The real lesson from Juno
There are numerous articles and countless comments out there on the web in the aftermath of the blizzard that failed to live up to its billings in New York. True, Juno did produce snowfall more in accordance with predictions in New England, but in the Big Apple, it was the big storm that wasn’t. And while the topic of the perceived overreaction of both state and city governments in New York has drawn much criticism, much of it is simply Monday-morning quarterbacking that we wouldn’t be reading had the storm performed as predicted.
In the articles and comments I’ve read about the media hysteria, as well as about the gubernatorial and mayoral overreaction, there has been solid complaint about the nanny-state governance that presumes to know when to tell its citizens to come in out of the cold. Both Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio essentially suspended the civil rights of millions of New Yorkers to an unprecedented extent, based on the prediction of a weather event that, even had it been accurate, still would not have been unprecedented in the history of that region. In fact, in Massachusetts, where Juno did deliver its expected snow load, things are returning to normal, and no direct storm deaths have been reported to my knowledge. No surprise there; Yankees can handle blizzards.
Both politicians, now under fire for their overreactions and their unprecedented expansions of civil authority for an over-hyped weather event, are raising the shield of “Better safe than sorry.” They defiantly feel justified ordering ordinary citizens out of their workplaces, off the streets, and into confinement in their homes under penalty of arrest and prosecution, all under the guise of public safety. It is surely too bad that apparently no citizen was arrested and charged under this questionable application of authority, for it would certainly make an interesting test case to determine to what extent a governor, or especially a mayor, may deprive a citizen of his civil rights in order to protect that citizen’s well-being. With the way elected officials and civil authorities are expanding their so-far uncontested powers in dealing with natural and man-made (Boston Marathon lockdown) disasters, a challenge is bound to arise, which will likely make its way through the appellate process to the ultimate court in Washington, D.C.
There probably aren’t too many among us ordinary folks who would begrudge our civil officials the right to shut down certain roadways and close vulnerable neighborhoods in anticipation of unusual weather events and even to issue strongly worded warnings to stay in our homes. Most of us probably wouldn’t object to the closings of affected neighborhoods or even our governors issuing shoot-on-sight orders to National Guard troops to suppress looting following a disaster. The law-abiding citizenry understands that a true need exists for our civic leaders to have that kind of emergency authority.
But closing all the streets and all the means of transport in an entire city of millions of inhabitants and ordering all the citizens off the streets under penalty of arrest? I lived through a few hurricanes in Northwest Florida, and my experience is that sheriff’s deputies will bang on your door and warn you to evacuate, but they don’t arrest you if you don’t. Of course, that’s the conservative Old South, where you have the right to be a stubborn fool, and even to die like one. It is your life, after all. By the way, this fool, young and risk-oriented back then, sat out that first one but evacuated during all the rest after that intense initial learning experience. But the choice was mine, and my governor, a conservative Republican, nor even his conservative Democrat successor, didn’t usurp my basic civil rights to save me from my own foolishness.
And therein is the striking difference; both Cuomo and de Blasio are northeastern liberals and adherents to a belief system that there is no such thing as government too big, with too much control over every aspect of the lives of the citizenry. We have just witnessed a demonstration of what they believe are the limits of their civil authority, which are pretty much summed up as none, zip, nada.
Finally, we come to the most ominous lesson to be learned from Juno. These ultra-liberal Democrats ordered the citizenry off the streets and into their homes under penalty of arrest and prosecution for a coming weather event – not a civil insurrection or lethal epidemic or pending attack. And they did this to a constitutionally armed public, one armed in spite of the fervent desire and best efforts of these same two politicians and their Democrat party to disarm it. Please do not think that I am proposing that there should have been any sort of resistance to their overreach of authority. What I am trying to make you ponder is what, if any, limitations such big-government nanny-state politicians might see on their emergency powers if their party should ever be successful in disarming the public. And the worrisome truth is that those two bedrock principles of socialist governance, officious control of your life and government control of all guns, reside side by side in that fevered swamp that is the liberal Democrat brain.
