Hurricane Tejas

Posted by MikeMarotta 9 years, 4 months ago to Government

The State of Texas ran an exercise to simulate a Category 4 hurricane strike at the Rio Grande Valley. The main events ran Wednesday and Thursday, June 8 and 9, according to the news media. However, the execution depended on deep planning running back to January of this year. For myself, as a headquarters support staffer, I arrived at 9:00 AM on Sunday, June 5. I made my last call (from home) at 6:30 PM on Friday. My job was to run the WebEOC emergency operation center computer. Despite the short days on Sunday and Friday (8 hours each), I put in 74 hours in five days. So did a couple hundred other people.

Story here:
http://necessaryfacts.blogspot.com/20...

The basic question is whether and to what extent "emergency response" is a proper function of government. I believe that it is. Many libertarians and every other Objectivist I have messaged with all disagree with me on that.

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Posted by jimslag 9 years, 4 months ago

I live in a rural area, small towns, agriculture and railroad the major industries. A lot of the smaller communities still depend on volunteers for fire response. Police are here, either local police departments for the little bigger towns and Sheriff's Department for the smaller ones. The area I am in is on the Texas border and the closest major cities are Amarillo and Lubbock, both in Texas and about 1.5 hours away. We depend on each other a lot out here, volunteerism is huge and those that do volunteer are well regarded and all local residents. Flyover country doesn't have all the high dollar equipment but we also have the local AFB for the really big things. Thanks Mike for being one of those volunteers, you play a vital role in the local communities.

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  Posted by MikeMarotta 9 years, 4 months ago
  
  Thanks. Being a volunteer is another way to be organized. The volunteers in fire departments do get paid for their service, it is just that they are not paid 24/7. They get called; they show up. How much they are paid as individuals depends on the certified training that they bring with them, such as water rescue or swift-water rescue.
  
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Posted by khalling 9 years, 4 months ago

I think you offered important services. but , think of our first fire departments. Others will not perform as I suspect you did. just an observation

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  Posted by MikeMarotta 9 years, 4 months ago
  
  Thanks but "other will not perform as you did" applies to people who get paid for regular employment. You always bring yourself to your work, and people vary. Monetary incentives are real, but they are not primary.
  
  Your reference to the early fire departments who were political ward workers more likely to fight each other than the fire just underscores the fact that philosophy defines our actions.
  
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    Posted by khalling 9 years, 4 months ago
    
    truth
    
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Posted by MikeMarotta 9 years, 4 months ago

I have stated the problem several ways. Suppose that police on patrol see a child surrounded by a pack of dogs. Are they obligated to respond? Remember: by Objectivist legal theory, a child has limited rights, and as non-rational actors, the dogs cannot commit aggression.

Suppose that the police hear on their radios that a tornado has struck the next town over. A picnic is in progress at the city park. Are the police morally obligated to warn the partiers? (The storm is not a rational actor and therefore cannot violate anyone's rights.)

I believe that the fact that those are challenging problems speaks to a basic flaw in Objectivist political theory.

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Hurricane Tejas

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