Musgrave’s staff recovering nicely from dog-poop incident
The district staff of Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.) is recovering as well as can be expected after recently finding an envelope of dog poop at her Greeley, Colo., congressional office.

“We’re fine,” said Musgrave’s chief of staff, Guy Short. “I don’t think we’re worried. Most people are good people, and good people don’t do these kind of things. [The congresswoman] thought it was disgusting, and it was.”

Musgrave’s staff used the blacked-out nine-digit ZIP code on the envelope to find the perpetrator, who turned to be none other than Kathleen Ensz, a Weld County Democratic volunteer who supports Musgrave’s Democratic opponent, state Rep. Angela Paccione of Fort Collins. Paccione’s campaign has denied any involvement in the incident.

Asked if Ensz has a reputation for being crazy, Short replied, “I think anyone who is delivering poop to a congressional office is crazy.”

Ensz, a college professor for 30 years at the University of Northern Colorado, is due to appear in court Aug. 8. While Musgrave has not pressed charges, the district attorney has.

But how was it determined that the feces was from a dog? “It’s my understanding that the lady who has our opponent’s sign in her yard also has a large German shepherd, Short said.

He added that the incident is nothing compared to Musgrave’s last campaign, in which she received death threats. Time magazine labeled the ads that ran against Musgrave in her last campaign the sleaziest in America.

“I guess that’s the silver lining of it,” Short said. “It’s disappointing that we’re only in June. If this is what we can expect in June then we’ll need to brace for what we’ll have to endure up until November.”

Rusbuldt is the daughter of Bob Rusbuldt, CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America and a former Ways and Means Committee aide.

She met her fiancé while modeling Hilfiger clothing for four TV commercials. And while her modeling career is on the upswing — at the moment she’s modeling shoes — her father insists she is still interested in public service and may return to politics. She volunteered for Bush’s last presidential campaign.

“[Shannon and Joe are] definitely in love. You can see it in both their eyes,” her proud father says. “I knew something was up when she brought him home for Christmas last year. You just don’t bring strangers in the house for major holidays.”

Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) was seen hanging around the Senate Russell Building’s Cups & Company last week. It was late Friday morning, and the senator was there for some sustenance — namely fruit, cottage cheese and crab salad from the salad bar.

Dressed in a blue “Yahoo!” T-shirt, khaki shorts and brown moccasins, Ensign looked much more like a regular guy than a distinguished senator. He explained that he was not wearing a suit because he threw his back out.

“I’ve been walking around like Ted Kennedy,” he said, referring to the senior Democratic Massachusetts senator who shuffles around perpetually bent at the waist in discomfort. Pretty quickly he added, “No offense. He was in a car accident.”

The Nevada senator said he was not referring to that car accident of the famous Massachusetts senator, but instead said he was told at the gym that Kennedy had recently been in an accident. Kennedy’s office, when asked, did not confirm this.

Ensign said that he had just come from a doctor’s appointment and was on his way to Williamsburg, Va., for a fundraiser.

Midway through his trip around the salad bar, Ensign dropped his cell phone, which fell into pieces. The move forced the senator into a deep knee bend to pick the pieces up — clearly, it was painful for him.

Earlier this year, Ensign was in a car accident in Las Vegas in which he was hit head-on by a driver who had fallen asleep at the wheel. “Yeah, he took some stitches [in his] elbow,” said Ensign spokesman Jack Finn.

“If you go into my office, you see turtles everywhere!” the congressman exclaimed, looking up and spreading his hands for effect. “Behold the turtle” reads an office proclamation.

Clyburn discovered his turtle appreciation as a youngster reading the fable of the tortoise and the hare. “I studied that story,” he said. “It’s about slow and steady progress.”

He also admired the animal’s courage to move beyond its comfort zone. “He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out,” Clyburn noted.

The congressman used to pull over to pick up turtles crossing roads and bring them home to add to his collection. That was, until Emily Clyburn, his wife, noted that they carry the bacteria salmonella.

“My wife stopped me from doing it,” he said.

An invitation from the Humpty Dumpty Institute was faxed to Foreign Relations Committee aides last week. The topic of the meeting: Sudan and the pending U.N. budget crisis. Among the invited speakers is U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, who has not yet confirmed his appearance.

The institute, founded in 1998, fosters ties between Congress and the United Nations. It was named with the nursery-rhyme character in mind.

“You’re familiar with the nursery rhyme aren’t you?” asked Ralph Cwerman, president of the institute. “Our tag line is “Putting the pieces back together.’”

Cwerman insists that people don’t make fun of him for working there. “We’re very serious people,” Cwerman said. “We have a very serious mission.”

The day trip includes speakers, an expected 10-15 lawmakers and lunch. Bill Rigler, executive director of the institute, explained there will be a “sit down” meal: “It’s what you’d find in most House or Senate cafeterias, maybe a little nicer. It’s OK; it’s average. I don’t think people come to the U.N. for the food.”

Asked how his son, Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.), is doing in his job, he replied, “He’s got a good team around him who have a good base of knowledge and experience.” Asked if his son ever asks for advice, Mack replied, “He has occasionally.”

Mack Sr. said he was shocked when his son decided to enter politics. “When he called and told me he was interested in running for office, I was stunned. As a youngster he didn’t really get excited about his dad’s involvement in politics.”

Mack Sr. said Mack Jr. listened to his farewell Senate speech, in which he declared politics to be an “honest profession,” and apparently got inspired.

Ackerman’s press secretary honeymooning in Hawaii
Jordan Goldes, press secretary to Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), recently married Debra Shapiro, a coordinator at a Manhattan law firm.

During their two-year courtship, Goldes and Shapiro bonded over wrestling — Goldes did the sport growing up, Shapiro is an aficionada. Goldes proposed to Shapiro, 35, at a wrestling match from the ring.

Ackerman and his staff attended the wedding at Temple Beth Torah in Melville, N.Y. Cantor Kalman Fliegelman, an uncle of the bride, officiated. And at the moment, Goldes and his bride are honeymooning for a week in Hawaii.

Although Moya Berry, Ackerman’s district director, would not say where they are in Hawaii, she said, “It’s a place where they wear leis and hula skirts.”

So did Goldes look happy at his wedding?

“Delirious,” Berry said.