I believe this about as much as I did when Clinton said it, which is to say, not at all:
Evangelist Ted Haggard admitted Friday that he bought methamphetamine and received a massage from a gay prostitute who claims he was paid for drug-fueled trysts by the outspoken gay marriage opponent.
…Talking to reporters outside his house Friday, Haggard denied the sex allegations but said that he did buy meth from the man because he was curious.
"I bought it for myself but never used it," he said. "I was tempted, but I never used it."
Honey, that doesn’t even register on the Belief-o-Meter.
…the other Republican homobigot facing allegations that he’s gay, time to catch up with Florida gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist! Last week, a 21-year-old GOP staffer alleged that he had had an affair with Crist, and also identified Crist’s alleged long-term partner as Bruce Carlton Jordan, a man currently on probation “after serving a 30-day jail sentence for a conviction on grand theft and forgery charges.” Crist denies that he’s gay, natch, and has spent the last week ratcheting up his opposition to gay adoption and support of the Federal Marriage Amendment. Anyhoo, here’s the update:
Evidence, however, is piling up that he and Jordan, whom the GOP candidate claims not to remember ever having met, had a relationship and that his Republican opponent Tom Gallagher knew about it prior to the September 5 primary vote.
Much of the information surrounding the relationship came, unwittingly and somewhat ironically, from the Harris U.S. Senate campaign, where Jordan worked as the congresswoman's personal travel aide not long after his release from jail in February.
It was while he was employed in that capacity that another traveler on the Harris campaign, Dee Dee Hall, befriended him. In a videotaped statement that I obtained over the weekend, Hall swears that Jordan confided to her that he had an ongoing romantic relationship with Crist.
…"He said that he was involved with Charlie," she says on the tape after she was sworn in by a court reporter. "I was like, 'OK.' He just stated his first name. He said, 'Maybe you've heard of him.' He said Charlie Crist."
…[Jay Vass], who is a registered Republican, said that while he was serving as the pilot for the Harris campaign this summer, he spent many hours with Jordan. He said that during that time, Jordan told him and other Harris staffers that he was dating Crist.
The pilot also said that Jordan and other Harris staffers were matter-of-fact about the relationship and treated as a fact that Crist is gay. … "I couldn't believe they were so open about it," says Vass. "I asked him, 'Aren't you afraid of this coming out?' And Jordan said, 'It will come out sooner or later, and just as long as long as it comes out after the election, I don't care'."
No one can moan about any leftwing conspiracies this time. It’s a GOP staffer and registered Republicans who are spilling the beans about ol’ Charlie. Love that they’re attached to Katherine Harris’ campaign. The GOP must be thrilled to tears about the massive success that debacle has been.
Crist is still leading in the polls at the moment and will likely win election to become Jeb Bush’s successor as Florida’s governor. With this scandal just starting to unfold, it will be popcorn time once he’s in residence at the governor’s mansion, having made his way atop an anti-gay platform, once the whole thing unravels.
And stay away from thisHarper's article, which talks about Pastor Ted "upsetting the devil's plans" by staking out "gay bars, inviting men to come to his church." (Via Blue Meme.)
And whatever you do, don’t watch this video of Haggard talking about homosexuality from the movie "Jesus Camp." (Via Griffin.)
Grades publicly released for George W. Bush at Yale (1964-1968) apparently differ from grade records for Bush stored in his residential hall on campus. The published grades are better than the grades stored in earlier records.
Gee, I’m stunned. Stunned, I tell you!
So, apparently, for many years, “important records including student grade and discipline records” were stored at the residential colleges, but in the 1960’s, it was decided that the records should be stored “in a more official place, so academic records came to be stored in the registrar’s office.” But the old records were left in the basements of the residential colleges.
