c o l l i s i o n b e n d . c o m

“Stormageddon” strikes the city mid-day. We had plenty of warning, so why was there 5 inches of snow on the Eastbound Shoreway at rush hour?

Seriously. The National Weather Service issued advisories, watches, and warnings for the last three days. We knew it was coming.

Jeff Tanchak on Channel 19 hasn’t worn a jacket for a week now, and his sleeves have been rolled up so long his arms are frostbitten. We knew it was coming.

They can track these storms and predict right down to the hour when they will enter our area — so we knew we would get it mid-day today.

The highways in our area tonight were a total mess at 6:00 p.m., some 8 hours after the storm started. It took me 90 minutes to get home tonight, from Independence to Euclid, white knuckle all the way. Go figure.

Not too long ago, we had another mid-day storm that we knew for two days was coming mid-day, and evening rush hour traffic was again a mess — snow crews hadn’t gone out to plow during the day; they waited until rush hour was over to go salt and clear snow, and by then the highways were a total mess.

Why do they wait? Why don’t they get out there at a proper time and treat the roads so that they don’t accumulate so much snow and cause so many problems? Are they in cahoots with the body shops or something?

(It’s not the guys on the line, in my opinion. I think it’s just a simple case of poor management.)

Oh, by the way, the answer to the question is an ODOT truck. Or, if you’re a Hitchhiker fan, they sleep 42.

And… punt.

Should I buy health insurance? Should I be forced to buy it?

This week I was instructed to fill out the forms for health insurance, regardless of whether or not I was going to opt into the plan. I had the opportunity to opt out, which I did, because I already have health insurance.

My question is this: under either Obama’s or Clinton’s plan, would I still be able to opt out and choose what is better and less costly coverage for me?

Obama says Clinton’s plan forces people to buy the insurance; Clinton says Obama is misleading people. Now the argument is getting hot and out of control. They’re starting to wander off-topic, and it’s time to talk about NAFTA.

In one of the sharpest openers yet tonight, Clinton complains about always answering the questions first, saying that they should do like they did on SNL and offer Obama a pillow…

You’ll also find me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/collisionbend. Short bursts and longer bursts.

hehe…

I understand that East 21st Street next to the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University is snarled with snow and satellite trucks. The weather is nasty, and the city is pretty quiet save for the debate.

The newsroom here at WKYC is busy, but quiet, with an interesting tension as they go live with an 8:00 p.m. debate special; WKYC staffers that met with us all looked slightly edgy as the clock rolled around to air time. I guess this was a really big deal here.

They’re proud, and they should be: they’ve done a heck of a job setting this up.

Rita Andolsen, WKYC’s News Director, had this debate plopped on her lap virtually at the last moment, and the level of organization here is impressive. The relative quiet of our meeting room, right off the main news room, is vibrant with conversation as Paul Thomas prepares for broadcast from this very room.

Right now.

Look alive.

Post.

Now.

So I’ll have a flurry of posts tonight, as I am sitting in the studios at WKYC TV-3 in Cleveland getting ready to report on tonight’s debate between Democratic Party candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

So what is an Independent voter like me doing covering a Democratic Party debate?

Personally, I really don’t see a Republican winning this November, considering how borked this country is after 8 years of Republican George W. Bush: $3.00 per gallon for gasoline, $15 billion per month going to the war in Iraq, a serious health care crisis coupled with a sub-prime mortgage lending crisis, declining education, millions of jobs being exported overseas, and a generally flagging economy combine to make this year a disaster for Republicans.

My sense is that people here are desperate for change. What worries me is that history has proven many times that desperate people can do desperate things — and we’re here relying on people who are masters at manipulating the media.

Feel free to comment!