This will end well:
The remnants of Hurricane Harvey carried its wrath up the Mississippi Delta on Thursday, but not before hammering the Gulf Coast with more punishing cloudbursts and growing threats that included blasts and “black smoke” at a crippled chemical plant and the collapse of the drinking water system in a Texas city.
While local officials described the blasts early Thursday at the plant in Crosby as “chemical reactions” and not “massive explosions,” federal authorities used dire language to describe the impact of the fumes from the plant.
The chemical plume in Crosby is “incredibly dangerous,” William “Brock” Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said at a briefing Thursday morning. But the Harris County sheriff, Ed Gonzalez, claimed whatever fumes were released were “not anything toxic” — raising baffling questions about the level of danger even as authorities sealed off surrounding areas and imposed a no-fly zone over the plant.
We may actually be looking at a situation where a large portion of the flooded areas is simply uninhabitable for decades to come. And it’s not like this was unknown, as this ProPublica piece from 2016 demonstrates:
Thousands of cylindrical storage tanks line the sides of the narrow Houston Ship Channel. Some are as small as residential propane tanks, others as big as the average 2-story house.
Inside them sits one of the world’s largest concentrations of oil, gases and chemicals — all key to fueling the American economy, but also, scientists fear, a disaster waiting to happen.
Hundreds of thousands of people live in industrial towns clustered around the Ship Channel, in the path of Houston’s perfect storm. And if flooding causes enough of what’s inside the storage containers to leak at even one industrial facility nearby, scientists say, the damage could be far-reaching.
A chemical release could fuel an explosion or fire, potentially imperiling industrial facilities and nearby homes and businesses. Nearly 300,000 people live in residential areas identified by one scientist as particularly at risk to a chemical or oil spill.
And if hazardous material spills into the Ship Channel and ends up in Galveston Bay, it could harm one of the region’s most productive estuaries and a national ecological treasure.
“It will be an environmental disaster right up there with the BP oil spill,” said Phil Bedient, who co-directs the Severe Storm Prediction, Education, and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center at Rice University.
What companies keep in many of the storage facilities on the Ship Channel and what measures they take to protect them is difficult to pin down, both for national security reasons and to maintain trade secrets. That leaves scientists and advocates unsure of the true risk. But virtually all would agree the government standards and regulations in place would not protect against major oil and chemical spills if a monster storm were to hit.
Industry groups said they take hurricanes seriously and don’t deny they are at risk. They said that’s why the region needs a coastal barrier system.
“Hurricanes are devastating meteorological events, and when they hit … they will cause massive impact all over the Gulf Coast,” said Craig Beskid, executive director of the East Harris County Manufacturers Association, which represents ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and other major companies that operate 130 facilities in the area.
And the government knew. The federal government has been working since 1993 to craft a plan, but nothing has happened because JOBS and FREE MARKET and EVIL REGULATIONS:
A draft executive order (pdf) obtained by E&E would toughen a 1977 directive by President Carter that was seen then as a landmark step establishing a federal leadership role in floodplain management.
But since devastating Midwest floods in 1993, disaster-management experts have been calling for a revision of federal floodplain policies, saying agencies have failed to consistently comply with rules written in the wake of Carter’s order.
“You still go out and find post offices being built in floodplains,” said Larry Larson, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers. “Where’s the cheapest land? It’s in the high-hazard area.”
President Obama’s draft order would direct agencies to use non-structural approaches — typically, building codes, planning laws and eduction campaigns — to manage floodplains and protect public safety, wetlands and other natural resources, rather than build levees and dams.
The order would also bar federal agencies from supporting “critical” facilities — such as hospitals, police stations, power plants or evacuation centers — in 500-year floodplains, unless no alternative exists.
And we did nothing. Because freedumb.
Also, I have spare bedrooms if you know anyone from Houston who needs a place to stay. It’s not ideal, because it is in WV, but maybe some young folks who just don’t want to rebuild and want to relocate could set up base camp here before starting a new life in the midwest or northeast.
BTW- just kidding about Texas becoming a Superfund site. The Trump administration’s budget proposal guts funding for them and the EPA is led by a guy who thinks crude oil is one of the five basic food groups. So maybe not a Superfund site, but the scene of Fallout 5.
NickM
How long before Trump points the finger at someone else for the chemical plant disaster?
