NBC NEWS: "The restaurant Brennan's of Houston, a downtown institution for more than four decades, was destroyed by flames. Fire officials said a restaurant worker and his young daughter were taken to a hospital in critical condition with burns over 70 percent of their bodies"
"We don't know what we are going to find," Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said. "We hope we will find the people who are left here alive and well." ..
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez; Tommy Scarborough supports himself on a post while he gets a lift from the strong winds created by the approaching Hurricane Ike in Bacliff, Texas, Friday, Sept. 12, 2008
Probably not.. But there has been a lot of debate lately over whether or not McCain can use the Internet. .Hot Air blog on why he can't type.. hint, he was a prisoner of war for over 5 years..
"Perhaps more troubling for the Obama campaign than the overall head-to-head numbers, however, is the dramatic hardening of McCain's support suggested in the poll. In July, only 39 percent of McCain voters said they supported McCain strongly. By contrast, 71 percent now say they strongly support the Republican nominee. Obama, meanwhile, has seen support increase from his voters, as well, but far less dramatically—67 percent now say they support him strongly, compared to 61 percent in July. Enthusiastic support will prove crucial to both parties in a close election, as voters are more likely to turn out for, give money to and volunteer on behalf of candidates they firmly back"
AP Photo/David J. Phillip While Hurricane Ike is far from finished damaging Texas and Louisiana, the area of Galveston, Texas, has been hit hard by the massive monster that came from the Gulf of Mexico.. Ike's eye traveled over Galveston around 2:10am CDT Saturday.. Even at this current hour, rescue workers are being inundated with calls from people in distress--calls that cannot be acted on in many cases. Warnings for days called for "certain death" and for social security numbers to be written on arms, yet thousands of people in Galveston and other communities in the bulls eye stayed in an attempt to ride out the storm.. Gas prices are up to $5.50 in Texas and Florida.. many gas stations are closed.. The extent of the damage from Ike is still to be assessed.. Many are fearing what could have happened to the thousands of people that chose to ride out the storm.. The low-line communities were faced during the early morning hours with a wall of water, high storm surge, 110 mph winds and gusts to 130mph.. Reports from various news sources that 4 million plus are without power--and this power could be off for several weeks to come..
MORE: The AP reporting today,
"Massive Hurricane Ike ravaged southeast Texas early Saturday, battering the coast with driving rain and ferocious wind gusts as residents who decided too late they should have heeded calls to evacuate made futile calls for rescue"
Authorities are bracing for the worst..
The storm is poised to take turn towards Arkansas later today..
President Bush due to make news statement this morning.. John McCain today got a phone briefing from Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff ..And Obama is going to lay off of comedy: He was due to make an appearance tonight on the season opener of Saturday Night Live, that cameo canceled due to Ike's aftermath.. Developing..
Price gouging of gasoline as people desperately try to get out of harm's way.. prices as high as $5 or more a gallon gas in parts of Texas being reported..
Geraldo Rivera goes live on FOX NEWS . .blowing and drifting on live television..
Thousands of people didn't heed warnings.. Many people remained in Galveston .. many people remained in Houston .. many people remained in several low-line towns and cities across Southeast Texas..
Parts of Louisiana are being flooded.. power is out to several thousand of people in Louisiana..
MONSTER STRIKING THE UNITED STATES.. TEXAS BRACES.. GALVESTON DESTRUCTION.. THOUSANDS OF HOMES FLOODED ALREADY.. MASSIVE STORM SET TO DESTROY MODERN AMERICAN LIFE IN TOWNS AND CITIES ACROSS TEXAS.. Flooding in Louisiana...
The storm already tossed a disabled 584-foot freighter in rough water.. massive waves are ready to barrel onto the Texas coast and devastate land, building, and whatever residents that are trying to stick it out through Ike..
All the news unfit to print for Thursday, September 11, 2008
A brief time out.. September 11, 2008
It's been seven years since I was 21 years old, an unknowing unwitty adult, still without full time employment.. A month before I got a full time job a few planes rocked the world, and changed forever my life.
Everyone's life.
I went back a few years and read through some other 9/11-related writings.. And now 7 years later as the impact appears to be wearing off on the nation, today it didn't with me. I was listening to NPR on my way to work.. I cried a bit.
