A letter written by Ted Haggard was read to the congregation of New Life Church this morning:

Evangelical pastor Ted Haggard confessed on Sunday to a "lifelong" sexual problem, and said he was "a deceiver and a liar," in a letter read to his New Life Church. "There is part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it all my life," he said in the letter.

A letter from his wife was also read:

Gayle Haggard said while her heart is broken, she remains "committed to him until death do us part."

Yesterday's Examiner: Three Santa Barbara elementary schools to fingerprint students. The purpose: use of the cafeteria.

A plan to fingerprint elementary school students when they buy lunch has some parents worrying that Big Brother has come to the cafeteria.

The Hope Elementary School District has notified parents that beginning this month, students at Monte Vista, Vieja Valley and Hope elementary schools will press an index finger to a scanner before buying cafeteria food.

The scan will call up the student's name and student ID, teacher's name and how much the student owes, since some receive government assistance for food.

Update: Saddam has been sentenced to die by hanging.

A curfew is in place in Baghdad for the release of the 200 page verdict Sunday against Saddam Hussein. Saddam faces hanging if convicted.

Saddam says he will die with honor and no fear.

Saddam's lawyers told Reuters they chatted with him for more than three hours on Saturday, saying he was in high spirits and talked about mounting U.S. military losses and the insurgency.

"I will die with honour and with no fear, with pride for my country and my Arab nation but the U.S. occupiers will leave in humiliation and defeat," they quoted Saddam as saying.

"They will see rivers of blood for years to come. It will dwarf Vietnam."

If sentenced to death, it is unlikely to happen soon.

So much for the "just a massage" story. One of the members of the Ted Haggard investigation committee said in an interview Saturday night:

...a member of the four-member oversight board said in an interview Saturday night that Haggard admitted Thursday to sexual misconduct.

The board member, the Rev. Michael Ware of Victory Church in Westminster, said the board first met with Haggard and his wife Thursday and Haggard immediately confessed to sexually immoral conduct.

Ware would not describe what Haggard admitted to but made clear the probe was limited to allegations by Michael Forest Jones, an admitted gay prostitute from Denver. Ware said more details would be shared with the congregation today.

I wonder if Haggard stuck to his story that he threw away the meth he bought unused. On the one hand, it would debunk the overused "gateway" theory of drug use. On the other, he's asking us to believe the equivalent of "No, I've never even smoked a joint, but i was thinking of shooting up heroin -- could you tie me off?"

Today's editorial in the New York Times explains why the paper is not endorsing a single Republican for the House of Representatives this year. It's a damning and well-deserved indictment of Bush and Republican congresspersons.

First, the premise:

Although Times editorials tend to agree with Democrats on national policy, we have proudly and consistently endorsed a long line of moderate Republicans, particularly for the House. Our only political loyalty is to making the two-party system as vital and responsible as possible.

Now, the indictment:

Rep. John Dingell's investigation agenda as chair of the Commerce Committee if Democrats take the House:

Among the areas Dingell says he will investigate: "Privacy. Social Security number protection. Outsourcing protection. Unfair trade practices. Currency manipulation. Air quality.

"We'll look at the implementation of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. We'll take a look at climate change. We'll take a look at the nuclear waste programme, where literally billions of dollars are being dissipated. We'll look at port security and nuclear smuggling, where there's literally nothing being done. On health, we'll take a look at Medicaid. The Food and Drug Administration. Generic drug approval. Medical safety. We'll also take a look at food supplements, where people are being killed. We will look at the overall question of Katrina recovery efforts."

In a word: oversight.

The New York Times says only two senate races remain a tossup: Missouri and Virginia.

The map is now on a razor’s edge with 49 seats leaning or safe for both the Democrats and for the Republicans.

The Democrats have a tougher battle because they need to reach 51 seats to take control as Vice President Dick Cheney will break a 50-50 tie.

Query: If Joe Lieberman wins, what column does it fall in since he's not running as a Democrat or a Republican? The Republicans will try to woo him into changing parties. I think he'll continue to call himself a Democrat while supporting Republican platforms.

Say hello to My Polling Site.

Our database of online poll locators has been slowly growing. We now can get 72% of the US population the exact location of their polling site in 4 clicks or less. For the other 28% we provide a local phone number where they can call to get the information they need. This service is free to the public,

Chalabi speaks:

"The real culprit in all this is Wolfowitz," Chalabi says, referring to his erstwhile backer, the former deputy secretary of defense, Paul Wolfowitz. "They chickened out. The Pentagon guys chickened out." Chalabi still considers Wolfowitz a friend, so he proceeds carefully. America's big mistake, Chalabi maintains, was in failing to step out of the way after Hussein's downfall and let the Iraqis take charge. The Iraqis, not the Americans, should have been allowed to take over immediately - the people who knew the country, who spoke the language and, most important, who could take responsibility for the chaos that was unfolding in the streets. An Iraqi government could have acted harshly, even brutally, to regain control of the place, and the Iraqis would have been without a foreigner to blame. They would have appreciated the firm hand.

In order to declare seat losses as a victory, the extreme Right Wing Republican web site Red State is already playing an expectations game:

Now - and just so that we're all clear - the consensus of the media, the polls and Tradesports is that the GOP is definitely going to lose the House of Representatives and probably the Senate, yes*? They're all saying that it's a done deal, yes? Everybody who's anybody on the Democratic side is endorsing that conclusion, yes? And it's all supposedly inevitable at this point, yes? What? (shrug) No reason: I just want to make sure that I've clearly understood the Other Side's position on this, 72 hours out.

Note to Republicans, ignorant predictions of an election result is NOT a political position.

The Iraq Debacle is a political issue. Minimum wage is a political issue. The Paris Hilton tax cut is a political issue. Stem cell research is a political issue. GOP corruption is a political issue.

Predictions for the election is not.

Borderism is bad enough on the opinion page. It is unacceptable on the news page. But WaPo's Shaleigh Murray does a Broderist opinion piece disguised as a news story on the upcoming election:

Moderate Republican House members such as Bass, Christopher Shays of Connecticut, and Jim Gerlach and Michael G. Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania often side with Democrats on environmental, social and budget issues. On the rare occasion when a vote fails in the House, they are usually the culprits. Ditto for internal dissent. After then-Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) was indicted on campaign finance charges in Texas, Bass helped launch a petition drive to replace the powerful House majority leader. DeLay gave up his post a few days afterward and later resigned from Congress.

But what of Bass' votes for leadership? Or Iraq? Charlie Bass is not a moderate based on those votes, the most important he casts. You know who else will side with Democrats on environmental, social and budget issues? Democratic congresspersons. Charlie Bass enabled the Rubberstamp Republican leadership and President Bush. He is part of the problem. He must go.

We think of elections as accountability moments for our elected officials. And it should be that. But this election is just as much, it seems to me, an accountability moment for the American electorate. For it the Republicans are maintained in power, after the last six years, then we have the government we deserve.

In an editorial today, the New York Times said:

This election is indeed about George W. Bush — and the Congressional majority’s insistence on protecting him from the consequences of his mistakes and misdeeds. Mr. Bush lost the popular vote in 2000 and proceeded to govern as if he had an enormous mandate. After he actually beat his opponent in 2004, he announced he now had real political capital and intended to spend it. We have seen the results. It is frightening to contemplate the new excesses he could concoct if he woke up next Wednesday and found that his party had maintained its hold on the House and Senate.

So yes this is indeed an moment of accountability for the Rubberstamp Republican Congress. But it is just as much a moment of accountability for the American People.