SNOW!

General Real Estate Investing
1

Probably not real but funny anyway…

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Denver Post:

This text is from a county emergency manager out in the central part of Colorado after today’s snowstorm.

WEATHER BULLETIN

Up here, in the Northern Plains, we just recovered from a Historic event— may I even say a “Weather
Event” of “Biblical Proportions” — with a historic blizzard of up to 44" inches of snow and winds to 90
MPH that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow
banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to 10’s of thousands.

FYI:

George Bush did not come.

FEMA did nothing.

No one howled for the government.

No one blamed the government.

No one even uttered an expletive on TV .

Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit.

Our Mayor did not blame Bush or anyone else.

Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else, either.

CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC did not visit - or report on this category 5 snowstorm.
Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.

No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House.

No one looted.

Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the Government do something.

Nobody expected the Government to do anything, either.

No Larry King, No Bill O’Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera.

No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found.

Nope, we just melted the snow for water.

Sent out caravans of SUV’s to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars.

The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn’t ask for a penny.

Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snowbound families.

Families took in the stranded people - total strangers.

We fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or Coleman lanterns.

We put on extra layers of clothes because up here it is “Work or Die”.

We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for ‘sittin at home’ checks.

Even though a Category “5” blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early, we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves.

“In my many travels, I have noticed that once one gets north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90% of the world’s social problems evaporate.”

It does seem that way, at least to me.

I hope this gets passed on.

Maybe SOME people will get the message. The World does Not owe you a living, and you should not steal one either as a government hand out .

2

Yeah…actually it is real…the weather here in Colorado kinda sux this year…I live in the Western part of the state where it “rarely snows and doesn’t get cold often”…

Well, there’s about 6" of snow on the ground and it was about -5 this morning…

And, of course, everyone that I know has sent me this…LOL

Keith

3

I know the storm was real but it being in the newspaper probably is fake.

4

I live in Boulder and I do not remember seeing it in the paper.

5

A lot of snow, no power, and a few cars stuck in the snow is hardly the same as 30 feet of water through several cities, leaving people stranded on their roof for days. Lots of people in CO have SUV’s, boats aren’t as common in the projects.

6

No offense, but that “article” is BS. Every time ANY weather event happens now, that letter gets attached to that particular storm, and passed around. Old news.

And for what it’s worth, if you think anything since Katrina even comes CLOSE to comparing, you’re ignorant or fooling yourself. I lived through Katrina. I lost friends, business equipment, I’m self employed and I lost 95% of my clients, my house was severely damaged, my home town is unrecognizable,no power for weeks, pets lost, families separated, I could go on.

We got a a little from OUR insurance, that’s it. Did I ask for anything else? From anyone. The answer is NO, I DID NOT. Nor did 10’s of thousands of other people. All you know is what you were allowed to see on TV.

Another thing you may find interesting. I’m neither poor, nor black, yet I was dramatically affected by Katrina. Odd huh? Do you think a well spoken, white male mad at nooone would make good television? I shot at noone. I stole nothing. You’d never hear about me.

New Orleans was a tiny percentage of the damaged area.

“Probably not real…” No, it isn’t.

“But funny anyways…” No, it isn’t.

7

I got this same message in an email today. I love it. The attitude of some that the government “owes” them anything is out of control. Take responsibility for yourself and your actions and we will all be just fine.

8

Triton-

Of course our government owes us! It’s our government! I don’t pay taxes and vote for fun. There is something called the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), maybe you’ve heard of it? What is the purpose of funding this organization if not to do SOMETHING during a federal emergency?

What is the purpose of an organized government?

There is a military making sure terrorist don’t carry out their mission of training and plotting to kill you. There are police departments trying to keep murderers, rapists, drug dealers, and burglars out of your neighborhood. Firefighters don’t respond to your house on fire to roast marshmellows and sing koom-by-ya. If all of these people decided to take responsibility for only their own well-being, chances are, you wouldn’t have the right to speak your nonsense.

9

Calm down, Danny. You missed (or I didn’t make it clear) the point of that post. Yes, I have heard of FEMA, even worked with them. As a veteran myself I am very familiar with our military’s role in keeping us safe. Sure, there are things I expect our government to do for us. However, there are plenty that want everything handed to them and look for any reason to call on the government to provide it for them. As ElphantNest stated, there are plenty that suffered terribly through Katrina as well as other hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms, floods, etc. but most didn’t just sit and complain about it.

The email is just pointing out the fact that some expect to be given something for nothing, while others work to help each other and themselves. I never said to take responsibility for ONLY yourself. Our actions, if done in the right spirit, will take care of others as well as ourselves.

10

My understanding of your post is that you are agreeing with the notion that when those people requested to be plucked off their roof and clean water to drink, that they are just begging for another free hand out. By saying you love that email suggests you believe the concerns of stranded and helpless people are frivilous complaints. It would also suggest they were just “howling” for the governments help and waiting for “some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for ‘sittin at home’ checks”.

What do you a expect family of 4 kids with 1 working mother to do when the only household income came from McDonald’s (that no longer exists) due to a huge lack of education, complimented by a welfare check and food stamps to eat with, when they now have no place to live, work, or go? You’d call it “sitting and complaining” and “looking for a reason to call on the government”. That’s the most ridiculous and ignorant thing I’ve ever heard.

When millions of people are displaced from their homes and businesses, it’s time for the government to step in to start “handing” them what they need. The people worst effected (those who you say are just looking for another reason to call on the government) are very poor people with zero economic wherewithal, rendering them totally helpless. I suppose by not just allowing themselves to die off in silence, they are decided to “complain” to survive.

