Position: 12.6 N/66.0 W.
Movement: West near 18 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 75 mph.
Minimum central pressure: 993 mb.
7PM CDT Update:

10PM CDT Major Update:

Position: 12.7 N/66.9 W.
Movement: West [275°] near 18 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 75 mph.
Gusts: 90mph
Minimum central pressure: 993 mb.
Hurricane Force Wind Radius: 15 miles.
Tropical Storm Force Wind Radius: 140 miles.

It currently forecast to pass to the north of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles tomorrow.

Springing into action: Bush, Democrats square off on mortgage plans

…Some two million homeowners with adjustable mortgages will face higher rates — and payments — over the next year. Shifting market conditions have left many of them with more debt than they can carry — but they are unable to refinance or sell their homes without taking a big financial hit due to falling home prices and steep prepayment penalties.
…

Bush stopped short of offering direct aid to mortgage borrowers facing default or foreclosures. Instead, Bush proposed that creditworthy borrowers — some of whom are now stuck in loans that are re-setting to higher monthly payments they can’t afford — be allowed to refinance with an FHA-backed loan.

The White House estimates that roughly 80,000 homeowners fall into that category — a relatively small portion of borrowers who are having trouble paying their loans.

So the Shrubbery proposes a 4% solution, a plan that might help 4% of the people in trouble because the others deserve what they got for listening to Alan Greenspan and getting an ARM [adjustable rate mortgage]. He had a plan so the recession isn’t his fault. Another 16 months and he can go back to full-time bike riding and brush clearing.

Actually, the headline is: Ret. U.K. Army Head Slams U.S. Iraq Policy

(CBS/AP) The head of the British army during the Iraq invasion described former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s approach as “intellectually bankrupt,” according to comments published Saturday.

Gen. Sir Mike Jackson, who retired in August 2006 as chief of the general staff, said Rumsfeld was “one of those most responsible for the current situation in Iraq,” in excerpts from an autobiography, “Soldier,” that were published by The Daily Telegraph.

He writes that Rumsfeld refused to deploy enough troops following the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime to maintain law and order, and rejected the State Department’s plans for post-invasion administration of the country. Jackson is also critical of President Bush for handing control of post-invasion Iraq to the Pentagon. “All the planning carried out by the State Department went to waste,” he writes.

General Sir Michael “Mike” Jackson, GCB, CBE, DSO is such a lovable, peaceable man that he has been called “Macho Jacko”, “Darth Vader”, and “Prince of Darkness” by the tabloids and his troops. He was a very “by the book” officer who started out in Intel and moved on to the Parachute Regiment.

Tropical Storm Felix passed through the Windward Islands [the southern Lesser Antilles] and is moving West off the coast of Venezuela. This morning they are calling for more strengthening than last night, with the possibility of Felix becoming a Cat 3 before striking Belize.

Even if it just skirts the coast of Honduras, the rain could cause major problems with flooding and mudslides. I feel certain that the people of Belize are less than happy to seem themselves in the sights of another tropical event.

Invest 96L has finally given up, but 98L has developed out in the Atlantic north of where Felix formed. Because of its more northern starting point, 98L could be a US problem.

1PM CDT update: sustained winds at 70mph moving West at 18mph.

Invest 94L has become Tropical Depression Six and will likely be Tropical Storm Felix in the morning. It is now looking like it will follow a path to the South of Dean’s and hit Belize as a Cat 1 next week. It’s very early in the cycle, so there are no guarantees.

Invest 96L is the only other survivor from the early group and it is still drifting to the northeast.