LTTE by my friend, former Southern Baptist pastor and elderly gay man

It doesn’t take long after a national disaster for the religious political extremist slime balls to come out of the woodwork pointing their righteous fingers of blame at someone whom their God (who is love--1 John 4:8) has told them to hate. Simply remember 9/11 when those authorities of godly behavior, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, just two days later agreed that gays and lesbians had to shoulder their part of the blame for the World Trade Center’s calamitous event. I had no part whatsoever in the planning or implementation of other nations’ religious nuts’ acts of hate and destruction and I was infuriated by any suggestion to the contrary.

Recently our nation was hit yet again in disastrous proportions by hurricane Katrina and much of the Gulf coast was destroyed and many lives were lost and many were left homeless. Now, just a few days after this further devastation, another group of religious nuts (RepentAmerica.com) has surfaced to condemn gays, Mardi Gras participants and abortionists, in part, for the ravages of this storm. Funny thing, though, Repent America described Katrina as “an act of God” yet gays are blamed for the destruction and loss of life and limb. Does that mean that God is gay? I’m so confused!

They further state that the storm hit New Orleans for being a “wicked city.” Does that mean that all the cities and towns in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida that felt the wrath of Katrina are wicked? If God wanted to destroy the wicked city, why was so much death and destruction spread all over the Gulf states? And who wants to serve a God who would do that? Not I.

Well, I don’t know how the Mardi Gras participants and the abortionists feel, but I, as a gay man, want to make myself perfectly clear! I am a good citizen of this country, even though I am a second-class citizen, and I had absolutely no part in this storm or its aftermath. So I want to borrow from the film “Network” and proclaim that “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.” I am tired of being the scapegoat for everything that those “Christians” try to justify as happening because of my “sin.”
Do you really believe in “liberty and justice for all?” Then for your own sake, and mine, stand up and be counted. Those citizens who never open their mouths in response to what I interpret as Repent America’s kind of hatred and arrogance should be ashamed! Whether or not you do, remember: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”

Ted Hayes, in today's print edition of the Kingston, NY, Daily Freeman

I told Ted that he speaks for me, too. This hideous disaster has me wishing, more than ever... although I love my country deeply, I am ashamed, and terrified that this is what we'll be known for, that this kind of thing will continue, for decades. It has me wishing more than ever that I could move to Canada. I won't - I'll fight for my country. But it's so hard to take. So hard to see that so many, many people voted for a man who doesn't give one whit about the poor, or about "sinful" cities, or about programs like FEMA... God or whatever help us.

Mr. Hayes sounds like a wonderful man.

He bombards my mailbox, but many things he sends are educational or just plain spot-on, like this.

:kick: