There is plenty to be nervous about

I would not say that I am afraid, for I am not; but I will readily admit that the incredible things happening with the weather and economy make me very nervous.  There is a huge difference between being afraid and being nervous.  One is counterproductive and the other is the natural reaction to uneasy situations.

Just four years ago I would have been working 20 hours per day finding relief supplies for tornado victims in the St. Louis area and flooding victims in southern Missouri.  I know my days of trying to “save the world” after every disaster ended some time ago, but I am still deeply impacted as I see images of destruction and hear reports of catastrophic flooding soon to cause untold problems in many areas.  Throw into the mix some of the worst wildfires Texas has ever seen and you have a truly troubling situation building.

I study weather and I have seen from multiple sources that the upcoming month of May will be MUCH COOLER than normal throughout much of the USA except along the Gulf coast.  The last two times this happened were 2005 and 2008 which were years that produced hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Wilma; and 2008 which produced hurricanes Gustov and Ike.  Many experts are already warning of the imminent possibility of multiple strikes by huge hurricanes along the United States coastline this summer.

For a very long time I used to study and try to understand economic concerns.  What is currently happening is so distressing that I no longer have the desire to try and figure out what is happening and about to happen.  Contrary to what media outlets are saying, there is a period of hyper-inflation just around the next bend.  We are already seeing it in the constantly rising prices for gasoline and food.

It is estimated that nearly 15% of all Americans have had to raid their retirement accounts to find resources for emergencies.  I know this is true for I am one of those 15% and am not proud of it.  But, when all other sources of income are removed, and expenses pile up; there is no place left to go but to the IRA or 401k that was supposed to provide income for 25 years or more after retirement.

Recent studies have indicated that the housing market for super expensive properties is rebounding and doing fine.  Those with plenty of money are spending it on lavish homes that cost well over a million dollars.  Those homes in foreclosure are also being purchased by people with money and then rented out to desperate people who have lost their homes.

Meanwhile those homes in the $100,000 to $600,000 range just sit there.  No one qualifies for a loan and no one has the money to pay the huge down payment to move up or down.  Most of us live in these kinds of homes and are stuck in them for many years to come.

I cannot do nothing about the weather or the economy so all I can do is pray for wisdom for those deeply impacted by both.  May God grant us all great patience and understanding so as to make the right decisions and have the means to help our neighbor, brother, parent or child in need.

When the caretakers become the ones needing cared for; the collapse of most small charities

When I first started meeting people and looking for supplies to haul to Katrina victims, even though it was 9 months after the disaster, there was still plenty of compassion in the hearts of people who just wanted to “love their neighbor as themselves”. The outpouring of donations of food, furniture, clothing and money was astounding, even to me.

As the summer of 2006 wore on, so did the uniqueness of what I was trying to do. The early offers of help and assistance were replaced with excuses and a building resentment toward those who were still suffering. Somehow their plight was now their fault since it had gone on for so long. By November of 2006, all of 24 months after Katrina; the pipelines of aid were pretty well exhausted and people everywhere were tired of hearing about Katrina, period.

In the two years since, the level of compassion expressed by Americans toward their neighbors who are suffering as dropped dramatically. Calls for volunteers and donations after various disasters were still acceptable a year and half ago, but have dropped in direct proportion to the problems in the economy. The level of spontaneous free will giving now has now reached the point where there is basically nothing in any pipeline for anyone.

This situation has caused me great pain and suffering for I know how one group after another has had to curtail its activities and eliminate programs altogether. When people who used to donate faithfully are contacted, they are told there is nothing left to give. When faithful supply lines are called, those lines are no longer available. What has happened is that most small groups have increased their government dependence and in so doing have lost their autonomy.

As we approach the Holidays, I am alarmed by the downturn in programs which normally provide turkeys to those who normally would have NO Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners. I am saddened to hear of the lack of donations for toy drives which are the lifeblood of small independent charities Holiday work.

Those I used to contact have no means to help in any capacity. What money they give, they donate to their church or the United Way or in red kettles in front of Wal Mart. Gone are the days when people had excess money they gladly gave at this time of year. Fundraising drives of all sorts and kinds are running far short of the amounts needed to keep programs afloat another year. There is a true crisis among charities of all sorts and kinds. Except one, that is.

