Just in Case One Was Wondering...

What Johnny Casino was up to these days, here's an update.

In the latest issue of New Yorker, Peter J. Boyer delivers a fascinating portrait of The Fellowship, the secretive religious group behind the C Street house. Among the interesting nuggets in Boyer's piece are some new details about Tom Coburn's role in ending John Ensign's affair with the wife of Ensign's former top aide.
As you may recall, both Coburn and Ensign were residents of the C Street house during the affair. Ensign publicly admitted to the affair in June, 2009 after the husband of Ensign's former mistress told Fox News about the senator's indiscretions. (Ensign's office said he had learned that Hampton had contacted FNC before Ensign's public admission. Nonetheless, despite learning about the affair before any other cable news channel, Fox waited until Ensign's public confession to report the story. In fact, Fox was the last cable news channel to report on it.)
When the husband of Ensign's former mistress contacted Fox about the affair, he told them that Tom Coburn had been aware of it since at least February, 2008. That brought Coburn into the story, albeit unwillingly. Of particular interest was the husband's claim that Coburn had urged Ensign to offer the mistress money as compensation for the hardship the affair had caused, a claim Coburn vehemently denied.

How are those good ol' fashioned "family values" working out for us, Nevada?

NV-Sen: Cons Want Johnny Casino Out... But Does Suzy Lowdown?

Yesterday's Reno Gazette-Journal featured an AP story on some leading Nevada GOoPers asking our other Senator, the scandalicious GOoPer Johnny Casino, to quit.

Republicans believe that Ensign’s troubles are a colossal distraction in the high-profile effort to oust Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid.

Chuck Muth, the former executive director of the Nevada Republican Party, called Ensign “an albatross around the necks of every Nevada Republican candidate on the ballot this year” and likened him to a political “suicide bomber.”

The discord among GOP loyalists bubbled to the surface last week and follows grand jury subpoenas issued to a Republican campaign committee and companies in Nevada about Ensign’s role in seeking work for the husband of his former mistress.

The Senate Ethics Committee is also investigating.

The scandal has marked a stunning fall for a politician who was once a rising conservative star with White House aspirations.

Even Dean Heller is recognizing reality.

U.S. Rep. Dean Heller, R-Carson City, called Ensign a “wounded junior senator” whose scandal could potentially have an impact up and down the Republican ticket this fall.

Heller cited Ensign’s scandal last year as one reason he decided to seek re-election rather than challenge Reid.

Even Lil' Tark Shark has had to flip-flop on wanting Johnny Casino's strong support.

“I must respectfully say that ... I do not expect to be campaigning with Sen. Ensign this fall,” said Danny Tarkanian, a Republican primary candidate in the race.

But Suzy Lowdown? Oh no, this is what she said.

Sue Lowden, the presumed Republican front-runner in challenging Reid, said she has supported Ensign in the past “but I also encourage that the current allegations against Sen. Ensign reach a conclusion through the thorough investigation that has been launched.”

And in her recent "hard-hitting interview" on Faux News, this was all Ms. Suzy could muster.

Lowden told Greta Van Susteren that she and Ensign have “been friendly for many, many years”
and that she wants “his support and all Republicans’ support.” When asked
whether or not she would like for Ensign to “step aside while this
investigation is going on,” Lowden responded, “I think that the
investigation should continue, and it’ll figure itself out.” When asked if
she is “one hundred percent behind him,” Lowden said: “I am one hundred
percent behind having the investigation continue and letting it work itself
out.”

But why? Well, why not! After all, Suzy Lowdown is awfully proud of her lovely GOoPer family. I mean, just last summer she was beaming with pride when she said:

"Sen. Ensign is very popular here in Nevada, and he has an excellent voting record," Lowden said. "I hope that he becomes part and parcel of what's going to be a very vigorous campaign."

Yes, Suzy Lowdown, Johnny Casino is "very popular here in Nevada"... Among the super-rich and radical righties that like corporate tax breaks and religious right hypocrisy. But among the rest of us, we see him as an embarrassment to our state.

