How about that weather?

Trump Crony Open Thread: We Shall Not See His Like Again (If We’re Lucky)

by Anne Laurie| November 19, 20255:15 pm| 30 Comments

This post is in: How about that weather?, Open Threads, Trump Crime Cartel

Breaking news: David Richardson resigned as acting head of FEMA.
Richardson was known for frequently being inaccessible, including during the early hours of the flood disaster in Texas over the Fourth of July weekend.

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— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com) November 17, 2025 at 12:58 PM

Unlike most Trump subordinates, he doesn’t seem to have wanted the job in the first place, but he’s not gonna be missed now that he’s (officially) gone. Per the Washington Post, “FEMA head resigns. Richardson had been hard to reach during Texas floods” [gift link]:

David Richardson on Monday resigned as acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, ending a brief tenure leading an agency that the Trump administration has publicly expressed a desire to dismantle.

Richardson, who spent about six months as the acting head of the nation’s disaster response agency, has kept a low profile and is known for often being inaccessible, including during the early hours of the flood disaster in Texas over the Fourth of July weekend.

In recent months, five current agency employees said Richardson spent little time in daily operations meetings and shrank away from the role — one that typically demands the administrator be easily reachable. The staffers, like others interviewed for this story and previous coverage, spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.

After The Washington Post and other outlets reported Richardson’s resignation Monday, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that FEMA’s current chief of staff, Karen Evans, will “step into this important role” at the beginning of December. DHS oversees the emergency management agency…

The latest departure comes as FEMA faces an uncertain future, and could face a significant overhaul. The administration is waiting for guidance from a review council, commissioned by President Donald Trump and headed by DHS Secretary Kristi L. Noem, working on a report of how disaster response can be improved in the United States. The council could recommend ways to reform or perhaps further shrink the agency…

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Since Trump took office, FEMA has lost as much as a quarter of its workforce, according to multiple officials within the agency. Amid recent changes, dozens of employees in August signed their names to a public letter criticizing the agency’s leadership and warned that it had been operating under leaders who lack the qualifications and authority to manage FEMA’s operations.

Employees also said leadership had eroded the agency’s ability to effectively manage emergencies and other operations, including national security work, pointing specifically to stringent new rules and budget restrictions imposed by Noem, which require her approval for any expenditure over $100,000…

Richardson, a former Marine Corps artillery officer who was leading the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction office, took over for Cameron Hamilton in May, after Noem ousted Hamilton for publicly contradicting the administration’s desired aim to eliminate FEMA as it exists today.

Hamilton, who now consults on disaster response and recovery operations, has spoken out about his concerns over FEMA’s direction and the kind of leadership the agency and the country need.

“Right now unfortunately we have a FEMA that is not as well equipped and prepared as they have been before,” Hamilton said in an interview. “Instead of the rhetoric of abolish and dismantling, we should be seeing this agency as a tremendous asset. They are some of the best public servants I have ever worked with, because they maintain a survivor centric focus.”

He said of Richardson’s resignation, “I wish Dave well, but he never should’ve been there to begin with.”…

During his first day at FEMA, Richardson held an all-hands meeting that quickly made headlines.

He told thousands of staff members listening in: “Don’t get in my way.”

He was there to “achieve the president’s intent for FEMA,” which would probably transform the agency.

“What it’s going to look like in the end, we’ll find out,” he said, and then added: “I and I alone speak for FEMA.”

I can’t find the photos of Richardson wandering around his headquarters in a vacation polo & cargo shorts a week after the Texas floods in July, but it was pretty clear at the time that he would not depart trailing clouds of glory. His acting replacement, Karen Evans, is a cybersecurity expert who doesn’t intend to stick around, either.

Permanent replacement now being touted is Nim Kidd. Per the Texas Tribune, “Trump administration considers moving FEMA to Texas and tapping state’s top emergency official, report says”:

… In February, Trump interviewed Nim Kidd, head of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, to run FEMA. Kidd later acknowledged the interview but declined the position, writing on LinkedIn that he is “committed to serving Texas first.”

