Serving New York's 15th district, along with all the rest of us

Charles Rangel, congressman from New York's fifteenth district, is in the hot seat. Currently he is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for: failing to declare $650,000 in assets on his 2007 financial disclosure forms; illegally maintaining three rent-subsidized apartments in New York; soliciting funds on congressional stationery for a think tank bearing his name; claiming three separate homes as primary residences; failing to pay property taxes on a home in the Dominican Republic and failing to report $75,000 worth of income from a condo in Florida.

Now, we all know this didn't come to light simply because one day somebody decided to ask, 'Hey, you know Charlie? I wonder what he's been up to the past few years...' No, for everything there is a reason, and if you asked me to get to the gist of it already i'd say the reason for Mr. Rangel's present headaches is the following: he took somebody's parking spot. I'd say that's what did him in, he used a coveted Capitol parking space to store a vintage Mercedes-Benz.

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Charlie, you're one of the wolves in the Ways and Means Committee who is charged with writing our nation's tax laws. Heck, Tom Delay was busted for similar corruption when he was House Majority Leader and he had nothing to do with revenue codes, so when some one who is intimately acquainted with this aspect of law is caught thieving it comes as no surprise to me. In some sad way i actually think this is to be expected...but don't go messing with some one else's parking spot! Ignoring your own unjust laws so you can steal tax dollars from the American public is one thing, but taking a man's parking spot is a whole other matter. That's a low personal blow, Charlie.

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We ought to look at this on the bright side, though. At least the money Rangel withheld from the IRS isn't going to some stupid wars that seem to have no end in sight.

Charles Rangel: serving NY's fifteenth district, serving himself, or serving us all?

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - The Monitor, Valley and State (Section B)