September 12, 2018

"It's tremendously big and tremendously wet. Tremendous amounts of water."



President Trump tells people in the path of Florence, "Get out." And he assures people that the government is ready and will spare no expense dealing with this predicted-to-be-massive hurricane.

I'm watching to see how much of the coverage will be Trump-focused. There's social and political pressure to forefront empathy for the potential victims (and, later, the actual victims), but I'm sure many people are readying themselves to use Florence to ruin Trump. Florence should make Bush's Katrina look like an afternoon sun-shower. Right? And we've heard so much about the "blue wave" in the midterm elections. Now there is literal water, tremendously wet water. It must and it will be used against Trump and the Republicans who facilitate his depredations, but be careful, Trump haters. You must overflow and burble with compassion for the victims. They're what really matter to you. I'll be watching your political theater. I know what's coming. It will be tremendously big and tremendously wet. Tremendous amounts of water.

And I'll be watching Trump too. Get it right. Don't let Florence Katrina you. Show how to do a disaster right. Bush went from high to low because of Katrina and how his antagonists weaponized it. You can do the opposite. And who doesn't want Trump to find great success in meeting the challenge of a great natural disaster? No one will step up and say, yes, that's me, I want him to fail miserably, so we can crush him like Bush. They need to act, at least for a little while, as if they back our President. It will be interesting to see the insincere and temporary support he will get preparatory to the inevitable denouncements — the tremendously wet denouncements.

170 comments:

Ann Althouse said...

I'd make a tag "empathy bullshit," but I already have an "empathy" tag, and much of what's in it is the insincere theater of empathy.

Qwinn said...

Saying to Trump "Get it right" presupposes that Bush somehow got it wrong. He didn't. I have no liking for the man anymore, but everything that went wrong in Katrina was due to local Democrat idiocy.

It was a complete lying smear job. How does Trump "get it right" in any way that can avoid that? Hmm. Actually, never mind, he's been doing it for 20 months now. Carry on.

Mary Beth said...

Trump's first step in getting it right is that he's talking to the people directly through twitter instead of through the news media.

rehajm said...

Don't let Florence Katrina you.

Don't let them Florence you. Don't let them Katrina you. They're trying to Watergate you.

Don't let them turn nouns into verbs.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Everything is Trump focused. The collective hive-mind left have lost their minds over him. Former R media hack SCarbororough(D) finds refuge with terrorists and says Trump is worse than terrorists. Is it any wonder the hivemind left are breaking into fits of violence and rage all over the place?

Republicans are to blame for all hurricanes. That right there will make nut job leftist break out the guns and knives.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

A sitting president is not a super hero in a cape. When the power goes out, he cannot do one dang thing about it.

Ann Althouse said...

"Don't let them turn nouns into verbs."

You just couldn't bring yourself to write Don't let them verb nouns.

wendybar said...

I lived through Sandy. There are STILL people hurting....you just don't hear the media saying Obama didn't do a good enough job. It won't matter what good Trump does...the media will be beating the drums....

The Vault Dweller said...

Blogger Qwinn said...
Saying to Trump "Get it right" presupposes that Bush somehow got it wrong. He didn't. I have no liking for the man anymore, but everything that went wrong in Katrina was due to local Democrat idiocy.


That's a fair point to make when assessing the practical realities in what could have or should have been doing in preparing for the hurricane and dealing with the aftermath, but Bush got it wrong in that part of his job as President is to be a politician, meaning he has to get the best political upside or atleast minimize the political loss for any event he deals with. Katrina was used paint Bush as a callous uncaring monster. After all didn't President Trumps new friend, Kanye West use that opportunity to proclaim that "George Bush doesn't care about Black people."

tim in vermont said...

Bush's big problem with Katrina was his respect for the Constitution. He wasn't going to send troops into New Orleans without a proper invitation, per constitutional protocol, and the invitation that was late in coming. He didn't realize that, like a letter in Harry Potter, the text of the Constitution had changed while he wasn't looking, and the new rule was that he was required to send troops in without an ask from the governor, who was, after all, only a girl, and couldn't be expected to understand her job.

roesch/voltaire said...

Trump will attack of the tremendously big and wet thing with the full force of his tweeer telling us how great he is.

tim in vermont said...

Bush wasn't an uncaring monster, but it's pretty clear now that his loyalties have always been first and foremost to the ruling class of which he is a hereditary member.

zipity said...

Katrina didn't "get" Bush. The Democrats and the Media made up stories in an effort to damage Bush.

Remember all those stories about stacks of bodies in the Superdome? Bodies floating down the street in New Orleans?

The complete abdication of responsibility by Louisiana Governor Ray "Buses, what busses...? Nagin.

robother said...

Fortunately, (or unfortunately for the Democrats) North and South Carolina are not in the hands of the kind of incompetents that were in charge of Louisiana and New Orleans. I don't foresee cannibalism in the Panther stadium, whatever Category Florence is when she makes land.

tim in vermont said...

Trump will attack of the tremendously big and wet thing with the full force of his tweeer telling us how great he is.

The country is doing pretty good, so whatever works. Same thing I said when the "amiable dunce" Reagan was in charge.

Bob Boyd said...

