[New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin]... said last year's hurricanes were a sign God was angry with the US.
"Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it's destroyed and put stress on this country," Mr Nagin said on Monday.
"Surely he doesn't approve of us being in Iraq under false pretences."
from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4622038.stm
Mayor Nagin also engaged in rather dubious racial comments, which are actually the headline item for the article.
Surely if we find it offensive, disgusting, and reprehensible when people like Pat Robertson, James Dobson, or Jerry Falwell try to use the image of a hating God to blame Hurricane Katrina's victims for their own suffering, we must find the same usage horrid and egregious when it comes from nominally liberal speakers.
Folks, get over it. Hurricanes don't happen because people do or don't abide by one sect's code of moral laws or another's. Hurricanes happen because of the action of heat and moisture and air pressure. Human burning of fossil fuels causes changes in the planet's temperature, but human ethical behaviour doesn't shape the paths of hurricanes.