In today's wacko column comes this gem...

As many people know, tropical storms/hurricanes were given female names for decades. This followed the established practice of giving inanimate objects feminine names or referring to such in the feminine (she was a beautiful ship, etc.).

In 1979, responding to pressure and complaints from feminists, including the National Organization of (some) Women, the World Metereological Association added male names. Shortly thereafter, the decision was made to use names reflecting the culture of the areas affected by such storms. So, English, French, and Hispanic names were used for Atlantic and Caribbean storms to signify these cultures affected by the storms: English for the U.S. and U.S./British Virgin Islands; French for those islands belonging to France; and Spanish for the Hispanic islands.

Well, here comes Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D., Texas), who has noticed that the list of names currently used does not include any African American names. "All racial groups should be represented," huffed Lee.

Maybe she's right. Here comes:

• Hurricane Mohammed
• Tropical Storm Taneeka
• Hurricane Xi Pong
• Hurricane Osama (wonder if they'd retire that name after, say, it hit NYC as a Category 5 storm?)
• Tropical Storm Benalakalani
• Hurricane Punjab

Oy vay!


Note: For those who are undoubtedly overly sensitive, I am not attempting to be racist when posting such suggested names; rather, I just think Lee's being ridiculous, as she does not understand how the WMA comes up with such names.