Act as if it Would Happen Again

The odds of being struck by a tornado in the Great State of Kansas are 1 in 4.5 million.

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https://www.kansas.com/news/weather/tornado/article213923139.html

As I’ve said before… when you live where the Twisters live, you MUST be prepared! It’s a matter of LIFE or DEATH.

When I was a younger man, I had a friend with a pickup truck. When the sirens would sound, we’d try and chase down the path of the tornadoes as they rolled through Olathe. We never got “lucky” enough to see one, but we saw more than our share of extreme weather events. Massive hail, rotating straight-line winds, fallen trees… mild, compared to what we wanted to see.

Some years we would chase down one or two storms. Some years, it was one storm every 3 or 4 DAYS. We even crossed paths with the “professionals”. A little pat on the back for ourselves, knowing we were close.

Understanding how these systems work is key when doing something so dangerous. Being able to read the radar and satellite returns accurately, then taking that information and applying it to events unfolding on the ground in real time, is crucial. Miss one piece of data, and you end up right in front of the storm.

As random and chaotic as they are, to a certain degree these storms are predictable; and living in this State means we are ALL required to have a degree in meteorology! Well… at least, an intimate knowledge of how the weather works.

The tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011, changed all that for me. That one was a beast of another kind. The speed at which it traveled. The speed of the winds within the system. The trail of destruction it left behind and the suddenness with which it appeared… they only had moments to react.


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https://hollybaumannphotography.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/two-months-later-joplin-tornado-recovery-efforts/

 

These systems were starting to Change. 

 

Understanding this, I had to consider not only my safety, but the safety of my children. It was obvious a simple ‘hide in the basement’ strategy would no longer be sufficient. Had that storm dropped over my home… there would have been nothing left. 

I had to act as if it would happen again. So we constructed a storm shelter in our basement, based on FEMA designs, that could withstand an EF5 tornado.

THIS TIME it was Joplin. Next time, we might not be so fortunate. 

 

 

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https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-tornado-that-saved-washington-33901211/

 

“On the night of August 24, 1814, British troops led by Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn marched on Washington, D.C. and set fire to most of the city. Dolley Madison famously saved the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington and a copy of the Declaration of Independence before she fled to nearby Georgetown.

The British didn’t stay long, though; their occupation lasted just 26 hours. What happened?”

 

 

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https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-tornado-that-stopped-the-burning-of-washington/

 

“George Robert Gleig, a British soldier on the scene, detailed what happened next in his memoirs as the severe thunderstorm rolled into the city in the afternoon.

‘Of the prodigious force of the wind it is impossible for you to form any conception. Roofs of houses were torn off by it, and whisked into the air like sheets of paper, while the rain which accompanied it resembled the rushing of a mighty cataract rather than the dropping of a shower,’ Gleig wrote.”

 

 

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This isn’t about Donald Trump or Joe Biden. This isn’t about Republican vs. Democrat. This is about the FUTURE of our Nation, and what it is we want that future to BE.

RIGHT NOW, before all the nuance and intricacy. The endless debates over the delicate balance between our individual Liberty and the necessity of the government to defend itself from ALL enemies, both foreign and domestic. Before the political posturing and deliberative delays, we have a chance to declare exactly where we STAND.

Do we now support those who would incite violent actions for political gain? That is a slippery slope, and we all know where it will lead us in the END.

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We have come SO FAR! And the only way we keep moving FORWARD is by taking a STAND. After having been within that majestic building, I can’t imagine how anyone would allow these actions to stand as precedent for a future President.

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Had those people stopped and looked around them, they would have seen the scars from the LAST TIME our Capitol was taken by force. In such a hallowed hall, in the People’s House, it’s not about who resides within that building…

It’s about the ideals for which those hallowed halls continue to STAND.

… and may they STAND for another 207 YEARS without this happening again.

-JC

Pick Your Poison: “Red Sauce or Blue Sauce?”

No matter HOW MUCH sauce you pour on it, we all know what’s in the middle of this sandwich. None of us are really fooling anyone. C’mon… you think Hannity is hoping to make headway in an ideological discussion with Rachel Maddow? Do you side with Alex Jones because his persuasive arguments will finally (finally!) convince Lawrence O’Donnell he was wrong about Hillary Clinton all along?

No body believes that a nomination to the Supreme Court is the end-all beat-all for a political victory. And all of the petty bickering and shockingly mean spirited actions taken by the likes of Senator Mitch McConnell BLOCKING a sitting President from making a nomination, it shows EXACTLY who you are, Sir. You don’t fool ANYONE on the right or the left.

