E-Mail from GA State Rep. George Grindley Refers to Three Weeks of Power Outagesgreenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread |
I have received permission from Representative Grindley to post this letter, which he sent to me by e-mail four days after I spoke with him. I had originally phoned his office in response to a posting on the Yourdon forum, regarding his appearance on a radio talk show.I will include the first page of a letter to my family which expands upon his statements to me by phone, some of which were not repeated in the e-mail.
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---------- From: george grindley Sent: Sunday, March 07, 1999 12:47 AM To: kklewin@cycom.net Subject:Y2K is more serious than some might think
Dear Sylvia, As the chairman of the state of Georgias' Y2K taskforce for the State House, I have studied the possibilities and contingincies closely. I have had many conversations with National leaders such as Congressman Steven Horn, Newt Gingrich, Bob Barr, to name a few. There are facts that the Government doesn't want you to know. Steve Koskinen, the Nations Y2K czar, has instructed each state to prepare their contingency plans to include 18 cities without power for 3 weeks.
The Department of Defense is quite concerned about our power grid on that New Years Eve. The chances are good that there will be attempts made by outside sources to shut our grid down. This system was never encrypted, nor designed to keep experts out.
Sylvia, I must say here that God alone knows how bad or uneventful that evening will be, but we must way the risk of preparation with the risk of non preparation.
Please call me if I may be of assistance to you.
Yours in service,
George Grindley State Representative, District 35 Marietta, Georgia
-- Sylvia Klewin (kklewin@cycom.net), July 07, 1999
Formatting corrections:---------- From: george grindley
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 1999 12:47 AM
To: kklewin@cycom.net
Subject: Y2K is more serious than some might think
Dear Sylvia,
As the chairman of the state of Georgias' Y2K taskforce for the State House, I have studied the possibilities and contingincies closely. I have had many conversations with National leaders such as Congressman Steven Horn, Newt Gingrich, Bob Barr, to name a few. There are facts that the Government doesn't want you to know. Steve Koskinen, the Nations Y2K czar, has instructed each state to prepare their contingency plans to include 18 cities without power for 3 weeks.
The Department of Defense is quite concerned about our power grid on that New Years Eve. The chances are good that there will be attempts made by outside sources to shut our grid down. This system was never encrypted, nor designed to keep experts out.
Sylvia, I must say here that God alone knows how bad or uneventful that evening will be, but we must way the risk of preparation with the risk of non preparation.
Please call me if I may be of assistance to you.
Yours in service,
George Grindley
State Representative, District 35
Marietta, Georgia
-- Sylvia Klewin (kklewin@cycom.net), July 07, 1999.
Be sure to read this too
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0013JO
-- (press@assistant.----), July 07, 1999.
Steve Koskinen? The Y2K czar is named John Koskinen.......
-- _ (_@_._), July 07, 1999.
Dear friends and family members,I have been researching the year 2000 bug (Y2K), and I think there is reason for concern. Therefore, I would like to pass along some information I have found, and then you can decide how to prepare. This information is not widely known: due to the threat of bank runs, liability and litigation, the federal, financial and corporate sectors have falsified and repressed status reports. They are now resorting to triage, allowing some systems to fail, in order to focus on mission critical systems, because there is not enough time or personnel to fix everything.
Plausible scenarios have been downplayed, and the power grid issue has been completely ignored. However, in the opinions of many utilities experts, power outages are likely.
George Grindley is a State Representative in Georgia, and chairman of that states Y2K task force. He had commented on the expected scenarios the federal government is planning for. I called his office to ask about those comments. Incredibly, he answered the phone himself, and we spoke for about a half hour. I asked him to put his comments in writing, and he sent me an e-mail, which I have enclosed.
The statements which he made during our conversation were as follows: the government is not speaking openly about the true status of the power grid. They expect that short and long-term regional power outages are likely. The federal Y2K Czar, John Koskinen, is requiring states to prepare for a minimum three week power outage, while advising the public to prepare for only three days. In addition, plans exist for military intervention and martial law, to control possible rioting and looting.
He writes, I have had many conversations with National leaders such as Congressman Steven Horn, Newt Gingrich, Bob Barr, to name a few. There are facts that the Government doesnt want you to know. (There have been many Y2K-related closed-door sessions in Congress this past year. Steve Horn originated the report card grading system for the federal agencies.)
