http://www.jsonline.com/news/Metro/990120nationalguardtakeno ut.asp

[My comments are in brackets, and are directed at readers of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online Y2K forum, who DGI. I am the only one posting there regularly that "gets it". I am getting ambushed. Go to http://www.jsonline.com/cgi-bin/ubb/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Y2K+-+Issues+and+Discussion&number=124&DaysPrune=20&LastLogin= to read what others in Milwaukee are saying, if you don't believe me.]

National Guard taken out of Y2K bills

By Amy Rinard of the Journal Sentinel staff January 20, 1999

Madison -- Legislation authorizing the National Guard to be mobilized in case of an emergency caused by year 2000 computer problems has been dropped from a package of Y2K bills because the media were focusing too much attention on it, Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen said Tuesday.

[It's the media!!]

The package of year 2000 bills will contain measures dealing with liability from Y2K-related lawsuits, educational efforts by the state, information gathering and sharing and testing of local emergency contingency plans. But, despite the fact that an Assembly task force that Jensen created recommended last week that it be included, the National Guard provision will not be in it, Jensen said.

[All of the items are important. This is politics and a blatant attempt at manipulating the press. Nothing more.]

"It will not contain the National Guard legislation for one particular reason, and I'm going to be very blunt with you all," Jensen told a group of reporters. "As long as the National Guard provision was contained in this legislation, it was impossible to get the media to cover anything else about it.

[The press likes to sensationalize. Agreed.]

"There's a lot of important legislation here regarding immunity, regarding emergency government procedures, regarding public health and safety that the public needs to know about and that the business community needs to know about," Jensen said. "And I cannot recall a single story which detailed those provisions of the legislation. All of them detailed the provision regarding the National Guard."

[I'd like the details also. And yes, the public and business community needs to know as well.]

The Journal Sentinel published a story Jan. 4 describing eight of the 10 measures originally proposed.

But a lawmaker who is a member of Jensen's task force said dropping the National Guard provision because of the way the media covered it was "ludicrous."

[Among other things.]

"The idea is sound, and the timing is sound. It's a mistake to take it out," said Rep. Marlin Schneider (D-Wisconsin Rapids).

[Agreed. But the media forced your hand, I guess.]

The Y2K legislation will have a public hearing today before the Assembly Committee on Information Policy. The full Assembly is expected to act next week.

[Love to be there. I guess I'll have to read the media's account of it.]

The so-called Y2K problem is a result of computers recognizing a year by its last two digits. Unless they are reprogrammed, many could stumble when they read the year as 00.

[Duh.]

Some state and municipal officials are worried that the glitch could lead to power failures, breakdowns in municipal water or sewage systems and even the failure of security systems at prisons.

[And much, much more.]

The head of the National Guard told lawmakers earlier this month that the units are ready to assist local governments in providing security, emergency shelter and medical services, transportation, water distribution, cleanup, and search and rescue.

[As they should be.]

Jensen said the legislation authorizing the governor to mobilize the National Guard in the event of a Y2K emergency still could come before the Legislature as a separate bill later this year.

[When? It will pass, Mr. Jensen.]

"We're just going to drop that provision of the legislation at this time because we want to make sure that people focus on the other important provisions that are contained in this legislation," Jensen said.

[OK. You won.]

However, Schneider, who is a member of the Assembly's Committee on Information Policy, said he will try to get the National Guard provision back in the Y2K package at today's committee action on the legislation.

[If only the media wouldn't report on it.]

Calling it a poor way to shape public policy, Schneider said it was silly for Jensen to drop the measure because he is unhappy over how the media is covering the Y2K legislation.

[Of course.]

"To say we're not going to do something because the press is putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable is ludicrous," said Schneider.

[Well stated. Does this ever prevent the legislature from passing other bills? Why is this one so special? Does Mr. Jensen fear panic?]

State Rep. Sheryl Albers (R-Loganville), chairwoman of Jensen's task force on Y2K liability that originally recommended the National Guard legislation, said she hoped the measure to authorize mobilization of the Guard in a Y2K emergency would be brought up later.

[It will. The Guard will be mobilized. Mr. Jensen will not prevent it.]

"I don't think the mobilization of the Guard is a dead issue yet," she said. "It should stay alive until the end of this year."

[It isn't dead. Yet radio coverage of this story and the headline seem to give that impression.]

