BREAKING: All 4 leading military papers will call Monday for Rumsfeld to resign or be fired

Let's face it. If God really is a Republican, then he's really pissed.

Editor & Publisher was able to get the entire editorial via The Ross Report. It will be published Monday in the Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times. Here is the text:

TIME FOR RUMSFELD TO GO

"So long as our government requires the backing of an aroused and informed public opinion ... it is necessary to tell the hard bruising truth."

That statement was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Marguerite Higgins more than a half-century ago during the Korean War.

But until recently, the "hard bruising" truth about the Iraq war has been difficult to come by from leaders in Washington. One rosy reassurance after another has been handed down by President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: "mission accomplished," the insurgency is "in its last throes," and "back off," we know what we're doing, are a few choice examples.

Military leaders generally toed the line, although a few retired generals eventually spoke out from the safety of the sidelines, inciting criticism equally from anti-war types, who thought they should have spoken out while still in uniform, and pro-war foes, who thought the generals should have kept their critiques behind closed doors.

Now, however, a new chorus of criticism is beginning to resonate. Active-duty military leaders are starting to voice misgivings about the war's planning, execution and dimming prospects for success.

Army Gen. John Abizaid, chief of U.S. Central Command, told a Senate Armed Services Committee in September: "I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it ... and that if not stopped, it is possible that Iraq could move towards civil war."

Last week, someone leaked to The New York Times a Central Command briefing slide showing an assessment that the civil conflict in Iraq now borders on "critical" and has been sliding toward "chaos" for most of the past year. The strategy in Iraq has been to train an Iraqi army and police force that could gradually take over for U.S. troops in providing for the security of their new government and their nation.

But despite the best efforts of American trainers, the problem of molding a viciously sectarian population into anything resembling a force for national unity has become a losing proposition.

For two years, American sergeants, captains and majors training the Iraqis have told their bosses that Iraqi troops have no sense of national identity, are only in it for the money, don't show up for duty and cannot sustain themselves.

Meanwhile, colonels and generals have asked their bosses for more troops. Service chiefs have asked for more money.

And all along, Rumsfeld has assured us that things are well in hand.

Now, the president says he'll stick with Rumsfeld for the balance of his term in the White House.

This is a mistake.

It is one thing for the majority of Americans to think Rumsfeld has failed. But when the nation's current military leaders start to break publicly with their defense secretary, then it is clear that he is losing control of the institution he ostensibly leads.

These officers have been loyal public promoters of a war policy many privately feared would fail. They have kept their counsel private, adhering to more than two centuries of American tradition of subordination of the military to civilian authority.

And although that tradition, and the officers' deep sense of honor, prevent them from saying this publicly, more and more of them believe it.

Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised. And although the blame for our failures in Iraq rests with the secretary, it will be the troops who bear its brunt.

This is not about the midterm elections. Regardless of which party wins Nov. 7, the time has come, Mr. President, to face the hard bruising truth:

Donald Rumsfeld must go.

Read the rest of this post...

Friday Orchid Blogging

(click to see a larger photo)

In honor of Ted Haggard, I tried to find the most pornographic new orchid shot that I'd taken of late. I think this one is pretty good - taken recently at the orchid show in DC. It's a Masdevalia of some sort. I've never grown them, doubt I can - they need cooler temps (daytime highs of 65F to 75F) and high humidity (60% to 80%) - think San Francisco weather.

Anyway, I have a number of photos of different Masdies I'll be sharing in the future - some are equally suggestive, but this one just spoke to me, considering the day. Enjoy. Read the rest of this post...

DCCC launches attack ad against Musgrave

Just in time for Marilyn's big visit from Bush:

Aggressive to the end, Democrats opened two new fronts Friday in the battle for control of Congress, unleashing a costly televised attack against a Colorado Republican and airing radio ads on Christian stations favored by Republican listeners.

The television commercial, by the party's House campaign committee, was aimed at Republican Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, a second-term Colorado lawmaker in an unexpectedly tight race for re-election. "She works overtime for special interests," says the ad, which drew a swift rebuttal from her campaign.

The latest poll has the race virtually tied. Musgrave leads 44% - 43% over Angie Paccione. The third party candidate has 11% support and 2% are undecided. What's key about this poll is that the same pollsters had Musgrave up by 10 points (48% - 38%) just two weeks ago.

