A mix of trivia & important odds and ends

Photo by MOAA showing three hurricanes coexisting from Mexico to the Carribean area:  Katia over Mexico, Irma over Cuba heading to Florida, and Jose over the Carribean.

1.  Mega-hurricane Irma set a record Thursday by maintaining wind speeds of at least 185 mph for a period of 37 hours -- the longest time at such a speed ever recorded anywhere.  And 6.3 million people -- 1/3 of our third most populous state -- have been told to evacuate.   Irma is devastating Florida just two weeks after Harvey did the same in Southeast Texas.   Katia, downgraded to category 1, hit Mexico's Gulf coast two days ago, and Jose, a category 4 hurricane, is following Irma's early pathway through the Carribean's Barbudo and St. Martin islands.

Is nature trying to tell us something about the effects of global warming?  Isn't it time we listen?

2. During Katrina, thousands of people refused to evacuate without taking their dogs and cats.   So Congress passed a law requiring that emergency disaster-management plans include provisions for pets.

3.  Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) is on trial for bribery and corruption.   He is accused of pulling strings in Washington to benefit his good friend, a wealthy Florida physician who bestowed Menendez with lavish gifts, luxurious travel accommodations, plus over half a million in campaign contributions, often in close time relation to some problem the friend wanted fixed, or some regulation he wanted changed.   The doctor has also been accused of Medicare fraud, and Menendez is alleged to have tried to intervene on his behalf with the Secretary of HHS.

Beyond the individual guilt or innocence is the fact that, if Sen. Menendez is found guilty, he will likely have to resign, or be expelled, from the Senate.  And his replacement -- if it occurs before January -- would be named by New Jersey's Republican governor, Chris Christie.   That would flip a seat in the Senate -- and conceivably make a difference in some close bills -- including, if the close vote on the ACA came up again, would go the other way, assuming everyone else voted as they did before.

4.  "Hamilton," the hit Broadway hip-hop musical about the Founding Fathers creating our nation, is opening in London this fall.   Tickets are in such demand, some people have paid as much as $ 3,300 for a ticket.

5.  FEMA has instituted a "rumor control" page on its website to debunk false rumors about the hurricane and relief efforts.   For example, it is true that emergency shelters are required to accommodate pets (see #2 above), but it is not required of hotels.   The site also warned people about scams, where people posing as FEMA officials ask for personal information (like social security numbers, immigration papers, etc.)  The only think FEMA actually requires for stay in a shelter is identification -- as most hotels now routinely do.  Homeland Security has explicitly announced that their ICE personnel, when assisting in rescue work, will not be questioning people about their immigration status.

6.   I had not realized how much Prince Charles' and Diana's marriage was an arranged one.   A new source has said that they had been in each other's presence only 13 times before the wedding.

7.  Based on background check records, the sale of guns has declined from 2.2 million in July 2016 to 1.7 million in July 2017.   Experts explain it thus:   There is typically a surge in gun sales when either of two events occurs:  (1) when a Democrat presidential candidate wins;   or (2) after there is a mass shooting.   The explanation seems to be that gun sales go up when there is a fear that future sales are going to be restricted.  People "stock up" out of fear that "they'll take away our guns."  With Trump in the White House, that fear is minimal.

8.  Years ago, end-zone celebrations after a touchdown had gotten so elaborate that the NFL decided to crack down and imposed rules, with infractions resulting in a team penalty.  As players became more creative with ways to get around the rules, the NFL rules became ever more restrictive and convoluted.  In fact, as the New York Times reports, here's what it had come to:  One rule said that a player could do a backflip with no penalty -- if he landed upright.   But, if he fell to the ground, there would be a penalty.

Finally, everyone agreed that this had become ridiculous.  So the NFL has relaxed it's rules on end-zone TD celebrations.  Now they have decided to just focus on players not delaying the game.   Let's see how that works out.   Or, rather, you guys see how it works out.   I don't watch pro football:  (1) because it just doesn't interest me;  and (2) because I do not want to contribute, as a another fan, to perpetuating a game that results in so much previously unrecognized brain injury from cumulative effects of repeated concussions.

Ralph