Didn't you just know some wacko would say this?

A Philadelphia based group called 'repent America' issued a news release claiming that God sent hurricane Katrina to destroy New Orleans because of an annual event called, 'southern decadence,' which caters to gay people.

So,


"Although the loss of lives is deeply saddening, this act of God destroyed a wicked city," stated Repent America director Michael Marcavage. "From 'Girls Gone Wild' to 'Southern Decadence,' New Orleans was a city that had its doors wide open to the public celebration of sin. From the devastation may a city full of righteousness emerge," he continued.

The article also sites the fact that Louisiana has ten abortion clinics as a reason God wanted to punish the state (I wonder, with hundreds dead in Mississippi and virtually every inch of its coastline in ruins for several miles inland, what the Magnolia state's sins were).

Of course, Mr. Marcavage and others like him wouldn't even consider putting the blame where it belongs; For starters, consider the 2001 FEMA report that said that a major hurricane hitting New Orleans is one of 'three likeliest, most catastrophic disasters facing this country.' Note that the post linked to here is a reprint of an article first published in December 2001. So, what did the U.S. government (the Bush administration and Congress) do? CUT FUNDING to even maintain the levee system as it was then, or improve the drainage system. Cut funding. That's what Republicans do best. It's what they did. And the levees failed and the drainage projects to improve the outflow of water are still in the designers book.

There are also matters like the by now overwhelming evidence in favor of global warming (and if you choose to plug your ears about that, then YOU find an explanation for why water temperatures in the Northern Gulf of Mexico are near 90 degrees, an historic high). Then there is the destruction of wetlands and barrier islands by building shipping canals through them-- which to be sure way predates the Bush administration, but which has invariably pitted conservatives (of both parties)and rich shipping magnates against the people who are affected and environmentalists-- and with the former group almost always prevailing.

But, I guess it is easier for fundamentalists like Mr. Marcavage to blame God for all the deaths and misery (and never miss an opportunity to advance your political agenda) than it is to look in the mirror and realize what they have voted for.