According to an informed source, the “official school records at the registrar’s office were much kinder” than these other records. The key observations come from recent Yale alumni. One Yale student, offspring of an award winning educator, who graduated in 2002 with a strong undergraduate record, found out while at Yale that Bush had lived in the same residence and was not charmed by this discovery. A number of students were aware that the residences traditionally kept old grade records. This student was among those who went down to the basement, checked the older records physically and looked at them. Students discussed among themselves the disparities between some grades published for Bush and those stored in the residence hall basement. According to anecdote, some of the housed grade records had also been physically altered, with grades whited out or obscured and other grades substituted.
Another huge surprise—the White House hasn’t responded to questions about the disparity between the published records and the records found in the basement. And neither has Yale.
Now, mind you, if Bush really wasn’t maintaining a passing average at Yale, he should have been flunked out—which promptly would have resulted in the loss of his student deferment. Of course, we already know that Bush the Fortunate Son had lots of help keeping his precious ass out of Vietnam.
The best part of this story may be that it looks like Bush never even attended history class, though his official records say he graduated from Yale with a BA in history: “Bush has said he did attend, but the grade records indicate otherwise. ‘We don’t think he was ever there’.” I love it.
Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The Bush administration did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who had said they hoped to “leverage the Internet” to find new evidence of the prewar dangers posed by Saddam Hussein.
But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb.
Last night, the government shut down the Web site after The New York Times asked about complaints from weapons experts and arms-control officials. A spokesman for the director of national intelligence said access to the site had been suspended “pending a review to ensure its content is appropriate for public viewing.”
Beyond expressing my resigned lack of shock, I hardly know what else to say. Although, it’s the deepest of ironies that the site was created to mollify the rightwingers who were clamoring for more information after the WMD rationale was looking grim—an irony well-covered by Atrios, Sadly, No!, Oliver Willis, Digby, and Echidne, among others. Basically, it looked like when the Republicans were toiling to justify the invasion, they posted all of this documentation in the hopes that their rabid cult members who were demanding more info would spend the time digging through it all and come up with something they could use:
Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, Republicans who lobbied for the data’s release, said it was important that the information be made available quickly to the public, including political “blogs.”
“We’re hoping to unleash the power of the Internet, unleash the power of the blogosphere, to get through these documents and give us a better understanding of what was going on in Iraq before the war,” said Hoekstra, chairman of the House of Representatives’ Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
After Pastor Ted Haggard went public Wednesday night denying allegations of a homosexual affair, senior church officials told KKTV 11News Thursday evening, Pastor Ted Haggard has admitted to some of the claims made by a former male escort. The church's Acting Senior Pastor, Ross Parsley, tells KKTV 11 News that Pastor Haggard has admitted to some of the indiscretions claimed by Mike Jones, but not all of them.
Well, how many were there? Two, by my count. One: Sex. Two: Meth use.
I would guess that he’s admitting to the drug use, but not the sex—not only because that makes his apology easier (“…and now I’m off to rehab!”), but also because the voicemails provided by Jones seem to center around the procurement of meth rather than the procurement of bootie. A nationally-recognized voice recognition expert has said he believes the voicemails are from Haggard.
And here are some other rather amusing details: Haggard found Jones either “through an ad Jones placed in a gay newspaper or on the website Rentboy.com.” (Yes, that sounds like someone just looking for a meth dealer.) And for two and a half years, Jones had no idea what Haggard’s position was, but “about six months ago,” Jones was watching TV and “saw a History Channel program on the Antichrist that included Haggard as an expert.” An evangelical leader outed to his gay hooker via a cable documentary featuring his expertise on the Antichrist. The best fiction writers in the world couldn’t come up with this stuff.
Tom DeLay, the former Republican congressman from Texas and House majority leader who resigned in June under an ethical cloud, came to Long Island yesterday to promote his vision of "moral clarity" that he said should guide Americans' discussion about how to best combat terrorism.
“Moral clarity” that includes supporting water boarding, which totally isn’t torture, bitchez.
"I don't think water boarding is torture," DeLay said. "My definition of torture is you physically harm someone by cutting them, by cutting their fingers, sticking things in their eyes, sticking their fingers in electric sockets. Water boarding is a frightening experience. But the person does not have physical damage."
