We are all tired of being afraid. Only one problem..there are a lot of real threats out there, and we should turn some of the fear into realistic preparation. Certain things we could do would possibly lessen the impacts of various threats...and one thing we need to do is turn out more capable and skilled young people. There should not be one student this year or forever in the future with his or her feet up on the desk daring a teacher to teach him. He/she and all of his comrades, including those with Harvard buildings named after them, should be learning disaster preparedness skills, and certainly medical training. If they live near water of any sort, including raindrops, they should be trained in boating. Why do we wait for 4 helicopters per state when we have flooding problems when a whole lot of problems could be taken care of by boats? Think Katrina. Then think of the blockaders of America who prevented people with boats from trying to get there to rescue them. We need people who can act quickly in emergencies. There is a lot we can do. Where is Marilyn Quayle now that we need her.

Global warming, terrorism, natural disasters...all can be somewhat mitigated with preplanning, prepositioning of supplies etc. We need to know how to move people from point A to point B and how to move supplies. We need to know how to put in flood barricades, etc. We need youngsters who know to assemble themselves and start digging latrines. Lots we could be doing.

But have no doubt. the fear is real because the threats are real. Might as well face them as a prepared nation. And get those dopes off drugs. That creates so many problems. mg