I noticed that the new President’s people are setting up a “non-profit” 501 c4 to handle donations to assist in the transition of Presidents. I frankly do not understand how a group which already collected over 700 million dollars to run its campaign out of the pockets of donors, now has it hand out wanting another couple hundred million to move from Chicago to Washington.

The Federal Government can, has and will bail out banks, insurance companies and automobile manufacturers to the tune of 2 trillion dollars but can’t find a couple hundred million to move the new President and his staff to Washington? Of all the stupid things, this one takes the cake. While hundreds of worthwhile charities cannot find donors because all available money has gone to the Presidential campaign; those same people will gladly cough up hundreds of millions for transition.

Many of these same people will curtail giving during the Holidays due to needing to save their money for the gala at the time of the Inauguration. While these people blame America for not giving more to help the suffering, all their personal money goes to political campaigns, transitions and Inaugurations.

Normally at this time of year I would mellow and talk about the nice aspects of the upcoming Holidays. Not this year, and probably not ever again. As much as I hate to admit it, there is really nothing I can do anymore except pray for the few remaining independent groups trying to “hang on” in their commitment to helping others. All I can do is act as a middleman in trying to match needs with resources.

See, in my zeal to give away everything I owned to help others, I managed to succeed in doing just that. I now am only a couple of months away from joining those I tried to help for so long. The debt incurred in trying to launch a failed charity has finally caught up with me. Since the sum and total of all donations this year to my little group amounted to $100, I cannot do much except do as I have done in giving every penny I didn’t need that instant to others. Even today I gave a guy wondering around begging for money the last $20 I had.

I will never stop giving even if I have nothing to give. I will never stop trying to help even if I can find no one willing to lift a finger. I will continue to do all I can do even if no one in this country sees fit to ask where or how they can help. I pray God has a few others out there who are so committed and whose lives are not their own.

I do thank all who have added comments to the blog which has turned into a resource place for Ike victims. What was done with Ike this year is the greatest tragedy since the civil war. I promise to write more on that in the coming days.

For anyone who reads this, I am in desperate need of selling a 1994 Dodge conversion/camper van which has a little over 100,000 miles on it. I used this van traveling all over the United States in my attempts to find resources for those helping the suffering. I lived in this van and put thousands of dollars into its upkeep and maintenance. Selling that van now would buy me a couple of months more in this house.

Thank you for listening and praying for thousands who are silently hurting and deeply suffering due to the inability of people to give. I ask your prayers and supplication for my friends at Tri Coastal Community Outreach in Grand Bay, Alabama. I ask your prayers for my friends at the Giving Tree Outreach Program in Tucson, Arizona. I ask your prayers for my friends at the Cornerstone Children’s Ranch in Quemado, Texas.

I ask for your prayers for myself and my wife. Times are getting really tough for us just as they are for many of you. Our God is good and our God is great. Into His gracious hands I commit all of us trying to help and serve and all those who are in such desperate need. Thank You.

The Sad Reality of American’s Priorities

I actually received an e-mail today from someone living down in the forgotten area of east Texas devastated by Ike 6 weeks ago. Yes, I mentioned the “I” word. Haven’t heard that name for awhile have you? That’s because, in one of the greatest travesties in America’s history, the victims of Ike have been totally forgotten and no help is making its way there.

Here is a comment made on a blog post of mine dealing with this very subject:

“I am from Orange, Texas, and this is the first website I have found who truly has spoken the truth about no help from FEMA. Flood waters were anywhere from 2-6 feet in people’s homes. They lost EVERYTHING, some had nothing but a frame left of their homes to come back to. My sister is disabled, lost her roof and everything in her modest little home was ruined, and we cannot find help. FEMA sent her $3,300.00 to replace what she lost; oh my GOD that won’t even begin to help replace everything she lost. The media does NOT show this around the country, as far as everyone is concerned Ike is over and people are going on with their lives happy and content. That is BS, it looks like a war zone around this area, and they turned trucks around?????????????

These people need food, clothing and above all building materials because it is so high the average low income or disabled person on social security cannot rebuild their lives, this is horrible in a wealthy country such as ours. And my God if anyone has a heart in this world if they could see it firsthand it would break their hearts. NOW a month later after IKE they are STILL waiting for assistance while their lives continue to rot and corrode from the salt water surge. You can drive through the neighborhoods worst hit and smell the rotting decaying lives of the poor people here and those were upper to middle classed people with fine furniture piled up 1–12 feet high on the curbs waiting for the trash people to come haul it off. Landfills pilled hundreds of feet high with the lives of people here. WHY, for God’s sake I ask, is the media NOT showing this? Everyone here does NOT drink wine and beer and party while sitting on their duffs waiting for some kind of help, most are truly devastated. WHERE do they find help to rebuild? You can email me at swtbreezie@yahoo.com . All I can say is God help these poor people. KATRINA is OVER these people that went through IKE need help now!”

