I hope this is an isolated Pat Robertson fan

No sooner had I written about Pat Robertson's latest attack of foot- in-mouth disease and my concern about who might actually agree with him, when the answer came in the form of a letter to the editor in the Press Journal. The author of this letter was commenting on Carl Hiaasen's column about the Robertson incident entitled, YAMMERING FOOL IS AT IT AGAIN. The writer complains that Hiaasen "has concern for homosexuals, abortion activists, feminists and the American Civil Liberties Union." And "he could be listening to atheists." This same writer claims that atheists, "have managed to set up a whole new set of laws and rules for us to follow," including, I presume, "the 'theory' of evolution is being taught in public schools." The writer concludes by saying that "Mr. Hiaasen should have done more research in the Bible" and "he does not seem to be very well informed in this area."

All I can say is Thank God he isn't more informed in this area.

Pat Robertson may be an idiot, but what about those who believe him?

As Haiti reels from yet another catastrophe, leave it to televangalist Pat Robertson for an explanation as to why this is happening. According to him, the Haitians, who were slaves imported from Africa by the French, made a pact with the devil back in the late 1700s. That resulted in their ability to overthrow their French masters and become only the second country in the Western Hemisphere to win its independence, the first being our own United States. Robertson asserts that all their misery since then, up to and including the earthquake last Tuesday, are a result of that 'pact with the devil.'

Brilliant.

An alternate explanation, the one based on reality, might have something to do the reaction of other slave-owning powers - the U.S. and Britain - who didn't want word of a successful slave rebellion to get out in the days before cable news. As a result, the US wouldn't recognize Haiti or do business with the new country for the next 60 years, until slaves were freed in our country so it was safe to recognize the only country where slaves successfully revolted against their masters. Same with England, which maintained slaves on all the other Caribbean islands until modern times.

Another possible explanation of Haiti's impoverished state is that when it became independent in 1804, the only country to recognize it was France. But that recognition came with a heavy price tag. The French want Haiti to repay them for all their lost property, buildings, infrastructure, etc. Haiti agreed, because they desperately needed a trading partner to function. That debt was so great, it was only paid off in 1946.

Of course, Pat Robertson will continue to broadcast from the planet Neptune as long as he has an audience, and that's what concerns me more. What does it say about our country and more importantly, about our future, if we have a good part of the population worrying that the devil runs our country rather than worrying about our children's poor showing internationally in math and science?