Note from the editor: With the advent of the current pandemic, and the swift and proportional response of many governments to shut down the entire economy and all basic freedoms to keep us safe, I thought it made sense to rehash an old article written in 2013, about this very matter. Many of the disaster-management policies suggested in the article have been implemented, but many still remain to be implemented, such as FEMA camps and banning guns to keep the peace. I hope our officials heed the advice in this article, and find the courage to do what is necessary to truly fix this mess for good.
As an American patriot, I’m concerned about the safety of our nation. I’m worried that we’ve become too complacent about the threats we face in the 21st century, and that we are hopelessly unprepared for the advent of a nation-wide or global disaster. Many new disaster themed blockbuster movies are warning us about the possibility of a national or global disaster and what would be required from our government in order to manage the situation and restore peace and stability. I don’t think this fear is exaggerated; the range of possible disasters in the 21st century is vast and ever increasing, and the expertise, resources and facilities needed to deal with these events are costly and sophisticated. We need a set of emergency protocols and an accompanying infrastructure that will allow our government to declare martial law and swiftly take control of the economy in a state of emergency.
What are the Challenges?
A state of emergency can be anything ranging from a natural disaster or terror attack to a deadly epidemic. Each of theses events requires our leaders to take control and escort us to safety. This is no small feat. The logistical challenges are huge given our country’s diverse terrain and large population. A recent example of a national emergency is hurricane Sandy. President Obama gave a fine demonstration of some of the crisis management skills required to handle a disaster of this magnitude with his reassuring oratory skills and exceptional leadership ability. When people experience a traumatic event of this magnitude, they seek comfort and reassurance from their leaders. President Obama serves as a compassionate father figure, providing guidance during times of adversity. However we cannot rely on leadership alone to carry us through the next crisis. We need to invest in our infrastructure and emergency protocols to ensure that we have what it takes to handle any threat to the stability and peace of our nation. This article looks at some of the measures we can take as a nation to improve our ability to handle a state of emergency.
Emergency Centers
National emergency centers have already started popping up around the country. These are some of the first institutions in our developing national emergency infrastructure. At present, these centers are capable of housing a significant proportion of Americans, but we need to increase their capacity and coverage in order to overcome the logistical challenges that could arise in a state of emergency.
Executive Orders
Crisis management requires quick decisions, but unfortunately our legislative process is long and laborious. Our president is the commander in chief and should have the ultimate say in how our country should handle a nationwide or global disaster. We need to clear up the controversy surrounding executive orders, because this is going to be an essential legislative tool when legislation needs to be passed quickly and urgently in order to secure the peace and security of the nation.
Restrictions on Firearms
The Bush administration had the foresight to identify the need for strict gun control during hurricane Katrina. Firearms may be a danger we can afford during times of peace, but in a state of chaos the risk of armed robberies and assaults is exacerbated by the presence of dangerous firearms. Politicians are slowly introducing sensible gun control laws to curb our country’s primitive gun loving culture. But in the meantime we need to pass legislation that authorizes heavy firearm restrictions during states of emergency.
Conclusion
The time to act is now. We cannot remain complacent about the stability of our future when the range of threats is only growing. Many Americans oppose legislation targeted at managing crises because they see it as a violation of their ‘liberty’ or the ‘constitution’. I have to remind these people that there is nothing the founders cared more about than protecting the stability of this nation; and we as a country need to stand together and do whatever it takes to secure the future of this nation so that our children and grandchildren can enjoy the peace and stability that we have enjoyed over the past many decades.
When polar ice melts …. in contracts …. lowering the sea level …. glaciers are the last to melt …. they are not immersed in sea water at sea level …. global warming puts more green house water vapor in the atmosphere …. furthering the tendency toward lower sea levels …. not higher …. the Venus effect ?
I’m sorry, you appear to be downplaying the threat of catastrophe or something here..
One thing MDB forgot is that we should endeavor to imitate blockbuster movies also in ensuring we have charismatic leaders to guide us through the troubling times. Nobody goes to a movie and pays attention when you have non-photogenic actors who are not eloquent in their speaking.
