Open thread

Did you know that Ted "I'm completely heterosexual" Haggard is back and asking for cash? It's all true. He's "looking for people who will help us monthly for two years."

He and his wife are moving to a halfway house in Phoenix where Ted, in a letter shared with consumer reporter Tak Landrock, says he is "willing to counsel some of the men and to teach the group from time to time. The woman directing the ministry to women invited Gayle to teach and minister to the women." Read the rest of this post...

Foley stonewalling over access to Congressional computer

Mark Foley is on the hot seat because investigators want a peek at the former congressman's computer. Under Florida law, the age of consent is 18, and some of Foley's ham-handed, lurid online IM pickup lines to pages would be considered a crime if the intent was to seduce the minor. The problem is that neither Foley nor the House will allow access to the computers. (CF News):

Florida's top police agency said Wednesday its investigation into former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley's lurid Internet communications with teenage boys has been hindered because neither Foley nor the House will let investigators examine his congressional computers.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says it hopes to conclude its investigation next week. Foley, a Florida Republican, resigned from Congress on Sept. 29 after being confronted with the computer messages he sent to male teenage pages who had worked on Capitol Hill.

"We have requested to review federally owned computers that Mr. Foley used during his time as a representative, but the U.S. House of Representatives ... cited case law restrictions that prohibited them from releasing those computers," said Heather Smith, an FDLE spokeswoman.

Smith said that the House claims the computers are considered congressional work papers, and that only Foley can release them for review.

...After his resignation, Foley checked himself into an Arizona facility for what his attorneys said was treatment of "alcoholism and other behavioral problems." At the time, his attorney said Foley was gay, an alcoholic and had been molested by a priest as a teenage altar boy in Florida.

Investigators have contacted the Committee on House Administration and the House general counsel -- none of the calls have been returned. Read the rest of this post...

Reid and Pelosi on the NIE: Bush's "surge" failed. We need a new plan for Iraq. Now.

Bush really seems to hate it when anyone questions his failed Iraq strategy. For years, the Republican leaders of the House and Senate never challenged him. Today's release of the National Intelligence Estimate just provides further proof that Bush has failed. We need a change of course. Most of America gets it. Bush still doesn't.

Majority Leader Reid:

Today's National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq confirms what most Americans already know: Our troops are mired in an Iraqi civil war and the President's escalation strategy has failed to produce the political results he promised to our troops and the American people.

Our troops have done everything asked of them and more. Unfortunately Iraq's leaders have not. And as today's NIE makes clear, a political solution is extremely unlikely in the near term. Further pursuit of the Administration's flawed escalation strategy is not in our nation's best interests.

Every day that we continue to stick to the President's flawed strategy is a day that America is not as secure as it could be. As the intelligence community reported in another NIE just weeks ago, America's attention is distracted from Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, which has regenerated its capacity to its pre-9/11 levels. That is why it is so essential that this September, Republicans join with Democrats to change course in Iraq and work to restore our nation's security.

Speaker Pelosi:

In today’s National Intelligence Estimate, the American people were presented with yet more evidence that the Iraqi government has failed to take the necessary steps to reach political reconciliation. Our military has performed their duties excellently, but the purpose of the escalation in Iraq was to create a secure environment in which political change could occur, and it is clear that the Iraqi leaders have failed to make progress.

We need a New Direction to bring our troops home from Iraq so that America can refocus its efforts against terrorism worldwide.

Read the rest of this post...

VoteVets launches ad against GOP Iraq-war-enabler Susan Collins

Read the rest of this post...

Fox calls off next month's Democratic debate

Of course the Congressional Black Caucus Institute, which co-sponsored the debate with Faux, doesn't acknowledge the major complaints arising from the blogosphere for the CBCI's role in lending legitimacy to a biased, racist GOP propaganda newschannel. It's due to scheduling conflicts. Of course Clinton, Edwards and Obama said long ago that they wouldn't participate. (Raw Story):

Fox News has canceled a debate of Democratic presidential candidates next month after several candidates dropped out because they said the cable news network would not provide a fair forum, the Associated Press reports. Organizers hope to reschedule the debate.

The top three Democrats seeking the nomination -- Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards -- already indicated they would not participate in the debate, which is being cosponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus.

A statement from the CBC cites scheduling conflicts and does not mention complaints that had been raised about Fox News serving as host.

How on earth coud the CBCI support a partnership with a network that has allowed patently racist statements to be broadcast unchallenged --

Watch this video from Fox Attacks.

Many bloggers, including James Rucker and Color of Change, gave voice to the opposition to this debate, and let the CBC Institute know that this partnership was not only unacceptable, but embarrassing. This is the network that ran the bogus "Madrassa/terrorist" story about Barack Obama, a "newschannel" where Mary Matalin called black civil rights leaders attending Coretta Scott King's funeral racist, a channel where Faux News host John Gibson called for the birth of more white babies because he's afraid of the country being overrun with minorities.