Mamas don't let yer nounin' get turned into verbin'

rehajm said...

You just couldn't bring yourself to write Don't let them verb nouns.

That would have been nice! I borked it.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

Thanks Bob Boyd, it took me 2 days to get that song out of my head and now it's back.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

If the government handles this well, with little loss of life, the story will be about how racist Trump is for not doing as much for Puerto Rico when Maria hit.

Ralph L said...

NC has a Democrat governor, thanks to the (oxy)moronic transgender hysteria.

The Vault Dweller said...

Wasn't "Tremendously Big and Tremendously Wet" the name of a Georgia O'Keefe exhibit?

Bob Boyd said...

It's Trump's fault there's even a hurricane in the first place. If he wouldn't have pulled out of the Paris Climate Accords there'd be nothing but a balmy breeze coming off the cool, blue waters. And dolphins would frolick, chirping their gratitude to mankind for finally respecting the Earth.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

You just couldn't bring yourself to write Don't let them verb nouns.

As Calvin said to Hobbs, Verbing weirds language

Hagar said...

Trump stepped in it with his comment about Puerto Rico.
My understanding is that FEMA indeed got the help to the island, but there it sat on the docks or never got unloaded because the Puerto Rico unions went out on strike.

Hagar said...

I am from New Mexico so don't tell me about the wonders of a territorial government appointed from Washington!

Hunter said...

Maria already should have been Trump's Katrina. The media and the left (but I repeat myself) sure as hell tried to make it that. I guess we'll see if it works this time.

Bob Boyd said...

Trump already saved us from Hillary, that was the biggie. I'm ready to cut him some slack on Florence.

rhhardin said...

"I cannot help laughing," you will answer me; I accept this absurd explanation, but let it be a melancholy laugh, then. Laugh, but weep at the same time. If you cannot weep with your eyes, weep with your mouth. If this is still impossible, urinate. But I warn you, some sort of liquid is needed here to accentuate the drought which sidesplit-pundit laughter carries in her womb.

- Lautreamont

traditionalguy said...

Have faith. DJT will figure out a media blitz of personal empathy shows. And Melania will bring her sneakers.

Tommy Duncan said...

"Republicans are to blame for all hurricanes."

There were no hurricanes before GWBush. Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.

stevew said...

Katrina has been my go to example of the fecklessness of government to address the challenges of big things such as storms and natural disasters. It's not just the response to the storm but look at the reasons why the flooding was so massive and destructive, particularly the history of the project to harden the levees to storms and water surges. Colossal failure of the institutions, especially the public ones.

All the blame game moves are politics, plain and simple. That part of government is remarkably effective and efficient.

-sw

rehajm said...

And Melania will bring her sneakers

More cryptic raincoat messages!

Hunter said...

North Carolina is about to be hit by its third ever Cat4 hurricane:

Hazel, 1954 (Eisenhower - R)
Hugo, 1989 (Bush - R)
Florence, 2018 (Trump - R)

Noticing a pattern HMMMM???????

wildswan said...

People are getting off the barrier islands which might be covered by an enormous storm surge so we're ahead of New Orleans where there was no evacuation till the last minute. Then there's the steep sided ravines that fill and flood in minutes. These are dangers that threaten real people in the Carolinas. But you know, DC is so low-lying that there is a Tidal Basin by the Jefferson Memorial and the area near the State Department is called Foggy Bottom. Are we looking at a Flush the Swamp event like Hazel?

stlcdr said...

Politicization of hurricanes. Maybe if we vote and protest it will go away. I know! Impeach the hurricane!

AustinRoth said...

“No one will step up and say, yes, that's me, I want him to fail miserably, so we can crush him like Bush. They need to act, at least for a little while, as if they back our President.”

Sorry. I disagree completely. It is already starting. Remember, the Left and the press (redundant, I know) emphatically state Trump is NOT their President, and are actively trying to pull off a reversal of the election. And that started before he even took office!

Matt Sablan said...

Will it matter how well the government handles it?

Sandy was a major disaster at the city and local level, and it was a media event in how it was an insurmountable task to take care of. Yet, Katrina, which was equally screwed up by local politicians who misjudged the storm, was laid squarely at Bush's feet.

There's no winning the media war; I'm not saying Republicans should just surrender it, but accept that *it does not matter* and just do what must be done.

AustinRoth said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tim in vermont said...

When is Dick Cheney going to help out with his hurricane steering machine? That’s what I want to know.

tim in vermont said...

It is already starting.

Look at R/V’s comment. I am sure every Democrat is waiting with bated breath by the fax machines for their latest thoughts to arrive.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Obama is a super-hero. Will the media give Obama the bat-signal so he can save everyone with his super hero powers? No way. The narrative and the shit show are too important.

gspencer said...

Keeping track of Florence on the Daily Mail gives me amusement. First, Florence "threatened" the entire East Coast. Then, as it developed, it "took aim" at certain parts of the East Coast. Once it had its target/s, it began to "barrel" its way through the ocean to the now-cowering East Coast which was now worrying about flooding of "biblical proportions" (Cecil B. DeMille and his cast of 000s there on the East Coast are ready to battle Florence). As of yesterday, Florence has left its barreling adolescent stage and now is threatening to "pummel" the East Coast, and remarkably, if the headlines are to be believed, has "promised" to deliver winds of 157MPH. Not winds of 155MPH or of 160MPH. Not only is Florence precise, this reporting of the "promise" of such winds is itself astounding.

