The Philosophy of a True Conservative, Today

[Adak]

Why you want to trust YOURSELF, as much as possible, in any emergency.

http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#...d-molinaro.cnn

"We're going to die!"

Gov't and other emergency agencies are helpful, but in any emergency, they can easily - SO EASILY - be overwhelmed, and unable to help you.

Be Prepared, and try to be as self reliant as possible.

[DanaC]

I don't see anybody suggesting that people should take no precautions and rely solely on government agencies to keep them safe. But sometimes an individual's efforts are not enough, in which case I don;t think it's unreasonable to expect government agencies to do their jobs. As indeed it appears they have been doing.

[Adak]

Originally Posted by DanaC

I don't see anybody suggesting that people should take no precautions and rely solely on government agencies to keep them safe. But sometimes an individual's efforts are not enough, in which case I don;t think it's unreasonable to expect government agencies to do their jobs. As indeed it appears they have been doing.

Nobody is advising people to do nothing to be prepared for an emergency, but I can assure you, most people do NOT prepare for an emergency. ANY emergency.

Actually, the Mormons are pretty good about this. They have a church revelation that they should keep a year's supply of food, in case of emergency. As you might guess, they take it seriously, and slowly build up to it.

Talk to your neighbors and ask them "In case of an emergency where you lost power & cell phones, how would you hear the news?", "What is your plan to heat your home, if you lost all power in the Winter? etc.

They hem and haw, and have very few answers: "I'd heat my home (a 4 bedroom 2 story house), with candles."

"How many candles do you have?"

"Let's see - two!" (points to two skinny dining room table candles, good for about 4 hours)

"We expect people might be hurt, do you have any first aid supplies?"

"Sure" - shows you a band-aid box

And the more you dig, the more you know they're woefully prepared for even the slightest emergency.

There's a REAL difference between someone not advising people to not be prepared, and people FIRED up, and saying "Let's BE Prepared!!". World of difference.

(I'll now retire from my soapbox - I used to work in emergency preparedness and response. I do get onto my soapbox about it from time to time.)

[Adak]

The bureaucrats are alive and well, in NYC:

*They require 3 people in each car going over a bridge, so all the Smart Cars that only fit two people but get fantastic MPG, are not allowed into the island.

*One of the biggest problems in NYC is with the damaged electrical system, from all the seawater getting into everything.

Crews from all over the country, have arrived in NYC, to help out, along with some C-130's full of big electrical power equipment, to help rebuild the sub stations that blew up when they were shorted out.

BUT - any NON-UNION crew that shows up - or any UNION crew whose union is not affiliated with the AFL-CIO, is being sent home. They're not allowed to work in NYC - even in an emergency!

Of course, my absolutely favorite true story about Unions is the one where the firefighters QUIT fighting the structure fire, because it was now time for them to start their strike!

Followed closely by the firefighters refusing to put out the house fire on the Mayor's home, because he wouldn't give them a raise in recent negotiations with their union.

If you don't live in a "Right to Work" state, your freedom to choose a job, has been stolen. Followed of course, by the Union removing donations from your paycheck, for their political payoffs - whether you approve it or not.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Adak

Followed of course, by the Union removing donations from your paycheck, for their political payoffs - whether you approve it or not.

That's not true, by federal law those donations have to be designated in writing by you and separate from normal dues.
Coercion is another matter, however.

[Ibby]

Originally Posted by Adak

BUT - any NON-UNION crew that shows up - or any UNION crew whose union is not affiliated with the AFL-CIO, is being sent home. They're not allowed to work in NYC - even in an emergency!

Not true at all.

[Adak]

Originally Posted by Ibby

Not true at all.

C'mon Ibby! Accept just ONE fact, for a change:

The IBEW is the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, btw. An AFL-CIO affiliated Union.

"Decatur Utilities sent a 6-man crew to the Northeast Wednesday, October 31, bound for Seaside Heights, N.J., to assist with power restoration. Communication with Seaside Heights was poor due to lack of cell phone service in the area. Upon arriving at a staging area in Virginia, crews were held in place pending clarification of documents received from IBEW that implied a requirement of our employees to agree to union affiliation while working in the New York and New Jersey areas. It was and remains our understanding that agreeing to those requirements was a condition of being allowed to work in those areas.

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/11/..._river_default

You DO KNOW that you can't work in a state controlled by the unions, without joining the union.

Only in a "right to work" state, can a non-union tradesman work, legally. Most states back East, are NOT "right to work" states. You join the union, or you don't work in ANY trade job.

[Ibby]

which was followed, in the SAME PARAGRAPH, by:

To be clear, at no time were our crews 'turned away' from the utility in Seaside Heights.

[BigV]

because they were not needed

[Adak]

Originally Posted by Ibby

which was followed, in the SAME PARAGRAPH, by:

RIGHT! See there's the "<======== don't look here - look over here ======>", redirection.

They WEREN'T stopped from working in Seaside Heights, because they weren't Unionized. Seaside already had all the crews it needed!

They WERE stopped from working in Virginia, because they weren't Unionized. They would have been stopped anywhere in New Jersey, New York, or Virgina - because emergency or not, you can't work in those states in any trade, unless you are in the Union.

Period.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Adak

They would have been stopped anywhere in New Jersey, New York, or Virgina - because emergency or not, you can't work in those states in any trade, unless you are in the Union.

Period.

Period?

My good friend is an electrician in Arlington VA, and he's not in a union. He's a Republican. It would go against his core beliefs.

You don't know what you are talking about.

[BigV]

glatt, glatt... I know I've said many times that electrons are free, but there is only a finite amount of time to pile up so many of them that you can erect an unassailable bulwark of factual evidence that can withstand the power of Adak's imagination. He's made up his mind. He knows stuff. He hasn't checked the details, but he knows what he knows. He doesn't acknowledge the same rules of evidence, the same differentiation of causation and correlation, the same logic as the rest of us.

You are talking English to him, what the hell do you expect?

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Adak

RIGHT! See there's the "<======== don't look here - look over here ======>", redirection.

They WEREN'T stopped from working in Seaside Heights, because they weren't Unionized. Seaside already had all the crews it needed!

They WERE stopped from working in Virginia, because they weren't Unionized. They would have been stopped anywhere in New Jersey, New York, or Virgina - because emergency or not, you can't work in those states in any trade, unless you are in the Union.

Period.

Huntsville crews are working today on Long Island and Joe Wheeler crews, which are unionized, are on their way home after completing jobs in Maryland for Sandy recovery.

New York, that's Long Island New York. Where the Huntsville crews are "working today". How do you explain the Huntsville's crew's work in Long Island New York?

[BigV]

got another question Adak... states controlled by unions, that sounds like binders full of women, inarticulately stateds, I'm sure... but let's say new york *is* "controlled by unions", how, exactly, are you suggesting the unions are controlling the state? Perhaps they've been the beneficiaries of some favorable legislation? You're all about following the law, I remember you saying about Romney's tax payment strategy saying that he was just following the law, and that's all you needed. What about these unions who are controlling the state by law? Are you upset that people are following the law? I thought you liked laws.

Or is the control of the state by the unions exerted and enforced by some other ... extra legal means? Where is your smoking gun for this?

[Stormieweather]

People really have to slow down and get all the facts before they jump on the blame-game bandwagon.

Snopes on Hurricane Sandy and unions

"No out-of-state crews, union or non-union, that are coming to help...will be turned away. We are welcoming whatever help comes in, union or non-union, to assist with the recovery." Kevin Roberts, spokesman for Chris Christie.