Hurricane Gustav is still a category 3 storm.  Forecasters now believe the storm will no longer make the jump to a category 4. This does not make the situation any less dangerous. If you will recall, hurricane Katrina was also a category 3 storm.

Here is a quick round up of news coverage for the storm:

• Hurricane winds could hit Louisiana by Monday morning
• New Orleans evacuates for “big, ugly storm”
• Gustav Still a Weak Category 3
• Gustav Shutters Refineries on Gulf Coast
• Gustav gives Nagin a second change to get it right

Hurricane Gustav expected storm path

More to come….

Update – Remember, there are a number of things to be thankful for and it can depend on where you live.

I was a life long Republican up until about 2 years ago.  All of a sudden the political organization I most associated with seemed very foreign to me.  The days of small government were gone, scientific progress was being blocked in the name of faith, and it appeared, universally, civil rights were disappearing quicker than any time in the past.  As if that wasn’t enough, the other party of choice – the Democratic Party – was equally as uncomfortable to me.  So what am I?

Let me be VERY clear about something, just because I was a Republican didn’t mean I had “blind faith” and simply voted as a Republican on every issue.  I did my best to judge each situation and compared the views of the candidates to my personal beliefs.  More times than not I agreed with the Republican but would break from the party line when I did not agree with the view presented.  The problem is that now, more and more, I simply don’t fit into any category.

So where do I stand? I believe…

• in the right to bear arms
• in climate change but not humanity caused global warming
• society should be investing in alternative energy, not because of climate change, but it’s the right thing to do for the environment
• that the government should not tell two people what love is
• stem cell research is a must
• that people need assistance but we should not simply give the needy everything
• the progressive tax system is a failure and those who deserve a tax break are those who pay the most
• that health care is not a right but a commodity
• we should take care of our own before we take care of others
• that the most qualified individual should obtain the position
• tax breaks for U.S. corporations are needed in order to keep growth in the United States
• a woman should have the ability to pick what happens to her body
• that every immigrant should come to the U.S. legally and not be granted amnesty

Does this make me a moderate or the ever-illusive “independent”?  I understand there will never be a candidate or party that will align to every view I hold but there has to be  a candidate, or partly, that doesn’t make me feel like an outsider.

I’ve said it a number of times in the past, I want to vote from someone I believe in and not simply vote for what I believe to be the lesser of two evils.

Hurricane Gustav is almost in the center of the Gulf as a category 3 storm.  While it lost some of it kick over night, forecasters are predicting Gustav will grow to a Category 4.

As noted previously, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has ordered the evacuation of the city and the U.S. government has declared a state of emergency.  In addition, the Texas Governor activated 5,000 members of the National Guard in preparation for a potential disaster and mandatory evacuation for Jefferson and Orange counties are taking place.

From an economic perspective be prepared for gas prices to rise significantly over the next one to three weeks.  This is due to a shutdown or roughly 77% of oil output and 37% of natural gas production in the Gulf.

More to come…

Show of hands – how many people saw the movie “Gone Baby Gone”?  Judging by the box office tally ($20M) not too many.  This is Ben Affleck’s first major directing effort and he shows maturity with his craft that seasoned directors with decades of experience struggle to achieve.  The movie is quite good but this isn’t a movie review, it’s a philosophical question.

If one does something wrong yet his or her actions result in a positive and selfless outcome is it ok? Do the ends justify the means? For example, if you had the ability to travel back to Austria in 1905 would you kill the young, disillusioned, artists by the name of Adolf Hitler when you ran into him on the street?  You know this single act would save millions of people from untold suffering and death yet you would have to compromise ever fiber of your being in order to do so, would you do it?

My version of the question asked is extreme in order to simply point out how much of an impact this question truly has. Can you compromise your beliefs, your views, who you are, in order to do something deemed immoral and wrong… but ultimately, maybe, the right thing to do?

Think about it – really think about it – and come back and post in the comment section.  I would like to grow this one into a discussion.

I’ll end this post with a saying: Right and wrong are just words, what matters is what you do.

Hurricane Gustav, which was a Category 3 storm just days ago, is showing signs of growth.  As the storm rolled through Cuba it grew to a Category prompting more than 240,000 people to be evacuated.  Experts are already predicting this storm has the potential to rival Hurricane Katrina .  Unlike 2005, government officials are taking proper steps to safeguard the population.

By Friday evening Ray Nagin, Mayor of New Orleans, ordered all vacationers out of the city by nightfall, the Nation Guard is in place to protect property, President Bush has already declared a state of emergency and a fleet of busses are already moving some 30,000 people out of the city for safer ground.  (source 1, source 2)

Hurricane Katrina was a disaster for a number of reasons – the destruction of property, the loss of life, the response of both local and federal government agencies has transformed a historic city into a partial ghost town.  Based on the actions taken by officials it looks like precautions are being made to prevent Katrina Part 2 from occurring.

Do you think someone has learned a lesson?