The GOP has thrown everything at Angie -- and she keeps doing better. We love her. Read the rest of this post...

Neocons now blame Bush for Iraq failure (none of it was their fault)

Vanity Fair provides a preview of an upcoming article with neocon leaders Richard Perle, Kenneth Adelman and David Frum, among others. They are brutal now towards Bush and his administration over the Iraq quagmire. The cheerleaders for the Iraq war blame Bush for the failure.

Perle:

"The decisions did not get made that should have been. They didn't get made in a timely fashion, and the differences were argued out endlessly.… At the end of the day, you have to hold the president responsible.… I don't think he realized the extent of the opposition within his own administration, and the disloyalty."

Adelman:

"I just presumed that what I considered to be the most competent national-security team since Truman was indeed going to be competent. They turned out to be among the most incompetent teams in the post-war era. Not only did each of them, individually, have enormous flaws, but together they were deadly, dysfunctional."

And Frum, who wrote the infamous "axis of evil" speech:

"I always believed as a speechwriter that if you could persuade the president to commit himself to certain words, he would feel himself committed to the ideas that underlay those words. And the big shock to me has been that although the president said the words, he just did not absorb the ideas. And that is the root of, maybe, everything."

The neocons are right that Bush is a disaster. Yet, somehow, they seem to absolve themselves of any responsibility. They all have blood on their hands. For no good reason. It's disgusting. And, it's why the GOP is going to lose badly on Tuesday. Read the rest of this post...

Rumsfeld's Pentagon was going to send Abu Ghraib offender back to Iraq

Until someone asked them, are you nuts? Read the rest of this post...

7 more US troops killed in Iraq today, 56 bodies found in Baghdad

It's a bloodbath. And George Bush's plan? There is none. Oh yeah, but he and the Republicans in Congress have decided to shut down the US office in Iraq that oversees waste and corruption. Why? Because they can.

....spiralling violence that included seven American deaths and the discovery of 56 bodies in the Iraqi capital bearing signs of torture.

The bodies found scattered around Baghdad were of Iraqi men between 20 and 45 years old, and all were apparent victims of sectarian death squads, police said Friday.

All wore civilian clothes and had been bound at the wrists and ankles, police Lt. Mohammed Khayon said. He said the bodies showed signs of having been tortured, a common practice among religious extremists who seize victims from private homes or from cars and buses travelling the capital's dangerous streets....

The U.S. military announced the deaths of three soldiers in Baghdad and four marines in the western province of Anbar, the heart of the Sunni insurgency.

A brief statement said the three soldiers died Thursday when the vehicle they were riding in was struck by a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad.

A separate announcement said one marine died from injuries "sustained due to enemy action" on Thursday in Anbar.

Read the rest of this post...

Dems call for investigation of Bush White House publishing on Internet plans for making a nuke

You won't ever see this investigation, we'll never know what went wrong, if you vote Republican. From Congressman Langevin's office:

Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Nuclear and Biological Attack, today called on the committee's Republican leaders to immediately start an investigation into allegations uncovered in today's New York Times describing a U.S. government website that posted sensitive details about Iraq's former nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs.

"We are keenly aware of the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction to our citizens, our interests and our allies, and we have a responsibility to prevent the dissemination of any sensitive documents and information that could be used in a future attack against our homeland," stated Thompson and Langevin. "The U.S. has made it a top priority to safeguard nuclear materials and to prevent terrorist organizations and state sponsors of terrorism from obtaining the materials, technology and information needed to develop their own WMD capabilities and this development seemingly flies in the face of those efforts."

According to experts quoted in the article, the "Operation Iraqi Freedom Document Portal" contained specific information and detailed instructions about how to develop nuclear and chemical weapons.

"It is ironic that the same Republicans who claim that National Security is their top priority continue to act in ways that make our nation less safe," said Thompson. "Our intelligence community has already told us that our invasion and continued presence in Iraq has resulted in an increase in the terrorist threat against us. Now President Bush, under pressure from Congressional Republicans, has posted sensitive documents that weapons experts have called a "cookbook" for nuclear and chemical weapons on the world wide web for all to see - including terrorists."

