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Ray's Letter to Marc
Explaining the Senate Report
Hi Marc,
Sally's hubby here. She reads all mail, but gets so much that we both have to work to answer it.
To learn if Y2K is really a problem, go to the US Senate Y2K committee report. You don't have to real all 160+ pages, just the 6 page executive summary. In fact, I will excerpt the summary here:
Selected excerpts from The Executive Summary of The United States Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem ,February 24, 1999:
"Committee research has concluded that the Y2K problem is very real and that Y2K risk management efforts must be increased to avert serious disruptions."
… "Senate hearings, interviews, and research have not produced convincing evidence that the Y2K problem is well in hand."
… "the U.S. should have started its Y2K preparations earlier" …
"Many organizations critical to Americans' safety and well-being are still not fully engaged in finding a solution."
"Most affected industries and organizations started Y2K remediation too late."
"As a result, many organizations must exercise "triage" -- focusing on what is critical to sustain the life of the enterprise as opposed to finding long-term solutions."
"National emergency and security planning for Y2K-related systems features is just beginning."
… "there is no national, strategic plan to assure that critical infrastructures will continue to function."
"Leadership at the highest levels is lacking."
… "the Committee believes that some disruptions will occur, and that in some cases Y2K disruptions may be significant."
<< End of Summary >>
You can find the whole report at www.senate.gov/~y2k/documents/report/index.html
However, the government (as if the government had one mind) wants to "avoid panic."
When you compare my excerpts with the actual executive summary, you might get a completely different feel. I will fabricate a typical statement to show a common sentence structure they use: we are in
a bad way, but we are especially worried about other countries.
Notice the usage of "but" throughout -- especially after a very powerful statement -- and how the word "but" redirects your attention away from the powerful statement. My
excerpts are simply their statements with the redirecting phrases removed. The report is powerful enough that they are not technically withholding information from the public.
I am amazed at the complicity of the press and how they are treating Y2K as a non-issue. The carnage from the tornadoes and Columbine pales in comparison to the potential of Y2K, yet look at the
coverage. Which is more important, hand-wringing or preparation?
Anyway, it is very difficult to judge the validity of anything you read (on the Internet or elsewhere) so I do think using the Senate report as a foundation is probably best.
Good luck,
Ray
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