Strong pass!
Running in and out of exploding building is dangerous to your health!
Monedas,
Al Gore was right!
This is why we must GO GREEN NOW! Governments around the world must agree to caps on carbon emissions. This is a matter of global security and there is no time to waste. We cannot let the uninformed massed dictate the survival of our planet. Leaders of the world must act decisively!
If Al Gore was not cheated out of the presidency, he would have had the knowledge and passion to stop Global Warming in its tracks.
I’m more friendly to the environment that most Green Piece fucktards …. when I go to forest …. I only step on rocks and sand …. and I bring a rake to erase my footprints …. if I shit in the woods …. I rival the highest surgical sterile hygiene protocols …. no wild animals unearth …. my well interred turds …. and I wipe with pine cones …. or use my finger …. then rub it in the mineral soil …. Pakistani style !
Do you also fly private jets?
Are you completely out of your mind, asking someone who made a comment over SIX YEARS ago, a question about what they may or may not be doing in the present day?
Does a bear shit in the woods?
Actually there is no change to sea levels if floating ice melts. It’s a density thingie!
and the Greenland ice cap is growing, not shrinking. Some WW2 era planes that made an emergency landing in Greenland and then abandoned have been found
under 300 feet of ice and snow.
USA is already under emergency MDB…there are numerous govt documents proving this…
A state of emergency must be declared by the President. Once this declaration has been made, then our government can start implementing martial law and executing the appropriate emergency protocols.
it has been declared by bush jr since September 2001 and still continues to this day…
why do you think judges,cops,legislators are so harsh against minor crimes?They know actions taken by them can be categorized under martial law and can never be challenged
you will get your official announcement just like NSA revelation …now everybody knows NSA spies on world
So how exactly do we monitor potential cyberthreats in the age of Big Data without giving the NSA the necessary tools? If you have a better solution I’d love to hear it/
world survived without internet for most of time and can do it again…
KGB n stassi still did their job…and without going through everything like NSA does..
in next 5 yrs,US internet networks will be delinked from other countries of world ,then whole infrastructure US erected Will become worthless
“Restrictions on Firearms”
You seem to miss the point that the majority of us who own firearms (my household, and hundreds of others I’ve met at gun meetings) own them with the express purpose of preparing for a “state of emergency”.
What the hell kind of quick decisions need to be made during an emergency that would suffer legislative hold-ups? If there is a natural disaster, send in the aid ASAP. If there is an attack, send in the aid immediately and have Congress vote for war ASAP – only took them one day in 1941.
The only immediate action that would need to be taken in a “state of emergency” via executive/central order would be an attack on our civil liberties, as shown with your “restriction to firearms” comment.
“we as a country need to stand together and do whatever it takes to secure the future of this nation so that our children and grandchildren can enjoy the peace and stability that we have enjoyed over the past many decades.”
Yes – let’s do that by trying to prevent disasters, rather than thinking about how we can set up a police state after one occurs, as you’ve done.
Nobody wants to have to deal with a state of emergency. But the fact remains that if we happen to face one of the many threats to our nation’s stability, then we have to be prepared to take extraordinary measures. I just want to make sure that our government is prepared so that we can be escorted to safety.
Exactly so. Look at how haphazard the response was in 1942, when the government was unprepared to assist Japanese-Americans by protecting them from bigotry and racism. It took almost 6 months after Pearl Harbor before Japanese-Americans, escorted by benevolent members of the US Army, were able to find safety and refuge in hastily assembled camps. If not for the wisdom of Army Lt. Gen. John de½Witt, who knows how many loyal Japanese-Americans might have suffered abuse or worse at the hands of ignorant citizens?
re:polarbear55 Can’t tell if this is sarcasm or intellectual disability.
If you really think we locked up citizens to “protect them”, that’s the very reason so many own firearms – to protect from this type of government idiocy.
