While the rest of us were watching the storm track for Isaac and thinking about the Republican National Convention, our logistics genius Rani Kahle was out buying 20 sets of complete rain gear for the TV crew. She dragged them back to the office and tried one of them them on. The next time you see the outfit above, it'll be on one of our hosts or reporters.
(Below, everything but the water is going to Tampa.)
You're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead. |
Video: Tonight’s show
Video: McDonnell, awash in scandal, sees conservative credibility eroded
Video: Cautious optimism at 'moderate' label on new Iranian president
Video: Wisconsin GOP doesn't trust women not to lie about rape
Video: House GOP follows states, prioritizes war on women
Video: Congress too frightened to allow Obama to close Guantanamo
Video: On tonight's show
Leave a Comment:
Umbrellas are VERY doubtful in 50 knots gang.
Usually the umbrellas / rain coats are used to run out into the eye of the storm as it pass overhead. Also, is helpful during the before / after the main storm rain.
Quite a fetching outfit! Will everyone match? And BETTER yet? Will y'all do those wonderful live hits outside in the hurricane like I always loved at CNN, just so we can see how hard the wind is blowing?
(my favorite was when they had Jeanne Meserve do it, because she is so tiny, she always got thrashed around the most)
It's moot. Umbrellas are among the list of banned items. For security reasons, you know. Also, fruit. (Too dangerously healthy? Can't support the First Lady...)
It's amusing how the right wing religious leaders tend to blame all natural disasters on God's displeasure with liberals, gays etc. I wonder if they'll do the same regarding the Republican convention?
It's also funny that Isaac means "God's laughter" in Hebrew.
All us Liberals have the same thought
You might want to consider taking the water too.
(growing up on TX coast, we always stashed water when hurricanes were drawing near)
Given the typical flooding that Tampa gets from even a little blow (Tropical Storm Debbie) - they'll have PLENTY of water. Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink - though.
Which one of the fruitcake televangelists is going to blame this weather on Tampa's gay community?
Trick question - ALL of them . . . .
Bad weather, zealots, concealed weapons, and stand your ground. This is going to be a Grand Party!
Didn't you mean Grand Old Party?
Did they invite Cheney to come hunting with a few of his friends ? ? ? ? ? ?
It now appears that Isaac will bypass the Tampa Bay area. However. . . .even if the Tampa Bay area just gets brushed by the fringes of the storm, that can be enough to cause all sorts of weather-related havoc, including street flooding, property damage, and extended power outages. Case in point: we're still trying to dry out from all the rain dumped on us by Debby.
And Ninz is right--it is standard advice to keep a stash of water handy, in case a storm knocks out the water system.
Wouldn't you know that the convention is being held on a site that is flanked on three sides by water--and that downtown and Westshore Tampa are particularly vulnerable to street flooding.
Oh well, the RNC did decide to meet in Tampa during its hottest and rainiest time period.
Even if Tampa is spared a direct hit, the outer rain bands often spawn tornadoes, so they could be dealing with tornadoes on the ground.
CNN reported on anarchist threats for the Tampa convention. I wonder if Gov. Scott is still happy he refused the mayor of Tampa the right to limit guns near the convention? I do not wish any violence but the easy availability of automatic weapons only encourages mass casualties. "When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?" from "Where have all the flowers gone?"
I haven't seen any of these details about security yet. I wonder if you know:
Who was the genius that book all the hotels on the other side of the bridges (closer to the beach and surrounded by water)? I heard on a good day the delegates will be 30 minute ride away from the convention center. Guess they saved some money on the hotel arrangements . . . . . .
I haven't seen anything about this on any of the news channels. I wonder if you know:
Sorry about the double post! It was confusing because I just registered for the first time. When I did, it appeared as though my first post disappeared. I created the second one, and then when I looked back later, I saw them both.
I couldn't find a way to delete one of them, but I surely won't do that again!
That umbrella's going to be nothing more than a projectile during a hurricane/tropical storm. Leave the umbrellas in NYC.
... and pack the ziploc baggies.
Rani looks like my niece in that pic.
Let's hope everyone's safe, even the Rs. as funny as it would be to say something about wrath of God and hurricanes, I really hope all is well. Bipartisanship is not dead. Just cause we completely disagree, doesn't mean we wish each other harm, although I am aware some say they do.
She does indeed look very niece. And nice. :D
And I share your wish that no one comes to actual harm... from the extremes of weather or political nonsense.
