Open thread

This video had me laughing till the tears streamed down my face. If you haven't heard of bogus "faith healer" and spewer of failed prophecies Benny Hinn, let this be your introduction to his "powers":



One of his many failed prophecies:

"The Lord also tells me to tell you in the mid 90's, about '94-'95, no later than that, God will destroy the homosexual community of America. [audience applauds] But He will not destroy it - with what many minds have thought Him to be, He will destroy it with fire. And many will turn and be saved, and many will rebel and be destroyed."
--  Orlando Christian Center, Dec. 31st, 1989

Related:
* Scam artist Benny Hinn to flock: pay for my new ministry jet Read More......

Wal-Mart pulls dog treats; no public announcement

No recall needed yet. I guess the big box retailer hoped its customers wouldn't notice that it hasn't been testing imported pet products sold at its stores since the Menu Foods Melamine Affair. Move along...

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. quietly stopped selling two brands of dog treats in July, after customers voiced concerns that the Chinese products may have caused their pets to fall ill, but no recall has been announced, a company spokeswoman confirmed.

The world's largest retailer started pulling Chicken Jerky Strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co. and Chicken Jerky from Shanghai Bestro Trading on July 26, spokeswoman Deisha Galberth said late Monday.

Wal-Mart also placed a computerized block on all cash registers to prevent workers from selling the products, Galberth said.

"When we took it off shelves at the end of July, we pulled it based on the customer feedback so we could do testing prior to announcing anything publicly," Galberth said. "That's why did not make a public announcement -- it was still going through the testing process."

Read More......

Bush White House is launching a negative ad campaign against Republicans

Wow. The Bush administration is clearly going off the deep end. They are now using their passion for negative ads against their fellow Republicans (like Mitch McConnell who said that come September we'd better be changing course in Iraq). And, of course, it's all about Iraq. They are doing it through some phantom organization called "Freedom's Watch." The spokesperson for the group is none other than Bush spinmeister Ari Fleischer:

Freedom's Watch, a conservative group, plans to launch a $15 million advertising campaign in 20 states today. The group's spokesman, former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer, says the goal is to tell people that the buildup of U.S. troops in Iraq is working.

"We want to get the message to both Democrats and Republicans: Don't cut and run, fully fund the troops, and victory is the only objective," Fleischer says.

Um, yeah, we've heard that from Ari Fleischer before....when he was the Bush mouth piece. Same old Bush talking points.

Iraq has always been a political issue for the Bush team. Who knew they'd aim their political fire at Republicans. They must be losing the support of GOP members of Congress in droves. That makes sense because Congress has been home -- and the Republican Representatives and Senators have probably been getting the crap kicked out of them for sticking with Bush on Iraq. So, now the Republicans are turning on each other. Read More......

Whiny winger baby award goes to...

Kevin McCullough of Townhall, and the aptly named, Musclehead Revolution (Christianity Today has called him "the heir apparent to Dobson and Falwell"). He's whining about "angry gay bloggers," specifically NGBlog and OutsideTheTent, for "misreporting" on his work. If I had a nickel for all the instances when gay bloggers have had their words twisted by fundies.

Boo hoo, Kevin. How can anyone take you seriously when you say things like this, because "science says so":

[S]exual behavior is entirely a choice and something they can control - and race is not.

In other words - we can not codify into law, preferences based on someone's choices. Whereas equal rights can never be disallowed for someone's state of being. No one has a choice on their skin color. Everyone has a choice in their behavior.

It is the totality of the entire debate between changing marriage laws to include non-marital unions or not too. The argument these angry gay bloggers and other radicals in the homosexual community have made is that because they were "born that way" they deserve the same special protections as actual minorities.

Ah yes, reducing orientation to sex acts alone -- the stale  argument of the right wing. So one's gender identity must also be a choice in Kevin's eyes -- you simply need to go to the store and pick out clothing appropriate to your birth genitalia.

It's more than whether it's a "choice" as we see it -- McCullough sees bisexuality as "part-time homosexuality" -- religion is a choice as well, so how is "choice" a threshold for civil rights? For the wingers, their illogical reference to choice is that somehow a decision to have homosexual sex is a choice, yet heterosexual attraction/sex is not, it's God-ordained appropriate fitting of parts with a goal (procreation), and therefore any other sexual activity is against nature, Satanic, and those that participate in it are deviant. I doubt McCullough feels that he "chose" to be heterosexual.

Again -- whiny baby Kevin is upset that he's being chastised by the homos. We should be showering him with hugs, kisses, and flowers for truth-telling statements like these:

On Mary Cheney and Heather Poe having a child:

If they were to choose to engage in sex acts a thousand times over, their biological machinery would never produce what is needed - but for a different reason. There is no dysfunction in this case. Instead, the reason the sexual engagement does not work is because the necessary parts are not even present. It is the equivalent of screwing a nut onto a bolt, by using a hammer. They just don't fit.

