Robertson and Katrina

So the Dateline Hollywood story about Pat Robertson blaming Ellen Degeneres for Katrina is making the rounds around the internet. It's satire, but only thinly, thinly veiled satire - in fact, so thinly veiled that many people are taking it as factual. Anyone familiar with Robertson's psychotic views knows that it is perfectly plausible for him to do something as nutty as blaming Ellen Degeneres for Katrina. After all, according to rumor debunker Snopes:

The satirical premise expressed in the original piece, that Mr. Robertson might make a connection between homosexuality and hurricanes, doesn't even require stretching the truth. During a 6 August 1998 broadcast of The 700 Club, Mr. Robertson addressed comments at participants of the Orlando, Florida, Gay Pride Festival, stating: "I would warn Orlando that you're right in the way of some serious hurricanes, and I don't think I'd be waving those flags in God's face if I were you."

And Robertson apparently thinks that hurricanes are influenced by the actions of individuals, because he apparently believes that he personally has the power to stop hurricanes. According to quote collector ThinkExist, Robertson said:

"(Regarding his prayers to keep Hurricane Gloria away from Virginia Beach) It was 'extremely important because I felt that if I couldn't move a hurricane, I could hardly move a nation."

So is it any wonder that the Dateline Hollywood story slipped under people's baloney detectors? Not really - the guy's a nutjob, and is always saying nutjob things on his show. He didn't say this particular thing, but it's probably closer to paraphrasing his actual beliefs than it is to real satire.