Update – Current Strom Track

Much like the residents of 49 of these United States, I know very little about Sarah Palin.  My first exposure to her came in April of 2008 when she gave birth to her son Trig who happen to be special needs.  The news had coverage of the story, and that she was a rising star within the Republican Party, but I never really gave her much attention after that.  Then came Friday, August 29th, 2008.

So, who is she?  What does she stand for?  What does she believe?  I’m very curious…let’s see what we can find out.

The Basics:

• Name: Sarah Louise Heath Palin
• Born: February 11, 1964
• Education: BS in Journalism from the University of Idaho
• Party: Republican
• Current Occupation: Governor of Alaska
• Family: Married with 5 children

The Experience:

• Two Term Wasilla City Counsel member
• Two Term Wasilla Mayor
• Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
• Governor of Alaska

Her views:

• Abortion: Pro Life
• Marriage: Anti-Gay Marriage
• Death Penalty: Supports
• Energy: For Bio Fuel, Supports Drilling in ANWR
• Evolution: Supports creationism to be discussed in school
• Gun Control: Supports the right to bear arms

Controversies:

She is under investigation for the firing of Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan.  Palin stated Monegan was released due to not filling vacant state trooper positions, as well as adhering to the budget. Palin offered Monegan a position as executive director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which he turned down. Monegan claims he was let go as retaliation for his reluctance to fire Palin’s former brother-in-law, an Alaska State Trooper.

I hope this gives you a good starting point to understand who Sarah Palin is. No doubt, more information will come out within the next 60 days.  As it does, I will continue to update.

Another bank found itself closed by the Government today.  Integrity Bank of Alpharetta, Georgia, is the 10th to be shut down due to liquidity issues.

It turns out Integrity Bank was ordered to raise capital in May of this year but was unable to find the 40 million in financing they needed.  As a result of the closure Regions Financial Corp. will purchase the roughly 34 million in deposits and continue to serve the failed bank’s customers.

Without a doubt, it must be scary to have your money in a bank that goes under.  I would hate to be in that position myself.  While institutions will continue to report losses as well as go under for the next year, this is not a financial collapse.

By now, you may have heard that John McCain picked Sarah Palin for his running mate. Judging by the quick reaction and targeted from the Obama’s team, as well as Democratic supporters, Camp McCain hit a home run with his choice. I am not talking about her qualifications to be the Vice President (more on that when I do research); what I am talking about is purely from a strategy perspective.

Former Clinton adviser Paul Begala says:

“In choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate he is not thinking “outside the box,” as some have said. More like out of his mind…. For months, the McCainiacs have said they will run on his judgment and experience. In his first presidential decision, John McCain has shown he is willing to endanger his country, potentially leaving it in the hands of someone who simply has no business being a heartbeat away from the most powerful, complicated, difficult job in human history.”

Camp Obama points out:

“Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign on Friday blasted his Republican rival’s choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as a running-mate, highlighting her “zero” foreign policy experience”

Charles Schumer states:

“While Palin is a fine person, her lack of experience makes the thought of her assuming the presidency troubling. I particularly look forward to the Biden-Palin debate in Missouri.”

And finally Barbara Boxer:

“The vice president is a heartbeat away from becoming president, so to choose someone with not one hour’s worth of experience on national issues is a dangerous choice.”

Do you notice a pattern with every single criticism of Sarah Palin? They describe Barack Obama exactly. He has no national experience. He is no more politically qualified at this point than she. He is young as well. At least the Republicans have a candidate with the experience running for President, yet the Democrats happen to overlook the fact that their candidate is in the same boat as the Republican’s number two choice. Furthermore, the argument could be made that Sarah Palin has more experience at governing that Obama does.

With a single action John McCain just stole Obama’s thunder and did so without being disrespectful to the Democratic Party (e.g. – announcing his VP choice on the day of Obama’s accepted the nomination). With this choice he also has the press and the general public talking about his campaign, not Obama and the acceptance speech.

CNN and Fox News are reporting that John McCain picked Alaskan Govenor Sarah Palin to be his running mate.

Reaction to come later….

I dread morning. For whatever unknown reason it always takes me a good hour to actually “get going”. Literally for the first 60 mins, on most work days, I feel as if I am stuck in some haze. When I really do a bit of self evaluation I find there are only a hand few of things that bother me more than waking up, getting ready for the work day, sitting in traffic and making sure I am in the office.

It’s not that I don’t want to go to work, I really do enjoy the individuals I work with, it’s the fact that I have to roll out of bed at 6:30 and deal with my mind – which seems to be stuck in slow motion.

Weekends are different. I can get up around 11, which will give me around 11 hours of sleep and then simply just ease my way into the day, which seems to work better for my body. Maybe that is part of my problem… This may all be linked to a lack of sleep but 7 ½ hours should be enough, shouldn’t it? Maybe if I got more sleep and woke up earlier I could ease into the work day…

Sigh…