As I waited in line in the parking lot of Goody's Hardware in East Haven to fill my back-up propane tank the Saturday before Hurricane Sandy was to strike, I took part in two decidedly different conversations.

The first was with an older gentleman who was adamant that this was all media hype, that meteorologists and politicians were somehow in cahoots, running with our collective post-Irene paranoia in an effort to drive up ratings and re-election, respectively.  

The second conversation was with a guy a bit closer to my age who couldn't disagree more. With a tree having taken out his garage in Killingworth during Irene, he admitted that some post-Irene paranoia was key here, but cut from the "better safe than sorry" cloth.

I think both guys have points. But to the former, I would say look here:  http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/10/29/bill-clinton-politicizes-hurricane-sandy-before-it-strikes/