The Balkanization of America (32 page)

“Now I understand, do you have any details?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Mr. Clearson, did you turn off the power in New York City?”

“Mr. President, the answer to your question is yes and no, yes in that our plants that supply electrical power to New York City stopped supplying power because the employees at the plants formed a union, they sent a demand to New York City’s mayor who didn’t respond. When the mayor didn’t respond the employees asked us if we’d meet their demands, we agreed to their requests. They returned management of the plants to us; we sold the power to your grid. Hence, the yes we did stop supplying power and no we didn’t.”

“Sounds to me like there’s no, no there, just a yes.”

I don’t care what the demands were, do you realize you’ve contributed to the deaths of thousands?”

“Mr. President how? We sold our product to a customer who offered to pay a higher price nothing more. In fact, America is getting the benefit of that sale.”

“Mr. Clearson, we can discuss your company’s role in the deaths later, right now I suggest you turn the power on to the city.”

“Mr. President are you as America’s CEO canceling our contract? Are you accepting the cancelation clause?”

“I need to see the contract. Please send it to me, I’ll have the AG review it.”

“Mr. President, what’s your email address?”

After hanging up the phone, Brownstone calls his Secretary of Energy, “John do you know anything about a contract with Con Edison to supply us with electrical power?”

“Yes sir, we were contacted just before New Years by Con Edison’s chairman. He offered to sell us electricity at a very good rate for four years.”

“Was there a cancelation clause?”

“Yes, a rather unusual one, if we canceled for any reason within the first year we had to pay the entire four-year contract off in full within 60 days.”

“Did you happen to check where the plants were located that were generating the energy you purchased?”

“No, is there a problem?”

“Yes, the plants are located in New York City, the blackout is because we purchased New York’s electricity.”

“Oh shit.”

“That’s an understatement, I think you should send me your resignation.”

“Sir?”

“You heard me; you screwed up, and you knew my rules when you signed on.”

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Acting President Reid of the LSA calls President Puten, “Mr. President, the LSA thanks you for your support. I’m calling to give you a heads up. We have a spy in Brownstone’s administration who informed us the American’s are planning on attacking the Russian army before you can cross into Germany.”

“Mr. Reid, thank you. I believe the term is, I owe you one.”

Chapter 29

“Harold we’re in for serious trouble.”

“Nanny, what are you talking about? Everything is moving ahead very nicely.”

“Have you seen the budget projections? The accounting group we hired to review our five-year budget has reported we’re in deep trouble. We’re going to be running trillion plus dollar deficits forever.”

“Yes, I read their report. However, I don’t understand how they came to their conclusion. We have no military cost; we have no foreign aid. Frankly I don’t understand how they can think we’re going to run these deficits.”

“They said our health care and welfare costs will skyrocket. Their analysis says because the population is aging quickly our healthcare costs are going to break our projections. In addition, they assume we will be running very high unemployment rate due to us giving people the chance of not working so they can go after their dreams of being an artist while we support them. Their report says as more companies leave the LSA our unemployment expenses will increase due to our increased costs to support the newly created unemployed.”

“I did see their projections, to summarize the problem; we have too many elderly unproductive people and we have too many companies leaving the LSA, correct?”

“That’s correct; we need to pass a law stopping companies from leaving.”

“Nanny that never works, we saw the proof of that from Obsma’s failed executive orders.”

“What do you suggest?”

“I think we have to look into nationalizing our industries.”

“All of them?”

“Yes, all of them, we’re run everything; everyone will work for us; no one can strike without our permission, we’ll own every factory, we’ll be able to control what they make, no more useless products, no more products that damage the environment. I’ve been thinking of issuing both an LSA minimum and also a maximum wage. The maximum will be capped at 20 times the minimum wage. Hence, the lowest paid will earn $25,000, and the highest capped at $500,000. No one needs to earn more than $500,000 a year. No one will need the excuse of needing more to start a new company if we the government own all of the industries. This’ll ensure everyone in the LSA is well off and also lower our costs and enable us to control the economy.”

“What about the elderly and their impact on our healthcare budget?”

“What do you think about offering them incentives to move to the USA, if they won’t move we’ll move them across the border. Let the USA deal with them. As they age the formula within the healthcare law already lowers their care as they age becoming less productive, in time our aged will die before they negatively impact our cost models.”

“I like it; Brownstone will accept them without question. As he takes them off our hands, our expenses will stabilize. When should we start?”

“As soon as a new census is completed.”