I'm so proud and impressed with the Daily Mail's reporting.

Michael K said...

"everything that went wrong in Katrina was due to local Democrat idiocy. "

Not enough people recognize that. I flew into New Orleans the year before and the day after Hurricane Ivan, which had been predicted to hit the city, passed to the east damaging Pensacola.

I was going to the American College of Surgeons meeting and wasn't sure if it would be cancelled until the day I arrived. My hotel was across from the Superdome. There was ZERO evidence of preparation for the storm that had missed the city the day before.

About a thousand special-needs patients were housed at the Louisiana Superdome during the storm. Ivan was considered a particular threat to the New Orleans area because dangers of catastrophic flooding.

Wiki is not reliable on topics that have political association. There was NO evidence of evacuations or thousands in the Superdome.

BudBrown said...

Hugo hit S. Carolona as Channel 28.1 Chief Meteorologist pointed out last night.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...


- Hurricanes are worse because of global warming and global warming is the fault of all republicans and climate deniers. (who should be jailed)
- Trump, Putin and Cheney seeded the clouds.
- Mueller is looking into it, but he needs a few years and billions more.
- Criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice is all but certain.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...


Tonight on Maddow.

tim in vermont said...

They tell me what the climate will be in 100 years, why can’t they tell me the precise track of the hurricane? It’s an easier problem.

Big Mike said...

@wendybar, Obama and Christie got together on TV to promise they’d cut the red tape to support recovery from Sandy. I imagine both of them forgot their promise moments after the cameras were off them.

The press likes to run a picture of Dubya looking out the window of Air Forve 1 to survey the devastation from Katrina saying that it symbolized his detachment from the disaster. Later, when Obama flew over devastating Mississippi River floods, he couldn’t even be bothered to come to the window and look.

Democrats are contemptible people.

Michael K said...

look at the reasons why the flooding was so massive and destructive, particularly the history of the project to harden the levees to storms and water surges. Colossal failure of the institutions, especially the public ones.

Two reasons. The levee money was spent on gambling barges' parking lots and MR GO which was an arrow at the heart of New Orleans.


Levees along the MRGO and the Intracoastal Waterway were breached in approximately 20 places, directly flooding most of St. Bernard Parish and New Orleans East. Storm surge from the MRGO is also a leading suspect in the three breaches of floodwalls along the Industrial Canal.

Three months before Katrina, Hassan Mashriqui, a storm surge expert at Louisiana State University's Hurricane Center, called MRGO a "critical and fundamental flaw" in the Corps' hurricane defenses, a "Trojan Horse" that could amplify storm surges 20 to 40 percent. Following the storm, an engineering investigation and computer modeling showed that the outlet intensified the initial surge by 20 percent,

wildswan said...

You want to talk about floodplain building? The whole DC area south of a 15 foot ridge at Meridian Hill is built on a swamp that was the Potomac floodplain. Even now certain major freeways flood in every heavy rain. And who's making plans for Anacostia when DC is one large Reflecting Pool?

rehajm said...

Will it matter how well the government handles it?

Where a narrative is needed a narrative will be. I'm looking at the latest model tracks (hours ahead of TWC) and the storm is stall ing and tracking farther south. South Carolina told Beaufort County in the south to evacuate, then called it off. If/when the track moves south, those people won't have time to move...

It will be Trump's fault.

wildswan said...

No major storm since Hazel which hit DC has followed the track Florence appears to have. But DC has been heavily built over since Hazel in 1954 so that storm runoff from all the concrete will be intense. Yet the effect on sea-level DC is basically unknown unlike the Carolinas where storms happen often enough that their effect is somewhat predictable.

Tank said...

Can't worry about Trump, good chance we'll be homeless by Friday. We were on vacation so all our docs are at home.

wildswan said...

Hope things work out for you Tank.

tcrosse said...

Warm up the Thoughts and Prayers machine.

Ralph L said...

I'm so proud and impressed with the Daily Mail's reporting.

Florence and Carolina, packing on the PDA at the beach.

Birkel said...

I hope it goes well for you, Tank.

Rick said...

wildswan said...
No major storm since Hazel which hit DC has followed the track Florence appears to have.


Apparently there's a high pressure system west of DC meteorologists expect to prevent the storm from reaching DC. That is one reason why the Carolina rain total forecasts are so high, they're predicting the storm will hover in place for longer than is normal.

I live near DC so this is a major point on local news.

Fernandinande said...

Weather forecast with experts:

Concentric Circles Emanating From Glowing Red Dot

"Experts are still trying to determine the effect of the concentric circles on the long squiggly green objects located in the blue area."

Ralph L said...

DC is at the fall line, it's well above sea level. They'll only have trouble if they've clogged the storm sewers. The waterfront in Alexandria was underwater last weekend, but that happens frequently.

PB said...

Florence will underwhelm in reality, but the left will call it the storm of the century when it hits as a weakening Category 2.

Hagar said...

"It will be tremendously big and tremendously wet. Tremendous amounts of water."

