May I Have a Word? Certain Death
The National Weather Services warned residents of smaller structures on Galveston Island that they "face certain death" from Hurricane Ike if they refused to evacuate the island. That warning got the professional writers at The Dallas Morning News wondering about the appropriateness of the word choice. Death is not "certain" even for those in the path of a hurricane. Exaggeration erodes public trust. Public safety officials need to present the risks in an honest and straightforward manner.
James Ragland comes down on the side of public safety, arguing that whatever it takes to shake people from complacency and get them to evacuate to save their own lives is justified. With only a twinge of regret, I agree. The risk to life is real. The possibility of some deaths from this storm is significant. If you're living in a single-family house near the water, well, "certain death" is only a little exaggerated. And a little hyperbole to drive home the point shouldn't be held against the National Weather Service. After all, they are paid to be experts on the weather, not language.
Is Rush Limbaugh Profiting From Ike?
Michael Landauer, in The Dallas Morning News Opinion blog, passes on a reader's notice that the hurricane evacuation route signs on I-45 out of Houston direct drivers to tune to 820 AM for traffic info. Drivers doing so today are treated to regular programming, in this case Rush Limbaugh. It kind of makes you wonder why the signs are needed at all, if not even Hurricane Ike bearing down on Houston is enough to interrupt regular programming. And if the signs are just for everyday traffic info, there are plenty of radio stations that provide that. I hope the highway department is at least getting paid something by 820 AM or Rush Limbaugh for the highway advertising signs. If not, they ought to find another radio station.
P.S. It's impossible to resist the urge to write something that includes the words hurricane, Rush and blowhard in the same sentence.
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