So who was The Higher Power out to get when Katrina hit New Orleans? African-Americans? Homosexuals? You sound like all the morons who were making those claims then.

Let me explain, as you people obviously don't get sarcasm.

All these religious nuts are passing judgment and explaining how these weather events and earthquakes are God's punishment on us for be-friending gays and Moozleems. Seems like the lovely God-fearing folk aren't particularly loved by God either.

Breaking News! Hurricane wipes out convention in Tampa...moved to phone booth in central Mississippi, where the three survivors nominate Santorum/Bachmann.

Well said Byron. These republicans are so thinned skinned. They can hand it out, but can't take it back.

I echo the sentiments that all will be safe.

Rush said this was all a hoax perpetrated by Obama (he controls the weather service after all). He doesn't need the weather service, and this has been done to keep people away.

I betcha Mitt bet Ryan $10,000, that storm would give the G.o.P a few more days to "WORK" on that platform thing they been talkin bout.

BTW...My Obama/Binden tee shirt is made here in the U.S.A.

I have figured out how M.R. (lol), got into this race, it's very simple.

He is the Only one on the the right that can afford to lose, thats why they picked him!

And it's a wright off on his taxes (Lost time).

Prayers out to those who might be affected. And to Byron Raum, Religion has nothing to do with our Lord, and prayer.

Once upon a time when we stuck to the topic I learned a few things fom people preparing for a hurricane that helped me get through several power outages here that weren't storm related. It would be interesting to know what it costs these days to evacuate if you don't have friends or family to take you and your family in. Also, how far do you have to go to get out of danger?

Here in South Florida there are evacuation shelters that will take you if you have no place to go.You bring your own food and blankets. Some local school buildings act as shelters as they are built to withstand the worst case scenarios.

Here's another one I hate...."that's wrong on sooooo many levels!" Or, "at the end of the day" Or "that being said"

Oh-don't get me started it's too early!

or "hellooooooooo!"

Or..."that resonates"!!!

"disingenuous"

Or hope and change!

Well, now, usually we batten down the hatches, but if it bothers we'll change everything to please you.

How about "haters". Is that getting overused? How thought that one up?

This too shall pass my fellow trolls.

to nicodemus

you're right, you know about the democrats being the power that kept slavery going and fought against it and it was because of powerful democrats that the jim crow laws were put into effect. of course, that was 150 years ago, not yesterday, but why split hairs. and the republicans were the party of freedom and equality and conservation(teddy roosevelt). although today, what is left of the KKK is NOT democrat, it is part of the radical right. prove me wrong.

so, what happened? some where along the way, the republicans and the democrats changed places. starting with FDR, i suppose. the democrats began to see the folly of their ways, grew a conscience and became the champions of the downtrodden instead of trying to be their overlords and the republicans sold their collective souls to the radical religious right and big corporate brother.

i was a proud republican for decades until i realized that the religious right had taken over in the nineties with the christian coalition led by none other than pat robertson. they declared quite openly that they were going to force politicians to vote for their agendas or else they would make sure they didn't get re-elected and they had big money backing them. it didn't work too well so they waited and reinvented it as the tea party. and now, here they are again, using big money to push a religious agenda upon the rest of us. if we allow ourselves to become the least bit apathetic, they will win and we will become george orwell's 1984.

now, according to pat roberston himself, when something bad happens to a group of people, like new orleans' hurricane and the earthquake in new york, it is God's will and he is punishing them for their sins. so, if the hurricane hits tampa (and i certainly hope it does NOT, because being a liberal and a humanist i would never wish something bad to happen to anyone), i wonder what God will be trying to say to the republicans. or do you think roberston will find a spin that will blame obama? or if the hurricane manages to miss tampa, i'll bet, mark my words, he'll say something along the lines of God did this for us(republicans) because we are his chosen! i have something to say to God. God save us from ourselves!!!!

alessa

Mitt is an example of freedom and equality. The Morman religion believes that blacks are allowed into heaven , but only as slaves.

Well said Alessa, well said. Now lets hear the spins about Alessa's comments.

Alessa, your right that the past is past and we can only learn from it.

The decision we have to make now is to move forward with
growing the reach and power of our government through health care and EPA
regulations just to name two, or to try and turn the power back to the people.

The past has shown that every society with a big over reaching government fails.

As far as your kkk comments, your characterization of grouping the kkk as the driving force and ideological standard for conservatism is just plain wrong.