That is pretty funny and very Trumpish.

Ralph L said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Freder Frederson said...

There was ZERO evidence of preparation for the storm that had missed the city the day before.

If you had been there the day before the storm. You would have seen plenty of evidence of preparation. It took me eight hours to evacuate to Baton Rouge, normally an hour and a half trip. It was a dry run for Katrina a year later and enabled the authorities to fix the contra-flow system (where the interstates and major surface roads run in one direction only). It only took me four hours to get to Baton Rouge for Katrina, and a lot more people evacuated for that one.

The reason you didn't see any evidence of preparation in New Orleans, is that for a major hurricane, evacuation is the preferred response. Ideally, everyone will leave the city. For Katrina, somewhere near 90% of the population evacuated.

Matt Sablan said...

Also, didn't the storm that hit Puerto Rico already Katrina Trump?

Nonapod said...

The bigger question now is: Has Trump been colluding with Florence? Perhaps we need to open up a new investigation.

Freder Frederson said...

Saying to Trump "Get it right" presupposes that Bush somehow got it wrong. He didn't. I have no liking for the man anymore, but everything that went wrong in Katrina was due to local Democrat idiocy.

Yes, the Governor of Louisiana didn't perform well, and Ray Nagin was an idiot. But that doesn't mean that the Federal Response wasn't inadequate and screwed up too. Appointing the Director of a Dressage Association to be FEMA director was a huge mistake.

madAsHell said...

That is pretty funny and very Trumpish.

I agree!! Unfortunately, this is how he has to talk. He's reaching to people that watch the evening news on TV.

Ralph L said...

FEMA exists to pay the big bills after the fact. It really should be renamed.

Freder Frederson said...

Also, didn't the storm that hit Puerto Rico already Katrina Trump?

It should have, but somehow didn't. He is still claiming he did a great job with Maria, even as the death toll has been upped to nearly 3000.

wildswan said...

Ralph L said...
DC is at the fall line, it's well above sea level.

Part of DC is on or above the fall line at Little Falls and part, the part below the Meridien hill ridge, is below the fall line. The part below Little Falls includes official DC and Anacostia. I'm talking about possible lowland flooding at or near the Potomac and the Anacostia. Not about water held in a bowl as happened in NO, not about a storm surge as happened in Mississippi. No need to evacuate. Something else. Downed power lines lying in water as happened in Hazel. Dirty water lying about. People not stocking up. I saw it as a child.

CWJ said...

Freder,

Would that be anything like Ray Nagin's claim of 5000 dead from Katrina?

Freder Frederson said...

Would that be anything like Ray Nagin's claim of 5000 dead from Katrina?

No it wouldn't. If he did make that claim, he was talking out his ass. The Maria toll was thoroughly researched.

Seeing Red said...

Henry McMaster isn’t that idiot Kathleen Blanco.

Trump won’t have to beg him to ask for help like W did her.

Seeing Red said...

Are you suggesting Feder that PR is built as sturdy as the US?

Besides Trump got ahead if the hurricane there were things in place.

I think John Henry is there

And 200-300k people managed to evacuate to Florida and thereabouts.

narciso said...

It's possible Puerto Rico is twice as screwed up as Louisiana, John Henry has pointed out Why,

CWJ said...

Freder,

Yes, Nagin did make that claim, and yes he was talking out his ass. I will grant you that the 2,975 iirc Maria claim was more researched than the others, but Maria claims varied wildly over time.

Seeing Red said...

I lived through Sandy. There are STILL people hurting....you just don't hear the media saying Obama didn't do a good enough job. It won't matter what good Trump does...the media will be beating the drums....


Trump should bring that up.

Michael K said...

The reason you didn't see any evidence of preparation in New Orleans, is that for a major hurricane, evacuation is the preferred response.

No windows boarded up. Nobody in the Superdome. I was there.

Nonapod said...

From what I understand, Puerto Rico's local administration is an utterly corrupt dumpster fire complimented with horribly out of date infrastruture. I remember stories of various officials doing things like stock piling relief supplies rather than distributing them. And even the officials who aren't corrupt are incompetent. It's just a mess. Apparently there's still massive amount of bottled water sitting on runnways a full year later.

I don't think any real blame should reasonably be laid at Trump's feet for all that, though plenty of people have certainly tried.

Freder Frederson said...

No windows boarded up. Nobody in the Superdome. I was there.

You were there after a storm that missed the city. There shouldn't have been anyone in the Superdome and the boards had already come down.

I was there before the storm, and people were taking it seriously. The roads inland and westbound were packed.

narciso said...

Because the mayor and the governor didn't use the school buses to evacuate even a fraction of the people.

JRoberts said...

Compared to Katrina, I wonder if Maxine Waters will request exclusive use of a National Guard helicopter so she can inspect the devastation to "her people" as a result of Florence.

MadTownGuy said...

Ann Althouse said...
"Don't let them turn nouns into verbs."

You just couldn't bring yourself to write Don't let them verb nouns.


More succinctly: "Don't let them noun."

rhhardin said...

Imus's Bernard McGuirk ad-libs Ray Nagin, several clips
Real Audio
Don't install RealPlayer if you don't already have it - it's very machine-intrusive these days.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Bush's biggest mistake during Katrina was having Dick Cheney blow up the levees.

