Pakistani officials are reporting that Adam Gadahn has been captured in Pakistan.

If you’re not familiar with Gadahn, he may be unique in the history of America’s fight with al Qaida. Gadahn was born in Oregon and raised as a Christian, though he is of partly Jewish ancestry. He was born Adam Pearlman.

Unlike John Walker Lindh, a pretty shambling and lackluster jihadi, who showed up in Afghanistan and briefly fought with the Taliban before and after 9/11, Gadahn’s the real deal. He genuinely joined al Qaida and has apparently been a fairly high-level operative in the organization, though he’s mainly focused on making videos and being an al Qaida spokesman to the English-speaking world. Read More

The latest reports are casting doubt on whether or not Adam Gadahn was actually arrested today in Pakistan. Presumably we’ll know more soon.

Late Update: The Times now says it was Abu Yahya Mujahdeen Al-Adam, also an American citizen, apparently born in Pennsylvania. Little else seems to be known about him.

I would not be surprised if this story too gets revised. It seems like there are still a lot of conflicting reports.

Later Update: The Post suggests that it’s actually still not really clear who the Pakistanis captured. They’re leaving open the possibility that it’s Gadahn, but seem to be leaning against it.

We’re getting a bit more details on just what the complaints against soon-to-be-ex-Rep. Eric Massa were about. On Massa’s weekly radio show he explained his side of the alleged incident of sexual harassment and went on to suggest that the timing of recent events was part of a plan by Democratic leaders to force him out of the House to pave the way for passing health care reform.

And from there … well, I guess the highlights would include the cursing match with Rahm and Massa’s story of walking in on his Navy bunkmate masturbating back in the early 1980s and how that led to a misunderstanding and the bunkmate requesting different quarters. And then somewhat above and beyond the call of duty descriptions of best practices for sharing a bed with a staffer when you’re on the road and the hotel room only has one bed. (One sleeps under the covers, one over.)

The whole show sounds at once genuine, completely disjointed and confused, somewhat endearing and also totally bizarre. For a good bit of the conversation (the first 25 minutes or so is an impassioned monologue) the topic was whether or not Massa should stay in Congress, cut back his hours and declare himself an independent.

Roll Call reports the story here. And you can listen to the interview itself here (jump to about 5 minutes in). Read More

President Obama hits the trail in Pennsylvania today to push for health care reform. That and the day’s other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.

Sarah Palin: I’m not the only one to use my palm to write notes — God did it, too!

NRSC chairman Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): Republicans “should and will run on” repealing health care reform.

The new Republican administration in Virginia is doubling down on repealing protections for gays. Earlier this year, Gov. Bob McDonnell rescinded protections for gay and lesbian state workers. In the latest move, the state’s Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, is asking state schools and university to repeal their policies that provide protections for gay and lesbian staff.

The history of gay politicians fighting as tribunes of homophobia and prejudice is so long and twisted and sad and awful that I don’t really think I’m in any position to judge. But I’ll give credit to state Senator Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield), the anti-gay rights Republican who got picked up last week on a DUI after leaving a gay nightspot in Sacramento, for not pulling a Craig or a Haggard.

“I’m gay,” he told a radio interviewer this morning. “Those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long.”

He explained his past voting record saying that’s what his conservative constituents wanted.

As I noted last night, Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) has now accused House Democrats of whipping up the sexual harassment charge to force him out of the House to pave the way for passing Health Care Reform. He directly accused Steny Hoyer of lying. And Hoyer has now flatly denied it. (It does seem clear that Hoyer never even said what Massa claimed he did.)

But the most surreal part of Massa’s lengthy radio monologue over the weekend was his tour d’horizon of frat boy antics during his career in the Navy. And one case of what seems to have been an earlier accusation of an improper advance during his Navy days. To put it as antiseptically and briefly as possible, Massa says he walked in on a bunkmate masturbating and jocularly offered to help him. This apparently led to a misunderstanding and the bunkmate requesting different quarters.

Each of these incidents alone make sense. But even in Massa’s recounting they do paint a picture of a guy with a history of really unfortunate misunderstandings of joking sexual remarks.

The whole thing is starting to remind me of this classic Onion piece.

Not quite that bad. But close.

Said senate campaign committee chair John Cornyn this morning about his earlier endorsement of Charlie Crist: “I’m not going to do anything to change that. I think I’m honor-bound to leave it as it is. It doesn’t mean we’re going to be spending any money in the primary or saying anything bad about Marco Rubio.”