Because of the serious concerns raised in the article, Langevin and Thompson asked for an investigation into how such a significant breach occurred, what sensitive information was posted on the website, whether any foreign agents or terrorist organizations accessed the pages, and what potential harm can come from this breach. Additionally, they believe that, no later than the week of November 13, the Homeland Security Committee should hold hearings as well as schedule classified briefings for committee members to provide a candid assessment of the scope of this problem.

"Congress must demonstrate its serious commitment to preventing the proliferation of WMD," continued Langevin. "We need immediate action to examine what failures occurred that led to such a major breach of security."

Read the rest of this post...

Religious right leader James Dobson ignores Haggard drug allegations

Apparently buying crystal meth is so insignificant an issue that the other leader of the religious right, James Dobson, didn't even bother mentioning it in his press release. But Dobson had no problem beating the gay drum numerous times. Yet again, gays are worse than hard drug users to the religious right:

Focus on the Family Statement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Gary Schneeberger
Nov. 3, 2006 Phone: (719) 548-5853
E-mail: culturalissues@family.org

Dobson 'Heartsick' Over Haggard Allegations
"We ask that Christians everywhere pray for Ted"

Colorado Springs — Focus on the Family founder and Chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., issued the following statement today after learning the Rev. Ted Haggard had acknowledged some "indiscretions" involving accusations made against him by a gay prostitute in Denver:

"All of us at Focus on the Family are heartsick over the allegation, not yet confirmed, that Ted has had a private life with a homosexual for several years. We will await the outcome of this story, but the possibility that an illicit relationship has occurred is alarming to us and to millions of others.

"Ted has been my close friend and colleague for many years. He has been used mightily to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Colorado Springs and around the world. He will continue to be my friend, even if the worst allegations prove accurate. Nevertheless, sexual sin, whether homosexual or heterosexual, has serious consequences, and we are extremely concerned for Ted, his family and his church.

"We ask that the Focus on the Family constituency and Christians everywhere pray for Ted and his loved ones. Our hearts go out to all of them. Perhaps the allegations are false and the circumstances are not as we have heard. Either way, the situation has grave implications for the Cause of Christ, and we ask for the Lord’s guidance and blessings in the days ahead."

Read the rest of this post...

Haggard voicemail says he wanted to buy "more" crystal meth. Yet Haggard claims today he only bought it once and threw it out.

Gee, he lied.

The first voice message, left on August 4 at 2:18 p.m., says:

"Hi Mike, this is Art. Hey, I was just calling to see if we could get any more. Either $100 or $200 supply. And I could pick it up really anytime I could get it tomorrow or we could wait till next week sometime and so I also wanted to get your address. I could send you some money for inventory but that's probably not working, so if you have it then go ahead and get what you can and I may buzz up there later today, but I doubt your schedule would allow that unless you have some in the house. Okay, I'll check in with you later. Thanks a lot, bye."

$100 or $200 supply? He's even up on the sizes of the drug. Read the rest of this post...

Evangelical leader Haggard: I didn't inhale, did get a massage from a gay hooker, but did not have sex with that man

Delicious.

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.

Haggard resigned Thursday as president of the National Association of Evangelicals and stepped down as leader of his Colorado megachurch while the two groups investigate the allegations.

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."

Let's walk through what we now know, and don't know, at this point.

1. The anti-gay top evangelical leader in America, Ted Haggard, bought crystal meth from a gay hooker who has been giving him "massages" for three years.

2. That same evangelical leader lied yesterday when confronted with these allegations. Haggard said none of the allegations were true, and he said he'd never heard of Mike Jones, his accuser (and three year masseur and drug dealer).

3. Haggard wants us to believe that he was simply "curious" about crystal meth and that's why he bought some. Curious? I've been curious about a lot of things, but I've never bought hard drugs - especially while posing as the top family values conservative in America.

4. How exactly did Haggard know he could buy crystal meth from his masseur? Did Haggard continue to frequent this masseur for massages after he knew the masseur was also a drug dealer? And are the local police going to prosecute Mr. Haggard for buying hard drugs?

5. So Haggard claims he went to a gay masseur, who is also an escort, for three years but he never had sex with that man. Huh. Okay, then how did Haggard find the gay masseur escort in the first place? I could easily imagine a gay man looking for a masseur in the gay press - it's nicer to go to one of your own. But how does the top evangelical Christian leader in America end up finding a masseur who happens to be a gay escort? This just in from CNN, Haggard claims he found the masseur via a referral from a hotel he was staying at. Haggard also now admits that the voicemail recordings ARE him, and that he was trying to buy the crystal meth.