It's bad enough we still have him... But we don't need another Senator just like him.

Progress Now Sez Ensign's Got to Go!

And I could not agree more!

Dear Andrew,

What began as a political soap opera has turned into a full-blown symphony of slime.

And the king of this smutty scandal, Sen. John Ensign, still thinks enough of himself to phone voters in Dina Titus' district urging them to pressure the congresswoman's vote on health care.

(Lot of good that did as Titus will vote yes!)

Ensign still thinks he's cock of the walk of the conservative roost.

But we view this latest news as evidence he's a different form of poultry.

Last year we had already seen enough.

The ensuing months have only unveiled more sordid details. This screams of ethical misdeeds and increasingly looks criminal.

Even as Ensign was on the autodialer trying to sink health care reform, a federal grand jury was issuing subpoenas that may sink Nevada businesses.

Many of you have said it makes no sense for Ensign to resign since Jim Gibbons would appoint a replacement.

But this week's news makes us too sick to endure any more of the senator's blatant cockiness. It appears Jon Ralston has finally seen enough, too.

Take action today - tell Ensign it's time to go!

Tell Ensign you've seen enough. Nevada needs a representative that is more concerned about jobs and health care than he is about shutting up his girlfriend's husband.

We've seen enough. Ensign must resign!

For Nevada, for progress,

Erin Neff
Executive Director
ProgressNow Nevada

Best of 2009 #9: "My Poem in Honor of Johnny Casino"

Oh yeah, you think I forgot about that @sshole?! Think again, bitchez!

Back in July, Ms. Vegas Tea Room gave me inspiration... And I had no other choice but to fart this out just for Senator Ants-in-His-Pants:

Sure, I apologized
But I'm still mesmerized
By that other lady
Yeah, I know I'm so shady
I'm such a dirty sinner
Yet my lust will still simmer
Me and my slick silver mane
Can just never be tame

:-D

Johnny Casino's Even Lost Vucanovich. He's a Goner.

Poor Johnny Casino. None of the pols (at least the sane ones) want to play with him, not even Nevada's most famous former GOoPer Congresscritter.

Painting a bleak outlook for Nevada Republicans in general, former U.S. Rep. Barbara Vucanovich, R-Reno, said Tuesday she's "extremely disappointed" that U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., had an affair and thinks it "is going to be tough" for him to win re-election in 2012. [...]

The former seven-term U.S. representative said she's especially disappointed in Ensign's scandal because she personally helped recruit him as a candidate in Las Vegas in the early 1990s when he first ran for the U.S. House.

"I met with his family. I thought he would be a wonderful candidate," said Vucanovich, who served in 1983-97.

"I'm extremely disappointed in him and frankly, very surprised, because I think that isn't the character that everybody thought he was. I'm very, very disappointed," she said. [...]

"Watching him, it has been very hard," she said. "He certainly had to back away from what he was doing in the leadership position he had. I haven't seen a great demonstration of him doing very much."

And before Johnny gets too excited about gladly giving "help" to Suzy Low-down or Lil' Tark Shark, he should listen to the grown-ups in the room.

She also said a host of GOP challengers face an "uphill" battle in their bid to unseat U.S Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. That's primarily because his huge campaign war chest keeps growing thanks in part to help from GOP business leaders who argue Nevada needs his clout in Congress, she said.

"I think it is going to be very difficult for Republicans," Vucanovich said in describing the overall outlook for her party in the coming elections during an appearance Tuesday on KRNV-TV's "Nevada Newsmakers."

Nevada Republicans have really pulled off something amazing. They've recruited such craptastic Senate candidates (for 2010 and 2012!) that even senior Republicans are running AWAY from them as fast as they can!

Johnny Casino can still do the honorable thing and either resign or announce he won't seek a third term in 2012. But of course, that would require he show some honor. Our favorite hairdo just can't handle doing something honorably!

