Hiatus

My Little House After IrmaSad news. My little home city in the Florida Keys has a lot of damage from Hurricane Irma and I need to head south. My plan is to get started reconstructing my own home and to help my neighbors who are already there. Northwestern Medical Center up here has donated masks and surgical gloves that we will truck south.

A lot of work has already gotten done. Water and sewer are operational. Electricity is on most of the time. Cell service mostly works. The Internet is mostly still down.

Day -1, 9/9
As of the 5 p.m. advisory, Irma is about 96 miles ever so slightly east of due south of KCB with 125 mph winds gusting to 155 and still moving the west-northwest at 9 mph. The core of Irma will continue to move near the north coast of Cuba during the next few hours and restrengthen once it moves away from Cuba before reaching the Keys Sunday morning. Storm surge from Card Sound Bridge through Cape Sable, including the Keys is still forecast at 5-10 ft along with 10-20 inches of rain and as much as 25 inches in some isolated spots.

Day 0, 9/10
The GOES-16 satellite showed the eye went over Big Pine at Cat 4 strength about 9 a.m. That puts Marathon and South Puffin close to the eyewall. I think that means 120-ish mph winds with gusts to 140 in South Puffin [an anemometer there read 160 mph before it got knocked down].

At 10 a.m., it was at 84N 81.5W which is about 25 miles northeast of Key West, 25 miles northwest of KCB, and picking up speed to 8 mph. There was a 2′ surge reported in KW then as well as 120 mph gusts in Big Pine and 106 mph at Key Deer Refuge. The “LIVE Marathon Florida Cam” is down.

Initial landfall took place at Cudjoe Key at 9:10 am. EDT on September 10 with an estimated 10 foot storm surge in the afternoon.

Today would have been my dad’s 98th birthday. Hurricane Donna came through the Keys on this date in 1960.

Surge and power failure are still my primary worries, especially since the power seems to be out. My frig and Joe’s two YUGE, full-size, chock-a-block-full bait freezers and Ed’s three freezers are gonna smell really, really wonnerful. Onshore winds for quite a while and the surge started building as the tide came in.

John Bartus posted: “There are a lot of fake reports and rumors being spread and shared. Please don’t add to the confusion. The Snake Creek Bridge is okay and derivable. Confirmed by Islamorada’s Fire Chief and Council member Mike Forster. Please don’t share reports, photos, and videos that come from a source you don’t know. The aftermath and recovery will be bad enough without compounding it with rumors and lies.”

Water was over the docks in South Puffin at 11:10 a.m.

THE KEYS ARE CLOSED TO RETURNING RESIDENTS.
One Bureau Added to the Growing PileEarly reports had 2-1/2 feet of water on 11th Street. That’s as much as knee high in the house. If that’s accurate, I figure carpets, the interior paneled walls, the tools and hardware, electronics, furniture, and all the beautiful new kitchen cabinets.

Day 1, 9/11
Get your FEMA paperwork ASAP.
Trouble is, we’re not there to assess the damage.

“So, what’s the plan?” Number One Daughter asked. “Are you guys going to head out from Vermont early? I assume Joe took his boat to Maryland and isn’t on the island. How will you know what happened to the house?”

From John Bartus: Keys are in what can be called a “humanitarian crisis” right now. There is limited water (no water in many areas), no power, no communication at all, and the people who stayed behind need help. 100 yards of US 1 near Sea Oats Beach on Lower Matecumbe were washed out. The first responders and crews on the scene are adamant that the Keys cannot handle any more people until they can assist the ones who are there and in need.

Absolutely nothing I can do. Nada. Zero. De zip. I couldn’t get there even if I could fly down today. There will be mold.

Day 2, 9/12
I know a lot so far, some from the news and most from people on FB, but very little about the facts on the ground.

The Keys are closed. There’s no power, water, or cell service and there is a roadblock turning away traffic. Marathon got moderately hammered but I’m hearing everything from 1 inch to 2-1/2 feet of water in some houses in South Puffin.

The real problem is lack of data. I’m pretty sure the building wasn’t damaged but I don’t know how hard the wind hit. I don’t know if the water rose above the yard. I don’t know if water rise lifted Joe’s boat and his boatlift out of the ground. I don’t know what happened in my carport. I don’t know if the roof held.

From Mayor John DeNeale: SUNSET TO SUNRISE CURFEW IN THE KEYS. The Wednesday Budget Public Hearing will be continued for a week.

