Anti-Gay New York Democrat "Outed" and Indicted

As regular readers know, I am in 100% support of "outing" closeted politicians who vote against gay rights. And it doesn't matter which political party the closet case(s) belong to in my book. A case in point is New York Democrat Sen. Carl Kruger (pictured), who not only was indicted on federal corruption charges but also "outed" in the process. As was his boyfriend who had helped launder bribery monies. One can only hope that Kruger is convicted on his corruption charges - with some just punishment of his hypocrisy also attaching. The New York Post has a detailed story. Here are some highlights:
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Closeted Brooklyn state Sen. Carl Kruger, a Democratic powerhouse, traded political favors for more than $1 million in bribes over the last five years -- which his live-in boyfriend helped launder, the feds charged yesterday.
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Kruger and his secret longtime companion, Manhattan gynecologist Michael Turano, were among eight men arrested in a sweeping government "pay-to-play" corruption scandal.
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The charges include allegations that Kruger, Brooklyn Assemblyman William Boyland and previously convicted Queens Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio -- who died in prison in January -- received bribes and other largesse to help two competing health-care companies buy hospitals, and direct state funds to those firms.
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Kruger's constant companion, Turano, is accused of using bribe money he deposited in two shell companies for Kruger to pay the lease on a Bentley luxury sedan, credit-card bills and the mortgage on the garish, multimillion-dollar Mill Basin home where the two men for years have shacked up with Turano's mom and brother, authorities and neighbors said.
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The extensive alleged "bribery, money laundering, influence peddling and official misconduct [was] eye-opening even to seasoned investigators," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice Fedarcyk.

John Roberts’s America - The Buying of Elections

An op-ed in the New York Times looks at the unsettling tidal wave of money - some likely from overseas via the U.S. Chamber of Commerce which is only too happy to sell out American citizens - that has engulfed the political landscape. The reality is that democracy is increasingly for sale to the highest bidder - even if the public doesn't get to know who that bidder might be. The Citizens United decision of the Roberts Court has truly made politics more corrupted by money and some opportunists like Virginia Thomas, Justice Clarence Thomas' wife, no longer even try to appear impartial. With an unknown salary paid by unknown donors, Ms. Thomas has thumbed her nose at the long practice of federal judges and their wives avoiding political activities that give the appearance of impropriety, if not open bias. It's no coincidence that Thomas sided with the majority and opened the flood gates that are now enriching his wife and himself. Here are some column highlights:
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Colorado is ground zero for what’s happening in John Roberts’s America, competing for the dubious distinction of being the top state in the nation for spending by shadowy outside groups telling people how to vote.
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This gusher is courtesy of the 5-to-4 Supreme Court decision in January that allowed unlimited campaign spending by corporations and unions. That was the ruling, which will go down in infamy, where the court said that corporations had the same free speech rights as ordinary citizens.
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The illogic of that logic was always apparent. But now it’s overwhelming, and omnipresent. Your average voter can dash off a letter to the editor, or fire up a blog, or put up a yard sign — a nice fantasy of citizen democracy. Your corporate equal can spend $23 million (the outsider amount spent so far in Colorado) to bludgeon the electorate. And, with loopholes in the tax system, they can do it while making it virtually impossible to know who they are.
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Races in Colorado, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Washington state are being determined on K Street, by insurance, banking and oil industry groups hiding behind innocuous titles like Americans for Prosperity (right-wing billionaire David Koch) and Americans for Job Security (insurance giants), and by public employee unions.
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The court missed the reality of what would happen once the floodgates were opened to the deepest pockets of the biggest players. They turned back a century of fine-tuning the democracy, dating to Teddy Roosevelt’s 1907 curbs, through the Tillman Act, against Gilded Age dominance of elections. They focused on a fantasy.
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Here was the court’s prediction: “The appearance of influence or access will not cause the electorate to lose faith in our democracy.” Really? Perhaps the top complaint this year about the barrage of outside attack ads is that nobody knows who is behind them, which promotes the exact opposite of what the Roberts court predicted.
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As ugly as 2010 has been, the next election cycle, for president in 2012, will bring us a John Roberts’s America that will make this year look like a town hall meeting from a Rockwell painting.

C Street and the Fellowship Foundation - Face of the Christian Mafia

Many liberal and progressive news sources and blogs have gone after the sex scandal plagued C Street fellowship house owned by the secretive, Fellowship Foundation. Now, the Christian magazine World Magazine is on the attack as well, citing huge sums of money, luxury and questionable theology. Admittedly, nothing is more fun than to watch a Christianist cat fight - especially when sex, large quantities of shadowy money, the peddling of undue influence and corruption all are part of the story line. Personally, it is worrisome when alleged "church" organizations are giving out discount lodging, lunches and dinners, and other perks to elected officials since only a fool would believe that no quid pro quo isn't expected in return. Stated differently, it looks a lot like bribery and unethical influence peddling to me. Here are some highlights from World Magazine (make sure to read the whole article or at least scroll down and check out the high end properties the organization owns):

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—The national press for the past two months has roasted "hypocritical" Christians who live in or meet in a ministry-owned house on C Street two blocks from the U.S. Capitol. Nevada Sen. John Ensign and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, both talked about this spring as potential GOP presidential candidates in 2012, have acknowledged adulterous relationships. Last month a lawsuit in Jackson, Miss., served notice that former Rep. Chip Pickering, also a Republican, may have carried on in the C Street house an illicit affair with a former college love interest. . .

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Sustained media attention has focused on whether the C Street house conclaves had contributed to or condoned the breaking of marital vows: Just what was in the water at C Street to prompt the three—all GOP political and social conservatives who a decade ago called for former President Bill Clinton's resignation—to fall into similar scandals of their own?

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[A] larger story emerged of the group behind the C Street row house: a 60-year-old, globally reaching organization that has muddy theology and a disdain for the established church. The C Street house is one of many properties in the greater Washington area owned by the Fellowship Foundation, which sponsors the annual National Prayer Breakfast, Bible studies, social gatherings, and private retreats, and funds international development.

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"Associates" (employees) of the Fellowship say its mission is to show the love of Jesus to the world's leaders. But it has no website to publicize that work, and those affiliated are extremely reluctant—if not prohibited, say some—to talk about it.

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House members Zach Wamp, R-Tenn.; Bart Stupak, D-Mich.; Mike Doyle, D-Pa.; and Heath Shuler, D-N.C., are reportedly current C Street residents. Senators Tom Coburn, R-Okla.; Jim DeMint, R-S.C.; and John Ensign, R-Nev. reportedly also live there. All have been repeatedly contacted by WORLD in the wake of the scandals and have declined personally or through spokespersons to be interviewed on the record about the group. Others who regularly attend C Street house gatherings or other Fellowship studies reportedly include Reps. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.; and Joe Pitts, R-Pa.; along with Sens. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.; Bill Nelson, D-Fla.; and Mark Pryor, D-Ark.

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In fact, said Halverson, "they used to call themselves the Christian mafia—and they would laugh. Meaning one family is in strong power and then other families around that family have some power. . . . I would have been considered one of the families that have power."

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Silver tea sets, pink Italian marble, and overstuffed divans set the scene for elite gatherings. A banquet table serves weekly ambassadorial lunches, and another smaller sitting room allows for private, intimate meetings. Outside are tennis courts under tall oaks and a swimming pool that blends smoothly into the landscape.

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I think readers will get the drift. If this out fit is purportedly a "church" or some other tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charity, it should not be giving out favors to elected legislators. The whole arrangement fails to pass the smell test at the very least.