So instead he'll continue to drag down the Nevada GOP with his moral hypocrisy, and we'll keep standing back and laughing as he brings down their sinking ship. :-D

Far-right Catholic Fundamentalist Hypocrisy Theocracy

It seems the hard-right Catholic Bishops will do anything, ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!, to stoke a holy war in this country. Take a look at they're doing to defame a Colorado Congresswoman who dares to call them out on their bullsh*t.

Congresswoman [Diana] DeGette's comments - “I gotta tell you, last I heard we had separation of church and state. I don’t think the Catholic bishops are in charge of writing our healthcare bill. I think that they are one of many groups that we should listen to, but in the end they should be concerned that 36 million more people in this country will get healthcare. Many of them are their parishioners.”

[Family Research Council]'s version of her comments - “religiously-affiliated groups…should be shut out of the process” in the health care debate because of their support for the Stupak/Pitts amendment. She told The Hill, “Last I heard, we had separation of church and state in this country,” she said. “I’ve got to say that I think the Catholic bishops and all of the other groups shouldn’t have input.”

So they literally put words in Diana DeGette's mouth that she didn't even say! And why would they do that, especially knowing that their imaginary friend Goddy McGod doesn't like lies? Oh, they just want more control over women's bodies and over women's health care decisions.

I guess since they let Johnny Casino off the hook for lying, cheating, and money laundering, what's a few lies to ban reproductive medicine and save the zygotes?

But wait, it gets even more ridiculous. They're already denying communion again to any and all politicians that support people's civil rights, but they may now take it even further.

It was a narrowing of Catholic theology to strip issues like poverty and social justice from the forefront of the Church, and replace them with opposing abortion, gay marriage, and stem cell research. It was also a call to Catholic politicians: oppose abortion and gay marriage at all costs, or risk the threat of the Church denying you Communion and publicly tarring and feathering you as a sinner.

Bishop Tobin's action toward Rep. Patrick Kennedy doesn't have anything to do with gay marriage on its surface (Rhode Island doesn't allow gay marriage, and Rep. Kennedy has kept a relatively low profile on the issue). Rather, Rep. Kennedy's sin in the eyes of the church was voting against the Stupak amendment to the U.S. House's health care bill, and siding with reproductive rights activists.

But the question is that if the Church is now ready to do this on the issue of abortion, are they also ready to do this on the issue of gay marriage, an issue the Church says that they view with as much disgust? Do Massachusetts politicians who support gay marriage or abortion rights now have to wonder whether they'll be denied Communion at weekly mass? What about Catholics in Vermont, Iowa, Connecticut or New Hampshire?

Time will tell. But we've already seen bishops with the Catholic Church threaten to stop caring for the poor in Washington, D.C. over the issue of gay marriage. There's no reason to think that Church leaders won't head to even deeper depths, politicizing one of their oldest traditions in Communion to simply toe a line on gay marriage that is increasingly out of step with public opinion.

So they're actually willing to toss overboard the entire social gospel that Jesus actually wanted them to care about... To save the zygotes and prevent gay couples from being happily married? How does this make sense? Oh yeah, that's right. It doesn't have to any more.

After all, we still haven't heard any bishops here in Nevada condemn their religious right buddy Johnny Casino for committing adultery, lying about his adultery, lying about his parents funneling a cool $96,000 to the Hampton family, and violating federal campaign and tax laws in funneling that "hush money". Shouldn't our local Catholic wannabe political dealmakers "leaders" be saying something about these real moral crimes instead of going along with this effort to tear down what's left of separation of church and state?

I'm not holding my breath on this...

NV-Sen-B: Oops, Johnny Did It Again!

Just as Republicans started trashing Harry Reid for doing a fundraiser with VP Joe Biden in Reno tonight, it looks like Politico's Ben Smith just caught them red-handed in an attempt to do a big Vegas fundraiser headlining none other than Johnny Casino!

