{"id":39423,"date":"2020-08-26T20:38:04","date_gmt":"2020-08-26T20:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/?p=39423"},"modified":"2020-08-26T20:58:44","modified_gmt":"2020-08-26T20:58:44","slug":"mailbag-did-midwest-dodge-nuclear-bullet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/mailbag-did-midwest-dodge-nuclear-bullet\/","title":{"rendered":"Mailbag: Did Midwest Dodge Nuclear Bullet?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-36419\" src=\"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/logoinside2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"70\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/logoinside2.jpg 350w, https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/logoinside2-255x51.jpg 255w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;I wanted to give you a little information concerning the derecho,&#8221; wrotes Frank Swiderski in Cedar Rapids of the recent windstorm. &#8220;In the past, I wrote you a short paper regarding durations of time (and distance) having potential scriptural significance, and you had addressed the topic in a lead article on your website. It appears that such a duration is associated with this event.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"color: #ffffff; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">+<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;The time between the height of the flood crest of Cedar Rapids IA 6\/12\/2008 to 8\/10\/2020 the date of the derecho, is 555 weeks 555 days exactly, where 5 indicates strength, especially military strength and is noted in the spiritual battle of David who carried 5 stones, and the 5 decades of the Rosary.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"color: #ffffff; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">+<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;Each event caused local devastation. The latest National Weather Service estimates being scattered 100 and 120 MPH centered on downtown, with winds peak of 140MPH in SW Cedar Rapids. Linn (CR) and the northern 2\/3 of Johnson county (Iowa City, University of Ia) bore the peak strength of the system across the midwest. This area has 350K to 400K people. There were 20 minutes warning, with the brunt of the storm lasting 40+ minutes, unheard of for non-tropical systems. 30&#8221; strong oaks cleanly snapped 20 ft off the ground. Power out for over a week, with the last restored today. As you can appreciate, inland areas are not prepared to respond to something this large and this strong.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"color: #ffffff; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">+<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;Cell service ended when the battery backup in the cell towers ran out. Internet was also out. It was completely dark and dead quiet the first night. For the first time in 23 years (comet Hale-Bopp) I could go out on my driveway and see the Milky Way.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"color: #ffffff; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">+<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;While I do not wish to be a distraction to you in having written several times recently, I believe it is best you know about these things to\u00a0<i>privately ascertain<\/i>\u00a0present circumstances.\u00a0 Hopefully this is worth the read.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"color: #ffffff; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">+<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;About 8 miles NW of Cedar Rapids is the Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC) on the Cedar River, commonly referred to locally as Palo, for the small town nearby. It was producing 575MW (86% of rating) with its&#8217; single BWR reactor as the storm hit. It is scheduled for decommissioning October 30th of this year given age and associated non-competitive costs. The reactor is of &#8216;similar design&#8217; to those at Fukushima, Japan, per Wikipedia. Also, a note in the same article referred to a regulatory finding requiring a modification to Palo following the Fukushima event.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"color: #ffffff; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">+<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;When the storm hit, all power to Palo went dark, and (per news articles) the cooling towers were damaged. The reactor building, but not the reactor containment structure, sustained wind damage.\u00a0 The reactor SCRAMed (per an Iowa Sierra Club report online).\u00a0 A level 4 (lowest) incident was declared, with no radioactive emission. The SCRAM was successful and on-site backup diesel generators kicked in. Due to the damage and the near-term decommissioning date, the reactor is not going to be restarted, with last power produced August 10th.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"color: #ffffff; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">++<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;Had the emergency systems not performed, the event could have made everything that has happened so far this year in this country a discussion of trivia.\u00a0 100MPH+ winds picking up contamination, sending it who knows where and how far. It becomes a brief story of what didn&#8217;t happen, which is not always easy to become aware of.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"color: #ffffff; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">+<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;I believe this is evidence that in this time of heightening spiritual battle, we are being protected amidst the attacks that are being permitted.\u00a0 And the attacks are obviously occurring, increasing in numbers and intensity.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"color: #ffffff; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">+<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;I do not know why this area has been the focus of two major events since 2008.