Due to the combination of the election and the financial turmoil, no one in America has a clue there are these kinds of needs still abounding in the Ike devastated regions, but there are. The Orange, Texas area never got much media attention, even directly after the storm. Most of the coverage was devoted to Galveston and Houston. I don’t know if I ever saw any news reports from Orange.

In the past, small groups like my Heart2Heart SHARE would be able to solicit financial donations and resources to haul down to areas such as this. I no longer even try to do this because there is no interest and no one willing to step up and help. The general attitude of people has changed dramatically since Katrina and I am still trying to understand why.

Need is still need, whether in Orange, Texas or Louisiana or Mississippi or wherever. Somehow the preoccupation with the election has warped everyone’s minds and consciences to where there is not the desire to help anyone but one’s self. This is sad and is not the American way.

I would like to think that since the election is now over, things will change; but I know better. No one has any spare money for it has all been given to political campaigns or is being hoarded to pay bills. My heart breaks to know there is such need and so little available to help meet it. I wish I could do something besides write and pray, but that is all I can at the moment.

I do wish that if anyone reads this who can help, that they would contact the person mentioned above and offer some assistance. There are other similar messages wrapped up in comments on this and other blogs I have written about the Ike situation since it happened. I pray someone; somewhere is able to provide help for those who need it. That is my prayer and heartfelt desire and hope in writing this.

150 million for a political campaign and $1.50 for Ike/Gustov victims

How is it that Americans had 150 million dollars to contribute in September to the Obama campaign but had nothing but excuses when asked to donate to Hurricane Gustov and Ike victims? How is it that Americans claim they have no time or money to travel to Louisiana or Texas to help hurricane victims, but they willingly drive all over the country to attend rallies for both Obama and McCain?

How is it that to this date, neither Presidential candidate nor their running mates have ventured down to the areas devastated by Katrina, Rita, Gustov or Ike? How is it that even the latest attempt by Bill and George to solicit donations for the hurricane victims has been met with a resounding apathy?

Has America gone totally insane? Have the last elements of rational thinking been thrown out the window along with all the Stock Market gains of years gone by? Where has the will to help, serve and love those in distress gone? Has it really evaporated into vapor due to the financial meltdown?

Car sales are down and so are home sales in many parts of the country. Yet, people still find the money to buy 700 inch plasma televisions to watch football on. People still have the funds to drive 95 miles per hour to pay hundreds of dollars to sit in stadiums and arenas to watch athletes paid a king’s ransom play games. People still have the funds to flock to Las Vegas, Atlantic City and various riverboat casinos all over the country.

Funny, all the people crying about having no money have money to buy tons of lottery tickets twice each week. These same people who plead poverty to their church pastor when asked to give, think nothing of dropping hundreds of dollars on beer, whiskey, junk food and tobacco each week. People who would not give a dime to a starving person think nothing of spending enough for 10 meals on one night on the town.

Isn’t it interesting how the same people who show up at political rallies holding signs condemning the sitting President and his party are many of the same people who a short time ago were reaping the financial gains due in large part to the policies in place for years? Isn’t it interesting how people who claimed the most important issues to them in previous elections were abortion, individual rights and other conservative oriented matters suddenly could care less about them when they lose a few dollars in the Stock Market?

The hypocrisy of average Americans is astounding. They go to church on Sunday and feign to be good Christians and then the rest of week live like and associate with heathens. This is nothing new, but it is more pronounced now than ever.

When I saw the picture of Obama’s rally in St. Louis yesterday with 100,000 adoring fans coupled with the news that his campaign raised 150 million dollars in the month of September I felt physically ill. I know some of the people who attended that rally and have given truckloads of money to the Obama campaign. They USED to be people I could count on to help others in times of disaster. Now they claim they have no money and no time to volunteer.

Charities, non-profits, churches and various service groups are hurting so badly at this time it is unbelievable. The American public has quit giving to causes which help people and are throwing their money in the toilet of American politics. These same people will soon be throwing their money into the rat hole of the IRS in higher taxes to pay for the United States Government to start doing everything the charities, non-profits, churches and various service groups USED TO DO.

