Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Just for fun (... a more pointless post than most!)

Following the decison of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, barring Intelligent Design from being taught in the Dover school district's public school science classrooms, the Reverend Pat Robertson warned:
"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city."
So, I'm curious - how has G-d turned on the good citizens of Dover?

The school board that had mandated the teaching of Intelligent Design was defeated in November 2005 elections. The U.S. District Court decision was issued in December 2005.
We have complete annual weather records for 2006-2009.

From 2006-2009 there were 98 fatal tornadoes in the U.S.
None in Dover, PA.

There were 5,209 tornadoes in the U.S.
None in Dover, PA.
(This even though, "Dover-area historical tornado activity is above Pennsylvania state average. It is 64% greater than the overall U.S. average." The last category 3 tornado in the area was in 1980.)

From 2006-2008, there were 1,650 weather-related fatalities in the U.S.
None in Dover, PA.

[note: my source is NOAA (e.g., Summary of Natural Hazard Statistics for 2008 in the United States, Annual Severe Weather Report Summary 2006), and I can't find weather-related fatalities for 2009. I googled "Dover, Pennsylvania" + "weather-related fatalities"... nothing pops up.]

So, what did all those other communities do to deserve G-d's wrath?... Apparently something much worse than what the good citizens of Dover, PA did!

Of course, from the Reverend Robertson's point of view, a fatal flood in the year 2205 will be proof that G-d has been paying attention to the atheists in Dover, PA.
On the bright side, the Reverend Robertson won't be around to crow about it!

note: the G-d the Reverend Robertson claims to worship is self-described as, "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation." (Exodus 34:7, King James Version [which I'm pretty sure is the ONLY translation the Reverend Robertson accepts!]) Taking a 'generation' to be 30 years, even G-d would have forgiven Haiti by now for turning away from Him in the 1790s!... But not the Reverend Robertson!

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