Georgia’s ‘unorthodox’ response to a drought

November 8, 2007

Georgia is in the midst of an awful drought, so Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) has decided to, well, just take a look. (thanks to reader K.Z.)

What to do when the rain won’t come? If you’re Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, you pray.

The governor will host a prayer service next week to ask for relief from the drought gripping the Southeast.

“The only solution is rain, and the only place we get that is from a higher power,” Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said on Wednesday.

Perdue’s office has sent out invitations to leaders from several faiths for the service, set for Tuesday.

Heather Teilhet, Perdue’s spokeswoman, added, “Georgia needs rain. The issue at the heart of our drought problems is a lack of rain. And there is nothing the government can do to make that happen. The governor recognizes that the request has got to be made to a higher power.”

It’s the 21st century. I just thought I’d mention that.

The governor’s rain-prayer service is scheduled for Tuesday outside the state Capitol. If weather.com is right, they’ll have to move it inside — the forecast is for rain.

It’s the 21st century. I just thought I’d mention that.

Not in red-state America it isn’t. Nor will it ever be.

  • This is a perfect example of media stupidity. Why is this in the news? As far as I know this isn’t a gross misappropriation of money, and it isn’t a garaunteed solution either. It’s not breaking news that Georgia has no rain, the government has no solution, and people pray in hard times. Just my opinion. -Castoo

  • I hope he invites representatives of the native American religious traditions. Maybe they can show Sonny a few dance steps.

  • The governor’s rain-prayer service is scheduled for Tuesday outside the state Capitol. If weather.com is right, they’ll have to move it inside — the forecast is for rain.

    See?! Just talking about it already worked!

    IT’S A MIRACLE!!

    On the bright side, if it does rain, they won’t have to take the next logical step and start sacrificing virgins.

    Which I’m sure will make Ben Ferguson sleep easier …

  • Well, how-dee-doo, Sonny Perdue wants to hold a “pray-for-rain” fest on Tuesday next. And it’s got absolutely nothing to do with the National Weather Service projecting rain for the entire region—beginnning Tuesday night. Right?

    I don’t think so. The man’s been at the feed trough a few times too often. Those steroid-packed chickens will do bizarre things to a person….

  • “Oh heavenly Father,” Gov. Perdue began as rhythmic drums began to pound. “We want rain, we want rain! We want rain, we want rain! Wee-ee-ee wa-ant raa-aaa-aain!”

    “and How!” added Curly.

  • And there is nothing the government can do to make that happen.

    Sonny needs to let China know, before they spend several billion more on controlling the weather during the Olympics.

  • They did that in Australia, too, a while back (last year? a couple of years ago?). But they must not have prayed hard enough — a few drops fell and then nothing. Hopefully, Georgians have louder voices — it’s a d..d long way to heaven and God being kinda elderly, might not hear too good…

  • If Perdue can fool the natives with this one, there’s no telling how far he’ll get with the next eclipse.

  • There’s a lot that could be done to deal with Georgia’s water crisis, and if Perdue can’t handle it someone else will because people have to have water.

  • Makes you wonder if we will ever join the family of progressive western democracies when you get statements from theocratic clowns like Perdue…god, they must laugh at us in the capitals of “old Europe” – when they’re not speechless from utter shock, that is.

    Does it ever occur to guys like Perdue that they are no more than the Christian analogs of the radical Muslims that Bush declared holy war on six years ago???

    However, these rightwing dumbf*cks are about to be swept away in the upcoming global warming sh*tstorm and economic depression – I get a feeling its 1929 all over again and finally, finally we are going to start focusing on real issues just as FDR did in ’32…

    The only silver lining of the Bush debacle is that we’ll emerge from this wreckage with two generations of a progressive political consensus…

  • libra @ 8:

    The church I used to go to joined in on the prayer effort. The drought didn’t end, and… nobody at church ever mentioned it again.

    But if it had worked, you’d be hearing about it.

  • I live in the Carolinas, and we had a severe drought that ended with about five days of significant rain. I was wandering around town for days, telling people, “Tell them to stop praying! We’re getting too much at once!”

  • The real tragedy of this is the sentiment that “The only solution is rain….” It couldn’t have anything to do with water management. If the tooth fairy doesn’t come through and allow the continuation of our obviously unsustainable practices, were all done.

  • “”The only solution is rain, and the only place we get that is from a higher power,” Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said on Wednesday.”