My heart aches for I know the pain and suffering going on in America and I know how many thousands of suffering people are buying into the promise made by Obama that the government is going to meet all their needs and take care of them come January. As sheep to the slaughter, these people really do believe Uncle Sam is going to drive to their home and either give them a check for $100,000 or take them to some utopia where they will lounge around all day drinking margaritas and getting suntans. These same people rejoice when they hear that the evil rich white men and women will be taxed more and more to pay for their life of leisure. What a crock this all is.

This all reminds me of why young terrorists are willing to blow themselves up to kill a few innocent victims. They are promised virgins in heaven and eternal rewards for their sacrifice now. Hundreds of thousands of minorities, lower income and other social fringe groups have been fed a bill of goods by the Obama campaign that has led them to believe their “messiah” will somehow be able to turn their life around and at the same time punish those who made their life miserable with pain and suffering.

Politics aside; if the American way of helping the disadvantaged through volunteer charities falls apart and is replaced with numerous governmental programs, this country is doomed. The free will giving on the part of Americans to help their neighbor in need has made America strong for decades. I pray that somehow America does not forget this as it gets all caught up in Obamamania.

Millions Suffer while Smiley celebrates and “the Boss” serenades Obama’s Nation

Finally, after a wait which seemed to take forever, the Associated Press released a couple of articles this weekend dealing with the missing people from Hurricane Ike and the environmental damage caused by hurricane damaged oil platforms, pipelines and storage tanks. What has been the response? Well, if silence speaks volumes, then we have our answer.

Americans cannot be bothered right now about mundane and trivial things such as hurricane Ike related issues. Not with the Stock Market poised to drop by a million this morning. After being mesmerized by many days of drama in Washington over the Bailout Bill, everyone thought all would be well after the House voted Friday afternoon to approve the measure. Immediately after the vote, the Stock Market plunged.

This is what it is coming down to in America. Far more people are concerned about Cubs and Brewers got knocked out of baseball playoffs than the fate of hundreds (if not thousands) of missing fellow Americans in Texas and Louisiana. While millions upon millions of fanatic football fans were glued to their television sets Saturday and Sunday, thousands of people waited for someone to help them figure out where to start in the recovery process. While just about everyone was burning up the phone lines complaining to someone about the financial mess, hardly anyone even remembers there were back to back hurricanes less than a month ago.

No one knows what this month holds, but being an election year, there is a 100% certainty of some “October surprise”. Even now, the campaign has turned negative with the inevitable name calling and dredging up dirt on each other. Like a long running soap opera, millions of people stay glued to their news outlet waiting for the next installment of “As the Campaign Turns”. This would be humorous except for all the horrible things going on in the REAL WORLD.

So what if “Hannah Montana” turned 16 this weekend. So what if “Brittney” is going back to her old ways. So what if Bruce can play his guitar and through his influence persuade thousands of people to vote for Obama. So what if Saturday Night Live does a good parody on the VP debates. None of these things are news. All these stories do is feed the monster of the fantasy world most people live in.

Americans better wake up and realize what is happening right under their noses. The government, which is set to grow far bigger than anyone ever imagined, is taking control over things that not even the most brazen conspiracy theory backer thought possible this quickly. Once Sen. Obama is elected (and that is foregone conclusion), the nationalization of health care, insurance, education and welfare will soon follow. Anyone caught badmouthing minorities, gays and lesbians, Muslims or the government will pay dearly for their folly.

The Bible speaks in 2 Timothy 3 that the last days will be “perilous”. If the current days do not meet that criteria I don’t know what would. In the following verses in 2 Timothy 3, specific things are stated which define “perilous”. The first thing mentioned is that people will be lovers of themselves more than lovers of God. Our selfish, “me” driven mentality has produced the crisis in the financial sector as well as housing, employment and even disaster recovery.

Until and unless Americans yank their collective heads out of the dark place and rise up and do two things, the circumstances we are surrounded by will only get worse. The two things we all must strive to do are:

1. Let our voice (vote) be heard. Do not sit back and allow the vocal minority to say they reflect the views of the silent majority. Speak up, stand up and let your opinion be known.

2. Exercise the old axiom of when the pressure is on—GIVE. If Americans continue to shut down their spending it causes businesses to fail. When Americans shut down their charitable giving, lives will be lost and undo suffering will abound.