There is a rumor that the Keys are being evacuated of all people. This is false. We are still on the plan to get first responders, disaster crews and supplies in. People that want to leave can, they will not be stopped at road construction sites.

What we need before we can let residents back:
1. A working Sewer: Dave Evans is working on the plant.
2. FKAA water even if not potable (boil water required) and for fighting fires.
3. FKEC power or personal generators with fuel;
4. Fuel, the keys are in very short supply as well as South Florida;
5. Roads that are well cleared to handle civilian cars. The Sheriff reports that all emergency vehicles are fixing many flat tires as a result of debris on the roads. The road at MM 75 is still not repaired; it will be temporarily repaired with crushed recycled asphalt for a while.
6. Food. Our city people in KCB are going to the EOC for food and water.
7. A hospital. There are currently no hospitals capable of supporting residents.
8. Basic communications. There is no reliable cell capability south of Key Largo and none south of Islamorada.

A second check point has been set up in Islamorada at the Midway Cafe to keep people out.

The Alaska National Guard has set up in the Winn-Dixie at Big Pine Key.

Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority will have water available for Key West from 10 a.m. to noon today.

Marathon airport is accommodating emergency flights. The Key West airport and Boca Chica Naval Air Station should receive flights later today.

US1 Radio broadcast information right through the storm and has stayed on air.

Day 3, 9/13
I talked to Joe this morning. His boat, not at the dock in the NOAA photo, is in the barn at Driftwood Marina getting new fuel tanks.
Keys recycling will be hiring “once we can get back to Marathon $18.00 an hour.”
Here’s the best imagery we’ve seen yet. NOAA tasked a satellite and has up to date imagery. Follow this link and zoom-zoom-zoom all the way in:
https://storms.ngs.noaa.gov/storms/irma/index.html?fref=gc&dti=1932407787085621
I “walked” down the satellite view on 9th, 10th, and 11th Streets
311 10th Street maybe lost all its roof covering but its partywall neighbor at 301 is fine.
410 10th Street lost some roof covering, right down to the plywood.
610 11th Street, four houses from mine, lost a lot of roof covering, right down to the plywood. Its boat looks like it is turned around and up on the seawall.
181 9th Street, the house with the tower, and its partywall neighbor at 191 lost some roof covering, right down to the plywood.
220 9th Street which looked like a BUR already short of some gravel like mine lost some roof covering, right down to the pine boards.
290 and 300 9th Street got scraped but it looks like tar paper is left.
381 9th Street lost looks like most of its roof covering down to the boards but its partywall neighbor at 391 is lost only a little at the peak.
451 9th Street lost some roof covering, right down to the pine boards.
521 9th Street lost some roof covering, down to the tar paper.
670 9th Street is new construction, I think, and lost an entire roof.
1000 W. Ocean lost some roof covering, right down to the plywood, on the main roof.

Day 4, 9/14
From City Administrator Chris Moonis: Unfortunately, for those who want to return to Key Colony Beach in the near future, Monroe County Health Director advised us today for health and safety reasons, the Middle and Lower Keys could be closed off for up to 30 days. Only emergency personnel, approved supply distribution companies (e.g. Home Depot, Publix, etc.), and government authorized contractors will be allowed past the checkpoints. However, I do know the County EOC is having discussions with all key local government leaders to access the situation daily, trying to make a decision to SAFELY allow residents re-entry as soon as possible.

Keys Energy Services, which covers the South end of Seven Mile Bridge to Key West, reports that about 16% of their clients now have service in parts of Key West, Stock Island and Key Haven.

The Florida Keys Electric Coop, which services the rest of the Keys, has restored power to about 42% of its service area.

WATER
The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority reports it now has pressure down to Stock Island. Many homes and businesses are still not receiving water in the Upper and Middle Keys, though, mostly due to broken lines in people’s yards that were ripped up by fallen trees.
CELL
Robyn Lefcourt reported that cell service was just restored in Marathon. South Puffin has limited cell service.

SURGE
A neighbor reported: “had 3 ft in house.” That’s five houses from mine.

Someone from Casa Clara was able to call out with her cell phone. Lots of water damage to ground level units. A lot of debris from storm surge

Key Colony Point got scoured.

John Bartus: Returning residents will want to go ahead and stock up on needed supplies, drinking water, and non-perishable food in advance of the reopening of the Keys through Marathon. Water pressure has been good through Marathon, although it will vary based upon individual neighborhood conditions. Power continues to be restored, although service restoration will depend upon the conditions in neighborhoods and individual homes. Cell phone service has been restored, but is nowhere near full strength. Sewers are coming online.

