The cold front that will become part of Frankenstorm passed through early this morning and dropped the local temperature 20°. It wasn’t that bad during the day, but it makes for a cold night, cold enough for Ringo to come inside and be civil with her daughter to get some additional warmth.

Absorbing all of the uproar over the comments of Richard Mourdock, I was attracted to this Juan Cole post that featured this quote:

I believe that the value of life is the same whether this embryo is the result of fornication with relatives or non-relatives or valid marriage. In Sharia life has the same value in all cases.

Sheikh M. A. Al-Salami, Third Symposium on Medical Jurisprudence l

For some reason I have serious doubts that Sheikh Al-Salami or Mr. Mourdock feel the same way about capital punishment or war. Such people seem to be able to find exceptions to “the rule” when it comes to people they don’t like, but no exceptions for women.

They have the right to believe whatever they want, but they have no right to impose their beliefs on others through the government which is what they seem to want.

The copyright on the Bible expired a long time ago, but just because you can change the meaning and intent doesn’t mean you should do it, or that anyone should accept your interpretations.

Position: 30.9N 74.3W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northeast [040°] near 14 mph [22 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 75 mph [120 kph].
Wind Gusts: 90 mph [145 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 520 miles [835 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 105 miles [165 km].
Minimum central pressure: 960 mb ↓.

Currently about 305 miles [ 490 km] South-Southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the South Santee River, Soouth Carolina to Duck, North Carolina including Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, and Bermuda.

The storm is making the forecast turn to the Northeast, paralleling the US coast. It is also maintaining its hurricane status while expanding its wind field. The barometric pressure has been dropping this morning, indicating it has a lot of power in reserve if the wind shear abates. All of the major models are showing a US landfall.

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.]