Surelyour inability to distinguish between honest commentary and sarcasm is evidence that you lack the necessary accreditation to fully understand the weighty matters discussed here. It takes more than a sophomore poli-sci class to be a fully contributing member of this site.
Actually, I’ve never taken a political science course (unless, does high school US history count?), and I probably lack any “accreditation” (nice elitist term you got there) that you do.
However, I’m an ordinary citizen who will be directly affected by your police state paradise, and I need nothing more than common sense to see what you and your type is trying to do.
Which goes back to the very reason to own firearms.
You speak in vague terms about threats, and our national response, and the need to prepare. What are these “threats” that would require “extraordinary measures”?
It sounds like you have a fetish for central authoritarian control. At times, our civil liberties were infringed to varying degrees, and the results of these infringements can definitely be debated (ie, did we really need to round up Japanese?).
With your comments about “martial law”, it sounds like you want to take these infringements miles further – what kind of disaster are you expecting?
But what good are civil rights when your head is being beaten in by (in 1942) some Nipponese-hating redneck, or (in 2014) by some out of work person whose Obamaphone and EBT card have just stopped working? When these situations occur, the government has a duty to protect us by moving us to safety, just as they would if the Hoover Dam broke. Only people of an extreme libertarian bent would ever suspect that they are more at danger from the government than from an unruly mob.
Okay so apparently you’re nuts, and not sarcastic. Let me guess, you think Andrew Jackson relocated the Native Americans to protect them bigotry.
in 1942, you dealt with people threatening / engaging in physical harm by arresting them. You would do the same in 2014. You would do the same under any circumstance, emergency or not, because causing undue bodily harm to another is illegal, period.
Back on the importance of firearms – they can be used to defend against the unruly mobs, as well as the unruly government.
Lets take the new blockbuster movie “world war z” as an example. The population was spreading a deadly epidemic by moving freely about the globe. The government had to take control of the situation by quarantining the population into designated safety zones. This might well be necessary if we ever face a deadly epidemic of these proportions.
why should government WAIT until AFTER the worst has happened? Governments must be bold, and proactive, and decisive to quell the threat of unfettered epidemic. Why should we sit idly as the threats gather on our shores? Threats are everywhere, which is why the NSA has to be everywhere to find them. Right now, there is a terrorist sponsor state intending to do us harm. Just as Saddam masterminded 911, we have Assad and the Ayatollahs of Iran scheming on how not only to destroy Israel but to use chemical and biological weapons to make World War Z a reality! They are a threat to the entire world. I don’t think it’s right for government to have to be restrained until a terrorist comes here with an Iranian cigarette-pack nuke and blows up America.
if you have some 15 minutes of time,MDB..please read this…
today i was reading brilliant account of how LTTE terrorized a whole country
(sri lanka) and gave rise to modern terrorist tactics..and how it was defeated by sri lankan army….
Reporting on Lanka’s blood-soaked years, I watched names disappear from my notebook.
Dead men talking
This is one box nobody would like to check on his CV. Not even the most battle-hardened hack. But, early in September of 1989, I found myself in the wrongest place at the wrongest time. And witnessed my first, and hopefully only, live (apologies for that horrible malapropism, but we are all brainwashed by news TV now) execution ever. This was in the middle of Galle Road, Colombo’s shopping and pleasure strip, studded with clubs and malls.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/dead-men-talking/1167902/
You don’t hear much about the Tamil Tigers anymore …. the crackdown on terror …. must have been effective ….. fight fire with fire …. eye for eye …. fart for fart …. fight terror with hideous terror …. it’s the only thing terrorists respect and fear ?
I personally believe that bringing back impalement as a punishment for any Muslim entering the country would drastically reduce terror attacks
Worked for Vlad the Impaler!
Once again you’ve knocked it straight out of the park MDB.
Not surprisingly, the Anarcho-Nihilists (in their usual ‘Libertarian’ disguise) are out in force today!
Is not the primary function of any government to guarantee the physical safety of its citizens?
Keep the truth-bombs coming!
You guarantee the physical safety of citizens via normal means that have been used for about 250 years.
