When Bastrop Texas forest fire was in the news I called to see if my friends were alright. The fires stopped just short of their home.
If another global warming influenced catastrophe like a hurricane comes to you home you could have something to salvage.
Forrest fires destroy everything.
Just before 3 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, as temperatures in Butte County simmered around 106 degrees, a man pushed a burning car down a gully in Chico in what authorities say was an act of arson.
Within minutes, the flaming vehicle ignited tall grasses that had sprung up in the wake of a wet winter but dried out in recent weeks. Soon, live oak trees and grapevine were burning, and wind-driven embers were shooting down canyons and the along ridges of the Lassen foothills, catching new vegetation as they touched down.
By nightfall, the Park fire had grown to 6,000 acres, and by the following morning its size had expanded sevenfold. As of Saturday, the fire had surpassed 350,000 acres — the largest so far this year in California — with no containment and few signs of slowing down.
Experts say the fire’s explosive growth is due to a perfect storm of hot, dry conditions, combustible vegetation and a landscape that hasn’t burned in decades. The remote terrain has made it challenging for crews to gain access to the blaze’s swelling perimeter, and the firefight could be long and arduous as they struggle to gain a foothold.
“This is really the first fire in the past several years in California that I would call extraordinary — and that’s not a good thing,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UCLA, said in a briefing. “This fire is a big deal, and it has done some pretty incredible things.”
Indeed, the fire and its massive smoke plume have already exhibited rare and erratic behavior, including “super-cell thunderstorm-like characteristics” replete with large-scale rotations, Swain said. On Thursday, footage captured by AlertCalifornia wildfire cameras appeared to show the blaze spewing tornado-like vortices, sometimes referred to as fire-whirls or firenados.
“At this point the fire is kind of creating its own weather, and that can be pretty unpredictable,” said Courtney Carpenter, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. “Really big, explosive wildfires can create thunderstorms; they can make whirling fire plumes that can mimic tornadoes.”
The #Parkfire in Butte County has now surpassed 164,000 acres. Take a moment to watch this powerful video and consider how you and your family are prepared for the threat of wildfire. For more information on the Park Fire visit: https://t.co/f2Jx3YA3khpic.twitter.com/RiWlxhTLan
Oh, by the way that largest landslide victory Goldwater vs. Johnson will be surpassed by the Prosecutor Kamala Harris victory over convicted criminal Donald Trump.
Biden Is Out, Harris Is In with Jon Stewart, Doris Kearns Goodwin & Eugene Daniels | The Weekly Show
The short take:
John Stewart:
“We have an electoral, industrial
complex that needs to be broken up.”
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Well you know what John? We created these problems. We can solve these problems. We can change things. We can have a political revolution. We can make it so that money is not in politics. We can do these things.
I mean, why aren’t the best people running for office now?
Because they know they’re going to have to spend their time raising money, tons and tons of money.
They know their private lives are going to be exposed.
They don’t think they’re going to get much done because the two parties are at loggerheads.
We’ve created these problems by the system we’ve created. We can change that system.
FROM:
Jon Stewart on Never Ending Elections with Doris Kearns Goodwin and Eugene Daniels (Teaser)
"They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
"Israel's prosecution of the Gaza war and Netanyahu's failure to secure the release of the 120 remaining hostages has forced many U.S. lawmakers to deal with a truth that was somehow previously controversial: One can criticize Netanyahu and still support the State of Israel.
This realization was already taking hold in the months preceding October 7, thanks to the outrage surrounding Netanyahu's judicial overhaul and support for Israel's pro-democracy protest movement.
Since Netanyahu landed in Washington on Monday, the vast majority of attention from U.S. lawmakers and the American-Jewish community has been afforded to the hostage families. The families, in turn, have given U.S. lawmakers an unprecedented window into the utter contempt with which so many Israelis view Netanyahu.
The hostage families, especially those of the eight American hostages still in Hamas captivity, have shown acute awareness that Netanyahu's appearance is nothing short of a cynical demonstration of his own self-interest and that he is failing to secure what could be the last chance to release their loved ones.
This has been relayed to senior Biden administration officials, who know all too well about Netanyahu's various bad-faith efforts in recent months, as well as lawmakers from across the aisle – some of whom are Republicans hearing this unvarnished truth for the first time.
The Republican lawmakers, in turn, have vowed to relay their messages about Netanyahu putting political self-interest ahead of the hostages to the prime minister, who only met with the American hostage families this week for the first time since October 7…
The prime minister effectively spent the first 36 hours of his time in Washington waiting for someone to meet him, all while hostage families went around Washington acutely detailing his failure of leadership.
The only other people that are actively awaiting Netanyahu's appearance are the tens of thousands of demonstrators from across the political spectrum. Pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian protesters alike are taking to the streets fervently insisting that Netanyahu is not welcome in Washington.
And despite the shift in national priorities and attention, Netanyahu will still face an undeniably hostile and politicized reception inside Congress, as well. Anywhere from 60 to 100 Democratic lawmakers are expected to boycott the speech, including Jewish Democrats, party leadership and former favorites of the pro-Israel establishment. This estimated figure would exceed the number of Democrats who boycotted his 2015 speech.
Two particularly notable absences are that of Vice President Kamala Harris, who would normally preside over the session, and Trump's running mate J.D. Vance. Although both are missing the speech to hit the campaign trail, Republicans have already tried to capitalize on Harris' absence as evidence of her anti-Israel beliefs.
Even those attending have no love lost for Netanyahu. Rep. Jerry Nadler, the dean of the unofficial Jewish caucus, called him "the worst leader in Jewish history since the Maccabean king who invited the Romans into Jerusalem over 2100 years ago."
