What a fine article! I respect all of the medical professions as well, especially since having had stage 4 bladder cancer and actually achieving remission when it wasn’t even in the cards for me. Glad to know this, restacked and sent on to many others! Thank you Jack, for introducing things which might induce great fear in us, but once we get the Jack Facts as I like to say, the fea4 is squashed leaving courage enabled to rise up. Kudos my friend and mentor!
Elizabeth…“Jack Facts squashing the fear” is a better summary of the mission than anything I’ve written myself…and it’s exactly why I started Bedrock.
Because there are two failure modes here…and BOTH of them end the SAME way.
Head in the sand…and you get blindsided.
Head ALL the way in the firehose….with no emotional management…and you burn out in six weeks and go quiet…which looks different…but functions IDENTICALLY.
The whole point of building the floor…first…was so you could look at material like this…and stay standing.
Informed AND sane. Neither one works…without the OTHER.
Thank you for restacking it and sending it on. That’s the part that actually MOVES the work.
-Jack
P.S. I will be writing more about this very soon, and I think it will answer some questions you may have had for years now.
I am sitting in what we fondly call The Dog Room. It was where our boys always sat while they surveyed their kingdom and waited for us to come home each day. We had them before we had smart phones, so I don't have a lot of photos of them. But they are still with me here, and maybe that's why I came here to read this post. Dogs have the purest of hearts. I miss them more than I can say, but I am glad they are no longer here and subject to whatever comes on Day 7. #HoldingFast for now.
Roberta...The Dog Room. Of COURSE that's where you went to read it.
That last line is the one I'll be carrying around; glad they're not here for whatever comes on Day 7.
There's a particular grief in loving something that had NO idea any of this existed...and...a particular mercy in it too. They surveyed their kingdom. That was the entire WORLD... as far as they were concerned...and...it was enough.
Few photos...and still with you anyway. That's how it works with the good ones. The camera roll was NEVER where they lived.
Thank you for reading it in that room. Keep #HoldingFast...and give the kingdom a look around for them today!
Jack, I’m a little older than you. In the 1950s, the hydrogen bomb that the Soviets developed was the big scare. I can remember in grammar school Oakland, California. We had individual wooden desk. We were required to do these drills in case of a hydrogen bomb. I wasn’t a stupid child. I know exactly what a hydrogen bomb could do. So getting under that desk, I said this is pointless. Just gonna go poof. Now, after preparing for Covid and having things ready and being evacuated twice for a while fires, I’m an old man. I almost died earlier this year and I was OK with it. After I started to feeling better, my wife said “so what made you decide to live“ and I told her “my body“. I’m sick with cancer another comorbidities. In two months I’ll be 76. The university of California San Francisco is where I get most of my treatment. They’re trying to help me to eat more gain some more weight back and I’m trying to build back muscle but at my age and the medication I’m on that ain’t an easy thing.
My wife doesn’t wanna get more foods for the garage. I’m locked and loaded upstairs with a sawed off shotgun, a regular shotgun and revolvers. The house is tripped so downstairs anybody tries to get in the alarm goes off. That’s it for me. If I get hit by one of these pathogens, I’m done because my lungs are fucking shot anyway. I appreciate the information. I just don’t think it’s applicable in my case. I’ll take myself out if I have to.
George...duck and cover in an Oakland classroom...and you'd already worked out it was theater.
That's a hell of an education to get at eight years old...and it explains a lot about how you read everything...SINCE.
"My body decided" is the most accurate answer anyone has given me about survival. Not resolve... not attitude...something older than EITHER...that kept going while you were fine either way. I'm glad it did!
The last line is the one I want to come back to...and I hope you'll let me. Not to argue with you about the shotguns or the alarm...you've thought about the practical side more than most people ever will.
BUT...because of what you just described: cancer...comorbidities...an appetite you're fighting to rebuild...medication working against the muscle you're trying to put back on. That's an enormous load...and carrying it...while planning your own exit...is a heavier thing than the plan makes it sound.
You've got a team at UCSF. Please tell them about that part, too. NOT the preparedness... the "I'll take myself out if I have to." They can help with what's underneath it...and they'd want to know. If you'd rather talk to someone outside the clinic first...988 is there any hour...by call or text.
You've been paying attention since 1950-something. I'd like you to keep doing it a while longer; we need you here.
Thanks Jack. I know what you’re thinking about. I’ve already made it clearer with the university. I’m not gonna do chemotherapy. Aaron, California if you get two doctors to sign off and you have less than six months to live, you can get a cocktail in your life. That’s my plan unless things change some other way. What I mean by that is if I have a stroke and I have no control over that but I do have a a pink do not resuscitate order with the doctors. I don’t wanna have them pounding on my chest. You’re doing anything else after everything I’ve gone through. We all have issues and problems. Best life. Thanks for your kind words.