That debate won't be missed. Read the rest of this post...

North Carolina: former "Christian" group leader pleads guilty to solicitation

My, my, it is a busy week. I can hardly keep up with these guys...

Former NC lawmaker, retired Baptist minister -- and now-former Christian Action League president -- Coy C. Privette pleaded guilty yesterday to six counts of aiding and abetting prostitution. He has to perform 48 hours of community service and receive counseling.

In July he was busted for doing the no-tell motel dance, paying to have sex with someone other than his wife. Pious Privette receives bonus Darwin points:

* he paid for the hotel rooms under his own name on six occasions;
* the prostitute took pictures of her with the former minister using her cell phone camera.

That left Privette with little other choice than to admit the hanky-panky. Outside the courtroom after the hearing, Privette passed out a statement that sounds vaguely familiar, right out of the Conservative Sexual Hypocrisy Manual.

Privette said he is going to dedicate considerable time and effort to "repair" himself.

"I am already seeking professional attention to this end," he said. "As I undergo much needed personal and spiritual reflection, I sincerely ask everyone to keep me in their thoughts and prayers on my journey to earn back the trust that I have lost."

A sad irony of the story is that the sex worker involved was arrested for prostitution by authorites, even though she cooperated with them on the bust, which involved a forged check case investigation.

According to the prosecutor the case started June 27 when a Cabarrus County bank refused to honor a check being drawn against Privette's account because it seemed high and called Kannapolis police.

A police investigator interviewed Tiffany Summers who said she had received the check from Privette. She also said she had sex with Privette on a number of occasions in two hotels.

For a touch of fun, take a look at the statement on morality on the Christian Action League's web site...

We are in the General Assembly of North Carolina with a full-time presence promoting legislation that is consistent with a Christian worldview. We advocate for those measures that strengthen the family and oppose legislation that would erode the family structure. We are the voice of conservative evangelical Christians in the State Legislature.

We discourage the promotion and use of beverage alcohol and other drugs, pornography, sexual immorality and other sinful practices that not only undermine the spiritual lives of those who participate in them, but also undermine the strength of our State and National character.

Hat tips, Bob in Raleigh and Paul in SF. Read the rest of this post...

Worth noting

One of the best indicators of a politician -- especially a president -- reaching the point of total ridicule is when criticism makes it way into writings on pop culture. Most sportswriters, under normal circumstances, would never dream of offending millions of readers simply by dropping in a political jibe; only when a target is massively, overwhelmingly unpopular can a journalist writing about something completely separate from Washington take a gratuitous shot at the prez.

Our current president is at that point.

Reading about the absolute horrorshow that is the Michael Vick case, I come across this remark:

During the Vick controversy, [NFL Commissioner] Goodell burnished his reputation as the exception to the current trend toward unaccountability that has prospered from the Green Zone to the end zone to the foul pole by espousing old-fashioned values [...]

These kind of jabs are showing up with increasing frequency. And they're well deserved. Read the rest of this post...

BREAKING: New US intell report says Iraq to become more precarious over next 6-12 months

Utter disaster. Read the rest of this post...

Director of National Intelligence McConnell: Debating FISA in Congress will kill Americans

Steve Benen at the Carpetbagger Report has the McConnell interview -- and the appropriate commentary -- I bolded the most offensive sections:

Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell has managed to develop a fairly good reputation in DC, which is why it’s all the more curious he made comments like these to the El Paso Times.

Q: Even if it’s perception, how do you deal with that? You have to do public relations, I assume.

A: Well, one of the things you do is you talk to reporters. And you give them the facts the best you can. Now part of this is a classified world. The fact we’re doing it this way means that some Americans are going to die, because we do this mission unknown to the bad guys because they’re using a process that we can exploit and the more we talk about it, the more they will go with an alternative means and when they go to an alternative means, remember what I said, a significant portion of what we do, this is not just threats against the United States, this is war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Q. So you’re saying that the reporting and the debate in Congress means that some Americans are going to die?

A. That’s what I mean. Because we have made it so public. We used to do these things very differently, but for whatever reason, you know, it’s a democratic process and sunshine’s a good thing. We need to have the debate.

It’s hard to even know where to start with comments like these. To hear McConnell tell it, the very discussion of the administration’s surveillance powers will kill an untold number of Americans — but “sunshine’s a good thing.”

And why, pray tell, are Americans going to die as a result of a public debate about presidential power? Apparently, because the bad guys will get a vague sense of the kind of tactics we’ll use to intercept their communications. That might sound vaguely persuasive, but it doesn’t stand up well to scrutiny. Terrorists might figure out that the U.S. will tap phone lines? I think they knew that. Terrorists might figure out that we can monitor email and bank transactions? I think they knew that, too.

It's really unbelievable how far Bush and his appointees will go to destroy American democracy. Read the rest of this post...

