Ted Haggard Breaks His Silence on Gay Sex and Meth

Ted Haggard broke his silence on his gay escapades in two recent sermons.

Says Haggard: "The first thing I want you to know is that I sinned. I really did sin. And I'm very, very sorry that I sinned...My wife - all my sin and shame fell on her. People treated her as if she had fallen. And my children...they all went through carrying my shame. And I'm so sorry that I did that to my family..."

Haggard blames his experiences with gay sex and meth on sexual abuse he suffered as a child.

According to the AP, "Haggard said church leaders missed an opportunity to use his scandal to 'communicate the gospel worldwide through secular media.'...'We consistently blow it' when those opportunities arise, he said."

We all know the only thing Haggard consistently blows are male escorts.

Watch the GMA report, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Mike Jones: Larry Craig 'Ate My Butt'

New pressing details have emerged in the Larry Craig saga you may (or may not) want to hear.

Mike Jones, who as you remember, also said he counted Larry Craig as one of his clients along with Ted Haggard, appeared on Michelangelo Signorile's Sirius show, and Signorile has released a previously unaired version of the show.

Jones: "Well one of the other things he liked to do was, uh, he ate my butt. Yep. I'll tell you what. I think the Statesman knew that but they chose to, they were kind of... He did it first, and then he performed oral sex on me while he got off."

Craig is a proud sponsor of the Marriage Protection Amendment.

Recently
Larry Craig: No More Getting Jerked Around by the Gas Nozzle [tr]
Strange Bedfellows [tr]
Larry Craig Writing Tell-All Book About Men's Room Arrest [tr]

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Ted Haggard Escort Mike Jones Says 'No' to Moment of Truth

Mike Jones, the escort who outed pastor Ted Haggard, has reportedly turned down a half-million dollar offer to appear on FOX's lowbrow game show Moment of Truth, in which contestants are given lie detector tests and asked to predict the results in front of friends and loved ones on national TV. Considering he's already failed the test once, Jones says he won't be doing it.

Laughed Jones: "It would be a ratings bonanza if I went on. But I volunteered to take a polygraph test when my story first broke, and I flunked it, so those things can happen. I'm not going to humiliate myself on national TV. And who needs $500,000 anyway? I could use $1,000."

Recently
Friend: Ted Haggard was a 'Sexaholic' and Used the Drugs [tr]
Ted Haggard 'Restored' to Colorado Springs [tr]

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Friend: Ted Haggard was a 'Sexaholic' and Used the Drugs

Ted Haggard's close family friend Kurt Serpe shared an email with Colorado Springs' News 13 in which Haggard confessed the details of his relationship with escort Mike Jones. If you'll remember, back in 2006, Haggard said that he'd received a massage but not sex, and bought meth but didn't use it. His email to Serpe tells a bit of a different story. He also sent a letter to his congregation before leaving for his spiritual restoration.

Serpe, who says he has known the pastor for more than 20 years, said that Haggard sent him an email because he "asked Haggard point-blank for the truth." In the email, which you can read AFTER THE JUMP, Haggard says he met Jones at a Marriott hotel after asking for a masseur, that Jones masturbated him, and that he took drugs before three of his five visits with Jones. Serpe says "He craved sex, he was a sexaholic. This is something that he has been struggling with all of his life."

Earlier this week, it was reported that Haggard had returned to Colorado Springs but he has been forbidden to talk to the media. His "close family friends" on the other hand...

Read Haggard's email to Serpe, AFTER THE JUMP...

***Ted Haggard's E-Mail***

Updated: June 25, 2008 11:08 PM

October 3, 2007

I was referred to Mike Jones from the concierge at a Marriott hotel when I asked for a masseur. It was during the massage that it started to become sensual, and that led to him masturbating me. That was and is our only sexual contact, but it was immoral and it was this experience that caused me to confess immorality in my letter of resignation from New Life Church. During the conversation with Mike during and after the time he masturbated me, he told me about some drugs that he could get for me that would enhance my masturbation experience. I returned on five occasions and bought those drugs. I actually used them three times, throwing them away in shame before use two times. It is for these offenses that I confessed being immoral and deceitful.

These are the answers you have requested, but I do not know why you would say you deserve them? That seems odd to me.

God bless,

Ted Haggard

***

Former Pastor Ted Haggard Sexaholic, says Friend [newschannel13]

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Ted Haggard 'Restored' to Colorado Springs

Though various reports have been published on the whereabouts of deposed megachurch pastor Ted Haggard — that he had moved to Arizona and that he had "quit" a "spiritual restoration program" he had agreed to undergo last February — current New Life pastor Brandon Boyd said Haggard had moved back to Colorado Springs where he was in "private business."

Haggard was forced from his position as the head of the megachurch following his admission of "sexually immorality" after escort Mike Jones came forward saying the pastor paid him for sex over a period of three years. Jones also said Haggard bought methamphetamine, which Haggard admitted he bought but didn't use.

Said Boyd: "They have moved back and they live in the original house that they lived in for many years."

The Gazette of Colorado Springs attempted to contact him personally:

"'I can't talk to you. I am forbidden from talking to the media,' Haggard said Saturday evening after answering the doorbell at his home on Old Ranch Road in north Colorado Springs. He declined to elaborate. Haggard and his wife, Gayle, are still listed as the owners of the five-bedroom, three-bath home, whose market value was assessed at $715,000 earlier this year, according to the El Paso County Assessor's Office. It sits behind a gated entrance on 5.1 acres two miles from the 14,000-member megachurch Haggard founded in his basement...Haggard's gate stood open at the time of the visit, about 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Water was burbling from an electric fountain in the front yard, and five vehicles sat near a multi-car garage, including two motorcycles and a cream Cadillac Escalade."

