Major category-5 hurricane Dorian continues to pummel the Bahamas as it slowly tracks west toward the Florida coast.  The storm is anticipated to turn North, but the timing of that right turn will make all the difference.  A few miles further West could mean full hurricane force winds against the Florida east coast. [Planning/Info Resource Here]
All residents in the watch and warning areas should heed the evacuation notices of local officials.  With winds of 180+ MPH Dorian is a very serious threat.
[Hurricane Center] At 1100 PM EDT (0300 UTC), the center of Hurricane Dorian was located near latitude 26.6 North, longitude 77.9 West. Dorian is moving toward the west near 6 mph (9 km/h). A slower westward to west-northwestward motion is forecast during the next day or so, followed by a gradual turn toward the northwest.

On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Dorian will continue to pound Great Abaco and Grand Bahama islands overnight and through much of Monday. The hurricane will move dangerously close to the Florida east coast late Monday through Tuesday night.
Maximum sustained winds are near 180 mph (285 km/h) with higher gusts. Dorian is a category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson  Hurricane Wind Scale. Slow weakening is forecast, but fluctuations in intensity could occur couple of days. Regardless, Dorian is expected to remain a powerful hurricane during the next few days.
(more…)

Warning, Toxic Masculinity Alert! LOL

After a hurricane, lunch-buckets are the second-best ‘buckets’… believe me.
So far over 3,000 power crews have arrived at the Daytona Intl Speedway staging area, with more en route.  That’s a not-so-small army of over 16,000 lineman and electrical utility personnel staged and prepared to jump into action depending on the impact zone of Hurricane Dorian.

The power crews are from all over the United States and Canada, with more on the way to alternate staging areas. The logistics of assembling an army of hardhats is intense, but these calloused and determined hands are some of the true-grit heroes in the aftermath of any hurricane event.
The Daytona International Speedway works great and holds almost perfect facility structure to support the scale of food, fuel and logistics.  Daytona is one of twenty-four staging areas throughout the Southeast where crews are assembling.
(more…)

Chopper pressers are the best pressers.  As President Trump arrived back at the White House from Camp David, and just prior to a visit to FEMA Headquarters, he paused on the south lawn to answer media questions. [Video and Transcript Below]

.
[Transcript] THE PRESIDENT: Hello. First of all, I’d like to thank law enforcement yesterday, in Texas. They’ve been incredible. First responders, law enforcement, the police, the FBI, Governor Abbott — incredible, the job they did. It’s tragic, but they did an incredible job under the circumstances. It’s another very sick person.
So I just want to thank everybody involved. And always, you say: As bad as it was, it could have been worse. But it was certainly bad. Very, very sad situation.
(more…)

President Trump travels to FEMA Headquarters for a briefing on the current state of storm preparedness in advance of Hurricane Dorian having impact on the U.S. coastline.

.
WHITE HOUSE – President Donald J. Trump received a briefing today from senior members of his Administration and Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia, Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina, and Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina on the Federal and State efforts underway to prepare for and respond to Hurricane Dorian at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
(more…)

Florida has suspended all roadway tolls as intensely powerful Hurricane Dorian continues a slow westward track over the Bahamas.  There is a great deal of uncertainty on the timing of any northward shift… Everyone on the east coast of Florida pay attention.
The eye-wall of category-five hurricane Dorian now carries 185 mph winds outward 45 miles from center.  This presents a 90-mile-wide buzzsaw of devastating impact.  It cannot be overstated how dangerous this storm has become.  Very few structures can withstand winds of that scale for any prolonged duration of time.  [Hurricane Center Update]

This is a ‘topography changing’ event.

At 200 PM EDT (1800 UTC), the extremely distinct eye of Hurricane Dorian was located near latitude 26.5 North, longitude 77.1 West. Dorian is moving toward the west near 7 mph (11 km/h). A slower westward motion should continue for the next day or two, followed by a gradual turn toward the northwest. On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Dorian will continue to pound Great Abaco today and the move near or over Grand Bahama Island tonight and Monday. The hurricane should move closer to the Florida east coast late Monday through Tuesday night.
Maximum sustained winds are near 185 mph (295 km/h) with higher gusts. Dorian is a extremely dangerous category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely, and Dorian is expected to remain a catastrophic hurricane during the next few days.
(more…)

In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Stephanie Grisham Twitter @StephGrisham45

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

Hurricane Dorian now presents a 150mph wind force extending 30 miles from center.  That is a 60 mile-wide category-4 wind field.  A very powerful and dangerous storm. A rapid turn north is expected; the question is ‘when‘? A Tropical Storm Watch is now in effect for: Deerfield Beach to the Sebastian Inlet on Florida’s east coast.
In addition to Florida, residents in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina should be monitoring this storm closely.  Pay attention to local officials.

At 1100 PM EDT (0300 UTC), the center of Hurricane Dorian was located near latitude 26.3 North, longitude 75.1 West. Dorian is moving toward the west near 8 mph (13 km/h), and a slower westward motion should continue for the next day or two, followed by a gradual turn toward the northwest. On this track, the core of Dorian should be near or over portions of the northwestern Bahamas on Sunday, and move closer to the Florida east coast late Monday through Tuesday.
(more…)

The protests and demonstrations began in mid-June, centered around the now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed people in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China for trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party.  Today, those protests are outlawed by Chinese authorities, organizers have been disappeared, and yet the protests continue.
Eric, a 22-year-old student, told Reuters news agency: “Telling us not to protest is like telling us not to breathe. I feel it’s my duty to fight for democracy. Maybe we win, maybe we lose, but we fight.”

Hong Kong police, seemingly comprised of Chinese militia, are using semi-permanent blue dye water cannons to mark the protesting groups. This helps them later identify their targets for the arrest (ie. disappearing).

(Reuters) Protest organizers have urged the public to overwhelm road and rail links to the airport on Sunday and Monday, potentially disrupting flights. A similar so-called “stress test” of the airport last weekend failed.

(more…)

A shooting spree spread spread from Midland to Odessa, Texas, after police pulled over a man driving a gold Honda on interstate-20 and the driver began firing a rifle through his rear window, shooting one of two state troopers.
According to local reports a 30-year-old male started the shooting spree after his vehicle was stopped, and then continued shooting random bystanders, victims and responding officers as he drove from Midland to Odessa Texas.

.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said: one of two state troopers conducting the traffic stop was shot. She says the suspect then fled “and continued shooting innocent people,” including two other police officers.
(more…)