Kidd sits on a 13-member FEMA review council that Trump appointed. Politico reported that the panel is expected to recommend FEMA’s move to Texas. The outlet said that would accommodate Kidd’s wish to remain in Texas.

Kidd could not be immediately reached for comment Monday. Gov. Greg Abbott also sits on the review council and could not be immediately reached. The Politico report did not say what city could be under consideration for a potential FEMA relocation.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas called Kidd “the GOAT,” Monday on X, an acronym for “greatest of all time.”

Kidd began his career 33 years ago as a volunteer firefighter in La Vernia. He has overseen the state’s response to several large and deadly disasters, including this year’s Hill Country floods and last year’s Panhandle wildfires…

Moving the agency about 1,500 miles from Washington to Texas could create “huge challenges” by separating the headquarters from its overseeing agency, one former FEMA official told Politico.

Demanding FEMA’s remaining employees relocate to some unknown Texas location for what is being broadcast as temporary positions would certainly be one way to further reduce headcount. It’s not as though there were any indications that FEMA might need resources in the immediate future, after all…

"After Melissa, how much stronger will future hurricanes be?" by Thais Lopez Vogel for @theinvadingsea.bsky.social: www.theinvadingsea.com/2025/11/10/h…

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— Michael E. Mann (@michaelemann.bsky.social) November 18, 2025 at 3:23 PM

Trump Crony Open Thread: We Shall Not See His Like Again (If We’re Lucky)Post + Comments (30)

Cleaning Up After Hurricane Melissa

by Anne Laurie| October 31, 202512:25 am| 12 Comments

This post is in: Climate Change, How about that weather?, How Do We Move Forward?

New images show the swaths of destruction across Jamaica left by Hurricane Melissa, from roofs completely ripped off homes to entire towns flooded. The storm also slammed Cuba, which suffered flash flooding, and Haiti where the government is reporting more than 20 deaths.
youtu.be/XPuveykbnBg?…

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— Jonathan-FL #HumanRightsForEVERYONE (@amerliberal.bsky.social) October 30, 2025 at 8:19 PM

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For those of us with Caribbean roots, seeing the damage from Hurricane Melissa hits especially hard. Privileged to talk to organizers in Jamaica who are already looking ahead. @adamlmahoney.bsky.social @capitalb.bsky.social
capitalbnews.org/hurricane-me…

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— Victoria St. Martin (@victoriastmartin.bsky.social) October 30, 2025 at 8:07 PM

From Capital B News, “Jamaican Americans Mobilize After the Island’s Worst Hurricane in a Century”:

… After Hurricane Melissa hammered Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, bringing 185 mph winds on Tuesday afternoon, it brought life-threatening storm surge and floods to Cuba and Haiti. It later turned towards the Bahamas and headed to Bermuda.

The storm, one of the most powerful ever recorded in the Atlantic, left Jamaica reeling before weakening slightly as it crossed warm Caribbean waters toward its next target.

In its wake, dozens have died amid widespread destruction across Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica. More than two dozen people died in Jamaica and Haiti as of Thursday. The exact death toll will become clearer in coming days once aid workers are able to reach more remote and damaged areas.

Simpson is the founder and CEO of Ignite Jamaica Fund, a nonprofit based in Philadelphia that does educational advocacy work on the island. Ever since the hurricane touched down there, she’s been reaching out to friends and family in Manchester, a parish in the western region. She said she wanted to “get updates beyond the media and hearing from them what they were experiencing.”

As the storm pummeled Jamaica, it brought the strongest hurricane wind speed to make landfall in 90 years. With it came catastrophic floods, landslides, and a sea surge up to 13 feet along the island’s southern coast. The storm knocked out power and telecommunications for much of the country, with internet connectivity dropping to about 30% of normal levels by Tuesday night, according to NetBlocks, which monitors global outages.