    Well, at least he’s looking in the right direction, “higher.” Rain spills from the clouds overhead, powered downward by gravity.

    I’ve never understood prayer, and never will. The God people pray to is supposed to be a pretty savvy deity, knows what’s what, knows what his job is, knows what humans need, and will do as he sees fit without a lot of wheedling and whining by earthlings. How can you trust in God and then nag him to death for favors? It makes no sense.

  • Well if Perdue looks anything like Burt Lancaster in the fifties; then I will just have to “pray” with him. In seclusion…I am no Jezebel. I think that we can get that moisture flowing.

  • Amateurs. First you pray for more virgins – lots of them. One can never be too careful with respect to the Rain God’s current currency exchange rate. Besides, I’m certain the “values voters” won’t let them go to waste.

  • Water management might help the water supply of Atlanta and all its satellite towns but it won’t help the wildlife and vegetation. Tall pine trees are wilting and the dogwoods – if any of them leaf in the spring I’ll be very surprised.

    Water management is just about as effective as prayer with this kind of drought.

  • What if God decides that the prayer just reminds her how much she really doesn’t like Hartsfield, and decides to punish Georgia because of it?

  • There was a clip on the web somewhere not too long ago about a small Southern town that had some minor issue resolved, and the mayor was on film telling the people that he credited the outcome to the ‘direct personal intervention of the Lord Jesus Christ’, which drew thunderous approval from the crowd.

    I guess people liked the Bronze Age so much they’re bringing it around for another go.

  • When the Mormons moved to the desert in what became Utah, they prayed.

    They also built a huge system of irrigation canals and practiced strict water management
    with large penalties for cheating. Most of which are still in place today.

    Brigham Young said that prayer is wonderful, but when you need milk and potatoes,
    prayer won’t suffice. That probably applies to rain, too.

  • The governor’s rain-prayer service is scheduled for Tuesday outside the state Capitol. If weather.com is right, they’ll have to move it inside — the forecast is for rain.

    Wow, perfect timing for them to tell everyone that God listens to their prayers! How cute and admirable of those conservative politicians! What nice people they are!

  • I think there’s something sickeningly self-centered about people who claim their prayers are granted by God, as though ungranted prayers are intended to teach people they aren’t pleasing God somehow. And rain’s a BAD test. When it rains, it rains on saints and sinners alike.

    FWIW, I read that Bush no longer attends church but usually rides his bicycle on Sunday mornings. Must be because he knows he’s more in touch with God than any ole’ preacher.

  • anney said: “FWIW, I read that Bush no longer attends church but usually rides his bicycle on Sunday mornings. Must be because he knows he’s more in touch with God than any ole’ preacher.”

    Or he’s genuinely afraid that he might burst into flame as soon as he crosses the threshold…

  • I live in Marietta, GA, and let me tell you this is SUCH an embarassment–it isn’t even the first time that Sonny’s solution to the water problem is to pray for rain. True to his party, nothing he has allowed to happen ( unchecked growth, no conservation rules, etc.) has ANYthing to do w/the current situation. Next, we start a war w/Alabama. The National Guard (the portion not in Iraq) is standing by.

  • “God is on the side of the strongest artillery.”

    — attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte.

    Unrelated humorous story: Not long ago, a businessman was building a large drinking establishment in a small Midwestern town. The minister of the local Baptist church was incensed about this, and vowed to stop him. He wrote a column for the local newspaper, to no avail. He appealed to the town council for relief, again to no avail. Finally, in desparation, the minister and about ten of his parishioners stood in front of the nearly-completed bar and prayed, with great pomp and ceremony, that it not be allowed to open. That night, lightning struck the building, causing a fire that burned it to the ground.

    The minister and his congregation were quite proud of themselves, until they received notice that the bar owner was suing the church for destroying his bar. The minister protested that he had nothing to do with the fire. The bar owner was unmoved, and the case eventually went to court. After hearing the testimony of the bar owner and the minister, the judge remarked that this was the first time he had encountered a bar owner who believed in the power of prayer and a Baptist preacher who didn’t in the same room.

  • When it rains, it rains on saints and sinners alike. — anney, @ 24

    Not so… I can’t remember who it was — Hillaire Belloc, maybe? — who explained this quite clearly:

    The rain, it raineth on the just
    as well as on the unjust fella.
    But mostly on the just, because
    the unjust stole the just’s umbrella

  • To Curmudgeon @ 21: I”m pretty sure that was during the protests in Jena. The mayor (or somebody, I forget who) said something along the lines of “God kept the protests peaceful”.