That is a small and
disgusting group of low life’s and do not define any politics for republicans
or democrats.

alessa:

YOU WROTE: "...some where along the way, the republicans and the democrats changed places. STARTING WITH FDR, i suppose. the democrats began to see the folly of their ways, grew a conscience and became the champions of the downtrodden instead of trying to be their overlords..."

MY RESPONSE: You've got to be kidding! What a load of crap! You are woefully uninformed. Here's some glaring facts YOU IGNORED, all of which occurred AFTER FDR died:

DEMOCRAT Public Safety Commissioner, Eugene "Bull" Connor, in Birmingham, Alabama, let loose vicious dogs and turned powerful fire hoses on black civil rights demonstrators; DEMOCRAT Georgia Governor, Lester Maddox, famously brandished ax handles to prevent blacks from patronizing his restaurant; In 1954, DEMOCRAT Arkansas Governor, Orville Faubus, tried to prevent desegregation of a Little Rock public school; and DEMOCRAT Alabama Governor, George Wallace, stood in front of an Alabama schoolhouse in 1963 and thundered, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."

Then there’s DEMOCRAT Senator, Robert Byrd, a former "Keagle" (recruiter) in the Ku Klux Klan, and a former prominent leader in the DEMOCRAT-controlled Congress, where he was honored by his fellow DEMOCRATS as the “conscience of the Senate” (insert laugh track here). He was a fierce opponent of desegregating the military and complained in one letter: “I would rather die a thousand times and see old glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again than see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen of the wilds.”

In contrast, REPUBLICAN President Dwight Eisenhower pushed to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and sent troops to Arkansas to desegregate schools. Eisenhower also appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren to the U.S. Supreme Court, which resulted in the famous1954 “Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education” decision that ended school segregation and the “separate but equal” doctrine.

But the DEMOCRATS persisted in their disdain for black activists. President Lyndon Johnson in 1967 expressed his anger with Dr. King's protest against the Vietnam War by referring to Dr. King as "that Ni**er preacher."

In March of 1968, while referring to Dr. King's leaving Memphis, Tennessee, after riots broke out where a teenager was killed, DEMOCRAT Senator, Robert Byrd, called Dr. King a "trouble-maker" who starts trouble, but runs like a coward after trouble is ignited. A few weeks later, Dr. King returned to Memphis and was assassinated on April 4, 1968 (some coward!).

DEMOCRATS claim that they care about diversity, but readily demean black professionals who do not toe the DEMOCRATIC Party’s liberal line, slandering blacks as “Uncle Toms”, “Sellouts” and “House Ni**ers”, including Dr. Condoleezza Rice, General Colin Powel, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Janice Rogers Brown and former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele. With impunity, DEMOCRAT Senator, Ted Kennedy, called black judicial nominees “Neanderthals.” DEMOCRAT Senator, Harry Reid, slurred Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas, as an incompetent Negro who could not write good English. In response to Reid’s degrading comment, the headline of the New York Daily News on December 7, 2004, read “Slap at Thomas Stinks of Racism.” Editorial DEMOCRATIC Party operatives depicted former Maryland Lieutenant Governor, Michael Steele, on the Internet as a “Simple Sambo” with big, thick red lips and nappy hair. Cartoonist Jeff Danziger and Pat Oliphant portrayed Dr.Condoleezza Rice as a “stooge” and a bare foot, “Ignorant Mammy.”

Moreover, Black DEMOCRATS continue to raise a ruckus about the Confederate flag, particularly in South Carolina, but ignore the fact that it was DEMOCRAT Senator, Ernest Hollings, who put up the Confederate flag over the South Carolina state capitol when he was the governor.

Also, DEMOCRATS have been running our inner-cities for the past 30 to 40 years, and blacks are still complaining about the same problems. More than $7 trillion dollars have been spent on poverty programs since Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty with little, if any, impact on poverty. Diabolically, every election cycle, DEMOCRATS blame Republicans for the deplorable conditions in the inner-cities, then incite blacks to cast a protest vote against Republicans.

For partisan political gain, DEMOCRATS fan the flames of racism, as they have done for over 150 years. Facts about racism in the DEMOCRATIC Party can be found in books such as “A Short History of Reconstruction” by Dr. Eric Foner and “Wrong on Race: The DEMOCRATIC Party's Buried Past” by Bruce Bartlett. Two other books are “Unfounded Loyalty: An In-depth Look into The Love Affair Between Blacks and DEMOCRATS” and “Unveiling the Whole Truth” by Wayne Perryman. Perryman wrote his books after conducting a year-long research and sued the DEMOCRATIC Party, demanding an apology for their 150-year history of racism based on the DEMOCRATIC Party’s “States Rights” claims. The DEMOCRATS admitted their racist past under oath in court, but refused to apologize because they know that they can take the black vote for granted.