Power lines, roads, and bridges were damaged across the island, and more than half a million people were left without electricity…

The island is home to about 2.8 million people, about 90% of whom are Black. The diaspora of Jamaica — or the Jamaicans who have left and their descendants who live in the U.S. and all over the world — is estimated to be over 2 million people.

Daryl Vaz, Jamaica’s science, energy, telecommunications and transport minister, told Sky News that initial reports from the hardest-hit western parishes were “catastrophic.” In Saint Elizabeth Parish, where Melissa made landfall, floodwaters and flying debris destroyed homes and farms in what officials described as a “complete disaster.”…

Melissa made landfall early Wednesday in eastern Cuba as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds near 120 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel warned residents late Tuesday of a “very difficult night,” urging them to stay sheltered. Officials said roughly 750,000 people were evacuated.

Melissa likely caused $7.7 billion of damage in Jamaica alone, according to catastrophe modeler Enki Research. But across the entire Northern Caribbean, recovery will be difficult…

Aid experts fear that Jamaica and Cuba could face severe public health challenges in the days ahead — contaminated water, collapsed medical facilities, disease outbreaks, and growing mental health crises. The United Nations has warned that budget cuts and reduced global aid donations are expected to limit the amount of food and emergency support agencies like the World Food Program can provide this year.

Much of Jamaica’s southern coast, its agricultural “breadbasket,” remains underwater after more than 2 feet of rain…

The government of Jamaica has set up an official website for updates on the storm as well as donations for emergency relief, housing reconstruction, and health care…

Links for other programs on the ground — including, of course, World Central Kitchen — at the link.

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World Central Kitchen (WCK) staff arrived in Jamaica this morning (October 30) with relief supplies to support communities affected by Hurricane Melissa.
#WorldCentralKitchen #HurricaneMelissa #ReliefEfforts #Jamaica #Hurricane #Melissa #Relief

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— Michael Barthel (@mibawi.bsky.social) October 30, 2025 at 1:30 PM

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I wrote for @msnbc.com about Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica, rapid intensification, emissions imbalances, and what a storm that strong might do to the US:

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— Dave Levitan (@davelevitan.bsky.social) October 30, 2025 at 6:28 PM

… Jamaica felt the full wrath of Melissa, a storm that needed only 24 hours to intensify from a tropical storm to a Category 4 behemoth. By the time it made landfall only 10 or 12 miles from Black River in New Hope, it had grown even stronger: Category 5, 185 mph winds — or maybe even stronger — and a slow, meandering pace that let it lash its targets with that wind and rain for too long.

This has become a grim hallmark of a warming world. Rapid intensification of hurricanes relies on conditions that in decades past were much more rare than they are today. A 2023 study found that the average maximum rate of intensification was almost 30% higher from 2001 to 2020 than it was between 1971 and 1990; the number of storms that leap from Category 1 to Category 3 or higher within 36 hours has “more than doubled” in that modern era compared to in the past. Since that study came out, we have witnessed, among other examples, Hurricane Milton’s wind speed jump 95 mph in a day.

The main culprit is heat. Abnormally warm waters — both at the surface and down below — helped Melissa gain strength, even as it took a leisurely path that in a normal world would likely lead its power to wane. That warmth is being added, year by year, via the greenhouse gases the world continues to emit. Saying so has become cliche at this point, but once again, it’s necessary to point out that the countries barely responsible for the emission of greenhouse gases are bearing the brunt of the consequences…

The other anomaly facing Jamaica and the rest of the region isn’t climatological, but governmental. The Trump administration has made some promising noises this week about providing aid as the damage becomes more clear, but it is doing so after nine months of attempts to kneecap a wide swath of government function and while, notably, the federal government remains shut down. Already, the difference in response to disasters rich countries’ emissions have helped fuel is plain: Only a year ago, the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, sent staff and supplies to the Caribbean before Hurricane Beryl arrived on its tear through the region, along with coordinating the response once it had passed. This time, USAID is … gone…