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News: Hubble, Ian Thorpe, South Park, Sean Hayes, Poland

New York Post theater columnist Michael Riedel questions whether Sean Hayes is "virile enough" to play romantic lead to Anne Hathaway in revival of Promises, Promises.

Britney goes to South Park to escape the paparazzi.

The NYT talks to gay New Yorker Brendan Fay about the Polish President's use of his wedding video: "[Krzysztof W. Kasprzyk, Poland’s consul general in New York] said he did not know why President Kaczynski’s staff members used Mr. Fay’s image. 'Probably they were just looking for a useful picture,' Mr. Karkowski said, 'a visible sign of what he and his followers are against and what, supposedly, his political opponents are for.'"

Huffington Post's Barbara Ehrenreich on Hillary's nasty pastorate: "You can find all about it in a widely under-read article in the September 2007 issue of Mother Jones, in which Kathryn Joyce and Jeff Sharlet reported that 'through all of her years in Washington, Clinton has been an active participant in conservative Bible study and prayer circles that are part of a secretive Capitol Hill group known as the 'Fellowship,' aka The Family.' Sean Hannity has called Obama's church a 'cult,' but that term applies far more aptly to Clinton's 'Family,' which is organized into 'cells' -- their term -- and operates sex-segregated group homes for young people in northern Virginia. In 2002, writer Jeff Sharlet joined the Family's home for young men, foreswearing sex, drugs, and alcohol, and participating in endless discussions of Jesus and power.

There's a new wolfman in town.

Australian Olympian Ian Thorpe against boycott of Beijing Olympics over Tibet crackdown.

The gay divide in doctor's advice: " Gay men are much more likely than straights to consult a medical specialist, while lesbians are more reluctant than heterosexual women to go to a family doctor -- if they even have one. The study for Statistics Canada found 29% of gay men consulted a medical specialist in a one-year period compared with 19% of heterosexual men."

Barack Obama gets his own plushy doll.

Ted Haggard escort Mike Jones told to keep his pants on in Naked B4 God: "In sharing his story, Jones drops tidbits about not just Haggard, but Paula Woodward, the TV reporter he first talked to (and who was in the audience at the premiere) and Peter Boyles, on whose radio show he went public. And on opening night, he also dropped his shorts around his sneakers — showing his jones as he demonstrated how he would massage Art. But that was before someone suggested to director Michael Dempsey that the full-frontal nudity that had been part of the play when it debuted in California might violate Denver ordinances."

Hubble telescope detects first-ever organic molecule on a planet orbiting another star: "Hubble found the tell-tale signature of methane in the atmosphere of the Jupiter-sized extrasolar planet HD 189733b. Under the right circumstances, methane can play a key role in prebiotic chemistry – the chemical reactions considered necessary to form life as we know it. Although methane has been detected on most of the planets in our Solar System, this is the first time any organic molecule has been detected on a world orbiting another star."

Hugh Jackman isn't the only X-Men cast member enjoying the beach in Sydney.

The Daily Mail looks back on Sir John Gielgud's men's room arrest: "And so, despite his brand-new knighthood, one of the most celebrated men of the times found himself that October in a Chelsea lavatory well-known as one of London's favourite pick-up joints, looking for his usual evening's entertainment. But this time, his eye lighted not on a fellow member of the underground homosexual community, but on a plain-clothes policeman."

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Naked B4 God: Ted Haggard Escort Mike Jones Takes the Stage

Mike Jones, the escort who exposed New Life pastor Ted Haggard is taking his story to the stage in a play premiering in Denver entitled Naked B4 God.

Jones told the Rocky Mountain News: "It gives me a chance for people who don't want to spend a lot of time reading the book. It's much bigger than just the headline people saw in the papers...I'm up there actually doing a performance. I actually go through and act out some of the sequences of what I was going through. I just don't stand there and just talk."

Producer Chris Johnson told the paper that the play adds another dimension to Haggard's story:

"It moves into the realm of a national debate, really, touching on the topics of religious hypocrisy, the culture that breeds such secrecy. News stories are kind of ADD, where they move on to the next biggest headline and yesterday's headline is kind of forgotten about. I wanted to bring this story back to life to not necessarily preach to folks but to maintain that dialogue...There's some hesitancy with going with a non-actor for anything theater-related. It's a very big risk, but it's one we're willing to try...We took some test footage of him, and he has a personality and he has some presence onstage. Director Mike Dempsey worked really hard with him to make sure he was able to not only connect with the material, but also to connect with the character...One of the things I'm trying to get out there is, unfortunately, a lot of people see this story and because of the labels that are involved - prostitution, sex, drugs, religion - they think they understand the story based on stereotypes. For Mike, this was a very difficult decision. It's adding insight to the story."

Naked B4 God runs from March 13 - 22 at The Bug Theater in Denver.

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Ted Haggard Quits 'Spiritual Restoration', Cuts Ties with Church

Reverend Ted Haggard, the New Life church pastor who agreed to undergo a "spiritual restoration" aka "pray the gay away" following revelations that he was involved with escort Mike Jones, has reportedly quit that program and cut ties with his old church.