Vulture/Voucher 2012
Proving Two Rights DO Make a Wrong!
;-)
I figure the boots should come in handy regardless of the weather forecast - you know the "Legitimate"-Rape-Public-CONs are guaranteed to be shoveling "it" pretty thick.
Vulture/Voucher 2012
Proving Two Rights DO Make a Wrong!
;-)
She may need full waders to handle all of those plank discussions.
But you don't want to tuck the rainpant's leg into the boot. That will cause your boots to fill with the rainwater runoff.
If the pantlegs are too long use large rubber bands to blouse them above your ankle on the outside of the boot.
As a guy who once did advance work for state and national candidates, I appreciate this kind of attention to detail. Great staff work.
Extra points for golf umbrellas (I see that Calloway logo). Those things might be the only kind of umbrella that can survive a hurricane.
Pray hard all for a category 5 to hit Tampa directly!
Just one question...Can I get Rani's number?
This has to be a joke. There is no way they are going to hold a convention during a hurricane. Who here predicts low turnouts? We already think our Republican leaders are idiots but this is the icing on the cake. Who in their right mind holds a convention during a hurricane? The only thing I can think is God is trying to tell them something. Either that or he is trying to drown them out before they leave for the strip bars. lol This is craziest thing I have heard from them so far.
Word I am hearing they may push back the RNC to Tuesday pending wind speed and rain amounts Monday AM.
Actually come to think of it seeing as the Republicans act like it 1880 instead of 2012 maybe that Flashlight should be listed as a lantern ?
I live just a few miles from Tampa in Pinellas County (if you look at a map of the west coast of Florida Pinellas County looks kind of like a descending colon) so I decided to ride over to Tampa and check out the action.
My observation: There are men with uniforms and guns EVERYWHERE. I particularly noted people wearing a uniform that consisted of khaki pants and shirts with a patch on the back that simply said “POLICE.” There was no further noticeable identification such as “Tampa PD,” “St. Petersburg PD,” “Sopchoppy PD,” or anything else. (Sopchoppy is a town in the Florida Panhandle where the main industry is grunting for worms.) In addition to these generic “POLICE” (which I assume are an ad hoc conglomeration of officers brought to Tampa from all over Florida, including maybe Sopchoppy) I also saw a contingent of Florida National Guardsmen with assault rifles stationed outside the Tampa PD building and group of uniformed ATF agents that appeared to be guarding a crosswalk.
It appeared to me that the RNC is expecting a war to go along with their convention. There seemed to be an overwhelming deployment of firepower to meet an assault of people who will be armed mainly with cardboard and Magic Markers.
Speaking of deployment, there must not be a portable toilet left in the entire State of Florida because they have all been sent to Tampa. I saw hundreds of them neatly lined up in front of the Hillsborough County courthouse and hundreds more under an overpass. The RNC host committee clearly recognizes that some bodily functions cannot be “shut down” no matter what.
The three main pillars of the Republican Party are billionaires, anti-abortionists, and the NRA. I guess the first two groups will have a pretty good time at the convention but the NRA people are going to be ecstatic because when they walk around the main impression they will have is that EVERYBODY HAS A GUN. In Florida, when you see four or more people together you generally assume firearms are present but usually they are concealed. In Tampa for the next four days all the guns are right out in the open for the NRA wing of the GOP to admire.
And another thing: in the preceding paragraph I used the term “anti-abortionists” very deliberately. The anti-abortionists like to call themselves “pro-life” but clearly they are not. Their “no abortions no exceptions” stance shows they don’t give a damn about the life of the mother. When a liberal lets the anti-abortion forces call themselves “right to life” the liberals are conceding defeat in a major framing issue. But I will say that at least the anti-abortionists will probably be inside the hall during the convention – the NRA crowd will probably all be outside discussing muzzle velocity, stopping power, and other fascinating topics with all the gun-toting troopers.
I would imagine all participants had already packed their hip boots for wading through the fresh dung.
Any chance they'll be stuck in the Coloseum with no food or water like New Orleans?
I live just a few miles from Tampa in Pinellas County (if you look at a map of the west coast of Florida Pinellas County looks kind of like a descending colon) so I decided to ride over to Tampa and check out the action.
