Posted on 02/29/2012 7:18:56 PM PST by DogByte6RER
Wyoming rejects plan to buy aircraft carrier in case U.S. fell apart
When the zombie apocalypse is upon us, we'll look back on how legislators from the land-locked state of Wyoming were mocked for wanting to buy an aircraft carrier. The carrier was just one part of a so-called "Doomsday Bill," which explored emergency scenarios in the event of the United States collapsing.
In addition to suggesting the purchase of an aircraft carrier, the bill called for $15,000 in funding to investigate how Wyoming might acquire airplanes, enact a draft for all branches of the military, obtain and distribute food and print its own currency if the national system were thrown into chaos due to geo-political or economic collapse.
The bill was narrowly defeated in the Wyoming House of Representatives yesterday, voting 30-27 against the bill. It needed 31 votes to pass, according to the Huffington Post.
While the rest of the nation was scratching its collective head wondering why a landlocked state would ask for an aircraft carrier, it seems the lawmakers in Wyoming were scratching their heads wondering why the rest of us were so interested in their homegrown version of pork barrel politics.
It seems that the bill was originally intended to cover funding a study of the state's homeland security preparedness and at that level many of the lawmakers were for the legislation. It's hard to argue against wanting to be prepared, but gentle people of Wyoming, don't underestimate the long lens of the media.
Somewhere along the way the addition of the aircraft carrier and some of the other big-ticket military hardware items were added — likely as the best way of killing the bill. Some legislators thought the money would be better spent in other places, like funding for social services and that the Governor's homeland security plans were enough.
In what has to be the master of all understatement, State Rep. State Rep. Dan Zwonitzer (R-Cheyenne) told Huffington Post, "It was a poison pill, we're a landlocked state that does not need an aircraft carrier."
It should be pointed out that Wyoming does have Lake Yellowstone that is 140 feet deep — enough to float a carrier though it's unclear whether there would be room to turn it around. It also has the smallest population of all the 50 states, but does maintain Air and Army National Guard.
Wyoming is just the kind of empty big sky country that quite possibly would absorb people surviving a Mayan doomsday scenario, zombie hordes or catastrophic earthquakes.
It is the kind of country that those kids in Red Dawn disappeared into to defend the Motherland. So I say if the good people of Wyoming wanted to see what it takes to float an aircraft carrier in a lake, who are we to judge?
We could always consider funding a shovel ready project like the Panama Canal ... call it the Wyoming Canal! (snark)
"When the zombie apocalypse is upon us, we'll look back on how legislators from the land-locked state of Wyoming were mocked for wanting to buy an aircraft carrier." Oops ... too late!
Might not be a bad idea for Texas to consider...
First thing states will want to do is become self sufficient in food...
Well ... there would be an excess supply of unemployed former federal bureaucrats. I hear they taste like chicken!
ping for napl
Didn’t Algore say Wyoming could all be under water pretty soon or something?
About a year ago the UK sold an obsoleted carrier on eBay for the first time. Wyoming could have saved a bundle with a deal like this.
But the postage would have been a killer.
I like the idea of a doomsday bill, every state should have one.Forget the carrier. Just the money, guns , and food.
Nobody will laugh at us when we stop the coal and oil and natural gas deliveries....Bwahahahahaha!!
SS Wyoming...off the coast of Texas and another along the coast of Alaska to help protect energy states from Obama zombies!!
Haha, at least you didn’t go with Warren Zevon’s version. Though I guess we could eat lawyers, if it came to that.
We already have an aircraft carrier
Too bad that one is sitting on the bottom where it is. I think they may have actually filled the bottom of it with concrete.
Well, ain’t that Texas for ya? Always one step ahead!
A single Nuclear Carrier generates enough energy to power something like 30,000 homes, perhaps more. Also filtered water, hospitals, houses 6,000.
It is really not a bad idea!
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