States all over the country either have or are preparing Y2K contingency plans that call for use of the National Guard.

[But Wisconsin is an island of certainty? The Guard will, and must, be a part of the state's contingency plans. Failure to do so is irresponsible policy.]

In Washington state, the guard will have nearly half its members -- 3,000 people -- mobilized in a training exercise over the New Year's weekend just in case they are needed.

[All of Canada's RCMP are on alert. All of Britain's police force as well. No vacations will be allowed from mid-December until mid-January. They would not take such measures if they were unnecessary. I hope they aren't needed. But I fear they will be.]

-- Steve Hartsman (hartsman@ticon.net), January 20, 1999

Answers

An article re: the mobilization of the Wisc. Natl guard on Dec 31, 1999 was one of the sources I used to form my opinion that Y2K could be something serious. Ms. Rinard wrote it. "Computer confusion could endanger safety, experts tell lawmakers", by Amy Rinard, Milw Jnl Sentinel, 10/07/98. I do not have the URL.

Anyone who reads that article should understand why it got my attention. And why they are considering calling out the Natl Guard. The situation with the bill appears to be just another case of trying to hide the truth from John Q Public.

-- Sue (conibear@gateway.net), January 20, 1999.

Here is the article you referenced, which can be found at http://www.jsonline.com/bym/tech/1007jsobug11.asp

Wisconsin National Guard ready to act on eve of 2000 By Amy Rinard of the Journal Sentinel staff October 7, 1998 Madison -- The Wisconsin National Guard is prepared to be mobilized on Dec. 31, 1999, to deal with potential power failures, water system shutdowns and other problems that could occur as computers click over to the year 2000.

And an attorney for a major electric utility said the company is encouraging its customers to look into alternative energy sources, including home generators, in anticipation of power failures as a result of the problem.

After a daylong hearing by an Assembly committee Tuesday on the so- called Y2K problem, it was clear no one really knows what will happen at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 1, 2000.

"The only thing we do know is that there will be problems," said Rep. Sheryl Albers (R-Loganville), the chairwoman of the committee. "We don't know what will fail. It could affect a small area or a big area or the entire state."

Mari Nahn, an attorney with Madison-based Alliant Corp.-Wisconsin Power & Light Co., said power failures are likely, as are failures of municipal water systems.

Computer chips embedded in everything from pacemakers to coffee- makers have the potential to fail, and in many cases people don't even know they're there, Nahn said.

In the utility industry, embedded chips are used everywhere, she added.

Albers said she will introduce legislation in January to put the Wisconsin National Guard on standby on Dec. 31, 1999, to be ready to address any problems caused by computer shutdowns.

Those problems could include small or widespread power failures, the failure of municipal water or sewage systems and even the failure of security systems at prisons, Albers said.

The problem is a result of computers recognizing a year by its last two digits. Unless they are reprogrammed, many could stumble when they read the year as 00.

State and local governments, school districts, utilities, businesses and many households all over Wisconsin already are working to fix that computer glitch.

Despite those efforts, state officials and computer experts say problems are still likely to occur.

So Alberts said National Guard members could be called upon, for example, to help evacuate hospitals that lose power and heat or to help haul water to communities whose water systems have shut down.

"I don't want to scare the public, but when we start talking about mobilizing the National Guard, people should realize how serious this is," Albers said.

Col. Kerry Denson, deputy adjutant general for the Wisconsin Army National Guard, said the Guard has been planning for several months in preparation for Jan. 1, 2000.

"We're expecting Y2K problems. There are so many what-ifs that there certainly will be problems, and we're putting plans together," said Denson, who was not at Tuesday's hearing. "It's the same kind of planning we do in advance of a snowstorm or a tornado. When something happens, you always expect the Guard to respond. I never thought I'd be responding to a computer problem, but we'll be ready."

Denson said he expects to have a number of National Guard members on standby the night of Dec. 31, 1999, and he joked that those Guard volunteers may be the only sober people in Wisconsin on the biggest New Year's Eve in a millennium.

"We'll put people on standby and bring in additional soldiers if we need them," he said.

The Guard already has started taking an inventory of all its emergency generators and expects to have a crew assigned to each generator that night in the event power goes out somewhere and those generators are needed, Denson said.

"The National Guard is not going to go out and fix your computer. We're going to go out and deal with the consequences of your computer failing," Denson said.