6. Does religious right leader James Dobson still think Haggard is a man of outstanding character?

7. And Joe wants to know, did he get a happy ending? Read the rest of this post...

GOP House Intelligence Committee Chariman Pete Hoekstra responsible for atomic bomb plans being published on Web

(Update from AJ: Some statements are starting to roll in, and both reporters and elected officials seem to understand what a debacle this is. Sherrod Brown has the best statement thus far, saying, in part, "The news that [Senator DeWine, who is on Senate Intel] did nothing to prevent the publication of information that could help terrorists create a nuclear weapon makes me question his judgment. There's nothing intelligent about posting materials on the Internet that could aid terrorists . . ." Kudos to the Brown campaign for understanding and addressing the issue so adroitly.)

(NOTE FROM JOHN: It's ironic that Hoekstra is investigating Democrats on the committee when he himself is now responsible for one of the greatest breaches of national security since the Rosenbergs.)

As you already know, last spring, the Bush administration posted untranslated documents collected from Saddam's regime online for all to see. These documents were supposedly screened, but after Iraq, Katrina, Mark Foley, contractor fraud, Valerie Plame, and the rest, it's pretty clear that oversight isn't the biggest deal in today's Republican party.

According to the Times,

[T]he 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.

The nuclear program was eliminated by the Gulf War, but documents remained. Who demanded their release? None other than House Intelligence Committee Chariman Pete Hoekstra, who sang the praises of "leveraging the internet," i.e., throwing a political bone to right-wing bloggers who would invent connections between Saddam and al Qaeda, in this op-ed:

The proposed approach will be a transparent process rather than one mired in secrecy. It will allow us to leverage the Internet to enable a mass examination as opposed to limiting it to a few exclusive elites. What would have once taken years and decades may now be done in real time.

He was right, just in a way that cripples national security: What would have once taken years and decades -- terrorists getting a "basic guide to building an atom bomb" -- may now be done in real time, thanks to politically-motivated Congressional Republicans. Read the rest of this post...

ABC News: RNC Accepts Money From Army Porn Movie Distributor

UPDATE: To fully appreciate where the Republican party is getting the money they're using on local Republican campaigns, I am posting a link to the gay porn movie in question. Warning: This link is NOT work-friendly, and it is extremely pornographic. You have been warned. I have decided to post the link because it is important that people are fully aware of just who the Republican National Committee has no qualms dealing with on a regular basis, of what kind of money they are happy to accept.

As an aside, you'll recall that when female porn star Mary Carey gave the GOP $5000 two years in a row, they not only publicly accepted the money, they sat her down to dinner with George Bush and lunch with Karl Rove.

I have no problem with gay porn, but they do - or so they claim. This is the x-rated link to the promo for the pornographic video.

Holy mother of God. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

From ABC's Brian Ross, one of the few real journalists left in America:

Despite running an attack ad accusing a Democratic senatorial candidate of accepting money from "porn movie producers," the Republican National Committee itself has accepted several donations over the past few years from the president of a large pornographic movie distribution company.

Marina Pacific Distributors calls itself "the leader in adult video distribution." Included in the movies for sale on their Web site are videos made by "Active Duty Productions." Active Duty, as their name suggests, has cast active duty soldiers in some of their films but not without serious consequences for the soldiers.

Three Fort Bragg soldiers were found guilty and sentenced to prison in separate courts-martial earlier this year for appearing in pornographic videos made by Active Duty. The charges included sodomy and conduct detrimental to the Army. Four other soldiers accused of appearing in Active Duty videos were also punished outside of the military court system.

Active Duty's films, however, continue to be sold by large pornographic video distributors, including Marina Pacific.

The president of Marina Pacific, Nicholas Boyias, has personally contributed to the Republican party several times over the last few years, six times to the Republican National Committee. The donations range from $200 to $500 and total around $2,000, according to a search of federal election records.

The RNC would not comment on the donations from Boyias or from the porn industry in general.

A Marina Pacific spokesman said Boyias is a moderate Republican who supports candidates and causes on both sides of the aisle, though no contributions to Democrats were found in a search of federal election records.

Read the rest of this post...

Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY) again says sex predator Mark Foley emails were simply "overly friendly," blames his coddling of a sex predator on "Democrats"

A rather defensive new interview on NPR with Cong. Tom Reynolds (R-NY), claiming, yet again, that Mark Foley's emails in which he's acting as a sexual predator on young boys is simply "overly friendly." (Mind you, these were emails in which a 52 year old man asked a 16 year old boy about the hot body of his 16 year old friend. Yeah, nothing wrong with that, Mr. Reynolds.) Reynolds then goes on to charge that he did nothing wrong, and that Democrats were the ones behind the entire scandal.

Really?

Then why is it that Mr. Reynolds' staff has just confirmed to the NY Daily News that they were doing damage control for child sex predator Mark Foley BEFORE the scandal became public, and before Reynolds claims he even knew about it?

Two senior aides to National Republican Campaign Committee Chairman Tom Reynolds participated in “damage control” conference calls concerning correspondence between Congressman Mark Foley and a former congressional page -- two days before the scandal became public, and earlier than previously reported.

NRCC Communications Director Carl Forti and Reynolds then chief-of-staff Kirk Fordham both took part in the first call the evening of Wednesday, September 27, and one call the next day, Forti and other sources familiar with the call confirmed. Forti's involvement and the NRCC's role in the run-up to the Foley scandal add another link between the disgraced former congressman and Reynolds, who has said he knew only indirectly of questionable emails, and that he reported them to his House superiors. They also reflect another moment at which House GOP leadership was aware of concerns about Foley and pages.

Numerous members of Reynolds' senior staff helped a child sex predator try to get off, and those staff members are still being paid their salaries by you and me because Tom Reynolds won't fire them. Hell, Carl Forti spoke today, again, on behalf of Reynolds. Incredible.

But it's all the Democrats' fault that Tom Reynolds coddles sex predators. What a piece of work. After this long, and he's still not coming clean and accepting fault. Read the rest of this post...

Religious right preacher Ted Haggard allegedly wanted orgy with 18 year old guys

(Screen capture from the GMA video in the post below.)

This man was running a church, and the entire evangelical Christian movement, and was actively pushing anti-gay legislation in Colorado and across the country, while allegedly fantasizing about having an orgy with 18 year old guys. Nice.

I wonder what Cheney and Bush think of that? Cheney's there today. Was a meeting with Haggard on his schedule before this happened? Did he ever meet or speak with Haggard before? How regularly? Read the rest of this post...

Hear the alleged voicemails of religious right leader allegedly trying to buy crystal meth

From Good Morning America this morning.

Read the rest of this post...

Religious right spokesman: Haggard scandal will absolutely depress evangelical voter turnout

This is from an email update just sent out by Stephen Bennett, a top spokesman of the religious right, and yet another man loosely affiliated with the Concerned Women for America.

Stephen ended, "Will this affect the elections next Tuesday? Are Republicans disenfranchised with the hypocrisy within their own party - especially the hypocrisy within the driving force - the Christian Conservative base? You better believe it.

"The more and more hypocrisy I see each day, the more I realize next Tuesday we are going to get EXACTLY what we deserve. Yet I must NEVER forget where I came from and always remember 'But for the grace of God, there go I.'"

Read the rest of this post...

So was America's top evangelical paying for gay sex or doing crystal meth?

He's admitted to one. But which one? Discuss amongst yourselves.

Today's Haggard round up:

• Washington Post: Church Leader Resigns After Gay Sex Claim
• Denver Post: Haggard sex allegations could shape votes, political observers say
• Associated Press: Gay sex allegation sidelines Haggard
• Los Angeles Times: Evangelical leader steps down amid allegations
• New York Times: Accused of Gay Liaison, Head of Evangelical Group Resigns

Read the rest of this post...

John McCain appears in anti-gay ads to promote gay-bashing legislation

No one could have ever predicted that John McCain was a waffling anti-gay bigot. You see, McCain was pro-gay before he was anti-gay. Well, actually, to be honest, McCain was anti-gay before he was pro-gay before he was anti-gay.

What an intolerant, pandering, jerk. After sucking up to Jerry Falwell this year, after calling Jerry Falwell an agent of intolerance during the 2000 campaign, McCain is now appearing in ads supporting an Arizona state constitutional amendment that would ban, forever, in Arizona the provision of benefits to unmarried partners, gay or otherwise.

