Phillipe & Rita - And Me Without My Cigarettes

Maybe Hurricane Season Isn't The Best Time to Quit Smoking?¹

I've been away - again - because eleven days ago, my husband and I...drum roll... stopped smoking! I couldn't watch the tropics or any kind of news, really. I couldn't do much of anything besides concentrate on not-not-not lighting one of those filthy, nasty, stinking tubes of pure death. I won't go into the whole sordid thing here, but eleven days into freedom from that utter slavery to nicotine, I just have this to say: Freaking YIPPPPEEEEEE for us!²

Meanwhile, the dastardly hurricane season trucks along oddly uncaring that I've been jonesing for tobacco. I know, bizarre, eh?

The Florida Keys are preparing to be hit by Rita, which looks like it will become a hurricane pretty much any minute now, if it hasn't already. Mandatory evacuations are underway and I can't help but wonder who's looking out for the poor in the Keys. Yes, there are poor people in the Keys. Who do you think cooks and brings your food in the restaurants, makes up your beds in the hotels and picks up your garbage when you leave? And no, they aren't paid a wage that allows them to live in one of those quaint stilt houses over the water. They're barely paid a wage that allows them to live in their cars.

But I digress.

The five days forecast indicates Rita will probably make landfall in Texas (AKA El Territorio Ocupado) after it blows over the Keys. This is not good news for Texas as the Gulf is a perfect hurricane-fueling 90 degrees right now and Rita has lots of time to gather strength as it crosses the Gulf.

On its way, Rita will likely do even more damage to already storm ravaged oil interests in the Gulf and oil prices are already on the rise. Note to idiot eco-terrorist oil companies: Maybe Hurricane Land isn't the best place to locate your drilling operations. Nevermind the fragile ecosystem; everyone knows you don't give a crap about the oceans or skies, but you could have at least some regard for your own bottom line. Oh, that's right. You don't have to worry about that. You know Americans will pay $6 or even $10 per gallon to drive their Hummers. Ha. We'll see. I do believe we will get to test the theory.

But again, I digress.

Philippe (pronounced Phil-eep, I think) appears to want to become a harmless fish storm, though it still bears watching. The NHC says that while there is a broad area of low pressure between the Cape Verde Islands and the Lesser Antilles, conditions do not look favorable for development. I've come to adore that phrase: "conditions do not look favorable for development." Music. Pure music. Of course, I'll be keeping an eye on things.

Good to be back, folks.

====FootNotes====
1. Answer: Any time is a good time to quit smoking. Contrary to smokers' beliefs, smoking has little-to-no effect on hurricanes. Besides, where you gonna get your nicotine fix when the whole city is underwater?

2. Our friend over at Captain's Blog quit, too. It's an epidemic!

And from the "More Incompetence From FEMA" Files

Apparently, FEMA is only interested in giving relief to Micro$oft and PC users.

FEMA's website can only be accessed by people using a PC which has Internet Explorer 6. Some of it is viewable using Firefox but anyone trying to apply for Disaster Assistance needs to use IE 6.0 or higher.

Read More...

Sorry, Mac and/or Firefox users...no soup for YOU!!!

Your tax dollars at work, kiddies.

And now for Ophelia...

Tropical Storm Ophelia is spinning off the east coast of Florida. This one looks like it might curve out and miss the Sunshine State, according to the latest from the NHC. I was looking forward to the rain, but after last year, it's tough to wish for a storm to hit.

And this from from Phil in repsonse to last night's post:

Most of New Orleans is black... The color of their skin had nothing to do with the speed of relief agencies. On the other hand, the fucking idiots that decided to shoot at rescue helicopters attempting to land at hospitals...... uhm......DID.... I *still* think at the MINIMUM Louisiana's own National Guard should have been there immediately. No more sending people that are supposed to protect U.S. Citizens in the U.S., to foreign fucking countries.

God Bless,
Phil

Okay, Phil...I'll give you that the major portion of New Orleans' population is black, so my color comment may or may not have been fair. But I still believe that the response would have been faster and greater for the rich. That's simply the way America works. Liberty and Justice for all the rich. While it always seems FEMA et al. are too slow to respond, this response was slower than most. And if the authorities had secured the city immediately as is their...um...JOB...the junkies wouldn't have been firing on the rescue 'copters.