Rep. Jeff Plale (D-South Milwaukee), a member of the Assembly's committee on the problem, said he believed legislation authorizing the mobilization of the Wisconsin National Guard on Dec. 31, 1999, is needed and will be approved by the Legislature as a precautionary measure.

"It's pretty up in the air what will happen at 12:01 a.m., but the possibilities are endless," he said. "I don't think people realize how big of a problem this has the potential for being. This could be a real disaster, and we should have the National Guard out to deal with any problems."

Leonard P. Levine, professor of computer science and electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said having troops on standby is "not unreasonable."

"It's a pretty strong move, but what I'm sure is going to happen is that an awful lot of people who are worried about infrastructure will take measures like this," said Levine, who did not attend Tuesday's hearing.

"Somewhere -- no one knows where -- something will fall apart. I truly believe that someone is going to die because of this problem. . . . I'm sure that one of these utilities is going to fail."

-- Steve Hartsman (hartsman@ticon.net), January 20, 1999.

Steve: FWIW, I had the same experience on my local newspaper's forum. Someone started a thread on y2k and was immediately put down and ridiculed, as was I when I came to his defense with a few facts. At least your local paper has a much more extensive discussion going on, and apparently is making some impact on a few DGIs, from what I saw in a brief visit. the thread at my rag has been completely inactive for weeks.

-- Cash (Cash@andcarry.com), January 20, 1999.

Cash:

It took months for the local forum to get to where it's at now. For the first several weeks, I was the ONLY one posting. Hang in there. Expect that interest will mushroom in the next few months.

-- Steve Hartsman (hartsman@ticon.net), January 20, 1999.

The trend that this thread indicates leads me to a disturbing conclusion.

Namely, that as Steve said, interest will mushroom. OK, granted.

Since I'm a geek and tend to see things as graphs, I had a flash that the distribution curve could easily (and if this trend holds, probably will) invert.

The normal bell curve has the GIs and one end and the Hardline DGIs at the other with the Totally Uninformed composing the vast majority in the middle, hence the bell shape.

This trend would lead to an inverted bell.

VERY troubling. Makes getting a resonable hearing of the facts by the TUs much more difficult. Which greatly increases the (already bad enough) negative impacts.

Yes, no, maybe?

Greybear - who probably thinks in graphs WAY too much.

-Got graphpaper?

-- Greybear (greybear@home.com), January 20, 1999.

I have two thoughts about this.

First, It sounds like the Guard is aware of what's up and is preparing. I find it hard to believe that Wisconsin's Guard will be caught napping regardless of what the legislature does. I also seem to remember that the governor is the guy who makes the decision about the Guard. Maybe the legislature is making a lot of noise for its own purposes and will ultimately have no effect on whether or not the Guard is called out. The good news here is that no one is going to be surprised by Y2K; not the governor, not the legislature, not the media and more to the point, not the Guard.

Secondly, and the thought that bothers me, is that maybe Uncle Sam has his nasty fingers inserted in here somewhere. It will be important to watch what happens in other states in this regard. I guess it's no secret that I have little trust of the current administration and usurping the various governors' use of the state Guards with federalization is something I'd not put past them. I also can not think of a better way to start a civil war and fragment the entire military establishment (to say nothing of the Republic). Let's all hope that men like your Colonel Denson will stand fast and do what's right. I personally have great faith that they will.

-- Hardliner (searcher@internet.com), January 20, 1999.

Steve: This is a little off-track from this thread's original topic, but let me continue our conversation. I was active on the local paper's board for a week or so, but for the past several months I've been in a serious keep-my-eyes-open-and-mouth-shut mode. It started when a coworker asked me about y2k after hearing about it from his programmer wife and reading the WIRED article. We talked for a few minutes, then he said: Gee, why should I worry about preparing. All I need is your address and a rifle. Then I noticed I was the only one of us laughing at the joke. I've heard the line before, usually aimed at Mormons. That was my "predator sighting," to borrow from Cory. Ever since then, I post anonymously, when I post at all, and I talk about y2k strictly wihtin my family, which has a high proportion of GIs -- and a very high gun ownership ratio.

-- Cash (cash@andcarry.com), January 21, 1999.

Yourdon is going to be speaking to a group in Washington very soon. It is on his public calendar. Email him and tell him to address this issue to his audience. Maybe the media will hear him.

-- Mr. Kennedy (y2kPCfixes@MotivatedSeller.com), January 22, 1999.