Sounds like this guy hangs out on this forum. Link <:)=

For the second time in as many months political consultant Charles Phillips of Hotchkiss came to Paonia Thursday evening, Sept. 9, to talk Y2K.

He said he had been dragged there kicking and screaming by Paonia resident and Y2K activist Joy MacNulty, who had set up this session as well as the much publicized one in Paonia Town Hall on Aug. 13. Phillips, now a part-time Y2K entrepreneur, since 1986 has been a full-time political consultant on the national level. He is the author of The Bluebook for Grassroots Politics, and founder (in the 1980s) of The Coalition of Politically Active Christians.

The audience of about 65 people at the Paonia Grange heard him estimate that there was a 70 percent change that Delta and Montrose counties would suffer brownouts or blackouts at the turn of the century. And an even greater likelihood that, if at some point power must be rationed, it will go to the big cities and not to our rural region.

And, he said, If the power outage lasts more than a couple of weeks, itll be a whole new ball game. But Phillips repeatedly refused to go into what he called the dark side of Y2K. He would not, he said, suggest or describe worst case scenarios, even though, in a question session following his presentation, a considerable number of questions put to him dealt with just such matters.

in particular, he would not hazard any statements on the likelihood of bank failures or bank runs.

He did say he expects martial law, whether called by that name or simply emergency management. He thinks there will be a computer takeover of everything by the federal government, a process already authorized under presidential executive orders. He did not pin that down to a date.

One member of the audience commented what while Paonia appears to be pretty well Y2K prepared, Delta County commissioners at a recent meeting scoffed at citizens who expressed concern.

Phillips reiterated his frequent theme that action at the grassroots level is vital; it is the true alternative to official apathy. He suggested, jokingly, that perhaps all present could go to a Delta County commissioners Meeting.

On another topic, People say that federal troops cannot be used against the American people, he remarked. They have been, he said, 100 times or more in the last century. And he cited cases: Kent State in the 60s; L.A. in Bushs time; a Colorado episode under President Wilson when the feds were sent in to quell a strike in a Rockefeller mine on the Eastern Slope.

Phillips stress in his 45-minute talk was on the need to "Stay positive and to stimulate neighborhood cooperation.

He urged that people form neighborhood teams and canvass the needs of the elderly and those with special medical requirements by learning who they are ahead of time and getting in touch with them to explain Y2K. He offered to supply leaflets for that purpose, citing his own involvement with Y2K awareness on the national level and distribution of hundreds of thousands of such documents.

The audience was almost entirely made up of Y2K savvy people who apparently did not need to have Y2K, or its threat, explained to them. Questions from the floor indicated a concern with the functioning of such things as pacemakers and dialysis machines and with supplies of oxygen for the oxygen dependent.

Phillips assessment of gas and oil pipelines: None of them are compliant. Ditto for the Dept. of Defense, social security, IRS, the trains. He expressed great concern about the nations nuclear energy plants, and said he was surprised that none closed down on July 1 so as to be off line safely by Jan. 1, 2000.

His audience of more than 60 citizens had assembled at Paonias Grange without benefit of advance publicity, merely by word of mouth. The large turnout suggested that interest in Y2K might be rising again after a time of widespread public disinterest.

Several in the audience made reference to a recent week-long series on Y2K on C-SPAN. And Phillips mentioned that the national newspaper USA Today had a long Y2K story as cover story for Sept. 9, 1999.

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), September 19, 1999

Answers

My mom lives in Hotchkiss, my Aunt and Uncle live in Cedaredge...small world. My mom's going to my sisters house in Albuquerque before 01/01/2000 because I have scared the sh** out of her. I'm going to have her get more info in Charles Phillips.

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@Y2KOK.ORG), September 20, 1999.

To the top.

Ya know, I've never complained about little interest in a story that I've posted, but I can't believe that this hasn't attracted a few more remarks.

Hummm...

Tick... Tock... <:00=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), September 20, 1999.

Sysman, we have become immune to the news stories. We "Yourdonites" have heard this stuff over and over again and we have become like the DGIs. Yeh, Yeh, Yeh. We are no longer shocked at anything. And even if something earth shattering does happen, us "Yourdonites," can no longer react to the event. When someone here asks "why can't they GI," we react by WGISWBD (we get it so what big deal). Your a good man Sysman, I have learned a lot from you and others here. But I am afraid we have become complacent, we are prepared, so who cares? We all know that time is short and sides have been chosen. I am getting the loose ends together, the countdown has begun. It no longer matters what the "experts," have to say, we are all waiting to see what will happen. It's too late for many, the best people can do now is to store what little food they can afford and hope that this monster can be tamed, but I have my doubts.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), September 20, 1999.