You did it because Barack Obama is black.

Its getting very old. I believe there are more people in this country who feel like I do, than their are voters who participated in the 2016 elections. Take a 50/50 slice of the electorate. Normal split, red/blue, as every talking head will preach to you. Now, split those into 2, with your extremes separated out, and the middle ground in between of both sides put into one group.

I’m gonna bet I identify with the 2 extreme groups more often than not. And the MAJORITY of the people in this country who are active voters and know what is really occurring will side with me a majority of the time.

The old idea of a candidate securing his base in the primary elections by going extreme to the right/left, then coming back to a centrist position for the general election, is old hat. You can fool enough people to squeak by, but it creates a sort of “floppy” elected official. Someone who will stand up at a microphone to call for an end to violence in our schools, but has passed no legislation to stop the violence in our schools!… Ted Cruz of TEXAS.

Now, I will give Sen. McConnell credit. He has a spine of steel. Seemingly unwavering in the face of anything. But, as I said before… racism has no place in this country. And we can see a racist very clearly. I know the majority of Americans who want this country to be truly UNITED feel the same as I do. When we elect a racist, we will get the whole package that goes with it. Sexism, fear and intimidation as tools to hold others down, personal agendas over helping to build community and sustainability.

Well… exceptions would include uniting the community of discrimination and division.

It has become difficult to see where the bad actors are. With the money being spent to influence our daily information input, we may not even get a clear idea of who is funding OUR OWN SIDE. The light speed input on Twitter can make your head spin. But do not lose sight of the idea that BOTH SIDES are spending money to do two things- 1.) de-motivate the OTHER SIDE to NOT participate in the elections and 2.) steer their side toward “pro-Our-Side-Rocks!!” initiatives and organizations.

Bells and whistles. Paint on an old car. It’s gonna wind up with the same outcome that we had in 2006, or 2010, or 2014, or pick your election cycle. The political pendulum swings very predictably! History shows clearly how, where, and when what will happen. Voters can be like sheep, and politicians are keenly aware! We can choose to go down this same path and see the same song covered by a new band, or see the re-boot of a classic movie, only the new actors are worse somehow, because we know they are morally bankrupt IRL.

We, the forgotten People, who are sick of the some old shit playing out in the same old tired way, demand a change. Not from the right. Not from the left. But from the MIDDLE. If the “leaders” cannot compromise to find solutions, then it is time to send a true REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PEOPLE to the White House. Someone who is not entangled so deeply in other organizations that they have to divest and create “blind trusts” to create the illusion of not profiting off of the office.

How about we elect a WOUNDED VET to the Presidency? A vet who’s lost their legs in service to this country, would damn sure have the honorable moral compass necessary to lead this country. Or a parent of one of the children who lost their lives in one of the endless school shootings. MSDHS, Santa Fe, Newtown, Columbine… We have ALL been DUPED into believing our fellow countrymen are evil and are the enemy.

OUR ENEMY IS IGNORANCE. OUR WEAPON IS KNOWLEDGE.

We must begin to acknowledge the mistakes of our collective past, and tear down our mental perceptions of what is, in order to make things how they should be! When we UNITE and say “No!” to those who only want to silence and divide, or want to enrage and make others afraid, we can stop the endless cycles. Of anger. Of hate. Of belittlement. The stepping upon one, to get past another.

So, a call to the EXTREMES of American Political Society- UNITE or remain DIVIDED! Being so extremely opposed, the one thing all can come together on is the only saving grace at this moment. We hold close within us, ideals that run generations deep. By questioning WHY we feel certain feelings at certain moments that are COUNTER to what we believe, answers will come swiftly. All we have to say is-

“I’m sorry, I don’t believe that anymore.”

Men, Women, Black, White, AMERICAN. If we are not united, we will not make it. It only works TOGETHER. No One should be opposed to OPEN discussion. No One should be opposed to EQUALITY. No One should be opposed to THE LAW. EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER LAW. And what’s good for the goose must be good for the gander.

I’m not talking about Communism. I’m talking about the Power of the People’s commitment to each other! Our sacred duty of ensuring we get this right! Our Democracy. It is time to make this happen. The enemies of The People are crowding around, look at the US, salivating. Ready to take a piece of the pie.

Where do YOU STAND? UNITED we can do this.