He stated that it is likely that the power grid will be pre-emptively broken-up and isolated to prevent collapse of large sections caused by cascading faults. By definition, this would cause many areas to lose all power, because they buy their power from other areas and do not generate their own. This is especially true of rural areas, which would therefore be in the most jeopardy. In addition, nuclear plants may need to be voluntarily shut down if they cannot prove conclusively that they are 100% remediated, due to the extra stringent regulations regarding nuclear power.
Representative Grindley also discussed the potential that the power grid may be sabotaged, and that the Department of Defense believes that on New Years Eve the chances are good that there will be attempts made by outside forces to shut our grid down.
Grindley himself recommended extensive preparations, and told me that he is storing a three month supply of food and water for his family.
Shortly after I spoke with him, many of his statements were confirmed by news reports regarding the National Guard, FEMA, and the Department of Defense, although these plans have not been widely publicized.
[Id like to make a comment on the e-mail from Representative Grindley. He made two errors within the message, possibly because of the fact that it was sent obviously late at night, indicated as 11:47 PM. One, he typed the wrong name for John Koskinen, referring to him as Steve Koskinen. Second, he misspelled the word weigh. If you wish to show this letter to any other friends, or your family members, they may point that out. However, I will vouch to you that this e-mail is real.]
-- Sylvia Klewin (kklewin@cycom.net), July 07, 1999.
The previous post was page one of my letter to my family.
-- Sylvia Klewin (kklewin@cycom.net), July 07, 1999.
Thanks for posting it Sylvia,And thanks for the "heads up" back in March when you e-mailed me privately about Grindley.
I do believe Robert Cook knows him.
Diane
-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), July 07, 1999.
Original post which refers to Rep. Grindley:3 weeks of power outages?
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000Z4n
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Additional posts which refer to Rep. Grindley's comments:
Stupid Reporters Take On Koskinen Forum
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0011JW
Utilities Say They're Y2K Ready, Though Blackouts Expected
http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0011fE
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Georgia House of Representatives, George Grindley, Jr.
http://www2.state.ga.us/Legis/1997_98/house/gash035.htm
-- Sylvia Klewin (kklewin@cycom.net), July 07, 1999.
This one needs confirmation before propagating. That "Steve" Koskinen stuff smells suspicious (almost Poole-like). Diane, are you confirming this?
-- Dave (aaa@aaa.com), July 07, 1999.
Dave,I'm confirming that back then, Sylvia contacted me about this.
I HAVE also seen other references to this "three-weeks" time-frame, being recommended behind-the-scenes in the Coalition 2000 e-listservs. (Good group).
As I recall, Robert also is in connect with Grindley.
I'll send him this thread URL for comment.
Diane
-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), July 07, 1999.
Sylvia - Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), July 07, 1999.
The three week scenario from the mouth of JK was also reported by the US Information Service (a .gov site) as part of a transcript of John K speaking to Asian leadership in Singapore this last winter.
-- ..- (dit@dot.dash), July 07, 1999.
And now, a moment of silence from our pollyanna friends...
-- a (a@a.a), July 07, 1999.
You know, I have to wonder if this 'three weeks' isn't what they are PLANNING TO MAKE HAPPEN around the end of the year.Think about it, if they have to break up the grid to prevent a total collapse then it will take at least a few days to break it up, a week or so to see which systems are failing, and another week or two to put back together whatever is still working. Sounds like three weeks (at the inside) is inevitable to me...
-TECH32-
-- TECH32 (TECH32@NOMAIL.COM), July 07, 1999.
And back then, BTW, I remember the "Steve" Koskinen error too. That's still consistent.(Eight months ago I couldn't even spell the K-guy's last name let alone, remember his first.)
Sent an "e" to Robert. Think he was on that radio show with Grindley... if fuzzy memory serves.
Diane
-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), July 07, 1999.
Sylvia, thank you very, very much.Mike ===================================================================
-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), July 07, 1999.
Just a thought......Shouldn't contingency plans outline worst case scenarios?
"...has instructed each state to prepare their contingency plans to include 18 cities without power for 3 weeks..."
Just because you plan for 3 weeks without power doesn't actually mean that it will come to pass. I think some of you are getting "could/might" and "will" mixed up.
-- Johnny Canuck (j_canuck@hotmail.com), July 07, 1999.
You're absolutely right, but I think the tone of Rep. Grindley's communications with Sylvia indicates he believes there is reason for concern for the longer scenario.
-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), July 07, 1999.
If true, why the heck 18 cities? 18 cities? Good heavens, I don't believe some of the less populated states HAVE 18 of what could be considered "cities." That's 18 cities in EVERY state?Weird, weird figure.