You don’t need fascism to protect my physical safety.
Thanks Chauncey! It’s just something that really bothers me. I see the government taking control and managing disasters in some of the latest blockbusters, but is our government capable of matching this in real life? That’s the question we should all be asking.
i encourage all of you to watch the new documentary on TV, “Person of Interest”. It shows the development of a massive integrated data acquisition and processing system that is able to predict harm before it comes to an individual. It can only protect one person per week at present, but with enough new computing power, all of us will be safe eventually!
About time! There are so many obvious indicators that somebody is likely to commit a crime. High blood pressure, anger, adherence to radical ideologies like libertarianism and anarcho-capitalism. Let’s focus on stopping crimes before they happen, and then we can divert valuable government resource to more productive projects.
yes, like enhancing diversity. Some towns and neighborhoods are obviously hostile towards diversity and the government should take control and move diversity into those neighborhoods to enhance “access” and “opportunity.”
Why is our government wasting time allowing freedoms that the average American simply cannot handle? Think of it like that: the next massive terrorist attack is always right around the corner! 911 just happened, it was the TWELFTH (a really significant, oft-celebrated milestone) anniversary for crying out loud!!!!!11 have we forgotten ALREADY?
The time for government to act to take control is not AFTER a disaster happens, but BEFORE!
For you people with a fetish for controlling others’ lives, can you please tell me what about that gets you off?
MDB_ your satire is chilling. It’s utterly beyond the pale that some of the readers / commentors on this site actually take what you’re saying as truth, and not satire, or pure sarcasm.
It’s amazing how some ‘Muricans are truly so propagandized that they will willingly give up their freedoms and plead for the imposition of an authoritarian regime on everyone else in the name of “safety”.
Again, to all readers, MDB_’s accredited-times website is pure satire / black humor. Please, read it in that light and watch how he and other “authors” bait hapless idiots by getting them to show their true authoritarian colors through these articles. Brilliant! 🙂
Nobody here has any time for non-accredited readers, ok?
So this is how libertarians will try to discredit MDB’s brilliant and fearless writings – by saying it’s satire!!! Shame on you!!!
Just another example of why we need to ban the dangerous 1st amendment, to ensure progressive messages are not diluted or polluted by antediluvian individualism.
I don’t mean to be rude, I’m sure there are places for you to go where you will be welcome – like Sturmfront – but we’re here to build a progressive coalition of leading accredited writers and commenters!
“Many new disaster themed blockbuster movies are warning us” – Agreesd MDB!! Clearly we should always pay careful heed to the views of the well established intellectual trust that is Hollywood!
“I don’t think this fear is exaggerated” – Absolutely agreed MDB! A smashing, well constructed sentence whose soul lies in it’s first three words.
“..apparent Obama serves as a compassionate father figure” – Yes, yes and yes!! A Big Brother one might even say!
“these centers are capable of housing a significant proportion of Americans” One of the weaker points of the presentation as this is crying out to be rectified with the ability to house ALL Americans. Best to make that facility with high, thick walls and individually locked quarters for best security methinks.
“peace and stability that we have enjoyed over the past many decades” – Brilliant! Americans are known for their devil-may-care attitudes regarding the peace of their urban neighborhoods and the stability of counting on their neighbors in good and bad times. Detroit is a prime example.
Some of your finest work on display here, MDB. Question: Why are you depriving the American public of your wisdom and far-seeing judgement by withholding yourself from political offfice? The progressive agenda cries out for you in this capacity sir!
Sincerely,
A neighborly Canadian
Thanks for the kind words nunya! I will certainly consider it, although I feel I may be more effective here, educating people about the virtues of political action and how we can make the world a better place..
How very noble of you MDB! Your are walking the path of the Good Book; in it’s primary lesson of progressive thought: “The road to Heaven is paved with good intentions”.
-Nunya
In a major disaster, many Americans will fear the authorities precisely because ‘libertarians’ have managed to spread so much fear about the government’s attentions. I don’t mean to be rude, but I say ‘libertarians’ when really I think these people are more accurately described as swivel-eyed anarchists! Don’t they realise, in a democracy, the government is ourselves, only with the collective wisdom that comes from herd behaviour??