An RNC [Republican National Committee] fundraiser, Lindsey Williams-Drath, raised some eyebrows among Republican donors this afternoon with an email that a big donor weekend in Las Vegas from October 16 to 18 -- headlining the embattled Senator John Ensign -- had been scuttled "due to unforeseen circumstances."

But the RNC's Gail Gitcho dismissed the suggestion it had anything to do with Ensign, and said it would be rescheduled, possibly for as soon as later this month.

Heh. I told you that they're hypocrites! They whine and scream and moan when Reid brings the big names to Nevada for his campaign events, but then expect us to stay mum when they do Bush "Pioneer" events and schedule big Ensign fundraisers? Gimme a break!

Once again, Nevada and national Republicans don't give a hoot about working families in Henderson or struggling farmers in Panaca or hard-hit miners in Winnemucca or anyone else, for that matter, who isn't a billionaire donating millions of dollars into GOP coffers. And these GOoPer fools think they can get away with attacking Reid's fundraising practices?

ProgressNow to Johnny Casino: Step Down for the Good of the State

I signed, so what are you waiting for?

Dear Friends:
When Sen. John Ensign announced he had an affair with the wife of a high-ranking staffer and best friend, we first figured it was a sad, but personal issue, left best to the families.


But Ensign couldn't leave well enough alone. In his arrogant attempt to cover up the issue he tread on the spirit of ethics regulations, and quite possibly, broke some laws.



We're neither judge nor jury. But today we must say enough's enough.


Nevadans are struggling each day with no sign of the so-called national recovery infecting our economy. We lack health care in record numbers; our neighborhoods have been decimated by foreclosure and unemployment continues to put more families in need of safety nets.


Ensign has frequently stood in the way of progress. Now he's standing in the way of himself, hiding from the charges against him and remaining distracted from the critical work Congress must complete this year.


Today he practically ran away from CNN's journalists simply trying to get his response to new allegations raised last week in The New York Times. And today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington supplemented their complaint and fired off a new letter to the FBI.
Enough's enough. Ensign should resign.


Take action now. Sign our online petition urging Nevada's junior senator to step down.


http://www.progressnownevada.org/page/s/1009ensign1


Don't let Ensign's arrogance, which has already ripped apart families and abused the power of his office, stand in the way of progress.
Sign today.


http://www.progressnownevada.org/page/s/1009ensign1


You'll find the video, CREW's letter to the FBI and the petition on the website.

Thanks,

Erin Neff

NV-Sen: Is Harry Reid Being Gracious to or Overly Protecting of John Ensign?

Today's Sun has a piece on Harry Reid's continuing non-aggression pact with Johnny Casino. So is it smart politics?

“They’ve given themselves enough rope. John Ensign is the best thing to happen to us in a long time,” said one Democratic source. “We’re taking the high road, and letting Republicans do the heavy lifting for us by calling for him to resign.”

Or staying wrongfully silent on a deeply disturbing crime?

Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said, “The rest of the country knows that Sen. Ensign’s conduct was deplorable. It shouldn’t be impossible for a member of senate leadership to say so.”

The latest allegations that Ensign helped former staffer Doug Hampton secure lobbying clients “makes it a matter well beyond the senator and his family,” she said.

So Harry Reid's being polite. Do I agree with it? No, not when there's criminal behavior involved. Frankly, he just needs to let Johnny Casino have it.

Still, I understand why Reid is letting Ensign hang himself politically. Why get too involved in something that's best left for the Republicans to destroy themselves with? And as long as Reid doesn't hinder any investigation (and so far he isn't), he's not doing anything wrong.

And hey, it's not like he was the chairman of Johnny Casino's party or proudly proclaiming that he wants his support. Sue Lowden and Lil' Tark Shark still have a lot of 'splainin' to do.

Congratulations to Johnny Casino!

Oh, looky here! He wins another award, this time for being one of the most corrupt members of Congress! Not only did he "pay to play" with his best friend's wife, but he also may have violated campaign finance laws in funneling money through his parents to his mistress and her husband.

