'Black' hurricane names brewing swirl of dissent

World Net Daily ^ | August 3, 2003 | Joe Kovacs

[rickmichaels]

Do devastating hurricanes need help from affirmative action?

A member of Congress apparently thinks so, and is demanding the storms be given names that sound "black."

The congressional newspaper the Hill reported this week that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) feels that the current names are too "lily white," and is seeking to have better representation for names reflecting African-Americans and other ethnic groups.

"All racial groups should be represented," Lee said, according to the Hill. She hoped federal weather officials "would try to be inclusive of African-American names."

A sampling of popular names that could be used include Keisha, Jamal and Deshawn, according to the paper. Jackson Lee's call is brewing its own storm of response across America.

A WorldNetDaily reader wrote:

"You can be sure if there were too many 'black' names assigned to hurricanes, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee would instead be complaining that this practice unfairly stereotypes blacks as violent. Let's hope this silly storm blows over!"

Radio talk-show giant Rush Limbaugh says he was having dinner with his wife when he first learned of the proposal.

"I just threw up my hands. I said, 'Has it come to this now?'" Limbaugh recounted on his show.

"There's discrimination and actually elected officials wandering around worried about the discrimination in the name of hurricanes. And hurricanes are destructive.

You know nobody's very excited when a hurricane's heading their way, and yet here she is demanding that hurricanes be named after black people.

"You know it used to be that hurricanes were named only after women because they were destructive and unpredictable. And that's the reason. The feminists grew upset about that, demanded that hurricanes be named after men, and so now, the civil rights leaders are demanding black names for hurricanes.

Limbaugh continued his analysis, saying it was not the mainstream populace responsible for what he called the "Balkanization" of race relations in America.

"It is these elected black leaders, the civil-rights coalitions – they're the ones that keep causing all this racial divide, they're the ones that keep calling attention to all this," said Limbaugh. "They're the ones that keep stirring this pot. They're the ones who don't want there to be any colorblind society. They're the ones who keep being agitated and trying to agitate others over all this, and now it's descended into the meaningless element of the names of hurricanes."

According to the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, hurricanes were for centuries named after the Catholic saints' days on which the storms fell.

In 1953, the United States abandoned as confusing a two-year-old plan to name storms by a phonetic alphabet (Able, Baker, Charlie) when a new, international phonetic alphabet was introduced. That year, weather services began using female names for storms.

The practice of naming hurricanes solely after women came to an end in 1978 when men's and women's names were included in the Eastern North Pacific storm lists. In 1979, male and female names were included in lists for the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

[Utah Binger]

MOFO is a good descriptor. Can't remember whose name it is.

[FixitGuy]

What???? No examples of acceptable names?

[Grut]

As I remarked in another venue: this 'right' will come to full fruition when we see a tropical storm named "Nanook."

[Khurkris]

Hurricane ShaNayNay, Hurricane JaNiQua, Hurricane Ahmed Jamal (I am a jazz fan).

This is some silly a** sh** for a personal elected to public offic eto spend their time and our money talking about.

Can somebody say "BITCH SLAP!"

[Fzob]

As I remarked in another venue: this 'right' will come to full fruition when we see a tropical storm named "Nanook."

LOL, Man, I wish this article was satire.

[Mears]

I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I read this.

Most young black people make up their kids names according to a young black woman I worked with. How in the name of God are we going to choose these names for hurricanes.

Nexut it will be Muslims! Hurricane Ahmed? Hurricane Mohammed?

[FixitGuy]

Sorry, I missed Keisha, Jamal & DeShawn.

Would suggest that names be kept to legitimate names or just use alphabet letters so as not to offend anyone.

OOOps then someone would have a problem because it wasn't THEIR alphabet!

NEVER...MIND

[dufekin]

Okay, I have to disagree with Rush. I get very excited when a hurricane is heading my way, provided of course, that it isn't a particularly powerful and destructive storm. Then again, I'm weird.

[Ed_in_NJ]

This is an excellent example of the intellectual prowess and level of contribution to society of Ms. Lee.

[ex-Texan]

I believe "Hurricane Beulah" would be popular with all racial types. There is even a city off I-10 in Florida with that common name. Of course, don't tell anyone, but I picked the name based on an old off-color joke that was told to me by a black shoe shine artist in the 1960's.

[boothead]

demanding the storms be given names that sound "black."

How about Chittlin Wind

[yarddog]

There was a Black family in my home town who had thirteen children. The first 10 were given relatively normal names but I guess they ran out as number 11 was Collard Green, 12 was Turnip Green and thirteen was Birmingham.

[SES1066]

Using the logical 'reducto ad absurdum' that seems to play here, we will need to name tornados and severe thunderstorms after American Aborigines, earthquakes should have oriental names and Ms Lee should have a school of comedy named after her. GMAB! [/sarcasm?]

[dufekin]

How about these headlines:

KWESEI MFUME KILLS HUNDREDS IN MIAMI, DEVASTATING CITY; LOUISIANA PREPARES FOR THE WORST

JESSE JACKSON PLAGUES MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY; TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ILLINOIS HOMES DESTROYED

SHEILA JACKSON LEE DEVASTATES HOUSTON

AL SHARPTON SLAMS INTO NEW YORK, KNOCKING DOWN HOMES, AND INJURING THOUSANDS

MAXINE WATERS RAVAGES L.A. BY SURPRISE, LEAVING TEN MILLION POWERLESS

My apologies to those who don't deserve this kind of treatment.

[ThirdMate]

I have been following these ridiculous statements from the helmet headed, limousine riding Sheila "mission to mars" Jackson Lee.
The earlier naming system had Pacific storms given male names, and Atlantic storms given female names, so they could be easily distinguished. The feminists objected, so we went to mixed names in both oceans.
Perhaps to placate the concerns of Ms Jackson Lee, we could name Atlantic storms with African names, since they originate in Africa, and Pacific storms with Asian or Pacific island names. Thus we could have a Pacific storm named Lee, even though it is not African in origin.
The whole purpose of naming storms is to provide clarity of communication in marine radio broadcasts, thus the name should be easily understood and spelled. Hence the old system of Alfa, Bravo etc.
Imagine hearing over a SSB radio that hurricane Lakeisha Shawndra is is approaching your position!

[Mears]

Hurricane Snoop Doggy Dog?

Hurricane P-Diddy?

[Charles Henrickson]

Hurricane Carter?

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter

[gaspar]

I can see it now. Orrin Hatch gives in, puts the pressure on the Prez and then suggests names such as Remus, Rastus, Leroy, Sojourner, Amos and Andy and then gets drummed out of office for a lack of sensibility.

[swheats]

...Jackson Lee feels that the current names are too "lily white," and is seeking to have better representation for names reflecting African-Americans and other ethnic groups.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee must have been elected for comic relief. There's never a time when this woman doesn't come out with something stupid to say.