Dammit to hell, Hurricane Irma is a thing.

[onekidanddone]

Is Palm Beach under an evacuation? If so will the Rush the thrush filled gas bag leave or keep on denying Irma's threat and stay until he is swimming around his top floor? And what about Mara-blob-o?  Will it float out to sea.. pity.  Am I a bitch today? Yes, I suppose I am.

[AuntK]

21 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

I just wanted to say that you Floridians are complete badasses in my eyes. You have those damn Palmetto bugs, gators, and you have to deal with hurricanes. 

I will continue to send good thoughts to everyone else in the path of this damn storm.

Thanks, Cartmann99! We also have rattlesnakes, copperheads, and sharks, but somehow, we survive!

[fraurosena]

10 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Oh, @fraurosena, please don't insult humanity by implying Limbaugh is a member of the human race.

Ha, I wasn't thinking of that piece of shit, I can assure you. 

Sadly, I was referring to those assholes who take advantage of a disaster like this to go looting and pillaging and robbing others, taking away even more than these victims have lost already.  

I do find it heartening to then see that the opposite is also true when I see the goodness of kind and caring people who go above and beyond to help their fellow man.

[onekidanddone]

22 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

Also, a belief in a flat earth is growing among certain segments of the fundie population in the United States. 

Cube.  The earth is a cube.

[Cartmann99]

Those poor people!

 

[BecauseScience]

FJ Floridians and Georgians and South Carolinians and island folk, I'm thinking of you.  Be safe, and in stores, think tortillas.  Good luck!

[VixenToast]

8 hours ago, onekidanddone said:

Cube.  The earth is a cube.

And we are all living in Minecraft. 

[AuntK]

Ah shit, the bitch is now turning slightly more westerly, (my direction).  I was so sure this would miss me! I'm sitting here at 2:30 in the damn morning waiting on my niece and her family driving up from central Florida on I-75. They are over an hour overdue. I know traffic is crazy, I keep looking at traffic apps on the internet, but it is showing me every accident on the road. I can't look at it any more. 

God, I wish they would get here soon!

[AuntK]

They're here!

[fraurosena]

1 hour ago, AuntK said:

They're here!

Thank goodness! It's always better to be with family and/or friends in situations like this, isn't it?

Take care, and stay safe!

[RosyDaisy]

My husband and FIL just left to pick up his aunt and uncle are from FL. Uncle got sick on the way, and Aunt can't drive. They're in Atlanta now. Please, God let them make it here safely. I have our guest bedroom ready for them.

[LeftCoastLurker]

3 hours ago, RosyDaisy said:

My husband and FIL just left to pick up his aunt and uncle are from FL. Uncle got sick on the way, and Aunt can't drive. They're in Atlanta now. Please, God let them make it here safely. I have our guest bedroom ready for them.

Let us know when everyone is safely there!

[Cartmann99]

I just saw in the other hurricane thread, that Kirk Cameron has climbed up out of the sewer again to yap about the cause of these destructive hurricanes. Oh, goodie!  

On that same note, did you know that SCOTUS has the power to stop Hurricane Irma?

Quote

Extremist anti-LGBTQ pastor Kevin Swanson declared on his radio program today that the Supreme Court should immediately reverse its Roe v. Wade and Obergefell decisions before God unleashes his judgment on America in the form of Hurricane Irma.

Swanson, who just last week said that Hurricane Harvey was the judgment of God on Houston, said that these “God-ordained disasters” are a warning to this nation to repent for its myriad of sins.

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/kevin-swanson-scotus-needs-to-immediately-reverse-roe-v-wade-and-obergefell-before-irma-strikes/

So, how exactly did other countries like Barbuda get mixed up in our punishment? Did God misplace his glasses and smite them by mistake?

Go home Kevin, you're drunk.

[Buzzard]

Are we going back to making sacrifices to appease the angry gods?  I thought christians were past all that... 

We're being told that Atlanta may get some serious winds early next week.  This thing is HUGE and I'm definitely worried for some family in Florida that refused to evacuate.  

[LeftCoastLurker]

21 minutes ago, Buzzard said:

Are we going back to making sacrifices to appease the angry gods?  I thought christians were past all that... 

<snip>

I'm not at all religious but I think the sacrifice idea is a good one...I have a feeling that we could all rally around the idea of the orange one being the first to go!

 

[JMarie]

1 hour ago, Cartmann99 said:

I just saw in the other hurricane thread, that Kirk Cameron has climbed up out of the sewer again to yap about the cause of these destructive hurricanes. Oh, goodie!  