Ann Althouse said...

"More succinctly: "Don't let them noun.""

I'm a noun for the first time
Don't you know it's gonna last
It's a noun that lasts forever
It's a noun that had no past
Don't let me noun
Don't let me noun...

PM said...

No one spreads panic quite like The Weather Channel. Those folks get positively priapic over the prospect of disaster.

GRW3 said...

Bush stood by his noblesse oblige standards (instilled by the deep state/family after he became President because he was scrappy in Texas) and refused to push back against unfair characterizations. Not Trump. They tried with Puerto Rico but every time they did, he whacked them with facts about some local Democrat failure to do the right thing.

tim maguire said...

The media will do everything in its power to make Florence Trump's Katrina. But Trump is not Bush. He won't ignore the attacks, content to let history be his judge.

Howard said...

If Trump didn't pull out of the Paris Climate Accord, there wouldn't be a half dozen hurricanes currently lined up from west Africa. Florence is the new normal as we have passed the tipping point. Because California is a green energy progressive, hurricanes are no longer a threat here. Think about it.

Freder Frederson said...

He won't ignore the attacks, content to let history be his judge.

Yeah, Trump just lies about his accomplishments and you just eat it up. Just like the bullshit claim that the GDP hadn't been higher than the unemployment rate in 100 years. Which even if true, so what?

tim in vermont said...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2018/09/11/yes-you-can-blame-president-trump-for-hurricane-florence/

WaPo never misses a chance to burn their credibility. “Burn,” not “burnish”,”burn.”

tim in vermont said...

If it hadn’t have been for global warming I am sure that Trump would be to blame for the oncoming ice age. The big problem is that Trump hasn’t ended capitalism.

tim in vermont said...

Which even if true, so what?

We get it, you operate from a completely different set of assumptions where jobs are not as important as political power.

Yancey Ward said...

You win the media war by not playing.

TwoAndAHalfCents said...

I think this has the potential to be a majorly big problem for Trump. No offense to Puerto Rico, but nothing with Maria mattered because, frankly, 95% of Americans couldn't find it on a map.
There is no upside here. Assuming the storm maintains its strength there is bound to be damage and loss of life. It's unavoidable (and storm damage makes for great TV). In a more sane time people would recognize this, help those impacted, learn from it and simply move on (ala Sandy). But these are not sane times.
Common sense says Trump is about to get pummeled (politically) like the Outer Banks. But, then again, things don't always work out the way one would expect when to comes to Trump.

Andrew said...

I agree that a lot of the post-Katrina reaction against Bush was unfair and contrived. But he did himself no favors. Allowing that picture of him looking down from Air Force One was a dumb mistake. Appointing an incompetent hack to head FEMA and then declaring "Heckuva job, Brownie" was deserving of legitimate criticism.

I hope Florence causes minimal damage. But I am looking forward to Trump fighting back against the inevitable Democrat-media playbook. As always, the Dems won't understand how their strategies don't work against this man.

Michael K said...

Just like the bullshit claim that the GDP hadn't been higher than the unemployment rate in 100 years. Which even if true, so what?

The ignorance almost burns.

Michael K said...

Because California is a green energy progressive, hurricanes are no longer a threat here. Think about it.

Does that mean that hurricanes are middle class?

Because the middle class is fleeing California.

Michael K said...

"You were there after a storm that missed the city. "

Yes The NEXT DAY !

Boy, you folks were sure fast at taking down all those storm preparations !

Come on. Not ever you are this stupid,

Freder Frederson said...

We get it, you operate from a completely different set of assumptions where jobs are not as important as political power.

No, I operate from a reality where the relationship between two different economic indicators is irrelevant.

Not only did he make an irrelevant statement, it wasn't even true.

Yesterday, he claimed the response to Maria was "incredible". Unless he meant "incredibly bad", the statement was untrue on its face.

Static Ping said...

Headline from the Washington Post:

Another hurricane is about to batter our coast. Trump is complicit.

Note that this is an editorial, but it is the editorial of the Washington Post's editorial board and not some random columnist.

Barry said...

You just couldn't bring yourself to write Don't let them verb nouns.

Funny to me because I was driven to comment for the other verbing of a noun in the post: "forefront".

Freder Frederson said...

Boy, you folks were sure fast at taking down all those storm preparations !

How long would you wait to take the boards off your windows. I was home by noon on the day of the storm, because it turned out the evacuation was unnecessary. I didn't need to board up my windows because we had just put in hurricane proof (up to 140 mph) double paned windows.

tim in vermont said...

No, I operate from a reality where the relationship between two different economic indicators is irrelevant.

So you are saying that there is no relationship between GDP and unemployment?

tim in vermont said...

Or are you saying that neither a high GDP, nor low unemployment is important?

BudBrown said...

Katrina response was remarkable. A grand achievement. I've given up mentioning this to people because they all look at me funny.

Trumpit said...
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Inga...Allie Oop said...
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Trumpit said...