Haggard was forced from his position as the head of the megachurch following his admission of "sexually immorality" after Jones came forward saying the pastor paid him for sex over a period of three years.

The Denver Post reports: "Ted Haggard's leadership of New Life Church for many years was extraordinary and the depth of spiritual maturity that is found today in the church is in large part attributed to his leadership as the founding senior pastor," the statement said, adding that the church's 'overseers' and 'restorers' would not make further comment about Haggard's 'spiritual restoration.' New Life added that Haggard has joined another mega-church, Phoenix First Assembly of God, and that its founding pastor, Tommy Barnett, is overseeing an 'accountability relationship' with the disgraced Colorado pastor. Barnett could not be reached Tuesday night. New Life has been at odds with its former pastor since he left. In its statement Tuesday night, church officials said, 'New Life recognizes the process of restoring Ted Haggard is incomplete and maintains its original stance that he should not return to vocational ministry. However, we wish him and his family only success in the future.'"

Just one year ago today, a four-member oversight board announced that after three weeks of intense counseling that Haggard was "completely heterosexual".

New Life cuts last ties with Haggard [denver post]
Haggard Quits Re-Straightifying Program [joemygod]

Previously
Church Overseers to Ted Haggard: Get a Job [tr]
Exodus: Ted Haggard Moves to Arizona for "Fresh Start" [tr]
New Life Church Holds 'Day of Hope' for Ted Haggard [tr]

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Idaho Paper Out to Disprove Larry Craig's "I'm not gay" Claims

Not content to let Senator Larry Craig's now famous statement — "I am not gay, I never have been gay" — stand, the Idaho Statesman has continued to ferociously pursue claims by four men that they had sex with Craig. Yesterday they published a blistering exposé which collected the five men willing to come forward and discuss their intimate relations with the Senator, complete with audio recordings:

"David Phillips is a 42-year-old information technology consultant in Washington, D.C., who says Craig picked him up at a gay club in 1986 and that they subsequently had sex. Mike Jones is a former prostitute who told the world he had sex with the Rev. Ted Haggard last year. The former Colorado Springs evangelist at first denied it but eventually confessed. Jones says Craig paid him for sex in late 2004 or early 2005. Greg Ruth was a 24-year-old college Republican in 1981 when he says he was hit on by Craig at a Republican meeting in Coeur d'Alene. Tom Russell, now 48, is a former Nampa resident who lives in Utah. Russell said his encounter with Craig occurred at Bogus Basin in the early 1980s. A fifth gay man, who is from Boise but who declined to be named for fear of retaliation, offered a recent and telling account: He was in a men's restroom at Denver International Airport in September 2006 when the man in the next stall moved his hand slowly, palm up, under the divider. Alarmed, the man said he waited outside the restroom and then identified the man in the adjoining stall as Craig, whom he had met in Idaho."

The Statesman, which gives each man's story in extensive detail, says, "As with [our] August report, the new evidence is not definitive. There are no videos, no love letters, no voice messages. Like last August, they are he-said, he-said allegations about a man seeking discreet sex from partners whom he counted on to never tell. But the Statesman's investigation, which included reviews of travel and property records and background checks on all five men, found nothing to disprove the five new accounts. The men offer telling and sometimes similar details about what happened, or the senator's travel records place him in the city where sex is alleged to have occurred, or his accusers told credible witnesses at the time of the incident."

Listen to David Phillips here, here, and here. Listen to Mike Jones here, here, here, and here. Listen to Greg Ruth here. Listen to Tom Russell here, here, and here. WARNING: Some of the audio recordings may contain graphic language.

Larry Craig released a statement responding to the Statesman's claims. Said Craig: "Like its previous coverage, these latest allegations are completely false and have no basis in reality. In fact, the paper itself states that these baseless accusations contain no definitive evidence, yet they still decided to print them anyway. Despite the fact the Idaho Statesman has decided to pursue its own agenda and print these falsehoods without any facts to back them up, I won't let this paper's attempt to malign my name stop me from continuing my work to serve the people of Idaho"

Good luck with that.

More gay men describe sexual encounters with U.S. Sen. Craig [idaho statesman]
Craig: Statement's Completely False [idaho statesman]

(image via daily dish)

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Ted Haggard Escort Mike Jones Claims Larry Craig Was His Client

Mike Jones, the escort behind the Ted Haggard scandal, claims that Idaho Senator Larry Craig was his client.

Jones dropped the bombshell while appearing on the "Bulldog Bill Feingold Show" in Palm Springs.

According to KESQ Palm Springs: "Feingold asked whether the Senator had seen Jones in a hotel room. Jones responded, 'No, he came to see me.' Jones then added, 'His travel records to Denver have been documented. That's what I wanted to say.' NewsChannel 3 asked Senator Craig's office to comment on the allegations that Craig came to Denver to see Jones, who calls himself a gay escort. Craig's office said in response, 'Mike Jones' allegations are completely false.'" Craig's office also added, "clearly anyone can make an accusation absent of details that would be easy to refute."

The station reports, "Jones is not alleging that he has had sex with Senator Craig but that he is alleging the senator came to see him. 'One of the things I was good at was figuring out what people did for a living when they came to see me by things they said or their actions,' Jones said on-air Wednesday night. 'So be in a position where you have to guess what people did for a living, occupation-wise. Someone comes in to you and the first question they say to you is 'do you follow politics?' and you would say, 'yes'. 'Oh.' 'the weather is cold outside, isn't it? What would you think that person is involved with? I will just tell you a gentleman came in and said that exact thing to me.'"