My observation: There are men with uniforms and guns EVERYWHERE. I particularly noted people wearing a uniform that consisted of khaki pants and shirts with a patch on the back that simply said “POLICE.” There was no further noticeable identification such as “Tampa PD,” “St. Petersburg PD,” “Sopchoppy PD,” or anything else. (Sopchoppy is a town in the Florida Panhandle where the main industry is grunting for worms.) In addition to these generic “POLICE” (which I assume are an ad hoc conglomeration of officers brought to Tampa from all over Florida, including maybe Sopchoppy) I also saw a contingent of Florida National Guardsmen with assault rifles stationed outside the Tampa PD building and group of uniformed ATF agents that appeared to be guarding a crosswalk.
It appeared to me that the RNC is expecting a war to go along with their convention. There seemed to be an overwhelming deployment of firepower to meet an assault of people who will be armed mainly with cardboard and Magic Markers.
Speaking of deployment, there must not be a portable toilet left in the entire State of Florida because they have all been sent to Tampa. I saw hundreds of them neatly lined up in front of the Hillsborough County courthouse and hundreds more under an overpass. The RNC host committee clearly recognizes that some bodily functions cannot be “shut down” no matter what.
The three main pillars of the Republican Party are billionaires, anti-abortionists, and the NRA. I guess the first two groups will have a pretty good time at the convention but the NRA people are going to be ecstatic because when they walk around the main impression they will have is that EVERYBODY HAS A GUN. In Florida, when you see four or more people together you generally assume firearms are present but usually they are concealed. In Tampa for the next four days all the guns are right out in the open for the NRA wing of the GOP to admire.
And another thing: in the preceding paragraph I used the term “anti-abortionists” very deliberately. The anti-abortionists like to call themselves “pro-life” but clearly they are not. Their “no abortions no exceptions” stance shows they don’t give a damn about the life of the mother. When a liberal lets the anti-abortion forces call themselves “right to life” the liberals are conceding defeat in a major framing issue. But I will say that at least the anti-abortionists will probably be inside the hall during the convention – the NRA crowd will probably all be outside discussing muzzle velocity, stopping power, and other fascinating topics with all the gun-toting troopers.
I live just a few miles from Tampa in Pinellas County (if you look at a map of the west coast of Florida Pinellas County looks kind of like a descending colon) so I decided to ride over to Tampa and check out the action.
My observation: There are men with uniforms and guns EVERYWHERE. I particularly noted people wearing a uniform that consisted of khaki pants and shirts with a patch on the back that simply said “POLICE.” There was no further noticeable identification such as “Tampa PD,” “St. Petersburg PD,” “Sopchoppy PD,” or anything else. (Sopchoppy is a town in the Florida Panhandle where the main industry is grunting for worms.) In addition to these generic “POLICE” (which I assume are an ad hoc conglomeration of officers brought to Tampa from all over Florida, including maybe Sopchoppy) I also saw a contingent of Florida National Guardsmen with assault rifles stationed outside the Tampa PD building and group of uniformed ATF agents that appeared to be guarding a crosswalk.
It appeared to me that the RNC is expecting a war to go along with their convention. There seemed to be an overwhelming deployment of firepower to meet an assault of people who will be armed mainly with cardboard and Magic Markers.
Speaking of deployment, there must not be a portable toilet left in the entire State of Florida because they have all been sent to Tampa. I saw hundreds of them neatly lined up in front of the Hillsborough County courthouse and hundreds more under an overpass. The RNC host committee clearly recognizes that some bodily functions cannot be “shut down” no matter what.
The three main pillars of the Republican Party are billionaires, anti-abortionists, and the NRA. I guess the first two groups will have a pretty good time at the convention but the NRA people are going to be ecstatic because when they walk around the main impression they will have is that EVERYBODY HAS A GUN. In Florida, when you see four or more people together you generally assume firearms are present but usually they are concealed. In Tampa for the next four days all the guns are right out in the open for the NRA wing of the GOP to admire.
And another thing: in the preceding paragraph I used the term “anti-abortionists” very deliberately. The anti-abortionists like to call themselves “pro-life” but clearly they are not. Their “no abortions no exceptions” stance shows they don’t give a damn about the life of the mother. When a liberal lets the anti-abortion forces call themselves “right to life” the liberals are conceding defeat in a major framing issue. But I will say that at least the anti-abortionists will probably be inside the hall during the convention – the NRA crowd will probably all be outside discussing muzzle velocity, stopping power, and other fascinating topics with all the gun-toting troopers.