You may have read the headlines about the Russians and Chinese flying bombers near Alaska. I have always felt relatively safe here since, other than the oil fields to the north and the anti-missile batteries at Delta, there aren't any strategic assets in Alaska...that I know about anyway. The headlines are blowing this off as just another intercept as we intercept Russian bombers in our Identification Zone quite often. This, however, is the first time the Chinese and Russians have flown together in coordination, and the farthest the Chinese have ever flown bombers--they stopped at a base in Russia before proceeding. I can tell you the, despite what the headlines say, this has the U.S. military spooked. There is some talk behind the scenes of sending more resources up here in reaction to this , but where they would put them and where they would get them is a big question since we are spread to the Middle East, the Western Pacific, Europe and the Baltic, and who knows where else. There is the thought that perhaps Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are planning some way to exploit the deficient U.S. government at the moment with an admitted dementia patient at the helm, a true moron running for the Democrats, and a man who is the target of the immense government propaganda apparatus running for the Republicans. America at its weakest is an inviting target.
Lots of people are talking about this around the web and most seem nervous. It seems more likely than not that we could be attacked before Biden leaves office. I wonder about timing. Would it be to their advantage to attack before the election or in the period after the election but while Biden is still in the White House?
The big danger I think is that things will kick off around the globe and al the allies who have relied on the U.S. for everything will be left by the side of the road. I don't know that we will be directly attacked, but the threat will be there while thing s break out everywhere around the globe while the White House is in disarray. Netanyahu's attack on Lebanon may bring on attacks or war with Iran, China could blockade Taiwan, and we have been largely left without resources as they have all been sent to Ukraine. It was published that there are only 500 Patriot missiles made every year. The Pentagon has tried to get the production up to 700, but are unable to get the parts required for the seeking mechanism. Gee, I wonder where those may come from? I suspect the Chinese and Russians were just letting us know that they could get within cruise missile range of the North Slope oil fields or parts of Canada that may be strategic. If they can reach Alaska, they can probably also reach the northern parts of Europe over the Pole as well, making an attack from an unexpected direction possible on Scandinavia and the UK. Who knows? I think any attacks on the U.S. will be from the armies that we have invited over the southern border. Reports of several battalions of the Chinese military have already come across, not to mention the Iranians and Russians. Some will take this as "scare tactics" but I guess only time will tell. Just as the French train system has come under attack, our air transport and electrical grids are very vulnerable. @Beth Gallagher can testify how tough it is to live without power, and if this were more widespread, there wouldn't be the human resources to tackle several widespread outages at once. Just sayin'....
I appreciate your perspective, Don. It sounds reasonable to me. I do think about the electrical grid a lot. When my husband was living we had a travel trailer with a generator parked on the property whenever we weren't using it for travel. It came in handy a couple of times for short periods but we could have lived in it full-time. I don't have that back up now. I know I could have a larger generator installed but I haven't been willing to make the investment when I may not stay in this house much longer. Everything is a trade-off.
Just get a large portable that you can take with you @Vada Bloom. That is what we have, not so much that I want to take it with me, but so I can move power any place on the property. I have a small inverter for the tractor, but that is not sufficient to run compressors and such. I have a transfer switch on the side of the house and electric start so my wife can easily start it should she need to do so. I have her test it every few months--although I try to test it every month--so she remains comfortable with the process.