Lightning strikes

The National Weather Services says that about 62 people a year are killed by a lightning strike in the USA. I know that some areas of the world have high tolls, such as Africa, because of violent storms in those areas.

I always had a healthy respect for weather effects such as lightning, since I was in an apartment that was struck, and so I got quite a shock, back in the 1974-5 time frame.

But I hadn't paid individual incidents much mind, except to feel sympathy for the victims, until I learned reading the "Left Behind" series that lightning is the weapon the "Antichrist" uses to strike down "believers." Hmm. The Antichrist must spend a lot of time hanging around children's camp grounds, lakes, sports fields and so forth then, I guess. Oh, it was only fiction? Who would have thought it, since it sure sounds so absolute about the "dogma!"

Anyway, here's a good Charlotte NC local article about all the strikes they've had and some tips to stay safe. Reminder to avoid showers and bath tubs, something people often forget.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/16836380/detail.html

The reporters learned, not entirely to my surprise, that lightning rods help, but few people ask about them. I was glad they covered that in this article.

In another article is reminder that rumbling over the horizon means lightning is in striking distance, as it can travel 10 miles from where it actually is raining. I notice people are very blase around here, even when one can see the flashes in the distance. Hmm.

Hope everyone stays safe. I especially hate it when I see a young life lost.

Hagee and others' dumb Katrina remarks

I've heard, though not bothered to read for myself, that some Protestants and non-denominationals have stated that God caused or sent hurricane Katrina to punish the "sinful" New Orleans. Um, how stupid is that?

First of all, if God had "sent" a natural disaster to punish people, there would be no escape (for example Sodom and Gomorrah). With hurricane Katrina everyone including his cat and his dog heard four days of warnings that it was coming and to evacuate. If everyone had evacuated there would have been no deaths, excepting of course brave public service officials who tend to stay behind to help those who refuse to go. But with the extent of warnings people could have left New Orleans and coastal Mississippi at a slow walk and still have gotten out in plenty of time so that not a single life would have been lost. I know because I was sitting in Albuquerque watching it on the TV and silently yelling at the TV "Get out of there, idiots!"

Second, it was not Katrina itself that wiped out large parts of New Orleans. It was the burst levees. You know, those concrete devices built by humans? God didn't review the blueprints or approve the budget. God didn't pour the concrete or perform yearly maintenance. Shoddy or insufficient construction tends to be self punishing; God need not and does not have anything to do with it.

It is God's will that this is a planet that harbors life and therefore has weather, oceans, tectonic plates and other great natural mechanisms that support a fresh and vibrant nest for life. They are powerful forces and often the most fertile and valuable land are located precisely where the most extreme weather occurs. For example, years after the ash of a volcano falls the land can return to extreme fertility for agriculture precisely thanks to the ash. Rice paddies flourish where there are monsoons and potential for extreme weather. People live along temperate zones that may align with earthquake faults.

It is lack of Christian charity that makes such disasters seem like divine retribution. I mean, was someone waiting for Catholic priests to man buses and force people to evacuate from New Orleans? It seems to me that it was not the Catholic community that was so lackadaisical about evacuating the poor, and strong arming the reluctant to leave. And like I said, Katrina came and went, missing a direct hit on New Orleans. But then the levees broke. And who was responsible for that?

And compare this to the earthquake in China. Tens of thousands of people are digging with their bare hands to rescue others. The Premier, President and various Party leaders have all spent DAYS among the people who have been impacted by the quake. What happened in New Orleans? Who can brag that they did even what the least of those are doing in Communist China? Dear dear, so much hubris among big mouthed evangelists and fundamentalists. The National Guard of the USA was in Iraq instead of home to help with natural disasters. The politicians were in Washington. The citizens who did self evacuate were in no position to come back and help as the levees broke and flooded the city. And this was "God's punishment?!" Sounds like human incompetence and lack of Christian charity to me.

Poetic weather channel composed today

When hurricanes are silent,
What does it mean?
Perhaps God has turned off
The washing machine.
Men wonder about the storms,
About their will and their way,
Are they needed to clean?
Have they something to say?
Some folks say "pressure gradient,"
Some say it's all fate,
Thus far it's the wind sheer,
That makes them abate.