Dirty Charlie Rangel’s Quid Pro Quo?

“Look! My Hands Are Clean” Now that the election is over the New York Times can again process stories about corrupt Democratic political figures like Charlie Rangel. Maybe the reason they have time now is that they are all back from Alaska hunting down Palin and her children. These stories should have been forefront in October but we know how this works.

Right now Rangel is under investigation inthe House for failure the pay taxes.

Rangel is under investigation by the House ethics committee for failure to pay taxes on income from a beach house in the Dominican Republic, his use of several rent-stabilized apartments in Harlem, and letters he wrote on congressional stationery trying to drum up donors for the college center named in his honor.

Report links Rangel school gift to tax loophole - USATODAY.com.

No wonder he didn’t mind helping an offshore drilling company that he felt was skirting tax law by being offshore. In fact Rangel apparently found it beneficial. We are always in trouble when the politicians find an interest apart from the nation they serve. Whose hands did he have in his pocket? More than we can count? We may never know.

But in 2007, when the United States Senate tried to crack down on the companies, Mr. Rangel, who had recently been sworn in as House Ways and Means chairman, fought to protect them. The tax shelter for the four companies was preserved, saving Nabors an estimated tens of millions of dollars annually and depriving the federal treasury of $1.1 billion in revenues over a decade, according to a Congressional analysis by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation.

Mr. Rangel said he stood with Nabors because, as much as he was offended by the company’s attempts to get around some of its United States taxes, he thought it wrong to impose a retroactive tax increase. The congressman said he has long believed that retroactive punishments are bad public policy.

Mr. Rangel also said that the pledge from the Nabors chief executive, Eugene M. Isenberg, one of the largest the school received, played no role in his decision to protect the loophole, and maintained that he did not even know about it until this summer, more than a year later. His aides said he also later pushed tax legislation that would have adversely affected Nabors and hundreds of other offshore companies, though those efforts came to naught.

Mr. Isenberg said that he pledged the money — $200,000 of which he has already paid — because the school is a worthy cause, and that he never sought or received special treatment from Mr. Rangel.

“There was no quid pro quo,” Mr. Isenberg said in an interview on Friday.

What is clear is that Mr. Rangel played a pivotal role in preserving the tax shelter for Nabors and the other companies in 2007. And while the issue was before his committee, Mr. Rangel met with Mr. Isenberg and a lobbyist for Nabors and discussed it, on the same morning that the congressman and Mr. Isenberg met to talk about the chief executive’s potential support for the Rangel center.

The Congressman, the Donor and the Tax Break - NYTimes.com.

Tags: Libs Exposed

College Threatens Student To “Not Share His Faith”

Apparently free speech (when it comes to sharing your Christian faith) is limited to two hours a week according to the ADF report.

On Feb. 27, Yuba College student Ryan Dozier arrived on campus to attend class and briefly share a Christian message to fellow students, engaging them through tracts, a sign, and conversation. Dozier was approached by a campus police officer, who told him he needed a permit for such activity and that he would be arrested and face expulsion if he continued. The college allows “free speech” only on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., with permission required two weeks in advance.

ADF is pursing legal challenges to have free speech again legalized on the college campus. It appears that colleges will tolerate many things but this.

The so-called “free-speech code” of Yuba Community College District is under federal court scrutiny.

taped mouthCalifornia student, Ryan Dozier, decided to spend some time on campus sharing his faith and handing out tracts to fellow students, generating conversations about Christianity. Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney Heather Hacker comments on the situation.

“A campus police officer came over and told him that if he continued to do so without a permit that he would be possibly expelled or arrested, and so Ryan stopped immediately,” she explains.

Hacker says Dozier thought the case was closed, but he was apparently mistaken. “Three weeks later he got a certified letter from the president of the college stating that his actions were the subject of a campus crime report,” she adds. “Last time I checked, sharing your faith on a public college campus was not a crime.”

But the letter informed him he could face expulsion if he shared his faith on campus again. ADF filed suit, and a federal judge has ordered the college to suspend enforcement of its highly restricted free speech policies until the lawsuit is resolved.

Court to decide whether campus evangelism a crime (OneNewsNow.com).

Tags: Libs Exposed, Religious Freedom

Liberals Look To Throw Out California Votes!

Until the people vote on something they can’t agree with. So when the people vote on an issue that is viewed as anti-progressive they will then turn to the courts to over turn the vote. The people of California overturned a gay marriage law with a court decision from California’s Supreme Court.