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Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba pick up the pieces after Melissa’s destruction
apnews.com/article/hurr…

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— Denise Oliver-Velez (@deniseoliver-velez.bsky.social) October 30, 2025 at 10:07 AM

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It's bad. They really took a hit. And folks are now on the ground in Jamaica moving to help. They need our support:
www.today.com/news/how-to-…

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— David Simon (@audacityofdespair.bsky.social) October 30, 2025 at 12:38 PM

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As Jamaica worked on Thursday to assess the damage from Hurricane Melissa, it faced a long and daunting road to recovery, particularly in the western part of the country. That region was hardest hit by the hurricane, among the strongest ever recorded in the Atlantic. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/u…

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— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) October 30, 2025 at 6:13 PM

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Hurricane Melissa made landfall in the Caribbean as one of the strongest hurricanes on record, causing death and massive devastation. Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, Bahamas, and everyone in its wake is going to need support. Here are a few ways you can help:
apnews.com/article/hurr…

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— Misha Collins (@mishacollins.bsky.social) October 29, 2025 at 1:09 PM

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#HappeningNow: The first shipment of emergency relief supplies is officially sailing to Jamaica to support communities hardest hit by #HurricaneMelissa.
Thank you, France, for your partnership! 🇫🇷 🇺🇳

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— KarenM (Sussex Squad) (@karensussex.bsky.social) October 30, 2025 at 6:01 PM

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US prepared to offer humanitarian aid to Cuba after hurricane, Rubio says reut.rs/47ydlHy

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— Reuters (@reuters.com) October 30, 2025 at 10:10 AM

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How Jamaica took out an insurance policy for itself, and why it’s about to pay off after Hurricane Melissa
$150M US ‘catastrophe bond’ issued last year headed to full payout, will provide Jamaica immediate help

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— Ravi 🇨🇦 (@medical91.bsky.social) October 30, 2025 at 9:49 AM

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#HurricaneMelissa has struck #Jamaica, #Cuba, #Haiti and other countries.
MSF is preparing to send emergency teams and medical, water and sanitation supplies.
Read more from Brice de le Vingne, Head of Emergency Unit: ow.ly/ZY2c50XkCyo

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— Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) (@msf.ca) October 30, 2025 at 4:26 PM

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Hurricane Melissa has devastated communities across the Caribbean, including Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and beyond bringing flooding, storm surge and winds.
We've distributed relief items to families in the Dominican Republic and stand ready to assist further.

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— UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@unhcr.org) October 30, 2025 at 4:29 PM

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At least 25 killed in Haiti after river bursts its banks, local official says, as Hurricane Melissa sweeps across the Caribbean. Follow live updates. https://cnn.it/4oIW31x

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— CNN (@cnn.com) October 29, 2025 at 11:52 AM

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Please. #Jamaica needs help. People are lost, homeless and pretty desperate. Most of the island has no power and very little telecoms. Some places, especially where #HurricaneMelissa made landfall (as the strongest Atlantic storm ever to do so) look like war zones.

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— Emma Lewis (@petchary.bsky.social) October 30, 2025 at 3:41 PM

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Before and after satellite imagery reveals the extent of the destruction from Hurricane Melissa in primary locations throughout Jamaica.
Watch more video: www.theweathernetwork.com/en/video/

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— The Weather Network (@weathernetwork.bsky.social) October 30, 2025 at 3:39 PM

Cleaning Up After Hurricane MelissaPost + Comments (12)

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Chaos Everywhere

by Anne Laurie| October 30, 20256:35 am| 343 Comments

This post is in: How about that weather?, Military, Open Threads, Trump Crime Cartel, World's Best Healthcare (If You Can Afford It)

#Hurricane #Melissa leaves trail of destruction across #Cuba, #Haiti and #Jamaica. www.npr.org/2025/10/29/n…

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— ZenArchie (@zenarchie.bsky.social) October 30, 2025 at 2:47 AM

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Higher prices, less help and a government shutdown hang over health insurance markets as shoppers start looking for coverage this week.

