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Normally, I'd assume that you were so hyper-fixated on anti-vax stuff that you didn't notice the fourth largest hurricane ever to hit the US going right up the butthole of the town where I grew up,
I hope your people are ok. Grew up outside of NOLA dealing with storms forever and left the summer before Katrina to Baton Rouge, so familiar with the struggle.
Also one of the reasons we left.
Fort Myers took the brunt of this one. They're just... destroyed.
In Charlotte County, there's some flooding down in the Harbor neighborhood, but many of the houses are ok. The streets are still flooded in North Port, but they're supposed to be. (They're the drainage system in the areas where the canals don't reach).
All of the shingles (and vents, and whatnot) came off the roof of Jon's house in Port Charlotte, so lots of water came in. He's probably gonna have to gut the place.
At Missy's place in Deep Creek, all of the trees are gone, as is the lanai, but only minor roof damage and minimal water entry. The window shutters took a pounding (they're all dented and banged in) but they did their job,
Wayne reports that at his place in North Port, the fence and patio are nowhere to be seen, but the roof stayed 100% intact.
This is from North Port:
(They were all fully vaccinated, so no damage from climate change.)
Anyway, the scene today is exactly what it looked like after Charley (and exactly what it didn't look like after Katrina). No violence, no looting, all of the good ole' boys are out in their pickup trucks with their chainsaws cutting up the trees and clearing the roads. Folks with bobcats are moving the debris and picking up the heavy stuff and loading it onto trailers. Folks with ladders are putting up the tarps over roofs that got stripped. The Cajun Navy are out in their flat-bottom boats rescuing people and animals who are trapped by the flooding. People with vans are hauling ice and food and bottled drinks in from restaurants up near Tampa and distributing it around town.
It's just a beautiful thing... Neighbors helping neighbors.
Aerial pics of my co-worker's neighborhood in Englewood. He's evacuated to Miami and hasn't returned yet.
I haven't seen any photos yet, but I assume that's what the neighborhood in Charlotte Harbor where I grew up looks like. Probably worse, as a lot of those homes were built in the 50s and 60s, and the lots aren't elevated.
The photos I have seen are a mix of horrifying and "wow, that's amazingly unharmed!"
Punta Gorda didn't do too bad. There's a little flooding, and some completely intact roofs sitting on the ground some distance away from the houses they were attached to earlier in the week, but they didn't get the Charlie-level devastation of "whole blocks of buildings are just... gone."
Fort Myers... Those guys got hit hard. Houses flooded all the way to the roof. A big chunk of the Sanibel Bridge collapsed, so Sanibel Island is now cut off from the mainland. I wouldn't be surprised if they condemn the whole thing, which will take forever to rebuild.
The Waffle House is closed.
Up in Lerp, power has been on and off, but they didn't get too much water, and the winds were max 60mph by the time it got there.
Someone (I have no idea who) added me to the Tarpon Task Force FB group. Huge range of stories and photos going on there. Some of it is heart-breaking. I'm a strong guy, and I've cried several times today.
I've managed to get in touch with nearly all of my friends down there by now. Most made it through with only light to moderate damage. A couple are now homeless, but have found accommodation with friends.
The folks down there really are doing a stellar job of being decent humans. They had the major roads cleared, and food and supplies being distributed to the intact shelters, before the National Guard and the Army Corps. of Engineers even showed up. They've gotten the generator at one of the two hospitals de-watered, re-filled with new diesel, and back online, and had enough sandbags and pumps to clear out the first floor, so the ER is once again open for business. And these are people whose own homes are either smashed or underwater. They're just doing what comes natural to southern folk.
And you ******* in Tampa, man... Y'all must be practicing Santeria or something, because your hurricanes keep saying "nope, we'll just make landfall right here a little to the south."
EDIT:
Essential services in the non-flooded areas are being quickly restored:
I will however touch on each of the seven ways, briefly.
1. Housing prices may finally come down to reasonable levels.
That's not good for me. It's bad for me, along with all of the other fiscally responsible people who own homes. Not every homeowner is a speculator, Michelle. Most of us just wanted a place to live, and determined that this was cheaper over the long run than renting.
2. Savings rates are up.
True, but that's not caused by recession. The increase you cite is miniscule, the total amount of household savings is still dismal, and your citation that some credit certificates are now paying out a 3% APY is just terrible advice.
3. I bonds inflation rate might go even higher.
True, but you're limited to only $10k a year in Series I bond purchases, and this isn't a great financial instrument for anyone except retirees. So, again, no benefit to me.
4. The dollar is king.
Do you really believe that most of your readers, who aren't homeowners and have no savings, are doing a lot of international travel? Frankly, the fact that the £ is approaching parity with the $ should scare us all. And, again, this has nothing to do with recession.
5. Unemployment is still relatively low.
... and rising.
6. Your used car is worth more.
And I have no intention of selling it. In fact, I just bought a used car last year. Paid $22k for a 2016 Nissan with 60k miles. So, again, bad for me.
7. Student loan forgiveness is coming.
As with #1, this is financially harmful for most of us, not to mention calamitously bad policy in general. You're basically pointing out that voters can be bought. And, for the third time, not related to the point of the article.
Didn't read, because WaPo.
Nothing about how your $1 will be worth .10 in a decade?
Also, don't bet on loan forgiveness. It never seemed fair because it just plain ain't legal. Red states are suing, and it will go down.
Seriously though, 1984 is not supposed to be an instruction manual.
Unfortunately, we have not heeded Reagan's warnings. Things still sound as bad... or worse. If someone cannot understand why Republicans became Trumpers, listen to this.
Two things that caught me off guard were that FDR campaigned on smaller gvnmnt, and in 1966, minimum basic income was already being suggested.
I subscribe to a free service provided by the USPS called Daily Digest, where every day I get an email with snapshots of all of the mail coming my way. Their auto-sorters take these photos anyway, so it's nice that they offer to auto-forward them to the recipients. This is how I decide whether or not to bother to open the front door when I get home and gather up the mail, or just let it ferment for a day or two.
Today's consisted of only two mailpieces:
I just found this to be an interesting coincidence. One is propaganda from the IL Democratic Party warning me to watch out for "phony" newspapers sent by right wing extremists (extremists, in this case, being anyone who opposes socialism), and the other is my 2022 general ballot.
Interestingly, I have thus far received only that one ballot this year. I'm guessing now that I live in a house, the days of my receiving 3 or 4 each election are probably over.
A big chunk of the Sanibel Bridge collapsed, so Sanibel Island is now cut off from the mainland. I wouldn't be surprised if they condemn the whole thing, which will take forever to rebuild.
Yeah Mothernature's impressive. This past April was my first time at the gulf coast (Sanibel); planned on going back yearly....nope!
09-29-2022, 10:41 AM
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