The Clinton Administration is lying to you and you don't care

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I just posted this at the Free Republic site. We'll see if it does any good. Dog Gone

The Clinton administration is lying to you and you don't care.

For months now, you've heard from them on how hard they are working to fix the Y2K problem so that essential government services will continue uninterrupted next year. Why, President Clinton even mentioned the problem in his State of the Union address this year.

"Planes won't fall out of the sky," we're told, and Jane Garvey, the head of the FAA intends to be airborne cross-country when the clock strikes midnight just to prove it.

John Koskinen, who heads up Clinton's Year 2000 Council, assures us that Y2K will merely be "a bump in the road," and there is no reason to really worry. Oh sure, it might make sense to prepare as if it were going to be a three day storm, so you might want to make sure you have that much food in the house, and at least a half a tank of gasoline in your vehicle. Other than that, any problems that crop up should be fixed by the time you get back to work on Monday.

Fine, except this is a lie.

Congress has done a little better. Congressman Stephen Horn has been grading the progress of the government agencies and the results aren't pretty. See for yourself at  http://www.house.gov/reform/gmit/y2k/index.htm. Senator Robert Bennett has focused more on private companies, utilities, and foreign governments with his Senate committee. You can see his reports at http://www.senate.gov/~y2k/.

But you don't want to check these sites out. You want to believe Clinton's lies.

Why? Because the lies are good news. You don't mind when the Clinton administration lies about that. By believing these lies, you don't have to worry about the effects of Y2K. Heck, you can even make fun of those who do. They must be survivalists, wackos, or the tin-foil hat crowd.

Yesterday, the OMB estimated that it will cost the government $8 billion to complete its Y2K repairs. That's up $1.3 billion from their last estimate in March. It has risen every time an estimate has been made, actually. What does this tell you? It can only mean that the government has seriously underestimated the task it faces, and continues to do so.

It's 198 days away and the government is seriously behind. President Clinton set a March 31 deadline for compliance. It didn't happen. Compliance doesn't mean "fixed"; it means ready to test to see if it works.

In Congressman Horn's press release yesterday bemoaning the lack of progress he noted, "The concern is that until all of these systems are compliant, government agencies cannot begin their program-wide testing." Any knowledgeable programmer will tell you that 198 days is not long enough to complete testing, and the federal agencies haven't even begun.

You believe the FAA's assurances about air safety. Why? Because it is good news. It's also a pack of lies. If you want to see the lies, check out http://www.y2knewswire.com/19990607.htm.

John Koskinen is Clinton's spinmeister. He serves the same function as Lanny Davis did for the Lewinsky scandal. He spins and he lies, and you believe him because you want to believe him. There's no reason to withdraw any extra cash from the banks for Y2K, he says, because the banks will be fine. Not are fine. Will be. The Federal Reserve has printed up an extra $50 billion in currency, just in case you want to draw a little extra for New Year's weekend. Sounds like a lot of money, right? Well, do the math. That's less than $200 per person, and that assumes that businesses wouldn't want to have any extra cash just in case.

But isn't there nearly $500 billion of actual currency in circulation? Yes, but John Koskinen won't tell you that two-thirds of that is outside the United States.

You can't find any definitive information on the progress of the Internal Revenue Service in achieving compliance. Could it be that with 198 days to go, if you really knew the situation you would realize that they won't be able to process your tax return next year? What are the implications of that?

Only two agencies say they are ready for Y2K, the Social Security Administration, and the National Weather Service. Nobody else. Not Defense, not Medicare, not even the Federal Reserve.

The head of the Y2K repair project for the city of Washington D.C. said on 60 Minutes that the city will not be prepared for Y2K and it may not be able to protect the public safety. She even foresees water rationing. From the interview:

(INTERVIEW WITH HANLEY)

KROFT: "What would cause water to be rationed?"

HANLEY (Washington D.C.'s 2000 Program Manager:): "If we lose power, through the power grid, as any other state or city around us, including Montgomery County, we will not be able to function normally, and will have to go to considerable slowdowns that will produce--could produce, uh, rationing, for example."

KROFT: "You're preparing contingency plans that there might be no power?"

HANLEY: "Yes."

KROFT: "For how long?"

HANLEY: "We're looking roughly at what we would consider national averages, uh, one to two weeks."