To me, that is the real lesson we should be taking from Juno.
Crossposted at American Thinker
Category: Politics
Yes, it is the lesson we should be taking from Juno.
Juno did what Juno does: she gave the ‘authorities’ what for.
“There never was a wife more jealous than Juno; and few who have had so much reason: on which account we find from Homer that the most absolute exertions of Jupiter were barely sufficient to preserve his authority.’
More at this link:
http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/roman-gods/myths-about-the-roman-goddess-juno.htm
How odd that a storm with a mind of its own was named after a goddess with a mind of her own. And how apt was it that the storm, like its namesake, flouted those in charge and made them look like idiots.
The ‘better safe than sorry’ excuse does not wash with anyone who has a braincell working. I think anyone who is laughing heartily at the way Juno the storm, like Juno the goddess, made fools of those who were hoist with their petards.
Ah … Not for nothing, but from a regional emergency management, public safety and security point of view all the right preparedness and response calls were made in advance.
Not many here in this region (Region 2 is NY and NJ) are complaining or critiquing the Gov’s or Mayor’s calls.
As our partners north (Region 1 is CT, VT, NH, MA, RI and MA) did, decisions were made in advance and they stuck to their plan.
I ought to know as I was in there!
As far as any of these loons taking our guns … that won’t happen!
One call to the Wisconson Civilian Armed Militia … and 800,000 will be on their way to liberate NY!
Wisconson is just an example of a state that is well armed by their citizens!
North Dakota is likewise armed.
And then there is Texas with many runaways from Up Nort dere hey !!!
Yah, Up Kenosha way !!!
The late POTUS Gerald R Ford perhaps said it best:
“A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”
We forget this obvious truth at our peril.
When WE end up with three feet of snow, 50 mph winds, and -20 temps, it hardly even rates a NOAA broadcast.
I’m glad I live in a fly-over state. One that knows what weather is — and how to handle it.
I know I’m nitpicking, but there is no official naming system for winter storms. The whole BS naming of storms is a marketing thing created by the Weather Channel.
As far as travel bans go, I’m sort of OK with them. I live in the western suburbs of Boston where we got 33″ and without there being some official edict, people will go out just to go out. Maybe not a big deal, but it does tie up fire and police. I used to dispatch and having to have a cruiser spend a couple of hours on a disabled call limits your actions when something real comes along. Deval Patrick is gone and we have an adult as governor again. I think he took the minimal steps to keep things safe and, in fact, said he didn’t want to use travel bans as his first option.
“I know I’m nitpicking, but there is no official naming system for winter storms. The whole BS naming of storms is a marketing thing created by the Weather Channel.”
HEAR, HEAR!! So glad to see someone else posting about this! The Weather Channel is so desperate to stay relevant that they resort to asinine nonsense such as this.
I always took the WC naming winter storms as a Global Warmist thing. They were one of the “Authorities” promising “more named storms,” (hurricanes and tropical storms) because of GORE BULL Warming. I give it 5 more years before they start pointing to the increase in “named storms” since whatever year they started naming winter storms. Because of Climategedon (TM).
So, I have a slightly different outlook on this situation. I could not possibly care less if people ventured out into the weather after being warned not to go. They aren’t the ones I would be concerned with. I’m much more concerned about the first responders who may be called out to assist these idiots once they DO find themselves in peril. THOSE are the lives that are being put at risk by morons who decide for themsleves to go out after being warned. I don’t believe that first responders would sit in their respective shelters and ignore someone’s pleas for assistance, even if that person is out when they shouldn’t be. Making it illegal to be out at least gives the government some way to prosecute those who would imperil the lives of first responders. Making it only a warning leaves no recourse when they ignore it and need to be rescued.