-- confused (it's@so.confusing), July 07, 1999.
Sylvia, one question, why are you posting this now?
-- Barb (awaltrip@telepath.com), July 07, 1999.
I realize that my credibility may be questioned. I have never before posted here under my real name and e-mail address, and therefore you may not have reason to trust this, not being familiar with my views. However, I have done so now in order to hopefully add to said credibility.I had forwarded Rep. Grindley's e-mail to Diane in March, seeking her opinion and guidance. The reason I have not posted it earlier is because I had promised Rep. Grindley that I would not, when speaking to him by phone. He did not initially ask that of me, but I was hoping that would encourage him to put his statements into writing.
As you know, he is breaking with federal policy to make such statements, other than the official advice to prepare for only a "two to three day winter storm." He apparently does not fear repercussions, since his original statements were made on a radio talk show he appeared on in his home state.
I myself have appeared on a radio talk show, during which I referenced Mr. Grindley's letter, without giving his name. At that time I had not yet obtained his permission to disseminate this information. The talk show host on WLS in Chicago stated that she would likely attempt to obtain Mr. Grindley as a guest on the program, but that she also would not release his name prior to confirmation with him. In the same way, I will not give her name here because she has not granted me permission to do so, but there is at least one Yourdon forum participant who heard that broadcast. I did not use my real name on the broadcast either, due to a case of extreme anxiety prior to the program; the host had allowed me to use my internet name.
When I forwarded Rep. Grindley's e-mail to Diane, it must have included his personal e-mail address, which I have deleted from the above posting. It was apparently not sent from a government site, so again, I will not release it here, but perhaps Diane knows of a way to confirm it, or even to e-mail him herself for confirmation of this.
I seemed to me that this was a small bombshell, which is why I had agonized over what to do with it. Mr. Grindley himself has released me from my ethical dilemma by allowing me to distribute this letter. I specifically asked him if I could post it on this internet discussion group.
I am posting it here so that you may use it to convince others to prepare.
Sylvia
-- Sylvia Klewin (kklewin@cycom.net), July 07, 1999.
Uh, Barb....? Did you confuse this forum with the Buying Beanie Babies over the Internet: Get rich at intersections! forum?
-- Lisa (lisa@work.now), July 07, 1999.
Uh, Lisa, is this getting a little too real for comfort?
-- Barb (awaltrip@telepath.com), July 07, 1999.
Uh, yeah, Barb, it is.
-- Lisa (counselor@troi.empath_enterprise), July 07, 1999.
Grindley 's web page (with personal email address)
-- - (-@-.-), July 07, 1999.
He used a slightly different address when writing to me.
-- Sylvia Klewin (kklewin@cycom.net), July 07, 1999.
Suddenly Rep. Grindley has a personal email address!! My!My! Can pigs fly or what!
-- Barb (awaltrip@telepath.com), July 07, 1999.
Sylvia,Thank you for sharing that information with us. It is so hard to know what to believe, who to believe or how much to believe (I don't mean you, but y2k info in general). We are all searching for "proof", but in the end there is none until it jumps up and bites us in the arss. He who hesitates looses.
Anyway, I for one take what Sylvia has told us as the truth. Too easy to check and disprove. Having said that, I take the three week warning as a serious warning of what we are in for. I don't understand why so many people in this country think we (the US of A) are immune to hard times, or such serious major problems as this. It has happened in the past and it will happen again. That's just a fact of life. I am not a doomer, but I am very worried about this. I have four very beautiful and very young grandchildren living in PA, and don't want to see anything "anything" happen that will effect or harm them in any way.
Here is Rep. Grindley's website, mailing address and email address.
George H. Grindley Jr.
P.O. Box 747
Marietta, GA 30061
Phone (770) 425-3999
Capitol (404) 656-0265
Email address.
In case the link does not work his email addy is Grindley@mindspring.com
-- flb (fben4077@yahoo.com), July 07, 1999.
"Sylvia, I must say here that God alone knows how bad or uneventful that evening will be, but we must way the risk of preparation with the risk of non preparation."I trust the Representative meant "weigh" instead of way. Between that and "Steve" Koskinen it seems a little shaky, but at least sincere. I'll be interested to see what Diane finds out. Sylvia, I'm not doubting YOU. It's just interesting that he wrote to you from a "personal" computer instead of from "work."
I guess it's hard not to be a little skeptical after all we've seen on this forum.
-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), July 07, 1999.
