Rep. Jerry Moran (R- KS) is trying to turn charges that he's getting a break on his rent at C Street into attacks on his Christian faith. Seriously. [...]
[H]e told the Topeka Capitol-Journal that criticism of his cozy arrangement amounted to "a national effort to exclude matters of faith by public servants."
Moran continued: "I don't think that my interest in studying the Bible with other colleagues of mine in Congress ought to be seen as anything but good or at least personal -- whether you think it's good or bad it ought to be a decision I make as a member of Congress, as a human being."
Yes, that's right, it's all about discrimination against people of faith. Everyone is out to get them, poor little innocent things. Maybe the words "public servant" should be taken seriously by these guys.
Playing the victim card while you're paying a fraction of what you should be for renting upscale digs while sharing said space with a bunch of cheating, philandering "Christians" probably isn't the best way to go.
The Family claims they have no idea who runs/owns C Street, the house that swears it's a church, but not really since there are no services or congregations. But it does have tax exempt status and gives great cut rates to their favorite members of Congress.
Charity?
Rachel got her hands on the deed to the house. C Street Center Inc. now owns it... Marty Sherman, an associate of The Family, has his name on the deed. The same Family that has no idea who owns C Street.
So who is doing those favors for Congress members who live(d) there? Why all the secrecy?
Rev. Eric Williams, who opposes C Street's status, and complained to the IRS, is also trying to get to the bottom of this.
On Friday, the White House issued a statement to the Advocate, condemning the Anti-Homosexuality Bill currently being considered by the Ugandan parliament:
The President strongly opposes efforts, such as the draft law pending in Uganda, that would criminalize homosexuality and move against the tide of history.
As the Advocate’s Kerry Eleveld notes, this statement is the strongest yet issued by the Obama administration.
That's the kind of update we can believe in.
Keep up the pressure and great reporting, Rachel. What would we do without you?
You really need to go read the whole article, but Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, fills us in on yet another jaw-dropping way that C Street has affected lives (and deaths) in the worst possible way.
David Bahati, a member of the Ugandan Parliament and The Family, introduced a bill that would... well, let's let Jeff Sharlet explain:
SHARLET: Well, the new legislation adds to this something called aggravated homosexuality. And this can include, for instance, if a gay man has sex with another man who is disabled, that’s aggravated homosexuality, and that man can be – I suppose both, actually, could be put to death for this. The use of any drugs or any intoxicants in seeking gay sex – in other words, you go to a bar and you buy a guy a drink, you’re subject to the death penalty if you go home and sleep together after that. What it also does is it extends this outward, so that if you know a gay person and you don’t report it, that could mean – you don’t report your son or daughter, you can go to prison.
And it goes further, to say that any kind of promotion of these ideas of homosexuality, including by foreigners, can result in prison terms. Talking about same sex-marriage positively can lead you to imprisonment for life. And it’s really kind of a perfect case study and the export of a lot of American largely evangelical ideas about homosexuality exported to Uganda, which then takes them to their logical end.
The article has a lot more to it. But suffice it to say, these people must be stopped. Pushing their beliefs on to others, and to this extent, is criminal and sick. They give a whole new meaning to the word "cult".
The worst part is:
[T]he members of The Family, truly know what is best for the rest of us.
And just FYI:
Here is a list of current elected officials Sharlet mentioned in the interview:
Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.
Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wy.
Sen. Chuck Grassley
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla.
Sen. Bill Nelson, Fla.
Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark.
Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C.
Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Penn.
Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C.
Rep. Bart Stupak, D- Mich.
Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn.
Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va.
Other notable members:
Rep. Chuck Pickering, who had ongoing extramarital liaisons in his room at the cult house on C Street.
Chuck Colson, Watergate felon, who was released early from prison at the request of members of The Family
Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., whom Sharlet says provided classified documents to the cult
Sen. Absalom Willis Robertson, Virginia Dixiecrat and father of televangelist Pat Robertson
Democrat Bart Stupak... of the Stupak-Pitt Amendment to the health care bill that essentially does away with women's reproductive rights. Yes, that Stupak. Yes, that health care bill.
So much for what was left of Stupak's credibility, because if there is one thing C Street is not, it is healthy.
A secretive religious group paid for trips to Japan and the Middle East by U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., now under fire for an adulterous affair, records show.
The travel in 2003 and 2004 did not violate the Senate ethics rules then in force, the Las Vegas Sun reported. The Senate has since adopted new restrictions on travel paid for by outside groups.
Timing is everything.
The newspaper said Ensign's travel records show the trips cost $15,000, paid by the International Foundation, an arm of the Fellowship Foundation. That group is known informally as The Family and both Ensign and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, another Republican caught in a sex scandal, have ties to it. [...]
"The Family acts today like the most powerful lobby in America that isn't registered as a lobby -- and is thus immune from the scrutiny attending the other powerful organizations," Sharlet wrote.
These are the Family values of the very devout Rushpublics who are so quick to condemn others.
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