“Don’t you pull the main feed fuses when you leave?” Rufus asked.

I don’t pull the mains. I cut all power in the sunroom — that powers the A/C, the sunroom, and the hut on a separate circuit from the house service but the main meter. I switch off selected breakers in the house. The frig and some lights are still on.

Day 6, 9/16
Joe left a message. He has “eyewitness on our houses 3 feet of water.”
I can feel the mold growing from here.

Matt Christ posted at 6 p.m. yesterday
Just a note to all…
We weathered the storm here and shortly after assessed the situation. Saw or neighbors belongings everywhere. Fast forward a couple days…there was a couple keys contracting trucks with equipment in the neighborhood allegedly to help out. But we noticed several items we had seen before on the ground in the back of their truck. When questioned, they were “collecting them to return them…” BULL CRAP….not to say anything derogatory about the company, maybe just some individuals. Just watch for wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Day 7, 9/17
From City Administrator Chris Moonis: KCB is open for residents as of 9am TODAY. Please make sure you have paperwork showing residence or property ownership to be able to get through the checkpoint in Florida City. A hurricane entry sticker makes it a whole lot easier if you have one. All points south of the 7-mile bridge will open Sunday at 7AM.

The opening of the middle and lower keys are for RESIDENTS and DISASTER RECOVERY WORKERS WHO ARE AUTHORIZED)

Things to remember:
*All returning residents must be self-sufficient (including their own food, water and fuel to sustain themselves). You cannot rely on Electric to be operational nor obtaining food or water from distribution centers.
*Many hazards still exit in the area. Use extreme caution once you arrive. If you do not absolutely need to come to KCB, consider waiting as long as you can.
*A disaster recovery center will be opening at Marathon City Park in the future.
*We encourage you to bring RVs, Motor homes, etc., to potentially live in (on your property). Your home may not be livable at this point. The Commission will work on a solution to the issue as soon as they can but I have instructed our Code Enforcement Officer to temporarily suspend enforcement of the RV/Motor home compliance. Please make sure any of these vehicles are on your property and out of the City right-of-way or City Streets.
*Be prepared to need live elsewhere if your home condition makes it uninhabitable at the moment. There will be very limited accommodations elsewhere in the greater Marathon area and South.
*A BOIL WATER Notice remains in effect and will continue until further instructed.
*When you do receive Electric Service, the power may continue to be unstable as the system continues to be worked on.
*Our Sewer Plant continues to function well, with some minor problems being addressed continually. We expect to be switched from generator to electric power sometime today.
*Stay away from all Ports, Marinas, and all nearshore waterways. It is dangerous to travel on the water with debris, down powerlines, sunken boats, etc…
*Fisherman’s is still closed but trying to have a mobile hospital in place no later than Tuesday. The armed services set up a mobile hospital at the City of Marathon, City Hall.

Day 7, 9/17
Building official Ed Borysiewicz rode out the storm at his house on 12th Street. Here he gives a video tour of the worst hit parts of KCB. Ed reported 4′ of surge on the centerline of his street. The same surge came onto the oceanfront with waves above that.

Day 8, 9/18
!@#$%^Comcast reports that service via fiber optic cable is active between Key Largo and Marathon. There are reported breaks in the cable between Marathon and Key West. Cable and Internet service is spotty and intermittent. I have no doubt that there have been absolutely no breaks or intermittent service in the billing department.

People have started talking about refrigerator cleaning. It’s been more than a week. I figure the ooze of death is in the foam insulation by now.

Day 9, 9/19
We took more than 15″ of water on the main floor. Joe got in just yesterday and said he is wading in mud. The stack of thick, white things beside the boat are ceiling insulation panels from the house that I had removed last year. I’m not sure if those are my saw horses out by the bougainvillea. I expect this will end up as a complete gut/mold abatement/rebuild.

Joe’s boat was in the barn at Driftwood Marine on Coco Plum, the next rock over. It floated off the stands and is sitting on concrete and sounds OK.

Day 10, 9/20
I started my flood insurance and windstorm insurance claims today. It is raining there right now and the power went out in some areas.