Ari Fleischer didn't even know the name of the Iraq vet in his ad

Ari Fleischer comes from the GOP school of "support the troops." In their world, the troops are only good as campaign props and for sloganeering. Fleischer proved that tonight. Fleischer is the spokesperson for a Bush-backed pro-Iraq war that's attacking Republicans. If you haven't read Tom Matzzie's open letter to Ari, check it out. Last night on Hardball, Ari could not even name the vet featured in the negative ads. Think Progress has the video and the outraged response from Paul Rieckhoff:

Later in the program, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America executive director Paul Rieckhoff ripped into Fleischer’s offensive ignorance. “What bothered me the most is that Ari Fleischer didn’t even know the guy’s name.” said Rieckhoff. “He’s willing to run a multi-million dollar campaign, utilizing the personal story of a soldier, and he couldn’t tell you on national TV what that soldier’s name is.”

Rieckhoff described it as part of “a problematic trend” that Freedom’s Watch is using the soldier’s “personal story” as “a backdrop for political rhetoric”:

People on both sides of the aisle, but especially the president and this administration, have continued to use troops as a political prop. As a backdrop for political rhetoric. It’s why the president gave such an impassionate speech today in front of the VFW. It’s why this ad carries so much weight on a visceral level. And it really bothers me because our troops are not political props and they’re not chew toys.

The Bush team doesn't see the troops as real people. That's why they never gave them the right equipment. That's why Walter Reed was such a disaster. That's why Bush has no problem keeping our soldiers in an endless war. And, that's why Ari Fleischer couldn't be bothered to know the name of the man in his ads. Read the rest of this post...

Bush's Defense Dept. sending only half the armored vehicles promised for in Iraq

Because in Bush world, "support the troops" doesn't mean actually giving the troops the support they need. From Reuters:

U.S. troops in Iraq will receive at least 1,000 fewer special armored vehicles than expected this year due to the amount of time needed for shipment, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the Defense Department expected defense contractors to produce 3,900 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles this year. But only 1,500 would make it to the war zone -- down from the Pentagon's previous shipment target of 2,500 to 3,000.

"If we could get 1,500 to theater by the end of this year, that would be a positive development," Morrell said.

The new goal of 1,500 was first reported by Stars & Stripes, the newspaper for troops overseas that is partially funded by the Defense Department.

Read the rest of this post...

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Bush is so desperate and delusional. Next speech he gives on Iraq/Vietnam, Bush will probably tell us about all the missions he flew over Vietnam -- and all the boat people he rescued single-handedly. Seriously, he's losing it. Invoking Vietnam to save his failed Iraq strategy. Wow.

What's going on? Read the rest of this post...

If you're tired of posts about Bob Allen, keep scrolling

However, if you've not had enough servings of Republican sexual hypocrite schadenfreude and you would like to read a letter of support sent to the embattled Florida State Representative Bob Allen by one of my readers, click here.

Today's news is that BJ Bob's continuing the downward spiral. First it was the mysterious menacing stocky black men (one in the stall and the rest outside in the park) that forced him to offer to pay to blow the undercover officer in a unique self-defense maneuver; now he says he's perhaps "the most misunderstood guy on Earth." Why? The Florida state rep was stripped of his committee appointments by House Speaker Marco Rubio yesterday -- Allen stuck his foot in his mouth again. Howie Klein:

Republicans, embarrassed, especially because Allen is a notorious and loudmouthed homophobe, are trying to pressure him to resign and disappear before the election so that their party won't be tarred with yet another hypocritical sex deviant.

Instead of resigning, Allen lashed out at Rubio and seems to have attacked Cuban-Americans, a dominant force in the Florida GOP. "In Cuba, that's where you are charged by police, wrapped up and sent off as guilty without a trial. That's a Cuba thing, something Fidel Castro does." Rubio, "of course," is Cuban-American. But Allen said he meant any totalitarian regime, "Cuba is just the closest one."

Lest you think Allen is a tad delusional, check out this -- he plans to run for the state Senate in 2010: "I'm waiting for the politics to say it's OK to hug Bob Allen again -- and they will," he said.

***

And just today, the saga of BJ Bob continues with a new excuse...

State Rep. Bob Allen wanted to lure an undercover Titusville police officer to a Kennedy Space Center security gate, according to new court records released today.

The new court document filed in the case is a two-page report from Titusville Assistant Police Chief John Lau, who interviewed Allen after his July 11 arrest on a solicitation of prostitution charge. That interview was recorded and has previously been released.

Police say Allen, while in a Space View Park restroom, agreed to pay the undercover officer $20 for oral sex.

According to the report, Allen said he went to the bathroom to avoid a lightning storm that was about to start.

Related:

* If you're tired of posts about Bob Allen, keep scrolling...
*  A Blender's letter to Bob Allen

* GOP cornucopia of carnal scandal Read the rest of this post...