I will be 75 the end of this month sos I am very aware of how I also felt the stupidity of getting under the wooden desk. I knew it was not going to save anyone. I am sorry that your health is getting you. I worked as a HHC RN for 30 years and visited all types of people with all kinds of conditions. I know the treatments for cancer can be grueling and trying to gain weight is frustrating. My other half will be 81 in October. He has multiple medical issues and has lost weight . He has gained some of it back. His biggest issue is long covid. It takes all your energy and strength. He has lost taste and smell and it varies on what he can taste as it changes periodically . There is a doctor on sbstack that writes about it. She recently discovered that she can only do one short outing per day or she is wiped out for 3 days. I have observed this with my spouse. The sad part is we have a HHS division with fools running it and no interest in looking into how to help these people. It reminds me of the difference when AIDS was discovered . The science and health people spent 8 years before they were able to come up with a treatment that helped the patients. There are not any people in the US that are doing anything to try and find some treatment. Sorry for the rant but there are times when I just get frustrated. I hope you are able to regain some of your weight and regain some strength. Don't push too hard .It will probably make you weaker if you push too hard. Know your limits.
Thank you so much. I’m sorry about your husband. I’ve met people with long Covid and it’s not easy. I was just responding to Jack and saying that everybody has something. I was fortunate in that I get diagnosed early and I’ve had this chance for 32 years and still fighting. The medicine is I think brought on some of the other things I’ve got. But yes, that whole game of getting onto those wooden desk back in the old schoolhouse a joke.
October 5 is my birthday. Basically two months from today. If I make it great if I don’t fine every night, I’d put a pillow over my head and I might not wake up. Take care of yourself it’s a long road.
We all must just take one day at a time and make the best of the day.Some days are harder.If I can get outside and "touch grass" and listen to the birds. watch the squirrel tease the dogs and the dogs looking for lizards, that is a good day. I like being outside more than inside anyway. Happy upcoming Birthday George.My spouse will be 81 on October 16
I had a couple of weapons. My grandfather gave me. When was the 22 Luger Long barrel. When our cabin got broken into an Oregon it was stolen. But the worst part is they burn the cabin.
I still have the 20 gauge shotgun. My grandfather gave me it’s gotta be 120 yrs old.
My sawed off is a 12 gauge pump. With one in the chamber, there’s six shots. Here at home I don’t keep one in the chamber. They’ll hear me. The shell into the breach. I got a couple of revolvers one is a 38 Smith & Wesson with hollow points the other one’s a belly revolver fit, right hand. It’s good for short range five shot 22 long rifle Hollow point. It’s like a Derringer
My mind is doing back flips trying to remember what I saw, heard, read, or simply dreamt some years ago. Fact or fiction or just wishful thinking. An underground system to house those people necessary for re-establishing systems of civilization, not simply government. A list kept current of those who would be given forewarning so they could be saved. The great minds. Scientists. Various disciplines. Not sure where it is, who keeps the list. But this seems that the powers that be think their own skins are worth saving regardless of their value to society. Fuck society. Exactly how long would the bunker that donnie is building preserve life?
About thirty years ago I wrote down my own dream but it was about a religious cult that decided that the world should die and only God's chosen ones should survive underground for as long as it took. Obvious fiction. I started writing, then typing, and typed all but steadily for weeks. I doubt I will ever get to publish it. But Jack Hopkins' newsletter for August 26, 2026, is eerily familiar in several respects.
This is interesting Jack. I am guessing this is why drumpf is pushing to have his Bunker done quickly. We are all going to have to wait and see as we also are hoping he and his minions will be gone sooner than later.
Everyone remembers Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, and its ensuing destruction. What people don’t remember is Hurricane Rita that came the following month and its aftermath.
After people in the Houston metropolitan area saw the devastation of Katrina and learned Rita was heading their way, there was a mass panic and everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, tried to evacuate the city. Freeways were turned into parking lots. Afterwards, future plans included turning the opposite sides of freeways into contra flow lanes.
But here’s the real aftermath: Many big cities saw what happened in Houston and did their own analysis of their cities. The results came in and they all had the same horrifying conclusion: If there was a major event, there was no way to evacuate a major city in a timely manner. There were some things that could be done for mitigation, but they could not solve the problem.
Todd…not tangential; that’s the missing piece of the article!
Because…Rita proves something the storm did NOT cause: the gridlock came from THE NEWS OF KATRINA.
