As for the Appalachian Trail hike trip to Argentina sexcapades, he's home free:
South Carolina's Attorney General has decided that Gov. Mark Sanford will not face criminal charges following an investigation into his travel and campaign expenses.
The A.G. said he didn't "knowingly, willfully, and intentionally set out to break state law". He did, however, knowingly, willfully, and intentionally set out to break his family member's hearts.
But on Monday, McMaster said the ethics violations did not rise to the level of criminal conduct. The law, he said, "requires a much higher standard before criminal prosecution is warranted."
This gave Sanford the opportunity to use the word "stalwart":
He said McMaster's decision reaffirms his belief that the Sanford administration has always "been a stalwart defender of the taxpayer. "
Said the man who could very well be residing in a building owned by a group that shouldn't have tax exempt status and treats their favorite members of Congress to cut rates.
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.
Senator John Ensign sought financial backing for a troubled Nevada energy company in 2008, and at the same time he urged the company to hire his mistress’s husband, according to people involved in the matter.
At the request of the company, P2SA Equity, Mr. Ensign had two senior aides contact one of the nation’s largest oil pipeline businesses, Kinder Morgan, about forming a partnership, two executives associated with the project said.
And the sexcapades continue... When will it all end? Maybe when all the Rushpublics find new jobs at Voyeur.
Hey, let's play the Reminiscing Game! Remember when John Ensign had an affair? And remember Doug Hampton, his former top aide? And remember Dougie's wife, who had the affair with Ensign? And remember when Ensign lined up lobbying work for Mrs. Hampton's husband?
Me too.
Investigators appear to be looking into whether Mr. Ensign sought to ingratiate himself with P2SA so that he could ease Mr. Hampton out of his office in Washington.
Oh now that wouldn't be good. Not good at all.
The senator’s office said then that he had not provided any assistance to the company. But subsequent interviews showed that his most senior Senate aides intervened in an effort to prevent the Las Vegas business from going under, a fact that Mr. Ensign no longer disputes.
To fake-quote Ensign, "So?"
Here's so:
While the former aide never got work with P2SA, the interaction of Mr. Ensign and his staff with the company appears unusual, interviews with executives at the firm and a review of their e-mail messages showed.
And by unusual, they mean illegal.
Kinder Morgan decided not to partner up with P2SA. It wouldn't benefit them financially. Therefore, Hubby Hampton was not given a lobbying contract.
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.
C Street is becoming C Dirt Road. C Alley? C Ya Later:
Residents of the C Street Christian fellowship house will no longer benefit from a loophole that had allowed the house's owners to avoid paying property taxes. [...]
In recent year, Senators John Ensign (R-NV), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Jim DeMint (R-SC), and Reps. Zach Wamp (R-TN), Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Mike Doyle (D-PA) have all reportedly called C Street home.
And their paramours have called it home too! More like C Street Motel. How generous of the C Street Christian Family to share all that living space so generously with their little friends.
Natalie Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Office of Tax and Revenue:
"It was determined that portions of it were being rented out for private residential purposes," she said. As a result, the tax exempt status was partially revoked. Sixty-six percent of the value of the property is now subject to taxation.
"Private residential purposes," huh? Kinda makes one's head spin with possibilities.
I'll stop now before I get into trouble.
Here's a vid-tweet from Rachel Maddow's producer now that mentions this very topic:
The red brick town house emerged this summer as the subject of political intrigue — not only as a pivotal location in Ensign’s affair with Cynthia Hampton, but also that of South Carolina Republican Gov. Mark Sanford, who sought guidance there as he wrestled with his own affair. [...]
Ensign apparently was not pushed out, but left on his own. He apologized to his colleagues.
He better apologize to them! He let them all down with a thud. Now who will his pals share all those funsy secrets with?
Ensign declined last week to discuss his housing situation, after The New York Times reported that the senator was planning to move.
“I don’t discuss my living arrangements,” Ensign told the Sun.
Well, actually, yes he does... but only with his super secret fellow C Streeters as they sit around the living room campfire sharing tales of their various sexcapades. Can't you just picture them all in their Snuggies, whispering and giggling...?
But the Sun confirmed through another source that he left the house a few weeks ago. [...]
Sensing the ongoing scrutiny of his C Street home could continue, Ensign apparently decided to move on.
He might think about moving to R Street... aka Resign.
Just keep talking, John, because sometimes a letter just isn't enough. And don't worry, your family--er, The Family-- will be there for you. C Street's loyal that way.
By the way, can I borrow $96,000? I'm a little short, and I need decent health care:
"I am very sorry this issue has caused a great deal of embarrassment and pain for my family, the Hamptons, and many of my supporters," Ensign said in the prepared statement, which The Las Vegas Sun posted online late Friday.
Ensign said that potential investigations by the Federal Election Commission and Senate Ethics Committee make public comment on his extramarital affair inadvisable.
Psst! John! Extramarital affairs are inadvisable, too. But did that stop you? Nooooo.
“I know there are questions regarding my affair with Cindy Hampton that people want to know the answers to,” the statement says. “It was reported, however, that CREW was planning to file complaints with the Senate Ethics Committee and the Federal Election Commission, so I have been advised not to publicly comment further at this time.”
CREW, short for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonpartisan government watchdog group, has called for ethics, election commission, and federal criminal investigations of Ensign’s actions in relation to the affair with Hampton last year.
“If any inquiries are undertaken, then I am confident they will be resolved in my favor and those questions will be answered,” Ensign said.
You're that confident, huh? What, did you pay CREW off, too, or just write them a carefully crafted letter with a little help from the C Street Frat Boys?
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) said he is leaving the state again with his wife and sons for a two-week European vacation, according to The State.
"Sanford said the trip long has been scheduled and was meant as a last family getaway with his family's four sons while they all still are living at home... This will be Sanford's fourth out-of-state trip since vanishing for five days to Argentina in mid-June."
Said Sanford: "I thought about pulling the plug... Obviously, critics will criticize."
C-Streeters will be so jealous. They must miss him terribly.
[T]he son of Doug Coe, the "spiritual leader" of the Family and his heir apparent, would consider a Family member raping a child a test of the member's choseness and to be resolved inside of the fellowship, without reporting it to the law authorities, it appears.
This is how dangerous they are. They apparently believe even child rape is something that God wants them to keep secret amongst themselves! [...]
The Family on C Street includes Dr. Tom "Execute Abortionists" Coburn who grilled Sonya Sotomayor during her Judiciary Committee hearings -- and who counseled Ensign on his ongoing adulterous affair with a staffer who is the wife of another staffer.
These are dangerous men to the Republic. They think that they are members of some modern Skull and Bones of Sparta, selected by God to inflict a deranged "Christian" government upon the democracy of America -- and for whom immorality and breaking the law are only acts in which God is testing them -- and for which they hold no public responsiblity in their hearts and minds.
Keeping secret one of the members who might admit to child rape!
God help us all -- but not their God, who is merely a monstrous, self-serving excuse in their own minds for evading the laws, ethics, and responsibilities of living a civilized and legal life.
Much, much morehere. Go read, then ask your doctor to prescribe a blood-pressure-lowering pill.
Boy Georgie's insistence on abstinence-only leads to rising teen pregnancy; preachers of family values cover up C Street Frat infidelities; abstinence preacher Sarah Palin showcases daughter who gives birth to out-of wedlock baby; anti-marriage-equality pitchmen Larry Craig, Mark Foley, et al. are "not gay" ... etc., etc., etc.:
This latest report from the Centers for Disease Control confirms it. All that talk of creationism and abstinence-only education set us back behind our global competitors such as India and China in terms of young Americans' scientific education. It also set us back in terms of fighting unwed teen pregnancy and spread of sexually-transmitted diseases. As the Guardian reports:
Teenage pregnancies and syphilis have risen sharply among a generation of American school girls who were urged to avoid sex before marriage under George Bush's evangelically-driven education policy, according to a new report by the US's major public health body
...According to the CDC, birth rates among teenagers aged 15 or older had been in decline since 1991 but are up sharply in more than half of American states since 2005. The study also revealed that the number of teenage females with syphilis has risen by nearly half after a significant decrease while a two-decade fall in the gonorrhea infection rate is being reversed. The number of Aids cases in adolescent boys has nearly doubled.
