The following are some observations to the House Ethics Committee about the censure of Representative Charles Rangel, Democrat, Harlem, N.Y.
House Ethics Committee….oxymoron.
Y’all must be right proud of your courageous decision to censure Democrat Charles Rangel from Harlem for his outrageous disrespect for the laws and ethics of the House of Ill Repute.So much more important than standing up against those politicians who wage preemptive illegal wars based on lies, colleagues who pose no opposition to spending trillions of taxpayer money on perpetual war, partners in crime who bail out banksters and corporadoes instead of jailing them, lobbyists who buy House members to fund the Israeli occupation of Palestine, military contractors who commit assorted crimes against humanity, including unmanned drone attacks on civilians and targeted assassinations and “rubber stamp” politicians who sign on to torture, extraordinary rendition, Military Commissions Act and the Patriot Act.
Yes, it was brilliant what you did to take down Charley Rangel. I don’t suppose it had anything to do with the fact that he was the chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Probably didn’t have anything to do with his membership on the Joint Committee on Taxation and might have posed an obstacle to the socialist subsidy for the wealthy denying them a much needed tax break. Actually it is shocking to realize that the top one percent of the ruling elite even pay taxes.
There is the possibility that Rangel would be an ideal target of your pious ethical sensitivities since he is an 80-year-old black guy representing the unwashed masses in Harlem and was just a bit too uppity in his attitude about following the dictates of bureaucracies. Too bad he had to spend $2 mil to defend himself, but Justice must prevail.
I missed the deliberations of the Ethics Committee. Did y’all wear the corporate logos of the companies who bought you?
– Sue Bastian, Bend
This article appears in Nov 25 โ Dec 1, 2010.








Even Ben Stein, a conservative I seldom can agree with in anything, feels that the ‘investigation’ into Rangel, a decorated Korean War Veteran, is totally without merit and an effort by some to distract the public. Hard to reconcile Bastion and Stein on the same page. My head is about to explode!
Nothing that comes out of Congress should be of a surprise to anyone, except maybe something that makes sense. Instead of using the Constitution to guide them most representatives and senators seem to be following “Animal Farm,” “1984,” and “Brave New World.” The Constitution, national and international laws, the Geneva Conventions, and the United Nations Charter (written in great part by the Roosevelt and Truman administrations) mean nothing to the White House, regardless of incumbent, nor to most members of Congress.