In more recent history, REPUBLICAN President, George W. Bush, appointed more blacks to high-level positions than any president in our nation’s history and spent record amounts of money on education, job training, and health care. Bush also spent $18.8 million for Historically Black Colleges, $24 billion for small business loans and grants, and $10 billion for Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance for the poor. Since 2001, access to free community health centers has been extended to 2.2 million poor people. In May 2003, Bush provided $15 billion (three times more money than DEMOCRAT President Bill Clinton) to fight AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean.

The DEMOCRATIC Party from its inception probably represented everything Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. loathed, especially its debasement of black folks. In reality, Dr. King was a Christian who held deeply religious beliefs and was guided by his faith to gain equality for blacks. He did not embrace the type of socialist, secularist agenda that is promoted by the DEMOCRAT Party of TODAY, which includes fostering dependency on welfare that breaks up families, supporting same-sex marriage, approving partial-birth abortion and banning God from the public square.

So, alessa, you need to brush up on history and get a grip on reality.

DAYUM, Rhonda! I mean DAYUM! That was the best response I've EVER EVER seen on here. DAYUM! Can I have an AMEN?

Alessa;

The left has no shortage of lunatics either. Bill Ayers and the weather underground, PETA, ELF, ALF. The loonies are everywhere. Common sense is anything but. As for the 1984 comment, I suggest you look around. All the hand outs and so called "social programs"foisted upon the people by, primarily, the left are just another way to enslave people. Make them dependent on government hand outs and you own them a surely as buying them. A placated and paid to do nothing society is not likely to revolt from fear of losing the "free stuff". Prove me wrong.

When a despot like Hugo Chavez jokes to Castro about fearing being seen as further right than the current U.S. President, that's telling.

Clearly, you missed my point. Politicians of all stripes are ALL dirty, ALL the time. If you think the left cares if you live or die you're delusional. If you would see where their loyalties truly lies, check their portfolio. You no doubt remember the bail out of banks, insurance and financial companies. Remember the big flap over "Bonus checks" to directors and major stock holders? Guess who most of them were? That's right politicians, more specifically, Congressmen and Senators from both sides of the aisle. So where did our tax dollars end up, in their pockets, of course. All this right-left is an illusion to keep the masses, who apparently no longer think for themselves, distracted from what is going on. ALL dirty, ALL the time, it is that simple. It's all about money and power and keeping it.

As for the 1984 comment, so enslaving the masses with government supplied and regulated everything is not Orwellian? your more indoctrinated than I initially believed.

Exactly John. They just need to have something to rant about on a non-news morning.

People in Fl know how to deal with tropical storms. I'm from New England, and we know how to deal with Nor'Easters. They will be fine.

For those putting a political slant on a storm, you need to get your meds checked.

I'm looking at the track map and thinking it's heading right toward me in east central Alabama! YIKES!!! Opal hit up here in 95 as a full blown hurricane, so it's not like it couldn't happen. I'm a little hurricane shy since we lost a house on Perdido Key with Ivan!

Been in every FL hurricane since Donna. This storm will knock out my satellite reception. Thats about it. Simply a rain event.

Haiti?? Now thats a different picture, with mud slides and people living in tents.

John-1779666, tell me about it. I am being threatened by the condo association to remove all my furniture, cement planters (which weigh 50 lbs), and other objects from my balcony or face a $100 fine, all for a damn storm. It's kind of hard to move all that stuff out on your own but they don't care. So tired of all the media hype here in my city.

I take it you will be one of those attempting to leave at the last minute.

And as for Haiti, this is not their first hurricane, hell they get several a year, why is this one so scary?

Grump, because they are still people out there living in tents.

H-i-M - tell the association they can get their grounds crew up there to move your furnishings. As high as these condo fees have soared, it's the least that they can do.

Listened to the meteorologist from Weatherbell yesterday on the news. He gets storms right more often than most. Says this could easily get to a CAT 3-5 by the time it hits land in Alabama. New Orleans would be the outside edge. I would think, having lived through a hurricane in Seattle and no power for 10 days, it would probably be a better idea to over-prepare than ignore the weather reports. You may have to hit the road pretty quickly, so you better have anything that you want to protect from flooding and wind etc. should already be packed and ready to go. Plenty of gas in the car and maybe some extra gas cans too. No power means gas stations for the most part can't pump. Batteries for lanterns, tarps to protect roofs, ready to eat meals and WATER. I was also down by Katrina when it hit, and we had power outages and tons of rain all the way into Tennessee rain so hard you couldn't drive in it.

