Charlie Rangel learns his fate today..

[ironglow]

   Charlie Rangel find out his fate today. Charlie has been found guilty of various crimes, not the least of which is ..tax evasion. As chairman of the Ways & Means committee, Charlie has been the chief architect of our tax code. He more than any other person, is responsible for our federal tax code. He has 4 rent controlled apartments in NY City..there are thousans with far less wherewithall who would like to have one of those apartments..but they were presented to Charlie.
  We all know horror stories where folks have been hounded by the tax collectors..to the point of suicide. This liberal congress has held up any decision on Charlie until AFTER the election..but have rushed it through before the new congress is seated...sounds real cozy, doesn't it !
  
    Now We only need wait to see if this congress is;
    
 !) Going to; convict him of his crimes and give him whatever jail time he deserves ?   ..or

 2) Will they punish him simply by saying; "you've been a bad boy" ?



1a)  Will this congress finally do what is honest and right ?  

2a) Or will they continue to demonstrate what a gutless den of theives they have been all along ?

[powderman]

They will do nothing. Rangle represents the non values and morals the dems are so proud of, they just accepted pewlosi to lead them again, both are sickening. POWDERMAN. 

[Cabin4]

Rangel will lose his spot on the Ways & Means Committe. the real question is what will Eric Holder & the Justice Department now do that we have a sitting Congressman confirmed to have cheated the people and the government of the tax laws and unethically used his position to favor himself?? That is the real question. The democrate party led by the criminals of Obama, Pelosi & Reid will do nothing becasue they are not compelled by law to do anything. But Holder is.

[ironglow]

  Holder was "compelled by the law" to prosecute those Black Muslim thugs who violated so many people's civil rights at that voting venue in Philadelphia...but what has he done ?  ...And what is his boss going to do about him ?

[scootrd]

They will do nothing. Rangle represents the non values and morals the dems are so proud of, they just accepted pewlosi to lead them again, both are sickening. POWDERMAN.  

PD , give the partisan junk a rest ,
This is not a Dem or Rep issue  -  this is ethics issue, Rep and Dems alike need to be held to the same standards. There have been just as many on both sides of the political isle who are guilty of ethics violations. There should be one single and consistent standard for all .

Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA)
Allegations: Washington Post: The investigations by two separate ethics offices include an examination of the chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on defense, Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), as well as others who helped steer federal funds to clients of the now-closed defense lobbying firm, PMA Group. The lawmakers received campaign contributions from the firm and its clients.

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA)
Allegations: Washington Post: House ethics committee's staff recently interviewed the staff of Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) about his allegation that a PMA lobbyist threatened him in 2007 when he resisted steering federal funds to a PMA client. The lobbyist told a Nunes staffer that if the lawmaker didn't help, the defense contractor would move out of Nunes's district and take dozens of jobs with him.

Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN)
Allegations: Washington Post: A document obtained by The Washington Post shows that the subcommittee members under scrutiny also include Rep. Peter J. Visclosky (D-Ind.) related to steering federal funds to clients of the PMA Group, the now-closed defense lobbying firm.

Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-FL)
Allegations: Washington Post: A document obtained by The Washington Post shows that the subcommittee members under scrutiny also include C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.) related to steering federal funds to clients of the PMA Group, the now-closed defense lobbying firm.

Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-VA)
Allegations: Washington Post: A document obtained by The Washington Post shows that the subcommittee members under scrutiny also include Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) related to steering federal funds to clients of the PMA Group, the now-closed defense lobbying firm.

Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS)
Allegations: Washington Post: A document obtained by The Washington Post shows that the subcommittee members under scrutiny also include Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) related to steering federal funds to clients of the PMA Group, the now-closed defense lobbying firm.

Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA)
Allegations: Washington Post: A document obtained by The Washington Post shows that the subcommittee members under scrutiny also include Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) related to steering federal funds to clients of the PMA Group, the now-closed defense lobbying firm.

Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX)
Texas court charged DeLay with criminal violations of state campaign finance laws and money laundering.

and there's more on both sides

Newt   -  Rep
Maxine Waters  - Dem
etc... etc..  
but you get the point  -  whats good for goose is good for gander .Same standard, same punishments,  should be applied to all, irregardless what political affiliation.  And Yes Rangle should be Punnished.

[powderman]

SCOOTRD. murtha is a dem, he will do nothing, and theres a lame duck congress with nothing to lose, wait and see. POWDERMAN. 

[scootrd]

SCOOTRD. murtha is a dem, he will do nothing, and theres a lame duck congress with nothing to lose, wait and see. POWDERMAN.  

Not disagreeing with your statement  regarding Rangle, Just stating .. there is enough corruption and blame to go around regardless of affiliations.. and no matter who is found Guilty .. Punishment should fit the crime equally.  

[gstewart44]

hey guys - catch up with the times.   John Murtha died in February 2010.   Of course nothing will be done to him.   He is dead.  

[scootrd]

hey guys - catch up with the times.   John Murtha died in February 2010.   Of course nothing will be done to him.   He is dead.  

I''m up with the times , I was making a point. Throughout political history corruption could be found everywhere at all levels on both sides.

[gstewart44]

Ok scootd - I read it and then PMs response and it sounded a bit anachronistic.   No disrespect intended.   

[subdjoe]

“How can 40 witnesses, 30,000 pages of transcripts, over 550 exhibits measure against my forty years of service and commitment to this body I love so much? I ask the committee in reviewing the sanctions to take that into serious consideration, as well as the effects this ordeal has had on my wife, family and constituents,” Rangel said in a Thursday morning statement. “…I hope my four decades of service merit a sanction that is in keeping with and no greater than House precedents and also contains a drop of fairness and mercy.”