I kept thinking about those dead.. those thousands of dead. Forever dead--but forever young. Forever stuck in the year 2001.. I think of wives that had dinner plans for the evening--dinner that was never had. I think of children waiting for dad to come home--and he never came home. I think of plans for late summer weekend getaways out of the city of New York--getaways that never got away..
So much lives lost within minutes, if not seconds..
Today, Barack Obama and John McCain put their campaign on hold. They made appearances, but neither candidate got political .. thank God.
Today, bells tolled as families of victims clutched photos of loved ones.. And remembered. For memories now is what they have..
Memories of what would have been .. if only those that died would have lived into the evening.. 7 years ago today. September 11, 2001.. Never forgotten. . . Or is it?
"LIFE THREATENING INUNDATION LIKELY! ALL NEIGHBORHOODS... AND POSSIBLY ENTIRE COASTAL COMMUNITIES... WILL BE INUNDATED DURING THE PERIOD OF PEAK STORM TIDE. PERSONS NOT HEEDING EVACUATION ORDERS IN SINGLE FAMILY ONE OR TWO STORY HOMES WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH. MANY RESIDENCES OF AVERAGE CONSTRUCTION DIRECTLY ON THE COAST WILL BE DESTROYED. WIDESPREAD AND DEVASTATING PERSONAL PROPERTY DAMAGE IS LIKELY ELSEWHERE. VEHICLES LEFT BEHIND WILL LIKELY BE SWEPT AWAY. NUMEROUS ROADS WILL BE SWAMPED... SOME MAY BE WASHED AWAY BY THE WATER. ENTIRE FLOOD PRONE COASTAL COMMUNITIES WILL BE CUTOFF. WATER LEVELS MAY EXCEED 9 FEET FOR MORE THAN A MILE INLAND. COASTAL RESIDENTS IN MULTI-STORY FACILITIES RISK BEING CUTOFF. CONDITIONS WILL BE WORSENED BY BATTERING WAVES. SUCH WAVES WILL EXACERBATE PROPERTY DAMAGE... WITH MASSIVE DESTRUCTION OF HOMES... INCLUDING THOSE OF BLOCK CONSTRUCTION. DAMAGE FROM BEACH EROSION COULD TAKE YEARS TO REPAIR.
Families not heeding warning tonight in Galveston.. facing certain death..
Looking at the size and possible strength of Hurricane Ike, certain death may indeed be likely for anyone sticking around trying to ride out the storm..
Though forecasters are still calling for a Cat 3 power storm when it hits land, disorientation tonight seems to have caused some weakening of the massive storm.
Debate in weather circles tonight of whether or not Ike will make history..
The bottom line tonight is that a major hurricane is coming to Texas, most likely around Galveston, and deadly conditions will quickly occur. Certain death..
AP PHOTO Massive hurricane Ike reforming into deadly storm in the Gulf of Mexico--poised to strike somewhere near Galveston Texas (also the site of a horrible disaster back in the year 1900)..
Frightful weather warning tonight from the National Weather Service for Galveston:
"IKE IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 10 MPH...AND THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS...WITH A TURN TO THE NORTHWEST EXPECTED LATE FRIDAY. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF IKE WILL BE VERY NEAR THE UPPER TEXAS COAST BY LATE FRIDAY. HOWEVER...BECAUSE IKE IS A VERY LARGE TROPICAL CYCLONE...WEATHER WILL DETERIORATE ALONG THE COASTLINE LONG BEFORE THE CENTER REACHES THE COAST"
Ike is becoming a monster storm set to destroy parts of the Texas coast.. sustained winds of 111mph to 130 mph are possible as it hits land..
Ike set to make history as it forms into massive storm--poised to it land pre-dawn Saturday..
The risk level is high--potentially catastrophic..
Developing major..
This is going to be a major storm, and cause widespread destruction in Texas.. clear out now, time is ticking away... Life is more important than property.. Prayers for Texas....
First time in my life--I got polled--and the phone cut off..
