Terrors and Tempests

In these matters the only certainty is that nothing is certain.
--Pliny the Elder

Terrors and tempests and poor taste lead the news this week…and will guide the winds on Wall Street as we end the month of August…

Hezbollah head goon Hassan Nasrallah said yesterday that had Hezbollah known how Israel was going to respond, the group would not have captured two Israeli soldiers last month in northern Israel.

Guess that counts as an oopsie against Hezbollah…or the stupidest statement by a political leader ever.

That award might go to New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, however, who spouted off on 60-Minutes last night about New York's inability to "repair that hole" as justification for New Orleans' lack of progress in rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina... I don't mean to be unkind, but I truly do not understand how this man was re-elected as Mayor. The only leadership he seems to exhibit is in how to most effectively whine and point fingers.
New Orleans deserves better.

Ernesto is holding its tropical storm status this morning, while churning toward the southeastern coast of Cuba. The storm will weaken over the island, but is expected to quickly regain hurricane strength once over water…NASA officials have scrubbed the launch of space shuttle Atlantis tomorrow afternoon, in anticipation of the storm. Funny how our perspectives change with experience. Remember this time last Summer?

President Bush is on a two-day tour of the Gulf Coast destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, one year ago tomorrow. It's a good news/bad news trip: Today the President will be in Mississippi, and touring neighborhoods and a shipbuilding business bouncing back a year after the storm. President Bush heads to New Orleans tomorrow, where the success stories have fewer and farther between.

Last night’s Emmy Awards telecast was launched by a spoof on the “Lost” TV series, which regrettably, used footage of a plane crash to make its point…less than 24-hours after the fatal commuter jet crash in Lexington, Kentucky. With all the high and mighty in Hollywood trumpeting their achievements, you think perhaps a few of those gifted writers and producers could have crafted a different, more tasteful intro on the fly?

The Fox show "24," which manages to stretch a day into an entire season of material, won three Emmys, including best drama series and best actor for star Kiefer Sutherland. "The Office" wins for best comedy. Mariska Hargitay of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" and Julia Louis-Dreyfus of "The New Adventures of Old Christine" won Emmy gold with lead actress awards in the drama and comedy categories. Tony Shalhoub won best actor in a comedy for his work on "Monk."