That said, I completely agree with this comment: "No more sending people that are supposed to protect U.S. Citizens in the U.S., to foreign fucking countries." Preach it brothah! Amen! Bring 'em home.

The response to this disaster does not give me confidence that so-called "homeland security" is prepared for a major terrorist attack. When we couldn't even handle a hurricane we knew was coming? Homeland Security is worse than a joke - it's a waste of time and money.

Care to discuss folks? Please go to the site and use the comments area as I do not allow replies back to the list.

TD #16, Nate and Maria

TD #16 should make landfall on Florida's east coast before it becomes a named storm. Hurricane Maria and Tropical Storm Nate have also arrived in the Atlantic; both are projected to become "fish storms."

If you're wondering why I haven't posted much lately, it's because I've been watching the horror that is Katrina's aftermath unfold. Since this is a Florida-centric blog, and since I've pretty much had my say on Katrina, I've been quiet.

But now it's getting active out there again, so I'll be back when there is more to report. In the meantime, make sure you are prepared for a category 5 storm. Take a lesson from the misery in Louisiana and Mississippi: you need more than three days worth of supplies (especially if you happen to be poor and/or dark-skinned...but I digress.)

Please stay safe and remember the Two Rules of hurricane survival:

RUN from the water
HIDE from the wind

New Orleans Burning

I have been quiet for the last few days in deference to the unfolding disaster along the Gulf coast. I have also been hopping mad at the government, its agencies and the pundits and talking heads on television who intellectualize and rationalize to cover their asses. All of them fiddling while New Orleans burns and Biloxi and Gulfport wonder if anyone even knows they're alive.

But you can help.

Are you retired? Do you have the means to make it to one of the relief areas such as Houston or San Antonio? Perhaps you could volunteer to work one of the refugee facilities.

Are you a medical professional with time on your hands? Perhaps you can volunteer for the Red Cross's relief effort.

Can you answer phones? Tear open an envelope? The Red Cross needs volunteers for all kinds of unglamorous work that nonetheless serves the cause. Tell them you'll empty trash cans if that is what they need...every job is vital now.

Do you have little time but some extra cash? Perhaps you can make a donation to the Red Cross. They accept everything from stocks to frequent flyer miles.

Do you live in the southeast? Do you have an extra room? Can you shelter a refugee family for a few months? MoveOn's Hurricane Housing Effort
or, if you're not fond of MoveOn: KatrinaHome.com

And last, but not least: Pray. Pray in whatever way is appropriate to your belief system because this is the biggest, baddest thing that has ever happened to this country, including the horrific attacks on the trade centers and the Pentagon.

And now for the soapbox portion of the post:
There is little doubt that as New Orleans, currently little more than a drowning pool for the poor and helpless, descends into anarchy that this is one of the darkest days in American history. The federal government has been torturously slow in responding to cries for help.

And where is the National Guard whose sole reason for being is to protect Americans in America? They are, at your expense, watching in horror from Iraq. Sent to die in a senseless, unwinnable war authorized by Republicans and Democrats alike. Want to hate someone for this atrocity unfolding before us? Hate both sides, folks. Both are equally to blame. I'm not pointing fingers at only "red" or only "blue" politicians...they all suck as far as this crisis goes. The lack of action from all corners of the federal government is as staggering as the disaster.

And I don't want to hear any excuses about the magnitude of the disaster and how they need time to gather the resources to deal with it. Bullshit. They all knew this was coming. The feds, the states, everyone knew this was not an "if" situation, but a "when." So no amount of bullshit, no amount of whining, no amount of rationalization and justification from the dumb asses on Capitol Hill can erase their culpability in this tragedy. They knew. They did not act. If I performed my job like that, I would be so fired. Think about that in November 2006.

In the meantime, maybe we should stop listening to their lame excuses and wondering when they are going to send help. It's time the citizens, who are truly what makes this country great, take matters into our own hands and help the poor and needy of the once great city of New Orleans and the rest of the forgotten and forsaken.

Please...open your heart, your home or your pocketbook. While the most powerful government on Earth whines about how they can't get it together enough to do their freaking jobs, little ol' you can do something.