In case you don’t read comments I’m going to pull these links out to share the insanity. I don’t actually recommend that you click on them, as sane people might need to flush their mind after reading. These were collected by Painted Jaguar, a neighbor on the Gulf Coast.

Why did the Gulf Gusher happen? It was an attack by:

• Environmental Terrorists;
• North Korea; or
• Hugo Chavez.

That’s right, because there is no way an oil company would ever cut corners to save money and increase profits, so it must be DFHs or enemies of the USA that caused the problem.

These people are probably registered voters, which helps to explain Michele Bachmann, Steve King, and Peter King being in Congress.

WALA, the Fox affiliate in Mobile, Alabama uses that term to describe the Gulf Gusher.

Thanks to BP and Hurricane Alex the Local Puppy Trainer reports 8-inch oil blobs on Navarre Beach. None of that chocolate colored stuff for Navarre, this is black crude oil in large “patties”.

Meanwhile McClatchy reports that Oil hitting Mississippi beaches by the ton. Literally they are picking up oil-soaked sand at quantities greater than 2,000 pounds.

But, not to worry, because, according to the Pensacola News Journal, BP has such efficient claims service:

You’d think folks at the BP claims center and Escambia County government officials would be on a first-name basis by now.

Judging by a letter the county received Monday: Not so much.

The letter, addressed to “Dear Sirs,” stated: “We have not been able to contact you regarding your claim as we do not have a working phone number to reach you.”

County Commission Chairman Grover Robinson IV was incredulous.

I guess someone missed all of the numbers on the official letterhead that was used to submit the claim, and the column of numbers for the county in the phone book.

If they do this to Escambia County, what do you think happens to Joe’s Bait Shop, or individual fishermen? Why do I hear this song in the background when BP talks about their claims process?

Position: 24.3N 97.7W [ 9 PM CDT 0200 UTC].
Movement: West [260°] near 10 mph [17 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 105 mph [165 kph].
Wind Gusts: 115 mph [185 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 205 miles [335 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 70 miles [110 km].
Minimum central pressure: 947 mb ↓.

It is 35 miles [55 km] North of La Pesca, Mexico.

“National Weather Service Doppler radar from Brownsville Texas and Air Force Reserve unit hurricane hunter observations indicate that the eye of Hurricane Alex made landfall around 9 PM CDT…0200 UTC along the coast of Mexico in the municipality of Soto La Marina about 110 mi…180 km south of Brownsville. Maximum sustained winds at landfall were estimated to be 105 mph…165 km/hr…a category two hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.”

Hurricane Warnings have been issued from South of Baffin Bay on the Texas coast to La Cruz on the coast of Mexico.

Tropical Storm Warnings from Baffin Bay North to Port O’Connor, Texas and from La Cruz South to Cabo Rojo, Mexico.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]