#5.5

I recommend you go to the local hardware store and get Castor wheel frames for your planters, so it be easy for this time and any time in the future, have FUN! :-)

#5.9

Chef stop stirring the Pot!!

HEY EAGLE!!! ☺

Hey!! Chef, what is Cooking ? :-) errr do I smell " Parrot stew " lol!?

DON'TEVENTHINKABOUTIT!!! EAGLE!!! i'm surprised at you making "birdie" jokes!!! ☺ funny thing is "Eagle" is one of her favorite things to say.

here's what mine looks like. she doesn't do the tricks that Kili does but she sure can talk up a storm. very appropriate with her speech, as well.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=senegal+parrot&mid=A2B834BC1A744042BAA5A2B834BC1A744042BAA5&view=detail&FORM=VIRE2

God doesn't hate anyone, but keep mocking him and perhaps He will show Himself to you.

That's right, he doesn't hate, but he may smite you and your entire city if you don't bow down. Isn't that how the stories go?

only if you believe God is some mythical humanoid sitting on a cloud somewhere with a thunderbolt in his hand. but, most people who are not right wing, radical zealots or those hypocrits trying to get elected by said zealots, realize that the creator of the universe is something much greater than pagan mythology and that God doesn't care about people bowing down to him. He cares about how we treat one another and if we are destroyed, it will be our OWN doing, not His.

I must agree with you, but I must say we have not seen a hurricane in 6 years, if you are a true flat foot Floridian, not a snow bird, going thru your first hurricane you would be buying beer for a hurricane party, I saw a woman in Walmart 2 days ago with her cart full of bottled water, empty gas cans, and butane tanks. I asked her if she was preparing for the hurricane she said yes, it was her first one, with a smile on her face,. Then I asked where she was from she said Jersey, not, (New Jersey). I wanted to give her some advice but I kept my mouth shut, I hope her power goes out, since most of Floridians have wells, so she no longer has power to flush the toilet and she has to use the bottled water to get the toilet to flush.

1...... you will know how to spell hurricane

2...... you know a category 1 is nothing but a good rain storm and a yard cleaning for dead branches

I don't know, 2 of my co-workers who have been here since Andrew rushed out to buy propane tanks, water bottles, and one of them even bought a generator. People buy into the hype, regardless of whether they're Floridians or snowbirds.

All I can say to you brave Floridians is, it sure looks real on TV.

I guess you don't really get "scared" until you're getting sucked up into one of those water spouts or something.

It scares me just to watch.

I'll be working at the hospital and will stay there around the clock if it does come up this way. Husby and parrot will be another story. He still hasn't decided if he wants to stay and take a chance on the power.

Na American Girl we do know its real,But what we also know is depending on the size and where we live in Fl. It may not be anything more than a big rain storm. In 04 we had 3 in 2 months roll through Fl. I stayed in my home for 2 and left for 1. In all the storms we lost power nbd when you own a generator and if you live in Fl you should own one. I live in the north middle of the state so unless its a real big I don't get scared nor leave my home. No when I lived on the coast line I left almost everytime one got close.

jwssr: Check NOAA , the rain event will hit Haiti. And that's the problem there, in the form of mudslides.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at4+shtml/150135.shtml?tswind120#contents

Thank you. Well said.

TO: Obamanation-1101629 who wrote:

"Thanks to Oblahblah, Florida businesses are prepared!!!

Many are already boarded up."

What, you mean Republicans take care of things like boarding up windows?

Idiot.

Maybe God is a woman; wouldn't that be ironic!

And yet Romney is looking into rushing his nomination speech and vote before the hurricane gets close to Tampa and definitely before Ron Paul supporters can group together.

Another denier.... why do republicans have all these conspiracy theories? 'The press is out to get us', there are 'muslims hiding behind every corner' 'if he is black, he couldn't have been born in America'. What a bunch of nut jobs. The press reports the truth, you just don't happen to like the truth.

Change now - its time

What a bunch of nut jobs. The press reports the truth, you just don't happen to like the truth.

I am sure you include FOX news, the only FAIR, and HONEST source in there don't you?

Likely like the nut jobs you spout off about you don't like the truth though do you?

"I am sure you include FOX news, the only FAIR, and HONEST source in there don't you?"

Now that's funny.............I don't care who ya are, that's just funny!!

Tonyin, you should have your own comedy show on HBO!

