On-line Opinion Magazine…OK, it's a blog

Position: 33.0N 49.7W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: Northeast [050°] near 12 mph [19 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 35 mph [ 55 kph].
Wind Gusts: 45 mph [ 70 kph].
Minimum central pressure: 1010 mb.

Currently about 1320 miles [2120 km] West of the Azores.

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: 27.2N 88.0W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: Northwest [325°] near 16 mph [26 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 105 mph [165 kph].
Wind Gusts: 120 mph [195 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 140 miles [220 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 40 miles [ 65 km].
Minimum central pressure: 964 mb ↓.

Currently about 235 miles [ 375 km] Southeast of Houma, Louisiana.

Currently about 235 miles [ 375 km] South-Southwest of me.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Intracoastal City, Louisiana to the mouth of the Pearl River including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Metropolitan New Orleans.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Cameron, Louisiana to west of Intracoastal City, Louisiana; the mouth of the Pearl River to the Alabama/Florida border.

A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for east of Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Louisiana to the Alabama/Florida border including Vermilion Bay, Lake Borgne, Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas; and Mobile Bay.

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: 16.6N 49.9W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: North [360°] near 10 mph [17 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 35 mph [ 55 kph].
Wind Gusts: 45 mph [ 70 kph].
Minimum central pressure: 1007 mb.

Currently about 785 miles [1265 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: 23.0N 84.0W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: Northwest [320°] near 15 mph [24 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 80 mph [130 kph].
Wind Gusts: 90 mph [150 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 115 miles [185 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 25 miles [ 35 km].
Minimum central pressure: 989 mb ↑.

Currently about 615 miles [ 985 km] Southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana.

“At 6:25PM CDT satellite images, radar data from Cuba, and data from the NOAA Hurricane Hunters indicate that Ida has made landfall in the Cuban province of Pinar Del Rio, about 20 miles (30 km) east of La Coloma. Maximum sustained winds are estimated to be 80 mph (130 km/h).”

At 10PM CDT Ida is back over the Gulf of Mexico currently on track to hit Louisiana as a Major Hurricane (Category 3 or higher) on Sunday, the anniversary of Katrina.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the Cuban provinces of Artemisa, Pinar del Rio, and the Isle of Youth; Intracoastal City, Louisiana to the mouth of the Pearl River including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Metropolitan New Orleans.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the Cuban provinces of Matanzas, Mayabeque, and Havana; Cameron, Louisiana to west of Intracoastal City, Louisiana; the mouth of the Pearl River to the Mississippi/Alabama border.

A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for east of Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Louisiana to the Mississippi/Alabama border including Vermilion Bay, Lake Borgne, Lake Pontchartrain, and Lake Maurepas.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect from Cameron, Louisiana to west of Intracoastal City Louisiana; the mouth of the Pearl River to the Mississippi/Alabama border.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect from the Mississippi/Alabama border to the Alabama/Florida border.

A Storm Surge Watch is in effect from Sabine Pass to the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana; Mobile Bay.

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.]

These people get to vote in our elections‽

Florida couple arrested after entering Hawaii with fake vaccination cards, officials say:

The couple’s children were too young to be inoculated with any of the approved vaccinations, according to WTVJ. That raised a red flag with authorities on the ground in Honolulu when they were presented with vaccination cards for the children, who were born in 2016 and 2017.
…
Being vaccinated is not a requirement to visit Hawaii. The Aloha State’s official travel website says only a negative test within the last 72 hours is required to avoid a mandatory 10-day quarantine upon arrival. Domestic travelers who are able to offer proof showing that they have been fully vaccinated have been able to visit Hawaii without testing or quarantine since July 8.

If you get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccinations both shots take around a month and cost you the time to get them. If you go for the Johnson & Johnston it’s only one shot and is also free. I’ve heard that a fake vaccination card can cost up to $400. Which is still more expensive than getting a quick Covid test before your flight. They are facing fines of $2000 per fake card to avoid a 10 day quarantine period. These are the type of criminals that annoyed me the most when I was wearing a badge. I wanted New York to pass a law making this level of stupid a felony.

