Robo-call

A few days ago, I found this message on my answering machine at home:

“This is Governor Rick Perry and I'm inviting you to join your fellow Americans in a day of prayer and fasting on behalf of our nation. As an elected leader, I am all too aware of government's limitations when it comes to fixin’ things that are spiritual in nature. That's where prayer comes in, and we need it more than ever. With the economy in trouble, communities in crisis and people adrift in a sea of moral relativism, we need God's help. That's why I'm calling on Americans to pray and fast like Jesus did, and as God called the Israelite to do in the Book of Joel. I sincerely hope you will join me in Houston on August the sixth and take your place in Reliant Stadium with praying people asking God's forgiveness, his wisdom and provision for our state and nation. To learn more, visit TheResponseUSA.com, then makes plans to be part of something even bigger than Texas.”

If we had a normal, well-functioning justice system and Supreme Court, this would be probably be ruled a violation of the separation of church and state.

The cynic in me just knows that Perry knows this is pure bullshit, but he pushes it because it will score him a bunch of Christian fundamentalist votes. I'll bet that most of our elected officials see religion as a total crock of shit, but also see it as a powerful weapon to influence the masses, and so ... we get massacres like in Norway.