The really sick part is that McCain has always had gay staff in high-level positions, going back to the early 90s at least, and yet he's still an anti-gay bigot. His staffers even had long-term partners, and McCain had no problem with that. But now he does. Well, again, to be fair, it's Friday, so TODAY McCain is an anti-gay bigot because he's now wooing the religious right. The past five years, McCain was actually pro-gay (though before that time, he was again anti-gay). So, we might get lucky, by the time McCain runs for president in 2008 he may be pro-gay again. Just need to catch him on the right day. Read the rest of this post...

GOP, which won't do oversight in Iraq, fires the only person who is doing oversight in Iraq

Congressional Republicans have failed to do any oversight of Bush's war in Iraq. They are firing the only guy who is doing any kind of oversight -- and they did it in that sneaky, deceptive way they have of sticking language in a major piece of legislation when they thought no one was paying attention. The GOP undermines America's security in so many ways, this is another glaring example:

Investigations led by a Republican lawyer named Stuart W. Bowen Jr. in Iraq have sent American occupation officials to jail on bribery and conspiracy charges, exposed disastrously poor construction work by well-connected companies like Halliburton and Parsons, and discovered that the military did not properly track hundreds of thousands of weapons it shipped to Iraqi security forces.

And tucked away in a huge military authorization bill that President Bush signed two weeks ago is what some of Mr. Bowen’s supporters believe is his reward for repeatedly embarrassing the administration: a pink slip.

The order comes in the form of an obscure provision that terminates his federal oversight agency, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, on Oct. 1, 2007. The clause was inserted by the Republican side of the House Armed Services Committee over the objections of Democratic counterparts during a closed-door conference, and it has generated surprise and some outrage among lawmakers who say they had no idea it was in the final legislation.

Who is responsible for this outrage? Ultimately, it's the Republican leadership on the Hill and George Bush.

The guy who was fired was only focused on one piece of the war in Iraq: how the reconstruction money was being spent. You'd think the GOP would be concerned about those billions and billions of U.S. taxpayers dollars, too. But you'd be wrong.

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), who claims she was closely monitoring the legislation, sounds like a completely clueless idiot:

“It’s truly a mystery to me,” Ms. Collins said. “I looked at what I thought was the final version of the conference report and that provision was not in at that time.”

“The one thing I can confirm is that this was a last-minute insertion,” she said.

Give me a break. This is how the GOP runs Congress. They want no Iraq oversight in any way. They undermine American security. They cheat American taxpayers. Read the rest of this post...

Haggard reportedly admits to "some" of the claims according to his fellow Pastor

The Haggard story is national news this morning. CNN keeps calling the story a "bombshell." The latest development from Colorado Springs is a claim that Pastor Ted has admitted to some of the claims from the gay male prostitute:

A sudden about-face in the scandal facing New Life Church's pastor.

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.

Read the rest of this post...

Friday Morning Open Thread

Four days left. Lots swirling around. The Today Show led with the major revelation in today's NY Times that GOP leaders on the Hill and the Bush Administration put incredibly sensitive and dangerous information about how to build an atom bomb on the internet. They're asking: Did U.S. put nuclear secrets on the web? John wrote a post about this major security breach by the GOP last night.

CNN has been touting the Ted Haggard story as top news all morning. It's the second story on the Today Show.

If you want to help this weekend, you can make calls from home with MoveOn's Call for Change. They have micro-targeted lists in key districts.

What do you know? Read the rest of this post...

Iran tests long range missiles

So tell me again how Bush is making the world a safer place? More failed policy from the guy with the reverse Midas touch. Whether it's trashing a company or trashing a country, Bush has always managed to find a way to screw things up throughout his life and leave the mess for others to clean up.

Had enough? Read the rest of this post...

Doesn't sound like US troops will be standing down any time soon

From the beginning of this mess, I always thought about the South Vietnamese government policy of rewarding incompetence and punishing success in the field during the war. The reasoning was simple: if they were successful in the field, the US would go away and take their money with them. (Think Afghanistan after the Soviets lost, among others.) The way the administration has thrown money around over there without normal accountability, it should come as no surprise that the results are pathetic. After just hearing a few days ago about a soldier who was active in this training, none of this come as a surprise.

