The governor's office has responded to my email with my analysis of the OG&E and ONG y2k readiness disclosures. As you can see, I have been ordained and promoted to the office of archbishop. Maybe I will now get a raise, hehehe, if I don't get arrested for impersonating an archbishop.

BEGIN FORWARDED RESPONSE FROM GOVERNOR'S OFFICE

Dear Archbishop Robert M. Waldrop,

Thank you for taking the time to share you concerns regarding the state's response to the year 2000. Governor Keating has asked that I respond to your letter.

In an effort to answer many of the question that have been raised regarding the entrance into the year 2000 we have set up the Governor's Y2K website which provides a vast amount of information and links to other Y2K sites. Also on August 3rd the Governor brought together a large panel of experts to respond to questions regarding their services and contingency planing. It was carried live on the Internet by a webcast that has been archived for future reference and broadcast live throughout the state on the Oklahoma News Network. Due to the length of broadcast many questions we realized may have gone unanswered. We are making every effort to research the questions as they come to our office and post the answers on the Governor's Y2K website.

In response to your concerns that ONG and OG&E have not fully responded to your questions reflects no reason to believe that ONG and OG&E are not Y2K ready. Both utilities have testified to their state of readiness before the Governor's Year 2000 Task Force, providing them with detailed information regarding the steps they have taken to ensure a smooth transition into the Year 2000. As you probably know many companies, small business, and state agencies have been bombarded with numerous questionnaires regarding their current status. It was mentioned during one of the Governor's Y2K Task Force meetings that many of the agencies and utilities have not responded to every questionnaire because they wanted their staff to focus on addressing the issue. ONG and OG&E has assured us that they have been working very diligently to remediate any systems that were not Y2K compliant. All of the utilities currently have contingency plans in place to address major natural disasters. These plans are being modified fo

The Governor is strongly encouraging everyone to take a "common sense approach." What does that mean? Prepare yourself just as you would prepare for any other type of emergency situation.

If I may be of further assistance please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Matt Ralls Cabinet Liaison

-- robert waldrop (rmwj@soonernet.com), August 27, 1999

Answers

Here is my response to the above email.

==============

Dear Mr. Ralls,

First, I am not an Archbishop. I am affiliated with the Archbishop Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House here in Oklahoma City, a ministry to the poor. But thanks for the promotion anyway. Maybe I'll get a raise. My comments about your email to me are interspersed with your comments below.

You wrote:

> In an effort to answer many of the question that have been raised regarding the >entrance into the year 2000 we have set up the Governor's Y2K website which >provides a vast amount of information and links to other Y2K sites. Also on August >3rd the Governor brought together a large panel of experts to respond to questions >regarding their services and contingency planing. It was carried live on the Internet >by a webcast that has been archived for future reference and broadcast live >throughout the state on the Oklahoma News Network. Due to the length of >broadcast many questions we realized may have gone unanswered. We are making >every effort to research the questions as they come to our office and post the >answers on the Governor's Y2K website.

I have sent several emails to the Governor's Y2k website, and have not had any response. I listened to the broadcast on the radio. The large number of commercials, the poor quality of the broadcast, and the lack of focus of the program added up to "not much learning."

You wrote: > In response to your concerns that ONG and OG&E have not fully responded to your >questions reflects no reason to believe that ONG and OG&E are not Y2K ready.

My comments are based on an analysis of their public Y2k disclosures. If they have better information, they should make it publicly available. I tend to think that they are putting their best foot forward in their disclosure materials; if they aren't, they need to shake up their public relations departments.

>Both utilities have testified to their state of readiness before the Governor's Year >2000 Task Force, providing them with detailed information regarding the steps they >have taken to ensure a smooth transition into the Year 2000.

Is this testimony available for public review? If so, where may I access thi information?

>As you probably know >many companies, small business, and state agencies have been bombarded with >numerous questionnaires regarding their current status. It was mentioned during one >of the Governor's Y2K Task Force meetings that many of the agencies and utilities >have not responded to every questionnaire because they wanted their staff to focus >on addressing the issue. ONG and OG&E has assured us that they have been >working very diligently to remediate any systems that were not Y2K compliant.

Do you expect me to believe that the same people who make their public statements are the people making the repairs? If the utilities would provide better, and more complete, public disclosures, they wouldn't have so many individual questionnaires to deal with. I am sure they are working very hard, but Oklahoma City says that their ability to deliver water and process sewage is completely dependent upon a continued supply of electricity from the utilities. ONG says that the continued supply of electricity is necessary for a continuous supply of natural gas. Thus, we are talking about life threatening situations here. Furthermore, I am troubled by the apparent lack of Corporation Commission regulatory oversight of their remediation process. The Department of Energy regulatory process of y2k remediation consists of receiving and filing reports from utilities, nothing more, so the absence of adequate state regulation is a big problem, in terms of credibility.