SFAW
Maybe Pruitt will head down there, and to prove how safe the drinking water is, and how manly he is, he’ll dip a large tankard into the water near the chem plant (or some other toxic area) and chug it down. Hilarity would ensue.
dmsilev
Guess what Obama-era regulation Trump repealed just a couple of weeks ago? Yes, that one.
SFAW
@NickM:
Clearly, it’s the fault of Obamacare or Obama himself.
ETA: Despite dmsilev’s lame attempt to blame someone else.
Elizabelle
Money rules everything.
Some serious lessons to be learned from this, although America is into immediate gratification.
Very honestly, cheap cheap cheap comes back to haunt us in the end.
low-tech cyclist
I’m getting really tired of hearing that private companies’ trade secrets are more important than safeguarding our environment. The fracking companies have been able to hide behind this one to avoid telling anyone what chemicals they’re pumping into the ground, so nobody knows for sure what chemicals to test for in wells and ground water.
Fuck ’em. They have no business hiding this sort of information in any context.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
So tons of folks down there don’t have flood insurance due to recent Texas legislation. Fire detectors aren’t required in homes in Texas because freedumb!, the chemical plant is becoming a mini Chernobyl and its owners aren’t legally required to inform the citizenry what’s in it. Such plants can be built next to schools and homes because, again, don’t mess with Texas.
Will Texans realize they’ve created much of this mess themselves and vote to enact some reasonable legislation, or will they keep voting in Abbotts and Perrys and Gohmerts who love Jeebus and hate science?
schrodingers_cat
EPA’s website has no mention of climate change now, they have all been scrubbed clean. The R plant is throwing hard earned expertise and knowledge down the drain. Science doesn’t care whether you believe in it or not.
SFAW
@West of the Rockies (been a while):
Yes.
SATSQ
Frankensteinbeck
@West of the Rockies (been a while):
As long as there are brown people voting in Texas, the whites will overwhelmingly vote for “Fuck you.”
rikyrah
Maddow has had this on her show the past couple of days.
As a result of the fertilizer plant in West, Texas exploding, the response was to take away the ability for the public to know WHAT KINDS OF MATERIALS AND HOW MUCH THESE PLANTS WERE CARRYING.
Maddow had on the reporter, who has been on this story. She played part of the phone call that he had with the CEO, who, when asked if he would reveal to the public, just exactly WHAT CHEMICALS WERE ABOUT TO EXPLODE…..the CEO was like, ‘ I don’t see why that’s necessary.’
DA EVER LOVING PHUQ?
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: It’s like these people are not aware that that are inhabitants of the very world they are destroying. The cluelessness and stupidity are mind-boggling until I realize that greed trumps everything.
Jeffro
Dem candidates in 2018 and 2020: “Oh, I agree, I agree with the GOP that they’re the ‘Freedom Party’, absolutely…the freedom to go without health insurance and die…the freedom to live in chemical-soaked floodwaters for weeks while disaster funds are diverted to build a wall…the freedom to have our representatives funded by billionaires and/or hand-picked by Russia…so. much. freedom!”
Albert Z.
I believe the Clinton Administration did enact flood management policy changes after 1993 – at least in the Blue upper Mississippi valley states. I remember listening to Limbaugh flipping out over Clinton using the flood and wetland designations as an excuse for a giant Fed “land grab”. It turned out to be the right thing to do, subsequent costs due to flooding in the late 90’s in the Upper Miss. was noticeably mitigated by these changes by state and federal land use policy. (Am I getting this right? This is pre-internet stuff I recalling from my ever fading memory).
trollhattan
@schrodingers_cat:
Of all the vile Trump administration actors Pruitt is my vote for public enemy #1.
Houston will indeed be an ecological disaster and if the reports that only a small percentage of homeowners have flood insurance is true, giant swaths will become ghost towns because there will be no money for homeowners to rebuild. It will be…interesting to watch play out.
Oatler.
Keep your evil Soros-funded cucky hands off our Golden Calf!
joel hanes
not a Superfund site, but the scene of Fallout 5
By 2277 most of the area will be under shallow salt water, so best lay in a big supply of mireluk cake, or go for the Aquaboy perk early.
rikyrah
@trollhattan:
For my money, he and Attorney General White Citizens Council are tied, in the actual damage that they are CURRENTLY doing.
Jeffro
Ben Wittes tweeting earlier this morning: “Buckle up. It’s going to be a long day.”
