Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

When I was faster i was always behind.

People are weird.

“They all knew.”

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

So fucking stupid, and still doing a tremendous amount of damage.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / Ian: Storm Check-In / Biden On the Federal Response (LIVE) at 12:45 pm

Ian: Storm Check-In / Biden On the Federal Response (LIVE) at 12:45 pm

by | 155 Comments

This post is in: ,

If you or your homes are anywhere near the path of Ian, let us know how you’re doing.

If you have family and friends who are impacted, let us know what’s happening there, too.  Millions without power, phone lines are down, and a whole lot of us are waiting to hear from family and friends.  And some of you are waiting to hear about your homes.

In a few hours, President Biden will tell us how the federal response is going, so I’ve added that to this check-in thread, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntIoxp2XTAQ

Reader Interactions

155Comments

  1. 1.

    JPL

    I feel so bad for those that have property on Sanibel/Captiva.   It’s impossible at this time to even return.

  2. 2.

    HinTN

    @JPL: I imagine Doc Ford’s stilt house got swamped.

    Seriously, BIL and wife retired to Cape Coral. They evacuated to Georgia but there’s no telling what sort of mess they will face when they return

    Edited to fix stupid autocorrect

  3. 3.

    cope

    No power, internet or cable here north of Orlando and cell service is wonky but, fortunately, no major damage. Plenty of food and water so nothing compared to other places.

  4. 4.

    the pale scot @ gmail

     

    Alive and well in Punta Gorda. Ian breezed thru between high tides like Charlie did.

    I’m now running a car to charge all the gadgets. Main gripe is when we moved here 30 yrs ago all the the neighbors were WW2, Korea and Vietnam vets who came here for the peace and quiet, hurricanes? No Worries. Now their inheritors are here, they all have generators roaring 24 hrs. Fuckin’ wussies

  5. 5.

    jonas

    I know the property insurance market in FL has been a real mess lately, with a lot of firms canceling policies, making customers pay for expensive re-roofing, or pulling out of the state entirely. I can only imagine all that is going to get much, much worse in the wake of this storm.

    I’m sure more bills banning critical race theory and gender-neutral bathrooms will help, though.

  7. 7.

    Steeplejack

    My greatest concern is for Kattails’s 93-year-old mother, who was going to ride out the storm at home with her husband in Port Charlotte. Would really like to see a (positive) update on that.

  8. 8.

    Scout211

    Sister and BIL in suburban Orlando (northeast) lucked out in a big way. Only a few windows that leaked overnight in the big winds but they still have power and no local flooding, so far.

  9. 9.

    Mike in NC

    As hard as it is to pick out one thing that was utterly despicable about Trump, every time he showed his bloated ugly face at some scene of a natural disaster he seemed to be angry, as if the victims were somehow to blame for what had happened, and the Fat Bastard was having to personally pay for providing them with some modicum of relief. I’ve never hated anyone in my life as much as that sack of shit.

  10. 10.

    Shakti

    I’m in Pinellas County. I begged the people I live with to evacuate to a shelter or to friends who lived in higher ground mid state (we were under an mandatory order), but they refused. I had a bug out bag and water packed, but nobody else did.

    We didn’t lose power although it flickered a couple of times.  We got very lucky. I think I want to check out the damage?   Our friends in Sarasota sustained a lot of damage and lost power.  Just glad my father isn’t working in Fort Myers during the week anymore.

  11. 11.

    EarthWindFire

    One of my workmates is east of Orlando and has power out but no flooding. BIL and SIL have a place in Fort Myers but are in VA now so are safe. What will be will be when they get down there next.

  12. 12.

    MomSense

    My stepmom sent me a photo their Naples neighbor sent.  Luckily they sold their Florida car because the carport is submerged.  The first floor condos must be totally flooded.  Their roof held so their condo is ok.  It can’t be good for a building to be submerged like that, though.
    My sister’s place in Captiva is on stilts. Not sure how it fared, but the island was hammered.

  16. 16.

    lowtechcyclist

    My father-in-law and brother-in-law in Plant City both came through unscathed, along with their houses.  And apparently my wife’s late grandmother’s house, which we’re trying to sell, also is unharmed.

  17. 17.

    leeleeFL

    Okay, so far, in Brevard. Not expecting much, more rain for sure, but not sure when I have to work at 3PM, because, reasons!  Apparently a restaurant is essential.  How’s Adam and Betty, anybody hear?

  18. 18.

    cain

    @jonas: The people left will be maga through and through – but hopefully the census comes in and florida doesn’t get as much electoral votes. :P

  19. 19.

