avoiding the real issues
tommyRecently, CNN’s Glenn Beck (his radio program began in Tampa, by the way) had on the science and operations officer of the National Hurricane Center, Chris Landsea.
I’ve chosen bits & pieces here, but don’t believe I’m taking it out of context. To double-check, I encourage you to read the entire transcript from CNN. But in a nutshell,
BECK: Yesterday, the director of the National Hurricane Center retired and he left us with these parting words — this will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside: “The biggest concern we have in our country is the rapid buildup of the coastlines. We`re setting ourselves up for another disaster,” end quote. This guy should know…
Chris, how real is this that we can be devastated by a hurricane?
CHRIS LANDSEA, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Well, we look back on the U.S. hurricane history, and throughout our history, we have seen devastating hurricanes with hundreds, even thousands killed, and perhaps with — before Katrina, many people thought that would not happen again. But with 1,400 dead in Louisiana and Mississippi, we realize we are very vulnerable to strong hurricanes.
BECK: OK. Yesterday and when I heard the final — the final words of the hurricane chief, and he said, you know, this is coming, I thought exactly of the words that I read about, starting I think in the 1950s, the warnings in New Orleans, “It`s coming, it`s coming, reinforce the walls” and nobody did anything about it.
And now here we are rebuilding the wall to the exact same level as it was before. I mean, it`s going to happen again in New Orleans, isn`t it?
LANDSEA: Well, New Orleans is very vulnerable. So is Houston. So is Tampa. So it Miami, even New York. And so it`s not a matter if you`ll have a strong hurricane strike those areas; it`s a matter of when.
BECK: What is the city that you`re most concerned about? What`s the one that you say, this is it? This is ground zero?
LANDSEA: It could be Tampa. Extremely vulnerable, low lying, a big bay. A hurricane will funnel the water in and flood the entire city.
BECK: Right.
LANDSEA: New York is extremely vulnerable, too, if a hurricane strikes just west of them and funnels all that water just north along Long Island into the city itself. They could have 20 to 25 feet of storm surge.
BECK: Actually, that would clean the streets out. It might not be bad.
Chris, thanks a lot.
Ok, so what is the main point of that interview?
- another big, badass hurricane WILL hit a big population center sooner or later, and Tampa may be the most vulnerable
- glenn beck wants a hurricane to hit NYC
- glenn beck is a terrorist
Huffington Post chooses #2, which allows the parrot lefties to select #3. Michael Bouldin’s take is among the most ridiculous, asking why rightwing blogs haven’t taken Beck to task. Good Morning America has since hired Glenn Beck, and Media Matters is all up in arms for the future of our great country.
Wait a minute. Slow down. Before we go on and on about how Glenn Beck is an ass, tells horrible jokes, and how on earth anyone could give him his own program, perhaps we need to read that transcript again.
Oh. There’s a hurricane coming, and these bloggers want you to be aware of Glenn Freakin’ Beck. Who gives a rat’s ass about him, if you are going to be under 20 feet of seawater? Idiot bloggers, that’s who. It seems they are so concerned - no, obsessed - with proving the other side wrong, incompetent, or divisive, that they fail to address the actual meat of the CONVERSATION.
But it’s not just the left wing that does this. So do those in the conservative ranks. Sue Carlton has a column about the right wing making a huge deal about Senator Barbara Boxer’s comments toward Condoleeza Rice. Sue Carlton:
What I heard from Boxer was an observation on who makes the big decisions about this war and who lives and dies with the repercussions - and the great divide between the two.
To divert from that with a sideshow, and from the larger point of where this war is going - now there’s your insult.
Insulting, indeed. Bloggers both left and right are very quick to attack the messenger, rather than discuss the issues. And all of that gets you, the reader to focus on things of very little import, while ignoring those issues that truly affect you.