Asked Feingold "Did he look similar to Senator Craig?"

Jones responded, "I've been with many politicians and all I can tell you is for a fact, that Larry Craig is a hypocrite."

Joe.My.God also reports that Jones told him of Craig when the Craig scandal first unfolded: "I asked Mike if he could prove his claim, but he said that while he didn't have voice mail messages to backup his claim, as he did with Ted Haggard, he would nevertheless come forward IF Craig did not follow through on his resignation."

UPDATE: Mike Rogers of BlogActive, who outed Larry Craig before Craig was arrested in the Minneapolis airport, claims that Mike Jones is lying to juice up his book sales. Rogers had a phone conversation with Jones and challenged him to bring out the proof.

Alleged Haggard Escort: 'Sen. Craig Visited Me' [kesq] (with video)
Bombshell From Mike Jones: "Larry Craig Was My Customer" [joe.my.god]

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News: Hillary Clinton, Estonia Pride, Gael Garcia Bernal, Mike Jones

Jim David on The Gay Squirm Factor: "It's enough to make you want to move to Scandinavia, where nobody cares about the gays. If it just wasn't so freaking cold."

Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna host human rights benefit in Mexico City: "The $300-a-plate meal in the capital will benefit Mexico's Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights as well as Witness, an organization founded by singer Peter Gabriel that promotes the use of video and film to document human rights abuses."

Former Andy Warhol sidekick Bob Colacello to W magazine: "I'm presumably gay. I believe in going out, not coming out. It takes more courage to be openly Republican than to be openly gay in New York today. I'm a bit of a contrarian."

Putting it all online? Recent developments in "cloud storage" solutions from Google, Microsoft, and Apple.

Tropical Depression 4 forms in Atlantic. Will become "Dean" if named...

Ricky Martin shows off his skills.

Gay Pride march in Estonia takes place peacefully: "An estimated 300 people gathered in the historic part of the city to celebrate their sexuality, protected by private security officers and an increased police presence. Despite fears of a repeat of last year's violence, when Estonian skinheads injured several marchers by hurling missiles, the event passed off without any significant incident. About halfway down the route, anti-gay demonstrators formed an alternative procession. About a dozen mostly Russian-speaking men, women and children chanted 'no pride' at the marchers."

Ted Haggard escort Mike Jones in new play about soldiers who "go AWOL after being exposed to friendly-fire nerve gas in an all-base orgy."

British military puts gag order on soldiers' blogs: "Members of the Armed Forces and MOD Civil Servants must seek prior permission from [MoD media authorities] if they wish to communicate about defence via books, articles or academic papers; self-publish via a blog, podcast or other shared text, audio or video; take part in external questionnaires, polls, surveys or research projects, speak at conferences, private engagements or other events where the public or media may be present; or contribute to any online community or share information such as a bulletin board, wiki, online social network, or multi-player game..."

Britney Spears' hot tub hook-up talks to Access Hollywood.

Inside the Hillary Clinton fundraiser at The Abbey in West Hollywood: "...we hear people starting cheering loudly in the VIP room and camera flashes seep through the curtain separating us common folk. She's coming! The crowd begins to chant "Hillary! Hillary!" and it really starts to feel like a rock concert. Then at about 9:00 we see it, her bright red jacket slips through the maroon curtain and the crowd is in a frenzy! 'We Love You Hillary!' and 'You're Fabulous!' seem to be the shouts of choice."

Artist constructs Stephen Colbert portrait out of 768 mini Rubik's Cubes.

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Looking at the Business of Gay "Celebrity" Books

Citing numbers from Nielsen BookScan, the Washington Blade's Katherine Volin looks at the disappointing sales of gay "celebrity" books and what's behind the numbers.

Says Charles Flowers, executive director of Lambda Literary Foundation: "The publishers are looking for a way for someone to sell the book and that’s part of the attraction of a celeb book, they’ve got this platform. I’m not sure people make the leap to, ‘Do I want to read a whole book about this person, or by this person?’ So I think it’s something to be careful about in acquiring a celebrity book. If they’re over-exposed, people may not buy a book about them or by them. They already have their opinion made or think they know the person."

I was a bit surprised by the low numbers, though I'm not sure why. It seems all the promotion in the world can't do as much for book sales as a single appearance on Oprah.

A few of the notable books and their sales numbers:

38,000 — "The Confession" by James McGreevey

19,000 — "Silent Partner" by Dina Matos McGreevey

15,000 — "A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style" by Tim Gunn and Kate Moloney

14,000 — "Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins" by Rupert Everett

9,000 — "Man in the Middle" by John Amaechi
9,000 — "Now It's My Turn" by Mary Cheney

8,000 — "There's Nothing in this Book That I Meant to Say" by Paula Poundstone

6,000 — "Tab Hunter Confidential" by Tab Hunter and Eddie Muller
6,000 — "Here's What We'll Say" by Reichen Lehmkuhl

3,000 — "Alone in the Trenches" by Esera Tuaolo and John Rosengren
3,000 — "Include Me Out" by Farley Granger and Robert Calhoun

1,000 — "I Had to Say Something" by Mike Jones with Same Gallegos
1,000 — "La Dolce Musto" by Michael Musto

Gay books a bust [washington blade]

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News: Wii Fit, Giant Squid, Beckham Invasion, Larry Flynt, Mika

Larry Flynt's investigators are currently looking into at least 20 high-profile political sex scandals, some of which involve "high ranking Republican and Democrat members of the Senate and the House."

