GOD SMITES THE BIBLE BELT

If you, like many right wing christos, believe that 'god' is punishing sinful New Orleans, there are other factors to consider. The hurricane and the massive flooding, was not limited to New Orleans. It took a great big bite out of the Southern bible belt as well.

In the last few years, god has taken big swipes at the very liver of right wing born againism, with hurricane after hurricane. Florida is, after all, one of god's favorite targets for his wrath, and a hot bed of Christian fundamentalism, as well. Several of the big christo money siphoning organizations, such as the many profitable enterprises of Pat Roberson, are head quartered in Florida. Florida is a noted breeding ground for the mega-church, and god flings his wrath at it, several times a year.

Regarding the sinners of New Orleans; it seems to me that most of them got out of the city. Leaving the people with the least control, regarding the character of the city, to feel god's rage. To take the rap for the club owners, the partying tourists, the big pimps, and the uptown business guys with money to spend on their sins. Most of them got away. Leaving the shoe shine boys, the street performers, and the cooks and the maids and toilet cleaners, the old, the sick, the poor, to pay the price. The majority of whom are Christian.

God is a strange dude. Perhaps a bit dyslexic.

Of course, there is the possibility that god had nothing to do with it and that any moral lessons to be drawn, must be determined not by our opinion of the people effected, but by our response to the people who have been hit so hard, by a natural force.

A force that appears predictably, every year, as the Atlantic ocean heats up. To my mind, the only unnatural aspect of this hurricane, is that global warming is increasing both the frequency and intensity of these storms. It should give us cause to pause and rethink our rejection of the Kyoto agreement. But no, we'll just continue to call it the will of god. Like I said, god is a strange dude, in the minds and mouths of believers.

But, If you must try to bring the will and intentions of god, the voice of god, into the meaning of these events, I can't help but notice that god smites the Southern bible thumpers, with alarming regularity.

Is there a message in this, believers? You tell me.

In my last post, I mentioned that a Pat Robertson organization, Operation Blessing, is near the top of the list of charity organizations, endorsed by the government to receive donations of flood relief money, from private donors.

That is to say that your government is telling you this is a 'trusted' organization. Not so, gentle reader.

Moneys from charitable organizations started by Robertson, have been channeled into private businesses and used as leverage for Robertson's gold and diamond mining interests in Africa. Blood diamonds yet. It seems that Pat Robertson is personal friends with some of the most brutal dictators in Africa.

Oh, but he's a godly man. 'Cause, like I said, god is a very strange dude.

I mean, what do you call a person who throws a grenade into a crowded bar, to get one guy? A coward and a terrorist.

What do you call a god that blows away an entire region and a whole city, to get a few thousands 'sinners', who have mostly fled the area? Clumsy? Stupid? Blind? Psychopathic? Republican?

What do you call a man who creates such a god? You tell me.

Pat Robertson: 'I don't have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist'
is a well researched article by Greg Palast, of the London Observer. You might want to read this, especially if you are considering sending your money to Robertson's Operation Blessing. If you really want to bless this hyper wealthy man, with more capital to use as leverage in his many questionable business dealings, go ahead. I'm sure Robertson's god will bless you. Like I keep saying, god is a strange dude. In the minds and moths of believers.


Here is a genuinely scary link. A story/article about a FEMA relocation/concentration camp for New Orleans evacuees. A group of Churches in Oklahoma share own a large camp ground with barracks style 'cabins'. The cabins belong to different Churches and were donated by the churches, to be used by the people coming from New Orleans.

The story is about a family outing, to carry supplies to the camp for the evacuees. These people, this Christian family on a charity mission, saw the grim face of FEMA and the reality of how the cabins were to be used. The article is replete with photo's taken by the writer's daughter.

The cabins have large functioning kitchens, but the inmates, I mean evacuees, will not be allowed to use them. Two meals a day will be delivered. No outside food will be allowed in. The evacuees are not allowed to leave the camp, at all. They will be there at least five months.

Local churches may not bus inmates, I mean evacuees, to local churches for Sunday services, the list of FEMA rules goes on and on. The good people that donated those cabins had no idea that their charitable offer would be turned into an actual interment camp with a large detachment of military guards.

The link will be at the bottom of this article again. You really want to check this out, I find it very strange and very disturbing. They went into this agreement, believing they were offering hope and charity to these people, not providing a FEMA prison for flood victims.

We should watch what happens to the evacuees with great care. The heavily armed mercenaries that are being sent into New Orleans, to 'relieve the military' are notorious for murders and abuses in Iraq. Reporters are being forced out as the mercenaries are being shipped in.

These paramilitary security outfits are noted for their lack of training and lack of discipline. They are hated by the regular forces in Iraq because their actions against civilians have caused numerous reprisals. They are also almost exclusively white, from Arkansas and West Virginia where unemployment is very high.

These are not police, these are not soldiers, they are a large gang of red neck yokels with guns and uniforms. The reporters have been removed from New Orleans. FEMA is adamant that there would be no photographs of this important historical event.

I don't think they are just hiding the bodies of the flood victims, as part of covering up the actual death toll. I think they are expecting the new death toll to rise and they don't want witnesses. That is the new American reality. Government that operates in complete secrecy, with no accountability.

Remember that great big no bid, sweet heart contract given to Haliburton, before almost anything was done on the ground? Guess who is supplying the mercenaries? Yep, Haliburton. Their 'advanced construction team', I suppose.

Watch this closely because this is what is in store for America. You think it won't happen? You didn't think it it would go this far either, did you?

I Just Got Back From a FEMA Detainment Camp