Homeland Security Director, Tom Ridge, has been doing an excellent job pacifying the masses with color coding threat levels on national TV, yet somehow I still feel certain that something like 911 will happen again. This time, we'll be just as unprepared as before. I'm sure my growing sense of doom doesn't relate to the overwhelming flurry of actual information spouting from that office.
This excerpt from a September 2 speech entitled, "Information Sharing a Key to Nation's Security", Secretary Tom Ridge said the following to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
"Part of our mission is to turn information into courses of action which we can then communicate to those who can immediately ramp up security. As the 9-11 Commission so rightly framed it, 'The need to know has been replaced by the need to share.' Widespread information sharing is the hallmark of the nation's new approach to homeland security. That is why we have developed new tools for communication that reach horizontally across federal departments and vertically to our partners at the state, local, territorial, and tribal levels as well as out to the private sector as well."
More all-inclusive (English only) content designed to make you feel better can be found at, The Office of Homeland Security Website: http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/
So that all sounds very good, but I'm just wondering how prepared we really are to cope with a serious terrorist, or even natural disaster.
Working in the hurricane-isolated region of the Midwest, it might be hard to imagine what personal impact Ivan will have to the residents of the Gulf Coast, but even here the effects are already felt. As oil and natural gas facilities are forced to close, the price of energy rises accordingly, slowing productivity and growth. Consumer prices rise, and the economy slows.
Florida, already hard hit, will need over 5 billion in Federal aid in order to recover. Tax time. Like the power grid that cris-crosses this nation, labor capacity lost due to these natural disasters is quickly rerouted to other areas outside the danger zone. Overtime.
At least, we won’t have to suffer the loss of personal property, direct income, and possibly the lives of loved ones.
When I think of what Homeland Security would mean to me, part of that would contain a good plan for action. The, "What People Would Do When Things Got Bad To Make Things Better" plan. This plan would be a swell plan too. Everyone could use it, follow it when needed, and probably make it out OK. Everyone could read the book, and in this book, there would also be some really great tips and techniques that individual people could use, if someday the possibility arose. Stuff like: Tip #784 - If you think the building is going to collapse, whatever you do, DON’T run up the stairs.
It might have to be a pretty big book in order to make sure all the good ideas made it in though, because this is not a time for skimmin' on the details, right? Anyway I think it might be lost, so if anyone out there knows where is, please let me know and I'll feel allot better.
Those living in the Gulf Coast area might be able to use some of this information: http://www.Ready.gov/
Specific hurricane-related information is available here: http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/hurricanes.shtm
Noting the tone coming from the second half of the news article though, I would have to say that there are certainly several people who would benefit from this information, including someone in government who can help those trapped people before Ivan hits.
"They said get out, but I can't change my flight, so I figure I might as well enjoy myself," said George Senton, of Newark, N.J., who listened to the music. "At least I'll have had some good coffee and some good music before it gets me."
Personally, if something similar happened to me, I'd hate to be the one saying that.
With more than 100,000 people trapped inside New Orleans city limits alone, and waves potentially cresting past the flooding limit of 10 feet, the situation doesn’t look promising.
... Send a good thought to those of us who are going through these tough times.
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