[summer]

I really don't like it when the media pundits get on tv and blather on about things they know nothing about. Don't let them spin this, because every local person who knows anything is saying it's amazing how much they learned from Hurricane Andrew - the SW FL Airport is already open, stores are reopening, roads are clear, etc. (And, this is not what happened in Andrew. During Andrew it was chaos.) So, don't let them spin it falsely -- and against Gov Bush and GW!!! Thanks, summer :)

[summer]

I have a lot to do, and I gotta go, but I had to write this editorial tonight. I was really upset at the negative and uninformed remarks by that political analyst.

[SheLion]

I lived in Florida for three years. As big as this hurricane was, coming into the Gulf, I would have left the state no matter where I lived in that state. I am even surprised that Miami didn't get a hit.

That storm was massive and anyone with any sense would have headed north days ago.

It's a wonder that hurricane didn't take out the whole state. And how on earth can even the best of weathermen predict how it was going to move. I commend the meteorologists for predicting as close as they did.

Some say it's an act of God. Well, that is another sign that no man can actually predict the precise movement of such a massive storm.

If the Rats want to spin it and place blame on Gov. Bush, etc, then anyone with an ounce of sense will realize the truth.

I also commend the Gov. and all the emergency workers for getting in there as fast as they did.

I think they are doing a fantastic job at helping the people out.

[Dolphy]

The junior Senator from Florida, on Fox, praised the state government's preparation and response. Of course the national media will look for other, "better informed" Democrats to better make their political point.

[My Favorite Headache]

Link to the thread Summer is talking about

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1191628/posts?q=1&&page=201

[scouse]

Hi Summer: I watched that idiot Craig Crawford trying to lay the blame on JEB. However considering all the precautions that were taken, prior to Charley making landfall, I don't think any of it will stick.

[Normal4me]

I just left my ex-girlfriends house after covering her roof with plastic. She lost all her roofing material last night and it was down to bare wood. Did I have to do it? No. I would have done the same for anyone who needed help. This is not a political issue, this is a community issue. Her entire neighborhood is without power and I saw neighbors sharing food, ice, chainsaws, etc....everybody was helping each other. If the media has become so shallow as to not see the good in people, then I have no use for them anymore.

[Eastbound]

The anti-Bushers, the anti-Americans, the liberals, the socialists, the demochaotics, the media a$$holes of the nation will do anything, say anything, use anything, invent anything to attain their goal of getting back in power in order to finish destroying the principles upon, and the institutions under which our Republic once prospered.

Just look at how much damage they are doing when they are NOT in power and multiply that by 10. This election is more than about personalities. This election will decide the fate of the nation -- and it will have a terrifying effect on the entire world if it goes wrong.

[dandi]

I live in North Florida and was following it closely and even I wasn't sure where it was going. From what I understand it took a "wobbly" path and so was difficult to predict. At one point its projected path was straight towards my area and I stocked up on gas and got extra cash from the ATM, but as it turned out we got more bad weather from the cold front moving in than we did from Charley.

I don't put anything past some of these kooks. In fact, I'm suprised no one has accused Cheney and Halliburton of engineering the whole thing.

[Gabz]

Both of your commentaries tonight have been right on.

The idiocy of some people just never ceases to amaze me.

[doc30]

I live in one of the mandatory evacuation areas near St. Petersburg in Pinellas County. Everyone here is aware of how unpredictable hurricanes can be. On Thurs morning, came to work expecting it to be a regular day and the news hit that Charley was heading straight for the Tampa Bay area. We shut down our operations and prepared the facility as best as possible for the hurricane. When I was getting ready to head home, the mandatory evacuation order hit and a lot of friends were worried. It has been about 80 years since the bay area had a direct hit (1921).

My wife and I got the hurricane shutters over the windows, got the cars full of gas, loaded a dog, 3 cats and 2 parrots and precious family items into our two cars and headed out. It took 1.5 hours to cross the Howard Franklin bridge (I-275) from St Pete to Tampa and we headed north to Citrus COunty to stay with friends. Most traffic headed west to Orlando or Polk County, about 70 miles inland.

All Thursday night and Friday morning, all we could do was pray the storm weakened or changed course because the predicted track was centered on our neighborhood. We didn't know if we would have a home to return to or if my employer would still exist (it's located on the water).

Since hurricanes are unpredictable, we didn't know where it would hit for sure. Since Charley was approaching the coast at such a shallow angle, a shift of couple of degrees could change landfall by many dozens of miles. And sure enough, its track shifted to the east and made landfall farther south. We returned today and found many homes in the neighborhood with taped windows or were still boarded up. Our shutters are coming down tomorrow when the rain stops. The cold front that shifted Charley's track is bringing us heavy thunderstorms.

Tomorrow, my wife and I are volunteering at the local SPCA to help with the transfer of animals from the shelters in devastated counties.

My point is that if you live in Florida, you have to be hurricane prepared. You need to have your home protected and you have to have a plan to evacuate. Hurricane Andrew taught FLorida many lessons in terms of preparation and in terms of disaster response. The state was prepared. The state had practiced worst case senarios like this and knows what to expect and what to do in the disater areas. Recovery will be smoother and faster than for ANdrew, even with the greater damage from Charley. Anybody that says Bush didn't have Florida ready doesn't know sh!t about Florida.

[CARDINALRULES]

Jeesh, what a bunch of morons.

Storms and hurricanes in the Gulf are known to be very unpredictable and change course very quickly.

One just has to look at the track Hurricane Elena took Labor Day weekend 1985.

I remember watching Channel 8 for days, with them predicting it would make landfall, then a few hours later say it changed course again and was moving away from the coast, only for them to say a few hours later that it was moving toward shore. It was a wild week while tornadoes were being spawned all over the place, flooding and then later sinkholes.

Spent most of the time in the hallway when not in front of the tv. Only ventured outside a few times, the last time was when Elena was off the coast of my county , winds were high and a large branch came flying off a tree and smacked me in the back of the head. ;-`) Good thing I had a hard head even as a child.

[ladyinred]

INCREDIBLE!

[redangus]

We have been watching a lot of the coverage on CNN, MSNBC and FOX and I can tell you that the talking heads are trying to find someway to blame this on the Bush Brothers. MSNBC's latest has been to question whether there is enough National Guard personel and equipment in FL because of the war in Iraq. CNN earlier had a talking head on saying that if Jeb asks W to come to the state it will obviously be seen as politicing because he won't ask Kerry to come too. Geez.

[Amelia]

Today I saw a convoy of 20-30 trucks, Duke Power's Storm Response Team, heading south on I-95 from North Carolina. Also saw a convoy of those tree-trimming bucket trucks but couldn't tell where they were from, and several big trucks from storm restoration companies, all headed south.

Help is on the way, from many places. I think Georgia Power sent its crews out Friday night or Saturday morning.