Paradise Lost

Hurricane Helene has done extensive damage to the Southeast in general and western North Carolina in particular, and Donald Trump is doing even more damage by suggesting that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is doing nothing for the victims of the hurricane and diverting funds meant for disaster relief to help migrants.  Georgia governor Brian Kemp, South Carolina governor Henry McMaster, Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, Knox County, Tennessee maytor Glenn Jacobs, and North Carolina senator Thom TIllis have all said that FEMA is doing a great job, President Biden has been extraordinarily helpful, and  added that Trump is doing no one any favors with his lies. All of these officials are Republicans. 

Well, starting next week, Trump can stop lying about the federal government's response to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina . . . and start lying about the federal government's response to Hurricane Milton in Florida.   

Tropical Storm Milton just became a hurricane earlier today and is expected to make landfall just outside St. Petersburg and is expected to zoom up the Interstate 4 corridor and possibly lay waste to everything from Tampa to Daytona Beach before going back out to sea.  Because the area is heavily populated - thanks to Interstate 4's mere existence - you can expect a lot of damage as early as this coming Wednesday.  Florida could see Disney World laid to waste.  Fortunately, that wouldn't be very serious.  But the loss of life could be devastating, and my advice to the residents in central Florida is to pack up their vehicles and head north.  Central Florida, with its numerous resorts, will no longer be heaven on earth after Milton blows through.

On the plus side, this could be an October surprise that helps Kamala Harris upset Trump in Florida - a scenario that former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele has predicted - and also gives Democratic Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell an advantage of the horrible incumbent Republican Rick Scott, who has voted against FEMA funding in the past. 

Good thing he turned down funding for a high-speed rail line in central FLorida when he was governor, because at least we won't have to worry about high-speed trainsets being wrecked.

Interstate 4, on the other hand . . . 😧