Holly already updated you on Hurricane Gustav, which is shaping up to be monster and setting its sights on the Gulf Coast. (Right on its heels, we may have Hurricane Hanna shooting up the same pipe, sadly.) And John McCain is already hinting that he may either postpone the GOP convention this week, or drastically alter the format and schedule to reflect the serious nature of the possibly impending crisis. One would be hard pressed to argue with the wisdom of such a decision if our attention is needed elsewhere during a possible national disaster.
While this next topic is absolutely trivial in comparison to a category five hurricane hitting the coast again, it is one to give some thought to. My co-host on Mid Stream Radio, Cindy, is on her way to the convention. If it is postponed she, along with many other already financially-strapped bloggers and Blogtalk Radio Hosts will find themselves with non-refundable airline tickets and reservations at sold-out hotels and will take a serious hit in the wallet. This is rather sad, as one of the highlights for me regarding this year’s conventions has been the unprecedented increase in access for new media representatives. But if a bunch of them are suddenly faced with cancellations and drastic changes in schedule, it may well put the screws to them to the point where they will not be able to attend and provide us coverage outside, above and beyond the MSM pablum.
Let’s hope all of this goes as well as possible and these storms decide to just go away and dissipate over the gulf. And if not, that we have learned our lessons from the past and that everyone is saved and damage is minimized.