Friday, October 28, 2011

One Second After

Last night I finished reading One Second After by WILLIAM R. FORSTCHEN.  What a great novel. It follows a retired Army Colonel (R) turned history professor of a Christian community college in a small town just outside of Asheville, N. C. 

One day everything stopped working at once.  It later was determined that the cause was the detonation of nuclear bombs several miles above the earth's atmosphere.  The resultant radiation causes a huge electromagnetic pulse to hit most the United States.  The EMP knocks out everything that uses electricity or electronics.  This includes all the electric appliances in the country, all communications, and most vehicles (only older engines would work). 

The story then settles on how the people in this small town work to survive the resulting panic and dwindling food and medication supplies.  The book is quite frightening in that thiscould really happen.  If a terrorist cell could obtain just one nuclear warhead of the thousands that still exist from the Cold War stockpiles in both the U. S. and former U. S. S. R., it could be deployed from anywhere with a missle to detonate and trigger the Compton effect radiation that would cause such an EMP. 

In the book, the United States is devastated by the breakdown of society caused by lack of food, medicine, and information.  Society quickly degrades to a state of medieval state.  I would suggest that you should read this book.  It is available in print or ebook form.  I just hope folks in our military are working on this possibility. 

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Long time, no blog

Well, I have been very busy - so busy I haven't had time to blog.  I don't really have time now, but thought I would get a quick one out so people will stop asking about it.

The "Occupy Atlanta" protest has been broken up following the mayor's order to force the protesters out of the park and arresting those who refused to go.  This whole movement frustrates me.  As I listen to the interviews of the protesters, there seems to be no succinct topic of protest.  The groups appear to consist of disorganized, mostly young people who have NO idea how the economy works.  I believe their frustrations arise out of the rhetoric I am hearing more and more from the left of the political spectrum - the so-called "class warfare." 

This rhetoric doesn't surprise me at all.  When we have a sitting president who truly believes capitalism is evil and refers to private sector business as 'the enemy' of course there is going to be those who mistakenly believe that the rich are evil people who want to keep the poor down.  It seems these protesters believe everyone who owns a business is rich and hoards all their money and lives off the sweat of poorer people.  I heard one protester interviewed in Atlanta say, "We have had enough of people who make millions and refuse to share it with everyone."  Seriously?  I supposed if this goober actually got a job and earned money he would just give it all away?  Seems like I remember some stats taken a couple of years back about whether political views affect the way a person support charity.  It was discovered that those to the right of the political spectrum were by far the most generous when it came to giving, while the left kept nearly everything for themselves. 

Call me crazy, but I prefer to live in a country with someone with initiative and willing to risk themselves can start a business and, if successful, prosper.  However, in our currently era of extreme government regulations and taxation, it is become more and more difficult for that to happen.  A report just release revealed the current ranking of nations as far as ease of starting a new business and cost of starting a business.  Since Obama took office the ranking of the U.S.A. in both of these areas has fallen significantly.  We are rapidly and increasingly becoming the land of regulation and taxation rather than the land of opportunity.  We have to get this man out of the White House and back to Chicago where he can 'organize' his community.  When are we going to wake up and realize that it is not the government that made this country great, but the sweat and blood of its citizens. 

This is what the Tea Party is all about.  But you won't here that in the media.  According to the media, the Tea Party are a bunch of racist, hating people who want the poor trampled so the rich can prosper more while the Occupy Wallstreet protesters are the future hope of the nation.  That is only true if we want this nation to continue down the road to socialism that our government seems intent on taking us. 

I would really like to hear your thoughts on this subject.  Please comment.