Wrightwood Economic Disaster Awareness/Preparedness

[tcaarabians]

Well, first and foremost .. I want the chow mein stuff from Jensen's and I want those crunchy noodles to go with it.  I'm just going on the record here again.

Next: do we need a militia? Oddly I do not think we do. I do not think that roads should be blocked (in particular if a truck is carrying chow mein to Jensen's). Oh, have you guys thought about passes for those of us in P.H. and Phelan.. or will we become the enemy? I'm still thinking chow mein here.. Stater doesn't carry it. So, I'm planning in advance of the crash.

I personally do not think we need guns.. and I sort of think there are enough folks around here that do have guns that it won't be a problem. Course it could be a problem if they panic and don't really have a good aim.


So, I share a couple of stories from my family life for a laugh or two.  The day before Prohibition started my great aunt had a liquor store truck deliver an entire load of liquor to the house in NY.. Sheesh, there was still some of it down in the wine cellar when I was a kid in the 50s. Then, because the family also owned a house in Canada and could buy booze there.. my great aunt and my grandmother would smuggle bottles of booze back across the border to NY in their corsets. Now, that is my idea of planning in advance of a shortage. Not to mention the barter possibilities.

My main message here is to just relax .. relax. Plan as you always do for your own personal security and finances. (Don't forget my chow mein).
We are all going to be just fine.. whatever storm comes our way. cheryl o7o

[edssds]

Oh, have you guys thought about passes for those of us in P.H. and Phelan.. or will we become the enemy?

LOL.....for the passes......should we take applications or just proof of residency?

[TimG]

I think we should divide into two operational forces -- brown eyed and blue eyed.  Brown eyes will take to the trees, in massive flame-retardant wooden topiary fortifications.  We can use the zip lines from Navitat for crucial regions of tree-top transportation, and hand-weave trapeze lines from the cattails at Jackson Lake. The top of each Jeffrey pine can become a true snipers nest, with the brown-eyed riflemen gaining sustenance from the pine nut centers of juvenile cones, and also by roasting bark beetles.

Blue eyed men and women will take to the tunnels, constructing an elaborate maze of seemingly abandoned silver mines, which will be the only means of travel in and out of town, past the nuclear-enriched landmines our nimble-fingered children will build using pilfered parts from JPL.  Identification won't be necessary, because only native Wrightwoodians will be able to navigate the intricate subterranean labyrinth.

Jenson's, bare shelves long since stripped of all supplies, will become a glass-roofed Thunderdome, where any flatlanders somehow simultaneously foolish enough to attempt entry yet smart enough to slip through our defenses will fight to the death for our amusement, and a chance to star in our annual rendition of The Grinch, beamed to the outer world via satellite subscription, which will help our forces pay for the petroleum we'll need to power our iron-clad Subarus.

Green eyed Wrightwoodians will be responsible for walking the dogs.

[TimG]

Or we could just help each other through difficult times, like communities have always done throughout human history.  Either/or.

[TimG]

Sorry, I had too much fun with that.  I actually think gathering anything useful or edible from empty houses is a good idea.  Also very important is water.  How do we get water from the wells without electricity?  There are big reservoirs up the Blue Ridge, I know; always assumed that was our source, but it would definitely be nice to have people around who know about the systems.

[Nolena]

Just watch out for these guys during the apocalypse.

[daf]

This thread is starting to sound like a bad movie script.  But on the upside, if there is a screenwriter in town, some cable channel will probably buy the script and produce it.  Then the money could be used to hire the necessary mercenaries to protect the town.

[ChrisLynnet]

Zombie apocalypse!!! Didn't I say it? DIDN'T I say it?  And yeah, daf, it's already a bad movie script. I knew this thread was going to devolve.

Mods, will you please consider moving this thread into "Just for Fun?" Disaster awareness should be about earthquake, wildfires and mudflows. This is  fantasy.

[TimG]

I think it's more like Fallout: New Vegas.  Just need to release the Wrightwood expansion pack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-x-1fm2cq8

[ChrisLynnet]

Now "Fallout: Wrightwood" I can get behind! 

[MojaveSidecar]

I think it's more like Fallout: New Vegas.  Just need to release the Wrightwood expansion pack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-x-1fm2cq8

Yup... I guess I am wrong.... nothing like this fallout stuff could never happen here..

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/gunships-over-miami-machine-gun-fire-strafing-runs-troops-rappelling-from-choppers-and-road-blockades_01282013

and

http://www.shtfplan.com/marc-faber/pentagon-military-actively-war-gaming-large-scale-economic-breakdown-and-civil-unrest_11222010

Who knows if this is true..... just saying...     but from  what I know of human nature, herd behavior... modeled against what I learned from the book " The Law" and others, added to what I believe is happening to the economy ..... sure .... I guess I'll stick my head in the sand... my fingers in my ears and hummm   and wish that all this stuff goes away.... Just like it did in the 30s in Germany, 40 in the USSR,  and heck the 50's in China...

And finally this.... who knows if this lady is telling the truth.... this version is on another one of those whacky websites...  but its not like she was really there when it happened.

http://www.disclose.tv/news/She_survived_Hitler_and_wants_to_warn_America/87914

Given what history reports happened in Germany in the 30's, why were some lucky enough to read the tea leaves and took necessary precautions like leaving the country, while others became fertilizer for the Reich, or  later for Stalin, or for Pol Pot, or for Mao for for Amin, and on and on.

There is too much "interesting" things happening in this country that smells like very old fish.....  and the odor is strong enough that I am for whatever reason that is embedded in my particular DNA, compelled to get to the bottom of it...




 

[TimG]

You act as if I don't pay attention to this stuff, too!

