Clown in Chief

"Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter". Moron.
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Rolling Stone

Weaker Hurricane Bertha Heading Northwestward

5 pm Update: Hurricane Bertha remains at Category 1, with maximum winds down slightly to 85 mph. It continues to move northwest at 10 mph from a position about 425 miles southeast of Bermuda. Bermuda remains within the large cone of uncertainty. The Small Craft Warning for Bermuda has been extended through Saturday. The forecast calls for conditions to "become increasingly unsettled this weekend as Bertha approaches."

After regaining Category 2 strength yesterday, Hurricane Bertha weakened back to Category 1 overnight. As of 11 am, maximum winds were 90 mph, and the storm was headed toward the northwest at 9 mph. It is now located a little less than 500 miles southeast of Bermuda, where a Small Craft Warning is in effect through Friday night. A gradual turn toward the north and slowdown in forward speed are still expected, but there is a great deal of uncertainty in the path and intensity, which could still strengthen in the next 24 hours.

Bertha Bounces Back

Hurricane Bertha has restrengthened this afternoon; it is now back up to Category 2 as of 5 pm, with max winds of 105 mph. Additional strengthening is expected, but with slow weakening after a couple of days. Movement is toward the northwest at 12 mph. A turn to the north is still forecast, but there is a large uncertainty in the future track.

Storm Chasing: Follow the Money

CNBC's Street Signs program this afternoon featured an interview with Stockpickr.com's James Altucher. He examined the performance of a wide range of stocks (S&P 1500) following the seven most costly hurricanes. He found the stocks of 50 companies which were up in all seven cases, but he recommends four of those in particular:

• Hill-Rom (HRC): hospital beds!
  
• Campbell Soup (CPB): non-perishable foods
  
• Toro (TTC): landscaping equipment
  
• Nucor (NUE): steel

As usual, invest at your own risk.

EPA Email-Gate Update

The WaPo article (cited below) on White House witness tampering is on page A1 of today's high-fiber edition.
DotEarth has a post on the subject this morning: Cheney’s Office and the Course of Climate Policy.

Hurricane Bertha Fluctuating, Still Category 1

After weakening somewhat overnight, Hurricane Bertha is still a minimal Category 1 storm today with peak winds of 75 mph. Some increase in intensity is forecast in the short term, with weakening thereafter. The current track is toward the west northwest at 12 mph, but a gradual turn to a more northerly direction, along with a slowdown in forward speed, is expected. There is a great deal of ambiguity for both the path and the intensity, especially beyond 72 hours; the "cone of uncertainty" has evolved into a rather large circle.

Ghost Writers, the Sequel

As reported (scroll down to "Political Science") at the time, the cunning linguists of the current administration performed some unnatural acts on the testimony last year of CDC director Julie Gerberding to Congress about the effects of global warming on health. The WaPo's political/environmental writer reported this afternoon that former Environmental Predation Agency official Jason Burnett has revealed that the linguist-in-chief was Vice Puppeteer President Cheney; it was his staff which ordered the changes. (Burnett is the same EPA official involved in the White House's sophomoric email antics.)

If you think our verbiage is harsh, get a load of the literally hundreds of virtual pitchforks being thrown by the electronic masses in the Comments section of the online version of the article.

More on the subject is available at:

• Gristmill: Cheney reaction
  
• Hill Heat: Office of Vice President Censored Testimony on Global Warming Endangerment