(cue ominous music and thunder sound effects)
West of the Rockies (been a while)
I bet even Alex Jones is glad they did not secede now. Will they start crowing about that again though in a year or two, one wonders.
rikyrah
One of the Maddow pieces about this plant:
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/30/17
Harvey-damaged Arkema chemical plant explosion expected
Matt Dempsey, data reporter on the investigative team at the Houston Chronicle, talks with Rachel Maddow about the immediate peril from the damaged Arkema chemical plant northeast of Houston and the lack of regulations in Texas complicating the problem.
rikyrah
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/30/17
Mueller working with NYAG Schneiderman on Manafort case: Politico
Josh Dawsey, White House reporter for Politico, talks with Rachel Maddow about the revelation that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been working with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on the Paul Manafort probe in the Trump Russia investigation.
sherparick
@West of the Rockies (been a while): Under Trump and the Republican crew, the job of the EPA will be to close down information and protect industries from law suits and to pay for any recovery costs. Because “job creation.” The rancid ideology of Ayn Rand and the Prosperity Gospel governs Texas. After the West, Texas, fertilizer plant disaster, the response of Greg Abbott and the Texas Republican Party was to make it illegal to ask for information on the what plants in populated areas might have in the way of hazardous chemicals. if you were poor enough to live near one of these things, it is obviously your own damn fault!! And anyone who is concerned about the environment has an “agenda” and “no common sense.” See https://projects.propublica.org/houston-cypress/ and http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/katy/news/article/After-35-years-Mike-Talbott-will-leave-flood-9893958.php
rikyrah
uh huh
uh huh
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/30/17
Trump wants Alfa Bank Trump Tower clean-up lawyer in key DoJ role
Rachel Maddow explains the role Brian Benczkowski served in trying to clean up the Alfa Bank Trump Tower server story now that Donald Trump wants him to become Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the Justice Department.
rikyrah
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/30/17
Trump finds interest in corn ahead of Jr’s Judiciary testimony
Rachel Maddow notes that just ahead of Donald Trump Jr’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee chaired by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, Donald Trump reached out to Grassley to discuss ethanol regulations.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
Those Trump votes on MSNBC last night… most knew nothing about Mueller. Two or three did not yet regret their votes.
They are dull-witted, low-info voters who remain nonetheless convinced of their own brilliance and righteousness. Bigoted bobble heads of boastfulness.
Roger Moore
@NickM:
As soon as he finds out about it, which means as soon as it’s covered by Fox, Breitbart, or InfoWars.
rikyrah
Trump loses leverage as Russia scandal investigation intensifies
08/31/17 08:00 AM
By Steve Benen
For Donald Trump, the Russia scandal has long been an existential threat to his presidency, but he’s likely taken comfort in the idea that there’s an escape hatch: if all else fails, Trump can abuse the powers of his office and simply start pardoning everyone.
Indeed, the president has reportedly sought information from aides on his power to issue pardons to White House aides, members of his family, and even himself.
Which makes last night’s Politico report all the more important.
brendancalling
@West of the Rockies (been a while):
Hi and welcome to “Simple Answers to Simple Questions”! Today’s question is a twofer!
“Will Texans realize they’ve created much of this mess themselves and vote to enact some reasonable legislation?” NO.
“or will they keep voting in Abbotts and Perrys and Gohmerts who love Jeebus and hate science?” YES.
Thanks for playing and we’ll see you next time!
rikyrah
Poll: U.S. majority believes Trump is ‘tearing the country apart’
08/31/17 10:02 AM
By Steve Benen
Following Donald Trump’s pardon of Joe Arpaio earlier this week, the Washington Post published an analysis that explained, in no uncertain terms, that the president “has chosen to be a divider, not a uniter, no matter how many words to the contrary he reads off a teleprompter or from a prepared script.”
There’s fresh evidence that most Americans agree. A Fox News poll released last night included this interesting finding:
The same poll included this gem:
Olivia
@West of the Rockies (been a while): I have always loved the idea of Texas seceding. It’s an even better idea now. It can become what Texans have always wanted. A big oily smoking waste dump with no safety regulations, no laws and no Federal government to tell them what to do.
