Update, "Jericho" and MAD

Some time back, I'd promised a multi-part post on Building Tangible Margin: Heading Out. Parts of it are done, but it's still simmering. Quite a daunting thing to try to encapsulate in easy reads for a blog. Never fear, though, it's still in the works. In the meantime, if you have questions or comments re: preparedness, let 'em fly. If I don't know, I'll try to get you pointed in the right direction.

I recently mentioned the new series "Jericho" on CBS. If you haven't seen it, I think it's worth checking out, for entertainment value if nothing else. It does have promise for getting that ultimate piece of preparedness equipment—your brain—in action but could go many directions. The first episode aired last week on Wednesday and Saturday night, but you can also catch episodes online. I'll be catching it as I can.

Just a quick aside re: nuclear attacks (part of the premise of "Jericho")—some dismiss the concerns over nuclear attack as “fear mongering” or paranoia. While that may be true in some instances, the fact remains that we are in a uniquely vulnerable situation, much more precarious in many ways than we were during the Cold War. During the Cold War, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were in an arms race, amassing nuclear weapons and trying to win the world to their various political perspectives. Though the number of weapons was astonishing—easily sufficient to destroy both countries and their allies—attacks were kept in check by the threat of MAD, or Mutually Assured Destruction. You launch missiles at us, we’ll launch them at you and suddenly Australia is the superpower of the world. There is no MAD today. The thousands of nuclear weapons around the world are only mostly accounted for and our enemies today are not strictly nation states but elements within and across borders (Terrorists Without Borders, hmm...). There is no sense of self-preservation keeping nuclear weapons from being used. So, while the feared scenario of a nuclear “holocaust” with missiles raining from the sky will likely never happen in our lifetime, the possibility of limited attacks is more real than ever and much more difficult to predict or respond to.

Isn’t that cheery?! Now go check out some 30-Second Bunnies Theatre (thanks for introducing me, Jase!) then check the expiration dates on your potassium iodide (KI).