Mika shows off cartoons from Life in Cartoon Motion in London exhibit.

Bush's policies have made Al Qaeda a powerhouse again: "Six years after the Bush administration declared war on al-Qaeda, the terrorist network is gaining strength and has established a safe haven in remote tribal areas of western Pakistan for training and planning attacks, according to a new Bush administration intelligence report to be discussed today at a White House meeting. The report, a five-page threat assessment compiled by the National Counterterrorism Center, is titled 'Al-Qaida Better Positioned to Strike the West,' intelligence officials said. It concludes that the group has significantly rebuilt itself despite concerted U.S. attempts to smash the network."

This should be common sense, but one shouldn't walk through a thunderstorm while listening to your iPod.

British invasion: Beckhams arrive at Heathrow for flight to Los Angeles.

Adult film maven Michael Lucas to lose his trademark pout.

Navigating the linguistic seas of cross-cultural slurs: "Language is always guilty. What could be more common than the verb ''get''? We Cubans use coger for anything that is taken, held, grasped, grabbed, etc., while in other Hispanic countries, the verb has the lubricious meaning implicit in 'I`m gonna get you.' In much stronger terms. In the lands that first identified the syndrome we call 'machismo' (as a malaise, I should add), words for homosexual abound. Sometimes they are as simple as the Spanish for 'bird' or 'duck,' which lend themselves to endless wordplay. Through the process known in literary studies as metonymy, there are pejorative allusions to gayness, such as 'one can see his feathers,' i.e. he is a bird, meaning queer. 'Bird,' as we all know, is British slang for 'chick.' And that word in Spanish, pollo, is archaic Cuban slang one can hear in old Beny Moré songs in which the great singer brags about how chicks dig him. And these are only the vicissitudes of staying within one language."

David Mixner recalls lunch with Lady Bird Johnson.

Orlando Bloom says he won't be getting naked on the London stage, although it might help if the play he was performing in actually had any opportunities for nudity.

Giant squid washes up on Tasmanian beach: "one of the biggest ever found, weighing in at 250 kilograms, with a cross-section as big as a truck tyre and longer than a station wagon."

Scientists spot planet with water outside our solar system: " But the planet itself would be hell for humans. Orbiting cheek by jowel to the star, at a distance that is 30 times closer than that between the Earth and the Sun, parts of the planet's atmosphere reach 2,000 degrees Celsius (3,600 degrees Fahrenheit). This seething temperature is reached on the side of the planet that always faces the star. By comparison, the other side of the planet is relatively balmy, with a low of 500 C (932 F). Tinetti's team used NASA's Spitzer orbiting telescope, using its infrared sensors to pick out the tiny signature that occurs when water vapour absorbs light from a star."

The man forever associated with Ted Haggard has something to say in Colorado Springs.

Do you have a lot of moles? You may have a better chance of living longer.

Wii Fit prepares to combat couch potato-ism: "The title is set to include more than forty different activities, from aerobics to yoga poses to muscle conditioning, and it will even measure your BMI. Plus, as can be seen in the trailer, there are a number of other fun minigames -- yes, we know, minigames on the Wii! -- that also serve to improve balance and coordination." The videogame system may soon be #1 worldwide.

And a very happy birthday today to Trent, our friend at Pink is the New Blog!

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News: Criss Angel, Rufus Wainwright, Thierry Mugler, Mike Jones

Ted Haggard escort Mike Jones talks to Deborah Solomon in the NYT magazine: "I’m really not this left-wing liberal like some people have tried to paint me. I think I’m very moderate. I’m a registered Democrat, but I’ve voted Republican. I voted for Bush in the last election."

Magician Criss Angel begins 24-hour Times Square cement box stunt: "About 100 fans gathered in the rain to watch the spectacle in a parking lot just off Times Square, the same spot where U.S. magician David Blaine spent two days in November shackled to a gyroscope hoisted in the air before escaping. Angel, 39, sat in a four-foot (1.2 meter) square clear box slowly being encased in cement that was suspended 12 feet above the ground as he spoke to reporters and fans. The box will be lifted to 40 feet later on Monday and Angel will try to escape on Tuesday morning before the box is sent plunging to the ground."

Bush nominates James Holsinger for Surgeon General. Holsinger founded Hope Springs Community Church which seeks to "cure" gays and lesbians.

Rufus Wainwright: "I do feel like I live a fabulous life. And I know that’s why a lot of the critics get so mad at me sometimes, because they’re just really jealous.

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has begun allowing conjugal visits for gay and lesbian inmates registered as domestic partners: "The change will allow gay and lesbian inmates the same rights as other inmates, who are eligible to spend up to three days with family members in living areas -- usually trailers -- on prison grounds. Corrections officials say they are responding to legislation signed by former Gov. Gray Davis that awarded more rights to registered domestic partners and prohibited state agencies from discriminating against domestic partners...The changes were prompted by complaints from Vernon Foeller, 40, who was serving a 20-month sentence, convicted of attempted burglary, at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville. Foeller's request to have his domestic partner visit him last summer was denied, leading him to contact the ACLU."

