Some people think that it’s a shame that God gets blamed for everything. Evangelist Franklin Graham was under fire by some people when they read in the news that he addressed an audience at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg that he saw Hurricane Katrina as a judgement of God. The reasons that he gave were that the city is the home of santanic worship, public nudity, wild parties and sexual perversion.

The church is one of Jerry Falwell’s, and

when 9/11 took place in 2001, Falwell blamed that disaster on gays, pagans and feminists. However, evangelists and religious leaders are not the only ones ready to blame God for bad situations.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to work Suffolk News Herald’s booth at the Peanut Fest and a few people stood by the tent to carry on conversations. At that time I heard two women discussing the disaster in Islamabad, Pakistan. One told the other that God had to eliminate some people because the world was getting too populated and this was a way to make way for newborns. Also, many of the black population believe that the reason that the festival has had inclement weather with so many is that God is dissatisfied that it doesn’t include much black participation and activities.

Also, last week the subject of racism was the subject of a few talk shows.

On ABC Channel 13, &uot;The Dr. Phil Show&uot; show featured a couple’s daughter who had married a black man and the husband expressed concern because he didn’t want his grandchildren to have kinky hair, thick lips and big butts. Dr. Phil promised to help him through his prejudices because all wasn’t dissolved at the close of the show. However, I wanted to yell through the screen that no matter what race his grandchildren may belong to, he was clueless.

Today has black beautiful women finding ways to now sport long straight hair, white beautiful women finding ways to have their lips thickened thanks to collagen injections, and most of all handsome men are displaying the latest trend – bald heads. As for big butts, those who wish to have one can patronize fast food restaurants, and those who wish to have slimmer ones can work out at the gym.

On NBC Channel 10’s &uot;Kid Talk&uot; with host Don Roberts, the focus was also on racism. The guest high school was Lafayette in Williamsburg and the majority of teens on that show said that they had a diverse number of friends, but that teachers had a tendency to push and to cater to those kids whom they thought showed more potential to learn.

My last interest in the news was the subject of the bird flu, also known as avian flu. The disease is caused by one branch of a family of microbes called Type A influenza, which originated in water birds, primarily ducks. Infected birds also pass the virus through feces.

I learned that the disease can kill within a week, destroying the lungs and other organs. The World Health Organization has warned that an avian-flu pandemic could kill as many as 150 million people worldwide.

Knowing this, you can imagine how I felt when I arrived home one day only to find a large flock of birds descending on the lawn next to my house. I immediately ran into the house, dropping most of the contents that I had in one of my grocery bags.

However, in my opinion, a partial solution that I have to all three subjects is as follows: Concerning disasters, the Bible says that God is no respecter of persons and allows it to rain on the just as well as the unjust; concerning racism, &uot;Do unto others as you would have them to do unto you; and concerning the bird or avian flu, and my running into the house, it is better to be safe than to be sorry.

Evelyn Wall is a retired News-Herald reporter and regular columnist.