|Numbers| Posted May 21, 2013 Report Share Posted May 21, 2013 Extremely tragic situation, especially within one (or more) of the elementary schools in which the ceiling collapsed and trapped the children under broken pipes which caused them to drown. The Governor's response and the President's response has been timely and much needed. Not aware of any Bengal fans in the Oklahoma area but needless to say I prayed for all of them there. http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/20/us/oklahoma-tornado-developments/index.html Oklahoma City tornado: Get the latest developments in this disaster (CNN) -- At least 51 people -- including at least 20 children -- were killed when a massive tornado struck an area outside Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon, officials said. Seven of those children were killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma, according to a police official. Early Tuesday, emergency personnel continued to scour the school's rubble -- a scene of twisted I-beams and crumbled cinder blocks. The tornado was estimated to be at least two miles wide at one point as it moved through Moore, in the southern part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, KFOR reported. http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_23286958/bc-okla-tornado-4thld-writethru-nyt Oklahoma City tornado: Obama declares disaster area http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-tornado-obama-supports-oklahoma-governor-20130520,0,7352063.story?track=rss WASHINGTON--President Obama called Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin on Monday evening to offer federal support for the communities hit by a devastating tornado, the White House said in a statement. Obama expressed his concern for those affected and offered all available federal resources. He urged Fallin to be in close contact as the rescue and clean up effort continues. In a news conference, Fallin, a Republican, told Oklahomans of the president's call and said he had vowed to cut any red tape blocking federal assistance to the area A team from the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been sent to the state emergency operations center in Oklahoma City and more aid will be sent as needed, the White House said. Details on the damage and death toll were trickling in Monday night, but early counts had at least 51 dead, including some children killed when a school collapsed. Emergency officials were working through the night seeking survivors at one elementary school. A White House official said the president was receiving updates through FEMA and homeland security aide Lisa Monaco. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also spoke with Fallin on Monday, the official said. "The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy." ( John F. Kennedy ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Numbers| Posted May 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2013 [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40fon8AEYII[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUfC208r2FM[/media] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted May 21, 2013 Report Share Posted May 21, 2013 https://www.redcross.org/donate/index.jsp?donateStep=2&itemId=prod10001&campaignId=700008&P1=50 Make a donation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justice Posted May 21, 2013 Report Share Posted May 21, 2013 https://www.redcross.org/donate/index.jsp?donateStep=2&itemId=prod10001&campaignId=700008&P1=50 Make a donation there are churches helping too. Oklahoma Baptist relief! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Numbers| Posted May 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2013 https://www.redcross.org/donate/index.jsp?donateStep=2&itemId=prod10001&campaignId=700008&P1=50 Make a donation The Administration and Fundraising Rate (AFR) for the Red Cross is 7.3 percent. "7.3 cents on every dollar go to operating costs." Pretty good considering what BGCO does. there are churches helping too. Oklahoma Baptist relief! The Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO) is a little more complicated than the American Red Cross. Generally speaking, if you want to donate money and want the maximum amount to go to disaster relief, BGCO is a poor choice. BGCO: In 2011, $22,492,230 Total BGCO Income. Executive Office/CP/Associations/Prayer............................................................................$3,323,502 Support Services Team..........................................................................................................$4,141,080 Finance Team.............................................................................................................................$568,997 Communications Team..........................................................................................................$2,218,022 Church & Family Equipping Team.....................................................................................$6,235,166 Church Outreach Team........................................................................................................$6,005,463 GRAND TOTAL BGCO EXPENDITURES......................................................................................$22,492,230 By estimations the BGCO has operating costs that exceed 14% and in some cases are exceeding 35% or more. For a further breakdown of their expenditures of BGCO go to the following document: http://www.bgco.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/BGCO-BUDGET-v05.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 there are churches helping too. Oklahoma Baptist relief! Good, I'd hate for my donation to go to any queers or non-believers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Good, I'd hate for my donation to go to any queers or non-believers. Speaking of - how long before the Westboro wackaloons show up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Speaking of - how long before the Westboro wackaloons show up? Not until the funerals, probably Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWeston Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 2 things frustrate me about this. 1. Whats the deal with this famous pictuer that I keep seeing. I am so fed up with photographers and people just taking pictures and videos and not helping. This article is absurd and I wanted to say it in response but it makes you sign in. http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/21/us/oklahoma-tornado-school-photo/index.html?iid=article_sidebar 