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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (439778)	12/11/2008 4:00:52 PM
From: one_less	Respond to of 1574855

?If you say so? hmmmm

To: tejek who wrote (439778)	12/11/2008 4:01:55 PM
From: one_less	Respond to of 1574855

Scandals Strike House Democrat... Again, and Again Joshua Sharp As if Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) didn't have enough reporters bugging him already, Politico reported late last week that Rangel kicked $80,000 to his son to make cheap websites for Rangel's Congressional campaign and National Leadership PAC. The sites have a bare-bones design, are fraught with basic errors ("Sen. Barak Obama"), and should have cost less than $100 to make, according to Politico's resident expert. The prominent House Democrat has already spent much of the last few months acting like an Old School Republican: embroiled in scandal and attacking the New York Times for unflattering media coverage. But even Ted Stevens was less brazen than Rangel seems to be. The Washington Post first revealed in July that Rangel used Congressional letterhead to set up meetings soliciting donations to The Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service. The center has been derided as Rangel's "Monument to Me," after the congressman jump-started the project with a $1.9 million earmark. Among the solicited donors were companies with financial interests under consideration by Rangel's Ways and Means Committee. The committee sets tax policy in legislation, and a seat on the panel is one of the most coveted appointments in Washington. Late last month, the Times found that Rangel used his chairmanship heft to retain a tax loophole for a $1 million donor to the center, prompting an angry response from Rangel. Other scandals hitting the Congressman in recent months: - Four of his Harlem apartments, one used as a campaign office, were each being claimed as a primary residence to receive below-market, rent-controlled rates - Rangel failed to report $75,000 of income from a Dominican resort (he was later forced to pay $10,800 in back taxes) - Rangel's Mercedes, with an expired registration and no license plates, has been parked for years in a "coveted section" of a House parking garage near his office, in violation of House rules - Rangel claimed another "primary residence" in D.C., receiving a tax break for which Members of Congress are ineligible. Tax lawyers confirm it's illegal to claim two primary residences - or, in Rangel's case, five. - More tax statements and financial disclosure filings so erroneous, Rangel has been forced to call in a forensic accountant This is your leader of tax policy in Washington, and he's safe for now: The 19-term Congressman keeps his constituents happy, recently winning re-election with 89% of the vote. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who controls committee assignments, is unlikely to remove Rangel from his post even after the House Ethics Committee concludes its investigations. Skeptics argue that the committee, scheduled to report by Jan. 3, is a "toothless tiger" unlikely to give Rangel more than a slap on the wrist. brighthall.aol.com