Roger Moore
@WaterGirl:
They’re aware. They just don’t think Jeesus will come back until we’ve thoroughly destroyed the world.
rikyrah
After Texas visit, White House struggles to defend Trump falsehood
08/31/17 08:40 AM
By Steve Benen
Donald Trump made a brief visit to Texas on Tuesday, ostensibly to check in on the governmental response to Hurricane Harvey, though the president steered clear of devastated areas and the storm’s many victims. It was therefore a bit jarring to see use Twitter yesterday morning to make a dubious assertion:
The point of the message was obvious: one of the most important mistakes Trump made on Tuesday was his failure to recognize those who matter most. A Dallas Morning News reporter, on hand for Trump’s brief visit, noted that the president made no mention of those killed, injured, or displaced by the storm. Yesterday’s tweet was likely the president’s way of showing compassion – literally a day too late.
But that wasn’t the only problem. If Trump was nowhere near the flooding, and didn’t spend any time with the hurricane’s victims, how exactly did he witness the horror and devastation “first hand”?
Last night, the White House tried to clear this up. It didn’t go well.
rikyrah
Trump’s controversial Arpaio pardon faces new legal scrutiny
08/31/17 09:22 AM
By Steve Benen
…………………………….
Yesterday, however, the story took another step forward. The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin, a conservative commentator, highlighted a letter from a group called Protect Democracy, which is combating Trump’s violations of legal norms, to the public integrity section of the Justice Department’s criminal division. The letter made the case that the Arpaio pardon is, at best, legally suspect.
f you read the whole letter, Protect Democracy makes the compelling point that the presidential pardon power is considerable, but it’s not limitless, and the Arpaio pardon deserves more scrutiny.
chopper
@sherparick:
easier to build a levee holding back information than one that holds back water, i guess.
rikyrah
Dems hope to block Trump businesses from receiving federal funds
08/31/17 10:40 AM
By Steve Benen
The U.S. Secret Service is facing real financial difficulties, in part because of the unusual circumstances surrounding the protection of Donald Trump and his family. Complicating matters, the agency isn’t just protecting the president, it’s also paying properties the president owns and profits from.
It may seem like a small, anecdotal detail, but when the Secret Service spends $60,000 “on golf cart rentals alone this year to protect Trump at both Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster,” it’s a tough point to forget.
……………………………..
In other words, Trump would be required to comp the Secret Service, whose agents are protecting him and his family.
“The immense honor and responsibility of serving as president of the United States should never be exploited for profit or personal gain,” Schiff said. “That the Trump Organization is profiting off the Secret Service is an abuse of taxpayer money and an improper method of enrichment.”
As it turns out, the California Democrat isn’t the only one thinking along these lines.
Last week, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) announced plans to push related measures that would prohibit federal spending – not just through the Secret Service, but across the government – at all “Trump-owned hotels, resorts, and other Trump-owned businesses.”
Raven Onthill
Going to be some interesting lawsuits going forward. I hope the companies are bankrupted. It won’t cure the illnesses that result from this conduct, or bring back the dead, though.
The Moar You Know
The novel “The World Without Us” goes into great detail as to what would happen in Houston without human intervention to keep all the machinery running.
spoiler: it’s immediate and catastrophic.
rikyrah
Why would Republicans try to cut FEMA’s disaster relief fund?
08/31/17 11:20 AM
By Steve Benen
Following a lengthy summer break, Congress will return to work on Tuesday with a daunting to-do list. Among the priorities lawmakers will have to tackle in September are a budget bill to prevent a government shutdown, a debt-ceiling increase, reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Some in the Republican majority are also hoping to squeeze in time for tax reform and maybe another crack at health care. We may even hear some discussion about infrastructure at some point.
But as the deadly crisis continues to unfold in southeastern Texas, Congress also has a responsibility to take up disaster relief. It’s against this backdrop that the Associated Press published a striking detail about a pending Republican spending bill.
gene108
@schrodingers_cat:
But it does care about getting funding. Stop funding enough science and you will have no push back to whatever crazy ideas you want to float.
Nature, on the other hand, does not care what you believe or what you fund. Mother Nature will always have the upper hand in the long run. We can either understand our limits, within the natural world or hope we die before the reckoning comes due.
catclub
@Olivia:
The constitution of the Confederacy forbid secession.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@West of the Rockies (been a while):
Which describes so much of white, rurl ‘Murka inhabited by (un)real, white ‘Murkins. These people have a vastly over-inflated opinion of themselves. I live among these people. Though they live in a cesspit of ignorance, squalor, and parasitism, they strut around with the attitude they they are God’s gift to humanity. As a group, they contribute very little to society and are very costly to maintain. And if someone wants to talk about lax morals, all I can say is that you haven’t experienced lax morals until you’ve lived among rural whites.