On that same note, did you know that SCOTUS has the power to stop Hurricane Irma?

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/kevin-swanson-scotus-needs-to-immediately-reverse-roe-v-wade-and-obergefell-before-irma-strikes/

So, how exactly did other countries like Barbuda get mixed up in our punishment? Did God misplace his glasses and smite them by mistake?

Go home Kevin, you're drunk.

Kirk Cameron wouldn't be saying that if he lived in Florida.  But he's safe and sound in California, which in no way will be affected by the hurricane. 

[Cartmann99]

[GreyhoundFan]

The WaPo removed their paywall at least for articles about Irma. They have a running update thread.

[Cartmann99]

1 minute ago, GreyhoundFan said:

The WaPo removed their paywall at least for articles about Irma. They have a running update thread.

I saw a tweet that the New York Times is doing the same. 

[Buzzard]

I was thoroughly pissed this morning that sirius/xm has NOT removed the pay feature on their traffic.  Absolutely ridiculous that they arent providing updated maps and traffic to everyone with their satellite through this.

[Audrey2]

14 minutes ago, Cartmann99 said:

Rushie,put your bottom where your mouth is. You need to stay, because Hurricane Irma is "Fake News". Maybe you could do a live broadcast or something. Rescuers, don't go to help Rush, even if he blubbers on the phone. Why would he need to be rescued from "Fake News"?

[GrumpyGran]

51 minutes ago, Audrey2 said:

Rushie,put your bottom where your mouth is. You need to stay, because Hurricane Irma is "Fake News". Maybe you could do a live broadcast or something. Rescuers, don't go to help Rush, even if he blubbers on the phone. Why would he need to be rescued from "Fake News"?

Beached whale. I want him to stay so the sea can reclaim him. But no, as soon as the housekeeper gets back with his drugs, he'll get on his private jet and fly off to safety, leaving his deluded acolytes there to die.

If we're going to do sacrifices, let's start with Ivanka, then Kellyanne. It may take several, you know. Tomi, Anne Coulter, then we can throw in Bannon, Miller, Hannity...

12 hours ago, AuntK said:

They're here!

@AuntK, I hope you're getting some rest now. It looks like my possible reprieve is going to be your serious disadvantage. Sorry, I wish it could somehow scoot right up between us without much damage. Or better yet, just fizzle out. Already so much damage! For all anxiously awaiting family, hope they all arrive safe.

[GreyhoundFan]

"We can’t leave Florida, but we can’t stay either. Help us!"

Spoiler

My phone beeps again. It’s another well-meaning friend demanding I leave my small home in Florida with my kids and dog in tow. “Stop being stubborn! Get out now; who cares about your stuff!” they type angrily. Hurricane Irma is coming. She’s here.

And I’m not leaving my home in Gainesville, in north-central Florida. I can’t.

Already, more than 20 counties have been told by the government to evacuate, and more are being added to the list by the hour. We’re looking at one of the largest evacuations in U.S. history. More than 6 million people live in southern Florida. As they all pile into their cars and try to outrun this massive storm, experts are telling those not in storm surge areas, low-lying flood areas or coastal areas to try to stay put. “The majority of Florida will have major hurricane impact and deadly winds. We expect this along the entire east coast and west coast,” Scott said at a news conference. “All Floridians should be prepared to evacuate.”

But Florida has only two main roads: interstates 95 and 75. They are parking lots, and have been for days. People are sitting in their vehicles, completely stopped on four-lane highways, running out of gas. There are no exits on these roads for scores of miles at a time. Once you get on a Florida highway, you are not getting off. You’re stuck. So, my family’s choices are: We stay here in our flimsily built house, made of sheet rock and plywood; or we hop on an unmoving highway and risk running out of gas closer to the coast, with only our car for protection.

We would further clog those roads for the people in South Florida who need to get to safety, too. At least I’m inland. Irma is going to blast right over us, but she can’t bury us in rising seawater. Miami needs the roads. We’d better stay off them to keep others alive.

In Gainesville, we are nearly out of gas. So is Orlando. So is Florida — half of Miami’s gas stations closed. Scott has ordered highway patrols to escort fuel trucks to gas stations as people scurried to refill their empty tanks. Shelves of water have been empty for days. Work and school is canceled at least through Monday. Twelve shelters have opened in my town in preparation.

The last thing we need are demands that we leave. Mandatory evacuation could do more harm than Irma herself. Scott has the best of intentions, but you can’t tell millions upon millions of people to evacuate without giving them any real way to do so. Two major highways just won’t cut it for that parade of refugees.