When it comes time for the government to shepherd Americans into Safety Camps, authorities will be hampered by not knowing where every American is at any given moment, despite the best efforts of the NSA.
This is why I’m starting a NEW campaign, the Campaign to ID-tag the Citizenry (For The Children), which would see every American individually ‘chipped’ with a GPS tracker device. Of course, the implantation of these chips would be optional; America is not (or will ever be!) a Police State, but most patriotic Americans would want one because it would be illegal to buy or sell anything without it.
Hey MDB can I ride your dick, too? Yippee!
Oliver,
We are discussing a serious issue here. This is about our survival. If you can’t handle the truth, go to zerohedge where you can be entertained by conspiracy theories and goldbugs.
But if you wish to be educated by the accredited people participating in this blog, then I hope you drop the sarcasm and start contributing ideas on how a strong central government can better help its constituents.
I frequent ZH for quite the same reason you made the banal remarks above, entertainment value. However the elementary (“chilling”) satire the articles this website purports is just plain disappointing. Not to mention, Bob, you’re exposing your editor’s true intentions with you’re ridiculous attempt to keep the satire rolling. Good job, bob. You showed those crazy libertarians!
With all the surveillance …. why didn’t they discover …. the negroes who shot the blonde baby in the face …. or this lastest outrage in DC …. he looked more wholesome than …. Trayvon Martin …. the “no limit nigger” fotos …. the MSM never showed us? They hate us cuz we’re white and got brains !
I was hoping Obama would base jump off the Washington monument in a wing suit …. and parachute onto the steps of the Lincoln memorial …. to deliver his MLK day speech …. in Captain American leotards !
Define “state of emergency” …. for most of our needy wards of the state ….. an emergency is when McDonald’s runs out of Chicken McNuggets …. we need to have a state mandated nugget exchange …. between all the fast food restaurants …. the FDA could manage the program …. they could set the standards for generic nuggets …. and mandate nugget sharing amongst the restaurants …. when one chain runs out ….. government can make a difference !
Trying to read Monedas comment.. searching vainly for paragraph, sentence, idea.. too many periods… too many uncoordinated clauses.. can’t continue.. remember me to my friends… and Herald Square…
Polar Bear …. I’m handicapped …. brain synapse disorder …. not really …. I do have a handicapped placard …. the kind you hang from the rear view mirror …. like baby shoes …. I only use it in Mexico …. where the handicapped spaces aren’t respected much anyway !
“Restrictions on firearms”
Is this a parody site? If it is, then I apologize for what I’m about to write.
If not, take it to heart.
Fuxk off, you stupid bint.
That is all.
I like the one about Obama jumping off the Washington monument.
I detect some severe cases of corona virus induced boredom on this site today!
I cope by playing computer games, reading, watching YouTube videos and bashing on the internet!
I know, of course we need to ban firearms during a state of emergency, just like we did during Katrina! It’s just common sense!
Obesity goes hand in hand with fascistic police states.
This sand monkey ain’t Trump.
This is a very insightful article MDB. What needed to be done in 2013 is still the most reasonable course of action today. That we haven’t fully committed to do these things, however, is proof that the stubborn, unscientific idiots in flyover country insist on living outside of the social contract that makes us exceptional. That said, I’d add some caveats. In light of the Trump administration’s attack on our sacred democracy, we need to curb the power of the executive branch. Unlike president Obama, who only used executive orders to do enforce the constitution in light of racist filibustering, Trump has clearly shown a proclivity for totalitarianism. Until we can install Joe Biden, preferably with Stacy Abrams or Michelle Obama as Vice President, our fearless technocratic experts should be allowed to rule by decree in lieu of the president using executive orders that are likely to kill MILLIONS.
Thanks IB. I agree – Stacey Abrams would be an amazing leader. Xe’s exactly who we need in this time of crisis.