2. All these people thanking God for letting them survive this. I would probably do the same thing, but it doesn't make logical sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Numbers| Posted May 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 2 things frustrate me about this. 1. Whats the deal with this famous pictuer that I keep seeing. I am so fed up with photographers and people just taking pictures and videos and not helping. This article is absurd and I wanted to say it in response but it makes you sign in. http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/21/us/oklahoma-tornado-school-photo/index.html?iid=article_sidebar 2. All these people thanking God for letting them survive this. I would probably do the same thing, but it doesn't make logical sense. Media has a place in this disaster and brings attention to people that need our help. Same thing happened (similar) in Joplin and it seemed to work for getting help needed. Amish might be able to better comment on Joplin's situation and comparison. God, Allah, Buddha, Little Baby Jesus, Mother Nature, etc... all deserve a place in this. Nothing makes any logical sense in natural disasters. I do wish, every now and then, I could see someone blaming their religious figure for bringing this down on top of them. P.S. I can't believe I actually said something nice about the media. Forgive me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWeston Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Media has a place in this disaster and brings attention to people that need our help. Same thing happened (similar) in Joplin and it seemed to work for getting help needed. Amish might be able to better comment on Joplin's situation and comparison. God, Allah, Buddha, Little Baby Jesus, Mother Nature, etc... all deserve a place in this. Nothing makes any logical sense in natural disasters. I do wish, every now and then, I could see someone blaming their religious figure for bringing this down on top of them. P.S. I can't believe I actually said something nice about the media. Forgive me... If little kids are crying as they walk out of a building that just collapsed and your first thought is, "I need to get a picture of this" you are a soulless bastard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Numbers| Posted May 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 If little kids are crying as they walk out of a building that just collapsed and your first thought is, "I need to get a picture of this" you are a soulless bastard. I'm not pretending to know what a media type is thinking but it may be ingrained in their head when they head out for these situations that they need to highlight the sorrow to bring a disaster into perspective. Thus allowing others to see what a disaster looks like without actually being in it. Lastly, these pictures have a way of making the everyday common person develop a form of empathy with these people who are suffering and this will allow others to dig deeper when it comes to tragedy. IF and I say IF, a tragedy is not overplayed empathy will remain. However, a tragedy that gets overplayed will result in a form of desensitizing. Soulless bastards exist in the media (of that I am sure) but regardless of their motivation for pictures in a tragic situation, it brings attention from a wider audience than they could give if they put down their camera and helped. In short, one person can bring thousands of people to help with a picture but only one if they put their camera down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Faith defys logic, why would you try to make logical sense of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWeston Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Faith defys logic, why would you try to make logical sense of it? It vexes me when the person who just had a tornado hit them and saw people die in front of them thanks God for saving them, or their dog or whatever. God gets all of the positive credit and none for the tornado that just destroyed their house. I would be saying thank God as well so I do get it, it's tied to an emotion there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Numbers| Posted May 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 It vexes me when the person who just had a tornado hit them and saw people die in front of them thanks God for saving them, or their dog or whatever. God gets all of the positive credit and none for the tornado that just destroyed their house. I would be saying thank God as well so I do get it, it's tied to an emotion there. This may not help understand fully but does give a start to understanding. The piece was wrote by a Senior pastor with the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-hamilton/faith-god-and-tornadoes_b_855874.html Faith, God and Tornadoes The devastation left in the wake of last Wednesday night's tornadoes is mind-numbing. Mile after mile of homes, businesses, and schools obliterated; 300 men, women and children whose lives were taken by the storms. This weekend millions of Christians throughout the affected areas will make their way to their churches, if they are still standing, looking for hope, strength and comfort. Many will also come looking for answers to the question, "Why?" I wonder what their pastors and priests will say to them? Some will hear their pastors preach that God's ways are mysterious and that "there are some things we just can't understand." Others will hear their spiritual shepherds call them to trust that "everything happens for a reason," and that God's purposes are being worked out through this terrible devastation, noting that it must be "the will of God." A few will hear their leaders suggest that the death and destruction is God's judgment upon the sins of these communities and that this judgment is meant to lead those who survived to repentance. This kind of preaching is comforting to some, for it offers the assurance that "God is in control" and that the suffering is purposeful. Yet many others will find the assumptions behind these messages not comforting, but unsettling. The underlying idea is that God called forth the tornadoes and intentionally directed them to strike Tuscaloosa, Birmingham and so many other places last Wednesday night. They will wonder how God could intend the death of children, or the destruction of the homes and businesses of people who were their fellow church members. But there is a different message many pastors will preach this weekend. They will tell their parishioners that God doesn't send