Hey, We Thought the Invitation Said "Dress Casual..."

By Rebecca Winters

Some parties are meant to be skipped--like when a convicted tax cheat dons a crown in a federal office building, declares himself the Messiah and claims to have redeemed the souls of Hitler and Stalin. When Salon.com revealed last week that dozens of legislators attended a bizarre event staged by eccentric businessman and wealthy campaign contributor THE REV. SUN MYUNG MOON in the Dirksen Senate Office Building last March, red-faced pols said they had been duped by invitations to a "peace-awards banquet." "This went far beyond anything that I expected," said Representative Danny Davis of Illinois, who carried a crown for Moon's wife. A spokesman for Moon said all members of Congress got invitations stating that the Unification Church leader would be honored. They must have missed the fine print about the Second Coming.