The phone rang--for years I wanted to be polled--and it was a polling company. Couldn't tell the name of it, not sure what media company, or candidate, the phone was filled with static. And as I gathered my thoughts, got ready to answer and defend my in depth opinions, the phone got cut off.. Maybe next time..
Team McCain--until the pick of Palin--was fond of those big forums where no questions were off topic.. Nothing was out of bounds.. But John McCain's second string now with Sarah Palin as the pick for VP.. and he's quickly adapting to Palin country and how to win in it..
Obama said today that he's not worried about today's news of Palin's popularity.. A Gallup survey showed McCain leading over Obama among independents, and Republicans more strongly backing the McCain Palin ticket..
But while America shifted this week a little towards McCain, the world we live in continues to support Barack Obama in huge numbers.. It's too bad the world doesn't bring any electoral votes to the table...
All the news unfit to print for Sunday, September 7, 2008
IT'S ALIVE!!! The multibillion-dollar Large Hadron Collider gets fired up
Hold on to your knickers.. if the world ends by the earth swallowing itself, it's going to be now.. Right? Those that fear the Large Hadron Collider have said for years that when it gets fired up, it could create a black hole and swallow the earth hole.
This past summer, I spoke to a few friends with some cold beer around a warm campfire. We all agreed that maybe this wasn't the best idea. . And if a few Coal Regioners from Eastern PA think this, why didn't anyone else stop this!?
"The first beams of protons will be fired around the 17-mile tunnel to test the controlling strength of the world's largest superconducting magnets. It will still be about a month before beams traveling in opposite directions are brought together in collisions that some skeptics fear could create micro "black holes" and endanger the planet.
The project has attracted researchers of 80 nationalities, some 1,200 of them from the United States, which contributed $531 million of the project's price tag of nearly $4 billion"
So enjoy Monday and Tuesday, just in case. And when NOTHING happens to the earth on Wednesday, enjoy that day, too. And all the while, try your best to understand what the hell they are trying to do, because on matter how many times I try to research this, I leave simply scratching my head...
Ike continue to rampage the Caribbean.. Wary Gulf Coast residents watching closely .. Ike's progression being tracked tonight by nervous forecasters from sea to shining sea..With one sea in particular being studied..
"MSNBC drops Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews from anchor chair... David Gregory will anchor news coverage of the coming debates and election night"
Finally! The convention coverage was abominable.. Completely biased--low ratings. CNN and FOX outdid MSNBC by big numbers.. Thanks to the tense, awkward, and biased convention programming presented by anchors Olbermann and Matthews..
What not to do when half of America thinks you're a religion you're not
..Say you're in the religion you're not!
A verbal slip-up by Barack Obama has fueled untrue internet rumors about his religious beliefs.. For months, he has been publicly fighting smears that he was secretly a Muslim.. Even when controversy arose about Reverend Wright, Americans polled still believed him to be a Muslim in substantial numbers. FightTheSmears.com was even created by the Obama campaign to combat this and other untrue rumors..
And now it's blown out the window! thanks to the candidate himself! All that hard work.. and now this: "my Muslim faith"..
It's petty, yes. But as I have believed for some time, people will vote on this, just as they will vote based on false smears against Sarah Palin.
The Washington TIMES reports,
"Let's not play games," he said. "What I was suggesting -- you're absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith. And you're absolutely right that that has not come."
Mr. Stephanopoulos interrupted with, "Christian faith."
"My Christian faith," Mr. Obama said quickly. "Well, what I'm saying is that he hasn't suggested that I'm a Muslim. And I think that his campaign's upper echelons have not, either. What I think is fair to say is that, coming out of the Republican camp, there have been efforts to suggest that perhaps I'm not who I say I am when it comes to my faith -- something which I find deeply offensive, and that has been going on for a pretty long time." "
Penn Stain: Joe Paterno deals--again--with early season controversy
<Penn State football had to deal with early season controversy this week when cops busted a party with pot involved.. The apartment was the residence of defensive linemen Maurice Evans and Abe Karoma, defensive back A.J. Wallace, and tight end Andrew Quarless.. Joe Paterno commented Thursday on the issue: "We're not going to play Evans and we're not going to play…Wallace will play, Wallace was really not part of that situation. Evans and Quarless and Koroma were and it's unfortunate but hey, we preach, preach, preach and they stepped out of line. They deserve what they're going to get. Whatever that's going to be I don't know. And it's disappointing because they're all three good football players, they're not bad kids. But they do dumb things and you pay for it when you do dumb things. It's something they'll be living with because the NFL is cracking down and everybody with drugs and I feel sorry for them. I wish I could do something besides saying 'hey, you're going to sit out this week until I get all the information,' because I don't have it all.