Rosie O'Donnell is in Celebrity Detox.

Robbie Williams, football hero?

William Silver, the first openly gay man to apply for ordination in the Methodist Church, has died at 59 of complications from AIDS: "A grandson of Presbyterian missionaries in China, Mr. Silver hoped to follow them into the ministry when he entered the Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan in 1969. It was in his final year there, in 1973, that he came to terms with his homosexuality. Two years later, when applying to the Presbytery of New York for ordination as an assistant pastor at the Central Presbyterian Church on Park Avenue and 64th Street, he shocked committee members interviewing him by saying he was gay. 'It was like electricity had been sent through members of the committee as they sat upright, and we really didn’t know what to do,' Byron Shafer, one of the committee members, recalled in an oral history interview."

Death of American math genius Scott Johnson 20 years ago off Sydney Australia's North Head being investigated as murder by anti-gay gangs: "In 2004 Coroner Jacqueline Milledge ruled that violent gangs preying on homosexuals probably hurled three of the group to their deaths at Marks Park, overlooking Bondi Beach. She also determined that gay bashings in the park were common and that similar attacks might have occurred at gay beats at Alexandria and Randwick. Spurred by the findings, Johnson's brother Steve has hired US investigative journalist Daniel Glick and retired NSW detective John McNamara to determine if the same scenario occurred on Sydney's northern beaches."

Fashion designer Thierry Mugler becomes "Manfred" in extreme makeover. WARNING: Not safe for work at all.

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Exodus: Ted Haggard Moves to Arizona for "Fresh Start"

Ted "Completely Heterosexual" Haggard moved out of Colorado on Wednesday, to set up home in Phoenix, Arizona. It had been rumored that Haggard and his wife would be moving to Iowa or Missouri.

The Rev. H.B. London of Haggard's New Life Church told the Associated Press he was glad that the deposed pastor was gone: "When he moved out of town today, there was a kind of relief on the part of the church that life can get back to normal. For the Haggards, it is the beginning of a huge new chapter. It's a brand new start for them, the beginning of a new beginning." Attendance at New Life Church has reportedly fallen 20% since the Haggard scandal began.

That new beginning will apparently include joining another church. This time it's Phoenix First Assembly of God, the church where televangelist Jim Bakker found himself after doing time in federal prison. The church leader, Rev. Tommy Barnett, reportedly told his congregation that Haggard was on his way.

A life change is in store for him, London told the AP: "Once you were in charge of a megachurch and a mega-staff and making mega-decisions, now your main decision is where you're going to school, where to eat and what you're going to do on your day off."

And a day off is a fabulous time for a massage.

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News: Sun Flares, Lukas Rossi, Gay Chile, Ryan Seacrest

Two Chicago students file lawsuit so they can wear anti-gay T-shirt that says "Be Happy, Not Gay": "According to the suit, one school administrator ordered Zamecnik to remove the T-shirt and another official ordered her to cross out 'NOT GAY' with a marker. The suit alleges Zamecnik suffered unlawful discrimination and humiliation because school officials didn't agree with her viewpoint. Nuxoll did not attend the school at the time of the incident." It's Tyler Chase Harper all over again.

REPORT: Beckhams sick of Tom Cruise trying to convert them to Scientology. "Victoria is tired of Tom being on her back about Scientology. Victoria is an old-fashioned British woman who believes in God. She finds it quite annoying that Tom is bugging her so much. Not too long ago, Tom left 18 messages in one hour to get them to join the church. But when Victoria says no, she means no."

The Ted Haggard massage table, crucified by fundamentalists who had it pulled from eBay, has a second coming.

Sanitation worker disciplined for attempting to get glamour shots of Naomi Campbell's floor-scrubbing fashion show.

Ryan Seacrest is neither gay nor bisexual, according to an old flame.

We've already seen him lock lips with his lead singer Lukas Rossi, but now we learn that Tommy Lee is also an equal opportunity toe sucker.

You know you are a weather geek when...

Hot: Space probe reveals "impossible" images from our sun. "Hinode has sent back startling images of the Sun's outer limb. Where astronomers expected to see a calm region called the chromosphere, they saw a seething mass of swaying spikes...Another surprise sighting is that of giant magnetic field loops crashing down onto the Sun's surface as if they were collapsing from exhaustion, a finding that Golub describes as 'impossible'. Previously, scientists thought they should emerge from the Sun and continue blowing out into space. 'Almost every day, we look at the data and we say – what the heck was that?' says Golub, a member of the XRT science team."

The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) has posted a gallery of shots from their recent New York benefit at ABC studios in Times Square.

Chile's first gay football team prepares to head to IGLF World Cup in Buenos Aires. Player: "There are a lot of spaces for the development of sports for heterosexuals, but we gays don’t have that. This is our space, and when we play, there’s nobody shouting abuse at us from the sidelines."

Here's the full article at The Stranger about anti-gay pastor Ken Hutcherson's alleged trip to Latvia at the behest of the White House.

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Ted Haggard Massage Table on eBay

Now you can own Mike Jones' lavender massage table where all the hot Evangelical action with pastor Ted Haggard went down. As a bonus, Jones will autograph it for you and send you a signed copy of his book when it comes out in June. The book is titled I Had to Say Something. And we're so glad you did, Mike.