Hi Sylvia, you went public! A Y2K warrior has come out of the turtle shell. Congratulations and welcome ;^)Thanks for getting permission from Rep Grindley. We know you have been thinking about this and seeking advice and confirmation for a long time.
Folks, Sylvia is real, honest, and has tortured herself with ethics for months before posting this. We have that eMail too, and she's been corresponding with us. If everybody had the integrity of verification before posting, Y2K wouldn't be such a quagmire of self-interested lies, fudges, muddles, and corruption.
The computer code is ticking away, uncaring of the webs man has deceitfully wrought. Time Will Tell
xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xx
-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), July 07, 1999.
Suddenly Rep. Grindley has a personal email address!! My!My! Can pigs fly or what!-- Barb (awaltrip@telepath.com), July 07, 1999.
Wow...haven't seen Barb so worked up since she went into overdrive defending al-d...
-- RUOK (RUOK@yesiam.com), July 07, 1999.
Naw, you've got it all wrong RUOK. LOL about this whole thread. I think it's a BIG FAT ONE!
-- Barb (awaltrip@telepath.com), July 07, 1999.
Go read the original discussion Barb, uh, Barbara, as Sylvia suggested...3 weeks of power outages? (Where Robert Cook weighs in).
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id= 000Z4nAnd... Stupid Reporters Take On Koskinen Forum
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id= 0011JWAnd... Utilities Say They're Y2K Ready, Though Blackouts Expected
http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id= 0011fEOr not. Your choice.
To find that Coalition 2000 reference Id have to wade through about 500 e-mails, and I aint got that kind of time. I remember it though. Perhaps Critt can recall it.
Diane
Give me a minute Sylvia and I'll try for your old "e." Should be easier to find.
-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), July 07, 1999.
Sylvia,I slap--and I do mean SLAP--older e-mail in a word-processing file so I can use the search capability. (Gotta do that with the Coalition 2000 stuff).
Heres the Grindley e-mail you sent me... with E address.
Diane
>From: george grindley[SMTP:grindley@mindspring.com]
>Sent: Saturday, March 06, 1999 11:47 PM
>To: kklewin@cycom.net
>Subject: Y2K is more serious than some might think
>
>Dear Sylvia,
>
>As the chairman of the state of Georgias' Y2K taskforce for the State
>House, I have studied the possibilities and contingincies closely. I
>have had many conversations with National leaders such as Congressman
>Steven Horn, Newt Gingrich, Bob Barr, to name a few. There are facts
>that the Government doesn't want you to know. Steve Koskinen, the
>Nations Y2K czar, has instructed each state to prepare their
>contingency plans to include 18 cities without power for 3 weeks.
>
>The Department of Defense is quite concerned about our power grid on
>that New Years Eve. The chances are good that there will be attempts
>made by outside sources to shut our grid down. This system was never
>encrypted, nor designed to keep experts out.
>
>Sylvia, I must say here that God alone knows how bad or uneventful
>that evening will be, but we must way the risk of preparation with the
>risk of non preparation.
>
>Please call me if I may be of assistance to you.
>
>Yours in service,
>
>George Grindley
>State Representative, District 35
>Marietta, Georgia
-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), July 07, 1999.
Hi Diane,There is a discrepancy in the date and time sent, which seems bizarre. How could I send it to you before I even received it?
This must be explainable by some technical glitch.
When I look at the time indicated by my "Inbox" it says 3/7/99 12:41 AM, but on the e-mail itself, it indicates 12:47 AM.
-- Sylvia Klewin (kklewin@cycom.net), July 07, 1999.
There is NO doubt that this is true. The conversation between Ko-skin- em and the gentleman from GA. took place along time ago, early in the spring and was reported then.
-- FLAME AWAY (BLehman202@aol.com), July 07, 1999.
Barb: You find this letter implausible? Why? Have you not been reading the Milne and Hamasaki data I've reposted? Does the term "locomotive sized generators" ring a bell? They usually don't bring those out for three day snowstorms, BTW.
-- a (a@a.a), July 07, 1999.
Sylvia,I want to thank you for having the courage to post this information. You've been able to disclose your sources. I wish I could disclose my sources also, but I do not have their permission and the repercussions would most likely be rather severe. I too have heard the same material discussed from 3 different sources.
1. The head of a Y2K remediation team for a major US oil refinery in the midwest. This person is a relative of mine. He and his company representatives were briefed by someone from Koskinen's office back in late January to EXPECT a 3 day power outage. A few weeks later there was another follow-up briefing with a different representative who explained that there was a change in expectations and that the refinery should EXPECT and prepare for a 3 week outage. Also to expect repeated short term duration power blackouts and brownouts for at least 6 months into the year 2000.