Millions of rational…individual decisions…made simultaneously…producing a catastrophic COLLECTIVE one…BEFORE the hurricane even arrived.
SAME mechanism as the antibiotic stampede I described. DIFFERENT trigger.
Your last point belongs in EVERY damn emergency plan in the country.
The cities studied it…and the answer was IT CAN’T BE DONE; mitigated…not solved. Which means…if leaving isn’t really available in a major event…the water in the closet and the cash in the drawer aren’t a supplement to the evacuation plan. They ARE the plan.
Very sobering article…. especially the part where the powers that be aren’t planning for us… did they even consider doing that??
The nuclear thing doesn’t bother me. We’d either be vaporized or radiation poisoning would likely take us out…. and… there’s really nothing we can do about it. The bio thing is waaay different. The labs aren’t tracked…? Yikes. And…. can’t control this scenario, either.
I have way more years behind me than in front of me so if it gets ugly….. well, there ARE worse things than exiting stage left. I haven’t yet made a plan for the pets in the event of my demise so that’s weighs a bit heavier than I like….. so there’s a gap/assignment for me.
I’m working on the preparedness piece….. am actually considering a whole house generator. The weather is getting more and more unpredictable and outages when the predicted high temp is 0-5 F are not my idea of fun….. I guess the good news is that preparing for a garden variety outage is pretty lighthearted compared to considering ones demise due to biological warfare (or accidental release)!
Will definitely be checking out the suggested reading and sitting with it. Thanks Jack.
I have a backup generator, but for long term use, without the ability to replace the fuels, mine is gas or propane, not any better than a fireplace...but in reading your post, I thought about a solar backup. The sun won't actually quit working even in nuclear winter, right? My mind then did another what if, and I searched for solar and EMPs. The weapon of choice for invaders who don't want to destroy the physical things like buildings.
I have lived a long full life. The prospect of doing enormous amounts of work and research all to continue on with however many people are left? I think I’m ready at that point to move into the next dimension lol
Melinda...ha...there's a clarity in that which younger people spend decades trying to reach. A long full life...EARNS you the right to decline the sequel!
And...honestly, the "next dimension" crowd...in that situation...may be making the smarter call.
The devolution planners are betting EVERYTHING on rebuilding an institution. (You won't want to miss my follow-up article on this) You're pointing out that a rebuilt institution STILL needs people...who WANT to live in it...and that's not a question ANY of their documents address.
Meanwhile, though...the water...the batteries...the cash. Because the FAR more likely scenario isn't Day 7. It's a FOUR-DAY outage in February...and you being the one on your street who's FINE.
It seems probable that those with the necessary resources (Billionaires) have already made provisions to be on a survivors list. That sounds a bit conspiratorial but wouldn't you if you had the billions?
Gary...not conspiratorial...just two different things worth keeping apart.
The bunkers are DOCUMENTED. New Zealand compounds...Hawaii builds...converted missile silos. Nobody's hiding it; there are magazine features. Wealthy people buying private continuity for themselves is ABSOLUTELY a market... and markets are highly visible.
The federal roster is a different animal. It's built around FUNCTION; who can legally exercise the powers of an office...who can sign...who can command.
A billionaire...doesn't solve that problem no matter WHAT he pays...because you can't purchase constitutional authority. What money buys...is a private HOLE in the ground...not a seat in the reconstituted government.
And...would I, with the billions? Probably.
I'd also notice what Jacobsen's host caught: come out of the bunker and govern WHAT, exactly.
The skills that generate a FORTUNE...and the skills that survive the AFTERMATH... are NOT the same skill set...and the second list...is a hell of a lot shorter.
The gap between those two lists...is the whole dark joke of the genre.
Teri...yep...Thiel bought a $12 million mansion in Buenos Aires...enrolled his children in local schools...and met with Milei and other officials.
He also purchased land in neighboring Uruguay...which...some observers have speculated could include a shelter; though the Times didn't confirm that part.
The stated motivations were a California ballot measure taxing billionaires...plus concerns about nuclear war and AI risk. Most outlets describe the move as "temporary." He already held New Zealand citizenship since 2011 and a 477-acre former sheep station there.
So no...not a coincidence...and...he sure as hell isn't not alone.
One tech entrepreneur in his circle put it plainly: the moment China takes Taiwan or Russia takes Lithuania...he's in BUENOS AIRES. A "Plan B for civilization"...as he called it. Which is the TELL...and it's the same one from the article.
A second passport...and a house in the Southern Hemisphere is a personal continuity plan. It buys you distance from the blast. It does NOT buy a country to come back to.