We must not allow the current economic situation to persuade us that we cannot afford to speak up or give. To the contrary, we must use the current situation as a springboard to bolder speech and more audacious giving. While the world says “you cannot afford to give”; God says “try and out give ME”. Please, on behalf of millions of suffering people, I beg of you to find new and innovative ways to give of your time, resources and means. Thank You.

No Media Coverage, Very Little Outside Help, FEMA to the Rescue=a bigger disaster-socialism

While all attention is diverted towards debates by candidates and in the Senate and House of Representatives, there is a tragedy of untold proportions brewing in areas devastated by the September hurricanes. There have been NO stories in either the written or broadcast media for many days concerning anything related to Hurricane Ike or Gustov. The unprecedented media blackout together with the mysterious lack of any prominent politicians showing up to supposedly promise aid if elected makes one wonder just what the agenda in this whole mess really is.

Never before has there been a disaster of the proportion of Gustov/Ike hit the United States and there NOT be relentless media coverage for weeks afterward. The media never covered Gustov and hightailed it out of Texas as soon as it was obvious there were not going to be 100,000 dead people and/or 50 billion dollars of damage.

Media coverage alerts Americans to areas of concern, interest and need. Without media coverage ignorance prevails and gives cause to apathy. The response from America as a whole to the September hurricanes has been anemic and has dried up along with the money in this country. As the entire financial aspect of this country constricts, so does the ability of relief and charity groups to do their jobs.

From one end of this country to another, charities are screaming for resources to keep doing what they are here for. From the greatest to the least, groups of all sizes are quickly running out of supplies and money to keep helping others. Of course this is due to deteriorating situation economically, but we cannot allow this to continue. If the safety net vanishes of private charities, then that only leaves the government programs such as FEMA to handle every aspect of disaster relief and recovery.

Is this what we really want in this country? Do we really want everything to turn into socialism? Do we really want the government to handle everything from banking to health care to retirement to disaster relief to providing for the disadvantaged? In our greed and selfishness along with our fear, do we really want to turn over to the government of the new USSA (United Socialistic States of America) the responsibility for everything the private sector used to provide?

By nature of the media neglecting to cover stories such as Gustov and the gasoline shortage in Atlanta together with its sudden departure from Galveston it has thrown the country into the dark regarding what is needed and where it is needed most. We need the media to get off its two track agenda and start doing its job. There is far more going on in this country than just the Presidential campaign and the bailout package in Washington.

Please keep the victims of the Gustov and Ike in your prayers and if there is any way to help them, please be aware the need is great. Please pray that within this great land, there remains a remnant of good hearted people who only want to reach out and help their neighbor in need. Please pray that somehow the word can reach out as to who needs what the most.

The United States has no idea there are still hundreds, if not thousands of missing people after Ike. The United States has no idea there are thousands of people living in temporary housing or evacuation centers out of money and with no home left to go back to. The United States has no idea of the scope and level of destruction and havoc the double barreled hurricane hits of September caused. Why? Because the media was gone with the wind and never looked back.

Everyone knows Texas is a Republican state so why should the liberal media bother to give it any press? Everyone knows that it would not benefit either McCain or Obama to visit the hurricane stricken areas for they are going Republican whether a candidate shows up or not. The selfish and self-serving ways of politics have trumped the critical needs in the areas devastated and thrown the burden of recovery squarely on the shoulders of FEMA. Have we not learned anything since Katrina?

Gustov and Ike victims have been totally forgotten and neglected

Some have told me to “let it go”. Others have told me “it’s a lost cause”. Still others have accused me of being “crazy” and through it all, NO ONE has told me “keep it up”. What is this all about?

One month ago today a major hurricane hit the Louisiana coast near Grand Isle. Hurricane Gustov continued inland and hurricane force winds battered places as far away as Baton Rouge relentlessly. Meanwhile, down the road in New Orleans all the reporters from all the major news outlets were focused on watching a few waves overtop a few levees. With every ounce of their being they were hoping to see the levees break and their cameras provide live footage of the greatest flood of all time.

All the willing of all the media could not force the levees to break. After a day of anticipation, they were bitterly disappointed that there was no huge story coming out of New Orleans. With heavy heart they trudged to either St. Paul to cover the Republican convention they never wanted to attend, or to South Carolina on the off chance Tropical Storm Hanna might turn into a real newsworthy storm.