Meaningful evacuation would have meant public transport, safe shelters along the way, medical help and facilities throughout, and safe shelter, food, water and sanitary supplies on the other side of it all. For free. Because evacuating is expensive: You need gas and a reliable vehicle. You need good health to make a slow-moving, anxiety-inducing journey with thousands of other people surrounding you at every turn. You need money to buy supplies and emergency equipment, and to miss work. You simply need things we don’t normally have. Being prepared is a luxury, and it’s not always possible.

Florida has been in a state of emergency since Tuesday, and when the hurricane hits, most of us will still be woefully underprepared. There’s nothing to describe the sense of doom as you stare down the barrel of a Category 5 storm knowing you should be tying everything down, boarding everything up and driving far away. And knowing you can’t do any of those things. All you can do is sit and wait to see what happens.

I’m moving important papers and bedding to high shelves. I’m taking my patio furniture inside. We’re going to sleep in the living room because there’s a gnarly old oak tree poised to crash down right on our bed.

But we can’t board the windows. We don’t have plywood. It’s been out of stock since early in the week. I can’t box up our stuff. We don’t have Tupperware tubs. I managed to find three mini flashlights at a Walgreens. I got the last five small bottles of water at Staples. Everywhere is out of everything.

I’m scrambling right now, trying to figure out how my dog is going to survive, and when I should fill my bathtub. I’m charging every single device we have, planning to go through them one at a time when we lose electricity and can’t reach the rest of the world. We are literally trapped.

We need access to sturdy buildings and shelters. We need places to store bedding, blankets and food. We need people and organizations with generators to open up, not after the storm, but now. We need places to keep our animals safe. We need planes flying in and out of here, getting people to safety cheaply.

What Irma makes clear is this: It is not the residents’ fault when a storm takes everything they have. It’s the country’s. We know these storms come, and private citizens only have so much spare cash and time to deal with it. We need comprehensive state and county evacuation plans. We need a preventive plan set into motion before a storm hits to save lives. Sending in the cleanup crew to count the bodies and save the traumatized survivors isn’t enough.

It’s 85 degrees and sunny in Florida today. And we need help. Now.

Sobering, but true. My company has huge offices in Orlando, Jacksonville, and Tampa. Many of my closest teammates are in the Orlando office. They said they really can't get out, even though they all make a decent salary, and can work remotely. There's no way to get anywhere. And supplies are long-gone.

[LeftCoastLurker]

The situation so many people are in is horrible. One thing I can hope that will happen after this blows over and their lives return to some semblance of normal (which I know could be years from now), and if their finances allow, they prepare NOW for what might happen in the future. Using examples from the article above, you could:

1. Buy those plastic tubs and have them ready.

2. Stockpile water when its on sale. Rotate stock out as it gets old.

3. Buy and cut plywood as time and space allows. Have it ready to use when the next inevitable hurricane arrives.

4. Never let your gas tank get below 1/2 tank. 

I don't mean to sound cold hearted, but I live in earthquake country. I'm not going to get ANY warning whatsoever before all hell breaks loose. But I'm still as ready as I can be. Emergency kits in every car, stockpile of food (if my house is still safe enough to enter), cash in small bills in case no power=no ATMs, etc...

If you live in an area prone to natural disaster, plan ahead.

I don't wish death, injury, destruction on anyone, but if you  live in the land of hurricanes, prepare yourself.

 

[bashfulpixie]

53 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"We can’t leave Florida, but we can’t stay either. Help us!"

Sobering, but true. My company has huge offices in Orlando, Jacksonville, and Tampa. Many of my closest teammates are in the Orlando office. They said they really can't get out, even though they all make a decent salary, and can work remotely. There's no way to get anywhere. And supplies are long-gone.

Absolutely true.  We're different than the rest of the south with regards to these storms.  While they can flee in multiple directions, Floridians can only go north until they clear the peninsula.   And even then, once you get north you have I-75 and I-95 going north and I-10 going west and that's it.  The end. 

People have been flooding north for days.  There are no supplies.  I've had to make four different Publix runs because every time I go, they're out of something I need.  Gas Buddy has been everyone's best friend, because at least then you know if the station down the street is even worth attempting.  My 35 minute work route, which is along I-95, took an hour and ten minutes yesterday.  And we're supposed to contribute to that to flee with everyone else?

Hotel rooms as far north as Atlanta are completely full.  All of my extended family lives in the Midwest, so they're no help.  I'm stuck and as prepared as I can be.  Fingers crossed the universe is kind