Well, Charlie, others who have led exemplary lives have been convicted and sentence to hard time for crimes. Are you saying that you are a special case?    And maybe you should have thought about "the effects this ordeal has had on my wife, family and constituents,"  before you started cheating on your taxes and such.

Rangel also admitted that he may have done something wrong with his financial disclosures over the years, but did not go into any specifics.  “There can be no excuse for my acts of omission,” Rangel said in his statement. “I've failed in carrying out my responsibilities. I made numerous mistakes.”

That's mighty big of him.

But he remains defiant that he was not corrupt and did not get any richer personally as he failed to report income on a Dominican Republic home.

“But corruption and personal enrichment are certainly not part of my mistakes and the committee's chief counsel made that abundantly clear,” Rangel said. “And that was the point I was always trying to make.”

Hmmm.....so, what did you do with all that money you saved by not paying taxes due?

Rangel tried to make his personal history part of his plea for a softer penalty, talking about his military service, walking alongside Martin Luther King and his protests against apartheid in South Africa.

Lewis also gave a supporting speech for Rangel, calling him "my colleague, my brother" in a plea for a lesser sanction, but the admitted "that I don't know all the facts in this case."

Lewis recalled that Rangel took part in a 1965 civil rights march in Alabama and later worked to impose restrictions on the apartheid government in South Africa.

That's nice.  Again, lots of people who had been very active in civil rights have gone to prison for crimes.



Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45338.html#ixzz15fDwstp3

[Cabin4]

They will do nothing. Rangle represents the non values and morals the dems are so proud of, they just accepted pewlosi to lead them again, both are sickening. POWDERMAN.  

PD , give the partisan junk a rest ,
This is not a Dem or Rep issue  -  this is ethics issue, Rep and Dems alike need to be held to the same standards. There have been just as many on both sides of the political isle who are guilty of ethics violations. There should be one single and consistent standard for all .

Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA)
Allegations: Washington Post: The investigations by two separate ethics offices include an examination of the chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on defense, Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), as well as others who helped steer federal funds to clients of the now-closed defense lobbying firm, PMA Group. The lawmakers received campaign contributions from the firm and its clients.

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA)
Allegations: Washington Post: House ethics committee's staff recently interviewed the staff of Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) about his allegation that a PMA lobbyist threatened him in 2007 when he resisted steering federal funds to a PMA client. The lobbyist told a Nunes staffer that if the lawmaker didn't help, the defense contractor would move out of Nunes's district and take dozens of jobs with him.

Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN)
Allegations: Washington Post: A document obtained by The Washington Post shows that the subcommittee members under scrutiny also include Rep. Peter J. Visclosky (D-Ind.) related to steering federal funds to clients of the PMA Group, the now-closed defense lobbying firm.

Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-FL)
Allegations: Washington Post: A document obtained by The Washington Post shows that the subcommittee members under scrutiny also include C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.) related to steering federal funds to clients of the PMA Group, the now-closed defense lobbying firm.

Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-VA)
Allegations: Washington Post: A document obtained by The Washington Post shows that the subcommittee members under scrutiny also include Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) related to steering federal funds to clients of the PMA Group, the now-closed defense lobbying firm.

Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS)
Allegations: Washington Post: A document obtained by The Washington Post shows that the subcommittee members under scrutiny also include Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) related to steering federal funds to clients of the PMA Group, the now-closed defense lobbying firm.

Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA)
Allegations: Washington Post: A document obtained by The Washington Post shows that the subcommittee members under scrutiny also include Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) related to steering federal funds to clients of the PMA Group, the now-closed defense lobbying firm.

Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX)
Texas court charged DeLay with criminal violations of state campaign finance laws and money laundering.

and there's more on both sides

Newt   -  Rep
Maxine Waters  - Dem
etc... etc..  
but you get the point  -  whats good for goose is good for gander .Same standard, same punishments,  should be applied to all, irregardless what political affiliation.  And Yes Rangle should be Punnished.

A meager list it is. WIth the literally hundreds of criminals that inhabit the Congress, this is all we have to show for it?

[SHOOTALL]

hey guys - catch up with the times.   John Murtha died in February 2010.   Of course nothing will be done to him.   He is dead.  

wouldn't it be nice if all the crooks would follow his leade 

[gstewart44]

hey guys - catch up with the times.   John Murtha died in February 2010.   Of course nothing will be done to him.   He is dead.  

wouldn't it be nice if all the crooks would follow his leade 

Shootall that was funny!!! 

[BBF]

When I heard about this my first thought was whether or not the surgeon was a Republican.

[ironglow]

  It sure is interesting to hear Scootrd say; "give the partisan junk a rest"....

[torpedoman]

democrat or republican attitude is "He is one of US" wristslaps all around screw the law and the Constitution and the decent people who deserve better.

[ironglow]

Right on Torpedoman; Rep or Dem.. makes no difference !  That's what the Tea party folks are all about..let's scrub the govt clean and discard the offscourings..or jail them !

[powderman]

I'm not sure I really understand the term censure. What all does it entail? POWDERMAN. 

[Cabin4]

I'm not sure I really understand the term censure. What all does it entail? POWDERMAN.  

It's the equvilant of wearing a dunce cap in grade school.

[billy_56081]

I would think hanging would be an effective deterent to this type of behavior.

[Tommyt]

I would think hanging would be an effective deterent to this type of behavior.

They need to start somewhere and on someone
If they lay it on him and I think they should, it may slow some of the other crooks down


Tommyt