    Ksmiami

    @MomSense: water damage esp if it takes a lot of time before restoration is absolutely the worst for a home. I hope insurers are compassionate but I have a feeling that claims alone will result in abandonment of properties

  20. 20.

    Shakti

    @WaterGirl: Yes, that’s the shape of it. What gets me is that I kept arguing with them that it wasn’t just about the cone but about the possible flooding and they alternated between denial and just cockamamie ideas that shouldn’t come out of adults.

     

    It wasn’t their first hurricane and we’ve actually had to drive through flood waters to safety before. They’ve dealt with water damage before (from other things).

    My cousins from other states were in disbelief.

  21. 21.

    raven

    My friends bought a house in Brevard, NC last year and are up there and don’t yet know how the house in Cape Coral is. There is a mile or so of mangrove between the river and their house and they hope it helped.

  24. 24.

    Cameron

    Lot of wind and rain plus a brief power outage where I live in southern Manatee County.  Not fun, but no real problems.  I’m more worried about what my friend who lives on Siesta Key will find when she returns home on Saturday.  I hope her house is still there.

  26. 26.

    Almost Retired

    @Cameron:  Just heard from my wife’s sister and BIL in Manatee County.  Just got their power and wifi back.  tree limbs and such, but no other damage.

  27. 27.

    Ken

    @Shakti: we’ve actually had to drive through flood waters

    You probably know this, but that is never a good idea.

    Though not as fundamentally bad as sending a reporter and film crew to report that, yes indeed, there is a hurricane making landfall right where they’re standing.

  28. 28.

    Tenar Arha

    My cousins in Sarasota County made it thru, miraculously no home damage including trees, or even power outages. Did lose their cable.

    Unfortunately though, I haven’t heard back from a friend in Naples since ~ 2PM yesterday. I think the most worrying part is she hasn’t responded to my “R u okay” message this morning plus my iMessages are now going out to her as SMS texts. And that wasn’t happening with her # before ~4 PM yesterday.

  29. 29.

    Shalimar

    DeSantis is already playing games with numbers, saying the hundreds of deaths the Lee county sheriff expects are just people who need a welfare check.  It’s going to be Covid all over again, where the large death surge in that area can’t officially be attributed to the hurricane.

  31. 31.

    Andrew

    Just heard that my apartment is undamaged and has power, in Sarasota.  I will spend one more night in Gainesville, then drive home tomorrow.

  32. 32.

    Shalimar

    @Tenar Arha: Probably just means her phone is out of power with no way to recharge.  Keep faith this soon after the storm.  It is too early to assume the worst.

  33. 33.

    Betty Cracker

    @Tenar Arha: I hope your friend is okay. It’s likely that cell towers were knocked out, so that could explain why you haven’t heard back/are getting SMS format.

  36. 36.

    Soprano2

    I know where my SIL and my niece and her husband who work for a damage recovery company will be going very soon. :-(

  37. 37.

    Soprano2

    @Shakti: Sometimes you don’t have a choice, or you don’t know the water is so high because it’s dark. That happened to my husband – he drove right into chest-high water because it was 2 a.m. and he was in a part of the county he was unfamiliar with. Luckily he was able to get towed out. It happened while I was gone on a trip with my mother and sister. I kidded him that I couldn’t even leave him alone for a week without him getting into trouble!

  39. 39.

    cain

    @Shalimar: He doesn’t give a shit about the people in the cities – his power base are all rural MAGA who aren’t near any water. They’ll just hum along – he’s already trained them because of COVID.

    He’ll go after anyone who says otherwise. Any mis-management he will blame the feds and on Biden.

  40. 40.

    Joy in FL

    In west Pasco county, I am lucky. I watched MSNBC coverage yesterday until midnight, so I saw what    might have been here.
    Lots of power out around me, but mine stayed on.
    My heart, and tomorrow when I get paid, some of my money are with those who have true disaster to deal with.
    Chef Andre and World Central Kitchen  already have people in place to help, so tomorrow I’ll be using our thermometer to donate.

  41. 41.

    Shakti

    @Steeplejack: Sense goes out the window with family and I’m not good at planning. I was pretty much the only person who was getting food, water, filling up the tank, packing the car, looking for accommodations and I could not do it all alone. I wasted valuable time arguing with them.

    One has high functioning autism and is in their own world, another has bad diabetes (think crashes) and the third has other health conditions.

    Yes, I know, I warn everyone and die in the horror movie.

  42. 42.