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The national evening news programs’ sound bites are;

“President Brownstone allows terrorists to kill American citizens.”

“12 shopping malls attacked; hundreds killed. The administration does nothing.”

“FBI arrests local terrorist who attacks shoppers in Sterling, Virgina.”

“New York City enters the tenth day without power, tens of thousands dead, President Brownstone does nothing to help.”

@@@@@

“Mr. President, the Secretary of Homeland Security, is online one.”

“Alvin what’s up?”

“Mr. President, I have some very bad news, two truck bombs exploded on the seven-mile bridge in Florida. Two large sections of the bridge collapsed, twenty are dead, sir, the Florida Keys are now cut off from the rest of the country. Sir, within an hour of the seven-mile bridge bombing three bridges over the Mississippi River, were also blown up by truck bombs.”

“Alvin, who is it?”

“Sir, our best guess and so far it’s only a guess, is the LSAs behind the bombings.”

“Why? We let them go. Why are they attacking us?”

“Mr. President, our best guess is they want to keep us off balance, so their allies build up sufficient forces to attack us. By attacking us across the country, they make us spread our forces thin trying to protect against the next attack.”

“How large is the international socialist force in the LSA?”

“Sir, our best estimates are 15,000. They’re based in LA at the Pomona Fairgrounds, in Seattle at SeaTac and the Boeing facility which was their first target in the North West. They’re also starting to move into the remains of Fort Lewis.

“What are the estimates of their timetable and what are their expected initial targets?”

“Sir, I think you need to have that discussion with John over at defense. Our estimate is driven from them.”

“Alvin, I get it, you don’t want to step on John’s toes that is good, why don’t you pick him up and both stop by for dinner and discussion?”

“Sir, 1900 hours?”

“See you then.”

@@@@@

“Colonel Aguilar you have a call on a secure line.”

“Gracias.”

“Hola, Colonel Aguilar here, authorization code ventana alpha fuego quartro”

“Si Colonel, please hold for one moment, the Presidente wants to speak with you.”

“Colonel, this is President Puten.”

“Yes sir, what can I do for you?”

“Colonel are all of your troops settled and ready for action?”

“Si Mr. Presidente.”

“Good, code word, rojo”

“Si, I repeat, code word rojo.”

Colonel Aguilar hands the phone to the radio supervisor as he turns to leave the radio trailer; he calls over his shoulder, “tell the three captains to meet me in my trailer in ten minutes.”

“Si Coronel.”

Ten minutes later three captains stand at attention in front of the Colonel.

“Our initial mission has been authorized; we are to take over the US base at Maelstrom, this is a strategic weapons base. We are to capture the base and secure all of the special weapons. In your packages is a diagram of the base.”

“Coronel, how do we get access to the silos?”

“Our source in the American military will be providing us the codes.”

@@@@@

“Harold, Mayor DeFarco is on line two.”

“Mr. Mayor have you discovered why your city lost power?”

“Yes Mr. Acting President, Con Edison sold the power at a higher price to the USA.”

“What do you want me to do about it?”

“I want you to nationalize the power plants within my city.”

“I don’t think we can nationalize only a couple of plants if we’re going to do it, we’re going to have to nationalize all of them.”

“I don’t see the problem, what’s keeping you from signing the executive order. There’re millions of people suffering and dying in my city. It’s been ten days without power; I have people eating snow for drinking water. You have to act so I can send the NYPD to switch the power over to the city.”

“You might have something here, by nationalizing the power generating plants we control the power; we can cut it off to those who don’t support us. I’ll see how long it’ll take to create the legal forms to absorb them.”

Four hours later, the LSA announces it’s nationalized all of the countries electrical power generating facilities in order to ensure everyone has access to electrical power. Acting President Reid issues a press release stating he took this action to ensure the poor and cold have power when they most need it. He pointed to the blackout in New York City as an example of corporate greed that has no place in the people’s country of the LSA.

NYPD SWAT units take over the Con Edison plants switching the power from America to New York City. The people in the city are overjoyed when the lights go on. Within an hour the sanitation department starts clearing the streets, they uncover hundreds of dead bodies that froze while looking for shelter. The clearing has to stop each time a body is uncovered until the medical examiner and coroner arrives to take pictures and pick up the bodies.

Mayor Defarco issues orders that in the public interests to clear the streets, there’s an urgent need to accelerate the street clearing by the sanitation department. He orders the sanitation department to push the bodies to the side of the streets and continue with the street cleaning, they’re instructed to call in the location of the bodies so they can be collected by the medical examiner.