OK... here's a TEST. How much coverage did the mainstream media do on that liberal, pro-gay marriage nutjob that attacked the Family Research Center with 500 rounds of ammunition and 15 Chick Fil-A sandwiches in his backpack?

How much focus have they done on the Batman shooter Holmes' background? He was an Occupy Wall Street protestor. If you think that the mainstream media is fair and honest... you are simply mistaken. You are WRONG. You are deceived. You are sheeple bleating out what they want you to believe.

How long did it take for this latest event - the NYC shooter - to turn into a discussion about "more gun control?" NYC and NY State have some of the strictest gun laws already out there - but the mainstream media immediately focuses on gun control instead of focusing on the police officer's BAD AIM which caused the vast majority of the injuries!

Sorry - Change Now - this is not a "conspiracy theory." It is a FACT. The media are GREATLY biased to the left; the VAST majority of the people in both Hollywood and the media are Democrats. Numerous polls and studies have shown this. If you actually believe that you are getting even remotely balanced coverage by the US media, you are just so ever sadly mistaken.

For comparison - pick up a copy of The Economist Magazine. This magazine is written by professional economists - IN BRITAIN. Britain is a rather socialist country - but I find their coverage to be both factual and VERY even handed. They bust on Obama (and applaud him occasionally) and they applaud Romney, Ryan, Paul, and other conservatives quite frequently - but even handedly.

If you are interested in FACT and intellectual discourse - just try it for a test. If you are happier being led by your golden ring in your nose and being taught what to think by a relatively uneducated group of entitlement minded, bleeding heart, brainless liberals... then just keep watching NBC/ABC/CBS.

Oh, yeah... Fox. Intellectual Bubble Gum. Not worth the electricity it takes to power the TV.

She better open her home to those less fortunate. Oh wait, you idiot libs don't believe in action, just vile words and hate!

As for the convention center, I hope it floods out. Let the Repubs. feel the "Lords" wrath, this time.

How nice. Anyone that doesn't share your political views should suffer, huh?

Haiti won't survive, they are going to get swamped again and we will send tons of money and have fund raisers where the money will be pocketed and boy scouts tents and a weeks worth of rations will be given out, I am not sending any more money to Haitian causes until an outside audit is done.

My son is currently in Charlier Haiti (his second trip there this year) doing some volunteer work preparing the area where they are to build school and orphanage. He is due to come back to the US tomorrow but with the storm, flights could be cancelled. He's in a remote area and no immediate access to communications. We just hope he's safe. He's a 26 yr old engineer and we are so proud of him.

Off the topic but I just want to share this...2 days before his birthday and 5 days before he left for Haiti, his dog jumped over their fence and never came back. 2 days ago, someone found her and she will be waiting for him to come back and my son have no idea she was found. It will be a very welcome surprise for him when he gets back..... hopefully tomorrow.

I'm so very happy that you found your lost dog... That's the nicest thing I have heard in these comments.. And I hope your son gets back tomorrow to rejoice. He is a good man to vounteer.

@KUMANA I would like to express my gratitude for your son hard work and his unselfihness, I heard all flight from Haiti got cancelled. I prayed for his safe return.

You're a buffoon. No wonder Obama got elected. The dumbing down of America was complete upon his election.

William - So right on. Why should they do anything for themselves? I still see ads to donate to them !! Where's all the money that's been donated already? They're living in the streets (still !) yet manage to reproduce. Send a team of doctors over and get them 'fixed'.

We don't help our own - I refuse to help anybody else.

What a racist remark!

I see a report where 400,000 people are living in tents in Haiti. Why is this? Where has all the donations went? My company alone raised about $100,00 which was sent to Haiti, I think an investigation needs to take place before another dime is sent to Haiti. I am sure tons of money will again be poured into Haiti once the Hurricane hits, I'm not being a mean I just think that if we are going to help these people then let's do it, tent cities after all these years looks like a waste of money to me.

I am not faulting the Haitian people entirely on this, where is the money?? On the other hand the Haitian people need to get off their asses and force their government to act or drive them out of the country and start rebuilding their country themselves. I am black and I don't see any racism in these comments just people who are tired of throwing money away on Haiti year after year.

Good question William, I have another one...how come Haitians can't do anything for themselves when they are in Haiti but when they come to the US they open businesses, drive cabs, work hard, buy houses and land and send plenty of money back to Haiti? My foot doctor is even Haitian for goodness sakes, but when they are in Haiti they seem to sit around waiting for handouts. Why is this?

@ William360414, WOW!! Ignorance is a bliss. Lol

@ Lesmax Igonrance is a bliss.. @JBJB thanks but Lesmax and William does not know any better.