Hurricane Harvey could be a defining moment for Trump's presidency.

[Wvvtayy]

Update: Harvey still strengthening, winds are now at 125 mph. If it gets up to 130 it'll be a category 4.

[Breccia]

Yeah. It's also worth noting that Katrina came at the peak of using "secondary" government positions as political patronage

Let's not diss Michael Brown, he did a heckuva job just before Bush fired him two weeks after Katrina. I assume he's gone back to working with horses and oh right, he was fired from that too. Well maybe he went back to his pre-horse training law firm, where oh for fuck's sake, he was fired from that too?

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Update: Harvey still strengthening, winds are now at 125 mph. If it gets up to 130 it'll be a category 4.

It's the Gulf Stream. Anyone here see the Blob? The good one, with Steve McQueen? This thing is just feeding on the warmth and humidity and growing.

Science...it does everything, but it doesn't have to be polite about it.

[Grapemask]

I'm not entirely on board with the idea of trying to turn a disaster into a "oooh, let's see how Trump fucks it all up" kind of thing. It's like rooting for death and calamity.

Don't get me wrong, this is a situation that requires everything that Trump has specifically shown he has no ability to deliver on (namely, an empathic human response). But it seems in poor taste to be calculating how he'll shit on the rug before the fact. Especially when it means that Trump's going to spend more time ranting on Twitter about how he's the best at these things than actually trying to be the best at these things.

[Jeezy911]

NHC says winds are hitting 120mph, which puts it in the middle of category 3.

That thing is picking up strength quick, wasn't it a tropical storm a few hours ago?

[Wvvtayy]

That thing is picking up strength quick, wasn't it a tropical storm a few hours ago?

It was yesterday. According to the weather channel right now it's at 125 mph and still gaining strength, as it's moving very slowly over unusually warm water.

[Breccia]

I'm not entirely on board with the idea of trying to turn a disaster into a "oooh, let's see how Trump fucks it all up" kind of thing. It's like rooting for death and calamity.

We're going to respectfully disagree on this one.

We've gone over the idea of voting for Trump just to watch the world burn in extreme detail. Then, he leaves major jobs unfilled and threatens to cut things like EPA, FEMA, and CDC budgets while rolling back regulations protecting drinking water. Now a category (checks last posts) three hurricane is about to steamroll right into five million people, the majority of whom voted for Trump.

Sorry, but, while I hope the damage is minimal, I won't condemn people who are "calling it" for Trump fucking this up. Maybe we'll luck out and the damage will be minimal, and I strongly hope that's the result. But, at the same time, most learning experiences are based off of bad times. Perhaps, if this turns out to be even a quarter as bad as Katrina, more people will come tot he realization that voting for someone on the sole qualification, that he was unqualified, might have consequences.

[Cthulhu 2020]

I pray that Trump handles this response well.

He won't, but people pray for miracles all the time.

I want all of my fellow Americans to be safe... which is more than can be said for some of Trump's fanatics who see political rivals as enemies worthy of death.

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We're going to respectfully disagree on this one.

We've gone over the idea of voting for Trump just to watch the world burn in extreme detail. Then, he leaves major jobs unfilled and threatens to cut things like EPA, FEMA, and CDC budgets while rolling back regulations protecting drinking water. Now a category (checks last posts) three hurricane is about to steamroll right into five million people, the majority of whom voted for Trump.

Sorry, but, while I hope the damage is minimal, I won't condemn people who are "calling it" for Trump fucking this up. Maybe we'll luck out and the damage will be minimal, and I strongly hope that's the result. But, at the same time, most learning experiences are based off of bad times. Perhaps, if this turns out to be even a quarter as bad as Katrina, more people will come tot he realization that voting for someone on the sole qualification, that he was unqualified, might have consequences.

I mean, a lot of Bernie Bros and others did specifically vote for Trump "to watch the world burn". Of course once said calamity comes to pass, especially if it's on them, they can't stomach the consequences of their decision. So if Trump completely botches this, all of those people who wanted to watch the world burn are getting their wish, and it's coming right out of one of those twilight zone episodes where someone gets their wish and it goes horribly wrong.

But at least in those episodes, people asked for good things - and stuff went wrong. In this scenario people actually wanted to see damage done to the country. And they're getting their wish.

