The worship services are a necessary part of developing a society for which they can be proud

This morning, Bush held a celebration to mark the 10th anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act.

Religious freedom, he said, is darned important to us. “After all, when the Founding Fathers adopted the Bill of Rights, the very first liberty they enshrined was the freedom of religion.” I don’t think they were actually listing them in order of importance. Otherwise, the right not to have soldiers quartered in your house would be a more vital freedom than trial by jury.

“They recognized that the most basic freedom a man can have is the right to worship his own God as he sees fit.” Likewise, they said that the most basic freedom a woman could have was the right to worship Thomas Jefferson’s penis.

HE’S THE RELIG-MINDER: “Whenever and wherever I meet leaders, I’m going to constantly remind them that they ought to welcome religion in their society, not fear it.”

HE’S THE RELIGIO-MINDERER: “I’ll remind them someone pledged to love a neighbor like they’d like to be loved themselves is someone who will add to their society in constructive and peaceful ways.”

HE’S THE... REMIND ME WHAT HE IS AGAIN? “And when I speak to world leaders, I remind them -- leaders in those countries, that the worship services are a necessary part of developing a society for which they can be proud.”

LET US PRAY: “I ask for the good Lord to continue to bless our country.”

Speaking of praying to the deity of one’s choice, Bush later spoke in the Rose Garden about drilling for oil.

ALSO, “OO, FIREWORKS, PRETTY.”: “ When members of Congress were home over the Fourth of July recess, they heard a clear message from their constituents: We need to take action now to expand domestic oil production.”

OR TO BUY A LOTTERY TICKET OR PORN OR CHEETOS OR... “Every extra dollar they have to spend because of high gas prices is one dollar less they can use to put food on the table or send a child to school.”

He’s lifting the old executive order on offshore drilling, and demands that Congress follow suit: “This means that the only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress.” That’s really quite a visual, isn’t it?