I am waiting for the rest to depart like he has. I am sure that there are others that have been doing the same. The fools sucking up to drumpf don't have the where with all to do this kind of planning. And we know drumpf does not have the mental capacity to make those kinds of plans. ZEv has been doing some deep diving into the whole epstein, russia russia period and the folks surrounding all of this. I was listeningg to Lev Parnes and Zev on zee's podcast from a couple days ago and it ties the world involvement to the drumpf losers that have been doing the mediating with Israel and how BiBI and the Russia and the modeling agency go back a long way plus the different banks that have laundered money for Drumpf, not just Capital one. This was posted after the lawsuit that Melania filed against Zev. His investigating appears very legit. I usually don't listen to him. His work parallels Alisa's work.
Umm. . I’mma trust you (again) on this and not read anything else about it tonight. I literally don’t have a closet and my bed is a mattress on the floor in my loft so H2O can’t be stored out of sight. Glad I began the great Trash, REARRANGE, DONATE project when I did. Medication/wound care/water purification/power were first on the list to deal with. Working on it more mindfully, no small thanks to you. #HoldFast
I went back to school to finish my BS in nursing in the early 80's. That was shortly after small pox had been eradicated. What an impressive effort that was. But, I digress, after its eradication and, since it only passes from person to person, the question arose what should be done with the specimens in labs all over the world. There were 2 views, destroy it all, or keep some of it safely tucked away in case it was needed for some unknown future research. At that point door #2 had been chosen and it is probably at CDC today. Just think RFK Jr. may have control of smallpox. Sweet dreams.
There is indeed smallpox stored at the CDC, and also in Moscow. What worries me, though, isn’t those stocks (which are in highly secured storage in known locations). We can be fairly confident that there are samples of smallpox out there in smaller laboratories that nobody knows about, in places that are either weakly secured or not secured at all. We know this because such a find was made in 2014 (and the virus in that case was still viable!).
Worse, the genome of smallpox has been completely sequenced, so a bad actor would not even have to have a supply at hand to re-create the virus, just the ability to create long stretches of nucleic acids. Inject the recreated sequence into a cell, and you will have plenty of virus in a short time!
Sobering. It strikes me that this kind of planning depends on qualified, dependable people to implement it. How many of those people have been dismissed or chased away in the past year and a half? Looking at the raging incompetence of Trump 2.0, I'm not sure the planning is going to help. We need to hope that there are enough people left who understand, and can do their jobs. I sure wish I felt better about that.
I dunno, I may prefer vague dread. But this is all real and all true. The absolute danger is an easily (these days) manufactured bioweapon. I thought initially COVID was it but truly it was just transferred from the Chinese bats where that stuff festers. For an absolutely spot on depiction of BSL labs and what those levels (should) mean when applied, watch the otherwise pathetic Dustin Hoffman movie “Outbreak”
I read a book about how the Government attempted to do a live drill with the members on the lists.
(Searching my Kindle list and haven’t found it)
They discovered:
1. The traffic in the DC metro area would deter fast conveyance to the assigned bunkers.
2. The group jaunt train to Greenbriar would not make it on time because most of the ones to be on it would be late.
(Greenbriar has been mothballed and now is open for tours)
3. Most of the members would want to go home and pick up the kids, spouse, mistress.
4. After about 3 days the dwellers start to get on each others nerves.
5. After about a week even though there is air filtration, the smell of body oder would start to permeate.
6. Chemical toilets would start to fill and add to the aroma.
It goes on to describe the fact that there is only so much food stored. If the bunker is not full it would extend the rations but depending on how long the biological takes to run it’s course it’s only a matter of time till the run out of food and potable water.
After the drill, they more or less shelved the whole idea. At least nuclear wise.
The bunkers would not be able to sustain the nuclear fall out, nuclear winter and radioactive half life pollution.
Maybe that is what led to the “shadow” set up.
Less people. With specific duties….
But what makes this scary is whom would tRump pick to restart this whole thing.
What a fine article! I respect all of the medical professions as well, especially since having had stage 4 bladder cancer and actually achieving remission when it wasn’t even in the cards for me. Glad to know this, restacked and sent on to many others! Thank you Jack, for introducing things which might induce great fear in us, but once we get the Jack Facts as I like to say, the fea4 is squashed leaving courage enabled to rise up. Kudos my friend and mentor!
Elizabeth…“Jack Facts squashing the fear” is a better summary of the mission than anything I’ve written myself…and it’s exactly why I started Bedrock.
Because there are two failure modes here…and BOTH of them end the SAME way.
Head in the sand…and you get blindsided.
