Back then, Susie Bright started a little game/charity event that she called “Bet on Ted”. Basically, it was a betting pool for the date when Ted Haggard would come out of his tightly-closed hypocrite’s closet once and for all. The money was to go to the winner; if nobody won, the money would go to Ms. Bright’s charity of choice, LYRIC in San Francisco. LYRIC is a support organization for LGBTQQ youth, and it’s by all accounts a great one.

This past week, amid the media circus over the HBO documentary about Haggard (deliberately not linking – he needs no more publicity than he’s already gotten here) another person came forward to talk about his relationship with Haggard. At the time, the young man in question was a minor, so this one is a little more…problematic. Oh, and there’s the little question of the hush money paid out by New Life Church to keep this person quiet.

Haggard now says that his sexuality is “complex”. Well, good for you, Mr. Haggard. Lots of people’s sexuality is complex. Even the people who you condemned at your pulpit, over and over again, without the slightest bit of shame. But I’m digressing.

A couple of days ago, Susie declared an end to the pool. Since nobody picked a date so far out in space, those of us who participated are sending out $5USD to her on LYRIC’s behalf (she’s sending out one huge check). I’m sending a check when Evil Dad gets paid this week, in fact. If you’d like to join me, I’m sure they would appreciate it deeply.

Thought the economy was sucking before? Well. It’s not just sucking once, but twice. Merrill Lynch has agreed to sell to MBNA/Bank of America for 50 billion dollars, and Lehman Brothers has filed for bankruptcy protection. In celebration of these big events, the NYSE is tanking, dropping more than 270 points so far today. It also appears that the insurance company AIG might be next, unless they get a Federal Reserve loan.

To add insult to injury, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan said that the economy is in the worst shape he’s ever seen. Well, he should know, considering that he arguably shares a great deal of the responsibility for our current economic situation.

My greatest fear is that this is a mess that can never be completely fixed, no matter who’s elected in November. And it just keeps getting worse.