While Hanna was huffing and puffing and not really doing much of anything, Hurricane Ike was ripping the Bahamas and then Cuba apart like an angry monster let loose on the city. Of course no reporters are allowed in Cuba and no one in their right mind would have stayed in the Bahamas. Thus, the real story of Ike was neglected, just as the real story of Gustov.

For days, the headlines regarding Ike were directed towards Florida. Where and how this became the focus of attention is baffling. Ike was never headed that way. Still, whenever the folks on Key West are told to evacuate, that becomes the almighty big story of any storm. Why do people live there anyway?

Consider these facts. In the twelve days between Hurricane Gustov and Hurricane Ike, there was basically NO media coverage of Gustov’s damage except in the immediate New Orleans/Baton Rouge areas. Even the television outlets in coastal Mississippi did not cover the story. There were far bigger fish to fry than spending resources on covering a little ole storm that hit a section of Louisiana no one in the United States knows or cares about.

FEMA, the Red Cross, Salvation Army and a few other charities were on the scene providing a little help; but the response after Gustov was minimal and a disgrace to the heart of disaster relief in this country. If we are going to selectively pick and choose who receives aid, media coverage and prayers; our country has slid down the slope to extinction.

As Ike grew into the sprawling monster he became, of course every news outlet rushed crews to Galveston and Houston in anticipation of a huge story. Dreams of Katrina like footage flooded the minds of reporters looking for the story that would catapult them to the “big time”. As dire warnings were issued for those refusing to evacuate circulated, the army of reporters spread out to find safe areas to weather the storm at, yet be close enough to provide graphic shots of the impending carnage.

Images of reporters being swept off their feet in the rising storm surge made the rounds on the internet along with pictures of fools hanging sideways on light poles as the rising winds came ashore. Stupid interviews with people bragging about not evacuating but staying in their beachfront houses drinking beer and partying were still filling television screens the afternoon before the storm hit.

When the media went to bed that Friday night Ike came ashore, they were like children on Christmas Eve. Surely the next morning would provide days of coverage of a totally wiped out Galveston and a severely crippled Houston. Awards and high ratings danced through their heads as they endured a night of wind and storms.

But, alas, once again the weather gods did not cooperate. With bitter disappointment these loyal foot soldiers of the media giants went out to battle on Saturday only to find huge sections of Galveston still standing and worse yet, Houston was barely touched. With clenched fists they cursed the weather gods for not sending the 20 foot storm surge that would have leveled Galveston and crippled the oil and gas industries in Houston for years. Instead, all they got was a little category 2 hurricane with a storm surge that only destroyed places too far to film and that no one cared about.

As a result of Ike not killing 100,000 people, totally destroying the city of Galveston or flooding half of Houston; the media stayed long enough to give a few reports for a few days and then started the mass exodus to find the next big story that America craved to see. Within a week to ten days after Ike, most of the national media were long gone and by two weeks after the storm, there were no longer ANY stories about Ike, Galveston, Houston, the Texas coast or Louisiana.

What have we come to in this country? Do we simply cast off those who suffer the loss of their homes, jobs and families simply because the carnage was not great enough to warrant continued coverage? The media stayed in New Orleans and to a lesser degree the Mississippi coast for months after Katrina. Through their constant coverage of the devastation came the impetus for America to give of their goods, money and time to help those in need.

Since the media has chosen to forsake those affected by Gustov and Ike, there is but a trickle of help heading their way. The response by America to these hurricanes has been tepid at best and non-existent most of the time. America has quickly forgotten about Ike because of the soap opera playing out in Washington over the “bail out”. While debate continues on giving 700 billion to bail out banks, an obscure bill was passed giving a few billion dollars to help those affected by Gustov and Ike.

I know times are tough and everyone is uptight about money, but that does not give an excuse to forget about those who have lost everything and are only starting on the long journey to normalcy. Even the incredible story out of Atlanta regarding gasoline shortages has only in the past two days made the headlines (near the bottom). Either America does not care anymore about helping her fellow citizens in time of need or they do not know what the need is due to the arrogance and ratings driven media who have shirked their duty by failing to cover Gustov and stick with the Ike stories. Shame on you.

