SEX IN THE SENATE: ENSIGN PULVERIZED

.
NEVADA REPUBLICAN USED CAMPAIGN FUNDS TO HUSH MISTRESS

CONSERVATIVE POLITICIAN COMMITTED ADULTERY
WITH HIS NEIGHBOR'S WIFE, SEXUALLY HARASSED HER

CBS NEWS KLAS TV8 LAS VEGAS
"Jon Ralston Interviews Doug Hampton -- Segment 1"
The news Fox refused to report.


"Uncle John" Paid Fallen Woman's Husband & Son For His "Use For Pleasure" Of Their Wife & Mother

Now that the King of Child Molesters is safely in the ground (better check that) we can get back to those other troubled celebrities, the extreme right-wing of the Republican Party. Conservative Republican Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has quit to avoid or confront ethics investigations, she's not sure which. She'll have to get back to us. Or not.

Conservative Republican South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford ran off with his Argentine mistress, came back, publicly regretted coming back, apologized to his wife, announced to the entire world his mistress was the "love of his life," said he wanted to get back together with his wife and "work on their marriage," wished aloud that he was still in Argentina, where he disappeared completely for almost a week last month without leaving anyone in charge of official State business, and then refused to resign, all in the same week, in full view of todo el mundo. ¡Un qué pendejo!

But all that almost seems like small pecado's, compared to the criminal implications and downright disgusting sleaze of the Ensign Affair. The man paid his best friend so he could screw the guy's wife. Then he paid her son. Then he paid her. All with taxpayers' and/ or campaign contributors' money. That's way illegal, folks, not to mention gross.

Keep in mind, both SC Governor Sanford and NV Senator Ensign were in the forefront of the arch-conservative "Moral Majority" mob that staged the impeachment of Bill Clinton for lying about extramarital sex he'd had with an unmarried American volunteer. Both Republicans demanded that Clinton resign, back then. Now that both have been caught in flagrante delicto themselves, they won't hear of resigning. Hypocrite, much?

Not that any of this surprises those of us who have watched the Republicans and their so-called conservative movement for any period of time. Like most people who make a living accusing other people, they are all guilty as Hell themselves. The whole finger-pointing thing is just a way of directing attention away from their own sins. Really, the "moral" stuff is trivial except that they use it to destroy other people who could have done some good for us all.

Their greatest sin lies in destroying good people for evil purposes which hurt us all. From Tailgunner Joe McCarthy to tail-chasing Newt Gingrich, from red-baiting Tricky Dick Nixon to Islamofascist-accusing Dickhead Cheney, the right wing has held this country back, forced us off course and pushed us into bad situations that will take decades if not centuries to get out of. Like healthcare, or the lack of it: Ensign sits on the Senate Finance Committee that will decide whether we ever get it.

Conservatives haven't just screwed one intern, they've consistently screwed us all. The Republican Party is completely illegitimate and can never hold power again. Let Ensign be the first in a long line of Republicans headed for long prison terms. Too long to ever end up on talk radio afterwards.


YAHOO NEWS
"Ex-mistress's husband says Ensign paid severance"
So, this is what it means to be a "Christian"? Better get born again, and quick, Senator!

' Doug Hampton also provided a letter to the Las Vegas Sun that he claimed was a handwritten apology from Ensign to Cindy Hampton, a former treasurer for the senator's campaign committees. "I used you for my own pleasure," the letter reads, later adding. "Plain and simple it was wrong; it was sin." The letter and Doug Hampton's interview on Wednesday with a local television news show mark another embarrassment for Ensign, a 51-year-old Christian conservative who abruptly came forward last month and confessed to the affair. In addition, a severance payment could pose campaign finance or ethics issues for him. Campaign committee records do not show a large payment to Cindy Hampton when she left her job. If the payment occurred, it could present a possible campaign finance disclosure violation, campaign finance attorney Kenneth Gross said. The nature of the violation and penalty depends on "how the senator chooses to characterize the payment," he said. "It's an entangled situation and like most circumstances the devil is in the details on whether its described as gift or income, and whether there are tax or campaign disclosure laws implicated," Gross said. '

EXAMINER.COM
"Sen. Ensign faces felony ethics inquiry"
Who's the criminal here?

