Gays blamed for hurricane devastation ...

... go on, your havin' me on!? But no, one of those wacko religious fundamentalist outfits that the US seems to specialise in seems to believe that the devastation meted out to New Orleans is a result of the city fathers welcoming dem gays. According to Repent America director Michael Marcavage:

"Although the loss of lives is deeply saddening, this act of God destroyed a wicked city." "From 'Girls Gone Wild' to 'Southern Decadence,' New Orleans was a city that had its doors wide open to the public celebration of sin. May it never be the same." "May this act of God cause us all to think about what we tolerate in our city limits, and bring us trembling before the throne of Almighty God; [God] sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust [Matthew 5:45]."

Although I look at most religious matters from the perspective of a complete outsider, I find a lot more to empathise with in the sentiments of the Rev Susan Russell, president of Integrity, an LGBT Episcopal group:

"The scripture that comes to my mind is 'Jesus wept.'" "Jesus weeps today for the loss of life in New Orleans and he weeps that his gospel is being hijacked by the rabid rhetoric of the religious right -- that is in its own way as destructive to our national fabric as Hurricane Katrina has been." "What needs to happen is people of all backgrounds need to unite and focus instead on helping bring supplies to the people in need. Hurricane Katrina did not discriminate in its path of destruction, and neither does God's love."