Christina’s consignment says all their merchandise made it; they’ll be open for business tomorrow. Lazy Days is open daily with a full menu. !@#$%^Comcast is still out. (Nearly 1.7 million subscribers of various cable systems in Florida lost their service. On Monday, nearly 900,000 customers of AT&T, Comcast and Atlantic Broadband customers were still without internet or cable services but according to social media posts, !@#$%^Comcast is still billing them.)

Day 11, 9/21
One (Formerly) Nice Bureau in the BedroomGood news: Our favorite handyman/contractor is running a 10-man crew around the neighborhood. He’ll open the house up now to start airing it out and will have his crew start on it next week. I gotta figure out how to wire him moolah to meet his bill.

Another neighbor will go up to get the paintings as soon as he gets the house open for her.

On the other hand, Joe is working way too hard, sleeping in his trailer, and trying to do everything himself.

Day 13, 9/23
Inch BeachThe BOIL WATER NOTICE has been lifted for Key Colony Beach and most of the Keys. Some parts of Marathon are still under the notice.

The Marathon Post Office is accepting packages to send out at their mobile unit in front of the main post office. UPS is still not up and running yet.

State parks appear to be unmanned but may not be actually closed. No swimming though. The roadblocks are down so tourists are allowed in.

Over 1000 LDS volunteers came down from mainland Florida to help Keys residents.

Day 21, 10/1
John Bartus: The Perpetual Island Tour resumes tonight (October 1) at Faro Blanco, 6:30 p.m.

The response has been amazing. The Federal and state governments had resources ready. Our City officials have kept us informed while bringing the city back online in under a week. 22 states sent utility crews and countless volunteers. And, perhaps most important, everyone living in the Keys has pitched in to help their neighbors.

There’s still a long way to go. At least half of the houses are damaged and probably 15% are commpletely destroyed but the stores and restaurants are already open so we can eat and poop and we have a place to lay our heads.

This has been my longest column ever but it all means I’ll be mostly “off the grid” from now on. The No Puffin Perspective™ will be on hiatus until, probably, the first of the year. I’ll post updates when I can.

 

Going to the Mattresses Again

It’s raining; it’s pouring. The old man ain’t snoring. Darn it.

I sure could use it, too. I slept pretty well, I think, until 5:13 when I woke for no apparent reason. I did go back to sleep and was dreaming at 7:00 when SWMBO startled me right off the mattress by imitating a fire siren. I.Did.Not.Get.Back.To.Sleep after that. I simply played possum until the alarm.

I don’t think my mattress is the reason I don’t sleep as well as I did as a kid but a mattress could well be the reason we don’t sleep as comfortably as we did as kids.

Mattress thoughts have been popping up lately. One of my misc.writing buddies was musing about how to choose one “for a friend.” Liz Arden built one for herself from foam blocks a couple of years ago. And I realized this morning that I have bought exactly one mattress in my life. Part of that may be my pugnacious parsimony.

The Good Housekeeping Guide to Buying a Mattress reminds us right at the start that a “big part of what makes a good one is very personal: One person’s luxury is another person’s backache waiting to happen.”

Even online mattresses can cost thousands of dollars. I simply won’t pay that.

Mattress sellers say we won’t find bedding that can stand up to a decade of daily punishment for under a grand.

Horse puckey.

Part may be that I just haven’t found anything I like better.

SWMBO and I came this >┃┃< close to buying a Sunline TransPort toy hauler this weekend. It’s a pretty good alternative to the not-so-Perfect Travel Trailer and it would be parked here today if I hadn’t built a spreadsheet to run the numbers. Sunline built light but this one was just too heavy for the new truck.

Stack of MattressesIn going through my checklist, I sprawled out on the brand new, pillow top, queen-size mattress and took about a nanosecond to realize that was the only part of the trailer that sucked. It made my back hurt to lie down and it made my back hurt to get back up again.

That would have meant I’d have to buy two mattresses in my lifetime.

<SMH>

The last load of family furniture came north when Boppa moved to the Keys in 1984. That included the full size maple Sheraton four poster bed with tester frame that my folks slept in and now we do. (We had previously slept on a bed I built from 5/4-inch plywood, “decorator” cinder blocks, and a mattress that came from somewhere.) A couple nights on the horsehair mattress my folks had enjoyed was enough to send me to the Scott foam store.

My dad had worked for Scott Paper when they made a foray into the urethane foam business. They opened an outlet store at the Chester plant for foam blocks cut to size for chair cushions, boat cushions, mattresses, and the like. I bought the “green” high density mattress foam, stuffed it into a bedsack, and violas played.

