HURRICANE GUSTAV FIZZLES... AS DOES SARAH PALIN

Sometimes one never knows if the media are making things up for the sake of scoring big on the ratings games or they are just stupid. The way CNN was going on and on about Hurricane Gustav, with the visuals of menacing red swirls approaching New Orleans in its weather reports, I was on the edge of my seat, almost fainting from the coverage-fatigue. "Ooo, that red swirl of the storm that CNN keeps showing must mean Hollywood-special-effects-grade kind of destruction for New Orleans!" I'd thought.

No, I am not evil and do not wish such a thing on the inhabitants of New Orleans. And I was happiest when the leaders there instructed people to evacuate parts that were in the path of Hurricane Gustav. My grouse is the emotional fatigue everyone went through because the American media spinning the web and trying to outdo one another in the doom-and-gloom-weather-forecast stakes.

From Category 3 storm, Gustav was downgraded to Category 2. And the quality of news coverage fizzled as did the storm. Thankfully!!!!! Amen! Now we can also focus our undivided attention on Sarah Palin and how unsuitable she is as a candidate for VP. Boy, does McCain suck in his choice of VP as far as the world audience is concerned! And CNN's Jonathan Mann and that other old guy (as Paris Hilton would have put it!) who're covering the Republican convention are so very lame as Republican apologists as far as Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter is concerned.

Anyway, back to Hurricane Gustav, it was a serious enough storm -- as these pictures from New York Times show.

(The weather maps are from CNN -- the red-yellow-green swirly one -- as well as from the US National Hurricane Center at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml)