Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley has scheduled the committee vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh for Thursday September 20th. A full senate vote is anticipated prior to the end of this month. SCOTUS session begins October 1st.

In a last ditch effort to come up with some scheme or roadblock, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dianne Feinstein, has announced she is referring a High School allegation of sexual misconduct to federal authorities for immediate investigation.
Feinstein refuses to release any details about her reference letter, allowing for maximum innuendo and gossip, and presents a disingenuous and transparently political public release to accompany her announcement.  According to the New York Times:

WASHINGTON — The senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee referred information involving Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, to federal investigators on Thursday, but the senator declined to make public what the matter involved.

Two officials familiar with the matter say the incident involved possible sexual misconduct between Judge Kavanaugh and a woman when they were both in high school.

(more…)

Secretary Wilbur Ross is in North Carolina today touring the NOAA facility and listening to projections of how long Hurricane Florence may disrupt rail, road and shipping transport.  Mr. Ross then calculates the economic impact.

(more…)

There will be a 2:00pm interim update soon.  As of the 11:00am update this morning Florence had dropped wind speed to 105mph (Cat2) but remained on the previously forecast track. Florence is located approximately 145 miles east-southeast of Wilmington and traveling forward at 10mph.
[Hurricane Center] Florence is moving toward the northwest near 10 mph (17 km/h). This general motion, accompanied by a further decrease in forward speed, is expected to continue through today. A turn to the west-northwest and west at an even slower forward speed is expected tonight and Friday, and a slow west-southwestward motion is forecast Friday night and Saturday.

On the forecast track, the center of Florence will approach the coasts of North and South Carolina later today, then move near or over the coast of southern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina in the hurricane warning area tonight and Friday. A slow motion across portions of eastern South Carolina is forecast Friday night through Saturday night.
(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

Sarah H Sanders Twitter @SHSanders45

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 †

According to the 11:00pm advisory Hurricane Florence has weakened to a Category 2 storm with winds at 110mph.  Forward speed is still around 17mph and it is located approximately 280 miles east south-east of Wilmington North Carolina. [16 hrs away]

Time Lapse Forecast Map Available Here

At 1100 PM EDT (0300 UTC), the center of Hurricane Florence was located near latitude 32.0 North, longitude 73.7 West. Florence is moving toward the northwest near 17 mph (28 km/h), and this general motion, accompanied by a gradual decrease in forward speed, is expected to continue through Thursday. A turn to the west-northwest and west at an even slower forward speed is expected Thursday night and Friday, and a slow west-southwestward motion is forecast Friday night and Saturday.
On the forecast track, the center of Florence will approach the coasts of North and South Carolina on Thursday, then move near or over the coast of southern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina in the hurricane warning area on Thursday night and Friday. A slow motion over eastern South Carolina is forecast Friday night and Saturday. (read more)
(more…)

Just when you think we might have reached peak Trump Derangement Syndrome; along comes an even bigger nut to raise the bar on crazy:

Tweet Link – Article Link

Apparently President Trump is such a significant presence he now commands control over planetary meteorology.  Who knew?

As many long-time readers will know, we do have a little bit more than average experience dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes.  I ain’t no expert in the before part; you need to heed the local, very local, professionals who will guide you through any preparation, and neighborhood specific guidelines, for your immediate area.

But when it comes to the ‘after part’, well, as a long-time CERT recovery member perhaps I can guide you through the expectation and you might find some value.  Consider this little word salad a buffet, absorb what might be of value pass over anything else.
When the winds reach around 40mph, the utility company will likely, proactively, shut down the power.  This makes things a heck of a lot safer in the aftermath; and much easier and safer during the rebuild.  Don’t expect the power to be turned back on until it is safe.
Hurricanes can be frightening; downright scary.  There’s nothing quite like going through a few to reset your outlook on just how Mother Nature can deliver a cleansing cycle to an entire geographic region.
(more…)

President Trump delivers remarks at a celebration to honor a reception for Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. In addition to remarks for the audience, President Trump also mentions the preparation and concern for those in the path of Hurricane Florence.

.
[Transcript] East Room – 5:59 P.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, everybody. Please, please. A lot of very brave people in this room. I have to start off by saying that. And I’m truly thrilled to welcome back all of you folks to the White House. Thirty-three recipients — our nations highest military award: the Congressional Medal of Honor.
(more…)

The 5:00pm advisory from the National Hurricane Center shows the massive storm has lost a little internal power but the forecast path is now considerably worse.  The projections put Florence actually making near landfall and simultaneously shifting south buzz-sawing both the North Carolina and South Carolina coast with hurricane winds.
The projected path is incredible.  SEE HERE (hit play) a hurricane paralleling the coastline while retaining strength is one of the most damaging outcomes possible.  This also increases the storm surge potential with multiple tide cycles.

Hurricane conditions are expected to reach the coast within the hurricane warning area late Thursday or Friday. Winds are expected to first reach tropical storm strength on Thursday, making outside preparations difficult or dangerous. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.
At 500 PM EDT (2100 UTC), the center of Hurricane Florence was located near latitude 30.9 North, longitude 72.5 West. Florence is moving toward the northwest near 16 mph (26 km/h), and this general motion, accompanied by a gradual decrease in forward speed, is expected to continue through Saturday. On the forecast track, the center of Florence will approach the coast of North Carolina or South Carolina in the hurricane warning area on Thursday and Friday, and move slowly near the coastline through Saturday.
(more…)