This from an article on another thread, quoting Bennett and others about the compliance status of states and municipalities:

"Indiana State Auditor Connie Kay Nass said a report by the National State Auditors Association "found that Year 2000 compliance was overly optimistic."

The NATIONAL State Auditors Association.

Gee, this is a big surprise. I wonder if the pollys can take it. My goodness. Now, what I'll hear is, "we always knew that, it doesn't make any different and never did, the auditors have an axe to grind, etc."

Well, I always knew it TOO. Duh. It is endemic to IT to over-report progress (see my thread, "The Simplicity Of Y2K" for the inside dope on why Y2K remediation is STILL a disaster in the making).

How overly optimistic? For starters, lots of them are reporting they are "ready" WITHOUT having TESTED. This is the same "good news" story that countries and corporations are fobbing off on the pollies as well. The kind of news that Decker loves and Flint says, "ok, well, they'll be mostly ready." Without testing, bub, they may or may not be mostly ready. Will they test? Hope so. Will they have time to test thoroughly? Doubt it. Will they have test to test, fix what breaks and test again.

In the immortal words of someone we all know,

BWA HA HA HA HA HA.

(But I'm not really laughing when I think of my elderly parents and my little children).

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), July 18, 1999

Answers

BigDog, when one is paid to promote a position one is not concerned with FACTS !!

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), July 18, 1999.

I am sick of all the unproven, illogical, idiot post-modernist posing- as-erudite pile of crap that these pollies heave into the debate with their endlessly nauseating and philosophically invalid assertions that just because someones ideas are related to his or her income or career or service to humanity these ideas are somehow, apriori, incorrect. Grow up and get real and cut the s***. not everyone is as greedy or morally sick as you assume them to be; nor is truth changed simply because some people benefit from it and other suffer for it. this is an old, tired, dead argument when people are discussing the facts of a question....

-- sickof (assumptions@lalaland.commie), July 19, 1999.

sick of --

As you mature you will discover that professional support for any opinion whatsoever is for sale. Money talks in halls of ivy as well as in the souk, albeit more politely. And big money 'whispers' very loudly.

This is not a claim that all professional opinion is a tool of special interests.

How to tell the difference? Good question. But no easy answers.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), July 19, 1999.

Response to Hot News Flash To Pollys: "Compliance Reports Overly Optimistic"

Dotcommie? How'd you get into my server? And Tom...souk? Tres cool.

-- Spidey (in@jam.commie), July 19, 1999.

Howdy Big Dog, just to throw in my two cents concerning pollies and their usual lack of consistency. Like take Flint, our French Hamlet, and his own statements in my latest thread. He starts out by saying "Well, it won't be all that bad" and he concludes by saying that he is betting on a recession/depression (with adequate preparations thereof!). Funny Flint, but he ain't the only polly that flashes the right-turn light and then turns left. Maybe he has serious intellectual and emotional doubts concerning Y2K?

Now, question for everyone: Under the current huncky-dory atmosphere in the US economy today, even in the case that Y2K amounts to only what Flint expects, how would a recession/depression be taken by John Q. Public in less than 5 months from now? What impact would a recession/depression have upon the rest of the world now that the US is the only country growing, thus turning out to be the world's economy lonely powerhouse? What would people's frustrated expectations (everywhere) lead them to ? Politically?

Big Dog, congratulations for your "The Simplicity of Y2K" thread. It is a "must" . I wonder if sysop or whoever/however could prepare a hot link list of favorite "doomer 'must read' threads" that newbies could check into before asking the same questions over and over. The content of such listing (limited to 12 threads?) could be prepared by anyone who cares to. Like you could post your "Big Dog's 12 favorite threads" (hot linked, one-paragraph summary description attached?), I could prepare mine if I care to, etc. Maybe there wouldn't be that many simply because we all pretty much agree (I wouldn't be surprised). If sysop allows it your "Big Dog's 12 favorite threads" could be posted every so often so that newly arrived newbies could also have the chance to be exposed to those good threads.