The doctor who was treating my broken hand recently died along with one of his daughters in a mudslide. I was shocked and sad to read about it. I don't think he was any good because my hand didn't heal properly. I hope Trump screws up the response to Florence like he did with hurricane Maria that led to the deaths of 3,000 in Puerto Rico. My rotten sociopath brother and his miserable Ukrainian wife live in Cary, North Carolina, which is a suburb of Raleigh. He's a sociopath who tried to get his mother euthanized that led to her murder in the hospital in Santa Monica. Subsequently, he prematurely sold her triplex losing $1.5 million for her children. I hope the greedy bastard and his greedy wife drown in a tremendous amount of water. I'd be happy if Trump shot them both on 5th Avenue and got away with it. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh will make sure of it.

Howard said...

If the media creates a big TDS shitstorm (pun unintended), Trump will get a boost because that's how he rolls. He is now daring them to go over the top.

John Pickering said...

And I'll be watching Trump too. Get it right. Don't let Florence Katrina you. Show how to do a disaster right

Here's disingenuous Ann expressing confidence that her president can show how to do a disaster right. Everything's a blank slate for Ann, as some of her commmenters like to say about liberals, because Ann doesn't seem to have noticed how well Trump handled the disasters just last year in Texas and Puerto Rico. He's had a chance to show how he performs, and when he performs, he throws paper towels. Almost 3,000 people dead in Puerto Rico, Ann. Is Ann giving Trump an A for how he handled Puerto Rico? Of course Ann may not think those brown people are real Americans. Amazingly selective memory on Ann's part. Of course, that's how she runs these comment pages: she just deletes what she doesn't like. Delete this.

Static Ping said...

Maria was an unusual case in that:

1. Puerto Rico is an island. When there is a disaster in, say, South Carolina, all the neighboring states can transport supplies and other help by land fairly quickly, even if the infrastructure has taken a beating. Islands require everything to be delivered by boat and plane, which complicates matters greatly since the hurricane is going to prevent traffic until it passes, plus the ports and airports may take serious damage which makes it even harder.

2. Puerto Rico pretty much took a 100% hit. Everyplace was hit hard. It was not like there was a relatively undamaged place that could be used as a base of operations or refugee center. That slows down things even more.

3. Puerto Rico was a mess before the hurricane. The commonwealth is effectively bankrupt, the infrastructure was poorly maintained, and the most productive people have fled to the mainland. It was not quite the bad as a hurricane hitting, say, Haiti, but it is bad compared to pretty much any place on the mainland.

4. The Puerto Rican political class is exceptionally corrupt and incompetent, which they have proven over and over again.

So, yes, given that sort of mess, Trump's FEMA has done a good job in Puerto Rico.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“...but I'm sure many people are readying themselves to use Florence to ruin Trump.”

He doesn’t need Florence for that to happen. It’s already happened.

Yancey Ward said...

It is funny to me that no one seems to remember Hurricane Floyd.

Michael K said...


No, I operate from a reality where the relationship between two different economic indicators is irrelevant.

So you are saying that there is no relationship between GDP and unemployment?


Don't bother Freder. He is working out his next Trump disaster.

I just thought it was interesting that there were no signs of preparation for a hurricane in NO that next day. Freder has assured us that they were assiduous in taking down all signs of hurricane preparation. The efficiency was amazing. Just like mobilizing all those school buses in 2005. Just amazing.

Unemployment comes from God, just like Socialism.

Andrew said...

The Democrats/journalists already have one talking point ahead of time: that Trump moved 10 million dollars from FEMA to ICE. The "scandal" is spreading on Twitter. My guess is that this type of accusation will backfire.

Howard said...

The hurricane wasn't the problem with Katrina, it was a stupid enginerding fuckup leaving shallow sheetpiles to fail causing flood. Mike looking to work in a blame the black angle, because that how he rules.

stlcdr said...

Big hurricane is big. Wet hurricane is wet. Hurricane with lots of water will bring a lot of water. Stating the obvious...tremendously.

Gospace said...

Thing is, the NC governor, even though a Democrat- ordered a mandatory evacuation. Unlike what the Democrat governor of LA did, pre-planning plans are being put into action instead of resting on the shelves undisturbed. On the federal level- Parris Island was evacuated, recruits moved to Albany GA for their training to continue. Every ship in Norfolk that could get underway is underway. Aircraft squadrons moved away from soon to be affected areas.

The wind and storm surge damage is going to be bad. The heavy rain as the storm stalls out is going to create problems inland that will hamper movement and transport.

And the federal government has very little it can actually do in the recovery process except provide money. Power is going to be restored by linemen working long hours. Linemen currently being staged by utilities, not the government. They know what's coming. State, county, and local road departments will provide initial road clearing efforts. Debris and road clean-up is an area where federal troops can be used effectively. The rebuilding of destroyed facilities, again, will be private contractors. Already staging themselves.

Rescue efforts will be conducted by anyone available. Coast Guard, Navy, Army helicopters. Small boats, government or private. Rescue efforts will be needed because some people are too stubborn to believe they're in danger until they are.

Big Mike said...

Yeah, Trump just lies about his accomplishments and you just eat it up.

Or perhaps you lie about Trumps very solid accomplishments and the rest of us laugh on your face.

@Michael K., no, Freder isn’t that stupid. He just lies the way people breath — as an automatic reflex.

stevew said...

