[Kozak]

Bullshit. Prepared can mean as little as a 25 lb sack of rice ( about 4 bucks at Sam's club ) and a sack of beans, and 4 or 5 gallon jugs of water. Toss in a radio a flashlight and a couple of batteries to get fancy.

Are there people who can't get that together ? Sure, a few. And as a matter of fact I deal with them all the time in the ER. But the vast majority COULD have done some basic preparation, they just can't be bothered. I see them in the ER too. They are the ones who can't buy their kids tylenol, while they come in with a big sack full of Burger King. They can't get their prescription filled, but manage to buy their cigarettes and beer just fine. They need a cab ride home, but managed to get to the bar just fine. They live perpetually in a state of infancy, demanding someone else take responcibility for every one of their needs. And when the nanny state fails, they are conditioned to remain helpless. Spare me your asinine lecture.

[CBart95]

Speak that we may know you.

You can be our Poster Boy.

[usmom]

They can't get their prescription filled, but manage to buy their cigarettes and beer just fine.

As a pharmacist, I see this all the time. Most of the time, they come through the drive-thru in a NEW SUV demanding to get all their prescriptions filled early because they are going on VACATION! Vacation from what? Cashing that government check over and over must be a lot of work. Going to a doctor or ER at least once a week on someone else's dime must also be strenuous. I've had mothers refuse to pay a $1 co-pay for a $100 antibiotic for their sick child- saying right in front of the sick child that they will just wait until it gets REALLY bad and then they can go to the ER and get it taken care of for free (meanwhile talking on their new camera phone). Anyone who feels sorry for these people is very naive, and in fact, are the reason it has gotten to the state it is in today.

[hosepipe]

[ But the vast majority COULD have done some basic preparation, they just can't be bothered. I see them in the ER too. They are the ones who can't buy their kids tylenol, while they come in with a big sack full of Burger King. They can't get their prescription filled, but manage to buy their cigarettes and beer just fine. They need a cab ride home, but managed to get to the bar just fine. They live perpetually in a state of infancy, demanding someone else take responcibility for every one of their needs. And when the nanny state fails, they are conditioned to remain helpless. Spare me your asinine lecture. ]

Exactely..

[Milligan]

Aesop's old fable

The Ant and the Grasshopper


In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of working so hard?"

"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same."
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; "we have plenty of food right now."


But the Ant went on its way and continued its work.

When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing, every day, corn from the stores they had collected in the summer.

Then the Grasshopper knew:

It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.