Mike in NC
A town named “Dystopia, Texas” sounds like a fine place to raise a family.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
Lives guided by ignorance and superstition and fear….
MomSense
I feel for the people of Houston. Their lives are not going to return to anything approximating normal for a very long time. And for the people who have lost family members, friends, and pets I can’t even imagine the pain they are feeling.
Last night Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee was saying the cost to rebuild the city will be upwards of 200 billion. I just don’t see how we can rebuild and not have this happen again given that the 100, 500, and 1,000 year storms are now happening practically every year.
As a country we have been hell bent on pretending climate change doesn’t demand difficult decisions. At some point though we have to face the reality.
sukabi
Texas reporter last night, who had talked to chemical experts said local officials were lying about the potential for a huge shock wave from the chemical plant explosion…
From the looks of this video, the experts were right and local officials and company spokes persons were wrong / lying.
About 3 minutes in, as couple gets closer to blast zone you can see devastated neighborhoods…and they (the couple) still don’t know what was the cause of the blasts.
WaterGirl
@Roger Moore: Do you really think all this is really part of trying to line things up for the second coming? I am hoping this was snark because otherwise it’s too damn depressing to even contemplate. Talk about the perversion of christianity.
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
@West of the Rockies (been a while):
Fixed that for you.
SiubhanDuinne
@West of the Rockies (been a while):
A line worthy of Spiro Agnew (William Safire).
WaterGirl
@sukabi:
Un-fucking-believeable. (bolding is mine)
SFAW
@rikyrah:
I’m sure the Malevolent KKKeebler Elf will make sure the public “integrity” section shows as much zeal as he has shown toward investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@WaterGirl:
Pence is a Dominionist so I doubt Mr Moore was snarking (too much):
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/07/mike_pence_s_religion_why_the_trump_vp_pick_is_quiet_about_his_beliefs.html
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10028445834
That’s why many of us feel Pence as President would be even worse than the Popular Vote Loser.
JDM
That lack of regulation and zoning makes it really cheap, until it real, REALLY, isn’t.
Ladyraxterinok
@low-tech cyclist:
I was with a group in the former East Germany in 1991. We were told by those living there that it had been illegal to ask the government about enviromental conditions or what chemicals might be in the area. Any investigation led to immediate arrest and jail.
In 1991 I never imagined that could occur in the US.
Ladyraxterinok
@rikyrah:
You all can thank OK Sen James ‘throwing a snowball on the Senate floor proves global warming is a hoax’ Inhofe (R, of course) for Pruett.
This is another illustration of the fact that even if you believe in democracy you are not safe from the insanity that defines GOP red states. You ARE NOT FREE TO SIT OUT ELECTIONS.
MomSense
@sukabi:
I cannot believe they let people stay in those apartments knowing that an explosion at that plant was imminent. WTEverlovingF???
ETA And the police said it was just a series of “pops”??
Judge Crater
But, but, tax cuts will save the day. Larry Kudlow, spokesman for the corporatocracy/plutocracy wing of the wing-nut party, wants corporate taxes eliminated. No taxes on capital whatsoever. CEOs and the “free markets” they control will distribute wealth and benefits as ordained by the invisible hand-job. Washington will be drained of regulations, consumer protections, environmental concerns and safety nets. A Putin-style oligarchy will emerge that will enshrine the “libertarian” values of Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort.
LongHairedWeirdo
“Chemical reactions” sounds like saying a prisoner died of heart failure (or, today, with more sophisticated end-of-life measurements, “brain damage”). In a strict technical sense, you can always say that the heart stopped pumping a sufficiency of blood… without mentioning “you know, I bet the heart failure had *something* to do with the executioner shooting him in the head.” (Or beating him to death, etc..)
Non-nuclear explosions, as we understand the word, is always a chemical reaction. (The pedant in me is forced to acknowledge that, e.g., the rupture of container of a gas under very high pressure could be called an “explosion”, but not the normal sort.)
Anyway: if there was a “blast”, I consider “chemical reaction” to be on a par with, but worse than, “heart failure” as a cause of death for a murder victim. See, “heart failure” is usually claimed by someone who doesn’t have a duty to protect the public, so claiming heart failure doesn’t have the same betrayal value.