Stay klassy, Nevada Republicans!

Johnny Casino: No "Legal Wrong"?

Oh, looky here. Johnny Casino wants to "rehabilitate his image". Oh, and he "did nothing legally wrong". He wants us all to forget about who he really is. Fat chance!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

When will he apologize to LGBT families for denying them even the smallest bit of legal protection? When will he apologize to the countless women whose bodies he wants to control? When will he apologize for being such a damned hypocrite?

This is why Johnny shouldn't expect our forgiveness. I want him out.

Johnny Casino & "Sanctity" in the Same Sentence?

Surely one jests! But no, it really happened.

“While I believe Judge Sotomayor is an impressive role model for millions of Americans, I take my responsibility as Nevada’s Senator very seriously, and feel I need to protect the sanctity of our Constitution.

“Judge Sotomayor’s record and testimony provide uncertainty and doubt that she will rule with a fair and impartial adherence to the rule of law."

Oh noezz, we can't have a judge who... You know, reads and understands the constitution. After all, she wouldn't be any good in bed. Come on, you wouldn't want to know what Johnny's really talking about when he says "sanctity". ;-)

Ensign-gate Continued...

It just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

E-mails obtained Monday by Las Vegas Sun columnist Jon Ralston show that Ensign’s top staff at the National Republican Senatorial Committee knew of the affair last summer, before the party suffered severe losses in the 2008 election that put Democrats in sight of a filibuster-proof Senate. [...]

Even as it was disclosed last month that the senator’s parents gave $96,000 last year to the family of the woman, Ensign’s colleagues were reluctant to connect any dots stemming from the affair to the party’s losses.

Ensign in June admitted to having an affair with the former staffer, Cynthia Hampton, from December 2007 to August 2008. Her husband, Doug Hampton, had been one of the senator’s top aides and one of the senator’s best friends.

The new e-mails show in emotional detail the strain those involved faced.

Ensign’s top staff members at the campaign committee were Mike and Lindsey Slanker, the husband-wife team that also runs the Nevada-based consulting firm November Inc.

Mike Slanker worked as the national senatorial committee’s political director during the 2008 election cycle, and Lindsey Slanker was the national committee’s financial director at the time.

The senator had been confronted about the affair by peers at the Christian C Street home he shares in Washington, and the Hamptons stopped working for the senator in April 2008. Ensign helped Doug Hampton get a job with November Inc. [...]

One e-mail exchange dated July 10, 2008, between Mike Slanker and Doug Hampton with the subject line “hey man” shows the men discussing the tension between their families and in the work environment.

“While we can’t possibly understand what you must be going through, we struggle with being in the cross-hairs,” Mike Slanker wrote. “We are happy to give Cindy space if that helps things ... If our relationship with John makes that more difficult then we won’t pressure her to spend time with us.”

Another e-mail that day from Lindsey Slanker to Cynthia Hampton further discusses the effect the situation has had on their friendship.

“I feel like since the moment the entire truth came out I have tried to be nothing but a friend ... whether by listening, giving you a place to stay, or by leaving you alone,” Lindsey Slanker wrote.

Mike Slanker had previously told the Associated Press he was unaware of the affair.

Will Ensign just resign already? Or does he really want to go down in flames in 2012?

More Ensign Woes

No, it won't stop... "Ensign-gate" just gets weirder and weirder.

First to go were the interns.

Days after Republican Sen. John Ensign admitted an affair, e-mail from his office intercepted by The Washington Post asked if any others on the Hill had room for “some really great interns that want to relocate to another office.”

Last week Ensign announced a wholesale shake-up of his top staff.

Ensign’s chief of staff, John Lopez, is stepping down after spending much of his professional career with the senator, as is his communications director, Tory Mazzola.

Yes, even more Ensign staffers are headed for the hills! And who's to blame them? They know Johnny Casino's a political goner... Even if he doesn't.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure I know why more and more staffers are fleeing. Apparently, the scandaliciousness is getting even juicier!

