Glenn Beck says Hurricane Irene is "a blessing"

Did you know that Hurricane Irene is a blessing in disguise? That there's a silver lining in those ominous clouds massing on the horizon? Glenn Beck certainly knows, telling us on his radio show Friday that we're headed for a "global disruption in food," and the hurricane can serve as a teachable moment as far as food storage is concerned. Beck has been telling us to stock our larders for years now, warning us over and over of the impending disaster.

Beck tells us that "this hurricane is a blessing," that "it is God reminding you, as was the earthquake last week... you're not in control." Because God wanted airports closed to show that He ultimately controls the skies. He also wants billions of dollars in damage so as to provide work for clean-up crews, and wants to disrupt refineries and push crude-oil prices higher to teach us a lesson about taking natural resources for granted.

Like Beck says, "things can happen," so, like the Boy Scouts, it's important to "be prepared." I can get behind his message of helping others in the midst of a disaster, but still, I can't shake the shame I feel at having ignored his warnings years ago, and not gone into survival mode before it was fashionable. And now I'm one among the pathetic hordes who scour the barren, retail wasteland in search of D batteries that have already flown off shelves like Cabbage Patch Kids in 1983. This lesson truly has been a blessing, although some would say it would be more of a blessing if Beck shut his yap once and for all.