What a Wiener

First Patrick Kennedy and now Anthony Weiner lose it when taking to the floor. Debate is only productive when there is respect and decorum and neither were on display when Weiner belted out his preachy, shrill rhetoric.

Nice Vetting, White House

Once again, Obama's administration has made a rookie mistake. Last week, President Barack Obama held a public gathering and asked Congress to extend unemployment insurance. Once of his props, Leslie Macko, stood next to him as his example of a person in need of the extension. The problem? Apparently, Macko was found guilty of prescription drug fraud in March 2009, and one month later, she lost her job as an esthetician at a fitness center. Specifically, Obama lamented:

We need to extend unemployment compensation benefits for women like Leslie Macko, who lost her job at a fitness center last year, and has been looking for work ever since. Because she's eligible for only a few more weeks of unemployment, she's doing what she never thought she'd have to do. Not at this point, anyway. She's turning to her father for financial support.

So far, the White House has declined to comment. I would, too, as how hard could it be for his people to run a background check? This is just another easily avoidable boneheaded move on the part of his administration.   

Another Taliban Atrocity Against Women

WARNING:  The link takes you to a very disturbing article with a picture of the cover of Time magazine, which has a picture of Aisha, a shy 18-year-old Afghan woman who was sentenced by a Taliban commander to have her nose and ears cut off for fleeing her abusive in-laws. In case anyone is wondering who we are fighting in Afghanistan, the answer is: people who treat women this way.

46% Give Obama Poor Rating on Energy Issues

Thirty-one percent of people gave the President a positive rating on his handling of environmental and energy issues while 46% believe he's done a poor job on these issues. However, this represents a decline in negative ratings from last month which is likely due to the fact that the gulf oil  leak is somewhat under control in comparison to the same period last month. In fact, voters are less critical of Obama's handling of the environmental disaster than they were just one month ago. The disaster does not seem to have the power to lower the presidential ratings like Katrina. I guess dirty beaches and oil-slicked water are no match for the messy scene in New Orleans.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/offshore_drilling/voters_slightly_less_critical_of_obama_oil_companies_for_gulf_leak 

Kerry Gets Ruffled Over Tax Questions

Senator John Kerry found himself in a tight situation yesterday at an event when asked why he docked his $7 million yacht "Isabel" in Rhode Island rather than his home state of Massachusetts. "There's nothing more to say about it," Senator Kerry told reporters yesterday. Apparently, last week, when the story broke, Kerry's office said, "The boat was designed by and purchased from a company in Rhode Island, and it's based in Newport at the Newport Shipyard for long term maintenance, upkeep and charter purposes, not tax reasons." A brand new yacht clearly needs the maintenance and upkeep only a Rhode Island service dock can provide.  He wasn't ducking the $500,000 in luxury taxes and $70,000-a-year excise tax at all.  

Even more hilariously, when asked if he berthed the boat in Massachusetts? he replied, "That depends on who owns it." Then, he told his driver to get him out of there. Apparently Kerry would be liable for Massachusetts taxes if he berthed the boat in the state within six months of its purchase, but something tells me he knows that. 

Horrendously Overpaid Town Administrators Step Down but Secure Handsome Pensions

The three highest paid administrators in Bell, California, whose high six-figure salaries attracted an angry town mob outside of Los Angeles have resigned. Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo, paid $787,637, Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia, paid $376,288, and Police Chief Randy Adams, paid $457,000, are stepping down in response to a screaming town mob who individual income averages $24,000 annually. 

However, their resignations will not end the looting, as they will all receive very hefty pensions. Rizzo would be entitled to a state pension of more than $650,000 a year for life, which would make him, at 56, the highest-paid retiree in the California pension system. Adams is eligible for $411,000 a year while Spaccia, 51, could retain close to $250,000 a year when she reaches age 55.

To make matters worse, the meeting, held behind closed doors by the town council and mayor, did not address the overpayment of the five town council members paid close to $100,000 annually for part-time work. In defense of council pay, the mayor said, "We work a lot. I work with my community every day." A council member added, "[We] are on call around the clock, and it is not uncommon for [us] to take calls in the middle of the night from people reporting problems with city services."

Luckily, the county district attorney's office is investigating to determine if the high salaries for the council members violate any state laws. Also, the town has launched an investigation in conjunction with the state's public employee retirement agency into pension and related benefits for Bell's civic leaders. Let's hope they can prevent the massive pensions from being paid to these thieves who looted this town for almost two decades. Of course, knowing the California judicial system, they will keep their pensions.

Rangel Charged with Ethics Violations

After a long investigation, a panel within the House ethics committee charged Harlem Representative Charles Rangel with multiple ethics violations involving his use of political power and influence to push legislation and raise money for his namesake, the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at City College of New York. The charges also surrounded his use of four rent-controlled apartments in New York, as the city's rent stabilization program is supposed to apply to one's primary residence only. Finally, the panel charged him with failing to publicly report the rental income from a unit within the Punta Cana Yacht Club in the Dominican Republic as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets such as a credit union IRA, mutual funds and stocks.

As a result of the charges levied, the case will proceed to a House trial, where a panel of eight Republicans and Democrats will decide whether the violations can be proven by clear and convincing evidence. The committee has a variety of options if they find the charges proven, which range from expulsion from the House, reprimand, a fine or no action. (The last lawmaker to face a public trial, in 2002, was Ohio Representative James Traficant, a Democrat, who ended up in prison.) 

Since the Democrats already stripped Rangel of his chairmanship of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee due to an initial scandal involving the corporate sponsorship of two trips to Caribbean conferences, what more can, or will, they do to old Charlie? Apparently, he was worried enough about the answer to that question to try to strike a deal. Officials said that in the current case, Rangel's attorney tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a settlement which would have required Rangel to agree that he violated ethics rules. Perhaps he thinks that indictments could follow? They should. Everyone is sick of politicians passing legislation to further curtail the control we have over our lives and money while simultaneously refusing to obey them. Stay tuned...the hearing starts Thursday.