  • I believe that someone in Jena was the bullying DA. Same one who threatened people not to oppose him. Typical devine right rule.

  • As a staunch liberal who believes in God, I believe that this is the right thing to do even if he checked the weather channel first. I have, and I suspect we all have, prayed for much lesser things.

    Prayer is literally the foundation of faith for believers and absolutely harmless to non-believers. It is a faith activity that I whole-heartedly condone and can’t quite understand why anyone should use this for a cheap giggle.

    Faith, religion, prayer and spirituality should not be used as a weapon to manipulate – nor should people be mocked for exercising their God given right to believe in an Almighty – and that He will aid us when we ask.

    I was, however taught that, “Faith without works is dead.” Prayer must be followed up by suitable action. What non-believers may not understand that sometimes suitable action is simply to “Wait on the Lord and be of good courage.”

    Maybe if we had prayed a little more, and put our ‘works’ behind our prayers, we wouldn’t have the Cheney dictatorship we have today.

  • Once, it was raining in Georgia. Floods were forecast, and the area was being evacuated. But when the Sheriff came to one man’s house to enforce the evacuation order, the man refused to leave. “God will keep me safe,” he said.

    When the rains flooded the bottom floor of his house, the man made his way upstairs. A National Guard boat eventually came by, extolling the man to leave his house. He refused. “God will keep me safe,” he said.

    The floodwaters reached the second floor, and the man climbed onto the roof. A helicopter came to rescue the man from his house, but again he refused. “God will keep me safe,” he said.

    The man eventually drowned. When he appeard before God in Heaven, he asked Him why He didn’t keep the man from drowning.

    “I tried,” said God. “I sent the Sheriff, then I sent a boat and a helicopter.”

    The average number of people in a car during Atlanta’s rush hour is under two. It is a textbook example of how to effect climate change, and people have been saying that since at least the 1970’s. Now Sonny’s standing on the bottom of Lake Lanier asking for God to keep him safe.

    He tried, Sonny. He tried.

  • I’d be willing to bet an atheist weatherman has better weather prediction abilities than any preacher or governor, no matter how many people they get to pray.

    Any of the faithful want to take that bet?

    Didn’t think so.

  • So in the normal course of time when it finally does rain…we can thank God and if it doesn’t we can blame God. What if people meet weekly to concentrate all their psychic power on making it rain, focusing only on it raining…or maybe everyone doing rain dances…and then it rains…do we thank ourselves?
    If there is a higher power at work here it will translate differently for different people but it will loudly be proclaimed by many loudmouths as somehow having to do with abortion and homosexuality. I imagine people in Georgia pray for rain anyway without having to be invoked to pray…so why did the Gov. feel it necessary to tell them to pray…I smell politics.

  • As the right-wingers plod further down the road of absurdity the lyrics of Randy Newman become ever more prescient. His classic “Political Science” could have been penned by W and Cheney themselves.

    But this particular pornographic display of ludicrousness brings to mind another composition from the same album. “God’s Song (That’s Why I Love Mankind)”. An excerpt:
    The Christians and the Jews were having a jamboree
    The Buddhists and the Hindus joined on satellite TV
    They picked their four greatest priests
    And they began to speak
    They said, “Lord, a plague is on the world
    Lord, no man is free
    The temples that we built to you
    Have tumbled into the sea
    Lord, if you won’t take care of us
    Won’t you please, please let us be?”
    And the Lord said

    And the Lord said
    I burn down your cities-how blind you must be
    I take from you your children and you say how blessed are we
    You all must be crazy to put your faith in me
    That’s why I love mankind
    You really need me

    That’s why I love mankind

  • I don’t see what ya’lls fuss is all about. There are so many people that pray in good times as well as hard and it may be the 21st century but it’s not a crime to have faith in something higher than yourself. I think Sonny Perdue was fine in doing what he did and I completely approve. How many of you pray because it is your last hope. Well that’s what he was doing. It still looks like a drought in Georgia but we have had rainfall almost everyday now. It still isn’t enought to recharge us for the summertime and the supposedly dry spring. But we have rain. God does answer prayers sometimes he says yes and other times he says no or wait for it.. I think it is so childish to put down other people’s beliefs. Go on with your everyday life and just accept that people believe different things. We don’t have to sit around and critize others because they pray for something as important as this.
    Just a thought from a Georgia girl.

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