The Chronic Curmudgeon

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September 21, 2005

Un-Lovely Rita

As of about 10:00 tonight, Rita had intensified to a Category 5 hurricane, with sustained winds of 165 mph, and ranking already as the third strongest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. On top of the Katrina disaster just three weeks ago, Rita could have a similar impact on Galveston or Houston -- and it appears that Rita will further devastate the oil industry's production and storage capabilities, which could drive gas prices closer to $4.00 a gallon.

Friend of Mudge and damn good blogger Pete over at A Perfectly Cromulent Blog lives in Houston, and is right in RIta's path. The last update from some of his local commenters would seem to indicate that Pete, "The Wife," and their daughter (She Who Shall Not Be Named) headed for higher ground earlier this afternoon. For those of you who've ever taken my recommendation and read Pete's blog, just thought you'd want to know.

As for the hurricane itself, it would appear that many scientists (you know, those pesky people who keep bothering the Bush adminstration with annoying little things like scientific fact) are giving credence to the theory that the frequency and intensity of storms may well be being caused by global warming. Think maybe Kyoto deserves a second look, perhaps?

I've seen and heard a few Democrats talking about how suspicious they find it that Texas -- which just happens to be Bush's home -- seems to be getting better treatment than New Orleans did ahead of Katrina, something they want to blame on Bush. Don't get me wrong -- you know how much I like to blame Bush for things -- but I think that's unfair. While I want to see FEMA's anemic response to Katrina, and Bush's appointment of an unqualified crony to direct it -- fully investigated, I think it's good that the government appears to be learning from the egregious mistakes made three weeks ago. We on the left have spent weeks (justifiably) hammering Bush and his administration for their Katrina mistakes... now when RIta is coming, are we really suggesting that we want those mistakes repeated just because it's Bush's home state that's impacted now? I didn't think so.

To anyone in Rita's path... be careful, get out of its way, and good luck -- I'll keep you all in my thoughts.

Comments

Posted by: jillian at September 22, 2005 02:03 AM