Head ALL the way in the firehose….with no emotional management…and you burn out in six weeks and go quiet…which looks different…but functions IDENTICALLY.
The whole point of building the floor…first…was so you could look at material like this…and stay standing.
Informed AND sane. Neither one works…without the OTHER.
Thank you for restacking it and sending it on. That’s the part that actually MOVES the work.
-Jack
P.S. I will be writing more about this very soon, and I think it will answer some questions you may have had for years now.
I am sitting in what we fondly call The Dog Room. It was where our boys always sat while they surveyed their kingdom and waited for us to come home each day. We had them before we had smart phones, so I don't have a lot of photos of them. But they are still with me here, and maybe that's why I came here to read this post. Dogs have the purest of hearts. I miss them more than I can say, but I am glad they are no longer here and subject to whatever comes on Day 7. #HoldingFast for now.
Roberta...The Dog Room. Of COURSE that's where you went to read it.
That last line is the one I'll be carrying around; glad they're not here for whatever comes on Day 7.
There's a particular grief in loving something that had NO idea any of this existed...and...a particular mercy in it too. They surveyed their kingdom. That was the entire WORLD... as far as they were concerned...and...it was enough.
Few photos...and still with you anyway. That's how it works with the good ones. The camera roll was NEVER where they lived.
Thank you for reading it in that room. Keep #HoldingFast...and give the kingdom a look around for them today!
-Jack
Oh Jack, thank you for this. Some days, it just feels heavier, doesn't it?
Take care, and thank you for reading my comment and responding. Means a lot.
Well done, Jack!
E. Jean...thank you!
-Jack
Jack, I’m a little older than you. In the 1950s, the hydrogen bomb that the Soviets developed was the big scare. I can remember in grammar school Oakland, California. We had individual wooden desk. We were required to do these drills in case of a hydrogen bomb. I wasn’t a stupid child. I know exactly what a hydrogen bomb could do. So getting under that desk, I said this is pointless. Just gonna go poof. Now, after preparing for Covid and having things ready and being evacuated twice for a while fires, I’m an old man. I almost died earlier this year and I was OK with it. After I started to feeling better, my wife said “so what made you decide to live“ and I told her “my body“. I’m sick with cancer another comorbidities. In two months I’ll be 76. The university of California San Francisco is where I get most of my treatment. They’re trying to help me to eat more gain some more weight back and I’m trying to build back muscle but at my age and the medication I’m on that ain’t an easy thing.
My wife doesn’t wanna get more foods for the garage. I’m locked and loaded upstairs with a sawed off shotgun, a regular shotgun and revolvers. The house is tripped so downstairs anybody tries to get in the alarm goes off. That’s it for me. If I get hit by one of these pathogens, I’m done because my lungs are fucking shot anyway. I appreciate the information. I just don’t think it’s applicable in my case. I’ll take myself out if I have to.
George...duck and cover in an Oakland classroom...and you'd already worked out it was theater.
That's a hell of an education to get at eight years old...and it explains a lot about how you read everything...SINCE.
"My body decided" is the most accurate answer anyone has given me about survival. Not resolve... not attitude...something older than EITHER...that kept going while you were fine either way. I'm glad it did!
The last line is the one I want to come back to...and I hope you'll let me. Not to argue with you about the shotguns or the alarm...you've thought about the practical side more than most people ever will.
BUT...because of what you just described: cancer...comorbidities...an appetite you're fighting to rebuild...medication working against the muscle you're trying to put back on. That's an enormous load...and carrying it...while planning your own exit...is a heavier thing than the plan makes it sound.
You've got a team at UCSF. Please tell them about that part, too. NOT the preparedness... the "I'll take myself out if I have to." They can help with what's underneath it...and they'd want to know. If you'd rather talk to someone outside the clinic first...988 is there any hour...by call or text.
You've been paying attention since 1950-something. I'd like you to keep doing it a while longer; we need you here.
-Jack
Thanks Jack. I know what you’re thinking about. I’ve already made it clearer with the university. I’m not gonna do chemotherapy. Aaron, California if you get two doctors to sign off and you have less than six months to live, you can get a cocktail in your life. That’s my plan unless things change some other way. What I mean by that is if I have a stroke and I have no control over that but I do have a a pink do not resuscitate order with the doctors. I don’t wanna have them pounding on my chest. You’re doing anything else after everything I’ve gone through. We all have issues and problems. Best life. Thanks for your kind words.
