It is very hard, even for a progressive Kossack like myself, to avoid the feeling that God is trying very hard to send a message to the American people, and that the means He has chosen to send it is hurricanes.
The devastation of Katrina was undoubtedly the single most powerful wake-up call alerting a distracted American public to the sheer incompetence and grotesque corruption of the Bush administration. The fate of New Orleans made a vivid, indelible case for taking the reins of government away from these criminals and misfits, and had a powerful impact on the midterm elections.
In case anyone had forgotten Katrina's lessons, Hurricane Gustav came barreling along the same path toward New Orleans, as if on cue, to open the Republican convention with a vivid reminder of why we need to get rid of the Republicans. (And this four days after the cloudless, 72° weather for Obama's acceptance speech at Mile High Stadium).
Unfortunately, not everybody got the message; in fact, McCain’s adroit Rovian handlers used the storm as a heaven-sent opportunity to send Tourist Guy back to the Gulf, averting his embarrassing and toxic presence from the gathering in St. Paul. You're good, God, but you're up against real pros.
Comes now Hurricane Ike—-a huge, mean storm bearing the moniker of the last truly moderate Republican president, headed straight for Texas—home of the feckless W, headquarters of the Military Industrial Complex that Eisenhower warned us about, the site of the largest concentration of chemical plants in the country, and ground zero for the oil industry, including the offshore oil platforms that the Republicans have made their campaign logo. (For a map of what we're dealing with, click here.) Will Ike be this campaign's September surprise?
Look, I thank God for letting New Orleans off the hook the last time, and I really, really pray that there will be no loss of life or environmental disasters caused by Hurricane Ike. But in this threatening situation, it is appropriate to give the last word to the greatest Republican:
The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh." Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge... may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue... as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."