Camile Paglia?

I wasn't expecting that I'd be linking her here anytime soon, but I think we've entered new territory since Tuesday. Money graf:

Weather is daily theatre here, hawked by peppy broadcasters on local TV stations or dissected by grizzled meteorologists on a round-the-clock national cable TV channel. Our annual "hurricane season", as it is casually called, runs from June through November. We are quite used to suspense building over a week or two as a tropical storm registers over the Atlantic, then gathers to careen as a hurricane through the Caribbean or bounce up the Atlantic coast. Dire predictions have often fizzled out, as hurricanes missed populated areas or weakened dramatically on hitting land. Despite a series of severely destructive hurricanes in the Florida panhandle, satirical jibes at overzealous weathercasters have multiplied in recent years. It was a prescription for disaster.

Her commentary in The Independent is a bit ethereal, but I think she is onto something. Unfortunately, she hasn't grasped the whole.

Which brings me to a bit of PR. I've been formulating an argument in my head for nearly a year. I've considered it, debated it, dismissed it, re-considered it, forgotten it, etc. I almost wanted to avoid making such a pronouncement. But in light of Katrina, I've decided I'm onto a truism. Paglia touches on it here. But there's more. Much more. I'll be addressing it in the next couple of days. I'd give you a specific date and time, but this is coming from the heart. And it emerges when it emerges and can be supported.

I'd encourage you to stay tuned.