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— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) October 29, 2025 at 1:00 PM

I am not sure what they hope t achieve by lying about this. People are already learning what their new premiums and out of pocket expenses are going to be and it is not 13 dollars.

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— Stephen Nuñez (@socio-steve.bsky.social) October 29, 2025 at 4:14 PM

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These people have civilian jobs. It's one thing to mobilize them for an emergency or a legitimate war, another thing to send them to American cities to stand around and mill about. You're messing with people's careers to further a hostile and idiotic agenda.

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— Brandon Friedman (@brandonfriedman.bsky.social) October 29, 2025 at 9:11 PM

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interesting to see that the supermarket publications have had significantly more courage to speak plainly than the prestige press this time around

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— GHOULLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) October 29, 2025 at 1:03 PM

(Rex Huppke, author of that op-ed, has been consistently good at dinging the Trump maladministration.)

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And there are still people working to make the world better!

Alabama State University President Dr. Quinton T. Ross Jr. said the donation is "the largest single donation in its 158-year history."

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— USA TODAY (@usatoday.com) October 29, 2025 at 11:11 AM

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has made a monumental donation to another historically Black college or university (HBCU), which the school is touting as a “defining moment.”

In a social media post on Monday, Oct. 27, Alabama State University President Dr. Quinton T. Ross Jr. confirmed that Scott, the former wife of billionaire businessman Jeff Bezos, gifted the school $38 million.

Scott’s donation is the latest in her philanthropic efforts to Black institutions and programs. This month, she donated $63 million to Morgan State University in Baltimore and $38 million to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne.

Another one of Scott’s recent donations includes $40 million to the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, part of the Washington-based National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The Action Fund said in a press release on Oct. 15 that Scott’s $40 million donation comes after another $20 million investment made just four years ago.

The Action Fund’s efforts include the preservation of historically Black sites such as churches and hotels, as well as raising money for HBCUs…

Scott, who has an estimated net worth of $33.9 billion, also made Forbes’ 2025 list of the 400 richest people in the United States, ranking No. 28.

In 2020 alone, she donated millions to several other HBCUs, including Hampton University, Howard University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Tuskegee University, and Xavier University of Louisiana.

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Chaos EverywherePost + Comments (343)

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

by Anne Laurie| October 29, 20257:42 am| 246 Comments

This post is in: Climate Change, How about that weather?, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republican Stupidity, Show Us on the Doll Where the Invisible Hand Touched You

Some of the most remarkable hurricane imagery of all time is currently being recorded.
The eye of Melissa is an almost perfect circle. At over 15 miles wide, pilots have reported seeing birds trapped in the center unable to escape.
The footage from the flight inside the eye looks like CGI.

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— News Eye (@newseye.bsky.social) October 28, 2025 at 8:04 AM

Sharing for awareness: For those able and willing to help, the Embassy of Jamaica in DC is coordinating disaster relief in the U.S.
They have asked folks to reach out to them at [email protected] to coordinate support.
The government has info on donations supportjamaica.gov.jm

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— Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social) October 28, 2025 at 1:17 PM

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in eastern Cuba early Wednesday as a Category 3 storm after pummeling Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Hundreds of thousands of people had been evacuated to shelters in Cuba.

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— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) October 29, 2025 at 3:31 AM

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BREAKING: A federal judge in San Francisco has indefinitely blocked the Trump administration from firing federal workers during the government shutdown.

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— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) October 28, 2025 at 2:58 PM

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It is a choice to say this while you personally are keeping the House out of session to protect the Epstein Files from release

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— Vituperative Erb (@vituperativeerb.bsky.social) October 28, 2025 at 2:18 PM

dems attacks are getting sharper the longer this goes on and republican defenses are getting weaker

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— GHOULLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) October 28, 2025 at 7:38 PM

this btw is the framing that's getting a lot of traction with my normie friends. The house GOP is trying to repeal Obamacare, dems are saying no and so the GOP shut the government down to try and get the dems to cave; trump is too busy caring about the ballroom.