tornadoes. To find the answer to the "Why?" question, these pastors will suggest, one must turn not to a theologian or to the Bible, but to a meteorologist. The meteorologist explains that tornadoes are naturally occurring events that can, with varying degrees of accuracy, actually be predicted (it was the prediction of the tornadoes by meteorologists that saved hundreds if not thousands of lives last Wednesday night). These pastors may even take the time to explain the weather conditions that give rise to tornadoes. It is not God, they will say, but the collision of hot and cold air, that is the answer to the question, "Why?" Then they will remind their people that just over a week ago, on Good Friday, Christians remembered that the Son of God himself was subjected to pain and suffering, tragedy and loss, such that he cried out, using the words of Psalm 22:1, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" They will note that a religion whose founder was crucified cannot be construed to teach that God's people will never suffer. God seldom suspends the laws of nature, just as God does not remove free will to keep evil people from doing evil things. These pastors will remind their congregants of the promises found throughout the scripture, exemplified by the confidence of the 23rd Psalmist that, "even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me!" They will draw upon the work of the prophets who promised the exiles of ancient Israel that "he will give you beauty for ashes, and the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of grief, that you might become oaks of righteousness!" Finally, I suspect many of these pastors will remind their parishioners that just days before the tornadoes, they had celebrated Easter and on that day they had celebrated the fact that neither evil, nor suffering, nor even death will ever have the final word -- not in Jesus' life nor in ours. On the third day Jesus arose. His resurrection proclaims that, in the words of Frederick Buechner, "the worst thing is never the last thing." And just as the pastors in the affected communities are offering a word of hope, pastors across the rest of the country will be reminding their congregations that Jesus was clear in what he expected of his disciples: that they feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and welcome the stranger. These pastors will invite their members to become the hands and feet of God by giving their resources to help the people and communities affected by the storms, and then volunteering their time to go to the affected areas and give themselves to the task of cleaning up and rebuilding and embodying Christ's presence for the afflicted. Many Christians do not believe God sends tornadoes. But they do believe that God walks with his children through the storms, that he sends his people to help after the storms, and that with and through God there is always hope. Adam Hamilton is the Senior Pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection and the author of the newly released book, Why? Making Sense of God's Will (Abingdon, 2011) which explores the why questions of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer_Rice Posted May 23, 2013 Report Share Posted May 23, 2013 The first thoughts through my mind were: "Why, one-eyed Odin, why?" Then, a sussurating reply, "Thor put hammer down." There's nothing absolutely wrong with making some kind of appeal to a higher power, especially when something like this occurs. My problem is that altogether way too many people are literal-minded gits in their everyday lives. It's when folks use their God(s) as an excuse to be a simpleton that a society gets in trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bunghole| Posted May 23, 2013 Report Share Posted May 23, 2013 Anyone that blames God for the tornadoes, or alternatively, thanks God for sparing them from them, is a fucking blathering idiot. Anyone that tries to tell us ANY kind of religious justification for their suffering as a result of said tornadoes ("Well, Jesus suffered too!") is a blathering idiot as well. Also a shot out to the Westboro "Baptist" "Church", since there is no doubt they will make "God hates fags because of Moore, OK tornadoes" hay out of this situation. I'm doubling down on Pat Robertson saying something idiotic as well. Fuck you, fundamentalist, science-ignoring Christians. Just fuck you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted May 23, 2013 Report Share Posted May 23, 2013 Anyone that blames God for the tornadoes, or alternatively, thanks God for sparing them from them, is a fucking blathering idiot. Anyone that tries to tell us ANY kind of religious justification for their suffering as a result of said tornadoes ("Well, Jesus suffered too!") is a blathering idiot as well. Also a shot out to the Westboro "Baptist" "Church", since there is no doubt they will make "God hates fags because of Moore, OK tornadoes" hay out of this situation. I'm doubling down on Pat Robertson saying something idiotic as well. Fuck you, fundamentalist, science-ignoring Christians. Just fuck you. Ramen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justice Posted May 23, 2013 Report Share Posted May 23, 2013 Anyone that blames God for the tornadoes, or alternatively, thanks God for sparing them from them, is a fucking blathering idiot. Anyone that tries to tell us ANY kind of religious justification for their suffering as a result of said tornadoes ("Well, Jesus suffered too!") is a blathering idiot as well. Also a shot out to the Westboro "Baptist" "Church", since there is no doubt they will make "God hates fags because of Moore, OK tornadoes" hay out of this situation. I'm doubling down on Pat Robertson saying something idiotic as well. Fuck you, fundamentalist, science-ignoring Christians. Just fuck you. the Bible says Satan is the prince of the air..Satan brought the Tornado not God Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted May 24, 2013 Report Share Posted May 24, 2013 the Bible says Satan is the prince of the air..Satan brought the Tornado not God So by your logic, is Satan more powerful than your God, or does your God just enjoy suffering and destruction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWeston Posted May 24, 2013 Report Share Posted May 24, 2013 the Bible says Satan is the prince of the air..Satan brought the Tornado not God So Satan allows us to breather everyday? That's an interesting take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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