I’m not in favor of government telling you where and when you can go places, even in an emergency. But I’m less in favor of having to put first responders in any more danger than necessary because someone went out against warnings of the possible consequences.
How about this message from the first responders during an emergency:
“Feel free to go out into the hurricane / tornado / forest fire / Justin Bieber concert, should you feel so inclined. That said, we warned you – if you get stuck, you’re SOL, because none of us will risk our necks to save yours when you go full retard during an emergency. You may call it heartless; we call it Natural Selection. So…ya’ still wanna’ go out, or would you rather stay in the shelter?”
Believe me, I’m all for it. You go out against warnings and get FUBAR ? Sucks to be you.
BUT, many first responders will venture out anyway, because that’s the type of people they are, because someone needs them. I, for one, am glad we have such people. So, if they’re going to risk their lives to save someone who’s been warned not to go out, I want that idiot who ventured out to be punished under the law for it. Warnings of the danger have no force of law and cannot be prosecuted. Make it illegal, so they not only have to worry about the conditions, but also going to jail/getting heavily fined for being stupid.
NAVCWO, such laws already exist. They are called reckless or public endangerment laws. Instead of threatening to arrest ANY citizen out on the streets, warn them that if their reckless behavior results in injury or damage to first responders, they can be so charged and prosecuted.
And you’ll never convince me that Cuomo and de Blasio weren’t aware of that. Instead they acted on their socialist impulses and flexed government muscle in an unprecedented manner.
Once during snowstorm in New Mexico were were down in the flats when it started and needed to return home to 4500 feet higher – but the twisty road to home was closed by the police. I explained I had 4WD and new tires…they were adamant. Then when I said “I have a 16 year-old daughter isolated at the house with her boyfriend” they said “if you fall off the road you’re on your own – we can’t help you . Drive safe!” and moved the barricade.
They recognized you had a legitimate emergence and allowed you to pass. However, I’ll bet a dozen donuts that if you HAD become stranded/injured/wrecked, they’d have come to your rescue regardless of their earlier pronouncements.
NAVCWO, those deputies I mentioned who came through our Florida subdivision out west of NAS Pensacola, looking for laggards during hurricane evacuations, made it clear that was your final warning and that no first responders would be available for ANY emergency until the storm had passed. And local government stuck to it. To reinforce that point, they made the stubborn fools, as I was that first time, fill out a next of kin notification.
Such clearly-worded, stern warnings usually are sufficient to achieve the desired public response but never 100% so. When citizens are warned that emergency services are to be suspended for the duration, it tends to focus their minds. Such a warning putting the foolhardy on notice that they are responsible for their own safety is far more acceptable to most Americans than being told by your government that you are confined to quarters.
That said, you will always have the stubborn fools. In Germany during the allied bombing campaign, even when most large cities had been bombed to rubble, there were some who refused to go down into the bomb shelters during raids(even though it was a criminal offense) and some paid for their foolish intransigence with their lives. The point here being, the only way you can fully protect a fool from his folly is to lock him away. When that happens, we are no longer the constitutional republic established by the founding fathers.
And after all that, the main point I was trying to make is that those politicians who most desire the public to be disarmed are the same politicians who are the most inclined to take away your freedom given any excuse.
One of my co-workers and I were discussing the balls of Cuomo and DeBlasio to tell citizens they could not drive or be on the streets. We both agreed that we would have had to test that power grab in a court of law.
Huh,
I read the entire thread and the comments and thought….maybe I missed something.
The real lesson here is not to sue a dead Navy SEAL’s wife and estate over some perceived slight because it makes you look like a HUGE douche bag?
Maybe I missed something.
Chip, I think that is the underlying theme of every post here : )…..
WTH do weather forecasters get paid, anyway? I realize that an MLB batter who is wrong at the plate 2/3 of the time is a great hitter and that an NFL quarterback whose passes are complete roughly 1/2 the time or better is a keeper, but where do these forecasters fit?