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— Sky Marchini (@sky.skymarchini.net) October 28, 2025 at 11:16 PM

“Trump is illegally impounding SNAP funds to make people hungry so he can force the Democrats to capitulate to help the hungry people” is just a wild state of affairs.

I do not believe Dems should fold. I believe if this works, he will keep doing it. If I believed folding would feed hungry people, I would at the very least strongly consider it. But he explicitly said he felt no obligation to honor any deal struck.

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— Starfish Who Can’t Think Something Witty (@irhottakes.bsky.social) October 28, 2025 at 3:46 PM

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Trump is under water in Texas, which he won by 14. And he’s on the verge of going under water in Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, & South Carolina, which he won by 11, 13, 16, & 18 points.

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— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) October 28, 2025 at 2:28 PM

Wednesday Morning Open ThreadPost + Comments (246)

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Positive News

by Anne Laurie| July 30, 202510:29 am| 33 Comments

This post is in: How about that weather?, Open Threads, Science & Technology

According to a Navy spokesperson I spoke with, the 11th hour decision to keep data flowing from the three weather satellites was due to critical feedback it received. A testament that our voices and concerns do very much matter. My full afternoon update ??

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— Michael Lowry (@michaelrlowry.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 4:34 PM

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Today's earthquake east–southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia is now estimated to be magnitude 8.8.
The white dots in this pic are the historic quakes in the region, along the Pacific plate as it subducts under the North American plate.
This quake is the most powerful on Earth since 2011.

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— Paul Byrne (@theplanetaryguy.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 9:58 PM

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The energy released in a M8.7 quake is equivalent to that of a 169 megatonne nuclear weapon

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— Paul Byrne (@theplanetaryguy.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 8:36 PM

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Japan downgrades its last remaining tsunami alert but tsunami advisories remain in place for its Pacific coast. Follow AP's live updates.

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— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) July 30, 2025 at 8:08 AM

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Honestly, this 8.8-mag quake and tsunami seems a fabulous demonstration of the capabilities that the US, Japan, and others have marshalled to protect their citizens.
This doesn't just exist. It has to be built and maintained.

— Paul Voosen (@voosen.me) July 30, 2025 at 7:01 AM

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Positive NewsPost + Comments (33)

Monday Morning Open Thread: How About That Weather?

by Anne Laurie| July 14, 20256:24 am| 138 Comments

This post is in: How about that weather?, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

Emergency crews have suspended their search for victims of catastrophic flooding in central Texas amid new warnings that additional rain will again cause waterways to surge.

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— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) July 13, 2025 at 1:15 PM

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Armies of Texan volunteers are leading flood recovery and cleanup, supplementing official efforts even as more flooding hits and the search for the missing continues.

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— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) July 14, 2025 at 2:00 AM

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Noem lays down a marker: 'the best we've seen out of FEMA.' Mainstream media ought to take up the challenge and do some serious compare/ contrast about FEMA responses. Here's a good place to start: The Biden admin pre-positioning of resources BEFORE Hurricane Helene hit vs Noem's Texas efforts.

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— @NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) (@newsjennifer.bsky.social) July 13, 2025 at 10:49 AM

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California is proud to help Texas in this moment of crisis.

Tragedy tests us — how we come together to help communities recover defines us. https://t.co/pKtiFbps82

— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) July 12, 2025

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President Trump has so far withheld federal relief funds, with many arguing that California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats in the deep-blue state have mishandled the fires and should be forced to rescind liberal policies in exchange for aid.

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— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com) July 9, 2025 at 7:33 PM

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FEMA Acting Administrator David Richardson finally visited Texas Hill Country today more than a week after the deadly floods.
Photos posted on X and Reddit show Richardson there, and I’ve confirmed via the FEMA daily internal brief.