The proceeds go to charity. "All proceeds benefit 'Project Angel Heart', which provides people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-threatening illnesses nutritious home-delivered meals."

T'ain't the prettiest thing but if you're into roleplaying it could prove quite useful.

Ted Haggard Massage Table [ebay]

Haggard's massage table for sale on eBay [rocky mountain news]

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Quick Bites on Snickers and Ted Haggard

We hear that Ted Haggard is rather upset they pulled the Snickers commercial: "I really enjoyed doing the Snickers commercial. There is a sense of camaraderie, I suppose, that develops between actors in that kind of situation. There were a lot of takes, and a lot of candy bars in order to get the scene just right. It's a scientific fact that chocolate has chemical compounds that are similar to methamphetamine and stimulate sexual feelings, so it was a little tough on me. I'm just really disappointed with the American public that there is such intolerance for heterosexual feelings."

Meanwhile, in actual news, gay escort Mike Jones reacted to Haggard's announcement that he's "completely heterosexual" on MSNBC yesterday. Said Jones: "That's the quickest therapy I've ever heard of. Y'know, it's hard for me to imagine someone who is performing oral sex and saying that he's straight. That just doesn't jive."

And blogger Manhattan Offender recently did an interview with NYC nightlife promoter Daniel Nardicio. Nardicio tips him off to a podcast he did with Mike Jones, in which he goes into "the homophobe minister's drug use, sexual positions, and, um, cleanliness."

As a follow-up to...
Masterfoods Pulls Offensive Snickers Ads and Website [tr]
Snickers: "Quick, Do Something Manly [tr]
Ted Haggard: Now "Completely Heterosexual" [tr]

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Ted Haggard: Now "Completely Heterosexual"

This just in from the Denver Post. Ted Haggard is not gay!

Haggard, who is apparently ready to jet off to Iowa or Missouri to become a psychologist, told a four-member oversight board that after three weeks of intense counseling he is now "completely heterosexual" and that "his sexual contact with men was limited to his accuser" according to one of the pastors on that board.

Amazing. And James Dobson said it would take 4 or 5 years!

Haggard breezed through his therapy almost faster than Isaiah Washington. These guys are fast.

Said the pastor overseeing Haggard's progress: "He is completely heterosexual. That is something he discovered. It was the acting- out situations where things took place. It wasn't a constant thing. If we're going to be proved wrong (about Haggard only having contact with Mike Jones), somebody else is going to come forward, and that usually happens really quickly. We're into this thing over 90 days, and it hasn't happened. Nobody is saying he can't go back into ministry. Somewhere down the road, that could very well happen, and that would be wonderful."

Over the weekend, Haggard sent an email to members of his New Life church announcing that he was leaving Colorado Springs and intended to settle in Missouri or Iowa and pursue an online degree in psychology.

You may have missed...
"Paralyzed by Shame", Ted Haggard is Leaving Colorado Springs [tr]
Gay Escort Mike Jones Visits Ted Haggard's New Life Church [tr]
James Dobson: Ted Haggard Gay Cure Could Take "4 or 5 Years" [tr]
Ted Haggard Fall-out Continues; Jesus Camp Shut [tr]

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"Paralyzed by Shame", Ted Haggard is Leaving Colorado Springs

According to an email Ted Haggard sent to New Life Church members over the weekend, he's been spending time in Phoenix with his wife Gayle undergoing intense psychological therapy and Jesus is starting to "put him back together". He's also leaving Colorado Springs for Iowa or Missouri where he and his wife will both try to get their masters degree in psychology.

Ted's email:

"Jesus is starting to put me back together. I have spent so much time in repentance, brokenness, hurt and sorrow for the things I've done and the negative impact my actions have had on others. That sadness continues as my family and I, along with so many others, go through the painful consequences of my actions. Jesus and his followers, though, have saved my life. As part of New Life's efforts to help me, they sent Gayle and me to Phoenix for a three-week psychological intensive that gave us three years worth of analysis and treatment. We all wanted to know why I developed such incongruity in my life. Thankfully, with the tools we gained there, along with the powerful way God has been illuminating His Word and the Holy Spirit has been convicting and healing me, we now have growing understanding which is giving me some hope for a future.

Gayle and I have decided to move from Colorado Springs to go back to school. We love Colorado Springs so much, and will always regard the believer's at New Life Church as family, but we have to go in order to let the church determine its own course and for us to retrain. We haven't decided where we are moving but so far have been offered two places, one in Iowa and one in Missouri. We are both planning on getting our masters in Psychology so we can work together serving others the rest of our lives. Since we are taking our classes on-line, we can live anywhere that's affordable. Then we'll travel to location for short in-class requirements.

Thank you so much for your love and prayers during this horrific time of transition in our lives. For the last three months, I've not been communicative because I've been paralyzed by shame. But as God and people like you forgive me, the sun is starting to rise in my life. I look forward to communicating with greater ease."

God bless,

Ted Haggard
"We are Easter People."

Maybe that masters degree will help him understand how an Evangelical preacher can rationalize sleeping with men while he condemns homosexuality. But more likely it'll train him for his next career as therapist at an "ex-gay" ministry. We'll see.

You may have missed...
Gay Escort Mike Jones Visits Ted Haggard's New Life Church [tr]
James Dobson: Ted Haggard Gay Cure Could Take "4 or 5 Years" [tr]
Ted Haggard Fall-out Continues; Jesus Camp Shut [tr]

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Gay Escort Mike Jones Visits Ted Haggard's New Life Church

"As soon as the visitor from Denver walked through the church doors Sunday morning, heads turned. Word spread quickly: He was here."