As for the sheeple, yeah, most people will do what they’re told if they’re told it’s for their own good. Then there’s this rather contrary subset of people who will do exactly the opposite because some asshole told them they can’t. Strangely enough, I would say that 99% of the folks here are in that subset.
2/17, predicting the patha of Nor’easters is not exactly easy. The storm’s track is easily affected by slight changes in wind direction that can’t be easily predicted. As a result, and like with this storm, the predictions have tremendous bust potential.
Unfortunately, CNN and the weather channel are far too eager to keep everyone tuned in to their broadcasts by over-hyping these storms. They convienentlynleave out the fact that the storm may end up being no big deal for certain areas.
What we need is not more accurate forecasting, it’s already pretty damn accurate, but more candid weather people. Instead of a guy saying
“OMG SUPERSTORMBLIAZZARDJUNOFREEZE headed our way! LOAD UP ON CANNED GOODS AND PREPARE TO RESORT TO CANNABILISM!”
We need someone saying.
“A big snow storm is moving in this direction. Some areas will see blizzard like conditions and heavy snowfalls of 20-30 inches. If the storm drifts some area will see much less snow, stay safe and warm, avoid unnecessary travel, and we’ll keep you informed as we know more.”
If you guys don’t like the “emergency card” that a govenor or mayor can use to save lives and protect property and or the “emergency and disaster card” that the President can use per the Stafford Act, then I would suggest that you go to any other country in the world to live!
We here in the US have the best emergency preparedness and response capabilities found anywhere on this good earth.
It starts at the local level using sound EM and ICS standards, moves up through counties and to the states through multiple NIMS orgs, MACC’s, EOC’s, JOC’s and JFO’s and to the federal government at the NOC, SIOC and NRCC and it emcompasses every federal agency with a response (to name only 1 of the 5 mission areas) responsibilty.
So in review, if you dont like the way your local government, state and or federal goverment is looking out for your safety and security during an emergency and or disaster … go to, lets say … North Korea, Mexico, the PI, anywhere in Northern Africa, South America, Russia and any other developed and under-developed crap hole around the globe and let me know how things turn out!
We are the only country on earth that considers as a whole and seeks to integrate: Prevention, Protection, Preparedness, Response, Recovery and Mitigation … and is all about saving lives, reducing property damage, returning to normal and maintaining our way of life.
OUT!
I don’t think the Disaster Preparedness plans are what is causing the problem. I think the problem is with the idea of a curfew. Being told to “get off the streets” for any reason runs afoul of our ideas of “freedom.”
Being a prepper, I struggle with my own thoughts on the government’s responses to disaster vs. my wish to take care of myself. Those two clash to a degree, and I still haven’t answered my own question as to how far I will trust officials to take care of me in a disaster.
Let’s see here, Master Chief, you’re telling a bunch of fellow veterans, many of us who have fought for this country, that because we disagree with what we perceive as governmental overreach by your gun-grabbing governor and your communist mayor, we should just get the hell out of the country?
I’ve read your comments here for years, Master Chief, and have always thought of you as a common sense fellow, not the kind to get his skivvies in such a tight twist just because someone else here might disagree with you. I’m a bit amazed because this truly is way beneath your usual standards.
What I’ve said here and read others say here is that we all agree with local and state governments having emergency powers. What we questioned was that in this case your ultra-lib governor and your pinko mayor took that power a step further than the American people are accustomed to.
And, for the THIRD FUCKING TIME, I will point out that the premise of my piece is that it is the same liberal politicians who are pushing to disarm the public that are quick to push the emergency powers envelope a bit further than ever before. That is what we all, including you, should be concerned about, or at some future date our disarmed offspring could be governed by a government that more closely resembles one of those countries that you so inappropriately suggested your fellow veterans should go to.
And for that, I should leave my country?
Sheez…
Got ya … Your goat was exposed and I took a grab at it.
However, I don’t expect any of my friends here to go else where to live.
