purchasing does not become the target of discussion at the local COOP or barber shop.

In fact scratch that I just have the normal stuff that everyone else has in their homes. Nothing less.

[fastfreddy]

Originally posted by gunplumber

What to do when a commandment from God conflicts with a commandment from some local governemnt.


I think it is becoming increasingly important for everyone to know just where they stand on that important question!

I hope the answer is obvious.

[fastfreddy]

Stockpile? That's just the groceries :D

[FortunateSon]

Spend some time on this site - LOTS of good info and resources. http://www.fluwikie.com/index.php?n=Main.HomePage

[gunsmoke]

Originally posted by fastfreddy
Stockpile? That's just the groceries :D

STOCKPILES?????

WHAT STOCKPILES?????



WE DON'T NEED NO STINKING STOCKPILES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



:shades:


:whiskey:

[macvsog]

Our government shouldn't have to come to our aid during a natural disaster unless the local government requests assistance. Bush is all for less reliance on government and more on ourselves, family, and neighbors. If you are waiting for them to help you, shame on you. Now if there is an act of terrrorism on our soil that is a horse of a different color and falls under an act of war clause. Just IMHO. Be self reliant.

[Rick]

I have heard FEMA will take from the local govts what they want. For example in NO they wanted diesel fuel that the local govt had. The NOPD told FEMA to shove it and posted armed guards.

I have heard FEMA will take generators away from local citizens if they want em. Seems rather incrediable that they can do this. What really seems out of line is that FEMA can come into you house and take your food! Is this America or the former Soviet Union?

[ONG]

There was a message on our local radio station this morning, brought to us by our govt.

Prepare, prepare.

[gunplumber]

Arizona sent NO FEMA some Sherriff Department and Fire Department search and resuce teams.

FEMA sent them back. "We don't want them" says FEMA, "because they have sidearms, and that violates our 'policy'"

[vmtz]

Originally posted by gunplumber
Arizona sent NO FEMA some Sherriff Department and Fire Department search and resuce teams.

FEMA sent them back. "We don't want them" says FEMA, "because they have sidearms, and that violates our 'policy'"

Didn't seem to be an issue with the New Mexico guys who went.

Go figure.

Vince

[Rawles]

I strongly recommend that folks store at least a one year food supply, plus a significant extra quantity to dispense as charity. Huricane Katrina was proof that the FEMA types cannot handle a major didaster. Consider it "YOYO" time. (You're on Your Own!")

[Hebrew Battle Rifle]

I have a 6 month supply of food stockpiled around my waiste. Good luck confiscating it.


They can have whats left after I am done with it though. :D

[Jez Cruzen]

Disaster response in this country works on a three-tiered system. First, all disasters are local - just like politics. Once local resources are depleted/overwhelmed, the local Emergency Operations Center (EOC) requests assistance through the state EOC. This mobilizes state reponse resources if they have not been mobilized already. Once state resources become depleted/overwhelmed, the Governor of the state requests assistance from FEMA after he/she declares a state-wide emergency. If, in the Fed's opinion, the event is of "national significance", assistance is authorized.

Of course, this is an over-simplified discription. Local, State, and Federal resources can certainly be mobilized well in advance of the event - like in the case of an approching hurricane - if required.

Shortly after Katrina, I received a request via EMAC (Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which is an agreement among all signature states to provide assistance if they can) by FEMA for one thousand teams consisting of two firefighters each that would deploy into the disaster area to assist FEMA distribute federal assistance forms to victims. (I don't understand why they wanted highly trained firefighters for this!) First, however, the teams would report to Atlanta for three days of "training". To the chagrin of those team members, once they had reported to Atlanta they found that the three days of training consisted of "sexual harrasment in the workplace" and some equal employment B.S. Many caught the next flight out of ATlanta and went back home in disbelief!

I know this thread discusses the storing of provisions, and we should be doing exactly that. It should also be apparent to anyone having a grain of common sense that no government or agency possesses the capabilty to come to your aid in a timely manner during a large-scale disaster. Someone's achronem of "YOYO" is profound in it's simplicity - and accuracy!

[Papadoc]

I recently (with in the last week) watched a News report on KOMU TV-8 (Columbia, Missouri) interviewing a FEMA director in Kansas City. This was in reference to the Columbia Missouri Fire Department Search and Rescue Team that was sent to New Orleans. This team is a nationaly recognized and deployed S&R Team and has perticipated in S&R operations all over the US, including deploying to New York City in the wake of 911. At any rate, this dork is complaining that the Team should have been wearing shirts that said FEMA, not the standard yellow S&R team shirt. You can see where is "priorities" are, he did not give a damn about the hard work and efforts these men and woman were putting forth to help others, just that they needed to "advertise" FEMA.

For what it is worth, keep in mind what FEMA stands for; Federal Emergency Management Agency. They have no mandate to help anyone during an emergency, only to manage the emergency for the Federal Government.

Store pleanty of food, water, shelter building material, weapons and ammo!

Just my .02 worth, YMMV!

[jerrymrc]

Posted by Jez Cruzen; once they had reported to Atlanta they found that the three days of training consisted of "sexual harrasment in the workplace" and some equal employment B.S. Many caught the next flight out of ATlanta and went back home in disbelief!

All here that work for the fed can attest to how much "training" we go thru every qtr. Wen you work in the Medical field you get even more. I have a list of about 30 courses I have to take again and again. I have taken the "sexual harrasment in the workplace" class about 100 times in my career. :eek:

[ftierson]

Originally posted by jerrymrc
I have taken the "sexual harrasment in the workplace" class about 100 times in my career. :eek:

You'd think that you would have learned how to sexually harrass someone by now with all that training, Jerry...

:)

But I know what you mean very well, since I work in a state university environment...

Anyway, back to the thread...

(Well, actually, we probably are back to the thread already given that we're discussing, at some level or another, governmental (including FEMA) responses (or lack thereof) to emergencies. So, the special sexual harassment and minority sensitivity training mentioned by Jez Cruzen doesn't surprise me at all since I expect governmental responses to be mostly just stupid and counterproductive. Damn, I guess that my age (and experience) is showing...)

Forrest

[jerrymrc]

We now have new ones that have come on in the last year. The "sexual assault" class. The "sexual predator" class. Safe to say that I spend alot of my time going to this stuff instead of working.