I just saw an interesting article in the Politico blog, thought I'd share it with you.

It seems that recently Tom Vilsack, the US's Ag Secretary -- and a man I hold I high regard, as I think he did a fantastic job as Iowa's governor a few years back -- was briefing the press on the drought that is affecting the entire country and putting a big hurt on the Midwest's corn crop.

The debilitating effects of this drought are going to be felt nationwide, as this year's corn crop is decimated -- and corn is used as an ingredient in so many products and foodstuffs. More than any of us know, I suspect.

Anyway, according to the stories I've read, Secretary Vilsack commented that he's been adding a prayer for rain to his daily devotionals.

Hearing that, some atheist group I've never heard of before -- the Council for Secular Humanism -- went into an uproar complaining about "separation of church and state."

Specifically, Tom Flynn, their executive director, said, "Vilsack's mention of prayer sends the wrong message to distraught farmers."

"[Praying] for rain? That's not just government entangling itself with religion, that's government publicly practicing it, and wallowing in superstition..."

I don't know about you, but I loved the last paragraph of the Politico article, which noted that: "Oddly, just hours after Vilsack's prayer, Washington D.C. and New York City were inundated by severe thunderstorms and heavy rain."

Imagine that!