' Senator John Ensign was today accused of paying more than $25,000 to Cynthia Hampton in a possible felony violation of campaign finance law. If convicted, the two-term Republican could face up to five years in federal prison. The allegation was made by Doug Hampton in an interview with Las Vegas Sun columnist Jon Ralston. Doug Hampton, a former member of Ensign's senate staff, is Cynthia Hampton's husband and the man whom Ensign accused of extorting him in exchange for not making the affair public. No criminal investigation of the extortion allegation has been reported. The Sun reports that Ensign could face a possible felony indictment if he failed to report the payment as an "in-kind" contribution to the campaign committees where Cynthia Hampton worked. According to ethics complaints filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), no such payments were reported. The scandal also serves to harm the GOP's credibility on social policies. As a member of the House in 1998, Ensign was an outspoken critic of President Clinton, calling for his resignation and voting for impeachment, actions which are now being roundly criticized as cravenly hypocritical. Ensign has long been seen as a stalwart vote on conservative issues, earning a lifetime Senate voting record of 94% from the American Conservative Union, and his loss will be a setback to advocates of conservative policies. '

LAS VEGAS SUN
"Hampton speaks publicly, says Ensign paid severance"
Family values have gone up considerably. They're worth millions, now. It's a seller's market.

' Hampton said the affair began while his family was staying at the Ensign home. Hampton said his family’s house was broken into just before Christmas 2007, at which time the Ensigns invited the Hamptons to stay with them in a nearby Summerlin neighborhood. The families each have three children and their friendship goes back decades. Hampton discovered the affair when he saw an incriminating text message, he said. The families confronted the issue in full on Christmas Eve. Still, Hampton told Ralston, Ensign continued to pursue Cynthia Hampton with text messages and phone calls. Hampton seemed to suggest his wife Cynthia was powerless to prevent the continuing affair. Hampton and Ensign were bonded by their conservative evangelical faith. Hampton said he reached out to intermediaries involved in a Christian fellowship home in Washington, D.C., where Ensign and several other powerful Washington figures live. The group, including Coburn, a well-known conservative, confronted Ensign and suggested that the Hamptons needed to be given financial assistance -- in the millions of dollars -- to pay off their $1 million-plus mortgage and move them to a new life away from Ensign. '

CITIZENS FOR ETHICS & RESPONSIBILITY IN WASHINGTON
"CREW FILES ETHICS COMPLAINT AGAINST SEN. ENSIGN"
Any Commandments they didn't break, here?

' Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint against Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) with the Senate Select Committee on Ethics and a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against his campaign committee and leadership PAC, based on activities surrounding his affair with a campaign staffer, Cynthia Hampton. On June 16, 2009, Sen. Ensign announced he had engaged in an affair with Ms. Hampton, who was married to Doug Hampton, the Senator’s administrative assistant. The affair began in December 2007 and ended in August 2008. The complaint details a number of Senate ethics rules and legal violations. First, Mr. Hampton has alleged Sen. Ensign terminated him and his wife for reasons related to the affair. If true, the senator likely engaged in discrimination on the basis of sex in violation of Title VII, and Senate Rule 42, which incorporates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to Senate employees and prohibits discrimination based on sex. At least two members of Congress previously have been investigated for sexual harassment, including former Sen. Bob Packwood (R-OR) and former Rep. Jim Bates (D-CA). Second, Ms. Hampton apparently received a severance payment directly from Sen. Ensign when she was terminated from the campaign committee and PAC, but neither committee reported any in-kind contribution by the senator. In addition, if Sen. Ensign paid Ms. Hampton more than $5,000 he may have made an illegal excessive contribution to the PAC. Knowingly failing to report a contribution of over $25,000 is a violation of criminal law. Mr. Hampton apparently was paid $6,000 upon his departure, purportedly for vacation time. If this actually was some sort of severance payment, Sen. Ensign’s office may have misused official funds. CREW has alleged Sen. Ensign violated the rules prohibiting improper conduct that reflects upon the Senate by abusing his authority as the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) to hire and pay the Hampton’s son as an intern at the NRSC and by claiming to have been blackmailed by Mr. Hampton, without reporting the alleged crime to law enforcement authorities. '

PREVIOUS POSTS about Ensign
.
.

TO POST A COMMENT: CLICK ON "COMMENTS," "Post a Comment" or "# of COMMENTS" just below the SOCIAL BOOKMARKING LINKS (Digg, Delicious, etc), about three inches down from here. Please do comment. Thank you.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM YOUR BLOGGERS:

Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: BRING THEM ALL HOME ALIVE, NOW!

"MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA"

.
WHAT'S MILITARY ABOUT IT? SOUNDS GODDAMNED UNMILITARY TO ME

IS THE DOD INSTITUTIONALIZING RAPE, MOLESTATION, AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT AS "COLLATERAL DAMAGE"?