All right then.
It’s nice to see DeLay is making good use of all his free time by sitting around contemplating precisely what he thinks constitutes torture. I’m amazed he didn’t say, “My definition of torture is you physically harm Nancy Pelosi…err…someone by cutting them…”
DeLay’s little dissertation on “moral clarity” is a perfect example of why the GOP’s “values” rhetoric is just so much hot air. The word “values” doesn’t mean anything, in and of itself. It’s an ethically neutral word. Everyone has values. What matters is not that you have values, but what values you have. Jeffrey Dahmer valued killing people and eating them. Tom DeLay values water boarding people. I value not killing people, not eating them, and not water boarding them. See? Everyone has values.
Engineering and construction firm Bechtel Group Inc. is leaving Iraq after spending three years rebuilding the war-torn country that netted the company roughly $2.3 billion in government contracts.
Oh, it’s rebuilt then?! Good news.
The company said it completed 97 of the 99 tasks it had been charged with completing by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
In a statement issued to the Congressional committee on government reform in late September, company president Cliff Mumm stood by the company's efforts.
"We provided training to thousands of Iraqi professionals and craft workers. And we accomplished all this with a safety record that would be the envy of any firm operating in the United States," said Mumm. "We are proud of our record in Iraq."
I’m not sure that “any firm operating in the US” would envy a record that includes 52 dead workers in three years. But who cares about them, since 47 of them were Iraqis, right?
Now, we all know full well that Iraq has not been rebuilt, that the infrastructure is still largely fucked, that power and water is still dodgy, if not totally unavailable, in lots of places, and that the worsening civil war is creating more destruction—and hence, more to rebuild—every day. So obviously, it’s not like there’s not more work for Bechtel. Are they “cutting and running” after earning $2.3 billion in contracts? Or has the government not offered them anything else beyond their last contract, which ended Tuesday, signaling some kind of resignation to the realities in Iraq? Good questions, and obvious too, don’tcha think? Too bad neither Bechtel nor the government is willing to provide answers.
Expect to be hearing a lot of hootin' and hollerin' from the Republicans in the days leading up to the election about this:
WASHINGTON - The unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low of 4.4 percent in October as employers added 92,000 new jobs — flashing a picture of a strong labor market as the midterm elections draw near.
The latest report, released Friday by the Labor Department, showed that the civilian unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage point from 4.6 percent in September. It marked the third month in a row that the politically prominent jobless rate declined.
The tally of new jobs added to the economy in October fell short of economists expectations for an increase of around 125,000 positions, however. Nonetheless, job gains in both August and September turned out to be much stronger than previously estimated — and that took a lot of the sting out of October's less-than-expected payroll performance.
While any increase in employment and wages, particularly when our economy is so lousy, is good to hear about, it's important to remember that this is Dubya's America. And just like a closer look at the crowing about the booming economy shows that it, of course, benefits the richest of Americans, the news about this increase in jobs isn't exactly all peaches and cream.
On the payroll front, job losses in manufacturing, construction and retail offset gains in professional and business services, education and health, government and elsewhere.
Factories shed 39,000 jobs in October, marking the fourth straight month of employment cuts. Construction companies got rid of 26,000 jobs, while retailers trimmed 3,500 positions.
Professional and businesses services, meanwhile, added 43,000 jobs. Education and health expanded employment by 28,000, and the government payroll swelled by 34,000.
So, most likely, Bush and Republicans will be hollering to these same factory, construction, and retail workers about how good they have it, when in fact, jobs for these workers are being cut left and right. Now, I've got to say, I'm happy to see that swelling in education and health jobs... and I'm happy to read this:
All told the 92,000 total net jobs added in October were the fewest in a year, when the economy was suffering the blow of the Gulf Coast hurricanes.
That disappointment, however, was offset by much better job gains in the previous two months. Employers added 148,000 jobs in September, versus the 51,000 first reported. Payrolls grew by a robust 230,000 in August, stronger than the 188,000 slots previously recorded.