    Alison Rose 💙🌻💛

    You know who is doing okay now because of an awesome man? THIS CAT. The headline is “‘He is everyone’s boyfriend now’: Man saves cat as Ian’s floodwaters rise around him” – talk about clickbait. And yes, there is video. Kitty looked so relived to be saved!!

  43. 43.

    Steeplejack

    @Tenar Arha:

    I got an email at 9:00 this morning from my friend in Naples. She is in Zone C about five miles from the bay and the coast. It was short and a little cryptic, so I don’t know if she was conserving phone battery or what.

  44. 44.

    The Moar You Know

    As hard as it is to pick out one thing that was utterly despicable about Trump, every time he showed his bloated ugly face at some scene of a natural disaster he seemed to be angry, as if the victims were somehow to blame for what had happened, and the Fat Bastard was having to personally pay for providing them with some modicum of relief.

    @Mike in NC: It’s not “seemed”.  He was angry.  One of the more horrendous aspects of the narcissist’s personality is the extent they go to blame any victim of anything for their misfortunes, as those misfortunes take attention, resources and sympathy that justly belong to the narcissist.

    You wanna find out how a murder victim was responsible for their own murder, ask a narcissist.  They’ll have a full explanation for you in seconds.

  45. 45.

    Steeplejack

    @Shakti:

    Thanks for your detailed answer to my awkward question. I was trying not to sound judgmental, but I was interested in the group psychology. I have been in a couple of situations where I (wrongly) ended up thinking, “Am I the crazy one?” A group, even a small one, can have a strong gravitational pull.

  48. 48.

    MomSense

    @Ksmiami:

    My parents’ unit is on the 3rd floor.  I’m just wondering if the structural integrity of the whole building will be affected by flooding.  I just can’t imagine that it wouldn’t damage the foundation.

  49. 49.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Ken: There’s a Dave Barry novel with a grim ongoing joke about that, starting with a reporter standing in the flood waters to report on a downed live power line (ZAP!) and followed by reporter after reporter standing in the same flood water to report the tragic death of (ZAP!)

  52. 52.

    WaterGirl

    It’s a relief to be hearing so many (mostly) positive outcomes.  Not hit too badly, still have power, power will be back on soon.

    I wonder if this might be kind of similar to the phenomenon we see with early voting results vs. same day voting?

    The folks who weren’t hit too badly still have power and thus are able to let us know how they are doing.  The ones who have been really badly hit probably are not able to communicate because power lines are down.

    Not wanting to borrow trouble.   Just wondering if that’s a reasonable way of thinking about this.  Of course, it helps that Ian went from nearly 5, to Cat 4, to Cat 3, to Cat 2 and now to tropical storm.  Thank goodness for that.

  53. 53.

    NorthLeft

    @cain: I assume your comment is directed at DeSantis.

    Yeah, don’t forget all those big city (read Democrat) Mayors who he can also demonize and belittle.

  57. 57.

    Steeplejack

    As I said above, I got a somewhat cryptic email this morning from my 84-year-old friend in Naples. Apparently she’s okay, but no details were given. In fact, she asked me for details about where Ian is. So maybe that means she doesn’t have power? Dunno.

    My underlying concern is that she has seemed a little “off” mentally since moving to Naples back in April. It was a major uprooting of her life (from Alaska), and I know she experienced stress on many levels. There started to be inconsistencies and little gaps in our interactions (texts, email, phone calls) that started to give me concern, which has continued. We have a mutual friend who also lives in Naples, which I am thankful for, but I don’t know how much contact they have on an everyday basis. This hurricane has no doubt been an additional big stressor. She doesn’t have a car at the moment, so I am worried about her getting provisions, etc.

  58. 58.

    eclare

    @Gravenstone:   And he passes all of those electricity meters with the cat with the waves lapping at them…

    Overjoyed that he saved the kitty, maybe the kitty gave one of her nine lives to him.

  62. 62.

    Steeplejack

    @eclare:

    I think she had them delivered occasionally, and she also had a “helper” from some agency who came a few days a week to drive her on errands and to generally help out. But the last I heard (a week or two ago) the helper wasn’t going to be available and a new one was being arranged. And even that story was kind of confused. Part of my ongoing concern.

  64. 64.

    Ken

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: I think I read that one. Doesn’t it escalate, so by the end of the novel it’s News Helicopter 2 going out to report how News Helicopter 1 went down while reporting the crash of News Van 3 as it was racing to report on the death of On-the-Scene Reporter 4 who was…

  65. 65.

    eclare

    @Steeplejack:   Gotcha.  Is there any way you can sign her up long distance for a welfare check, saying she’s older, no car, etc?  Someone’s (I think Trapped Lurker) SIL was doing that last night for his elderly parents in Cape Coral.

