I just saw a very disturbing article in the Kansas City Star. I'll give the quote about Senator Bob Bennett first, and come back in a few minutes with comments on some of the other "good news" in this article.

"Despite pockets of panic, optimism on Y2K problem is growing"

http://www.kcstar.com/item/pages/home.pat,local/30dabafa.205,.html

As of Jan. 13, the state reports, 85 percent of its Y2K work has been completed.

Such preparedness is the message Sen. Robert Bennett, Republican of Utah, is trying to bring to the nation.

"Plan to expect some inconveniences," said Don Meyer, a spokesman for the senator. "But don't expect the end of the world and sell your home, move into armed camps, stockpile outrageous amounts of dry goods or arm yourself to the teeth."

Bennett hopes to gain support for a $100 million nationwide Y2K information campaign to calm unreasonable fears. It could be patterned after the government's effort to combat drug abuse and AIDS.

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), February 06, 1999

Answers

Ooohh, Kevin, disgusting! You've unearthed a slimy bug.
Gimme more taxpayer $$ for mah disinformation campaign.
Thanks for the propaganda poop.
Instead of efforts to prepare, arrogant efforts that will ensure upcoming despair.
Know Your Liar.
Thanks, Kevin. They gonna show a scrambled egg and voice-over:
This is your government on Y2K ?? Toast arriving soon.

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 06, 1999.

Some other comments I have on the article:

"Despite pockets of panic, optimism on Y2K problem is growing"

http://www.kcstar.com/item/pages/home.pat,local/30dabafa.205,.html

First, consider the title of the article and also the following quote:

[begin snip]

According to a study released last week by the Freedom Forum, a New York organization, awareness of the year 2000 problem is growing, while concern about the glitch is not.

"People with the greatest amount of information on the year 2000 were the least likely to worry about the problem," research director Lawrence McGill said. "They have had a chance to move through some of the stages of reaction to this problem -- anger, denial, panic."

The study found that one person in eight expected Y2K to cause serious problems for them personally, almost identical to the segment found by the Gallup research group in December.

[end snip]

OK, if awareness of Y2K is growing while concern about it is not, then why the need for a $100 million information campaign "to calm unreasonable fears"?

This article mentions the good news about reservation compliance in the travel industry, mentions that some companies entered their fiscal year 2000 on February 1 and that one (Barnes & Noble) reports no problems, and repeats the story of the Florida man whose $20,000 in cash buried in his backyard was stolen.

A few other odd quotes from the Kansas City Star article:

[begin snip]

Of 220 cities surveyed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, all but seven have completed more than half of their computer assessments, and more than one-third have completed all of them.

[end snip]

Translation: more than half of these 220 cities are still in their assessment phase.

Another quote:

[begin snip]

Abrams, of the President's Council, said 80 percent of the federal government's critical systems would be year-2000-ready by March 31. The remainder will be ready by Sept. 1.

[end snip]

This is good news? Federal agencies missed the September 30, 1998 target date set by the Clinton administration and the OMB to have all their mission-critical systems renovated...

http://www.fcw.com/pubs/fcw/1998/1005/fcw-newsy2kshort-10-5-98.html

...and now federal agencies are going to miss the March 31, 1999 deadline?

This article is supposed to be about good news, but the convoluted logic in it tells me that the panic is taking place in the government, even though the article says public concern about Y2K is not growing.

http://www.wired.com/news/print_version/politics/story/17527.html?wnpg =all

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), February 06, 1999.

Kevin --- Great analysis and I think you're right, the main panic RIGHT NOW is taking place within the government itself, not within the nation as a whole.

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), February 06, 1999.

Angels Camp, CA set for "Y2K Water Test". This will happen Feb 12. Public is invited.

"On Feb 12, the water treatment plant crew will make sure the year 2000 flows in smoothly by advancing the time on the computer to Dec. 31, 11:50 pm., 1999." Calaveras Enterprise, Feb. 5 1999

Got one spare bed if anyone interested in watching. Or I could put up six or ten at my Love Creek, mountain retreat. Retreat, get it?

-- Freeman (freeman@cali.com), February 06, 1999.

It's all banks. They could give a rat's a** about people stocking up on food, toilet paper, etc. It's the bank runs that have the govt scared sh**less.

-- rick blaine (y2kazoo@hotmail.com), February 06, 1999.

Actually, Rick, I think that they *do* also care about those of us stocking up on food and toilet paper - you see all of their little emergency plans are based around the misconception that everyone trusts the government and will do what the government men tell them to do...it's starting to sink in that there are a growing number of folks who don't intend to play along with that scenario...and power mongers always feel threatened in those sorts of situations.

one interesting side effect I've noticed in my own experiences with educating others about y2k is that once they Get It, they suddenly begin to realize how many other things the government has been lying to them about...

Arlin

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), February 06, 1999.

Another good catch, Kevin. Most people I talk to are uninformed and complacent about Y2K. Since they already think it's a joke, it's confusing that our government has an urgent need to throw money and PR into calming the Prozac Nation. I think there would have to be some very significant and public Y2K failures to cause a bank run before late this Fall. The "pockets of panic" referred to in this article represent a minority who have either already prepared, are in the preparation process, or soon will be no matter what lullabies are sung to us. This disinformation campaign is disturbing precisely because it appears so unneccessary.

-- Wanda (lonevoice@mailexcite.com), February 07, 1999.