I also thank you Sysman for all your posts and insight over the past year while I have been monitoring this forum. Bardou is probably right....only about 100 days to go. The pollies are praying (mightly) that they are right; the doomers are praying that the pollies are right. The die is cast.

-- jeanne (jeanne@hurry.now), September 20, 1999.

The significance of this article is potentially incredible. From my perspective it begs a few questions I hope we can answer. Who really is phillip? How is it he is privy to the detail in his remarks? Can,t we learn more from this fellow?

Sysman, I agree, it does seem odd this article hasn't generated more discussion. Could it be fools gold?

take it to the limit

Rob

-- Rob Carroll (flyingred@montana.com), September 20, 1999.

Sysman, I think the one sentence that says it all is: "The audience was ALMOST ENITRELY made up of 'Y2K savvy' people who....... there you go, it's the preacher preaching to the "already saved." Y2K awareness may be on the rise, but it takes KNOWLEDGE, money, and time. It's too late for knowledge, because knowledge takes experience and money means the knowledge to spend money wisely. Time!!! Three months to go and time is of the essence. It has taken me 18 months to prepare and I do not have a full-time job. I have spent hours on this computer learning from you all and putting into practice what I have learned. For this, I am eternally grateful to all of you. I have no idea what more can be said to anyone at this point who all of a sudden becomes a GI. We can point them to the archives, the Y2K Preparation Forum, Stan's preparations posts, etc., really, there's nothing more we can do. What could possibly shock us Yourdonites besides a nuclear attack or a foreign invasion? So why am I still lurking here? I guess because I like to read the posts, to feel the temperature of the forum, and to keep abreast of late breaking news, it beats watching TV any day!

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), September 20, 1999.

Thanks for your kind words. I don't know if I have made a "difference" here or not. I've tried to be serious, funny, and a smart-ass. I'm not looking to have my ego stroked. Why would I, you don't know me from Adam? All I can do is try to relate my 3+ decades as a programmer to you. All I can do is tell you that I GI on about 03/01/68, when I IPLed my first mainframe as an operator trainee. If I only knew then what I know now...

Yup, I agree. There is no "one event" (well, maybe) that will make people GI. Heck, this is a story about a "hick town" (sorry Uncle Bob) that may have their power diverted to the "big city." It's only a drop in the ocean.

But the way I look at it, if I can make an impression on only one person, then that's one more person that is part of the solution, not part of the problem.

It is late (in more ways than one). But I'm going to head over to Dogpile for some Y2K news.

I'll be back...

Tick... Tock... <:00=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), September 21, 1999.

Sysman,

You said he had been dragged kicking and screaming to a meeting about Y2K, then he becomes a part time Y2K entrepreneur. What makes what this man says important? Why does the fact that he is a full-time political consultant give him the credibility to determine " that there was a 70 percent change that Delta and Montrose counties would suffer brownouts or blackouts at the turn of the century. And an even greater likelihood that, if at some point power must be rationed, it will go to the big cities and not to our rural region??" Please Sysman, these days every Tom, Dick and Mary suddenly decides they have the ability to "know" what will happen and speculate what will happen. People are tired of taking what these people say as gospel and getting upset about it.

You cannot expect everyone to jump up and get excited and make life decisions whenever someone like this who was a a full-time political consultant on the national level suddenly becomes a part-time Y2K entrepreneur makes a statement like " power outages are likely at the turn of the century". If this man had a background in power generation or something simular then people probably would listen, but just because he is NOW a "part time Y2K consultant, come on! politics give him absolutly realistic background to know what will happen. People aren't dumb and there is no more reason to be concerned about what he says thanthere would be if it were said by the food bagger at the market. As a matter of fact I think it is shamefull for so many unknowledgable people to make such public statements.

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), September 21, 1999.

if at some point power must be rationed, it will go to the big cities and not to our rural region.

Most rural homes depend on electricty to pump their private water wells. Almost nobody has a manual pump as a backup. If power is diverted from rural areas, people will be dying of thirst within a week.

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), September 21, 1999.

Utilities restore power to areas that serve the most people first. It is not unusual for rural areas to be without power for several days up to a week after a winter storm. My cousin in NJ was without power for 36 hours due to Floyd. A friend in Oregon has been without power for a week due to ice storms. It is only prudent for people in rural areas to have back up generation.

-- The Engineer (The Engineer@tech.com), September 21, 1999.

It may not be as critical for rural areas in a winter storm scenario because there's usually snow or ice available to melt. But there are plenty of arid places where that won't help. Even with generators, you need access to fuel, especially if the duration is long. None of my neighbors have generators and none of them are preparing for Y2K.

I might not have neighbors for long.

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), September 21, 1999.