Confusion Reigns

I am often the first to admit I'm confused. (As opposed to other people admitting I'm confused which happens with disturbing regularity.) I don't know what to make of this:

Tame Hurricane Season

Defying predictions, the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season ended with a whimper rather than a bang on Thursday, without a single hurricane hitting U.S. shores. Only three tropical storms made landfall, a welcome relief from the previous two years, when nearly a dozen hurricanes battered the country.

Over the past couple of years, it's been made pretty clear that god was smiting folk for various problems with our country or the world. For example, from January:

Sharon's Stroke

Television evangelist Pat Robertson suggested Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine retribution for the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, which Robertson opposed.

and Dover Pennsylvania Incurs Wrath

Religious broadcaster warned residents of a rural Pennsylvania town Thursday that disaster may strike there because they "voted God out of your city" by ousting school board members who favored teaching intelligent design.

and Katrina Tears US a New One

On the September 12 broadcast of the Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club, host Rev. Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America and a former Republican presidential candidate, linked Hurricane Katrina and terrorist attacks to legalized abortion.

Robertson was joined in his Katrina analysis by Hal Lindsey and Charles Colson, although Lindsey was more general saying that "the judgement of America has begun," while Colson attributed Katrina to the US's lack of preparation against further terror attacks.

So, and this is where the confusion comes in, how should we interpret the lack of hurricanes this year? Is god happy with the Democratic takeover of Congress? Does god now approve of the way gays are treated? In which case, maybe it's because Idaho banned same-sex marriage. Or maybe it's because Arizona didn't ban same-sex marriage. Maybe it's because of our policy in Iraq. Or our policy on stem cells. Or maybe god likes the results of the World Series. Or maybe not. I can't make heads or tails of it. I wish Pat or some other worthy would let me know.

I 've got it! In 2004 and 2005, I didn't have a blog. The result? Massive hurricanes. In 2006 I start my blog and Voila! No hurricanes.

Go me. Go me.