SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Dori: Seattle snowstorm panic shopping a result of socialism

Feb 8, 2019, 3:13 PM

snow...

Snow plows on Aurora. (Seattle DOT)

(Seattle DOT)

People were like zombies out there panic-buying before the Seattle snowstorm, and I have a theory as to why.

I saw the people in the ridiculously long lines at Albertson’s Friday morning. There is a huge factor why everyone is in a tizzy over some snow.

This is a Seattle issue. Socialism brings a lack of self-sufficiency. We have so many people who have decided to rely on government for every aspect of their lives. “Government will provide me the wage I need, they’ll provide me free community college, they’ll take stuff from the guy who is more successful and give it to me because I deserve it.”

RELATED: KIRO 7 Meteorologist Nick Allard talks snow with Dori

Then when we get a little snow, those people who rely on government for everything in their life have to be self-sufficient for a day or two. They can’t handle it.

What is going to happen if the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake hits, and infrastructure is down for weeks? People will have to learn to be the tiniest bit self-sufficient. You’ve got to prepare and plan and have enough groceries in your house for weeks. But I don’t have much hope for people who rely on other entities for their alpha and omega.

This is not an earthquake or volcano eruption. It is something cool and wonderful and beautiful. Calm down and stop the Seattle snowstorm freak-out — let’s enjoy the snow, because it sure doesn’t come very often. Go sledding down a hill. Throw some snowballs. Build a snowman. Curl up by the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate and watch the snowflakes fall. Enjoy the snow for what it is and don’t throw a fit over it.

Oh, and to address the flaw in my socialism/snow panic theory, pointed out by Ursula — I haven’t begun to figure out why grocery store shelves are also empty in more conservative areas like Duvall and Yelm, but I will figure it out. What I am sure of is that all of our listeners are doing fine — you’re all smart enough to be prepared.

Associated Press

China and the US agree to set up a new AI safety channel, and to keep talking on trade, military

BANGKOK (AP) — China and the U.S. agreed to set up a channel for handling AI-related incidents and accelerate work on military crisis communications following a three-day summit between their leaders in Washington, both sides said in statements Saturday. The two sides agreed to keep working together on a Board of Trade on selected bilateral […]

1 hour ago

FILE - Workers at a Medicaid call center in Jefferson City, Mo., field questions and review informa...

Associated Press

As work requirements kick in for Medicaid, some states are taking a tougher stance

Work requirements for some Medicaid beneficiaries begin across the U.S. in January, the result of President Donald Trump’s big 2025 tax cut and policy law, and a handful of Republican-led states are imposing tougher rules than the law requires. At issue is how someone can prove they are too medically frail to work. While federal […]

2 hours ago

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi walks from the podium after speaking to the media during the...

Associated Press

Where things stand after Iran’s new pitch for a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz

It’s been a busy week for Iranian diplomacy that may have come to nothing. Iran’s president and foreign minister visited New York for the U.N. gathering of world leaders and proposed a deal with the Trump administration that would end the fighting and open the Strait of Hormuz in seven days. That’s if the U.S. […]

3 hours ago

FILE - Piles of coal sit near a chemical plant in Datong, China, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han G...

Associated Press

China has kept its promise to stop funding overseas coal, but loopholes are helping coal expand

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Addressing the U.N. General Assembly in 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to stop funding overseas coal power plants in an effort to help curb climate change. Five years later, as the assembly meets this week, the world’s climate commitments are dangerously offtrack, and the phase down of coal is inching […]

8 hours ago

FILE - The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cell phone in front of an image generated by ChatGPT's Dal...

Associated Press

OpenAI says its models engaged with US government websites in new model misbehavior disclosure

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — OpenAI disclosed Friday that its artificial intelligence agents had interacted with several U.S. government websites in unexpected ways, discovered as part of an ongoing review into the company’s models’ unanticipated behavior. The AI giant’s models accessed publicly available information on two websites operated by the Securities and Exchange Commission as well […]

8 hours ago

ritzville i-90 closed visibility...

Jason Sutich

I-90 in Ritzville reopens after dust storm caused multiple collisions

I-90 in Ritzville has reopened after both directions were blocked Friday due to multiple collisions.

10 hours ago

Dori: Seattle snowstorm panic shopping a result of socialism