Focus On Jamaica And The Hurricane

Left: List of top news stories of the day, from Lucianne.com, for Saturday, August 18, 2007.


For all their faults, the mainstream media (MSM) tend to cover stories with spectacular visuals reasonably well. Major disasters, like hurricanes, fall among these stories. But the disasters aren't staged for the benefit of the MSM. They really are disasters.

At this instant, Jamaica is being shredded by Hurricane Dean, particularly the southern shore, which is embedded in the eyewall, which is where you never, ever want to get stuck.

Nevertheless, yesterday, Lucianne.com, the Goldberg's conservative news site, seemed to think of Hurricane Dean as just being some elaborate stage prop, like a giant Macy's balloon, to distract from other, presumably more important news. "This will give the MSM something to do for the rest of the weekend," they sniffed.

I think it's all a bit insensitive. Advocates engaged in politics, liberal or conservative, sometimes get tunnel vision and lose all sense of perspective. Would they be quite so sanguine if, instead of Jamaica, it was Miami getting shredded? Hurricanes are a deadly serious business!

Yes, at this moment, Jamaica is suffering, and it is not just some Hollywood gimmick.