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— Marisa Kabas (@marisakabas.bsky.social) July 12, 2025 at 11:44 PM

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at one point he wore a jaunty hat

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— Marisa Kabas (@marisakabas.bsky.social) July 12, 2025 at 11:46 PM

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The DOD is halting a critical atmospheric data collection program—the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program—at the end of June. They've given weather forecasters just days to prepare,
Hurricane season is upon us. In days we'll be "blind," hurricane experts are saying.

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— Fiona "Fi" Webster ?????? (@fiona-webster22.bsky.social) July 12, 2025 at 10:30 AM

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As someone put it quite well:
1.) It is very, very hard to actually blow up the american economy, even with everything. Even the major financial crises we weathered significantly better than other countries.
2.) No one has really ever pulled every single fucking "blow it all up" lever all at once

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— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) July 9, 2025 at 6:07 PM

Monday Morning Open Thread: How *About* That Weather?Post + Comments (138)

The Ongoing Texas Tragedies

by Anne Laurie| July 12, 20258:32 am| 224 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., How about that weather?, Republican Venality

BREAKING: FEMA removed dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from their 100-year flood map in Texas in response to appeals.

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— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) July 12, 2025 at 7:33 AM

Federal regulators repeatedly granted appeals to remove Camp Mystic’s buildings from their 100-year flood map, loosening oversight as the camp operated and expanded in a dangerous flood plain in the years before rushing waters swept away children and counselors, a review by The Associated Press found.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency included the prestigious girls’ summer camp in a “Special Flood Hazard Area” in its National Flood Insurance map for Kerr County in 2011, which means it was required to have flood insurance and faced tighter regulation on any future construction projects…

Located in a low-lying area along the Guadalupe River in a region known as flash flood alley, Camp Mystic lost at least 27 campers and counselors and longtime owner Dick Eastland when historic floodwaters tore through its property before dawn on July 4…

In response to an appeal, FEMA in 2013 amended the county’s flood map to remove 15 of the camp’s buildings from the hazard area. Records show that those buildings were part of the 99-year-old Camp Mystic Guadalupe, which was devastated by last week’s flood.

After further appeals, FEMA removed 15 more Camp Mystic structures in 2019 and 2020 from the designation. Those buildings were located on nearby Camp Mystic Cypress Lake, a sister site that opened to campers in 2020 as part of a major expansion and suffered less damage in the flood.

Campers have said the cabins at Cypress Lake withstood significant damage, but those nicknamed “the flats” at the Guadalupe River camp were inundated.

Experts say Camp Mystic’s requests to amend the FEMA map could have been an attempt to avoid the requirement to carry flood insurance, to lower the camp’s insurance premiums or to pave the way for renovating or adding new structures under less costly regulations…

conservatism means the government doesn’t have to tell me when i am about to die

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— not an art thief (@famousartthief.bsky.social) July 11, 2025 at 11:32 AM

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Officials in Texas are facing questions about whether they did enough to get people out of harm’s way before a flash flood swept down the Guadalupe River and killed at least 120 people. The AP has assembled an approximate timeline of the events before, during and after the deadly flash flood.

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— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) July 11, 2025 at 8:00 PM

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this talking point keeps showing up and that’s fine except there is also no evidence that anybody timely told anybody to shelter in place

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— post malone ergo propter malone (@proptermalone.bsky.social) July 11, 2025 at 11:31 AM

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"At 4:22am on Friday, as Texas' Hill Country began to flood, a firefighter in Ingram – just upstream from Kerrville – asked the Kerr County Sheriff's Office to alert nearby residents. But Kerr County officials took nearly six hours to heed this call."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) July 10, 2025 at 10:50 AM

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A review of transcripts since 2016 from Kerr County’s governing body offers a peek into a county paralyzed by competing interests: to make one of the country’s most dangerous regions for flash flooding safer and to heed to near calls from constituents to reduce property taxes and government waste.

