Prayin' For Rain

Just what does it take to become a Republican governor in the American south?  That region is in a lot of trouble as in global warming and droughts.  You might think that, being the first of their countrymen to feel the climate change lash, they'd be demanding action from Washington but you would be wrong.  You see, they want their climate change salvation from God.

This time it's Texas governor Rick Perry who is looking for divine intervention to break his state's crippling drought.   Perry has introduced a three-day, "prayer for rain" initiative.  Seriously, here's the gubernatorial proclamation:

WHEREAS, the state of Texas is in the midst of an exceptional drought, with some parts of the state receiving no significant rainfall for almost three months, matching rainfall deficit records dating back to the 1930s ... NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICK PERRY, Governor of Texas, under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Statutes of the State of Texas, do hereby proclaim the three-day period from Friday, April 22, 2011, to Sunday, April 24, 2011, as Days of Prayer for Rain in the State of Texas. I urge Texans of all faiths and traditions to offer prayers on that day for the healing of our land, the rebuilding of our communities and the restoration of our normal way of life.

But Perry isn't the first southern governor to seek divine intervention.  The slapstick governor of drought-stricken Georgia, Sonny Perdue, tried the same thing in November, 2007.  Of course Sonny only went at it for an hour and, predictably, his brief prayer vigil was a bust.  What can you expect for an hour of superstitious chanting?  Perdue then said Georgians weren't doing enough to conserve water and the drought was God's way of getting their attention.

Well, if one hour didn't do shit for Georgia, perhaps 72-hours will do the trick for Texas.  Or not.