  66. 66.

    Andrew

    I can’t believe my good fortune.   My apartment in Sarasota is undamaged and has power.  I’ll be leaving Gainesville tomorrow morning to give the road/electrical crews more time to ensure a safe drive.

  70. 70.

    Ksmiami

    @MomSense: the water rot will likely have devastating effects on the structural integrity plus foundations actually move during events like this… best of luck to your parents and I hope the association has added riders for hurricanes etc.

  72. 72.

    Paul in KY

    @Steeplejack: Moving from Alaska to Naples, FL would be disorienting for someone of any age, I would think. Sorta like going to a human colony on another planet. I hope she is OK.

  73. 73.

    HinTN

    @raven: Randy Wayne White taught me a lot about the virtues if mangrove. It won’t help against general water rise but it takes the energy right out of surge.

  75. 75.

    Steeplejack

    @eclare:

    Good idea, but I’m not that worried yet. Like I said, she’s five miles in from the coast, and she was able to email me this morning, if not to my satisfaction. From what I have read, Collier County (Naples) response teams are slammed—and are even getting overflow calls from neighboring Lee County (Fort Myers)—so an “ordinary” welfare check is probably a low priority. Guess I’ll wait with fingers crossed.

  78. 78.

    JPL

    @Paul in KY: You would think that emergency personnel can go by boat and helicopter.

     

    Just checked in with friends that have a condo in Naples.   They are in Maine at the present time, so they are safe.   Their unit is on the seventh floor, so probably didn’t sustain damage, but the lower-level parking garage and entrance were all under water.   That’s all they found out so far.   She’s concerned.

  82. 82.

    The Moar You Know

     

    Jesus.  Biden is just giving aid away and not asking for anything in return.

    @Baud: is he at least participating in the traditional throwing of the paper towels?  What kind of man have we elected?

  87. 87.

    MazeDancer

    Shorter Mr. Biden:

    Who got the big guns? Feds got the big guns!

    Totally obliterating DeSantis pretending to be in charge of everything, while being utterly gracious to Ron. Also, the FL Mayors

  90. 90.

    Ken

    @HinTN: Sounds like the setup for a scam to get research dollars. “We will genetically engineer a tree that can live in a wide range of water salinity, and can be planted along vulnerable coastlines to protect them from storm surge.”

    Five years and sixty million dollars later, you deliver a packet of mangrove seeds. (Which, google tells me, germinate on the tree! And are also in Minecraft — which I’ve avoided, because I have the personality type that could easily become obsessed with that game.)

  93. 93.

    Gravenstone

    @Ken: I’d love it if he took DeSantis aside and said , “cut the political bullshit. this isn’t about you and your Presidential aspirations. now, what help do the citizens of Florida need from us?”

    I’d like it even more if that were actually caught on a live mic.

  94. 94.

    Joy in FL

    I love that the President shut down that stuff at the end and kept the focus on the topic. He explicitly said this is about people’s lives and homes and businesses. He kept the political differences separate, not that they don’t exist, but they are not the point when there is a disaster to respond to.

  97. 97.

    Ken

    @Calouste: “We will synergistically genetically engineer and reinvent a holistic tree that can efficiently live in a wide range of intrinsic water salinity, and can be strategically planted along empowered vulnerable coastlines to proactively, transformationally, and seamlessly protect them from open-sourced storm surge.”

  108. 108.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: The 2020 census’s official reference date happened at the best possible moment for the Republicans–exactly when COVID was transitioning from being primarily a killer of Democrats to primarily a killer of Republicans. So most Democratic COVID dead weren’t counted but most of the Republican ones were.

  109. 109.

    raven

    @WaterGirl: He was pretty measured yesterday. They asked if he had advice for DeSantis and he said “Do the best you can and hold the people in your heart”.  I’m not thrilled about nitpicking every statement these people make right now.

  110. 110.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @WaterGirl: She went on too long with the praise, even though it’s deserved. She also used a lot of stock phrases: my heart aches, lives forever changed. She buried the information about the phone number to call for a specific kind of help. She repeated information we already had. And she used phrases like “submerged under water” as opposed to just submerged

    ETA: Raven, I hear you on nitpicking. You’re right.

  111. 111.

    WaterGirl

    @CarolPW: Just what he wrote last night around 8 pm.