By the way, in case you missed the point while I was going on and on about people missing the point,
another big, badass hurricane WILL hit a big population center sooner or later, and Tampa may be the most vulnerable
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January 23rd, 2007 at 9:22 am
I caught that, too, Tommy, and it scared the h-e-double-L out of me. Not the Glenn Beck being a moron part, the Tampa-is-most-vulnerable part. We just moved down here little less than a year ago and I understand that we came at a sort of providential time as far as storm seasons go. We intend to follow the rules as best we can — in short, be prepared — next year, too.
Hey, maybe this is an opportunity for you to tell your loyal readership (myself included) about what to do should a hurricane head this way… Just a thought.
As far as Beck, bloggers, lefties and righties go, I’m with you. Though can we at least agree that Beck is pretty moronic, really (I miss the old “Headline News” back when they did, you know, headlines).
bjk
January 23rd, 2007 at 10:06 am
Yeah, GB’s an arse.
A storm surge hitting Tampa or NYC would be really bad, ’tis true. But a hurricane of Katrina’s strength comes along only once every 15 years or so, and if there’s one on record striking as far north as NYC, I don’t know about it.
The hugest difference between Katrina and any titular hurricane hitting the Tampa Bay area is that a near miss took out NOLA. A near miss would NOT take out the bay to that degree, and even a direct hit wouldn’t leave our towns under water for a week. A storm surge here would act like it did in Bay St. Louis: 15 feet of water, but only for a few hours. The water recedes, and you’re left with a dry, but VERY screwed up town. The USACOE wouldn’t have to dry us out after.
January 23rd, 2007 at 10:07 am
Also: hurricane experts have been saying the bay area is one of the most hurricane-vulnerable for YEARS. We’ve just been lucky, is all.
January 23rd, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Indeed a direct hit here wouldn’t be a Katrina - we don’t have the levies.
The biggest issue here is that our main trauma hospital would likely become inaccessible if a storm came right up the Bay. I’m sure TGH being where it is makes for a nice view, but it’s a pretty impractical location.
January 23rd, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Lets go back to the near-miss point.
Depending on how far north or how far south a “Near miss” is, it can be a catastrophe or it can be highly damaging without putting Tampa under water.
If a Hurricane hits just north of the mouth of Tampa bay — the winds will force water into the Bay and the storm surge will be horrid. Downtown Tampa would be inundated and inaccessible, TGH would be submerged, in Pinellas — the Lake Tarpon Outfall Canal along with the immediate Lake Tarpon vacinity would become flooded out… The catastrophe on top of wind damage.
But if a storm hits just south of the mouth of Tampa Bay — the water within Tampa Bay gets forced out of the bay. The flooding (once the storm passes) will still likely still be a problem but not as bad as the other scenerio. Wind damage would still be horrid and I would think that the beach communities would be effected terribly by things (that water has to go somewhere). Fortunately there are less living on the beach than there are throughout the rest of the area.
January 23rd, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Whine & Cheese From Tommy Duncan…
Tommy Duncan isn’t feeling well. Seeing how other bloggers (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here) are writing negatively about the Rachel Moran post….
January 23rd, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Yes, it was all a great mistake, I hear that some say Glenn Beck is a great great bodhisattva who deeply only wishes the streets of New York to be clean, truly. In the cleanliness sense. Fer sure. Yep.
January 24th, 2007 at 10:47 am
me thinks Hussey is throwing a Hissey…….
and proves the point about shooting the messenger
Thank you Tommy for your post. Other than to increase property tax revenues, I can’t understand WHY the City of Tampa is allowing the construction of condo’s/hotels at epidemic proportions in the Channelside/Gandy-Westshore area. Hello? WATERFRONT!!! Condominiums create high densities of people in a smaller area than single family residences would. Of course that means more money for governments and developers but you gotta move all these people out of these areas when a hurricane is approaching. Just imagine the traffic grid lock with Harbour Island/Channelside/ Downtown Tampa residents trying to leave at one time.
Look at the huge dollar amounts of property damages that will inevitably occur from flooding and wind damage. The Tampa Tribune’s article several months ago showing the flooding and wind damage the Tampa Bay area could expect was frightning. The computer graphics really put it in perspective.