The Government Of Emergency

The origins and development of the modern American emergency state From pandemic disease, to the disasters associated with global warming, to cyberattacks, today we face an increasing array of catastrophic threats. It is striking that, despite the diversity of these threats, experts and officials approach them in common terms: as future events that threaten to disrupt the vital, vulnerable systems upon which modern life depends. The Government of Emergency tells the story of how this now taken-for-granted way of understanding and managing emergencies arose. Amid the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War, an array of experts and officials working in obscure government offices developed a new understanding of the nation as a complex of vital, vulnerable systems. They invented technical and administrative devices to mitigate the nation’s vulnerability, and organized a distinctive form of emergency government that would make it possible to prepare for and manage potentially catastrophic events. Through these conceptual and technical inventions, Stephen Collier and Andrew Lakoff argue, vulnerability was defined as a particular kind of problem, one that continues to structure the approach of experts, officials, and policymakers to future emergencies.

Revealed within the pages of Disaster Government is the most detailed information ever made public regarding Continuity of Government programs. These are the Top Secret plans the U.S. federal government created to save itself in the event of a nuclear war or some other "national emergency." What is a national emergency? You'd be surprised. When one is declared--which occurs more often than one would believe--a whole slew of horrific legislation is made available to the President to enact. Some of this could do what you would hope is impossible, including: rationing of food, water, and energy; the confiscation of your personal vehicle (car, boat, or plane); the confiscation of your personal "electromagnetic device" (cell phone, ipod, computer, television, etc.); forcing you to work where and on what project the government deems necessary; the ability to control your wages; and much, much more. These dormant laws waiting to spring to life were put into place by Democrats and Republicans from both the Left and the Right "for your protection..".and theirs. Disaster Government delves into Presidential Executive Orders, martial law & the Posse Comitatus Act, FEMA and its history, USNORTHCOM, and the Presidential Emergency Action Documents that make much of this possible. Also covered is the odd world of the secret underground bases and relocation sites built across the country to protect our officials. Shockingly, hidden within these secret cities is an unelected shadow government ready to assume control should our elected officials be killed in a terrorist attack or nuclear war. The scary part is: It's all true.

This "how to" guide shows small to mid-sized local governments, whether in urban or regional settings, how to develop comprehensive emergency management plans with minimal expenditure of resources. Its modular, step-by-step approach also makes it an effective guide for non-experts and those interested in self-study. The book covers both preparedness planning and actual emergency management and includes these helpful features: Uses a modular approach to developing written plans, starting with the Preparedness Plan at the federal, provincial/state levels. At its core is the Emergency Management Plan, which is essentially the establishment and operation of the Emergency Operations Center that is central to any emergency. Instructions also cover other common plans: 1) Emergency Social Services 2) Emergency Public Information 3) Emergency Telecommunications 4) Evacuation 5) Hazard-Specific 6) Mutual Aid Agreements Takes novice emergency planners step-by-step through the four complete processes of mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery for natural and human-made disasters. Gives tips for a staff training matrix and for developing a timetable of graduated exercises to test the written plan. Includes checklists, summaries, plan outlines, glossary, appendices that list online resources, and suggestions for career and professional development.

Politicians and bureaucrats claim credit for the federal government's successes in preparing for and responding to disaster, and they are also blamed for failures outside of government's control. New interventions have created precedents and established organizations and administrative cultures that accumulated over time and produced a trend in which citizens, politicians, and bureaucrats expect the government to provide more security from more kinds of disasters. Despite the rhetoric, however, the federal government's increasingly bold claims and heightened public expectations are disproportionate to the ability of the federal government to prevent or reduce the damage caused by disaster.

Get state-of-the-art ideas and strategies for organizing and managing mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery at the local level and within the larger intergovernmental context Understand new standards for emergency management planning, organization, staffing, training, and emergency operations centers (EOCs) Build sustainable communities that will be resilient in the event of disaster Develop and collaborate with networks of public, private, and nonprofit entities Secure funding for local emergency management initiatives And much, much more!The only comprehensive resource and textbook for state-of-the-art emergency management for local government

A study of the structure, dynamics, and quality of Canadian emergency management.