he's on MSNBC giving a speech and his voice is empty...I should say, emptier than usual.

He's cooked and he knows it..

That being said, it ain't over for US. We're out there winning this thing...gotta keep moving.

"The good news is we're alive and well."

I rent my seashore home year-round to this very nice older lady and her gentleman partner. Her job before she retired was to assess damage to apartments and contract with professionals to restore/repair/clean up before the next tenants. So she's a "pro".

They/I got two feet of seawater in the house and of course now the fun begins...thank God for Federal Flood Insurance which the Rethugs wanted to eliminate years ago, and when all is said and done, everything will work out but imagine if the RW had had its way and had eliminated the program so that only people like that fat turd Limbaugh could afford to recover from a total loss. Then again, the clever part of this would have been that banks would have taken over the homes AND THE LAND from the owners due to condemnation and ensuing forclosure and once again, we would have a Katrina-style land grab.

Bastards...

unlike almost any other candidate in modern times, this guy looked 'movie-Presidential' when he appeared on the scene and many many folk gave him props for the appearance aspect of his candidacy. However, isn't it peculiar that no one ever refers to this aspect any longer now that we've become acquainted with the Weirdness that is this man. In a way, he transcends the usual Gordon Gecko stereotype of the richest of the rich, and is so smitten with idiosyncrasies that he makes ordinary people uncomfortable.

In the past, we have dealt with many smarmy, good-looking candidates for various offices who were well-spoken and self-assured, but their psychopathology or ignorance or narcissism, or lack of intellect was evident from the outset. The problem in my opinion with this fellow is that his issues lie upon so many axes of disturbance that we can't classify him easily, and so although all of us would probably state that we "don't like him", "don't like his policies", or that he "makes us feel uncomfortable", very few of us actually agree in toto as to exactly what it is about him that is so discomfiting. Having read literally thousands of posts here, what is fascinating is when someone ascribes a certain entity to the candidate and others chime in "No no no..it's such-and-such." with equal ardor.

I can think of a few people I've really despised who have attained high office, and generally there are one or two distinct aspects of their character which are front and center. The brilliant Nixon's carefully crafted sliminess and sneer; W's sheer incompetence and idiocy; Reagan's faux 'sunny disposition' all the while being shielded due to his (obvious at least to clinicians) early dementia - which I might add, upset me more at the handlers and his family than at him personally, Cheney for obvious reasons. But this guy is off the charts in so many respects that I can't even begin to sputteringly tell you why I can't stand him. And you know what's funny? Given the results of many of the Republican primaries, I'm not alone.

Once the storm hit the Jersey shore it started to accelerate and a giant eye opened up which stretched from the Delaware Valley to Atlantic City. We were spared the rain here, which could have been 8-10" or more. No power but the exploding transformers all over the place reminded me of July 4th, what with the night sky shimmering green and blue.

Quiet now, except for some chilly rain.

Wow, is all I can say.

So our power went out and I got the generator going, powered the Fios battery, a light, the refrigerator, and the TeeVee via the cable box. Should the box blow that's their problem. So I'm sitting comfortably reading "The DU" and Mrs. Intern asks me if there's lightning in hurricanes. I replied "can be but..." So I get up from the couch and look at the sky and there's green flashes all over the place which went on for minutes. Turns out that it is transformers blowing all over the area.

Looks like we will get power back sometime in the next century.

You had to see and hear it to believe it. No link yet.

President gave him assurances that he would get everything he needed and that he was appreciative.

"Reporting" on the hurricane. As though he himself figured it was important...Wow.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh........

I drove to work in Center City Philly this AM - left the house about 4:15, it's just drizzling so far, nothing exciting, but you can feel the impending nightmare which they tell us will ensue for the next 24 hours or so. In a nine mile drive, I think I saw three cars on the road - everything's closed here, no public transportation, no schools, no city workers except essential personnel, no parking enforcement, Dunkin' Donuts is closed(!), Sandbags everywhere at store entrances which are at sidewalk level, dead quiet everywhere.

The air is heavy with dread...this could be bad news - nothing like Katrina of course, but we're not built for this kind of thing around here, and very little is designed properly for water run-off. Even the curb-cuts for handicapped/wheelchair at every intersection were not executed properly for drainage and instead of intersections and sidewalks being relatively clear, they're even worse than the middle of the block due to the poor planning of the placement of storm sewers and other factors which would aid drainage. They've already closed the I-95/Broad Street exit because they know that it's going to turn into a lake as soon as the heavy rains come.

My problem is that I had a full day of pracitce and most of the people live within a few blocks of the office. Two of my staff are coming in and we're going to cancel everyone, see emergencies involving pain/infection, and leave before the real weather hits.

There is a palpable relief among many here that we have a potential impending catastrophe to worry about rather than the election of 2012. Many people to whom I've spoken have said words to the effect that this will give us three days or so to deal with a hurricane so that the elections will be three days closer and they won't have to worry about it for that time.

That presumes of course that there will be a semblance of a neighborhood left after this hits here. We have gigantic trees everywhere and I fully expect the power to go off quickly and stay off for a while, possibly days. I have a generator, plenty of gas, and plenty of food so I'll probably gain weight if I'm stuck.

On a philosophical note, I survived Hurricane Agnes in 1972 by the skin of my teeth, and am aware of the dangers and sequelae of stupid actions. In other words, If you don't hear from me for a few days, don't believe that I decided to move over to FR. I wish everyone who has to deal with this and with the election "good luck", just in case I'm incommunicado.