LongHairedWeirdo
@Ladyraxterinok: After Katrina, the late, and oh-so-great, Molly Ivins had an amazing column about how, “you know how people say ‘I don’t care about (spit)politics’? Well: the decision on flood preparations was a political decision; the decision on evacuation plans was a political decision; the staffing of FEMA was a political decision. When you say you don’t care about politics, you’re saying you don’t care about the mess surrounding Katrina.”
My words are far from as fine as Ms. Ivins’ – but that was the basic gist. Politics isn’t high falutin yobos making speeches, and it’s not boring party machinations. It’s all aspects of governing and governance.
LongHairedWeirdo
@MomSense: In Texas, they’re not shy about paddling kids. I’ve often heard swats with a paddle referred to as “pops”.
When they say “series of pops” maybe they mean “you know, like the sensation you get when the surprisingly-strong gym teacher who hates you lets loose.”
MomSense
@LongHairedWeirdo:
Yeah the kind of pops that blow the walls off schools and houses. No one needs to mess with Texas because they do it to themselves.
Ladyraxterinok
@WaterGirl:
Click end times prophets on youtube. John Hagee has a detailed list of what must happen before the rapture. In his latest videos (end of August) he spells out what has happened so far: Jews back in Israel – check, Russia, Syria, Iran lined up for final battle (Gog and Magog in OT) – check, etc.
Pretty much everything necessary has taken place. The one problem is those people wanting and working for peace. They cre workinv against the divine plan. /sarcasm
Luthe
@MomSense: This is why, as an urban planner and a tax payer, I hate the National Flood Insurance Program. It is the government subsidizing stupid. If people had to pay the real cost of living in flood zones, they WOULDN’T LIVE THERE. I do feel bad for the people who have never flooded before, since they couldn’t predict this would happen, but the ones who have flooded before? They should know better.
The best and smartest thing to do is to take all the money that is wasted in premium subsidies and use it to buy out homeowners in flood zones. No more throwing money away enabling people to rebuild where they will just be flooded again.
It could even be a graduated system. First flood, you can either get a buy-out or rebuilding money. Second flood, you get a buy-out. After that, you’re on your own.
*has FEELINGS about flood insurance*
Marmot
@Olivia:
You can fuck the fuck off.
I, and loads of other liberal Texans, are working hard to overcome the rural resentment voters. You’re not helping. And I’m sure the Dem-voting Latinos along the southern border and sprinkled throughout our great state would agree with me.
Fuck you.
burnspbesq
Texas can’t be the Superfund State. We already have one–New Jersey.
Note: i grew up there, so i am allowed to crack wise at the Garden State’s expense.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
@SiubhanDuinne:
I knew some here would catch an echo of old Spiro!
OGLiberal
@MomSense: They issued a correction…that was video from that huge explosion in West, TX, at that fertilizer/grain plant a few years back. Of course, that was a big issue itself.
Lizzy L
Reuters is reporting that 24% of the US refinery capacity is now offline, and that one of the major fuel distributors to the East Coast has shut its lines. Fill your gas tanks, folks. (No, I’m not kidding. West Coast folks too.)
Mnemosyne
@Lizzy L:
I have two long car trips coming up next weekend, but I filled up just the other day. I may need to top off by mid-week, just in case.
If gas prices get too crazy, I can take a shuttle to work, fortunately.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
Meanwhile Louisiana is taking in Harvey evacuees and sending their National Guard and high water rescuers to help. In some cases getting people to shelters in Texas is impossible due to flooded roads so they are bringing them east to La instead.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/08/louisiana_expects_to_house_300.html#incart_2box
machine
Charlie Hebdo is getting in on the act now.
http://thehill.com/homenews/media/348696-charlie-hebdo-cover-god-exists-he-drowned-all-the-neo-nazis-of-texas
ruckus
@WaterGirl:
You did hear about Joel Osteen’s magic tax shelter didn’t you?
kdaug
@sukabi: The video from West.
Frankensteinbeck
@WaterGirl:
I do not know how big the ‘fuck the world because I will live to see the rapture’ contingent is, but I know someone who grew up among them and it is very real. I think they disappear amidst the ‘fuck the world if I have to share it with darkies’ contingent, but I have no numbers. Pence is a serious possibility for wanting World War 3 to hurry along Jesus’s return. He is that religious and that branch of Christianity.
Diana
@Marmot: meanwhile, the rest of us have to put up with the Bush family, Cruz, Perry, Cornym etc. Maybe you might need to work a little harder?