The proposition passed with 52 percent of the vote. Fairly sizable considering you are talking California.The proposition didn’t take away the rights of people to live together or even to get civil unions. It simple kept the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. Not good enough for the marriage expansionists.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California’s Attorney General on Monday urged the state Supreme Court to consider whether a gay marriage ban passed by voters this month was legal.

The state’s top lawyer, former governor Jerry Brown, said the court should keep the ban in place while it considers the issue — and it should rule quickly.

California’s ban marked a major reversal for same-sex couples, who had won state Supreme Court approval to marry in the trend-setting state in May.

Only a handful of states, provinces and European countries recognize same-sex marriage and gay marriage advocates have demonstrated vocally around the country since the November 4 vote.

Gay marriage advocates have argued in court that the ban vote was improper, since it was passed in an amendment process requiring majority approval — the ban won 52 percent support.

California court urged to review gay marriage ban | Politics | Reuters.

Tags: Libs Exposed, Marriage Expansion

Transition Team: Prepared To Take Power & Rule

Shall we say it’s an interesting choice of words. It’s these glimpses of poor choices of words that reveal a glimpse of the mindset. Wow. Could you imagine if Palin had remarked about the transition this way? Language like this only sends the wrong signal. Was the wording intentional or simply subconscious slip? You tell me.

From Stop the ACLU:

The co-chair of Barack Obama’s Transition Team, Valerie Jarrett, appeared on Meet the Press this weekend and used, shall we say, an interesting word to described what she thinks Barack Obama will be doing in January when he’s officially sworn into office. She told Tom Brokaw that Obama will be ready to “rule” on day one. It’s a word that reflects the worst fears that people have for Obama the “arrogant,” the “messiah,” that imagines he’s here to “rule” instead of govern. Jarret told Brokaw that “given the daunting challenges that we face, it’s important that president elect Obama is prepared to really take power and begin to rule day one.”

Connect the Dots 2006: Obama ready to ‘rule’ on day one.

Tags: Libs Exposed, Obama

Obama Quietly Kills School Children Draft

One might think that the idea of community service is a good idea. Well, you are right. The idea of voluntary service seems to be lost when President elect B.H. Obama was playing with a mandatory 50 hours community service for your middle school and high school children. Then college students would be required to serve 100 hours.

One might remember that the transformation of the nation must begin with the children. We all know how Michelle Obama felt about the country until her husband achieved the Democratic nomination. We also know how some in the Democratic convention feel about America as well.

Is this just the beginning of the Republic’s new make over to the USSA where government knows best?

Earlier today we posted about Barack Obama’s plan to require community service from middle school, high school, and college students. This is how it read at the time:

The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.

Lo and behold. Tonight, after the plan was publicized, Obama has quietly thrown that “requirement” part down the memory hole: America Serves.

The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by setting a goal that all middle school and high school students do 50 hours of community service a year and by developing a plan so that all college students who conduct 100 hours of community service receive a universal and fully refundable tax credit ensuring that the first $4,000 of their college education is completely free. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.

Change!

Little Green Footballs - Obama Quietly Revokes His Plan for a Draft.

Better be watching closes.

Tags: Libs Exposed

Obama: Screw America’s Coal & Energy Needs

You poor suckers who voted for this weasel. He has given half the information and implied things he has never meant to do. Sure, we will let the industry build coal plants (think of all those coal plants needed to power those Al Gore electric cars) but watch them go bankrupt under the new gas emission taxes and regulations. New just breaks today? Is it too late for those in PA to catch wind and toss Obama to the fire along with all the campaign staffers who haven’t been honest about Obama’s energy plans.

Yesterday, Sarah Palin demanded to know why the San Francisco Chronicle sat on this story for so long. The Chronicle responded by noting that the video has been available on their website since January 17th of this year. However, the Chronicle never reported on these quotes from Obama, and these statements certainly seem noteworthy enough to include in any look at Obama’s policies on energy.

Even more oddly, they never provided a transcript of the interview, an almost automatic step for any meeting between national political candidates and the editors of a newspaper. Why didn’t the Chronicle transcribe their meeting in the nine months between then and now? Did they realize how damaging this could be to Obama’s hopes in the middle of the primaries and chose to quietly shelve the interview?

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Video of Obama, coal bankruptcy.

All over the people have see this coming but ignored it, hoped for the best. Obama wanted to spread the wealth around but there won’t be any after he manages to destroy the infrastructure and energy production in this country.