Big Dog, this is all off the top of my head right now. Just an idea, possibly a good idea. Maybe you or others could improve it. But we are all getting into the Y2K end-game and newbies will seek tons of info from now on as we get closer to Jan.1, 2000. Furthermore, many clueless or confused journalists throughout the world will be lurking this forum more and more hereinafter. See ya guys.

-- George (jvilches@sminter.com.ar), July 19, 1999.

George said: "Now, question for everyone: Under the current huncky-dory atmosphere in the US economy today, even in the case that Y2K amounts to only what Flint expects, how would a recession/depression be taken by John Q. Public in less than 5 months from now? What impact would a recession/depression have upon the rest of the world now that the US is the only country growing, thus turning out to be the world's economy lonely powerhouse? What would people's frustrated expectations (everywhere) lead them to ? Politically?"

--->This, my friend, is the terrible wild card of y2k. What DO people do, when the world they have believed will last indefinitely, suddenly crumbles before their eyes?

Someone lied to me. My kids are suffering. Who can I blame???

We can only look to what has gone before for possible answers -- historically, following earthquakes and tornados, some poor sucker in the bureaucracy gets the boot.....he/she didn't implement a building code, didn't made the code strong enough, didn't insist on early warning systems, etc etc.

As a people, we rather expect our bureaucrats to take care of us, to have all the answers in advance, so that our discomfort is minimized. Yeah, yeah -- we know the gov doesn't CAUSE earthquakes, but we DO hold them responsible if there is any damage! AND we expect them to come around RIGHT AWAY with "disaster loans", grants, and assorted other handouts.

In essence, it seems like you are asking this: Are we a people who love, respect, and live by Law? Or can we expect a French Revolution-style anarchic breakdown, with different elements vying for control?

I don't have an answer for the cities -- I have only profound fear.

For my rural area, and most rural areas, I suspect that the foundational clannishness will reappear....the farmers will pull together, and EXPECT each other's support. Vigilanties will again ride the countryside, and a fierce frontier justice will reign. (15 years ago, when we moved into our rural home, a cattle ranching neighbor brightly informed us that 'cattle rustlers get the 3-S's -- Shoot, Shovel and Shut up'). We're not that far from vigilantism today.

Would like to hear some other's thoughts.

Anita Evangelista

-- Anita Evangelista (ale@townsqr.com), July 19, 1999.

Anita,

A local rancher had a visit from a party of men back in the 'good old days'. Their question for him was "Do you want to sell us the ranch today, or would your widow rather sell it to us tomorrow?"

-- flora (***@__._), July 19, 1999.

George -- I'm one little dog on this forum and in real life too. Why don't you just post a list of the threads you most enjoyed? Will get just as much readership from the 50 people who frequent this site as anything with my handle on it!

(Hope I'm just kidding about the number there).

Agree with Anita E. about most likely effects of a STRONG recession and/or (of course) depression. Strong recession in U.S. will be largely triggered by near-collapse of already depressed economies overseas and our recession will then ricohet to them ... and so it will go, I'm afraid.

This is hardly profound: it was the reason Greenspun pumped air into the markets last fall.

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), July 19, 1999.

Big Dog, you're no small dog sir, you is a Huge Dog! Some of the threads that you've posted are simply excellent sir. "The Simplicity of Y2K" solves a most complex problem that many experienced Y2K enthusiasts have not yet grasped. "The Simplicity of Y2K" is a MUST. Newbies and journalists would benefit tons by reading it ASAP. I'll try to prepare a list of my most favorite threads as you suggested, but I still feel that your handle would get far many more 'followers'!

Anita E., welcome gal. We sure had enough of "the other" Anita for Crissake. Your insight into real life conequences is most valuable. Glad to have you around !

-- George (jvilches@sminter.com.ar), July 19, 1999.