I will be 75 the end of this month sos I am very aware of how I also felt the stupidity of getting under the wooden desk. I knew it was not going to save anyone. I am sorry that your health is getting you. I worked as a HHC RN for 30 years and visited all types of people with all kinds of conditions. I know the treatments for cancer can be grueling and trying to gain weight is frustrating. My other half will be 81 in October. He has multiple medical issues and has lost weight . He has gained some of it back. His biggest issue is long covid. It takes all your energy and strength. He has lost taste and smell and it varies on what he can taste as it changes periodically . There is a doctor on sbstack that writes about it. She recently discovered that she can only do one short outing per day or she is wiped out for 3 days. I have observed this with my spouse. The sad part is we have a HHS division with fools running it and no interest in looking into how to help these people. It reminds me of the difference when AIDS was discovered . The science and health people spent 8 years before they were able to come up with a treatment that helped the patients. There are not any people in the US that are doing anything to try and find some treatment. Sorry for the rant but there are times when I just get frustrated. I hope you are able to regain some of your weight and regain some strength. Don't push too hard .It will probably make you weaker if you push too hard. Know your limits.
Thank you so much. I’m sorry about your husband. I’ve met people with long Covid and it’s not easy. I was just responding to Jack and saying that everybody has something. I was fortunate in that I get diagnosed early and I’ve had this chance for 32 years and still fighting. The medicine is I think brought on some of the other things I’ve got. But yes, that whole game of getting onto those wooden desk back in the old schoolhouse a joke.
October 5 is my birthday. Basically two months from today. If I make it great if I don’t fine every night, I’d put a pillow over my head and I might not wake up. Take care of yourself it’s a long road.
We all must just take one day at a time and make the best of the day.Some days are harder.If I can get outside and "touch grass" and listen to the birds. watch the squirrel tease the dogs and the dogs looking for lizards, that is a good day. I like being outside more than inside anyway. Happy upcoming Birthday George.My spouse will be 81 on October 16
Exactly.
Of all the things I have lost over my many years, a couple of the things I miss most are my health, and my sawed off shotgun that held eight shells.
I had a couple of weapons. My grandfather gave me. When was the 22 Luger Long barrel. When our cabin got broken into an Oregon it was stolen. But the worst part is they burn the cabin.
I still have the 20 gauge shotgun. My grandfather gave me it’s gotta be 120 yrs old.
My sawed off is a 12 gauge pump. With one in the chamber, there’s six shots. Here at home I don’t keep one in the chamber. They’ll hear me. The shell into the breach. I got a couple of revolvers one is a 38 Smith & Wesson with hollow points the other one’s a belly revolver fit, right hand. It’s good for short range five shot 22 long rifle Hollow point. It’s like a Derringer
My mind is doing back flips trying to remember what I saw, heard, read, or simply dreamt some years ago. Fact or fiction or just wishful thinking. An underground system to house those people necessary for re-establishing systems of civilization, not simply government. A list kept current of those who would be given forewarning so they could be saved. The great minds. Scientists. Various disciplines. Not sure where it is, who keeps the list. But this seems that the powers that be think their own skins are worth saving regardless of their value to society. Fuck society. Exactly how long would the bunker that donnie is building preserve life?
About thirty years ago I wrote down my own dream but it was about a religious cult that decided that the world should die and only God's chosen ones should survive underground for as long as it took. Obvious fiction. I started writing, then typing, and typed all but steadily for weeks. I doubt I will ever get to publish it. But Jack Hopkins' newsletter for August 26, 2026, is eerily familiar in several respects.
#HoldFast and hold the lettuce.
Sue
LOL!!! Hold the lettuce! 🥬 funny/not funny
I try.
Righteous. I worked in the healthcare system for many years. A dark sense of humor can break the tension now and then.
This is interesting Jack. I am guessing this is why drumpf is pushing to have his Bunker done quickly. We are all going to have to wait and see as we also are hoping he and his minions will be gone sooner than later.
#HOLDFAST
Teri
This is a bit tangential, but relevant:
Everyone remembers Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, and its ensuing destruction. What people don’t remember is Hurricane Rita that came the following month and its aftermath.
After people in the Houston metropolitan area saw the devastation of Katrina and learned Rita was heading their way, there was a mass panic and everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, tried to evacuate the city. Freeways were turned into parking lots. Afterwards, future plans included turning the opposite sides of freeways into contra flow lanes.
But here’s the real aftermath: Many big cities saw what happened in Houston and did their own analysis of their cities. The results came in and they all had the same horrifying conclusion: If there was a major event, there was no way to evacuate a major city in a timely manner. There were some things that could be done for mitigation, but they could not solve the problem.
Just something to keep in mind.
Todd…not tangential; that’s the missing piece of the article!