Questions remain unanswered about the senator’s relationship with Cynthia Hampton, a campaign staffer when the affair started in late 2007. Her husband, Doug Hampton, was a top Ensign aide at the time. The affair ended in August 2008.

And new questions are emerging.

The latest is why Mazzola received a 50 percent salary increase during the six months from April 2008 to September 2008, about the time the Hamptons stopped working for the senator.

In April the senator’s parents paid $96,000 to the Hampton family — a payment Ensign’s attorney said is a gift but an ethics group wants investigated.

Senate records show Mazzola was paid nearly $35,000 for the half-year from spring to fall in 2007, and again for the six months from fall 2007 to spring 2008, according to legistorm.com.

But for April to September 2008, the spokesman’s pay shot up to nearly $53,000 without an overt change in job title.

Those familiar with Senate office pay structure said the sudden increase could have been for various reasons: New duties, accumulated vacation pay or a bonus. One-time bonuses, especially at the holidays or end of the fiscal year as this was, are common.

Salaries are set at the discretion of the office, so long as they do not exceed the senator’s pay.

During the next reporting period, from October 2008 to April 2009, Mazzola’s salary dropped to $45,000, or about 15 percent.

Ensign’s office on Monday declined to respond to questions about the salary boost.

So what's with all that extra money for Tory Mazzola? What was it, more hush money? Something else? Johnny has some (MORE!) explaining to do.

Johnny Casino Touring the World @ "The Family's" Expense

Ewww, creepy!

Republican Sen. John Ensign took three trips paid for by an arm of the religious group The Family, which operates the C Street house that has been at the center of recent sex scandals involving the Nevadan and other elected officials.

The trips Ensign took in 2003 and 2004 to Tokyo and the Middle East were apparently allowed under congressional ethics laws that have since been rewritten to restrict privately funded travel.

But the trips have come to light as questions have arisen about the secretive group and its work with elected officials.

Ensign and Republican South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford have admitted to extramarital affairs. Both have ties to C Street. Former Republican Rep. Chip Pickering has been accused of an affair while he lived there.

Author Jeff Sharlet, whose book “The Family” includes insight from his month spent living with the organization, wrote that “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 this week on Salon.com that the group sends its members around the world to spread what he calls Biblical capitalism — a brand of fiscal conservatism rooted in the philosophy of the group’s founder, who believed the Great Depression was God’s punishment for the socialist leanings of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

In the group’s earlier days, it was supportive of the anti-communist campaign of Indonesian dictator Suharto, and “sent delegations of congressmen and oil executives to pray to Jesus with the Muslim leader,” Sharlet said.

OK, so this was legal back when Ensign made these trips. But still, it doesn't look right. Is he really serving us the people of Nevada? Or is he just a tool of these C Street fanatics?

The more answers emerge, the more questions we need answered.

FBI to Investigate Ensign?

The Justice Department's public integrity office has just asked CREW to ask the FBI to investigate the possible financial wrongdoing in the Ensign Affair. CREW's submitted their request with them, so let's see where this goes. At the very least, Johnny Casino shouldn't expect an easy way out of this mess he made himself.

Next Time "Ensign-Gate" Comes Up in Your Dinner Table Conversation...

Please, please bring up this article in today's Sun! Jeff Sharlet has been following John Ensign's bizarre "C Street" Christianist power cult for a number of years, so he has gained some real insight into the real Ensign behind the public facade he lets us "non chosen ones" see.

Take a look at this quote from Sharlet.

When you vote for someone, you want to know that they are their own man, you want to know they make decisions for themselves. More important, we want to see to what end this group applies its beliefs.

Doug Coe, David Coe’s father and leader of The Family fellowship going back to the mid ’60s, likes to call The Family “The Christian Mafia.” I knew Coe when I was part of The Family. He explained what it means to be a chosen politician.

Talking to another man, he said, “Let me explain to you the concept of ‘chosen.’ Suppose I hear you raped three little girls. What would I think of you?”

