From Top of the Ticket at the Los Angeles Times:
Political lesson of the day: Be careful what you ask people to pray for; you may find yourself embroiled in a public relations flap.
The political arm of the socially conservative Focus on the Family religious group today yanked from its website a video that called on folks to ask God to open the heavens and let precipitation pour on Barack Obama just before his nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 28.
Stuart Shepard, director of digital media at Focus Action (and a meteorologist to boot), wrote and appeared in the video that he posted in late July.
Responding to initial questions raised about his message, Shepard said he was aiming to be “mildly humorous.”
But, as he made clear at one point in the video, his bid for bad weather stemmed from his concern about the possible fallout of an Obama presidency on issues such as abortion.
…snip…
As the video attracted more and more views, those questioning its propriety included some members of Focus on the Family, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported. The video was then pulled from the website of the group’s political unit.
“If people took it seriously, we regret it,” Tom Minnery, Focus Action vice president of public policy told the newspaper.
Focus on the Family, of course, is headed by James Dobson, who has had his issues with John McCain. But, as Dobson spelled out in a recent radio address, he really has problems with Obama.
You can watch the video at the link above, kids.
HYSTERICAL RAISINS 
Speaking as an Evangelical Christian, I would love it — I would dearly love it! — if Focus on the Family would actually, you know, focus on the family instead of politics. They’re consistently bad at it, and tend to make Christians look like royal jerks.
Shepard’s remarks are “humorous” in the same sense as the Rush Limbaugh show is humorous … if “humor” is defined as “revolting malarkey.”
Well said, Wickle! I couldn’t have done it better myself. 🙂
hi wickle! 😀
nice to see you again!
i am very much a proponent of religion and politics not intersecting. i wish all politicians would stop pandering to religious groups, and i wish they would not discuss their religious beliefs. i don’t think religion makes you a good person. you are either a good person who believes in religion, a good person who doesn’t believe, or a good person who is unsure. same thing for bad people. religion should not be used as a measure of goodness, competency, or worth. it is simply a choice that is either foisted upon someone when they are young and don’t understand any of it, or it is something that someone chooses to embrace when s/he is older. it is not wrong or right, it simply is. it should never, ever be used as a tool to control people.
the little devil in me wonders whether the abortion rate actually changes depending on the occupant of the white house?
and if shepard cares about babies that are already born? tan ones?
i don’t know, jenn. i think that the rate stays pretty level no matter who is in the white house.
Actually it does change. During the Clinton years abortions actually decreased. Why? Better economic policies for people and pro-active health and even sex-education policies. When the Torquemada wing gets in, all of that shuts down. Women are usually the first affected by economic downturns, lack of heath care, etc. Since only women have abortions, the rate goes up. I was going to do a bunch or research to support this but am feeling too lazy. However, I did come across this interesting piece: http://www.e-thepeople.org/article/35976/view (Nonnie, I don’t know how to do the linky thing on your blog!)
OK, the link worked. I tried to paste one in there before and it didn’t.
thx jeb.
thanks, jeb. links are a pain to do here, but i can edit them easily and embed them. that article makes sense. i originally thought that the number went up under chimpy, but when i googled earlier, i found one article that said it stayed pretty steady. i should either keep my mouth shut or do a bit more research before i answer.
Nonnie, you wrote:
i don’t think religion makes you a good person. you are either a good person who believes in religion, a good person who doesn’t believe, or a good person who is unsure. same thing for bad people.
You got that right. My ex-wife was quite the believer. She was also quite the vindictive and controlling person. In her house, she has a sign that reads “In this house, we shall serve the Lord.” While I was still married, my parents visited and saw that sign. To them, it read “In this house, we shall serve the Laurie.”
hi neon vincent!! 😀
i was never religious, but, when i was married, when my ex ~ptoooieee~ (sorry, that always happens) came home, i would say oh g_d, are you here again?
seriously, though, some of the finest people i have ever met were completely non-religious. then there are people i have met who were religious who were fine people, too. of course, i have also met an awful lot of people who say they are religious and are the sleaziest bunch of hypocrites it has ever been my misfortune to meet.
I’m always amazed how the fundies pray for the suffering and misery of those they oppose. When they get caught out, then they claim it a joke. It also reminds me of something Dave Barry once wrote, “The problem with writing about religion is that you run the risk of offending sincerely religious people, and then they come after you with machetes.”
In the end, it doesn’t matter if you call yourself a Muslim, Taoist, Buddhist, Christian or Jewish, if you’re an asshole, you’re still an asshole.
jeb,
i just saw rick warren on cnn talking about the debate between obama and capt u he is going to host. i can’t even describe to you the disgust i felt listening to that. i hate, hate, hate this pandering.
nonnie, those thugs on your poster tonight look waaaaay too d*mn happy! Instead of chickensh*t yellow, I’d rather see them in prison orange!
while they are total a$$holes, i don’t know that anything they did deserves incarceration. i just want them to go away. i don’t want to know about anything they have to say. i also want them to pay taxes if they are going to partake in telling people who they should or shouldn’t vote for when they are supposedly doing their jobs.