I worry about hurricanes because I have to make decisions for a number of people based on what these storms do, and I want to get things done ahead of time. I’ve been dealing with these suckers for decades, so I don’t relax until they are truly dissipated, not just headed in a different direction.

While I’ve been watching the Caribbean, almost two dozen Americans had died as a result of the flooding in the Midwest. Michael at Musing’s musings is on the verge of cabin fever, and Mustang Bobby of Bark Bark Woof Woof got to his parents’ house in Ohio in time to watch their sump pump prove to be inadequate to the job of keeping the basement dry.

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There is a reason that the First Amendment to the US Constitution deals with freedom of religion, and religious tests are specifically outlawed for any office. Religion was the first form the hatred of “other” took in the United States.

Kevin Hayden at American Street notes that things have gotten ugly in the immigration debate, but this is a very old problem

What became the American Party started in 1843 in New York. It was better known as the “know nothing movement,” because the people involved often said: “I know nothing about it.” It was a virulent reaction to new immigrants and they wanted the laws changed to give preference to those born in the US.

A much of the anger/fear/resentment was directed towards the new immigrants because a lot of them were Catholic.

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The 10AM CDT position is 19.0 N 89.6 W.
Movement: West [280°] near 20 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 105 mph [Cat 2].
Minimum central pressure: 950 millibars.

It is on track to enter the waters of the Bay of Campeche near the city of Campeche.

Update: at 1PM the sustained winds have dropped to 85 mph [Cat 1] and it is 45 miles south of Campeche about to enter the water.

Dr. Jeff Masters:

Hurricane Dean powered ashore in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula this morning as a Category 5 hurricane with 165 mph winds. The pressure of 906 mb measured by the Hurricane Hunters shortly before landfall at 4:30am EDT is the ninth lowest on record for an Atlantic Basin hurricane, and the third lowest at landfall behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane in the Florida Keys and Hurricane Gilbert of 1988 in Cancun Mexico. Dean is also the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the Atlantic Basin since Andrew of 1992.