"Show how to do the disaster right"

Is there an established standard for doing the disaster right? Or is it more like, eff it up less poorly than the last poor bastard that tried to do it right?

-sw

Howard said...

So when you are in the Rush Limbaugh cult, is saying "Democrat Party" a virtue signal to other cultists? asking for a turnip

Michael K said...

it was a stupid enginerding fuckup leaving shallow sheetpiles to fail causing flood.

What in the world does that mean ?

The LA politicians used money for levees to build parking lots for gambling casinos on barges, which all flipped over by the way.

Here is an interesting piece by a Bush hating type but with some sense.

Innovative Emergency Management knew a lot about political contributions, but seemed to have zero experience in hurricane response planning. In fact, their “plan” for New Orleans called for evacuating the city by automobile. When Katrina hit, 127,000 wheel-less New Orleans folk were left to float out.

And van Heerden knew all about it. Well before the hurricane, I discovered, he’d pointed out flaws in the “Innovative” plan – and was threatened for the revelation by a state official. The same official later joined the payroll of Innovative Emergency Management.

When I asked the company, at their office, for a copy of the plan, they body-blocked our Democracy Now! camerawoman and called the cops.


Bush, of course, had nothing to do with New Orleans and the endemic corruption. But he is right about the plans that failed.

Michael K said...

Blogger Howard said...
So when you are in the Rush Limbaugh cult, is saying "Democrat Party" a virtue signal to other cultists? asking for a turnip



Howard, you say some interesting and valuable things. Why adopt the rhetoric of the Ingas and other idiots here ?

Howard said...

Mike: Exactly, you say a ton of interesting things, then you go all Langston Peel/marcus batshit crazy racist. I don't get it. I also don't get why you are thin skinned. You are a smart, hard working guy who has done a lot of good in this world. Have some confidence.

Trumpit said...

Schlump, and the GOP raided the U.S. Treasury to give billions in tax breaks to his rich friends and himself. They should all be convicted of treason and executed by firing squad on that basis alone. Schlump is an economic genius alright. Right up there with Herbert Hoover who also believed in tariffs and trade wars. Schlump will cause another Great Depression - he is THAT great. Schlump should be given Nobel prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace and of course Economics. Schlump's the greatest genius of all times. Just ask The Deplorables if you doubt me. Sad that the Nobel Peace Prize can't be awarded to Adolph Hitler posthumously. Everything was the Jews' fault as he often said.

Michael K said...

I also don't get why you are thin skinned.

I guess that's what you call "disagreeing with me."

is saying "Democrat Party" a virtue signal to other cultists?

You are content with the direction the Democrat Party is going ?

Some people aren't. If you have read more of her blog, you know she was a Democrat until 9/11.

Michael K said...

Howard, you and trumpit make a great team.

Infinite Monkeys said...

The news organizations are talking about Trump taking $10 million from FEMA and giving it to ICE for detention locations. I wonder if anyone getting angry about that bothers to do the math to see what percentage of $13.9 billion that is.

narciso said...

about 8/10th of a percent, but they must scream at the clouds,

Michael K said...

More explanation of why Millenials like Socialism

Churchy LaFemme: said...

I had planned to be down on Pawleys Island for the next week and a half, but complied with Gov McMaster's mandatory evacuation yesterday and drove back to Columbia. US-501 and I-26 had lane reversals starting at noon to help with the traffic outflow, but I decided not to get into that tub of crazy and took the back-roads. Not too much traffic, and just a few blue lights pointing out the right direction at some of the odd turns drivers might not have been familiar with.

Our house stood through Hazel & Hugo, so hopefully will be all right, but the yard will certainly be underwater. No signs of panic at all, but the permanent residents I talked to are certainly taking it seriously. Although I would rather have Haley back as she was great during the October 2015 floods, McMaster seems to be doing OK. I remember the extraordinary aftermath of Hugo in 1989, where Charleston Mayor Joe Riley(D) esentially functioned as the Governor of the Low Country, acting way outside the city limits (Charleston is quite small geographically), and Govenor Beasley(R) let him do it as he was getting results. Had Riley wanted it, he could have been Governor after that, but he apparently had no ambitions outside remaking Charleston.

narciso said...

a little more context

http://dailycaller.com/2018/09/12/brock-long-fact-check-msnbc-andrea-mitchell/

Quaestor said...

Avast, matey, it be Talk Like a Pirate Day, says I. Or not. It be the calendar what said it. Arrr. An' seein' as how this here recurrin' calendar date coincides with that salty bitch, Florence, yer bloggin' should be in keepin' with the season. Arrr. Here's a good one to say to the little wifey — "Git in the barrel, darlin', an' we'll do it hurricane style!" Or if ye be Jewish — "Git in the barrel darlin' and we'll repent hurricane style!"

Earnest Prole said...

Millenials like socialism because someone told them Obamacare and Social Security are socialist. They think, "Grandma likes her monthly Social Security check so I guess I'm a socialist too." Promiscuous socialist labeling by the Right has been a major strategic error.

tim in vermont said...

Congress appropriated the $10 million

Of course.

Jim at said...

Love him or hate him, but there is no way Trump would've said, "Heckuva job, Brownie.' after the fed/state/local response to Katrina.