As a fact-finding mission for the book he is writing about his experiences with Ted Haggard, gay escort Mike Jones attended a service at Haggard's New Life Church in Colorado Springs, where he reports he was greeted warmly and offered blessings from the parishioners.

Said Jones, who did not tell media in advance about his visit for fear it would taint the impromptu visit: "I had read a lot about the church, but there's nothing like seeing it for yourself. It wasn't to rub anyone's face in it by any means. I was wanting to get some perspective, to see where they are coming from, what the magnet is...There seems to be something missing, some realism, in my opinion, because it's so vast, like some kind of self-contained city"

Jones attended with a New York- based theater troupe called the civilians who were in the area "researching a project on evangelicals".

Jones' arrival proved emotional for some: "A couple of ladies cried when they were touching me. I was thanked for exposing the church, for helping Ted Haggard. A couple of them said they hoped I get God into my life. And they all said 'God bless you,' every one of them."

Associate pastor Rob Brendle told Jones that he felt God had used the gay escort as a tool to help the church: "I told Mike, 'I don't want to impose my religious beliefs on you, but I believe God used you to correct us, and I appreciate that.' The church's response to him was overwhelmingly warm. One of the wonderful and enduring truths of Christianity is to love people the world sets up to be your enemies."

New Life Members Welcome Jones [denver post]
Haggard Accuser Attends New Life Service [krdo denver]

Background...
Evangelical Leader Ted Haggard Steps Down After Gay Escort Claims They Had a Sexual Relationship for Three Years [tr]
Ted Haggard Voicemails Analyzed; Pastor Admits to Indiscretions [tr]
Mike Jones Fails Lie Detector Test on Ted Haggard But Test Administrator Doubts Test's Accuracy [tr]
Ted Haggard: Bought Meth, Didn't Use It; Received Massage, No Sex [tr]
Ted Haggard Letter: "I am Guilty...a Deceiver and a Liar" [tr]

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News: Bush and Iran, Thai Cowboys, Sean Hannity's Gays

Authorities investigate both Ted Haggard and Mike Jones: "Denver police want to know who supplied the drugs and exactly what role Jones played in the drug use. He may also be under investigation for prostitution a police source said Monday."

Brokeback Mountain spurs surge in Thai cowboy films. A special collector's edition DVD of Brokeback is coming on January 23. The two-disc edition will feature never-before-seen footage as well as collectible postcards.

New "GAYdar reality show casting: "We are looking for gay MEN between the ages of 21-35. You must be single, attractive and have a very outgoing personality. Were gonna set you in a straight dating situation and have you act straight while dating a single, straight, attractive girl. This is Reality TV but you will be acting as straight as possible. Your job is to not let the girl Know that your the gay guy in the show!!!"

3 Needles to open this Friday on World AIDS Day. Proceed at your own Risk offers up a review: "Refreshingly this film has no gay characters and no gay story lines. That will likely drive the homophobes crazy since they seem incapable of moving past the dead-headed notion that AIDS is a gay disease. In fact, "3 Needles" leaves one with the powerful idea that the association between homosexuality and AIDS is downright idiotic."

Bulgarian pop singer Lora Ivanova struggles in court to change her name to 'Madona': "She claims that she wasn't copying pop icon Madonna, because she only wanted to spell her name with one 'n'."

Joel Stein mines FOX News commentator Sean Hannity's 'Hannidate' dating service for a man-on-man encounter: "Figuring this was an embarrassing oversight by the Hannity.com administrator who must have bought the dating service software from some liberal company, I immediately contacted Hannity, hoping he'd panic and cry and possibly use his bionic powers. But it turns out Hannity was well aware of the gay Hannidate feature and is fine with it."

Is the rise of Iran Bush's mortal wound? "While you could argue that many presidents face a six-year slump, has one ever included having to turn to the 'Axis of Evil' for help? The best part was the conclusion has pretty much already been reached - Maliki said Iraq should talk to Iran directly leaving the US on the sidelines. Thanks but no thanks George, you've done quite enough."

Britney caught under socialite's spell.

All David Beckham wants for Christmas is a non-stick frying pan.

Heterosexual police officer claims she was discriminated against on the force because she's not a lesbian: "Heterosexual female officers at the division were targeted for harassment and negative employment actions and were not given the same opportunities as lesbians, she alleges."

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James Dobson: Ted Haggard Gay Cure Could Take "4 or 5 Years"

Wednesday night almost seems like ancient history, but James Dobson's appearance on Larry King Live is too rich to overlook.

Dobson told King that he excused himself from the "three person restoration panel" overlooking his "close friend" Ted Haggard because it might be 2010 before Haggard is heterosexual:

"I called my board of directors, we talked about it at length and they were unanimous in asking me not to do that, because this could take four or five years and I just have too many other things going on."

Dobson says he hasn't talked to his "close friend" since it happened. Dobson also told King that liberals have no values, Congress was "courageous" in trying to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case, and the separation of church and state is not in the Bill of Rights.

Meanwhile, in Miami over the weekend, gay escort Mike Jones sat down with author David Leddick who is writing a new book called Escort, featuring escorts, their profiles, and photographs. Said Leddick: ''Forty profiles with photographs of men who sell sex. I'm