KROFT: "One to two weeks without power?"

HANLEY: "One to two weeks."

KROFT: "Do you think that's possible?"

HANLEY: "Right now, we don't think it's impossible."

That's a little different than what the Clinton administration is saying, isn't it? But you didn't watch that 60 Minutes segment on May 23. You want to believe Clinton's lies. You want to be a sheeple. It's easier that way. You'll continue to hear lies for the rest of the year. You don't care. This administration wouldn't really lie about something this important, would it?

If you don't believe Clinton's lies, then you have to do something.



-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), June 16, 1999

Answers

Hey Dog, don't lay a guilt trip on me, I didn't vote for the S-O-B, either time.

-- (oldyeller@sanfran.com), June 16, 1999.

shrink it....

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), June 16, 1999.

Regarding that 50 billion in "new funds": What assurances are offered that it is for distribution to the general public via their banks. Could it not be used as Payroll for local military performing "new duties"?

-- A. Hambley (a.hambley@usa.net), June 16, 1999.

Dog Gone,

Don't get me started on that POS in the White House, He is not allowed on my TV, not allowed on my radio, Hell, I won't even read a quote in the paper attributed to him. Why? Because that discusting, contemptable POS is a LYING MACHINE. A walking poster child for flogging, Shit, just thinking about that pile of mucus makes me sick. uhhhhh...sorry, what were you saying?

-- MidwestMike_ (midwestmike_@hotmail.com), June 16, 1999.


Right on!! There you have it!! I'm about ready to take out ads in local papers!! This is IT my man....YOU DA DOG, DA DOG!!! Any thoughts among us about leaving the Internet and hittin' up mainstream press? Think "average JQP". Hey Dog...hot link any replies from Freepers, OK?

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 16, 1999.


Yeah, I know. If Clinton had been raised in Singapore, they would have caned his butt daily. But I really hate the government policy of discouraging personal preparation. That's reckless.

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), June 16, 1999.

Damn Dog...if I still had my kilt....I'd bear my ass, my man!! FREEDOMmmmm!

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 16, 1999.

"We're not not gonna die for these blokes laddies!", "dying in you beds, many years from now....would you trade it all for one chance....just one chance........." , "They may take our lives, but they'll never take.... our FREEDOMMMM!" Now THAT was a movie!! Anyone got a hanky? Oh, and this forum, as the Irishman says "Draws the FINEST people!"..where's my bagpipe?

-- Mike (midwestmike_@hotmail.com), June 16, 1999.

The Irishman..."I been speakin' wit the Lord. He tells me I'll be OK, but he's pretty sure you're -bleep-ed. HAHAHAHAHOOOOOOO

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 16, 1999.

Here's the link: squish rodent here

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), June 16, 1999.


"We're looking at a national average of one to two weeks without power." Huh? Where's Mr. Hanley getting his information from? Anyone on the forum care to comment on that quote?

-- Spidey (in@jam.commie), June 16, 1999.

It's Mary Ellen Hanley, and why don't you call her office and ask her?

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), June 16, 1999.

Where did the two weeks come from? The same as most estimates (even Milne's): by lifting up the ol' kilt and pulling it out of someone's (_*_)

Wow. What with the huge conspiracies in DC I'm surprised she ain't killed dayed by men in long black trainch coats.

My company is building all of our Y2k contingency plans around two week failures. We figure that if the poop has hit the fan for that long, might as well pack it up and head for the hills. Then the D&G's will have taken over our the leftover dungheap of society and will rule with their iron fist. What aspirations.

But I'm still a Polly, and I'm heavily involved in our company's Y2k contingency planning. Figure that. And yes, we have tried to think of everything.

-- JAW (clueless@pollyanna.com), June 16, 1999.


Where'd the three-day snowstorm come from? Same place at best. More than likely, it came from an assessment that 3 days was about the max before people really raised their eyebrows.

We appreciate your efforts to minimize the Y2K problem. I don't appreciate your efforts to minimize the concerns of those who don't see enough efforts being made to prevent disruptions that are more than an inconvenience.

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), June 16, 1999.


I believe I read that the "three day" analogy is based on the amount of time necessary to set up shelters.

-- marsh (armstrng@sisqtel.net), June 17, 1999.


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