Penn State won yesterday's game over Oregon State in Happy Valley 45-14..
"Turks and Caicos premier Michael Misick said Ike damaged 80 percent of the homes on the main island and that hundreds lost their roofs as the hurricane made a near-direct hit. People have been cowering in closets and under stairwells and "just holding on for life. They got hit really, really bad," he told The Associated Press Sunday morning.
With 135 mph (215 kph) winds, Ike was swirling on from the tiny British territory to the Bahamas' Great Inagua Island, where about 85 people inside a community center shelter huddled around a radio."
Grand Turk is the capital of Turks and Caicos--and is home to 3,000 people. 3,000 people that held on for their lives through the massive Category 4 storm..
""People are losing roofs by the second," said Audley Astwood, a reporter at a radio station in Grand Turk said. "Close to 50 percent of the homes on Grand Turk have been destroyed or lost roofs.""
* * * *
And now it's Haiti: The cleanup effort from Gustav being seriously hampered by Ike .. relief efforts have become dangerously unable to continue--thousands still have not eaten since Hanna rolled over the country days ago.. Many places still destroyed from Gustav, and neighborhoods flooded is common..
* * * *
And then where? The United States has been closely watching Ike as it rolls over the Caribbean.
Governors Crist, Barbour, Jindal, Perry, Riley, Perdue, and Sanford all closely watching Ike is it stretches its destruction over Cuba and then the Gulf of Mexico--hoping the massive hellstorm doesn't hit their respective state.
Hurricane Ike is going to weaken as it continue to strike land--but forecasters have noted that it will be over warmer waters again by Wednesday next week..
The prospects of a United States strike from Ike is an almost sure bet .. so is the possibility that Ike will strengthen to a Cat 3 or beyond by week's ends.. Warnings.. watches. Watching..
I have battled Obama rumors.. and now Palin. I'm not picking sides here, I am just completely frustrated by the often times unintelligence of American voters.. They simply believe any piece of crap email that ends up in their inbox. Take a few seconds, and Google and Snopes the piece of garbage you get.. And do not send them to me!
Newest wrong rumor about Palin: Reports that Sarah Palin called Obama "Sambo." It's being spread by several liberal blogs.. (same way conservative blogs spread the Obama/Muslim nonsense).. The Palin "sambo" comment is not true.
Heads up. You'll get the email this week, I'm sure.
The Sunday Morning Sidewalk: Random rakings from around the world
It's Sunday again.. arguably the most depressing day of the week, for some odd reason. This week, though, a new face lit of screens across America: Sarah Palin's ratings were high .. the GOP convention actually beat the Dems for the final night by a few hundred thousand. And now, the catwalks and sidewalks of the modeling world appear to be busy with models wearing Palin-wear: Glasses, shirts, and Palin thongs. I don't know if America would wear a Hillary thong.. but we're wearing Sarah-wear. I don't know if it means we like her. Perhaps it means she's a passing fad of 2008..? The AP reported yesterday that McCain's rallies are getting better crowds lately--most likely not for McCain but instead to see this vice presidential candidate that seems to have electrified the nation, or at least half of it. In the end, maybe Obama should have re-thought that non-vetting of Hillary..?
Either way: A collection of news events from around the world, more on Hurricane Ike coming later:
A top United Nations expert today calling for the world to reduce their consumption of meat. Masticate--more veggies. Go green? Cut the steak? .. Not sure how well this theory will go over in Palin-country?
News
Probably not.. But there has been a lot of debate lately over whether or not McCain can use the Internet. .
It's been seven years since I was 21 years old, an unknowing unwitty adult, still without full time employment.. A month before I got a full time job a few planes rocked the world, and changed forever my life.
The amazing race: 
..Say you're in the religion you're not!
