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Saturday, September 10, 2005

Useful

Carl at No Oil For Pacifists has a post up with information about your own disaster planning. If you only read one, read Preacherman's. And be sure to scroll down in the comments to get points 15 and 16. There is also excellent information about radios and the like in the comments.

Carl also posted about the questionable legality of the gun confiscations in NO.

And if you think Carl is over the top, see this post by the Doctor Is In:
I have long believed that the Second Amendment guaranteed an individual’s right to keep and bear arms–it is hard to imagine any other intent when it was implemented, in a society where a firearm was a necessity of life for hunting, protection against man and beast, and the final recourse against tyranny. Yet I have long been ambivalent about guns, having seen the devastation and tragedy they have caused in poor neighborhoods and through careless use in homes and around children. And I have long been wary of gun zealots. I had basic weapon training in the military–but medical providers didn’t get much. I have had no desire to own a personal firearm, and never expected I would. My wife would never approve, anyway, so the point was moot.

But life is full of surprises.

While watching the anarchy in New Orleans, my wife turned to me a said, “I want to get a gun.” She expected my usual skepticism about her over-the-top paranoia. But she was serious, and I was shocked–I had always assumed she would never want a gun around. After first checking to make sure she wasn’t angry with me (she wasn’t), I responded, “So do I.” Her shock matched mine: we had both assumed the other would never agree to such an idea. I was, in fact, a bit startled at my own response–but there was at that moment no doubt about my conviction–nor is there now.
It's a superb blog. Let me put it this way - after watching what happened in New Orleans, I don't feel like trusting my safety and security to the authorities in all circumstances. There are so many special interests which get into the toxic pool of public lobbying that I prefer to trust myself. See Oraculations for an excellent post about how some safety precautions for New Orleans were stopped by environmental lawsuits. There is always someone out there who has more time and money to lobby for their interests than for yours.

It seems to me as if the people in the "shelters" were in most cases worse off than those who weren't but were in high ground. I want a plan to keep me out of one of those places.

Regarding bank accounts, it is a really good idea to have one account in a big national bank (not a bank with "national" in its name), but a bank that actually does business nationally. That way you always have access to some of your money.


Comments:
Your last point is one I hope EVERYONE pays attention to. ABSOLUTELY!

I've had to deal with things like disaster planning when I had my apartment fire and during the Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles over a decade ago. You can never prepare too much.
 
Esther, I had no idea you had such an exciting life!
 
I had never thought about the bank issue, I have one of those jobs that makes a large bank that is always open and available no matter what a necessity.
 
Just a note on the Army corp and SOWL. In the long run, it would have acutally increased flooding, not diminished it (even by the Army Corp's own models). Without the seasonal flooding, the surrounding wetlands die and sink causing more open water which allows for more swell. the Army Corps answer to this was to build several more locks and more levees in 10 to 20 years around the areas that turned into water. It was not a good plan.
 
Dingo - we've got an awful situation on our hands in the area. The more we control the immediate hazards, the more we worsen the longterm hazards.

There is some high ground in New Orleans. I wonder if designing some sort of floating city isn't a better option?

In the long run, we probably can't win if we persist in fighting this war with nature. There has to be an alternative strategy that won't leave people in such danger.
 
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