CNN:
Leaving a trail of devastation in Florida, Irma trudged north on Monday, flooding downtown Charleston, South Carolina, uprooting trees in Atlanta and cutting off coastal communities.Speaking as a resident of Savannah, I can report that flooding River Street isn't a significant accomplishment. A heavy rain storm during high tide will do that.
A weakened Irma -- downgraded to a tropical depression Monday night -- still packed power. At least three storm-related deaths were reported in Georgia and one in South Carolina. The deaths occurred mostly when tree limbs fell on victims during the tropical storm that stretched 650 miles from east to west, affecting at least nine states.
As Jacksonville, Florida, grappled with record storm surge, the level of the destruction became more apparent in the hard-hit Florida Keys at the southern tip of the state. Areas without water, power or communications are likely to remain so for some time.
Irma flooded portions of River Street in the tourist magnet city of Savannah, Georgia and forced police to temporarily shut Highway 80 leading to the barrier island community of Tybee Island.
In other news...
CNS News:
The federal debt officially surpassed $20 trillion for the first time on Friday, as the debt subject to the legal limit set by Congress jumped $317,645,000,000 in one day--following President Donald Trump's signing of a spending-and-debt-limit deal that will fund the government through Dec. 8.Debt ceiling? What's a debt ceiling?
At the close of business on Thursday, Sept. 7, according to the Daily Treasury Statement for Friday, the total debt of the federal government was $19,844,587,000,000 and the portion of it subject to the legal limit set by Congress was $19,808,747,000. After President Trump signed the legislation suspending the debt limit, the total debt immediately jumped to $20,162,177,000,000 and the portion of it subject to the limit jumped to $20,126,392,000,000, according to the Daily Treasury Statement for Sept. 8, 2017.
Here is a special present for President Trump and Congress:
We have officially gone from "spending too much" to "flooring the spending gas pedal to send us rocketing off the cliff of debt".
Mind you, that doesn't mean the U.S. will go bankrupt any time soon. As long as investors the world over are willing to pay for U.S. debt, we are safe. God help us when they get smart to our scheme.
And there is a down side to this scheme, which creates all this debt in a short amount of time: That will pull venture capital out of the economy. Why invest in risky ventures when you can buy allegedly safe treasuries? At least that is how the common investing wisdom goes. However, this is roughly the equivalent of removing a company the financial size of JPMorgan Chase out of the economy.
In other news of stupidity...
Associated Press;
Pope Francis has sharply criticized climate change doubters, saying history will judge those who failed to take the necessary decisions to curb heat-trapping emissions blamed for the warming of the Earth.
Francis was asked about climate change and the spate of hurricanes that have pummeled the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean recently as his charter plane left Colombia on Sunday and flew over some of the devastated areas.
"Those who deny this must go to the scientists and ask them. They speak very clearly," he said, referring to experts who blame global warming on man-made activities.
Francis said scientists have also clearly charted what needed to be done to reverse course on global warming and said individuals and politicians had a "moral responsibility" to do their part.
"These aren't opinions pulled out of thin air. They are very clear," he said. "Then they (leaders) decide and history will judge those decisions."
...For those who have denied climate change, or delayed actions to counter it, he responded with an Old Testament saying: "Man is stupid."
"When you don't want to see, you don't see," he said.
Time to take a close look at what the Pope is saying here: On the one hand, he is claiming to have faith in "man", specifically the ones who have claimed that global warming is caused by man-made activities. Yet he also claims that "Man is stupid." But he seems to exempt from stupidity those "men" who claim global warming is caused by man, who is stupid?
Perhaps the Pope should have a little more faith in God, and a little less faith in "stupid man"?
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