The man says, “You would think I was awful, a monster.”

And Doug Coe said, “No, I would not, because you’re chosen, and when you’re chosen, the normal rules don’t apply.”

I think that’s important for the voters of Nevada to know.

... And pay really close attention to this snippet from Sharlet.

I’m saying this not just to the voters of Nevada, but to all the Christian conservatives in Nevada who voted for Ensign because he presented himself as a Christian. Perhaps they would like to know what he means by Christian.

Does he read the New Testament and think it is only about power, and then does he apply that in the world?

One of the things that has come out is that when we look at Ensign’s travel records and Coburn’s travel records, we find them traveling around the world, doing official government business on The Family dime.

In other words, they’re representing U.S. interests, but they are going overseas, paid for by The Family and talking about this Family theology with foreign leaders. That becomes almost a national security issue.

Doug Coe in one presentation talked about Nazi Germany and the allegiance many Germans had to the Nazis. He said it was something of a role model for the approach that Family members need to have to their organization.

David Coe, a former assistant to George W. Bush at the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, told NBC Nightly News last year that Doug Coe’s references to Nazis in his sermons were really a metaphor, a metaphor for commitment.

I don’t think Jesus used a metaphor of genocidal maniacs for commitment. I know David Coe and like him, but I think this is where you really get to the heart of the problem with The Family, this confusion over what their faith is about. Doug Coe will go so far as to say that he is not a Christian, that Christianity has got it all wrong.

The group began during the Great Depression because the founder thought that God came to him and revealed a vision that the New Deal was satanically inspired and that Christianity was getting it wrong for 2000 years by focusing on the poor, the weak, the suffering.

He said God came one night in April 1935 and said, “I want you to be a minister to not the down and out, but the up and out,” he called them, the powerful. And God’s going to choose a few powerful people, he’ll work through those people, and those people will distribute the blessings to the rest of us.

It sort of becomes this trickle-down fundamentalism that’s all about the fetishization of strength.

Hitler is not an appropriate metaphor for the teachings of Jesus; neither is Stalin or Mao.

When I was at the C Street house with Coe in a counseling session with Congressman Todd Tiahrt (Kansas Republican), he offered as examples Osama bin Laden and Pol Pot.

These were men, Coe said, who knew how to wield power, and we should wield power that way, too, except we should do it for Christ.

They say it’s the means, not the ends.

But when I look at Hitler I have trouble with both the means and the ends. I think any sane human being does.

If this doesn't scare you, I don't know what will. Oh hell, I think I actually do!



So please bring this up next time you hear someone talk about Poor Lil' Johnny Casino.

My Rant on "The Ensign Defenders"

OK, I can't help it. I sometimes find it frustrating how anyone can keep making excuses for Johnny "Casino" Ensign. Why is it that we working-class folks need "personal responsibility" but he doesn't? Should the super-rich really be held to a different standard?

Here's what I wrote at The Sun:

It's the hypocrisy of these fundie wingnuts that infuriate us. How dare they tell you that you should have no control over your personal health decisions or tell me that I can't marry the man I love when they don't even live up to their own moral standards! And furthermore, how dare they forsake their duty to their constituents (and in Ensign's case, violate the very laws he swore to protect and defend!).

Oh yes, and whatever happened to the "conservative mantra" of personal responsibility? I find it funny that none of the Ensign defenders here bring that up. Doesn't Johnny Casino have some responsibility to honor his marriage vows and keep his libido in check? Doesn't he have some responsibility to ensure he complies with campaign finance laws? How is it that all of us working-class folks need to be held "responsible" sometimes for things that aren't our fault while poor lil' Johnny Casino can get away with blaming his own moral and legal failings on the Hampton family?

Think about it. The religious right always tells us we don't need to be open about who we are or ever use any type of "controversial" health care options if we follow their advice on our sex lives. The corporate right always tells us we don't need no stinkin' "welfare state" if we just "pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps".