Because…Rita proves something the storm did NOT cause: the gridlock came from THE NEWS OF KATRINA.
Millions of rational…individual decisions…made simultaneously…producing a catastrophic COLLECTIVE one…BEFORE the hurricane even arrived.
SAME mechanism as the antibiotic stampede I described. DIFFERENT trigger.
Your last point belongs in EVERY damn emergency plan in the country.
The cities studied it…and the answer was IT CAN’T BE DONE; mitigated…not solved. Which means…if leaving isn’t really available in a major event…the water in the closet and the cash in the drawer aren’t a supplement to the evacuation plan. They ARE the plan.
Thank you, Todd.
-Jack
Very sobering article…. especially the part where the powers that be aren’t planning for us… did they even consider doing that??
The nuclear thing doesn’t bother me. We’d either be vaporized or radiation poisoning would likely take us out…. and… there’s really nothing we can do about it. The bio thing is waaay different. The labs aren’t tracked…? Yikes. And…. can’t control this scenario, either.
I have way more years behind me than in front of me so if it gets ugly….. well, there ARE worse things than exiting stage left. I haven’t yet made a plan for the pets in the event of my demise so that’s weighs a bit heavier than I like….. so there’s a gap/assignment for me.
I’m working on the preparedness piece….. am actually considering a whole house generator. The weather is getting more and more unpredictable and outages when the predicted high temp is 0-5 F are not my idea of fun….. I guess the good news is that preparing for a garden variety outage is pretty lighthearted compared to considering ones demise due to biological warfare (or accidental release)!
Will definitely be checking out the suggested reading and sitting with it. Thanks Jack.
I have a backup generator, but for long term use, without the ability to replace the fuels, mine is gas or propane, not any better than a fireplace...but in reading your post, I thought about a solar backup. The sun won't actually quit working even in nuclear winter, right? My mind then did another what if, and I searched for solar and EMPs. The weapon of choice for invaders who don't want to destroy the physical things like buildings.
https://solarpanelgo.com/will-emp-affect-solar-panels-myths-and-facts-explained/
Suel
I have lived a long full life. The prospect of doing enormous amounts of work and research all to continue on with however many people are left? I think I’m ready at that point to move into the next dimension lol
Melinda...ha...there's a clarity in that which younger people spend decades trying to reach. A long full life...EARNS you the right to decline the sequel!
And...honestly, the "next dimension" crowd...in that situation...may be making the smarter call.
The devolution planners are betting EVERYTHING on rebuilding an institution. (You won't want to miss my follow-up article on this) You're pointing out that a rebuilt institution STILL needs people...who WANT to live in it...and that's not a question ANY of their documents address.
Meanwhile, though...the water...the batteries...the cash. Because the FAR more likely scenario isn't Day 7. It's a FOUR-DAY outage in February...and you being the one on your street who's FINE.
Long full lives are STILL worth a stocked closet!
-Jack
You are incredibly helpful—your response today is life-affirming. Thank you.
It seems probable that those with the necessary resources (Billionaires) have already made provisions to be on a survivors list. That sounds a bit conspiratorial but wouldn't you if you had the billions?
Gary...not conspiratorial...just two different things worth keeping apart.
The bunkers are DOCUMENTED. New Zealand compounds...Hawaii builds...converted missile silos. Nobody's hiding it; there are magazine features. Wealthy people buying private continuity for themselves is ABSOLUTELY a market... and markets are highly visible.
The federal roster is a different animal. It's built around FUNCTION; who can legally exercise the powers of an office...who can sign...who can command.
A billionaire...doesn't solve that problem no matter WHAT he pays...because you can't purchase constitutional authority. What money buys...is a private HOLE in the ground...not a seat in the reconstituted government.
And...would I, with the billions? Probably.
I'd also notice what Jacobsen's host caught: come out of the bunker and govern WHAT, exactly.
The skills that generate a FORTUNE...and the skills that survive the AFTERMATH... are NOT the same skill set...and the second list...is a hell of a lot shorter.
The gap between those two lists...is the whole dark joke of the genre.
-Jack
I totally agree. Theil moved to Argentina with his whole family .. coincidence???
Teri...yep...Thiel bought a $12 million mansion in Buenos Aires...enrolled his children in local schools...and met with Milei and other officials.
He also purchased land in neighboring Uruguay...which...some observers have speculated could include a shelter; though the Times didn't confirm that part.
The stated motivations were a California ballot measure taxing billionaires...plus concerns about nuclear war and AI risk. Most outlets describe the move as "temporary." He already held New Zealand citizenship since 2011 and a 477-acre former sheep station there.
So no...not a coincidence...and...he sure as hell isn't not alone.
