Story not realistic as it does not confront issues of drug cartel roles or big gang activity, nor reactions of feral populations in the inner cities.
Meanwhile, where does all the food come from and how does it get there for the grocery stores which operate on JIT principles?
What role does starvation play:? What happens to the millions which need constant medical treatment? Where and how are all the bodies buried.
Who is manufacturing all the munitions?
Using nuclear weapons in the situation presented is just plain counter-productive.
What about all the anti-gun people, especially in California? With some many against guns, where do its troops come from?
And so on ...
All these scenarios and prophecies that rely on state boundary lines, Red and/or Blue, are nothing but nonsense.
Should hostilities break out within ConUS, the front lines will not be some arbitrary, political line of demarcation...it will be your front door.
It was a reply to a blog post essentially...not a novel.
To ask those questions and demand the answers in a blog post is a being a little unrealistic.
When you think about the fact it was a reply to a blog post it is actually very well done.
JIT does make production more vulnerable to supply problems. I never thought about the major problem that is caused during a major crisis.