Irish Trojan in Tennessee

Sen. Craig to un-resign?

By Brendan Loy

ABC Breaking News: "IDAHO SEN. LARRY CRAIG IS RECONSIDERING HIS DECISION TO RESIGN IN UPROAR OVER SEX STING, THE AP REPORTS."

Here's the article.

UPDATE: Heh:

"It simply defies reality," said a Senate GOP aide. "You can't make this up even if you are heavily medicated. The American people heard from Larry Craig that he would resign, and using the word 'intent' as a back door doesn't work with them."

Must... hold... tongue... Must... not... make... obvious... "back... door"... joke...

UPDATE 2: Larry Craig is from the future!

P.S. David Bernstein looks at some examples of senatorial misconduct that apparently aren't resignation-worthy, and concludes, "Compared to the every day malfeasance by Senators, accepted as business as usual, I'll take a misdemeanor sex scandal any time." (Hat tip: InstaPundit.)

Farewell, Felix

By Brendan Loy

I just sent in my final Felix update to PJM. I'm excerpting it below in non-blockquoted fashion, to make room for the images...

* * * * *

Hurricane Felix roared ashore in Nicaragua this morning, an unprecedented second Category Five hurricane in two weeks to hit Central America. Here is another pair of images of Felix making landfall at 7:45 AM EDT -- at left, the visible satellite view as the sun rose; at right, the enhanced infrared shot:

... Incomplete and conflicting information abounds -- call it "the fog of Felix" -- but some reports indicate that at least two people died in the city [of Puerto Cabezas]. ... But...the truly "horrible" winds -- 160 mph sustained, with higher gusts (possibly much higher, since the storm was strengthening as it came ashore) -- and the worst of the 18-foot storm surge were confined to the sparsely populated marshland regions along the Mosquito Coast north of the city. ...

Meanwhile, as if one hurricane smacking Latin America wasn't enough, a second made landfall just 9 hours later, over on the Pacific side. Hurricane Henriette hit the southern tip of Baja California, near San Jose Del Cabo, at around 5:00 PM EDT. ...

Now, all eyes turn to the waters off the Southeastern U.S., where Tropical Depression Seven -- and perhaps Tropical Storm Gabrielle -- could soon form. The computer models disagree about whether "Invest 99L" will develop, and if so, where it will go. One of the more intriguing model forecasts, from the HRWF, brings "Gabrielle" into Long island and New England as a weak hurricane this Saturday:

Other models, as Dr. Masters points out, take the storm to North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.

* * * * *

Read the whole thing, with additional pretty graphics, at Pajamas Media.

Jimmy Clausen named starting QB

By Jay Johnson

Coach Charlie Weis names Jimmy Clausen as starting ground beef..err..quarterback for ND.

Newington: SWAT sweeps synagogue; suspects skedaddle

By Joe Loy

In what was thought to be a possible Standoff situation, a Newington PD K-9, followed by the SWAT team,  entered Congregation B'nai Sholom  (Children of Peace) this morning. The search turned up nobody. Evidence suggests that some dirtbags had boosted some dirt bikes from a shed on neighboring property, parked them behind the synagogue while they busted in there to see what else they could find, and then abruptly fled (perhaps when the Burglar alarm sounded) leaving the stolen bikes behind and apparently taking nothing from the house of worship.

(Hat tip: Brendan, on his Lunch break. :)

Felix near landfall, almost a Cat. 5 again

By Brendan Loy

[UPDATE: Felix is officially back to Category 5 status, as of 6:40 AM. So that's two landfalling Cat. 5s in two weeks. Remarkable.]

I just submitted my morning update on Hurricane Felix to PJM. Here's an excerpt:

Hurricane Felix has re-strengthened overnight to the very threshold of Category Five status, with 155 mph winds gusting to at least 169 mph. The eye of the monster storm will come ashore in northern Nicaragua around 8:00 AM EDT -- and it "could reach Category Five strength just as it crosses the coast," according to the headline on the National Hurricane Center's 5:00 AM advisory. ...

The good news, as I pointed out repeatedly yesterday, is that Felix will be coming ashore in a very sparsely populated area. However, things have gotten slightly worse in that regard over the last few hours. Earlier, it looked as if Felix's compact circulation would remain safely north of Puerto Cabezas, the capital of RAAN with a population of 51,000 (map here). However, the satellite loop clearly shows that Felix's eye was "wobbled" ever-so-slightly to the south over the last few hours, possibly bringing Puerto Cabezas into play. ... Certainly, however, the strongest portion of the storm -- the "right-front quadrant," in this case the northwestern eyewall -- will not hit the capital. ...

[S]ay a prayer for the people in Nicaragua and Honduras. It's going to be a rough day for them. However, there is reason to believe that Felix, like its predecessor Dean, will turn out to be another intense hurricane that "could have been worse." Here's hoping and praying that that belief becomes a reality.

To read the full-length update, visit Pajamas Media. Now, I have to get ready for work. No further updates till evening, alas.

Felix nears Mosquito Coast

By Brendan Loy

My 7:30 PM update never posted to Pajamas Media; I'm not sure why. Anyway, I just submitted an 11:55 PM update, noting that according to the 11:00 PM advisory, Felix is expected to make landfall in the next 12 hours -- and strengthen a bit en route to doing so. Meanwhile, the official forecast track now keeps Felix entirely over land.

I'm planning to get up early so I can write up a final pre-landfall update before going to work in the morning. In the mean time, you can follow Felix's progress via the infrared and water vapor satellite loops. And of course, check out the various links in my right sidebar.