More crude drivel:

Homosexual behavior and Christianity do not mix. From the standpoint of theory, theology, doctrine, and practice the two are totally and completely incompatible; as are adultery, pornography, bestiality, pedophilia, pre-marital sex, incest, cross dressing, multiple partner orgies and the list goes on.

From his piece Why homosexuals despise marriage:

For instance, a woman who engages in lesbianism will never know the joy of lovemaking that creates within her the product of that union -- an actual human life. She will never know the security of a true man protecting her from the dragons of the world and providing for her an environment where she can nurture and give love to that little life once it arrives, or the stamp of approval that God puts on such an experience. And because she and her partner know this, they must defy reason, biology and sexual function to create children and experiences that serve as faulty substitutes for that God-ordained picture.

Likewise, a man who seeks his perverse kicks by depositing the seed of life in, shall we say, non-life-giving cavities, may know orgasm, but never complete union, as he uses anatomy in ways for which the Creator did not create it.

Anyone have the tiny violin? Read More......

Remember all the new women's rights in Iraq? Yeah, not so much.

One of the ways war supporters used guilt to manipulate people into wrong-headed views about the invasion of Iraq was to exploit empathy for oppressed minorities in the nation. There are countless nations in the world that would engender the condemnation of Americans if people knew the details of their respective civil structures, and Iraq was near the top of the despicable list. In particular, Saddam's government treated women poorly (if better, one should note, than several other Arab nations), and there was much discussion -- from Laura Bush especially -- about the importance of freeing women through the war.

It won't surprise anyone, of course, to hear that women in today's Iraq are overwhelmingly worse off than before. As the conservative Shia majority gains control of the nation, rights are slipping away, and women are vulnerable to a host of problems and challenges due to the continuing conflict.

In particular, as Salon's Broadsheet notes, it's harder for women to leave the country due to a terrible law preventing women from getting passports without permission from a husband, father, brother, or uncle:

For years local authorities had let enforcement of this rule slide. But now that Iraqi authorities are trying to crack down on forged passports, all passports have to be issued through a central agency in Baghdad -- and that central authority takes the permission requirement seriously. So now women like Rezan Muhammad Ali, who was interviewed by the [Hartford] Courant, are being told that they can't get passports without a male relative's consent.

As you might imagine, this has a hugely pernicious effect upon women living without male relatives. Hmmmm . . . what might cause a woman to lack male relatives . . . oh wait, I know -- all her relatives being killed! Like, say, in a war. Or if her male relatives are off fighting in that war. Or in hiding because of the war.

An idiotic law, an awful result, and yet another consequence of a horrific conflict that should have been avoided in the first place and certainly should be ended now. Read More......

Vick Pleads Guilty

A few weeks back, I posted a story about the NAACP defending Michael Vick. Some of the comments indicated that my premise, that the NAACP was mistaken to defend Vick and that their actions were hypocritical, was not on target.

So with Vick agreeing to cop a plea today, my question is - was it worth it for the NAACP to defend Michael Vick? Was it smart for the preeminent civil rights organization to throw their weight behind a man who allegedly strangled, drowned and electrocuted animals? Read More......

US Army at a breaking point because of Iraq

The Republicans have quite literally destroyed the US Army. What if we're attacked again? And what if it's something unexpected - like North Korea, China, or who knows? We are no longer prepared to fight and win a war because the Republicans have broken the US Army. Imagine had Bill Clinton done this during such dangerous times? The Republicans not only show a supreme disrespect for our troops, they show a supreme disrespect for all of our lives.

PS I wonder how Congressmen Baird, McNerney and Mahoney feel about being responsible for breaking the Army. You break it, you own it. Read More......

IT'S A MIRACLE!!! Iraq has SUDDENLY gotten MUCH BETTER in the past 24 hours!!! Praise Jesus, it's a freaking MIRACLE!!! Part 2

Three Democratic congressmen have just come back from a dog and pony show in Iraq and suddenly think everything is going just great! Surprise surprise surprise. As I've written before, General Petraeus is known for his sweet-as-candy ability to lie his way out of any crisis, so it's no wonder that his smoke-and-mirrors production of Iraq, the musical, snookered these 3 Dems. Still, it's rather sickening that these Democrats have chosen to go the Joe Lieberman route - letting our troops continue to die for a lie because they don't have the backbone to call this disaster for what it is. First, the clip from the Post, then a few salient questions for our new Democratic Iraq experts:

a few Democratic lawmakers have returned expressing support for a continued troop presence. One of them, Rep. Brian Baird (Wash.), said yesterday that he will no longer vote for binding troop withdrawal timelines....