My point is simple:
Put the lib, gun grabbing, lurch like mayoral bad decisions aside for a moment.
From the top down: WH, fed agencies, state governors and locals hard decisions are made daily with respect to such responses. In this case everyone was spot on and the weather proved these actions were warranted. In the case of NYC metro area, we are talking about a monster machine that could have been crippled if measures where not taken and we got the 30 inches.
So in review, I was being facicious and I don’t wear skivvies … I go Commando!
Really, I did not mean to hurt anyones sensibilities.
Fill out a HFR!
No hurt feelings here but I do think you had some of us wondering if you’d gone too far off your meds or too far into the Bushmills.
And thank you for making my point for me. We all know that government officials have to make these kinds of hard decisions all the time; but the difference is, good leaders don’t go overboard like these two hysterical libs.
I think Valerie is close to the truth when she says they were stampeded by the hype. More correctly, they allowed themselves to be stampeded and any politician who wields the power those two do should be tough enough not to let that happen. I don’t know about de Blasio, who comes across as a big wuss, but frankly I don’t think Cuomo has the heft to be where is is and wouldn’t be if it weren’t for his dad being governor.
And lastly, Master Chief, speaking of sensitivities, I’m thankful on your behalf that Juno was a dud. Otherwise you might have gotten some serious frostbite in some sensitive areas what with you going Commando and all. Myself I’ve always had to wear jockeys.
To support that extra weight, ya know?
Heh..
Really dude? Did that hit too close to your particular job? Maybe instead of moving to N, Korea, we’ll vote to defund your agency.
Propsdude … Chill. My agency already has been defunded essentially.
Are you in Congress?
How do you vote to defund my agency?
Just wonderin’!
BTW, I hear the food in N. Korea sucks … Don’t go there!
I was being satireickle!
There was a travel ban in Massachusetts as well, the governor made it clear who the roads were open to and to whom they were not. there was a $500 fine attached for being an idiot and trying to drive when there was 3 feet of snow and no plows clearing the storm.
There was no threat of arrest in Massachusetts but there was a fine to coincide with the ban. So you could go out if you were an idiot, if you didn’t get stopped good for you, if you did most people were quietly told to go on home and were not issued a fine.
I think if there was no travel ban or no penalty and the storm killed a few dozen travelers the governors would be criticized for that as well. I wasn’t aware of the threat of arrest in New York, there was no such threat here in the PRoM….I am still not certain that I am in disagreement with the actions under the potentially devastating storm effects.
I’ve lived in rural areas where there’s never a ban you pass at your own risk, but there’s less chance for rescue as well. In a heavily populated urban environment there’s no place for that snow to go keeping the streets clean for a day to keep everyone safe and expedite clean up isn’t the end of the world for me, but I see your point. If it become a regular thing I suspect it will need to be addressed with a legislative restriction of some of that power.
I have some sympathy for the public officials, who I think were stampeded by weather enthusiasts. The reason is, I’ve seen weather events where, despite all reasonable warnings, some few a$$holes competed for, and won, Darwin awards.
Hurricanes in Houston are a regular event. All you have to do to survive is leave. And yet, after most of them, someone is found to have driven into a flooded garage, or into a stream, driven out in the wind to be hit by a falling tree, or is picked up by a boat or helicopter.
New York, by their own estimate, has more a$$holes than Houston. Nobody wants to clean up their dead bodies. I get that.
further, a good chunk of Houston is far enough inland to make evacuation silly in any case.
I was here during Rita, when the dummies had the roads jammed for literally days… and the storm bore off East at the last moment and did Houston about $27 in property damage.
