See the recommended list for up to date hurricane diaries, the big story. And it’s the 9/11 anniversary.
Meanwhile, politics…
Susan Chira/NY Times:
Women who lose elections at many levels often have a rougher landing than men, according to Adrienne Kimmel, who has overseen research into women and politics as executive director of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation. “The old boys’ club in my opinion gets you in, and once you’re out, it lifts you up,” she said.
There isn’t a clear analogue in pop culture, either, for what a powerful woman who lost out on a powerful job should do. Selina Meyer, the nakedly power-seeking politician in “Veep” — seen by some viewers, mistakenly, as a stand-in for Hillary Clinton, according to executive producer David Mandel — does become president but loses in the next election. The most recent season shows her accepting a thinly veiled bribe to try to establish her post-presidential library and emerging determined to run again. Mr. Mandel milked that scenario for humor, but in real life, he can’t find anything funny about Mrs. Clinton’s situation. “I voted for her, I gave money to her, I think it’s time for her to move on,” he said. “I want some room on the stage.”
Yet Hillary Clinton, as ever, doesn’t fit neatly into any category. She has money and plenty of exposure and the determination to be heard and make a difference. The question is how and where.
Warning: this is gut wrenching and people die. But it is riveting. Houston Chronicle:
I downloaded an app. And suddenly, was part of the Cajun Navy.
After two minutes of training, I was talking to people desperate for help
After I received each request and had called the person making the request, I was to log their information on a designated website, let the requester know the ID number they'd been assigned and move on to the next call.
Within minutes, I was on the phone with Karen. Karen was in a house in Port Arthur, sitting on her kitchen cabinet with seven other adults, two teenagers and a newborn. The water was almost to the counter tops. I assured here we would get someone to her as soon as we could and told her to stay safe.
Heroes. And folks on this web site will get the vibe, the desire to help, the whole bit.
YMMV. But if you critique the book, try reading it first.
Department of I’m sorry I asked:
I’ll bet the guy sails.
Capitol Weather Gang/WaPo:
Hurricane Irma is literally sucking the water away from shorelines
As a meteorologist, there are things you learn in textbooks that you may never see in person. You know they happen theoretically, but the chances of seeing the most extraordinary weather phenomena are slim to none.
This is one of those things — a hurricane strong enough to change the shape of an ocean.
Twitter user @Kaydi_K shared this video Saturday afternoon, and I knew right away that even though it looked as though it couldn’t be possible, it was absolutely legit.
“I am in disbelief right now…” she wrote. “This is Long Island, Bahamas and the ocean water is missing!!!”
Basically, Hurricane Irma is so strong and its pressure is so low, it’s sucking water from its surroundings into the core of the storm
Remember, whatever the problem, the answer is a tax cut.
meanwhile:
Jill Lawrence/USA Today:
But now that Trump has canceled it [DACA], with a six-month grace period for Congress to “do your job,” as he put it, a growing number of Republicans — including Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan — are looking for an escape hatch. Whose idea was it, anyway, to destroy the lives of some 800,000 young people who are working, studying and have never broken the law? Who are engines of our economy, or could be, if we let them stay? It turns out it’s not popular to kick the “dreamers” out of America.
Turns out as well that repealing the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, is not popular either — especially when the Congressional Budget Office has found that every variation on a replacement would cost people more, take away consumer protections, and insure far fewer — up to 24 million fewer in one case. Those protesting repeal at town meetings included conservatives and Trump voters as well as liberal Democrats. Those seeking a bipartisan compromise to stabilize markets and improve the law include more than a few Republican senators and governors. Those trying to get Congress to abandon repeal and move on include … Trump. At least as of Friday.
It wasn’t popular to pull America out of the Paris climate agreement, as Trump has done. It wouldn’t be popular to weaken fuel efficiency standards developed by the Obama administration, with consumers or even apparently with the auto industry.
And it won’t be popular if, as expected, the tax “reform” push by Trump and congressional Republicans turns out to be mostly about tax cuts for the rich. Three-quarters of Americans say Trump should not lower taxes on the wealthy and close to that many said a year ago that taxes should be raised on the wealthy.
Buoyed by gerrymandering and cultural shifts, Republicans have had years of success winning elections at every level. They have mistaken that as popular support for free-market health care, trickle-down economics, extensive deregulation and callous social policies. Will months of failure on Obamacare repeal, capped perhaps by a groundswell of support for DACA, finally drive the message home?
A great reminder that the GOP agenda is enormously unpopular.
Axios:
Sound smart: Ryan — like John Boehner before him — has found being Speaker sounds more powerful than it actually is. Lawmakers no longer need party leaders for money and exposure, because the power has swung to the grassroots. And without the ability to hand out legislative goodies such as earmarks (money for projects in districts), the modern Speaker is simply playing a weaker hand.
Sound smarter: Ignore episodic stories about Ryan's demise. There are no Republicans with the clout or support to take him on. They know the job is impossible in this environment.
That's why there has been a recent run of weak and troubled speakerships.
Patrick McKenzie/blog with practical advice on credit data breaches:
Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You
I’m not a lawyer. I am not your lawyer. I no longer have enough free time to write letters for people. But feel free to read the below to help guide your research in dealing with your credit-related problems.
What problems can this advice help with? What can’t it?
Was your data leaked, or possibly leaked, without an account being opened yet?You might have heard your data was included in the Equifax breach or be unsure about that. Someone could, potentially, use that data to open accounts at financial institutions. Someone could also potentially have robbed your home while you were out. You wouldn’t call the police immediately after returning home on the possibly you might have been robbed – you’d do it only if there was actually evidence of a specific crime. You don’t need to do anything just because your data was leaked or might have been leaked.
I realize some folks find that advice unsatisfying.
Axios:
The Senate HELP Committee's quest to stabilize the ACA is going incredibly well so far. But it's easy to have a productive hearing. There's still a long way to go before anything hits President Trump's desk. So let's game out the next steps in this effort, and flag where it could still get tripped up.
Committee: The details will be crucial, but a deal — at least among committee members — seems very much within reach.
- It's unclear how the process moves forward from there. A senior GOP aide told Axios' Caitlin Owens that staff are skeptical the committee has enough time to formally mark up a bill.
Floor: Sen. John Thune, a member of Republican leadership, told Caitlin a bipartisan solution could "probably" get through the Senate.
WaPo:
“There is an element of the core base in both the Democratic and Republican Party that is more nonideological and anti-establishment than any other aspect of their political view,” said Josh Holmes, a former chief of staff to McConnell who helped lead the Republican effort to defeat tea party challengers in the 2014 elections. “Taken to its logical conclusion, that means that they will support anybody regardless of their ideology that is intent on opposing the powers that be.”
The trend could have significant implications not only for the coming legislative negotiations but for the midterm elections next year. Republican lawmakers are bracing for the possibility that Trump will involve himself in primary elections to challenge incumbent Republican senators in Arizona and Nevada.