Last Friday, Baird told the Olympian, a newspaper in his district, that he now believes the United States should stay in the country as long as necessary to ensure stability.

That followed comments by Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.) suggesting that his trip to Iraq made him more flexible in his search for a bipartisan accord on the future U.S. role in the conflict. "If anything, I'm more willing to work to find a way forward," he told reporters late last month.

Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.), who was with McNerney, told his local paper that the troop increase "has really made a difference and really has gotten al-Qaeda on their heels."

Gee, what great news. So I'm assuming the following is true regarding these Dems' visit to Iraq:

1. They weren't stuck inside the Green Zone like every other codel.
2. When leaving the Green Zone, if they left at all, they didn't have massive security, including helicopters and dozens of US troops, just like John McCain had.
3. They didn't have to wear their kevlar vests even inside the US embassy because things have gotten so dangerous.
4. The facts they have backing up their assertions that the surge has "made a difference" has nothing to do with Al Anbar province, since Al Anbar wasn't included in the surge. This is an important point, as it's the only real success that Petraeus ever points to in order to justify the surge - a province the surge didn't cover. I seriously hope these congressmen don't dare mention Al Anbar.

As for Congressman Baird, I'm rather shocked that he is now supporting the permanent stationing of 171,000 US troops in Iraq. I can't imagine that even HIS district supports that. But that's what he said. So long as the troops are needed for stability, they should stay - period, no ifs ands or buts. Well, that would be forever, under the current estimates. Is the congressman okay with our troops fighting and dying forever in Iraq if stability is never within reach?

And Congressman Mahoney, you didn't actually just say that your proof for how well the surge is going is that Al Qaeda in Iraq is somehow on the run? I mean, you actually believe, congressman, that Al Qaeda in Iraq is the major player to consider when determining if we're winning? It's a civil war, congressman. AQI is ancillary to that war, and any school kid know that. Seriously, someone please go ask the congressman to expand on his statement, because if that's what he really said, the man needs to be eviscerated for coming back from Iraq and still not even understanding the basics of the battle taking place over there. How utterly embarrassing. Read More......

Foreclosures up 93% from same period last year

There's no story here; move along...

Countrywide cuts 500 mortgage jobs.

Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest mortgage lender, said Monday it has eliminated about 500 jobs as it tries to ride out problems from a credit crunch that has rocked the home loan industry.

...The Calabasas-based company also tried to reassure its banking customers that their money was safe. Countrywide ran full-page ads in U.S. newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and Detroit Free Press, in which it asserted "the future is bright" at Countrywide Bank FSB.

...Countrywide said last Thursday it had borrowed $11.5 billion so it could keep making home loans.

U.S. foreclosures rise sharply in July.

Foreclosure filings rose 9 percent from June to July and surged 93 percent over the same period last year, with Nevada, Georgia and Michigan accounting for the highest foreclosure rates nationwide, a research firm said Tuesday.

...The figures are the latest measure of the ailing housing market, which has seen defaults and foreclosures soar as financially strapped borrowers have failed to make payments or find buyers.

In all, 179,599 foreclosure filings were reported during July, up from 92,845 in the year-ago month, according to Irvine-based RealtyTrac Inc.

If you're in California, Florida, Michigan, Ohio or Georgia, keep those blinders on -- those states account for over 50% of the foreclosure filings. Read More......

Bush cuts tens of thousands of children out of health insurance program

If you agree that children should be cut off from health insurance, then please do vote Republican. Bush was opposed to this program from the start. He tried to kill its reauthorization. And now he's trying to dismantle it for tens of thousands of kids. Welcome to the Republican party. Read More......

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

That Dean is one fierce hurricane. Hopefully, the Mexican people have a government that will support them after the storm hits. The fact that the Mexican president cut short a visit to Canada (where he was meeting with Bush) is already an improvement over Bush. Yes, the leader of Mexico didn't stay away when a major hurricane was ripping through his country. What a concept.

Let's get it started. Read More......

Our first Paris AMERICAblog meet-up was a success

We held our first AMERICAblog get together in Paris last night, and it went really well. I was kind of afraid nobody would show, but we had about 12 or 13 people, including a few of my friends, show up at Marcus' art studio. It was actually quite fun. An American couple from Boston, who are swapping apartments with a family in France for the month, came with their two adorable kids. A Franco-American couple who are soon moving to Sacramento came by. Also in attendance, a reader from Seattle who is here to study French for a month, and a woman who has been here for several years and is a painter - she showed with another friend. It was a nice, small intimate crowd, and we hung out till around 1030 pm. We definitely have to do more of these (and we still have to do on in DC!)

(Unfortunately, the panoramic shot got a bit screwed up, so you're gonna miss the really cute French guy :-) Read More......