#2. A local government planner in the state of Washington was part of a regional Pacific Northwest briefing back in either January or February was told to expect 3 weeks without power. This source understood that this was a reference to the entire national grid going down. He had been under the impression from local utilities that they were all prepared and expected no problems, but the Federal official conducting the briefing said that the utilities while ahead of most were still being very optimistic and that the Federal government planners were still expecting a 3 week outage across the board. It sounds like they're expecting a 3 week blackout but "perhaps" it is just contingency planning...based on this source only. [My oil source is heard it all and is convinced that the Feds believe this will happen at least for his location. He was not for certain about the national grid status from the Fed's briefing]
3. Another source is in the Food Production business in the Pacific Northwest. He also attended a regional briefing in which his company was brought in to brief attendees about the status of food supply for the region. He also heard from a federal official who spoke at the meeting indicating again ... 3 weeks ... "expecting 3 weeks nationaly" and that contingencies for local and state government planning should immediately commence towards provisioning for such an event. Also, this source was told that in their region blackouts and brownouts would be likely for 3 to 6 months thereafter...or until about July 1. He also indicated that a hot summer might prolong interruptions of service. Interruptions would be expected to be between a few minutes to a day or more possible at times.
My Electric Utility sources-- a couple had heard rumors of this but no first hand status from any federal official. My sources that do venture to guess believe their own companies systems may well be more seriously affected than just 3 weeks, but certainly more than the initial 3 days that had been kicked around in the media.
So Sylvia, I can tell you that I too have been hearing this from other reliable sources. There is enough smoke in this to believe that we do indeed have a fire here in this story. Thanks again for posting.
-- R.C. (racambab@mailcity.com), July 08, 1999.
Thanks ever so much Sylvia. As this crisis draws nearer, we will begin to see more and more Patriots standing tall and speaking out. You have just added your name to the list!Barb...trying hitting your nose against the wall. It always works for me when my arm dislocates from my shoulder!
-- Will continue (farming@home.com), July 08, 1999.
Would just like to reiterate that there are many items indicated in my "letter to family" regarding statements made by Rep. Grindley which he did not include in his e-mail.I hope that I have paraphrased him accurately. I was taking notes during our conversation and wrote them out fully after I hung up.
However, there is no mistake regarding the fact that he said he has a *three month* supply of food and water for his family.
-- Sylvia (kklewin@cycom.net), July 08, 1999.
Thanks Sylvia. I just talked with Rep. Grindley also. Nice guy. He is concerned, as you note.One correction: he says now that the 3 week figure did not come from Koskinen himself, but from another person on a large conference call that Koskinen participated in.
-- Rick Stahlhut (stahlhut@net-link.net), July 08, 1999.
Am I the only idiot on the forum who can nearly extrapolate the US going Infomagic with three weeks' widespread outages??How on earth can ANY fed employee tell me that I may be without power for three weeks, and not expect me to "10"-freak?
If three weeks' outages doesn't even approach realism, I wish they'd quit mentioning it. Or be very, very specific as to where the outages are anticipated to occur.
-- Lisa (lisa@work.now), July 08, 1999.
"locally" i.e. in everybody's location
-- h (h@h.h), July 08, 1999.
If you care to: check out "Sylvia's" first reference to Grindley's website. Eyeball it yourself, it's in Sylvia's post under answers. http:/www2.state.ga.us/Legis/1997_98/house/gash035.htm Grindley's website has no email listed there. Suddenly, another website appears, "linked"for all to peruse and voila there is an email address on this website. If you care to observe, in "Diane's" response back to Sylvia while Diane is in the process of searching for Sylvia's original"e", note the date of this ORIGINAL(?) email that Sylvia sent to Diane back in March. It's different from the initial posting that Sylvia made. First one was a Sunday March 07. The one in "Diane's" copy when she found the original "e" states the date as a Saturday March 6, if I remember correctly. Anyway, Sylvia then explains that away in her following post as a "computer glitch." I've made my own conclusions like everyone else. It's still a great country where we can enjoy freedom of speech and thought if we are care to do so or NOT. To each their own!
-- Barb (awaltrip@telepath.com), July 08, 1999.
Correction: "technical glitch" was what Sylvia typed in her following post not "computer glitch."
-- Barb (awaltrip@telepath.com), July 08, 1999.
I expect soon we'll have more proof, one way or another.
-- Barb (awaltrip@telepath.com), July 08, 1999.