Position: 18.6N 80.5W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: Northwest [320°] near 12 mph [19 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 40 mph [ 65 kph].
Wind Gusts: 50 mph [ 80 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 70 miles [110 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1006 mb.

Currently about 65 miles [ 105 km] Southeast of Grand Cayman.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the Cayman Islands; the Cuban provinces of Matanzas, Mayabeque, Havana, Artemisa, Pinar del Rio, and the Isle of Youth.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect from Cameron, Louisiana eastward to the Mississippi/Alabama border, including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and metropolitan New Orleans.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect from the Mississippi/Alabama border to the Alabama/Florida border.

A Storm Surge Watch is in effect from Sabine Pass to the Alabama/Florida border including Vermilion Bay, Lake Borgne, Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Mobile Bay.

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.]

Two dozen San Diego students and their families are stuck in Afghanistan:

(CNN) Two dozen San Diego students and their families who traveled to Afghanistan this summer are now stranded in the country and unable to get to Kabul’s airport, school and congressional spokespeople told CNN.

The six families stuck in Afghanistan were there to visit relatives, said Howard Shen, spokesperson for the Cajon Valley Union School District.

“There is not a whole lot we can do at this point,” Shen said. “At least we have contact with them.”

Congresscritter Darrell Issa got involved and keeps saying that it is the Biden administration’s fault that people, who should have known better having family in Afghanistan, decided against State Department warnings to take a summer vacation in that country and didn’t notify the American Embassy that they were in country, nor provide contact information. If they had made the embassy aware of their presence, they could have been contacted and exited the country in July. They have waited until the last minute to do anything.

While we are on the subject of stupidity, the two Congresscritters who decided to go to Kabul and annoy people who are working 24/7 to finish a mission, took up at least two seats on an exiting aircraft that belonged to people who were desperate to get out of Afghanistan. They are real schmucks! They should be referred to the ethics committee and sued by people who needed to escape but couldn’t.

The media is letting their love of wars get away with their reporting. The attacks on the Biden administration’s exit from Afghanistan is unwarranted and ill-informed.

Ex-Official: Trump Knew Afghan Army Would Surrender, Made Deal Anyway:

Former National Security Director John Ratcliffe on Thursday revealed that former President Donald Trump knew that the Afghan military would fall to the Taliban within 48 hours but negotiated a deal to pull U.S. troops out of the country anyway.

Ratcliffe made the remarks during an appearance on Fox News.

On Twitter: James Fallows [@JamesFallows] ·
Aug 17
I agree w this by @EricBoehlert:

The date when US “lost” in Afgh was Dec 2001, when GWB and Cheney shifted resources, attention, troops, international focus toward prep for invading Iraq.

Over 8,000 students in Florida school district isolated or quarantined a week into school year:

Just a week into the school year, some 8,400 students in and 307 employees of the Hillsborough County Public Schools district in Florida have been isolated or quarantined as districts across the state grapple with COVID-19.

Hillsborough is the seventh-largest school district in the U.S., with more than 213,000 students.

In total, there were 1,695 COVID-19 cases among students and staff, according to the Tampa-area district’s COVID-19 dashboard.

So far in the exit from the Kabul airport there has been one Afghan security officer shot and 7 civilians crushed in the attempts to enter the military side of the airport. That is a much better situation than the 5+ law enforcement officers killed this week from Covid in South Florida and the number of people who have been crushed at many rock concerts or soccer games.

The reality is that Covid is killing 200 people every day in Florida and there is almost no mention of not just the incompetence of ungovernor DeMentis, but his actions to prevent the sane local officials from taking common sense measures. Instead of 24 hour coverage of the Kabul airport how about giving the ongoing disaster in Florida some coverage.

Please Note: Several weeks ago I implemented Transport Layer Security (TLS) on my sites. The visible difference is the current address is “https://whynow.dumka.us” as opposed to “https://whynow.dumka.us”. if you use a link that specifies http: vice https: you will be warned about using an unencrypted connection.