[Azadina]

I pray that Trump handles this response well.

He won't, but people pray for miracles all the time.

I want all of my fellow Americans to be safe... which is more than can be said for some of Trump's fanatics who see political rivals as enemies worthy of death.

Then pray that Trump is golfing and that someone else handles it all.

[Molis]

Don't worry folks everything is in good hands.

Trump just said "Good luck to everyone" and then boarded a helicopter for another weekend of golfing.

and again this is just hand waved because its Trump being Trump.

Obama would be being raked over the coals right now if he did this.

[Somewhatconcerned]

I pray that Trump handles this response well.

He won't, but people pray for miracles all the time.

I want all of my fellow Americans to be safe... which is more than can be said for some of Trump's fanatics who see political rivals as enemies worthy of death.

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I mean, a lot of Bernie Bros and others did specifically vote for Trump "to watch the world burn". Of course once said calamity comes to pass, especially if it's on them, they can't stomach the consequences of their decision. So if Trump completely botches this, all of those people who wanted to watch the world burn are getting their wish, and it's coming right out of one of those twilight zone episodes where someone gets their wish and it goes horribly wrong.

But at least in those episodes, people asked for good things - and stuff went wrong. In this scenario people actually wanted to see damage done to the country. And they're getting their wish.

Yeah, I just want people to be safe.

Anyone out there in this thing's path....please be careful and get out of harm's way!

[Breccia]

Oh, now there's tornado warnings too. Jesus.

[Wvvtayy]

Oh, now there's tornado warnings too. Jesus.

Don't worry, our golfer in chief will be out there whacking golf balls so hard they'll disappate any tornado, #maga

[Molis]

Don't worry folks everything is in good hands.

Trump just said "Good luck to everyone" and then boarded a helicopter for another weekend of golfing.

Reminds me of that scene in airplane

"Good luck. We are all counting on you"

[Wvvtayy]

Harvey now a category 4 according to the weather channel.

[Bullettime]

I'm not entirely on board with the idea of trying to turn a disaster into a "oooh, let's see how Trump fucks it all up" kind of thing. It's like rooting for death and calamity.

Don't get me wrong, this is a situation that requires everything that Trump has specifically shown he has no ability to deliver on (namely, an empathic human response). But it seems in poor taste to be calculating how he'll shit on the rug before the fact. Especially when it means that Trump's going to spend more time ranting on Twitter about how he's the best at these things than actually trying to be the best at these things.

No one is hoping Trump fucks this up. No one. Not even his biggest political opposition.

This is just Trump's first real test as a leader of the American people. Everyone is hoping Trump knocks it out of the park, coordinates well with his FEMA director, etc and there's minimal loss of life. It's just an important thing to watch for, politically, as Katrina played a hand in crippling Bush and a fumble here may be the nail in the coffin for Trump.

[Wvvtayy]

No one is hoping Trump fucks this up. No one. Not even his biggest political opposition.

This is just Trump's first real test as a leader of the American people. Everyone is hoping Trump knocks it out of the park, coordinates well with his FEMA director, etc and there's minimal loss of life. It's just an important thing to watch for, politically, as Katrina played a hand in crippling Bush and a fumble here may be the nail in the coffin for Trump.

Yeah, people confuse being almost certain hell handle it badly to be the same as wanting him to handle it badly.

[Milchshake]

Oh, now there's tornado warnings too. Jesus.

Don't forget the flash floods... people always overlook what happens after the storm passes.
Speaking of floods... Trump recently rolled back flood standards that required new federal infrastructure be built with sea-level-rise in mind. He’s not exactly inspiring confidence that he knows how to prepare for natural disasters.

[Clone]

I hope he completely fucks it up.

[Edge-]

I hope he completely fucks it up.

I don't, because that will only make it worse for the folks who are going to get hit by the hurricane. I hope he knocks it out of the park and that we can finally be proud of him, for once. People are already going to deal with enough with the hurricane, wishing that they suffer even more because you don't like Trump is kinda fucked up.

[PACOX]

Oh, now there's tornado warnings too. Jesus.

Those are standard in any tropcial system and they spawn in the weaker part of storms. The Cat 4 designation is the worry.