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— Texas Tribune (@texastribune.org) July 10, 2025 at 7:02 PM

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www.cnn.com/2025/07/09/p…

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— Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha1.bsky.social) July 9, 2025 at 6:32 PM

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Gutting government services kills people www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/c…

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— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjsdc.bsky.social) July 11, 2025 at 8:02 PM

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You know something has gone bad when the government spokesperson says, please don’t use my name …
“Asked for comment, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security who declined to be identified…”
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/c…

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— Bill Grueskin (@bgrueskin.bsky.social) July 11, 2025 at 7:44 PM

Gift link:

… The lack of responsiveness happened because the agency had fired hundreds of contractors at call centers, according to a person briefed on the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal matters.

The agency laid off the contractors on July 5 after their contracts expired and were not extended, according to the documents and the person briefed on the matter. Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, who has instituted a new requirement that she personally approve expenses over $100,000, did not renew the contracts until Thursday, five days after the contracts expired. FEMA is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

The details on the unanswered calls on July 6, which have not been previously reported, come as FEMA faces intense scrutiny over its response to the floods in Texas that have killed more than 120 people. The agency, which President Trump has called for eliminating, has been slow to activate certain teams that coordinate response and search-and-rescue efforts.

Asked for comment, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security who declined to be identified wrote in an email, “When a natural disaster strikes, phone calls surge, and wait times can subsequently increase. Despite this expected influx, FEMA’s disaster call center responded to every caller swiftly and efficiently, ensuring no one was left without assistance.”…

On July 5, as floodwaters were starting to recede, FEMA received 3,027 calls from disaster survivors and answered 3,018, or roughly 99.7 percent, the documents show. Contractors with four call center companies answered the vast majority of the calls.

That evening, however, Ms. Noem did not renew the contracts with the four companies and hundreds of contractors were fired, according to the documents and the person briefed on the matter.

The next day, July 6, FEMA received 2,363 calls and answered 846, or roughly 35.8 percent, according to the documents. And on Monday, July 7, the agency fielded 16,419 calls and answered 2,613, or around 15.9 percent, the documents show…

Texas was devastated by deadly floods. In the aftermath, FEMA Acting Administrator David Richardson is nowhere to be found. In any other administration, this would be an epic scandal. But with Trump, it's treated as business as usual.
Read my latest:

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— Marisa Kabas (@marisakabas.bsky.social) July 10, 2025 at 10:34 AM

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"Cruz inserted language into the reconciliation bill that eliminates a $150m fund to 'accelerate advances & improvements in research, observation systems, modeling, forecasting, and dissemination of info to the public' around weather forecasting." https://t.co/DiUBJ2BMDK

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 11, 2025

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This, uh, this is not a good statement for him.

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— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) July 11, 2025 at 4:27 PM

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Trump on critics of the flood response: "These are people that have taken a pounding, a beating … 'it's Trump's fault' … the weather service here, they were actually well stocked … the money was tremendous. Everything was there … this is just something that happens."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) July 11, 2025 at 5:02 PM

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I think people underrate how serious this thing in Texas could turn out being for them. With Noem requiring all approvals for FEMA funds to go through, and the fact that she spends way too much time being Nazi Barbie, you have a bottleneck that is going to dramatically slow down federal assistance

— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) July 11, 2025 at 5:21 PM

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Like, there is so much political hay that will be made from Trump's idiotic statements and his administrations attempt to destroy FEMA, but it's gonna start having massive real world consequences for people in a big hurry.
A note that it was Katrina that really sunk W.

— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) July 11, 2025 at 5:21 PM

The Ongoing Texas TragediesPost + Comments (224)

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

“But what about the lurkers?”

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

Tick tock motherfuckers!

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Trump Crony Open Thread: We Shall Not See His Like Again (If We’re Lucky)

Cleaning Up After Hurricane Melissa

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Chaos Everywhere

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Positive News

Monday Morning Open Thread: How About That Weather?

The Ongoing Texas Tragedies