I have nothing but sympathy for people who can’t leave. But as a life-long Gulf Coast resident I have nothing but contempt for people who are have the ability to leave but are acting like this is the biggest surprise ever. If you live in a hurricane zone then you should have a plan in place.

I feel so sorry for you, and your lack of empathy and ability to experience strong feelings for a pet, as well as your lack of ability to understand what integrity is. In light of your lack of ability to understand those feelings and abilities in others, you should consider shutting the fuck up.

Yep, my cats are currently enjoying the novelty of all the porch furniture being in the house, for sure. There was no way I was leaving them. But man it’s gonna stark sucking hard in a few hours.

I’m hunkered down in Palm Harbor! Hope you stay safe!

After Charley, Florida counties rethought their no pet policies because so many people, especially the elderly, have only their pets, and would not evacuate without them. I would not leave without my pet, personally.

I’ve heard from a few people that the Disney resort hotels are absolutely packed with dogs right now, as they’ve opened up their policy to allow pets in light of what’s going on. (Apparently, it’s sort of a go-to for locals to check in, as hotels are built to withstand more than the average home.) Good for Disney for…

Don’t forget Shane, the other woman in the article, who thinks that staying inside the house she can’t afford to shore up for the storm is somehow going to protect her house from the storm. I get that people have complicated reasons for staying or leaving, and this storm has thrown people for a loop, but no one quoted…

Yeah, Splinter’s Irma post is far better.

I can’t imagine needing to evacuate and not being able to find anyone to take me with my dog. There is no way in hell I would leave my dog behind to starve, drown, or be crushed. That’s just not happening. People need a way to take care of their four-legged family members too, and it’s just not fair to force people…

I think maybe there was a good post somewhere in there about how prepared the west side of Florida was in dealing with this, but framing it around some random person’s twitter rants misses the mark. I mean, maybe if it was Beyoncé.

People can’t make a fucking decision. I have loads of friends in a city in Florida. I was encouraging people to flee town on MONDAY! Offering to help with skymiles, hotel points, cash whatever I could. But no. Now mind you this is about thirty different households in this city - not just two dumbkoffs. “Well, I’ll…

Uh, what is this? Let’s base an entire article on hurricane Irma on one girl’s twitter rants? Lexi, weathermen use these things called models because it’s impossible to predict where a hurricane will go as it’s traveling hundreds of miles. I was sick yesterday and did nothing but watching MSNBC and CNN. The governor…

It’s a libertarian paradise.

People who blame the weatherman/meteorologist really have no clue how “forecasting” works. The variables that effect the path of a storm are numerable - and even now we’re not sure what it’s going to do or how strong it will be as it moves north (and whatever else).

St. Petersburg resident Jeff Beerbohm, 52, told the AP yesterday. “As usual, the weatherman, I don’t know why they’re paid.”

Jesus Pete, the models show what the storm is *likely* to do, they are models. You can’t complain in one breath that the storm could pull a Charley and turn, and in the next breath that no one can predict it. You make the best plans for yourself with the info you have. I detest our governor as much as the next…

Until evacuation orders actually include physically moving people, saying “if you stay, you’re on your own” is not fair. Gas stations had no gas, flights out were canceled. This isn’t Harry Potter—people need to be able to leave to get out.

A lot of poor people (who are usually black or brown) live in areas called food deserts, where most stores are convenience stores or little markets with few healthy options. When you can get a burger and fries for $3 but a salad is $7, it’s obvious they’ll go for the burger meal. Crap is cheap and healthy food not so…

The US military doesn’t need to send personnel to fill sandbags. The prisoners also shouldn’t be made to fill them. People should have evacuated by now, and if they chose to stay then they should fill their own damn sandbags.

The real tragedy here is the lack of a statement necklace.