How To Handle a Serious Weather Event

This text is ostensibly from a county emergency manager out in the western part of North Dakota after the recent snowstorm. Regardless of its author, it makes a strong point.

Weather Bulletin

Up here in the Northern Plains we just recovered from a Historic event --- may I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions" with a historic blizzard of up to 44" inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores cut power to 10's of thousands.

FYI:

• George Bush did not come...
• FEMA did nothing...
• No one howled for the government...
• No one blamed the government...
• No one even uttered an expletive on TV...
• Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit...
• Our Mayors did not blame Bush or anyone else...
• Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else either...
• CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX, or NBC did not visit or report on this category 5 snow storm...
• Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards...
• No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House...
• No one looted...
• Nobody, I mean Nobody demanded the government do something...
• Nobody expected the government to do anything either...
• No Larry King, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera...
• No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found....

We just melted the snow for water and sent out caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow-engulfed cars. The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn't ask for a penny. Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snow bound families. Families took in the stranded people -- total strangers. We Fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or Coleman lanterns. We put on extra layers of clothes because up here it is "Work or Die."

We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for 'sittin-at-home' checks. Even though a blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early, we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves.