Some demographics ya got there

In what could have been an awful tragedy, is now merely a fascinating story of massive property destruction on a fashionable Eastside street, to wit:

* The four-story building at 62nd and Madison collapsed with only one person inside.
* That person, the building's owner, who it is alleged was trying to kill himself, was found in the rubble of what used to be the basement, alive.
* The building has a weird, storied past, including having an apartment, known as "the Room," that was rented out by a group of pre-CIA intelligence confidantes of FDR before World War II.

And adding a layer of even more fascination to the event is the light it sheds on the mind of a Fox News viewer.

Law enforcement officials said the explosion rocked the neighborhood less than two hours after Dr. Bartha had addressed a disjointed, erratically punctuated e-mail message to his former wife, Cordula, with copies sent to Gov. George E. Pataki and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, and to the Fox News personalities Sean Hannity and Brit Hume, among others.

In the message, he told her: “You always wanted me to sell the house. I always told you, ‘I will leave the house only if I am dead’ You ridiculed me. You should have taken it seriously.”

He also wrote, “When you read this lines your life will change forever. You deserve it. You will be transformed from gold digger to ash and rubbish digger.”

He sent the message at 7:30 a.m. Twenty-one minutes later, Con Edison received a call from employees of the private club next door, the Links Club — organized early in the 20th century to promote golf — saying they smelled gas. Michael S. Clendenin, a spokesman for Con Edison, said it sent a mechanic, who arrived at 8:20.

Mr. Clendenin said the mechanic called in at 8:45 to report the explosion. The mechanic was not injured.

I hope the "among others" includes O'Reilly or he'll be complaining about the slight tonight.