I would like to point out that the OP’s article–the part he didn’t see fit to quote–already states explicitly that the video was pulled at the time of writing.
And that it was meant to be a joke.
Kind of makes your Pitting a non-starter, doesn’t it. :rolleyes:
Oh, but wait, you can just not quote that part, still get the Pitting in…
Oh, please. That’s the excuse everyone pulls out after a stunt backfires. It was a three minute video repeatedly calling for people to pray for a downpour during Obama’s speech. It was no joke.
I’m sorry, DDG, but I see nothing even faintly resembling a “joke” in a suggestion that the Most High should intervene in a political event. Especially coming from an organization that claims to be more Christian than the av-er-age bear.
Perhaps I should have included the disclaimer (such as it was). Problem is, we’ve been seeing this sort of thing more frequently of late.
“That was just a draft proposal.”
“I was / we were misquoted.”
“It’s a joke.”
“That was taken out of context.”
Granted, any of the above may be true in a specific case. It’s the overall pattern that bothers me, and gives me the impression that the protester wanted to be able to make a more or less outrageous statement or proposal without being responsible for any repercussions. It’s certainly not limited to one side of the political spectrum, but it seems (to my somewhat biased eye) to be more prevalent on the starboard.
I’m also somewhat bemused that an organization which depends on mass media (such as FotF) does not seem to have caught on to two facts about the Internet: that there’s no such thing as privacy anymore, and that it’s permanent. Not too long ago, they could have damped it down once the press got tired of it. Not anymore.
If God exists, and cares, then prayers one way or the other are irrevelant, as He/She/It will do whatever He/She/It chooses. Hence the name “God” rather than “Ralph.”
I’m told that a number of years ago Fred Nile, Australia’s answer to Fred Phelps, decided to get together with some people on the day of Sydney’s Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and pray for rain. The day of the parade (the story goes), it was pouring, pouring rain and they congratulated themselves – then the parade started, and the rain stopped dead. Complete with rainbows. The parade prospered to its conclusion, and when it was over the rain started again.
I will also note that I have attended every Montreal Pride since I came out in 1998 and not a single time has it rained. Even this year, one of the rainiest on record, forecasts are calling for a sunny weekend.
It’s going to be interesting seeing video of 50,000 ObamaZombies leaving the stadium during the deluge, dragging their feet and with arms outstretched, intoning “RRRAAAIIINNNS!!!”
Well, I agree “hey, it was a joke!” is generally a lameass excuse when a stunt goes wrong, but I think in this case it probably really was meant as a joke. In my experience Fundies can have a rather peculiar sense of humor, not always on the same page with the rest of the world, so yeah, I can see somebody at Focus on the Family thinking it would be hilarious to put out something like this, never dreaming (in their sometimes unrealistic un-Internet-savvy way) that the Internet would get hold of it and millions more people would see it than the few insiders they probably originally visualized.