In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

Recently, I was diagnosed with an illness which will reduce the level of my blogging over in the next couple months. 
Thank you for your support of and involvement in this blog since it was launched. I hope you will bear with me during this period.
Best,
John

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After I posted some of my favorite citizen preparedness-themed songs several weeks ago and asked for some suggestions, I received two terrific suggestions — both are great songs in their own right in addition to having good public preparedness messages.
First, Lani Nisbet, Utah Citizen Corps Program Manager, Utah Commission on Volunteers, recommends Ben Harper and Jack Johnson [...]

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I had been meaning to write about the work of the Disaster Accountability Project (DAP). So, I was happy to read a good article on DAP in the most recent issue of Natural Hazards Observer, the terrific (and free) bimonthly publication of the University of Colorado’s Natural Hazards Center.  
The article, “Disaster Accountability Project Uses Volunteers to Monitor [...]

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Frank Cilluffo is the Director of the George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute and a former Special Assistant to President Bush for Homeland Security.  
In this segment of “What Should We Tell The Public?”, Cifullo says each citizen has the ability to help improve their community’s readiness by asking questions and finding out what they can do to [...]

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Earlier this month, I attended a panel discussion at the Center For American Progress (CAP) in Washington, D.C. titled “Beyond Duct Tape and Color Codes: How the New President Can Engage the Public on Homeland Security”. The event was part of the Homeland Security Presidential Transition Initiative (to which I have offered some ideas on citizen preparedness), a joint project [...]

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Stanford University Business School Professor Lawrence M. Wein has an interesting Op-Ed article, “Neither Snow, Nor Rain, Nor Anthrax…,” in today’s New York Times in which he supports the use of Postal Service mail carriers to deliver prophylactic antibiotics to the public in the event of an anthrax attack. In the piece (registration may be required), Wein lays out the [...]

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The Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) recently released a report titled Top Ten Challenges Facing the Next Secretary of Homeland Security. Comprised of “leaders from state and local government, first responder communities, the private sector, and academia,” the HSAC was created to provide “advice and recommendations to the Secretary on matters related to homeland security.”
Though I might have [...]

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I just received a photo of myself with Mayor Bloomberg from the 5th Anniversary NYC-CERT party held this summer. At the beginning of the event, hundreds of CERT members lined up to get a quick ‘grip and grin’ with the Mayor on the porch of his official residence, Gracie Mansion. I mention this photo not [...]

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On Wednesday, I attended a U.S. Department of Homeland Security “Bloggers Roundtable” convened in Washington, D.C. by Secretary Michael Chertoff to address the issue of cyber security.
The Roundtable took place at the Secretary’s ’satellite’ office at the Ronald Reagan Office Building near the White House. It was pegged to October’s National Cyber Security Awareness Month which according to [...]

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I recently watched a DVD of “Katrina’s Children”, an engrossing new feature-length documentary about 19 youths from different New Orleans neighborhoods. The film explores the impact of Hurricane Katrina using both their words and their art. It is both heartbreaking and inspiring – a celebration of the children’s extraordinary resilience and a tribute to New Orleans’ [...]

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