whole story...

Thanks for posting this. I missed this article. I think this article is dead on about people in general and especially about the bird flu potential. No matter how many articles get published warning people the "next one" is still going to end up with the zombies and PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. vs. those of us who are actually prepared.

Wow...
The cool new features just keep on coming. Great stuff.

RE: The CNN Article

It seems society has been all about Band-Aids instead of prevention for as long as I can remember. You can see the attitude reflected not only in preparation and prevention, but also many other aspects of modern life, and it's a shame. I don't know if anything will change that, at least something short of an event that will affect everyone in the country at the same time and on the same level.

There are exceptions in people like Mr. Ritter, we preparedness nuts, our first responders and people that actually learned the lessons when they came and who care about others, but I believe we're really just a small niche in the population. This makes it tough to get any large scale preparedness works underway, especially when it comes down to doling out dollars. Making money is more important to a greater portion of the population.

And I'm not saying it's an easy choice by any means... In its own way, savings are a very important part of preparedness.

There are other notable exceptions, but unfortunately I believe it has more to do with the fear of getting one's backside sued off more than for the sake of caring or thinking anything bad will really happen. Where litigation is a factor, the cheapest measure is to prepare for lawsuits rather than safety and the former is probably going to win out.

As always, I could be wrong.

It won't happen to "me" is a fundamental flaw in human nature.

Why else would anyone climb into a car when they are drunk?

Why else would anyone climb a Mountain in the Winter?

etc.

We tend to think we are some how always going to be the exception.

Opening our pocketbooks isn't really the answer. We are now paying approximately 40-45% of our personal annual income in taxes, visible and invisible.

The problem is not that the money isn't there, because it is. The problem is that it's being spent on the wrong things. Grants are frequently given for things like discovering the color preferences of mice, and which ethnic group has the worst body odor. The local Native American tribe, which already has a casino, was recently given free money from the State in the amount of $4.5 million to build a waterpark/resort. NAs do not pay taxes. Here in WA, any town can apparently get a similar amount to build a set of four roundabouts where they are neither wanted nor needed. The waste continues, ad naseum.

We vote these suckers into office then sit watching stupid 'reality' shows and sitcoms while we let them do whatever they darn well please. Do we hold them accountable for their actions? Do we watch to see if they stick to their promises? No, we do not. Maybe it's time we started to insist?

Sue

And lets not forget those congressional junkets to the Bahamas they all seem to take, the new Speaker of the House wanting the largest transport the USAF has to fly her back and forth between CA and DC, or the Sonics getting a new arena built with public money. The list can go on and on and on...

I'm starting to think the phrase "kill your television" is more appropriate all the time.

Hopefully the insanity and waste will continue faster and faster, until it reaches the point where John Q. Public finally takes notice. Things have to get worse before they get better.

On the plus side, it seems like there are more articles, TV shows, and brochures on survival and preparedness than ever before. At least someone is paying attention. But I wonder for how long?

I remember something about leading a horse to water....

PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. still believe that they can depend on "th' gummint to come save 'em", despite all the recent lessons to the contrary. Remember, it's the government that has decided that a fallout shelter system is against the best interests of it's citizens while they retain all of their shelters, "public" and private.

I am still seeing a great number of blue roofs between Port Arthur, Tx eastward to Florida. A true testimony of how the government is ready to step in and HELP!

Thanks for posting this article. I'm going send info to all of my Citizen Emergency Response Team (CERT) members in my division.