Armageddon, Bouncing Dead Cats, Hurricane Ike Fatalities–What a Day

Walking by a newspaper stand this morning, the huge headline read; FEAR GRIPS STOCK MARKET. I wonder if tomorrow’s headline will be equally as bold and honest to read; GREED CAUSES MARKET TO SOAR? Correct me if I am wrong, but were we not told repeatedly that if the Bail Out package were not passed by yesterday that financial Armageddon would result immediately? If such Armageddon is strictly measured by yesterday’s huge drop, then I guess the fear mongers were right. But, if measured against yesterday’s drop and today’s gain; I’d say Armageddon is nothing to dread.

As I write this at noon on September 30^th, the Dow has managed to gain back one third of what it lost yesterday, on a Jewish holiday to boot. Now, if yesterday was Armageddon, then we have no reason to keep talking about bail outs. If yesterday was Armageddon, then what is today?

What took place yesterday about this time was nothing but pure panic driven selling. Fear is a huge motivator, especially when one has millions of dollars at stake. It almost seemed as if the traders were waiting to either go on a buying or selling binge strictly based on the outcome of a vote in the House of Representatives. As soon as the vote totals were released, the market immediately went down so fast the tickers couldn’t keep up. From then on it was more momentum than anything which drove the market.

I wrote a post a couple of days after hurricane Ike posing the question of what became of all those who failed to evacuate when ordered with the repeated stern warning of certain death. No one knows for sure how many people ignored the orders, but there had to be at the very least a few thousand who stayed in houses which literally disappeared during hurricane Ike. Where are these people? They are not reflected on the death count and their whereabouts is not accounted for anywhere.

At one time the media reported there were 140,000 people who failed to heed the mandatory evacuation order. That means 140,000 people were told they faced certain death if they did not leave. They were told the equivalent of what the United States House of Representatives was told before their vote yesterday and again this morning. Just as there is nothing to indicate even 14,000 lost their lives in Ike, the horrible disaster which was to have driven the Market into the ground did not happen today.

When statements are made such as “stay and you face certain death” or “we must pass this measure or the market will immediately fall off the earth”; such statements better be right or all credibility is lost. In the case of Ike, the warning needed to be issued, but not in reference to all 140,000 people who did not evacuate. The warning did not apply to all those who stayed, only those in one story homes in certain locations. Yet, the initial stories kept repeating the 140,000 who defied mandatory evacuation orders.

Only a handful of people honestly know what has happened and really is happening to the stock markets, the banking institutions and mortgage holders in this country. If we are to assume the President of the United States is one of those people, then either he has repeatedly lied through his teeth in telling us the sky is falling or it is yet to fall.

The biggest problem with the measure which was defeated yesterday was that it gave entirely too much power to the Treasury Secretary and exposed the United States taxpayers to risk that was not needed. Representatives from both parties rejected their party leaders and voted their conscience yesterday. What took place was neither Republican nor Democrat; it was American.

The Stock Market could still fall hard the next few days. There could be more big banks fail this week. But, the odds of this happening are very slim, simply because of what has happened today. With the market now gaining almost ONE HALF of what it lost yesterday back with two hours left in the day, there is no way the sky is falling today anyway.

I believe those who stood up to their party bosses and voted their conscience yesterday are the true patriots in this country. Those who were willing to be on the receiving end of Barney Frank’s sarcasm and Nancy Pelosi’s finger pointing are those who stand a chance of guiding this nation out of shark infested waters into the bay of financial stability.

There are major problems causing banks and other businesses along with hundreds of thousands of individuals to be losing the battle of solvency. These problems need to be addressed and corrected, but not by simply throwing more money at them while recklessly running the national debt past the ten trillion dollar mark.

May the lesson to be learned by President Bush, Treasury Secretary Paulson and those at the National Weather Service be; If you cry wolf—there damn well better be a big bad one lurking just outside the door. Somehow I have the feeling none of these people or agencies are going to listen to me.

Did I just hear someone crying “Wolf” again?

The Name Game; Laura is wasted so what do Marco, Nana and Omar Hold in store?

The only way to have continuity is to have a standard which is not changed by the whims of agenda driven people. I honestly do not know which is worse, the failure to name the storm which came into the Carolina’s late last week or the naming of the ridiculous area of disturbed weather in the middle of nowhere today. Both decisions on the part of the NHC make a person question what standards they are using as criteria for naming storms.

At any rate, the name “Laura” has now been wasted on a subtropical storm in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean which might impact Iceland. Kyle must have forgotten his passport, for he never came close to the United States. The past week has not been a very good one for those who follow, forecast, track and name tropical systems. In all three cases, mistakes were made and the end result is that none of the three storms caused any great amount of hardship for anyone.

