Bretagne was the last of the 9/11 search and rescue dogs to be laid to rest. The above video show the honor given her by the officers (video says it is Houston firefighters) as she takes her final steps. There were many American heroes in the aftermath of 9/11. These dogs were among them. The rest of this post is the first one I wrote about the dogs on the anniversary of the attack. 
We have all heard that heroes come in all shapes and sizes; sometimes the most unassuming person rises to the occasion and meets the challenge. And sometimes it is a very special type of animal, a rescue dog. In the aftermath of 9/11 bombings, the world’s largest deployment of rescue dogs were used to search for survivors, working tirelessly with their handlers, searching  the ruins, and according to witnesses, giving great comfort to the workers. Dutch photographer Charlotte Dumas has published a book called Retrieved, featuring the surviving dogs in their final years. Read more and check out the pictures of these wonderful dogs here in this Daily Mail article. (more…)

On this anniversary of September 11, 2001, We The People of the USA thank you sincerely,  O Canada,  for your kindness and support of our brothers and sisters in their time of dire need.  From Whitehorse to Gander, your graciousness will never be forgotten.
GANDER, N.L. – Gander International Airport in Newfoundland was once a cosmopolitan crossroads where transatlantic flights carrying everyone from world leaders to Humphrey Bogart touched down to refuel.
Its modernist lounge with geometric flooring and sleek furniture is a trip back to 1959, when the Queen opened it as an avant-garde ode to the glamour of air travel.
But Gander’s global prominence faded when jumbo jets started criss-crossing the Atlantic non-stop. Traffic at the sprawling airfield — a former Second World War staging point — dwindled to cargo planes, military flights, emergency landings and the odd private jet.
Then 9-11 hit. (more…)

A man who was convinced the Twin Towers would be targeted in a terror attack led 2,700 people to safety from the World Trade Center before being killed when he went back in looking for stragglers.
Security chief Rick Rescorla carried out training drills with staff at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter to prepare them for a terror atrocity after realising the vulnerability of buildings to air terror attacks.
But after leading thousands to safety on 9/11 when his fears were realised, the 62-year-old Cornishman was last seen going back up the stairs of the South Tower before it collapsed. (more…)

We are on the road headed back in to coastal SWFL now.  We have immediate wellness checks and assessments to conduct.  I will touch base later.
At 500 AM EDT (0900 UTC), the center of Hurricane Irma was located near latitude 28.9 North, longitude 82.6 West. Irma is moving toward the north-northwest near 18 mph (30 km/h) and this motion is expected to continue through Tuesday. On the forecast track, the
center of Irma will move near the northwestern coast of the Florida Peninsula this morning, cross the eastern Florida Panhandle into southern Georgia this afternoon, and move through southwestern Georgia and eastern Alabama tonight and Tuesday.

Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 75 mph (120 km/h) with higher gusts. Additional weakening is forecast, and Irma is expected to weaken to a tropical storm this morning and to a tropical depression by Tuesday afternoon.
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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 †

There are millions of people without power throughout central and south Florida. As a consequence people are turning to broadcast livestreams available from local media on video platforms.  Here’s two livestream media sources for Tampa and Orlando:
♦West Coast –  Tampa, Bradenton, St. Pete (Manatee and Hillsborough Counties) via ABC Action News:

♦Central Florida – Orlando, Lakeland, Orange, Polk, Osceola, Citrus Counties via WFTV News 9:
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My apologies to those who have written complaining that CTH is not providing the comprehensive coverage of political news.  Unfortunately, home base for all current research consists of three duffel bags, a laptop, generator and a well suited 4×4; loaded with power tools, emergency kits and assorted roughneck supplies.
I will make every effort to return to political research and analysis – as soon as current logistics, community safety and overall concerns with safety/instability are abated.
Fortunately Hurricane Irma is weakening rapidly as the storm made contact with the Florida peninsular at Marco Island.

At 500 PM EDT (2100 UTC), the center of Hurricane Irma was located near latitude 26.2 North, longitude 81.8 West. Irma is moving toward the north near 14 mph (22 km/h), and a north-northwestward motion with an increase in forward speed is expected by tonight, with that motion continuing through Monday. On the forecast track, the eye of Irma should move near or over the west coast of the Florida Peninsula through Monday morning. Irma should then move inland over northern Florida and southwestern Georgia Monday afternoon.
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The northern eye wall of Hurricane Irma is going to impact Marco Island (the Southern point of Collier County), within the hour.  Now is the time to move into your interior safe room for those in Collier County.    Collier residents will have about 2 to 3 hours of peak damaging winds beginning  about 45 minutes from now.
At 200 PM EDT (1800 UTC), the center of Hurricane Irma was located near latitude 25.6 North, longitude 81.8 West. Irma is moving toward the north near 12 mph (19 km/h), and a north-northwestward motion with a further increase in forward speed is expected later today, with that motion continuing through Monday.
On the forecast track, the center of Irma should move near or over the southwest and west coast of the Florida Peninsula later today through tonight. Irma should then move inland over northern Florida and southwestern Georgia Monday afternoon.
Maximum sustained winds are near 120 mph (195 km/h) with higher gusts. Irma is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. While weakening is forecast, Irma is expected to remain a powerful hurricane while it moves near or along the west coast of Florida. (link) (more…)

Today is a good opportunity to reference the conversations we have discussed about this in the lead up to today.  In 1960 Hurricane Donna drained the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers during her NE turn toward Jacksonville.   Ironically That was September 10th, 1960.  The tidal flows will play a role in the pending Storm Surge.
Tampa Bay, moments ago:

The top of the storm is moving water away from the gulf beaches and barrier islands in proportion to the timing of the tide.  However, all of that water -along with the water carried by the storm’s energy, will come back in with the backside of the storm.  And if that times with an incoming tide….  The results are a fast and widespread storm surge, even up river as all the water piles up.
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