In an assessment for a military journal, a U.S. Army officer who advised Iraqi troops concludes the goal of having Iraq control its security "will exceed" the new army's capability "for some time to come."

In an article for Military Review, Lt. Col. Carl D. Grunow wrote that "without steadfast American support, these officers and soldiers will likely give up and consider the entire effort a lost cause."

Grunow recounted his experience of 12 months as the senior adviser to an Iraqi army armored brigade in Taji, north of Baghdad. His stint ended in June. The article in the July-August issue of Military Review is titled "Advising Iraqis: Building the Iraqi Army."

Grunow found and grappled with several problems during his experience.

One was what he called the Iraqi "death blossom," in which any enemy attack on the soldiers "provokes the average Iraqi soldier to empty his 30-round magazine and fire whatever belt of ammunition happens to be in his machine gun."

"Ninety percent of the time, there is no target, and the soldiers always agree that this is extremely dangerous, in addition to being a grievous waste of ammunition. But they continue to do it."

Not encouraging news and I can't imagine this changing any time soon. I still want to hear why US troops are facing Iraqi insurgents who are using equipment given to the Iraqi military. Why do Americans have to fight against equipment that was funded by American tax payers? What the hell is going on? Is anyone ever accountable or does that only apply to botched jokes?

If Bush wants to talk about the Iraq and who is showing disrespect towards the military, fine, let's talk and let's start here. Why did Bush, Cheney and Rummy create such a bloody mess? Why are they unwilling and unable to show any positive results? Why are they uninterested in changing failed policy? Why do they not care about accountability in Iraq? Why are Americans fighting against well-equipped insurgents who use American provided equipment? Let's have some answers, since Bush wants to talk about Iraq. Read the rest of this post...

Alleged Haggard voicemails refer to drug buys, gay hooker says

(For anyone just checking in, we're referring to America's lead evangelical Christian voice who just resigned after being accused of frequenting a gay hooker for 3 years and using illicit drugs.)

What was that the Republicans were saying about the liberal vote being depressed?

More from Channel 9, Denver:

[Gay hooker Mike] Jones provided two voice messages to 9NEWS he claims are Haggard calling him.

The voice mails for from a man who calls himself "Art."

It should be noted Haggard's middle name is Arthur.

The first voice message, left on August 4 at 2:18 p.m., says:

"Hi Mike, this is Art. Hey, I was just calling to see if we could get any more. Either $100 or $200 supply. And I could pick it up really anytime I could get it tomorrow or we could wait till next week sometime and so I also wanted to get your address. I could send you some money for inventory but that's probably not working, so if you have it then go ahead and get what you can and I may buzz up there later today, but I doubt your schedule would allow that unless you have some in the house. Okay, I'll check in with you later. Thanks a lot, bye."

The second voice message, left on August 4 at 5:10 p.m., says:

"Hi Mike, this is Art, I am here in Denver and sorry that I missed you. But as I said, if you want to go ahead and get the stuff, then that would be great. And I'll get it sometime next week or the week after or whenever. I will call though you early next week to see what's most convenient for you. Okay? Thanks a lot, bye."

Jones claims Art is referring to methamphetamine in the messages.

9NEWS had a nationally known voice recognition expert, Richard Sanders, listen to the voice mails to determine if it is Haggard. Sanders has previously worked on such high profile cases as the Oklahoma City bombing trial, the Columbine High School shootings, the JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation, and the Kobe Bryant case.

"This certainly sounds like the same person," said Sanders, after listening to the voice mails.

In his final report, Sanders found that of 12 single words that were the same on both recordings, nine of those words were perfect matches. He also found that the entire phrase, "I don't know," was also a precise match.

And don't miss the actual news report, the video is online, you can hear the voice on the tape and I gotta say, not being an expert on such things, sure sounds like him to me. Read the rest of this post...

How bad are things for the Republicans?

Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal Star

President Bush will come to Nebraska on Sunday to try to help Republicans save an endangered House seat they’ve held for 48 years....

The presidential visit was arranged in the wake of polling last week showing Scott Kleeb moving within reach of the first Democratic congressional victory in western and central Nebraska since 1958.

Lil 'ole Scott Kleeb has the White House in panic mode. If that doesn't show the kind of influence this guy will have in Washington, I don't know what does. Read the rest of this post...