RUSH: If you happen to live in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Colorado, and even parts of Indiana,  Barack Obama wants the coal industry in which you workto go bankrupt. He intends to bankrupt it. He also intends to cause skyrocketing energy prices. He made these comments earlier in the year with an editorial board meeting that was recorded, the San Francisco Chronicle. The Chronicle says they reported it. They put it on their website. The newspaper story they did on this did not comment on any of this. You get the point, though, people voting for Obama, I don’t think they care anything about it. I don’t think that the substance of who he is is relevant, otherwise he wouldn’t be above 30%. He’s a symbol of something to a lot of people, and he’s a blank slate and they are making of Obama whatever they want him to be. If he wins this, there is going to be some severe buyer’s remorse, and we see these guys in the media, they’re covering their rear end because if this guy goes far left, they don’t want any blame for it, “We didn’t know. We didn’t know who Obama was, only written two books, aspirational (sic) speeches, don’t know much about him, don’t know who his heroes are, don’t know who his mentors are, we don’t know anything about him,” after they’ve pushed him all of this time. Here is Obama, this is in January of this year in an editorial board meeting with the San Francisco Chronicle.

OBAMA: What I’ve said is that we would put a cap-and-trade system in place that is more — that is as aggressive if not more aggressive than anybody else’s out there, so if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can, it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.

RUSH: He’s gonna bankrupt ‘em, he’s got a cap-and-trade program, Algore, this is to save the planet. He’s going to bankrupt ‘em, by definition, they will bankrupt. But that’s not, by itself, the single most damaging aspect of what he said. This is.

OBAMA: When I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know, under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.

RUSH: So folks, he wants to bankrupt the coal industry. Now, I’ve never seen a presidential candidate actually admit that he wants to destroy elements of the US economy. He did, he said it, and now he wants skyrocketing gas prices. You remember when gasoline spiked up to four bucks? The only thing Obama said about it, “The only thing that bothers me is how quickly we got it up there.” But he didn’t do one damn thing to lower gasoline prices. He didn’t care that they were that high. His only stated concern was that they got up there so quickly. Here he is, same interview with the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board, January 2008.

OBAMA: Regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad, because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal-powered plants, you know, natural gas, whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money, they will pass that money on to consumers. If you can’t persuade the American people that, yes, there’s going to be some increase in electricity rates on the front end, but that over the long term because of combinations of more efficient energy usage and changing lightbulbs and more efficient appliances, but also technology improving how we can produce clean energy, that the economy will benefit. If we can’t make that argument persuasively enough, you — you can — you can be Lyndon Johnson, you can be the master of Washington, you’re not gonna get that done.

RUSH: Well, it would have been nice if you’d tried to persuade us, sir. The thing is he didn’t try to persuade us about this. This has remained a stealth plan. I mean we’ve known he’s had a carbon trade plan, all the liberal Democrats were touting that. We didn’t know that by design it’s to bankrupt the coal industry, and we didn’t know that by design it is to cause electricity rates to skyrocket. Now, there’s a new prime minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, he was an environmentalist wacko when he signed on, he got elected, and then he went to this Kyoto meeting, the thing they had in Bali with all these global warming nuts, and he went to that meeting, he came back said, “I can’t do this. Our electricity rates here will be to the point people can’t afford electricity.” This is what Obama wants to do. Folks, in his distorted, perverted mind, Obama doesn’t want to just equalize the United States. It’s not just about spreading the wealth domestically. This guy has, I fear, as his number one desire to tear down the greatness of this country so that we are not better than any other nation. I think that is his aim. You go back to Madeleine Albright, we played the sound bite, a lone superpower in the world is destabilizing, we either need to get rid of ourselves as a superpower or allow another one to evolve.

Obama: I’ll Bankrupt Coal Industry; Your Energy Prices Will Skyrocket.

McCain is hitting on it and thankfully some are paying attention. I bet there are many wishing they hadn’t already voted.

In the closing hours of the 2008 presidential campaign, John McCain attacked rival Barack Obama Monday over comments made in January about the coal industry.

“We found out yesterday what Senator Obama really thinks about coal,” McCain said Monday during a campaign stop in Blountville Tennessee, which borders southern Virginia. “In a new video talking about his policies on coal, he told — guess who? — the San Francisco newspaper — and this is what he said, ‘If somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can. It’s just that it will bankrupt them.’ Now, how out of touch is that?”

“Now, I believe — and you know, and you do, too — that we need to control emissions,” McCain continued. “But I’m not going to let our coal industry go bankrupt. I’m not going to tell — I’m not going to let coal workers lose their jobs. And I’m not going to let energy prices increase any more for our families.”

McCain hits Obama on coal comment - U.S. Politics & Elections - Politico.com - MLive.com.

Tomorrow most of us at Conservative Culture are working hard to help the McCain-Palin ticket. Get out the vote and do what you can before it’s too late.

Tags: Libs Exposed, Political Races

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