About ten years ago, SWMBO and I decided we needed something different so we tried a couple of the inner spring mattresses on the guest room beds but didn’t like any of them. Next, I replaced the bedboard on top of the saggy, custom made box spring. Finally, I moved the horsehair mattress that came with this bed back on it and put the foam back on top of that.

Wow.

Anyone counting on their fingers has just realized that we’ve used this block of foam for about 33 years. The horsehair under it is easily a century older than that. I lay down on the bed this morning (briefly … that has nothing to do with why this reminiscence is late going up) and realized it is still about the most comfortable mattress I’ve ever tried.

There’s a lesson in here.

Commercial mattresses probably work OK for maybe about half the population. The rest of us would do well to experiment the way Ms. Arden did with blocks of varying density foam. Or try the way I did with foam and horsehair. Or go with toppers on a conventional inner spring mattress. Something will work, but it will take some research.

That and the fact that I should probably go down to UVM for a sleep study.

 

Random Inflation

I live in the middle of the Florida Keys where I have flood insurance and windstorm insurance as separate policies from my “traditional” homeowner’s insurance.

The premiums went up this year.

Again.

A lot.

FEMA runs the National Flood Insurance Program which “aims to reduce the impact of flooding on private and public structures. It does so by providing affordable insurance to property owners…” They have lousy aim.
The state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp provides windstorm insurance protection to Florida policyholders. The “financial responsibilities [imposed by the Florida law] drive Citizens’ commitment to quality customer service and rigorously sound financial management.” Their aim is much better since premiums have skyrocketed. They have 459,797 windstorm policies in Florida overall and 17,264 of the 22,663 wind policies here in the Keys.

When I realized how much my premiums went up and how much my Social Security didn’t, I got to wondering why. After all, these are all government programs, driven to customer service and affordability. And we know the government ties everything to the Consumer Price Index, right?

Inflation and its Effect on Premiums

The Bureau of Labor Statistics “is the principal Federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy.” They collect and analyze that data and then tell us about it. We the Overtaxed People as well as the U.S. Congress, other Federal agencies, and State and local governments depend on BLS data every day. The Consumer Price Index may be their best known number among older Americans. Current Employment Statistics may be the most quoted in the press. They have more.

The official BLS inflation calculator shows there has been 14% change in the CPI since 2009.

The official Cost Of Living Adjustment (based on the CPI) increased 0.0% in 2009, 0.0% in 2010, 3.6% in 2011, 1.7% in 2012, 1.5% in 2013, 1.7% in 2014, 0.0% in 2015, and 0.3% in 2016. Because “inflation has been very low in recent years,” Social Security recipients did not get a COLA increase in 2010 or 2011. SWMBO, who received about the average monthly Social Security through that entire period, has seen her check increase 7.7% from 2009 through 2017. Recipients did (sort of) receive a cost of living adjustment this January but most saw no increase in their monthly check because the government’s own Medicare Part B insurance premium went up more than the COLA.

Meanwhile, my FEMA-run flood insurance has risen 75% from $1,173 in 2009 to $2,051 today. Citizens more than doubled my windstorm premium, a 224% hike, from $2,149 in 2009 to $4,816 last year. It will be even more this year.

The liberal ideal is “Medicare for all” because they say it will drive costs down, but if FEMA and Citizens are examples of efficient, affordable government programs, we should be very, very afraid of all of these “ideal” liberal programs.

 

The Legacy

Today is Barack Obama’s final day as President.

Politicians like Mr. Obama have get out front to talk about their legacy because they fear more than anything else that even their True Believers might hear the truth. On his last full day as President, here’s the truth. It is a Legacy of Failure.

The Legacy of Shame
• Aleppo. Benghazi. China. Iran. Iraq. Israel. NATO. Russia …
• Mr. Obama drew the line in the sand to Bashar al-Assad over his use of chemical weapons, then ran away. He spoke forcefully to Vladimir Putin, then ran away. He spoke harshly to Iraq in 2011, then ran away (that precipitated the rise of ISIS).
• Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis said Mr. Obama will someday look back on his Syria policy “with deep sorrow and some shame.”


The Legacy of Broken Dreams
• “We [don’t have] an energy policy in this country that makes sense,” Mr. Obama said in remarks on the American Jobs Act in 2011. There is still no coherent energy policy. Sadly, the coherent energy policy is to bankrupt any energy producer not on the “friends” list. FAIL.
• The cost of college has increased faster than the rate of inflation. FAIL.
• China devalued their currency to make their goods cheaper and our goods more expensive. The Obama China policy was never to challenge them. FAIL.
• Health care policies have failed to lower health costs. FAIL.
• In 2008, Mr. Obama claimed his investments in green energy would create 5 million new jobs. FAIL.