>All of >the utilities currently have contingency plans in place to address major natural >disasters. These plans are being modified fo > This paragraph appears to be truncated, but I would ask: has the Corporation Commission reviewed these contingency plans or is the State simply accepting the word of the utilities? Furthermore, this is the last week of August 1999. Why are they still working on their contingency plans? Why aren't they finished and published for public and governmental review?

> The Governor is strongly encouraging everyone to take a "common sense >approach." What does that mean? Prepare yourself just as you would prepare for >any other type of emergency situation.

I work for Catholic Charities, and was heavily involved with the tornado disaster response. I can assure you that preparing for an emergency situation where the power may go off nationally in the midst of winter is quite different from anything that the emergency services of this state are prepared to handle. All of our responses depend on bringing in help from elsewhere. I am concerned that adequate contingency planning has not been done. Certainly, nobody at Catholic Charities has heard much, and we participate in VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Assisting in Disaster) which coordinated the response of voluntary organizations to the tornado disaster. Just think about this: Oklahoma City has hundreds of thousands of people. Without electricity, how will Oklahoma City deliver at least 1 gallon of water to every resident every day? I don't believe that a contingency plan for this exists, if it is (and I have asked Oklahoma City for it, if it exists), I would like to see it. > > If I may be of further assistance please feel free to contact me. >

I remain unconvinced that the State of Oklahoma is properly prepared for this event. The lack of proper preparation by the state of Oklahoma and everybody else will have the effect of making a bad situation much worse -- if there are y2k disruptions. I believe the Governor and the rest of state government have moral and legal obligations to see that these kinds of worst case scenarios are planned for. I hope that as this conversation continues, the Governor will come to understand that there is a need for a more intensive contingency planning process than is currently evident.

/sig/ Robert Waldrop Archbishop Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House, Oklahoma City Holy Mary, Mother of God, help the helpless, strengthen the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to the poor and peace to all nations. Amen. http://www.justpeace.org Opus Justitiae Pax!

-- robert waldrop (rmwj@soonernet.com), August 27, 1999.

Dear "Archbishop" Waldrop:

The Cabinet Liaison said: "In response to your concerns that ONG and OG&E have not fully responded to your questions reflects no reason to believe that ONG and OG&E are not Y2K ready" --

and this kinda puts the whole thing in perspective....'Just 'cause we're not telling you anything doesn't mean we're not done!' It amazes me that an adult could type those words to you and not burst out laughing while he did it.

I hope that your continued "dialog" with this Cabinet Liaison will get more than this kind of misdirection and doubletalk.

Thanks for fighting the good fight for us, Robert.

-- Anita Evangelista (ale@townsqr.com), August 27, 1999.

Robert,

Well done, Sir. Your concerns, and willingness to take action (both in making your printable flyers available and in taking your case to the Governor), speak volumes about your committment to the mission of Catholic Family Charities.

If you receive any further correspondence from the Governor's office, will you be posting it here? Now that the Governor understands that you are not an Archbishop, I wonder if he'll respond at all :)

-- RUOK (RUOK@yesiam.com), August 27, 1999.

Robert,

Thanks for posting your correspondance with the state of Oklahoma. As another Oklahoman, I appreciate your diligence in trying to get a meaningful response. As a member of a charity / relief organization, I hope that you will have a better chance of getting a straight answer as compared to the average citizen like myself. Please keep us up to date. Thanks.

-- D. G. (hateyo@yahoo.com), August 27, 1999.

Way to go Robert!!!

P.S. I'll contact the Vatican for you, I understand the title Monsiguer is being liberally given here in my neck of the woods lately. ;-)

Cary

-- Cary Mc from Tx (76704,342@compuserve.com), August 27, 1999.

Dear Archbishop:

I would tell you to get lost, but there is no boilerplate for that in my computer. Therefore, I will be polite to you. In the smallest words I can find to address citizens of our great state on behalf of my employer (who hasn't done a lick of real work during his administration yet): Don't worry, dear. Everything is fine.

It's four-forty-five o'clock and I think I'll bush my hair and get read to go home. I hope that bozo doesn't bother me again.

Officially yours...

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWayne@aol.com), August 27, 1999.

Dear Archbishop Robert,

Good job, putting to rout that drabble. Looks like you'll be promoted to peace leadership by virtue of your good deeds and efforts, in just about 5 months. The Pope has no doubt given your measurements to the seamstress ...

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), August 27, 1999.