I remember Rita very well beings I was situated right where it made land fall while in the middle of resupplying makeshift hospitals/aid dustribution centers in south Mississippi and Louisiana parishes still recovering from Katrina. You are correct, the highways were jammed, by people that should have evacuated sooner instead of waiting for the last days. Unfortunate for me, our trucks were heading back into NO & South Miss were the last out, making it a 30 hr run just to get to the resuplly drops in St Tammanys & Jefferson then turn around and do it all over again, were the first back into Texas right after. Most memoral moment crossing the Sabine bridge with an LSP escort to meet up with Texas DPS troopers. Them kids were fresh meat, right out of the academy, first time on the road ever scared as shit and wide eyed, lol.
I kind of understand shutting down mass transit. Who would want to be stuck on a train with a thousand New Yorkers for hours? I think they went overboard telling people not to even walk to the corner store because they might slip on the ice. Screw you. I can’t help but remember that in Boston during the search for the marathon bomber citizens were forced from their homes and subjected to warrant less searches of their home.; an issue that has not been addressed as far as I know. They have now set a new standard that will be used unless we push back
I think I can address your comment about what happened in Boston. The police all over the country have done that for decades, but in less publicized instances. Some fleeing felons started bursting into homes and taking people hostage. What the police started doing in response was to work an area where a felon was at large, and begin systematically going door to door. When a family answered, they would be drawn out quickly, and the house searched, to make sure the felon was not there. You might ask, ‘If the family answered the door, why was the home secured and searched?’ Answer: because in the instances that the felons had hostages, they would hold the hostage in the back room, threatening to kill them if the family member who talked with the cops made any effort to let the cops know the felon was there.
This prior activity appeared, at least to me, to explain the events that occurred in Boston.
Yeah, Boston. One of the locked-down citizens exited his abode for a smoke. He went out back. He saw that the cover on his boat was not the way he had left it. He checked it out, saw blood, retreated, called the police and one of the bastards was found, bleeding, in that boat, thanks to this citizen’s civil disobedience and his smoking habit. THE END.
He said, “Gad dammit, one of dose tarrorist was on my caar paarkin loot and he is in my boot. Gad dammit!”
I’m just remembering back to Katrina. The government took lawful citizen’s firearms in house-to-house searches, all for the greater good. It then left those citizens at the mercy of the gangs.
Yep, it sure did. And relief workers as well until LNG MP’s were allowed to escort us in and out of the west bank. Shit changed then…the hood rats and convicts didn’t want to play WWIII with the boys.
I was part of the Hurricane Ivan Mission in 2004, we were issued 30 rounds each that we carried in a magazine and the locals knew we had ammo for our weapons. We also went on night patrols using our NVG’s and we had no problems.
I lived in Chicago for 30 years. If the weather forecast was snow, I stopped at the store on the way home from work, or went as soon as I got home and stocked up on stuff I knew I’d run out of otherwise.
The blizzard of 1999 started on New Year’s Eve at 10:30PM. By 6AM next morning, there were 2.5 feet of snow in the street out inf front of my apartment building. The storm had been forecast to drop about 3 inches of snow, but the forecast did not include drifting, lake effect snow, and a change in the wind direction. It was New Year’s Eve/Day. I had enough stuff to keep me going until the streets were plowed. There was no need to go out and run errands.
The only things they’ve ever done in Chicago were open warming centers and warn about bus delays. And that included the dreadful Ground Hog Day blizzard of 2011, with southbond Lake Shore Drive blocked by a broken-down bus and several hundred stranded motorists. But there were people who were stupid enough to run unnecessary errands in the middle of the storm and get buried in their cars in snow, because emergency teams could not get to them.
If the forecast is for severe rain or snow, people should have enough sense to not go out in it, but a lot of them don’t have any common sense. Even worse are the idiots to go out to the ocean beaches to get videos and selfies in the middle of a truly bad storm.
However, there is no reason for a couple of control freak government officials to threaten people with arrest over something like this storm. That is going too far.
‘New York: Pedestrians have a snowball fight in Times Square following a mandatory shutdown of the streets at 11 p.m. on January 26, 2015.’ – AP news service
Well, it seems that no one paid any attention to deBlasio, after all, since there are pictures of the snowball fight.