Be Ready if Disaster Strikes – Part 1

Since I like to keep my articles to a reasonable reading length; it will take two articles to deal with my current topic of dealing with the difficult situation in our country.

Let me begin by saying, I hope I'm wrong!

I've been saying for some time that we need to find out what the Obama definition of "is" is. I haven't figured it all out yet and probably won't for another couple of weeks or even months. Yes, you're right - I did not want Obama as President. However, McCain wasn’t my first choice either.

It has been reported on all news sources for the past several months that guns and ammunition are flying off the shelves at an unbelievable rate. I have verified this to be true, and not just in Missouri - it's happening in every state in America. The reason being is that most report a fear that President Obama's administration is preparing to take our guns. This is not my words, but the words of folks buying the guns.

Also, there has been an upswing of online purchases of Meals Ready to Eat (M.R.E.s) that has not been seen since preparations for Y2K, which we all know never happened.
Why is this happening? Most report a fear they are going to have to "hunker down when the riots start." Riots, what riots?

I get a lot of email traffic where folks are fearful of door to door confiscation of weapons by law enforcement and the military.

Is the sky falling? How will we know? We have to study and be prepared. Parents, it is your responsibility to think about the unthinkable. You already have experience in that sort of planning. I don't know anyone that does have some plans for ice storms, tornadoes and other natural disasters. As you know, it may be necessary for you and your family to survive a few days or weeks without outside support should one of these disasters hit.

Every time there is a disaster, the good and the bad come out in people. The good comes out when people volunteer to help others. The bad is when you find folks who are taking advantage of a bad situation and steal your property. The good ones are usually your neighbors; the bad ones are usually predators from out of the area - but not always.

Maybe the disaster will be a natural one or maybe it will be man-made (such as 9/11/2001). Either way, the planning is basically the same.

When I was in Iraq, Houston Texas was hit with Hurricane Rita. Pam drove for 18.5 hours with three dogs, clothing and supplies - and didn't drive more than 25 miles. At one point her gas gauge was on empty. She drove off the highway into a remote area where she heard someone found gas. She found the place and yes it had gas; but was only available with a credit card. She told me that there were all types of people coming up to her begging her to let her use her credit card. She was scared and got out of there. She was carrying a gun, we're just thankful she didn't have to use it.

You cannot evacuate a major metropolitan area quickly. During every natural disaster you can count on price gougers increasing rent at motels, and the price of food, gas and oil. They know people will pay anything to get out of the affected area.

As we saw in New Orleans with hurricane Katrina, some of the neighbors became looters, thieves and brigands. Not only did many have to defend themselves from rising water, snakes and gators - but also from their neighbors! I do not blame Bush for Katrina, I blame the parents! The rhetoric about Democrats and Republican failures were nonsensical. These folks waited too long before trying to get out. They believed it was the government's job to rescue them. When did the government replace our God given sense?

They did not plan ahead and many died. Law Enforcement confiscated weapons from law abiding citizens. Idiots were shooting at helicopters and emergency responders - the very folks coming to help them! Remember- disaster will bring out the good in people, but don't forget about the bad.

That sort of stuff couldn't happen here in the Ozarks, could it? Under normal conditions, probably not. But are we going to be dealing with "normal" times? And if not, how can we see the trouble coming and what can we do about it and when do we need to start preparing?
Let me answer the last question first - NOW!

If the predictions of the Conservative Right are wrong, it won't hurt anything to have some insurance. If, on the other hand they are correct, you're about out of time.

100,000 charities are shutting down. We still don't know the full impact of the Barney Madoff swindle or the economical "bail out" debacle we're in. I can tell you this - guns and ammunition have escalated in cost and prices continue to climb. What would normally cost you a few hundred dollars is now several hundred dollars. My personal sources have cautioned against on-line or credit card purchases because these are "being tracked".

I remember when the new President announced his National Civilian Defense Force; some of you may not even be aware of this. President Obama said, "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."

I for one would like to know what "national security objectives" he was speaking of. More than that, I want to know why "We cannot continue to rely on our military to achieve" them.
Now to the point of all of this! I believe it is possible that the country has created the "perfect political storm" with the current administration. I have not heard anything positive said where national security is concerned by this administration yet. However, where our borders are concerned, I have to say that they were no more secure on the last day of President Bush's administration than they were on Sept 10, 2001.

The reality is the Democrats control the power in Congress. They want more power and the probability is they will get it. The Republicans did the same thing under Bush II. A politician is a politician is a politician, but President Obama said, "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."

That ain't politics as normal. This is good news if I'm wrong - no harm no foul. But if I'm right, the Ozarks is exactly where you need to be to survive a long term economic failure and the resulting civil problems. Next week, we'll get into the specifics - please take notes.