The Politics of Hurricanes

Growing up in south Florida, I can appreciate and understand the fear that an impeding storm may bring, especially when Louisiana and the Gulf Coast has that figurative"bulls eye" painted on it. I was lucky enough to grow up in south Florida, and never experience a major hurricane.

With that said, alot of the fears seem to stem from our wonderful media sources, in this case, MSNBC who can turn a heavy rainstorm into a "killer hurricane".

1. Media Sensationalism

Is there anything that cable TV loves more, especially since today's holiday is historically a low-ratings holiday weekend, than the prospect of extraordinary weather? Three years ago, Katrina struck a deadly blow to New Orleans. Now its Gustav. Giada de Laurentiis standing naked, fresh from a shower, doesn't look as good as the "eye" of Gustav does to MSNBC.

And as is the case, dropping from a Category 4 after leaving Cuba to a Cat 1/2 as it makes landfall appears to be a "bust". So far, IT IS RAINY AND WINDY IN NEW ORLEANS!!! YIKES!!!

The coverage of Gustav, especially on MSNBC is ludicrous. The anchor David Shuster (I think that was his name) asks the reporter on the scene, "Are you seeing any debris?" The reporter responds: "YES! I see some garbage cans blowing into the street! And a piece of cloth is ripped off a sign!!

It is humorous to watch cable, especially MSNBC, to struggle to make a rainy day into a "Killer Hurricane".

2. Republicans vs. Democrats

The population of New Orleans has been totally evacuated and organized because they have a REPUBLICAN(and COMPETENT) Governor in charge this time, as opposed to the Democrat Kathleen "BOO HOO" Blanco.

The idiot mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin (who was all over TV predicting the Category 5 "Storm of the Century") has someone to follow, as he is incapable of leading anything. If this imbecile had evacuated his citizens last time, thousands of lives would have been saved. And NOBODY is holding him the least bit responsible for it, not even a mention.

Nagin's warning (this time) flashed around the world, included the statesman-like admonition to the citizens of New Orleans that they had better "GET THEIR BUTTS OUT OF HERE." I know that his comment was to "keep it real" to some. However, to civilized persons, such language by a public official under these circumstances is compelling evidence of the degradation of American politics in general, and the fact that Ray "DUH" Nagin is an in-bred moron in particular.

3. GOP Convention

By scaling back the activities at the GOP convention on Monday, Republicans will score points for demonstrating respectful deference to the "victims of Gustav", and deftly get out of having Bush and Cheney appear at or be associated with the convention and the McCain/Palin ticket - The one thing the Democrats most need to have come out of Minnea-noplace.