    Paul Wartenberg

    If you follow me on Twitter @PaulWartenberg you’ve probably seen me post a few updates on how windy and rainy it’s been in the south Lakeland area today. Also, I am upset about what happened to CJ’S TAVERN in Punta Gorda. /cries

  114. 114.

    Ken

    @Matt McIrvin: Now I’m wondering if that really is good news for John McCain Republicans. It sounds like there could be a number of census tracts with an overcount of Republicans, since they died post-census. If someone then said “We will cut Blue City in four, and add a bunch of these Republican tracts to each chunk”, their gerrymander might not be as good as they thought.

  121. 121.

    Belafon

    @jonas:

    I know the property insurance market in FL has been a real mess lately, with a lot of firms canceling policies, making customers pay for expensive re-roofing, or pulling out of the state entirely. I can only imagine all that is going to get much, much worse in the wake of this storm.

    I’m sure more bills banning critical race theory and gender-neutral bathrooms will help, though.

     

    Ten or fifteen years ago, there was a show on tv that speculated about the great earthquake in California happening and how it would affect the whole country. One of the points was that the insurance industry would go under trying to pay for the damage.

    Sounds like climate change is going to be the big one.

  126. 126.

    trollhattan

    @Belafon: Is Florida now the #3 state in population? That’s a lot of housing and infrastructure available to blow into the Gulf of Mexico.

    Not that #2 is immune to the same treatment.

  131. 131.

    Baud

    WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) – A former U.S. Army major and his anesthesiologist wife have been criminally charged for allegedly plotting to leak highly sensitive healthcare data about military patients to Russia, the Justice Department revealed on Thursday.

  135. 135.

    PaulWartenberg

    Living off my phone data at the moment.

    Duplex home is okay, power is out and waiting for Tampa Electric to get South Lakeland back up.

    Used a battery backup last night for my cpap, which was nice. But the solar panel recharge is taking soooooooo long.

    Hope everyone else in FLA is safe.

  140. 140.

    kalakal

    Bit late for a check in.

    All well here on the commanding heights of Pinellas. Fair bit of light debris which I’ve been clearing up. Pleasantly surprised not to have lost power

  143. 143.

    raven

    From our friends

    We just heard from our next-door neighbor who just got back they did a walk around our house and said there’s no obvious damage. Most of the neighbors on our side of the street did get some water intrusion because their homes were built in the 70s. But our house was built code in 1995 and was about 3 feet higher than the rest of the homes that were older. I suspect we may find some stuff wrong with when we finally get there and do a closer inspection but right now we are really happy.

  145. 145.

    Captain C

    @trollhattan:

    What an odd target for espionage.

    Perhaps looking for people who might be in debt and thus susceptible to cash incentives?  Or people who might be vulnerable in other ways, either for espionage or pressure purposes?

  147. 147.

    C Stars

    @Baud: Someone needs to make a supercut lining up DeSantis’s stupid sniveling demeanor with scenes of stereotypical high school bullies from teen movies. There’s quite a resemblance.

  149. 149.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    @Tenar Arha: When Ida hit near my niece’s house in Houma LA, last summer it took out a LOT of the cell towers.  Will as bad as the wind was with Ian I am thinking this situation is similar.  I am hoping your friend just has no cell service and has her phone off so it doesn’t waste battery power constantly Roaming for a signal.

  150. 150.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    I really hope people stay OUT of the flood waters.. There is going to be some nasty stuff in there.  Plus snakes, gators and broke debris.

  154. 154.

    JaneE

    @Belafon: Earthquake coverage is a separate rider.  It is expensive and the deductible is outrageous, I think 25% of the coverage.  Most of the time the damage is a broken figurine or picture glass or maybe a crack in the plaster a coat of paint will fill in.   If you have a 200,000 house, it may never get 50,000 in damages.

    Fires are going to be the problem for insurers and floods, long before earthquakes.

  155. 155.

    J R in WV

    Glad so many folks are checking in and OK down south.

    In the long ago my folks had a sweet condo in Osprey, between Venice and Sarasota. The entrance was off the rad over to Casey Key. We would bike over, stop at the Intracoastal Waterway Oyster Shack for $0.25 oysters on the half-shell, then ride up and down Casey Key. Great restaurants up in Sarasota and on Siesta Key. Folks spent one winter renting a place out on Siesta Key, was too swanky for them I think.

    I don’t know, but I would imagine all those barrier islands are swept clean of every man-made thing right now. You all  stay dry down there, and keep an eye out for alligators and pythons.

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