Conduct Unf*cking-Becoming Is Becoming A Pretty F*cking Big Statistic

Over 15% of all women serving in the US armed forces in the Middle East have been subject to military sexual trauma, which, presumably, means sex-crimes perpetrated by fellow servicemen and/ or women. More than one seventh, or a company out of every battalion, have been victimised because of their gender.

THIS SUCKS!!! THIS IS UNAC-F*CKING-CEPTABLE PEOPLE!!! YOU'D BETTER JUST STAND THE F*CK BY!!!

Sorry, troopers & marines, that's my impression of a righteous, righteously pissed-off Gunny/ Master Sergeant/ or CO or XO, reaming out the formation. If there is any so righteous. There had f*cking well better be. Because our goddam sisters in arms are our goddam BROTHERS-IN-ARMS YOU F*CKING ASSHOLES!!!


NEWSWISE
"Substantial Proportion of Female Veterans Report Military Sexual Trauma; Military Sexual Trauma Is Associated with Higher Rates of Mental Health Problems"

' According to preliminary research results from the Department of Veterans Affairs, approximately 15 percent of recently returned female veterans utilizing the VA health care system report experiencing sexual trauma during military service. The cross-sectional study, presented at the American Public Health Association’s 136th Annual Meeting & Exposition in San Diego, examined health care screening data of over 100,000 veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) who utilized medical care at any Veterans Health Administration facility during a six-year period. Along with the more than one in seven women, 0.7 percent of males also reported having experienced military sexual trauma (MST). Both males and females reporting MST were more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health condition than patients who did not report MST. '

USA TODAY
"15% of female veterans tell of sexual trauma"

' "There is concern about the number of sexual assaults, and we're working very hard to prevent them," says Kaye Whitley, who heads an office created by the Pentagon in 2005 to prevent and respond to the incidents. All service branches are expanding their prevention programs, and her office will launch a prevention effort next year focused on educating 18- to 24-year-old men, she says. A General Accounting Office report in July said training to prevent military sexual assaults isn't consistently effective, some commanders don't support the programs and more than half of victims don't report the incidents. Many women are afraid to report the assaults, says Anita Sanchez of the Miles Foundation, a non-profit that provides services to victims of military-related trauma. Fewer than a third of women who come to Miles for help after sexual assaults say they've told the military, she says. "A typical scenario is it's either a supervisor or someone at her level, in the same military unit. If you come forward, you're tattle-telling on a comrade. Women have told me about the sneers, the sarcastic comments. They can find themselves ostracized," says Sanchez, and when other women see this, the lesson isn't lost on them. '

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
"Evans Releases Military Sexual Trauma Report Suppressed by Administration "

' Rep. Lane Evans (D-IL), the Ranking Democratic Member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, today decried the Bush Administration for attempting to hide a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) study and report on military sexual trauma among National Guard and Reserve forces. Despite the Bush Administration’s refusal to release it, Evans obtained the long overdue report that was originally due by March 2001. Evans has repeatedly requested the report and had been told it is under review at the Office of Management and Budget. The VA report indicates that across National Guard and Reserve components the estimated prevalence of any military sexual trauma (MST) among females is 60% and among males is 27%. MST includes sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape. The report also states the estimated prevalence for rape among females is 11% and among males is 1.2%. '

PBS: "NOW"
"Military Sexual Trauma"

' Roughly one in seven of America's active duty military soldiers is a woman, but a NOW investigation found that sexual assault and rape is widespread. One study of National Guard and Reserve forces found that almost one in four women had been assaulted or raped. Last year alone, almost 3,000 soldiers reported sexual assault and rape by other soldiers. In one of the only national television broadcasts of the issue, NOW features women who speak out for the first time about what happened. One woman recounts her ordeal of rape by her superior officer. Many more don't report the incidents for fear of how it will affect their careers. The shocking phenomenon has a label: military sexual trauma, or MST. NOW meets women courageously battling to overcome their MST, bringing light to an issue that's putting the Army in shame. '

.
.

TO POST A COMMENT: CLICK ON "COMMENTS," "Post a Comment" or "# of COMMENTS" just below the SOCIAL BOOKMARKING LINKS (Digg, Delicious, etc), about three inches down from here. Please do comment. Thank you.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM YOUR BLOGGERS:

Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: BRING THEM ALL HOME ALIVE, NOW!