One tech entrepreneur in his circle put it plainly: the moment China takes Taiwan or Russia takes Lithuania...he's in BUENOS AIRES. A "Plan B for civilization"...as he called it. Which is the TELL...and it's the same one from the article.
A second passport...and a house in the Southern Hemisphere is a personal continuity plan. It buys you distance from the blast. It does NOT buy a country to come back to.
-Jack
I am waiting for the rest to depart like he has. I am sure that there are others that have been doing the same. The fools sucking up to drumpf don't have the where with all to do this kind of planning. And we know drumpf does not have the mental capacity to make those kinds of plans. ZEv has been doing some deep diving into the whole epstein, russia russia period and the folks surrounding all of this. I was listeningg to Lev Parnes and Zev on zee's podcast from a couple days ago and it ties the world involvement to the drumpf losers that have been doing the mediating with Israel and how BiBI and the Russia and the modeling agency go back a long way plus the different banks that have laundered money for Drumpf, not just Capital one. This was posted after the lawsuit that Melania filed against Zev. His investigating appears very legit. I usually don't listen to him. His work parallels Alisa's work.
Umm. . I’mma trust you (again) on this and not read anything else about it tonight. I literally don’t have a closet and my bed is a mattress on the floor in my loft so H2O can’t be stored out of sight. Glad I began the great Trash, REARRANGE, DONATE project when I did. Medication/wound care/water purification/power were first on the list to deal with. Working on it more mindfully, no small thanks to you. #HoldFast
I went back to school to finish my BS in nursing in the early 80's. That was shortly after small pox had been eradicated. What an impressive effort that was. But, I digress, after its eradication and, since it only passes from person to person, the question arose what should be done with the specimens in labs all over the world. There were 2 views, destroy it all, or keep some of it safely tucked away in case it was needed for some unknown future research. At that point door #2 had been chosen and it is probably at CDC today. Just think RFK Jr. may have control of smallpox. Sweet dreams.
With his normal MO he would likely use it to season his roadkill.
There is indeed smallpox stored at the CDC, and also in Moscow. What worries me, though, isn’t those stocks (which are in highly secured storage in known locations). We can be fairly confident that there are samples of smallpox out there in smaller laboratories that nobody knows about, in places that are either weakly secured or not secured at all. We know this because such a find was made in 2014 (and the virus in that case was still viable!).
Worse, the genome of smallpox has been completely sequenced, so a bad actor would not even have to have a supply at hand to re-create the virus, just the ability to create long stretches of nucleic acids. Inject the recreated sequence into a cell, and you will have plenty of virus in a short time!
Sobering. It strikes me that this kind of planning depends on qualified, dependable people to implement it. How many of those people have been dismissed or chased away in the past year and a half? Looking at the raging incompetence of Trump 2.0, I'm not sure the planning is going to help. We need to hope that there are enough people left who understand, and can do their jobs. I sure wish I felt better about that.
I dunno, I may prefer vague dread. But this is all real and all true. The absolute danger is an easily (these days) manufactured bioweapon. I thought initially COVID was it but truly it was just transferred from the Chinese bats where that stuff festers. For an absolutely spot on depiction of BSL labs and what those levels (should) mean when applied, watch the otherwise pathetic Dustin Hoffman movie “Outbreak”
Anarchy in six on the surface…
Anarchy in the bunker at 12…
I read a book about how the Government attempted to do a live drill with the members on the lists.
(Searching my Kindle list and haven’t found it)
They discovered:
1. The traffic in the DC metro area would deter fast conveyance to the assigned bunkers.
2. The group jaunt train to Greenbriar would not make it on time because most of the ones to be on it would be late.
(Greenbriar has been mothballed and now is open for tours)
3. Most of the members would want to go home and pick up the kids, spouse, mistress.
4. After about 3 days the dwellers start to get on each others nerves.
5. After about a week even though there is air filtration, the smell of body oder would start to permeate.
6. Chemical toilets would start to fill and add to the aroma.
It goes on to describe the fact that there is only so much food stored. If the bunker is not full it would extend the rations but depending on how long the biological takes to run it’s course it’s only a matter of time till the run out of food and potable water.
After the drill, they more or less shelved the whole idea. At least nuclear wise.
The bunkers would not be able to sustain the nuclear fall out, nuclear winter and radioactive half life pollution.
Maybe that is what led to the “shadow” set up.
Less people. With specific duties….
But what makes this scary is whom would tRump pick to restart this whole thing.
Interesting article. Thanks for making us aware. Off to look up FEMA'S site #holdfast
You're most welcome, Kristine.
-Jack