Welfare programmers + Church bashing
Sometimes you can best sense the level of urgency in a situation by watching how absurd the suggestions get for solving it. This
weekend, CNN reported on an idea for solving Y2K that is being "sold" to the viewers with a straight face: take people on welfare,
give them intensive COBOL training for two months, and unleash them to solve the Y2K bug.
This is being reported by CNN as a valid idea. Not one word was said during the report questioning the validity of the idea.
Let's get a few things straight. There's nothing that says welfare recipients can't learn COBOL. That's not what we're saying. What's
important here is that NOBODY can master COBOL in two months and take it to the extremely high level of experience needed to
repair highly-complex code. Not even the computer geniuses of the world could pull off this feat. To expect welfare recipients, who
on average are not the most technically-minded people out there, to master this in two months goes beyond the ridiculous. The idea
rests firmly in a realm of utter nonsense, lacking any credibility whatsoever.
The fact that this idea is being reported as a legitimate solution to the Y2K problem is quite educational. It tells us several important
things:
CNN has little understanding of the Y2K problem
The situation is now getting so desperate that any solution, no matter how ridiculous, will be accepted as viable
The public also does not understand Y2K enough to realize how little CNN actually knows
This welfare Y2K solution will probably be the first of many such nonsense solutions we'll hear in the coming year. Each one will
technically be more ridiculous than the last, but they will be reported and accepted as viable solutions because, frankly, that's what
people want to believe.
If you believe BAD ENOUGH that an Army of welfare recipients can be trained to solve the world's Y2K problems by subjecting them
to two months of intensive training… if you really WANT to believe that and the press and everybody around you is saying that it's a
legitimate solution, you might just go ahead and believe it. Many people will, no doubt.
Those "believers" will certainly not include experienced programmers who are already working on the problem; people who know it
takes DECADES of experience by some of the most capable minds in our society to fine tune the ability to create and repair
near-error-free computer code. That means less than one mistake per 10,000 lines of code. It also takes years of mental exercise to
get a person's brain to think like a computer: to be able to simulate computer operations and accurately predict the outcome of a
subroutine or an entire software program. You don't "absorb" this ability overnight, and in fact, a very large percentage of the
population will probably never be able to conduct such mental exercises because they aren't "left-brainers."
Naturally, a few people seem to be born with left-brain genius, and they seem to be able to think like computers from day one.
Granted, those people are NOT on welfare, just waiting for an opportunity to get their hands on a COBOL program for the first time. If
anything, they're are already employed - probably at rates up to $400 / hour - at companies scrambling to fix their code before
January 1, 2000. And even these companies are behind schedule, over-budget, and still non-compliant.
We are almost into November of 1998. Not a single major company, bank, government agency, or power company has yet claimed
and verified full Y2K compliance. Not one. And the best programming geniuses on the planet are working for these companies,
where money is no object and every possible resource has been applied to solving this problem. Apparently, all these people need
are a little help from an Army of ex-welfare recipients who just learned COBOL.
LET THE BIBLE BASHING BEGIN The religious community is on top of this Y2K issue. They see the threat, recognize the potential
impact, and are urging members to make preparations. Right on cue, the Bible-bashing begins.
In a recent story from WIRED magazine (link included below), the writer unleashes accusations on the church using words like "fear
mongering" and saying that, "prophecy-seekers are whipping up considerable fear among their flocks." The story then goes on in an
attempted ridicule of the Christian position on Y2K by quoting from a paper on the Christian Coalition web site:
"President Clinton will declare a state of emergency. He will invoke executive power beyond our wildest imagination. He will become
our very first dictator. He will seize control over utilities and industry. He will federalize the National Guard. It will ration food,
gasoline, etc. Your money will be declared illegal..."
IN FACT, THESE ARE REALISTIC POSSIBILITIES Y2KNEWSWIRE has pointed out several times that the Executive Orders are
already in place to declare a national emergency and suspend the Constitution. This is not fear-mongering, this is perhaps the only
choice available to any President in a time of extreme crisis. The result will certainly put Clinton in a dictator-like position, with
complete control over the resources of the country. This may be the only way to regain any sense of social order in the worst-hit
cities. Rationing of food and gasoline are not only possible, they are likely! ..because once the sleeping 90% of this country wakes
up and realizes they aren't prepared for Y2K, the food panic will begin and grocery stores will be stripped. The only reasonable
solution is rationing, which will obviously be carried out by either the National Guard or the military. These are not radical concepts,
they are basic inevitabilities if the Y2K crisis reaches that "critical" level.
This is precisely why Major General Edward Philbin, the Executive Director of the National Guard Association of the United States,
said in an October 2 Senate testimony session:
"It is increasingly evident that an appreciable part of the nation's infrastructure could be adversely affected in some way, by what is
commonly referred to as the Y2K problem. In general, the National Guard has the capacity to provide Military Support to Civilian
Authorities (MSCA) and can contribute a myriad of human and equipment resources to restore essential operations disrupted by
Y2K generated incidents. Considering the possibilities of a large scale disruption of governmental, commercial and other routine
daily activities, it is certain that the National Guard will be among the first organizations activated to assist in the revitalization of the
nation's computer dependent infrastructure."
