Posts from — September 2011

According to the US Chamber of Commerce [a wholly owned subsidiary of multi-national corporations] and the National Federation of Independent Businesses [generally Republican business owners based on PAC donations by NFIB] small businesses would be doing more hiring if it weren’t for all of the Federal regulations and high taxes.

Well, McClatchy decided to commit some journalism: Regulations, taxes aren’t killing small business, owners say

WASHINGTON — Politicians and business groups often blame excessive regulation and fear of higher taxes for tepid hiring in the economy. However, little evidence of that emerged when McClatchy canvassed a random sample of small business owners across the nation.

“Government regulations are not ‘choking’ our business, the hospitality business,” Bernard Wolfson, the president of Hospitality Operations in Miami, told The Miami Herald. “In order to do business in today’s environment, government regulations are necessary and we must deal with them. The health and safety of our guests depend on regulations. It is the government regulations that help keep things in order.”

As a small business person, I can tell you that I spent almost no time dealing with the Federal government over anything. The state and local governments, OTOH, created problems to be overcome, but as one of the people in the article mentioned, insurance was the biggest headache you deal with – you have to have it, and it never goes down.

Taxes aren’t an issue for small business people, because they are constantly re-investing in their company, and that isn’t taxed. The paltry sum they actually pay themselves, when they can, will never be affected by raising taxes.

For those who don’t know, because they have never read any of these ‘terrible regulations’, the Feds aren’t interested in you if you actually are a small business, unless your business requires Federal licenses [gun dealers, for example], or is involved in interstate commerce.

This is the GEOS water vapor image for Tropical Storm Lee taken at 10:25PM CDT. The black and brown areas are dry air coming out of East Texas which are preventing Lee from developing, and eliminating any rain for Texas. The storm is the purple blob under East Louisiana. It has been trying all day to go towards Texas, but that the dry air is keeping it out.

Position: 18.5N 54.3W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northwest [305°] near 12 mph [19 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 75 mph [120 kph].
Wind Gusts: 90 mph [145 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 175 miles [280 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 35 miles [ 55 km].
Minimum central pressure: 988 mb ↓.

Currently about 575 miles [ 930 km] East of the Leeward Islands.

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.]

Position: 28.2N 91.6W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North [360°] near 5 mph [ 7 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 45 mph [ 75 kph].
Wind Gusts: 55 mph [ 90 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 200 miles [325 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1000 mb ↓.

Currently about 150 miles [265 km] Southeast of Cameron, Louisiana.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the Gulf Coast from Sabine Pass, Texas eastward to the Alabama – Florida border

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the Gulf Coast from the Alabama – Florida border eastward to Destin, Florida [I just made the cut.]

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.]

Taking The Air

Can I help you?

[Editor: This is Boots, my neighbor’s oldest cat, and it is a rare event to see her outside. Boots tends to believe that if cats were meant to be outside, it would be carpeted.]

Friday Ark

Position: 26.6N 91.5W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northwest [315°] near 2 mph [ 4 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 35 mph [ 55 kph].
Wind Gusts: 45 mph [ 70 kph].
Minimum central pressure: 1007 mb.

Currently about 225 miles [360 km] Southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the Gulf Coast from Sabine Pass, Texas eastward to Pascagoula, Mississippi.

This was Invest 93.

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.]

Position: 16.7N 50.6W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West-Northwest [290°] near 16 mph [26 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 70 mph [110 kph].
Wind Gusts: 80 mph [130 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 140 miles [220 km].
Minimum central pressure: 990 mb.

Currently about 830 miles [1335 km] East of the Leeward Islands.

The storm is being steered by a ridge. If a gap forms in the ridge it will move more to the North. Only one of the models is showing that move today, while the others have continuing towards the East Coast. Hopefully the gap will occur, because the East Coast doesn’t need another storm at the moment.

Katia has encountered some wind shear problems caused by a low pressure system to the North of it. The low is expected to move out in the next day or so, and Katia will resume strengthening.

Invest 93 has a 80% chance of going tropical in the Gulf and it moves slowly towards the Northwest. The water in the Gulf is 90°+, so there is plenty of energy available.

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.]

I don’t want to raise hopes too high, but Invest 93 which is currently in the Gulf has the potential to become a tropical storm, and it is headed for the Northwest corner of the Gulf.

We had some thunderstorms today and the radar was showing the storms moving in a the counter-clockwise motion associated with a tropical storm system off our coast.

Development is restricted by wind shear at the moment, but that is forecast to decline.

The ‘Big Easy’ could use some help with a swamp fire, and Texas is ready to take whatever it can get. Locally we are ready for this persistent high pressure that has been keeping the heat indexes in the triple digits, to finally go away.