Others, meanwhile, will demonstrate their pro-Israel bona fides by elevating the hostages. At least seven leading Democrats will participate in an event alongside the families several hours before the address, while Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Pramila Jayapal will headline an event with Israeli and Palestinian peace activists concurrent with Netanyahu's speech.
This will occur as official events, all while tens of thousands of protesters make their voices heard throughout the streets of Washington. Netanyahu's remarks will quickly be placed on the backburner hours after his speech, with Biden set to give his prime-time address explaining his decision to stand down.
Netanyahu's 48 hours following the Congress speech, meanwhile, will not provide any safe harbor. He will meet with Biden at the White House, only to be joined by the eight families who will be at the ready to call Netanyahu on his bluffs, misdirection and outright lies.
He is also expected to meet Vice President Kamala Harris, who is widely expected to hold a more critical eye than Biden toward Israel's conduct given her harsher public and private statements over the past several months.
The Trump visit's best-case scenario is that he and the Republican nominee decide to put water under the bridge and he unabashedly aligns with the Republican Party at a time when Israel needs as much bipartisan support as possible.
If it bombs, he will have alienated both potential future presidents and found two more people who simply want him to leave America.
At the very least, he should have a nice extended weekend in Miami celebrating his son Yair's birthday on the Israeli taxpayer's shekel. No word on how the former hostages he flew to Israel as a political prop will get home."
When Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentions Iran during his Congress speech, the world should see it as a signal to do the exact opposite, given his dire, even calamitous, decades-long record on the issue
“Donald Trump’s severe psychopathology. And when I say that I mean his severe personality disorder, resulting in pathological lying, immoral behavior, lack of empathy, and a need to belittle and diminish anyone who doesn’t worship him."
“In this MeidasTouch Exclusive, Really American Media’s 'Shrinking Trump' co-hosts and renowned psychologists, Harry Segal and John Gartner, discuss Donald Trump's clinical signs of severe psychopathology, and a new effort by conservative attorney George Conway to alert the American people called the 'Anti-Psychopath PAC.’
In recent days, as Democratic leaders have privately pressed Mr. Biden to step aside, two other senators up for re-election, both in the tightest races in the nation — Senators Jon Tester of Montana and Sherrod Brown of Ohio — have called on Mr. Biden to step aside. It comes as Democrats have received polling suggesting that voters distrust elected officials who vouch for Mr. Biden’s mental capacity and endorse his candidacy.
Voters are deeply skeptical about President Biden’s prospects, posing challenges for Senator Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin and other Democrats once thought to be relatively safe in their seats.
When we worked late at the dental lab we would turn the radio on to Gary Hodgson’s old time radio show. Fibber Magee & Molly, The Shadow and other shows.
I met Gary on the campus of Ursinus College. As a resident of Trappe PA we had access to the library & at times the swimming pool & tennis courts.
My son was a friend of the Collegeville Police Chief’s son we sometimes were at the library researching for something that was due the next day.
Just remembered, One of my childhood friends was Jim Dougherty son of Coatesville PD Chief Dougherty.
Betsy & me were involved in the 1976 Centennial Celebration July 4, 1976. Betsy was a guide dressed in a period costume.
When I told Gary we lived in Philly and my wife knew Frank Rizzo from the SEPA Red Cross where she worked, he began talking about his Philadelphia Police career and his then friend Frank Rizzo.
Frank Rizzo had a radio show. He would take questions phoned in on the air. There were jokes about Rizzo’s limited vocabulary.
Gary sat opposite Frank on the air. He made cards with “big words” on them and would hold one up when it was possible for Frank use one.
Gary told me that he was in charge of security for dignitaries visiting Philadelphia, such as President Nixon & the Pope. Gary met President Nixon at 30th Street Station and sat next to him in the car.
Gary told me about the Philadelphia Police snipers on the tall buildings surrounding Independence Hall. Philadelphia Police augmented the Secret Service when the president came to Philly.
Gary passed a few years ago. Many, many, many people have fond memories of Gary.
I found a tribute to Gary:
“This project was made possible with the support of a Civic Engagement Grant from the Ursinus Center for Advocacy, Responsibility and Engagement (UCARE).
Gary Hodgson is a veteran member of the Ursinus community who works in campus safety. He is one of the most charismatic and talkative characters on campus and loves to laugh. But some may not know that he has been the announcer of the Ursinus football games for the last five years. Jim Wagner, the Sport Information Director, who reportedly never asked Gary what he knew about football, picked him for this job. But Gary quickly learned all things football and developed his own style over the loudspeakers. He combines his skills to make his own special broadcasts. This knack for announcing comes from his previous career in radio and television.
He worked for six and a half years, from 1984 to 1990, at CBS and for four years on ABC. While broadcasting, he worked with stars that he and his aunt Claudia had listened to while he was growing up. This included the radio show Nick Carter, Master Detective. He had gotten his radio job after listeners heard him call in for a bid to sit in with the host. After the host had left, he was called upon to take a position with them, and the rest is history.
He ended the shows with what would be his famous outro slogan, “Goodnight to you, and you, and especially you.” The first show he said this famous outro he added a shout out to his Aunt Claudia saying, “especially you Aunt Claudia,” who was extremely excited for him to get the job. But, he never found out if she had heard it, for he had found out the next day she had tragically passed away the night of his broadcast.
For the six years he was on radio, he was number one in his entire area and he accredits his good luck to “the confluence of opportunity and preparedness.” Nowadays, most people know him from his famous announcing of senior football player James Roccograndi’s name. Gary Hodgson, in his 20+ year career in campus safety, is a valuable and irreplaceable member of the Ursinus community. He says, “Working hasn’t been a job because I have enjoyed it too much.”
