While Gov. Rick Perry was doing his best impression of Kevin Bacon in Animal House while discussing the Texas economy in yesterday’s State of the State Address, there were his normal plaudits for ordinary citizens (and maybe some not so ordinary.)

After a year of three major hurricanes (Dolly, Gustav and Ike) there were a lot of people that could be in line for some plaudits. So, while taking time to bash FEMA for being too slow in response, and completely ignoring the work of the Red Cross and the thousands of state and city employees that turned out to volunteer, Perry decided instead to praise the work of Somebody Cares America.

Perry described it as “a Houston-based group whose volunteers worked tirelessly to bring thousands of meals and even hot showers to Texans whose lives were turned upside down by Hurricane Ike.”

All laudable achievements, but Perry missed out another word: Evangelical (yup, this was another big nod to the concept of faith-based initiatives.) The group also wasn’t chosen at random: Founder Doug Stringer gave the opening invocation at the 2008 Republican Party of Texas convention and was appointed by Perry to his One Star Foundation – Perry’s faith-based initiatives outfit.

This article appears in January 23 • 2009.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.