\u00a0 However, per Our Lady&#8217;s last message at Medjugorje, we are in a time of grace. I suspect this is what protected from the possibility of something much worse. While this happens to regions and countries, it also happens individually. I started praying for two people over the last several months, and each time I started, I was nearly hit in several auto accidents. Thankfully, none occurred. It can be taken as a good reminder to not only observe, but to be on guard. Our guardian angels are probably putting in a great deal of overtime these days.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"color: #ffffff; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">+<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;A last note. The things mentioned in this email were spotted because of local familiarity.\u00a0 There may be other, and perhaps many other events occurring worldwide that are similarly tied together but not recognized as such.&#8221;<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"color: #ffffff; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">+<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">From the mail:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"adn ads\" data-message-id=\"#msg-f:1676098281054567249\" data-legacy-message-id=\"1742b2819ae67b51\">\n<div class=\"gs\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div id=\":m6\" class=\"ii gt\">\n<div id=\":m7\" class=\"a3s aXjCH \">\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<div><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;Several years ago we had a Catholic running for the Senate who was pro-abortion, Senator Mary Landrieu,&#8221; writes a viewer in Louisiana. &#8220;The retired Archbishop of N.O., Phillip Hannan, had a press conference giving the teaching of the Church regarding abortion and how as Catholics we could not support a pro-abortion candidate. The Left was in an uproar, they called for revocation of the tax-exempt status of the Church and the current Archbishop went on the air stating that Archbishop Hannan was speaking as a private citizen and not for the Church. What hollow proclamation of the Gospel!<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;Judge for yourself after reading this <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theadvocate.com\/baton_rouge\/opinion\/letters\/article_2b09469e-e61e-11ea-bc55-0bc13280d0ec.html\">letter to the editor<\/a><\/span><\/span>:&#8221;<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Priest: Biden more pro-life than Trump<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;The article by Kathryn Jean Lopez in Saturday\u2019s newspaper claimed that Joe Biden has widened gaps on life issues. This is not true.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;She bases her article on the fact that Biden no longer supports the Hyde Amendment.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;The problem with her approach is that she confines her view of life issues to the life of the unborn. Unfortunately, that is the view of many so-called pro-life voters. The reality is that there is much more to being truly pro-life than advocating for the life of the unborn.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;Despite the fact that these same so-called pro-life voters declare that one is either pro-life or pro-abortion is a gross oversimplification. There are many pro-choice people who oppose abortion and do what they can to urge people to choose life, whether the life of the unborn or the life of the newly born, homeless, undocumented, elderly or death-row person.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;To make this issue very\u00a0practical and relevant\u00a0to the upcoming election\u00a0of president, I think\u00a0it is easy to make a compelling\u00a0case that Biden is much\u00a0more pro-life than Donald\u00a0Trump. Biden has not forced\u00a0anyone to have an abortion.\u00a0Trump\u2019s failure to establish\u00a0a national plan to work\u00a0to end the novel coronavirus has caused the deaths of many thousands.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;His placement of children in cages at the border and his refusal to allow people seeking asylum to wait on this side of the border are simply a couple of examples of a failure to be pro-life in the true sense of the phrase.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;If anyone has widened gaps on life issues, it is not Biden. It is Trump. No Catholic or pro-life person need be concerned about voting for Biden. I certainly won\u2019t be concerned and I am a Roman Catholic priest.&#8221;<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">THE REV. LOUIS ARCENEAUX, C.M.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">priest New Orleans<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><em> [Return to<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.spiritdaily.com\/\">www.spiritdaily.com]<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><strong><span style=\"color: #ffffff; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">+<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"gsp_post_data\" \r\n\t            data-post_type=\"post\" \r\n\t            data-cat=\"mail\" \r\n\t            data-modified=\"120\"\r\n\t            data-created=\"1598474284\"\r\n\t            data-title=\"Mailbag: Did Midwest Dodge Nuclear Bullet?\" \r\n\t            data-home=\"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I wanted to give you a little information concerning the derecho,&#8221; wrotes Frank Swiderski in Cedar Rapids of the recent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[148],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-39423","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-mail","7":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39423\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}