Our eyes must now turn to what lies ahead. All interests in the Gulf of Mexico must keep an eye on an area of disturbed weather off the Yucatan. Whether it develops into a named system or not, it promises to bring much rain to Florida this week. Not a good omen for the baseball crazed fans in Tampa.

The system marching across the Atlantic is one which stands a good chance of developing. There are other areas of disturbed weather exiting Africa which could end up turning into one of those long track hurricanes which can take a week or more to get close to our part of the world. At this time of the year, the Caribbean must be closely monitored for developing systems.

Most of the experts are thinking that there should be at least three more named storms. Whether Marco, Nana and Omar end up turning into Ike type storms or harmless ones like Laura cannot be determined at this time. Whether any upcoming storms will afflict the Gulf Coast, Florida or the East Coast is not available to know at this time. All we can do is look at the overall pattern and deduce that it is conducive to the development of tropical storms.

This year has been very active in one sense (twelve named storms), but very strange in others. Although hurricanes Dolly, Gustov and Ike did inflict major damage to Texas and Louisiana; tropical storm Fay may have actually effected more people though its relentless rain in Florida. Although the Carolina’s have been hit with two tropical storms this year, the recent no-name storm perhaps was more intense in some ways than either named storm.

What is important to understand is that October is still hurricane season. Some of the more impressive October hurricanes which stayed south of the United States were Mitch in 1998 which raked Honduras with torrential rains for days, Iris in 2001 which was a major category 4 hurricane that hit Belize and Keith in 2000 which struck Mexico twice.

The top three October hurricanes to hit the United States were Hazel in 1954 which was a huge category 4 hurricane which struck the South/North Carolina border October 15 of that year, Opal in 1993 which struck Pensacola, Florida as a major category 3 hurricane on October 4, and of course Wilma in 2005 which crashed into southwest Florida on October 24^th of that infamous year.

Even though September is historically the most active month for hurricanes, October is roughly equivalent to August as far as potential for development. Due to seasonal cooling, the deeper into October we get, the more the threat shifts further south. All interests along the Gulf Coast, Florida and as far north as North Carolina must stay vigilant the next few weeks. Only after the middle of the month can this season start to be put in the archives.

Kyle and Economic Crash averted this time, but the threats are still with us

I will say this for not only the economic sector of the United States, but also the hurricane; I am beginning to believe this country is like the cat with nine lives. Once again, what could have been with Kyle will not be as bad as thought due to it staying east. Maine will certainly have a wet and windy day, but Cape Cod and nearby areas were spared—this time.

With each “near miss”, whether New England, North Carolina, Florida or New Orleans; there builds a mistaken assumption that the “really bad one” will ever hit. This is exactly what led to the whole Katrina debacle and perhaps the Ike disaster in Galveston. When it comes to nature, one must respect that as humans, we do not control it.

If a few meteorological details would have been slightly different, the two storms (Kyle and the unnamed storm) which flirted with the country the past few days could have resulted in a much worse scenario. The headlines would be quite different today if a category 1 hurricane had ripped into Wilmington, North Carolina on Friday and a category 2 hurricane tore across Long Island last night. Just as most people do not have any idea how close we came to total economic meltdown this week, so they don’t know how close we came to two hurricanes hitting the coast within two days of each other.

Congressional action prevented the economic hurricane from crushing the United States economy. Atmospheric changes in winds and pressure prevented the two hurricanes from buffeting the coastline. The economic mess is still there and after the initial hoopla over the accord reached by Congress and the White House, the underlying problems will result in another crisis down the road. Weather conditions still favor the development of tropical systems over the next few weeks.

The moral to the story is simply that we must not become complacent either in regards to the financial mess or the potential for future storms. Perhaps there is cause for rejoicing that the world’s financial markets will not crash tomorrow, but there is no reason to sit back and think “all is well” either. There is good reason to rejoice in that Kyle snubbed Martha and her vineyard and decided to check out the sights in Nova Scotia. But, Laura is bound to pop up somewhere soon and where she goes, at the moment nobody knows.

Perhaps, if we are still around to talk about it, down the road we can look back on the last weekend of September of 2008 as NOT the weekend of devastating economic storms and double hurricanes; but rather as the weekend we were temporarily spared, as a country, from the pain and suffering of three storms hitting at the same time. However great the rejoicing is today, I pray it does not lend itself to apathy in the future.