The 4.4 percent unemployment rate was the lowest since the spring of 2001.
The jobless rate for blacks fell to 8.6 percent last month, from 9.2 percent in September. The unemployment rate for Hispanics dropped to 4.7 percent, from 5.4 percent. The jobless rate for teen-agers declined to 15.4 percent from 16.4 percent.
...but you and I both know how Republicans pitch to the people working in the factories, construction companies, and retailers. I'm just really hoping they'll look at what's happening around them, rather than listen to rosy rhetoric.
I guess if McDonald's is hiring, everything's jake.
(Two all-beef patties, special cross-posts, lettuce, cheese...)
So often, we have the opportunity to discuss various examples of hypocrisy, whether it's Bush claiming to be a Christian but supporting torture, or anti-gay crusaders being outed, or Xenophobia Warrior Princess (aka Michelle Malkin) going on about how lefties are rude and unhinged but rightwingers aren't, etc. etc. etc.
On what issue does the hypocrisy drive you the most batshit insane?
For me, it's got to be the people who want to legislate sexual and reproductive morality, but turn out to be total pervs. That drives me bonkers.
And the hypocrisy that most disappoints me is any politician, of either party, who lives high on the hog while claiming to care about poverty. I would happily poke in the eye every last pigass greedyguts in Congress who's voted to give him/herself a raise while the federal minimum wage stagnates.
Through a written statement delivered today through his lawyer, Martin Nussbaun, Haggard said: "I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity. I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date. In the interim, I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."
…A press conference planned for this afternoon at the Pioneer's Museum has been canceled.
What New Life Church needs is a good spokesman during their ongoing investigation. Cue the McClellatron 3000!
Surely he’s spent enough time with his family and is ready to get back to work dissembling, denying, and deflecting. A master like that doesn’t abandon his trade forever.
“I don’t like the tone in Washington, D.C. I feel like that the politics has gotten ugly, and that tends to discourage people around the country. And that’s just too bad. … I’ve never really resorted to name-calling. … I understand that it’s one thing to disagree with a person, but it’s another thing to have to resort to kind of shameless name-calling. … Washington’s a lot — it’s just too — it’s too political in many ways.” — President Bush
Sure, why bother resorting to name-calling when you can just repeatedly imply that members of the opposition party and every American citizen who disagrees with you are traitors?
Why bother when you’ve got operatives from your VP on down to the scumsucking Biff Limbaugh to do it for you, while you can claim to keep your hands clean?
And, anyway, that Adam Clymer really is a “major league asshole,” and environmentalists really are “green-green lima beans,” and Kim Jong-Il really is a “pygmy” and “a spoiled child at a dinner table,” so I guess those don’t count.
Silly me. I always thought that Nigeria was rife with poverty. After all, 91% of the population lives on less than $2 USD per day. But wait: that data was from 1997, and perhaps things have changed. Nigeria now seems to be positively awash with cash if only you know where to look. Why, people there are trying to give the filthy lucre away, if the email I got today is any indication:
The President in conjunction with the Senate president and EFCC chairman has ordered the UNION BANK OF NIGERIA to settle all payment approved by the States House and office of the presidency from the ($800Billion US Dollars) which was recovered from the corrupt governors to settle all the contractors and inheritance payment whose debts has been outstanding for a long time now, the Panel also wish to inform you that you and twenty other contractors have been Approved to receive all your payment within the next 24hrs through this bank UNION BANK OF NIGERIA.
Thank God for corrupt governors! Their downfall is my windfall, if I can believe this. And why wouldn't I believe it? After all, my correspondent and new best friend looks totally trustworthy:
The Reverend J. Chrsit Ovil, Secretary General of the Federation. A man of the cloth and a high government official! Why, that just exudes double-plus trustworthiness. Here are the directives I received from the good rev:
To this regards you are advised to contact (Barrister Robert Mark), he is the only person who the federal government of Nigeria gave power to released all the over due payment. Call him immediately you received this mail message on his direct Tel no: 234-80-66078907 and confirmed to him your total fund and this new payment code number (CIP/XX32/UBG/2006) given to you for this payment. Send your account information and your telephone and fax number to him or mail him on this Email: revosuthomas@yahoo.com for more information.