But this isn't 1984, it's a Brave New World.  The goal of oligarchy is to maintain oligarchy -- and that means making sure that the masses keep popping their happy pills.  They're only going to send in the marines to save us from the right wing radical extremist terrorists and their heavily armored compounds so that we don't have to miss any episodes of Dr. Phil.  The last thing they want is angry mobs.  If worst comes to worst, we'll all be drafted into a staged WWIII before the economy actually collapses, so we can die as heroes.  Dulce et Decorum est.  Any oligarch worth his salt is a student of history.

[lagomorphmom]

I feel like I popped into a page from Tolstoy.
Couldn't finish Anna Karanina either...

[TimG]

There is too much "interesting" things happening in this country that smells like very old fish.....  and the odor is strong enough that I am for whatever reason that is embedded in my particular DNA, compelled to get to the bottom of it...

I've spent the last 8 years trying to get to the bottom of it.  I think I'm mostly there, so if you're ever curious... The closest rabbit hole is probably Prescott Bush and Fritz Thyssen, if you follow.

[Cheapskate]

Boy, this thread went in some interesting directions...

Tim G, it's Brave New World but there are elements of 1984 as well.  The news headlines on Thursday and Friday were how much better 2012 was than we all thought, because when the big 4th quarter is included in the annual figures average monthly job growth was 183K instead of 151K.  A newly-invented statistic to conjure a positive headline on a day where unemployment crept slightly upward, new claims for unemployment rose, and the size of the labor force shrank once again...Dept. of Labor press releases increasingly remind me of the Ministry of Truth.  But like you said, they have to give us our happy pills.

Economic disaster?  My personal opinion is that we are in it already, this is what it looks like, it won't resemble an apocalpyse or a collapse.  Earlier in the thread someone mentioned Japan, I believe the Japanese speak of their "lost decade", its an apt analogy. 

For me, the question becomes:  is seeming recent improvement in the USA economy the beginning of a real expansion?  Or is this as good as it's going to get, to be followed by a repeat of 2009?

As I wrote once on a different thread, I am very worried that Fed policy keeps interest rates at virtually zero.  The consequence that primarily worries me is that riskier investments are much more enticing than FDIC-guaranteed savings.  And since investing nowadays is very complex, I think we are seeing a pattern of small investors chasing what's popular and then getting wiped out when the bubbles burst.  Tech stocks, followed by real estate, followed by  

I suspect the is currently the stock market in general, it is doubtful that the fundamentals of our economy warrant the Dow near an all-time high. I think a lot of money is being put there simply because it has been rising lately and nothing else is growing as fast.   I hope I'm wrong, because if that bursts a lot of people are going to get hurt (again!)

[tcaarabians]

Tim:  You had me laughing out loud with that one. Actually, you all did.. and this discussion is a screenplay. I suppose the pitch would be somewhere between "Wall Street" and "Red Dawn." And, I'd love to see Tina Fey adding the comedic elements.

Mojave: You're good here with me anyway. Just keep sharing what you're learning. 

I did think we were focusing on "ok, say it does happen?" But, I am enjoying these fanciful rifts on a Sunday morning. So, I think the one thing we have all agreed on is that we will defend Jensen's onto death. We will also provide scout lookouts for trucks delivering to Jenson's.  I also suggest that we stock up on balloons. You fill a few of those puppies with a bit of water and the D&G soil in WW and down here..you can take out a windshield of the invaders. Some bows and arrows.. there go their tires.

So, many links .. so little time. I will try to go to all of them.  Just two words here: "Chow Mein."  best, cheryl o7o

[MojaveSidecar]

I guess you can put an order in for any kind of special diet after your crash and relocation. 

These kinds of videos are showing up more and more on the web.... and I guess we should believe anything we see on the internet.

OTOH, here again is an example of that old fish oder I am smelling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGgtN0bLv5c

Bottom Line, A government induced economic crash is coming...... but dont worry.....  the government which has caused the problem also has a plan to fix it, and all you have to do is comply.... or die.

BTW, simply Google FEMA [Camp,Bus,Training,Coffin] etc and it is amazing what comes up..

I'd really like to figure out how to prepare to survive the crash from the relative comfort of my home here in WW versus somewhere else of the government's choosing... but it will require the WW community members be forewarned and forearmed and prepared both individuals and as a community.  Maybe simply extending CERT's scope to cover the additional contingency of an economic collapse is as best as we can do.





 

[tcaarabians]

Mojave.. I hereby offer you sanctuary in P.H. Have full bar.. will trade access for Chow Mein at Jensen's. Conversely, can ride horse up to WW with barter items. Oh, and I guess none of us have thought about the importance of protecting the Blue Ridge or the Yodeler .. have we?

As for the the youtube in your immediate link below: lots of outtakes el zero substance. cheryl o7o

[Jirka]

One must plan for the future and anticipate the future without fearing the future.
 - Robin Hobb "The Twenty-Seventh Contradiction of Sa" in Ship of Magic

[KathySC]

So -
It seems to me a good starting point would be to encourage everyone in the area to be CERT-trained.  (And then promote every community to be CERT-trained).  We are very fortunate to have both great training and a very active dedicated group available to us.  It would be good to know your neighbors are prepared and then as an individual you can think through what additional preparation you want to take for any disaster you think you might face. 

Also, as a winter resort, we need to consider the people who could be stranded in Wrightwood if a disaster occurred during snowplay time.

Next Basic CERT Training 2013

March 9, 16 and 23 at Serrano High School in Phelan
8 AM to 4:00 PM on Saturdays
Training is free but preregistration is required
by contacting Jean Jones at 760-249-5189, jones.cert@gmail.com
or PO Box 2913, Wrightwood, CA 92397