The Legacy of Bankruptcy
• In 2008, Mr. Obama said that adding $4 trillion to the national debt was “irresponsible” and “unpatriotic.”
• On Jan. 20, 2009, the debt held by the public was roughly $6.307 trillion. Intragovernmental Holdings added 4.32 trillion bringing the total national debt to $10.63 trillion on the day of Mr. Obama’s own inauguration. The national debt stands today at 19,961,179,000,000 (>||< close to TWENTY TRILLION DOLLARS) and counting.

The Legacy of Ill Health
• About 9.1% of people in the U.S., or around 28.6 million, were uninsured in 2015.
• “If you’ve got health insurance, we’re going to work with you to lower your premiums by $2500 per family per year.” The average family premium increased by $3,065 from $12,680 in 2008 to $18,142 this year, a 43% increase.
• U.S. health care spending grew 5.8% in 2015 alone, reaching $9,990 per person. Health spending accounted for 17.8% of the Gross Domestic Product. It is now $10,384 per person.

The Legacy of Joblessness
• 86,591,000 men and women, young and old, either don’t have, don’t want, or can’t do a job. The Obama administration does not count them as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the four weeks preceding the BLS survey.

The Legacy of Lies
• “We will pursue the housing plan I’m outlining today. And through this plan, we will help between 7 and 9 million families restructure or refinance their mortgages so they can afford-avoid foreclosure.” Uh huh.
• “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan.” Okey dokey. (Obamacare alone is a legacy of deception unlike any previous government program.)
• “I cut spending by over a trillion dollars in 2011,” Mr. Obama said in 2012 on Meet the Press. Right. (Spending actually increased by $147 billion in that period.)
• “As president, I will work to solve this energy crisis once and for all.” How’d that work out for us?

The Legacy of Overreach
• The Environmental Protection Agency is the poster child for Administration overreach. The Supreme Court had to smack down the EPA over and over again including the EPA’s first limits on coal-fired power plant emissions, Sackett v. EPA, and more.
• EPA head Gina McCarthy was not concerned about the power plant emissions ruling. The regs went into effect “three years ago,” she said. “Most of [the plants] are already in compliance, investments have been made.”
• The EPA would send armed agents to incarcerate landowners for a spill similar to the Animas River in Colorado but now won’t pay $1.2 billion for the damages it itself caused.
• Now, the EPA has madly pushed through new regulations, not because they think they will work, but to create a mass that Mr. Trump’s EPA will have to correct, allowing the Far Green to decry a “rollback.”
• The EPA is not alone. In 2011, after Boeing had hired 1,000 new employees to work at its new factory in South Carolina, the Obama administration ordered the company to shut down the factory, because the factory was non-union.
• Armed SWAT agents raid the Gibson guitar factory, ordered the employees to leave, and seized guitars and other property from the factory, all without warrants or charges filed. It was later revealed that Gibson had not broken any laws.

The Legacy of Poverty
• In 2009, 42.9 million people had income below the poverty line. That was 14.3% of the U.S. population. The official poverty rate is now 14.5%. That means 45.3 million people in poverty, up by over 8 million since 2008.

The Legacy of Terror
• In December, Mr. Obama told us that “no foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland.” Uh huh.
• He called the 2009 Christmas Day bomber an “isolated extremist.”
• The Fort Hood shooter who shouted “Allahu Akbar as he pulled the trigger” committed “workplace violence.”
• He called the 2013 Boston marathon bombing a “vicious attack” and directed the full resources of the government to Boston to find the source of that “terrorist act.”
No terrorist attacks?

The Legacy of Theft
• Mr. Obama stole General Motors from its stockholders — the government took a 60.8% ownership of the company and fired its CEO — then delivered ownership of the company to reward his voting block.

The Legacy of Wimps
• Even NBC’s Meet the Press questioned his manhood.


The Wrap Up
Mr. Obama brought a legacy of inadequacy and fear to America but he didn’t do it alone. There are still about 2,700,000 Executive branch civilians, 535 Congress critters, and about 65,000 people working for Congress in place and ready to keep on keeping on.

Mr. Trump has promised a clean sweep would start tomorrow but he has a lot to overcome.