But really, why is it that Ensign needed a $96,000 bailout from his parents? Why should we automatically "forgive and forget" after he did exactly what he always tells us not to do? Sorry, but I can't forget and I don't think I can forgive. As The Dixie Chicks would say, I'm not ready to make nice.

Ensign clearly hasn't learned anything from this experience. He still doesn't think he needs to be held accountable for his actions. He still won't even support hate crimes protections for LGBT people, let alone full civil rights.

I see no reason to show any mercy on this sleazebag. He needs to go. Either he resigns now or we defeat him in 2012.

Johnny Casino, Still Delusional as Ever

Republican Sen. John Ensign said Monday that not only does he have no intention of resigning in light of his affair and his parents’ payout to the woman’s family, he plans to seek reelection when his term is up in 2012.[...]

“I fully plan on running for reelection,” Ensign said late Monday evening. “I’m going to work to earn their respect back.”

Yes, believe it or not, Johnny Casino still thinks he can be reelected in 2012. It's OK. If he really wants Democrats to beat him into the ground that much, then we should oblige him that wish. ;-)

The Root of the Ensign Problem

Nevada Senator John Ensign "admitted" to an affair with his aide Cynthia Hampton after he was caught red handed. Can one admit to something after one is caught in the act? In any case, remember that Ensign was vocal in demanding that President Clinton step down from office for his sexual indiscretions. This moral stance did not prevent Ensign from pursuing some side nookie himself, however. He now feels remorse that he "violated the vows" of marriage in diddling someone other than his wife. Do ya think? Even creepier, if that is possible, his lover's husband was a top aide in Ensign's office in the Senate. Ignoring his own advice to Clinton, Ensign does not plan to resign.

In addressing the real ugliness behind "Ensign-gate" at HuffPo today, Jeff Schweitzer hit the nail on the head.

Only when we remove the false certainly that comes with claiming god is on our side can we truly confront the moral issues and ethical dilemmas that we face in our society. This epidemic of moral failure in the Republican Party is a clear symptom of the disease of intolerance; and such intolerance is an inevitable consequence of an appeal to divine insight. Why compromise when god says you're right?

We cure this disease by adopting a moral code completely divorced from religion. That task is easier than it would first appear. Religious morality has a poor track record; we can do better. The bar has been set fairly low.

Traits that we view as moral are deeply embedded in the human psyche. Honesty, fidelity, trustworthiness, kindness to others, and reciprocity are primeval characteristics that helped our ancestors survive. In a world of dangerous predators, we can speculate that early man could thrive only in cooperative groups. Good behavior likely strengthened the tribal bonds that were essential to survival. What we now call morality is really a suite of behaviors favored by natural selection in an animal weak alone but strong in numbers. We need to re-discover and appeal to this inner good derived from our biology and evolutionary history rather than to the myth of an invisible man in the sky with magical powers as a sound basis for our moral guidance.

This is how I've explained to friends and family how I, and many others who are atheist, address moral issues. It's not necessarily about which god(s) we want to believe in, but about what kind of people we want to be. We don't need Bible-bashing (or any other type of religious fantacism) to make ourselves better people.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not anti-religion. If a religion helps someone in his/her life journey, then how can I deny that to someone? It's just that religious beliefs alone don't automatically make someone a better person.

And obviously in John Ensign's case, it didn't help that the bizarre and secretive "C Street" radical right Christianist gang that he was a part of encouraged him to disregard whatever concerns he might have had over his moral hypocrisy. Instead, they just reassured him that "he was chosen by God to be great". Now talk about delusions of grandeur!

So I guess this is the frightening drama I see behind the pure comedy of Republican/religious right hypocrisy that John Ensign has taken to new levels. Once again we see how the religious right thinks they can have as many moral failings as they want, but just so long as they force us all to accept their version of "Jeezis" as our angry, belligerent "savior". Obviously, their view of "salvation" shouldn't equate to our society standard of morals.