Whoopsie. Probably shouldn't have posted that phone number on the web. Or that email address. Or that code number. But what the hey. There's lots of cash to go around. I'm not greedy.
Note: Hey, do you think that Rev. Ovil misspelled his middle name? Perhaps it's "Christ," not "Chrsit." Wow, J. Christ! That seems even more trustworthy! Unless, of course, the rev simply can't spell his own name.
Everybody's favorite 1980s TV car had a secret of his own that hasn't been publicly revealed until now. David Hasselhoff - Mr. Gayness himself - recently exposed the truth and revealed to a number of stunned fans in Ireland that his talking "Knight Rider" car was gay.
The actor - who is in Britain promoting his autobiography, a movie and a new single - shocked students when he came out with the comment about Kitt during an appearance at Trinity College in Dublin.
He said, "We have some fairly X-rated outtakes on 'Knight Rider.' Kitt was constantly asking, 'Do you want me to take you home Michael?' in that very camp voice of his."
David Hasselhoff is Mr. Gayness? I had no idea. I thought that was Rip Taylor. Wev. You be the judge:
By the way, this might be the greatest picture ever, in the history of photography:
Ralph Peters wholeheartedly supported the greatest foreign policy blunder of modern times. Now that the failure of George Bush's war in Iraq is plain for even him to see, now that an entire nation has been wrecked and laid open to murder and chaos, Peters soberly, regretfully - and quite unsurprisingly - blames the Iraqis.
Based upon firsthand experience, I was convinced that the Middle East was so politically, socially, morally and intellectually stagnant that we had to risk intervention — or face generations of terrorism and tumult.
And yet the likelihood of "generations of terrorism and tumult" is what we bought anyway - purchased with the blood of thousands in a war based on a trumped-up rationale. All in the name of a grandiose experiment, the notion of delivering democracy by the sword.
Whose failure is it, again?
Our military is now being employed for political purposes. It's unworthy of our nation.
Peters and other war pundits like him - passing the buck of "incompetence!" onto Bush the way bookies lay off bets - still aren't honest enough to admit that our military was wedded to political purposes the moment that Bush decided to invade Iraq.
"It's unworthy of our nation." As shameless as Peters is, he's right about that much.
"Just push the yellow button and you can vote as many times as you want," Tom Courbat, an Election Integrity advocate from Riverside County, California informed The BRAD BLOG tonight. Not that we're in any mood to report more such stories, but this seems to be a big one. A very big one.
It seems there's a little yellow button on the back of every touch-screen computer made by Sequoia Voting Systems, that allows any voter, or poll worker, or precinct inspector to set the system into "Manual Mode" allowing them to cast as many votes as they want.
…Thanks to the diligence of Watt and Courbat, it is now confirmed that all such systems are completely vulnerable to virtually anyone who wishes to cast as many votes as they please.
Solitaire: “The poll workers are supposedly going to be watching the backs of the machines on election day to make sure nobody reaches around and hits the little yellow button. It's that easy. It can be done in a matter of seconds. These are the machines that will be in use all over California on November 7. Terrific. This little vulnerability has been known and ignored by the California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson for a month. Now, let's all go vote, shall we?”
I mean, I don’t even know what to say about this stuff anymore. We’re certainly not in a position to do anything about it, aside from writing to our Senators and Reps, and signing Rush Holt’s petition, which I know many Shakers have already done. I’ve already written both my Senators and my Rep about it multiple times.
I have no idea why the Democrats have not turned this into a major campaign issue. If they don’t pass legislation requiring paper trails as a first priority after retaking the House, if they do so, then they’re fucking nuts. And fucking useless to boot.
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