What the samhill is a "lightening rod?" We don't have them in Pennsylvania, home of Ben Franklin, who invented the lightning rod.
I assume that a "lightening rod" is a rod which makes things lighter. (Q: How do you make a boat a cigarette lighter?)
So the Houston Chronicle can't punctuate and can't spell?
my question exactly ... a "lightening rod" must be some sort of magic wand which decreases the mass of and/or the gravitational force acting upon the object to be lightened....