re: Hurricane Hysteria

Lew, the state’s hurricane hysteria, and the mainstream media’s complicity in it here in South Florida, is so blatantly obvious and laughable.  All day long yesterday the local TV stations were warning over and over again that WE’RE ALL PROBABLY GOING TO DIE from the hurricane.  One TV info-babe was ominously warning us while standing on a beach while people behind her were having a blast windsurfing.  Another info-babe informed us that waves were “crashing” against a dock, but when the camera went to the dock it showed barely a ripple.  Frustrated at the absence of any scenes of imploding homes or destroyed boats, they began showing video of 20- and 30-year-old hurricanes that did do some damage as an attempt to keep the public frightened.  In Palm Beach County there were 30-40 mph winds and a couple inches of rain.  Big deal.  I walked up to the beach around 8 AM and the only “damage” I saw was a few palm tree branches on the ground.  The ocean was calm enough that there were already a lot of surfers in the water.

Governor Rick Scott, wearing a “Navy” ball cap, gave a press conference in which he breathlessly announced “mandatory evacuations” of some areas and declared that “the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, and the National Guard will be in charge.”  Some towns declared curfews because, of course, after the government ordered evacuations the criminals know that it would be easy pickins.  And it probably was.  The governor was surrounded by National Guard bureaucrats in camouflage, giving the impression that they had prepared for jungle warfare.

This morning, when it was obvious to all that the storm was not nearly as big a deal as was broadcast, the local TV talking heads were all saying the same thing:  “Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uhhhh . . . . . .”

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