Orlando is having to take short showers, accept brown lawns and dirty cars to try to save the people in the local hospitals with severe Covid symptoms – Orlando residents asked to limit water usage to help Covid-19 patients:

(CNN)Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is asking residents to conserve water because liquid oxygen, used to treat the community’s water supply, is needed to treat the surge of Covid-19 patients in the community.

“Nationally, the demand for liquid oxygen is extremely high as the priority for its use is to save lives,” the mayor said in a Facebook post on Friday.

To reduce demand, the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) asked customers to immediately limit watering their lawns and landscapes, take short showers, repair leaking faucets and toilets, stop washing their vehicles and performing “non-critical activities” like pressure washing, the municipal utility said in a notice.

Now we will have another way of telling sane people from MAGats – the sane people will have dusty cars and burnt lawns. DeMentis will probably issue an executive order saying people don’t have reduce their water use because “FREEDOM!!!!!” 😈

Position: 41.9N 73.2W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: West-Northwest [290°] near 8 mph [13 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 30 mph [ 45 kph].
Wind Gusts: 40 mph [ 65 kph].
Minimum central pressure: 1002 mb ↑.

Currently about 85 miles [ 140 km] North-Northeast of New York City.

This is the last public advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center on Tropical Depression Henri.

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

The storm made landfall in Rhode Island at 11:15AM CDT.

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: 38.6N 71.0W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: North [355°] near 21 mph [33 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 75 mph [120 kph].
Wind Gusts: 90 mph [145 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 150 miles [240 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 35 miles [ 55 km].
Minimum central pressure: 987 mb ↓.

Currently about 180 miles [ 290 km] South-Southeast of Montauk Point, New York.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the South shore of Long Island from Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point; the North shore of Long Island from Port Jefferson Harbor to Montauk Point; New Haven, Connecticut to west of Westport, Massachusetts including Block Island.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Port Jefferson Harbor to west of New Haven, Connecticut; the South shore of Long Island from west of Fire Island Inlet to East Rockaway Inlet; Westport, Massachusetts to Chatham, Massachusetts including Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard; Coastal New York and New Jersey west of East Rockaway Inlet to Manasquan Inlet, including New York City.

A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for the South shore of Long Island from Mastic Beach to Montauk Point; the North shore of Long Island from Montauk Point to Flushing, New York; Flushing, New York to Chatham, Massachusetts; Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and Block Island.

A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for the South shore of Long Island from west of Mastic Beach to East Rockaway Inlet; North of Chatham, Massachusetts to Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts; Cape Cod Bay.

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: 19.6N 100.1W [ 4:00PM CDT 2100UTC].
Movement: West [260°] near 13 mph [20 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 25 mph [ 35 kph].
Wind Gusts: 35 mph [ 55 kph].
Minimum central pressure: 1002 mb ↑.

Currently about 65 miles [ 105 km] West-Northwest of Mexico City.

This is the last public advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center on this system.

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: 32.3N 73.5W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: North [010°] near 9 mph [15 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 70 mph [110 kph].
Wind Gusts: 85 mph [135 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 115 miles [185 km].
Minimum central pressure: 994 mb.

Currently about 230 miles [ 370 km] South-Southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the South shore of Long Island from Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point; the North shore of Long Island from Port Jefferson Harbor to Montauk Point; New Haven, Connecticut to west of Watch Hill, Rhode Island.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Port Jefferson Harbor to west of New Haven, Connecticut; the South shore of Long Island from west of Fire Island Inlet to East Rockaway Inlet.

A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for the South shore of Long Island from Mastic Beach to Montauk Point; the North shore of Long Island from Montauk Point to Flushing, New York; Flushing, New York to Chatham, Massachusetts; Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and Block Island.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Watch Hill, Rhode Island to Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts; Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and Block Island.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Manasquan Inlet, New Jersey to west of East Rockaway Inlet, New York, including New York City.

A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for the South shore of Long Island from west of Mastic Beach to East Rockaway Inlet; North of Chatham, Massachusetts to Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts; Cape Cod Bay.

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.]