As a veteran you should be familiar with the concept of selfless service and the vital importance of it, living in an organized society. The purpose of it allows the small, weak, and poor to not get tossed aside by the big, savvy, and rich. Equalizing the basic necessities that would otherwise not exist in the world of the weak is the job of the strong. You can justify giving citizens protection from foreign entities, but baulk if those same citizens request food, water, and shelter.

I am also a veteran. I know most people will never join the military or even consider it. I’d still gladly die for their security, even if they have no interest in providing it for themselves. It’s not a requirement for you to help me, help you.

11

…and less not forget the free large screen HDTVs and DVD players that you get for free if you are first to The WalMart…hey I can see going to WalMart to get the bottled water and food (especially for the kids) but that was not the target…

…and, if you need help, the cops will help you get it to your car if you help them with the one that they’re stealing…

It disgusts me.

Keith

12

When you have no house where would you put the 42" plasma with HDTV and surround sound?

13

That is proof of the devestating nature of what happened creating all out pandemonium and lawlessness. Those who made the choice to steal stuff that they didn’t need were the minority as there aren’t enough HDTVs and DVD players for everyone in the city. A blanket statement such as the one in that viral email are false and insulting. The lack of government intervention is cause for that free-for-all mentality. 99% of those affected never stole anything, why group them in with looters who would steal any other day of the week as well?

14

All I can say was I was there in the state at the time…there was way too much of “What’s in it for me?”…months and months after, there were tons of people (and I mean tons) still milking it for every single penny they could squeeze from the governments…

It was sad…very sad. but the actions of the minority (and not just a “few”) really didn’t do southern Louisiana any favors!

It’s hard to have sympathy for people that, generation after generation, knowing the risks involved in building a house below sea level and continue to do it, expecting that the government/insurance will make everything good again at the expense of others!

Sorry, I’m not much of a Socialist…

Keith

15

No doubt about it that building in below sea level next to a body of water is not a bright thing to do. I don’t hold someone making $11,000 a year responsible for making that choice, as they couldn’t pick up and move even if they knew the risks. Let’s not forget Miami Beach was dredged up from the Altantic ocean less than a hundred years ago. When the third largest hurricane to ever hit the US, hits a city full of people at or near the poverty level, I’d expect some to steal luxuries they’d never normally have and probably couldn’t use. That doesn’t make it right, if it was my store they were stealing those items from, I would of shot them on sight. Generalizing them along with the people who genuinely were suffering due to the lack of intervention is not right.

I don’t blame people in southern California when a wild fire breaks out and burns their house down or a mud slide washed their house down a hill. There are inherent risks living anywhere. Saying they shouldn’t receive help because they knew the risk is saying paramedics shouldn’t respond to a car accident because the drivers should of known they might get in an accident. Also that a hospital can’t sew your guts back in because your health insurance that you’ve been paying for years has decided against it.

It’s not socialistic to help someone who needs it. If you ever lose everything and your insurance company says “Too bad” and the government won’t help, I will personally send you a check with a few commas in the number.

16

There is not enough time or space on here to convince each other that our view is “right.” That email gets under some people’s skin, maybe because it is true and hits home with them. Our differences aside, we are here to discuss investing in real estate and in the end, we will be able to provide for ourselves and others as we so choose.

17

I don’t think you can compare a snow storm to what happened to new orleans. Melt snow for water…try that in N.O. where the water is full of sewage, dead animals, and a few crocodiles.

Snow weren’t in peoples homes so their furniture and belongings were safe.

People didn’t have to abandon their pets and weren’t forced to leave their homes to be herded like animals where there was dry ground.

I could go on and on, but if you think about it there is no comparison.

I was in south florida during hurricane wilma and it trashed broward county. Electricity was out for weeks. People ran out of gas waiting IN LINE for gas. Food in everyone’s fridge was about to rot so ppl took out their barbecues, made fire, whatever, and cooked their food before it went bad. Neighbors were INCREDIBLY nice, people who would never talk to you before. I noticed this in my neighborhood and my gf’s neighborhood. One time, during yard cleanup, some of our neighbors spent 2 hrs helping us pick up trash and rake, and one of them was over 70 yrs old. They volunteered. There was a spirit of cooperation I can’t describe, everywhere. The kids were outside kicking ball and were polite, probably cuz they couldn’t watch tv or play video games.

So that is rubbish that people in one area shouldn’t complain because they lived below sea level and they were whining for the government to fix everything. People in south florida had their roofs blown off, insurance companies dragged their feet to pay, roofers were overwhelmed, couldn’t respond even to most who had money.
NOTHING that bad happened on a wide scale in Colorado, so the comparisons are invalid. /end rant

18

but if you think about it…

That’s the problem! Too much generalizing and not enough thinking. There are terrorists who happen to be muslim, suddenly every muslim is evil. The first and largest terrorist organization in the US is a christian-based group called the KKK and the other related organizations. Why aren’t all christians evil? All terrorists are bad, regardless of religion. All looters and “milkers” are bad, regardless of where they live. It’s not fair to the many to be punished from the actions of the few.

19

You can’t compare the 2. This blizzard is an act of God. The New Orleans mess was an act of man. If you build a city below sea level between two bodies of water and try to protect it with dikes you get that mess that we call Katrina. A storm just as bad (Rita) hit a few miles further west just a few months later and was just a bad storm. New Orleans has always been a disaster waiting to happen. It is like building a city next to the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii. It is not a matter of IF your town will be distroyed it is WHEN.

20

“You can’t say ‘dikes’…you have to say ‘women in comfortable shoes’”…Airman Adrian Cronauer, Good Morning, Vietnam

Keith