Hurricane Irene is history, and while it certainly didn’t measure up to all the media hype, the fact is that lives were lost and there will be a lot of damage resulting from it. I think there are some lessons that, if the media were truly paying attention to this kind of stuff (which they aren’t), we could all learn from it:

1. Hurricanes are unpredictable and even those most experienced meterologist will tell you that, while computer models have improved hurricane forecasting exponentially over the past couple of decades, we still don’t know exactly why hurricane A will behave differently than hurricane B given the same meterological dynamics. Hurricanes are very complex internal systems and marvels of nature.

2. The media should focus more on what the meterologists are saying and focus on what is happening now, rather than hyping what might or might now happen. Watching FOX News and CNN this weekend was painful: I mean, why must the networks insist on dragging local reporters outside to spew nonsense about something they really don’t have a clue about? The more I see of the media in general, the more I realize that journalism degrees at universities are useless: these people in the light of day are ignorant beyond belief and as dumb as a bag of hammers. And it isn’t just about hurricanes, either.

3. If the media (and the politicians) were really doing their job, rather than hype Irene and scare the daylights out of people, they would simply encourage people to use common sense and use it as an educational exercise in disaster preparedness if a much more serious event were to happen. Everyone should have a family disaster readiness plan – Glen Reynolds over at Instapundit has been stressing this for years. All unnecessarily hyping a relatively minimal storm like Irene was does is create amongst the public a false sense of security and – surprise! – further distrust of our elected public officials.

4. And speaking of the latter, watching the White House and the federal government “in action” the past few days will do nothing to reinforce the increasing notion that Barack Obama’s presidency is really nothing more than a non-stop photo ops with nothing really there. Roger Kimball of Pajamas Media writes the following:

A friend with a sense of humor sent me this reassuring story: “Obama Takes Charge at Hurricane Center.” “Now you can sleep well tonight,” he said. Hardly that. I mean really: does he look like a man who has a clue about what to do? Ponder the official NOAA name plate emblazoned with “Barack Obama President of the United States.” Why does that seem ridiculous? After all, he isthe President of the United States. Maybe it’s because it put me in mind of that iconic image of Mike Dukakis in his tank. Anyway, if it failed to be reassuring, it did introduce a welcome moment of levity.

Absolutely. I mean, did the White House really think that simply releasing a picture like that is going to reassure people that he and this administration can truly handle a really serious emergency were it to arise? Just another example of a president and an administration that sees everything – and I do mean – everything in terms of politics. And what’s up with the stupid placard in front of him? Doesn’t everyone know he’s the President of the United States? Or is he so clueless that he needs to know where he should be sitting? I mean, he’s at (I’m guessing) some emergency command and control center, not at some professional training seminar.

God, if this is what our federal government spends its money on we’re all in deep doo-doo.

Time to say goodnight, Irene.