While we're at it let's not forget something that is rarely addressed in mainstream media. The Christian Right is playing a part in increasing unwed motherhood. By urging single young women not to use birth control (because they shouldn't have sex until they're married) and not to have abortions if they become pregnant, they play a large but so-far unrecognized role in the dramatic and sad rise in unwed motherhood in the U.S. [...] [P]reaching abstinence until marriage along with stigmatizing abortion is also a factor and should be credited as such.
The preceding public service announcement was brought to you by:
Mark Sanford is broken alright... more like damaged... more like wrecked... more like in ruins:
A self-described "more contrite" Sanford wrote an op-ed, published in newspapers around South Carolina, vowing to "begin the journey of trying to get things more right with you and others." [...]
"I realize this op-ed does not do justice to the process of saying I am sorry," the two-term Republican wrote. "A handwritten note or a phone call would ultimately be more appropriate."
My voice mail is still empty, Marko. Although a nice note on scented stationery would be so lovely.
Sanford again admitted, "I did wrong and failed at the largest of levels." He said "life is… about way more than public standing or political views, it is about recognizing that none of us of are the arbiters of truth, that there are moral absolutes and that there is a God to whom we will all report for our actions."
Well, maybe... unless you're a Commie atheist such as yours truly. Personally, I report to Paddy. She's much fiercer and almighty than any god. And she never makes me bow to her. That is so like Paddy.
"My failure has been more glaring on this front, where no public apology can make wrong right."
But Sanford wrote that he has been "humbled and broken as never before," and has "given up areas of control."
Um, Marko? You kinda gave up "areas of control" when you zipped off to Argentina and zipped down your pantalones.
"It is my belief this will make me a better father, husband, friend and advocate."
Yes, cheating always improves one's husbanding/paternal skills and standing with the ol' fam.
Sanford, a strong-willed political figure who often sparred with legislative leaders, said that he is "committing to you and to the larger family of South Carolinians to use this experience to both trust God in his larger work of changing me, and from my end, to work to becoming a better and more effective leader."
Now really, Marko-- can I call you Marko?-- think about this for longer than the time it takes to cry for Argentina. Wouldn't becoming a better and more effective leader be the thing to aspire to before you had an extramarital affair and joined the C Street Frat?
Trying to heal political wounds deepened by the scandal, Sanford said, "I think all that has transpired will be particularly relevant in the way I deal with the legislative body and other state leaders going forward… as I begin these steps into the last 18 months of this administration, it will be indeed with a more contrite and humble spirit."
Here's a better idea. Follow the example of your Fearless Leader, Sarah Palin, and quit.
Former Congressman and C Street resident Chip Pickering's estranged wife has filed a lawsuit against Pickering's alleged mistress. Leisha Pickering is suing Elizabeth Creekmore-Byrd for alienation of affection.
Rep. Pickering, a Republican from Mississippi, allegedly continued seeing his college sweetheart while they were both married. According to the suit, some of the "wrongful conduct" occurred at the C Street facility for Christian congressmen -- the same one where Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) have lived, and where Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) has recently sought counseling.
Wait. They boinked at C Street? Really? Right there in front of god and everyone? No wonder the residents at the Rushpublic Men's Home for Wayward Cheats are sworn to secrecy.
The suit alleges Pickering and Creekmore-Byrd are still together. Perhaps they're soul mates? [...]
The suit says Rep. Pickering and Creekmore-Byrd rekindled their relationship while he was a congressman, before and while living at the C-Street facility. The relationship was "completely unknown" by Leisha Pickering, as it occurred in Washington on weekdays, and the congressman would return home to his wife and five children only on weekends.
I can hardly keep up with all these Family Values. I wonder if Pickering wrote Mrs. Till-Death-Do-Us-Part a pretend letter of apology yet... on C Street stationery...
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