Link at: senate.gov
This was not said in a state of panic. Rather, it was a matter-of-fact statement of reality by the Executive Director of the National
Guard. His statement is not being called "radical," and Philbin is not being called a "fear-monger," yet he says almost exactly the
same thing WIRED magazine is ridiculing the Christian Coalition for saying.
On the money side, it is indeed likely that cash will be declared illegal, with a mandated exchange for a new electronic currency.
Why? Because cash supplies are insufficient. The banking system as a whole holds a little over one dollar for every $100 deposited.
In other words, to cover $3.7 trillion in deposits, they are currently holding approximately $44 billion in reserves. And the FDIC, the
institution created to bail out failed banks, holds a little over one dollar and twenty five cents for every $100 they insure. (And most of
that isn't even in cash...) That's a dangerous cash shortage, and the only way out for the federal government and the banking
system will be a mandated conversion to electronic money or limitations on cash withdrawals. To see this evidence for yourself,
visit: y2ksupply.com
The WIRED article goes on to quote the paper:
"The paper concludes that Christians should immediately begin stockpiling food, water, clothing, 22-caliber ammunition, and gold
and silver coins."
Indeed! It should be obvious to anyone familiar with Y2K that making reasonable preparations is the prudent thing to do. Doing
nothing is tantamount to suicide, yet WIRED seems to ridicule the very act of taking basic precautions.
The rest of the article is peppered with emotionally-charged words that hardly represent fair and balanced journalism: "radical
conservative political agenda," "doomsaying organizations," and "lunatics."
The title of the article itself, "The Missionary Position," which injects sexual sarcasm into this life-and-death topic, demonstrates a
complete lack of respect for both the Church and the Y2K threat by the author of the article, Joe Nickell. If you'd like to tell Joe what
you think about his story, you can reach him at the following e-mail address, which was published at the top of the story:
j@rox.com
Joe, like too many journalists, seems to be far more concerned about ridiculing the Church and blaming people who are trying to
warn the public than finding out the truth about Y2K. He has seemingly let his personal animosity toward the Church overtake the
story, resulting in a slanted, accusatory piece of rhetoric that actually poses a danger to readers because it distracts from the real
problem at hand: Y2K.
This Church-bashing is unfortunate because, as Gary North says, the local community churches are likely to play a pivotal role in
the rebuilding of communities hard hit by the Millennium Bug. No other institution is as well-equipped to bring about social order and
renewed hope and faith. Furthermore, many churches are actually stocking up on extra supplies, preparing to help feed the needy in
their local communities.
That WIRED magazine would take what amounts to a "cheap shot" against this important institution is disappointing. No matter
what our personal religious beliefs are, and no matter whether we actually attend church, we must recognize the important role of
the church in helping populations make it through the Y2K crisis. And we must never attack those people actually taking rational,
common sense steps to be prepared.
Nevertheless, expect an intensification of the attacks in 1999. The words used in an attempt to discredit anyone advocating rational,
prudent Y2K preparations will escalate from "extremists" and "lunatics" to "criminals." In fact, the words chosen for these anti-Y2K
stories are designed to manipulate the readers into equating "preparedness" with "radical conservative political agendas." Bizarre,
huh? If there was ever an example of how warped modern society has become, it is this situation where the very act of taking basic
precautions out of concern for your family gets you earned the label of a "lunatic" or "whacko," supposedly led by "extremists."
BE CAREFUL OF THE WORDS In 1999, we're going to hear the White House and some journalists calling people who get prepared
"hoarders." They'll say people are "stockpiling" supplies in a manner that is unfair to others. They'll blame those who are actually
getting ready for causing the shortages, and they may actually attempt to incriminate some.
As we explained in a previous Y2KNEWSWIRE alert, these are emotionally-charged words designed to manipulate and deceive
Americans into thinking that preparing is somehow wrong. Think about it: your grandma "stockpiled" food every winter, and that
wasn't wrong. When you go on a camping trip, you "hoard" food, because you know you won't find a McDonalds in the forest.
You can hardly call it "hoarding" when the shelves are still plentiful and everybody has a fair chance to buy all the food they want.
There are not shortages in the grocery stores yet and you can still buy most camping supplies. We are not in a situation where
"hoarding" is an appropriate term.
The widespread use of this terminology will be one of the MAJOR WARNING SIGNS that the Y2K-bashing mentality has arrived.
Once the federal government begins using these words, look out. Remember, 90% of the people in this country will not prepare until
it's too late. And they'll want to blame someone. Who do you think that will be?
Watch for these accusations, and be wary of anybody attempting to equate basic preparedness with some kind of "radical"
mindset. Being prepared is not radical: it's common sense. The only thing radical is this new age of journalism where even a
national, well-known publication like WIRED won't prevent its writers from producing manipulative, emotionally-charged attack
essays that, in the end, only serve to propagate the "no big deal" denial that will ultimately harm the American people.
The full story is at: wired.com
Note: WIRED encourages reader feedback on their news coverage. If you'd like to send them a comment on their story (we're going
to!), you can e-mail: newsfeedback@wired.com
- Webmaster alert@y2knewswire.com
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