First, he would've fired his ass. And then he would've rightfully blamed Chocolate Mayor and Idiot Blanco.

Bush? He just stood there and took it.
Trump wouldn't and won't.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Michael Brown didn't F-up the response to Katrina. All the local pols did.

Freder Frederson said...

Hey Michael K, is this the conference you went to? If it is, you are a fucking liar. Ivan made landfall on September 17, your conference was October 10.

Michael K said...

Michael Brown was a poor appointment and FEMA did an adequate job in spite of the governor and mayor.

Bush might try to remember that as he joins in the attacks on Trump, especially in the big multinational crony capital battle to help China avoid tariffs,

What too few realize is that the war is between us and China, not Russia. China bought the Clintons in 1996.

Michael K said...

Freder, your link is bad.

I visited friends in Ocean Springs AL and then went to the meeting. Ocean Springs got wiped out by Katrina. The airport is in NO. The alternative is Pensacola, farther from west Alabama.

My memory about whether it would be cancelled is probably bad. I did arrive the day after Ivan swerved east and there was a lot of damage in Alabama.

Michael K said...

What I was worried about was if the airport would be open.

I spent the night in that hotel opposite the Superdome, which was empty, and then drove to Alabama.

No signs of storm prep.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Science!

Trump pulled us out of the toothless Paris accord, and the sea is now responding with anger.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

M Brown was fine. You're letting the media paint the distortion about him.

Rick67 said...

No one will step up and say, yes, that's me, I want him to fail miserably, so we can crush him like Bush.

Thousands of activists around the country either shout "yes that *is* me!" or start furiously taking notes.

walter said...

"Water is wet!"
"Liar!!!!"

traditionalguy said...Melania will bring her sneakers.
--
..by Gucci

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Up next - who will take the fall for the Trump response screw up?

Media hard at work.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Don't verbalize noun-verbs.

Ralph L said...

Our house stood through Hazel

Hazel took out the entire beach road at Holden below Wilmington. My aunt's lot is still under water, literally, not Joe Biden literally. The houses went, too.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

"Crossfire hurricane" "insurance policy"

Jim at said...

I don't think any real blame should reasonably be laid at Trump's feet for all that, though plenty of people have certainly tried.

Remember, the mayor of San Juan thought it was more important to run around wearing freshly printed slogans on her t-shirts than actually pay attention to her constituents.

tim in vermont said...

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=GDP+Growth+vs+unemployment+United+States

I don’t know Freder, but it sure looks like unemployment spikes when GDP drops, and visa versa.

Trumpit said...

@Michael K,

You are scatterbrained, and impossible to understand. You need to get your drug habit under control before you comment again. I think your comments should come with a warning, such as:

"Trying to figure out what I'm saying is an impossibility, so don't bother trying. Reading my toxic comments may lead to multiple organ failure starting with your brain. Check back at a later time to see if my drug-induced psychosis has abated, but don't count on it. I'm hooked on those orange pills that tell me to love orange-haired trump. Stay clear away from my undecipherable drivel for your own sake."

Jim at said...

Stay clear away from my undecipherable drivel for your own sake." - Trumpit

Thanks.
Will do.

Michael K said...

Me too. trumpit makes crazies sound sane.

When the men in the white coats come knocking, invite them in. They want to help you.

MadTownGuy said...

Yancey Ward said...
"You win the media war by playing the media."

FIFY.

JEH said...

when nouning verbs and verbing nouns,
let the gerunds and participles come raining down

Good speaking is easy with gerunds!




Mary Beth said...

Don't let them turn nouns into verbs.

I will boycott anyone who turns nouns into verbs. Especially proper nouns.

Mary Beth said...

Anthimeria - what it is when you noun a verb. I provided a link because I didn't want to say to google it. (And yet I have after all.)

tcrosse said...

I will boycott anyone who turns nouns into verbs. Especially proper nouns.

Lynch them. Guillotine them.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Bork them, then Wellstone their funeral

Achilles said...

Mary Beth said...
Don't let them turn nouns into verbs.

I will boycott anyone who turns nouns into verbs. Especially proper nouns.


When emotion Trumps reason.

Achilles said...

Michael K said...
Me too. trumpit makes crazies sound sane.

When the men in the white coats come knocking, invite them in. They want to help you.


Trumpit is a Moby.

There is nothing there.

Kirk Parker said...

Vault Dweller @ 7:38am,

Nah, that is the name of a Stormy Daniels film.

Rusty said...

Mary Beth the shit out of em!

tim in vermont said...

"You are scatterbrained, and impossible to understand"

Proving a negative is a tall order. It's entirely possible that you are just stupid.

Clark said...

1. Re "[Correction (via buster): "[T]he book Wittgenstein completed as a POW is Tractus Logico-Philosophicus. ..." It's "Tractatus ..."

2. Re 8:04 comment, "Proving a negative is a tall order."
No it's not, e.g., "Abraham Lincoln is not the current president of the United States," "A dodo did not eat my cornflakes," "Bach's license plate is not from a fugue state," und sofort.

Andrew said...

Back to the hurricane topic: CNN is going insane over Trump's latest tweet about Puerto Rico.