Live From New York, It's...

Okay, I can't go on any longer letting LawHawkSF have all the fun. And, well, let’s face it, California will probably have to be forfeited to the Chinese to pay off our National debt. So I thought I could give you a taste of what's happening on the Atlantic Coast for a change…

Everything you have heard about life in New York City is true. The real estate is outrageously expensive, the subway is smelly in the summertime, and what passes for “hospitality” is at best surly. As of September 16, 2009, I have lived in NYC for 20 years. As most of you know by now, I originally hail from the Great State of Texas and am proud of it. But, as a die-hard “Manhattanite”, I now occupy my tiny bit of the Upper East Side. Through career changes, a few riots, a transit strike, a blackout, and two terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, I’ve stuck it out. Once you get the hang of living here, it can turn into a very entertaining place to live. Hey, there is no better live theatre in the world than New York City and I don’t mean just on Broadway. Just walking around and watching the people is worth the price of admission. Well, it is “the city that never sleeps”! And never to be outdone by our counterparts on the Left Coast, we have our own wonderful assortment of politicians, pundits, and "community organizers" – Local, State, and Federal – to keep us on our toes and constantly entertained. In the coming weeks I will try to explain them. Let’s start with Exhibit A:

Exhibit A – Charles Bernard Rangel (D/NY) - US Representative from District 15 in New York. His district encompasses parts of the Upper West Side and all of Upper Manhattan. Congressman Rangel (D/NY) has represented his constituents for nearly 40 years after defeating Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. in 1970. Among his many accomplishments and committees, Congressman Rangel (D/NY) was elevated to Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D/CA) in January of 2007. This committee is considered to be the most powerful and influential committee in Congress. Just so you will understand how important he (D/NY) is, the following is taken directly from Congressman Rangel’s (D/NY) own Congressional website:

As chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, the first African American to reach that post, Congressman Charles Rangel presides over tax revenue legislation and commands oversight authority over the major issues of the day – economic policy, international trade, welfare, Social Security, Medicare, and health care. He serves as the vice chairman for the Joint Committee on Taxation.

The reason this is so important is, well, Chairman Rangel (D/NY) has run into a little tax trouble himself lately. I guess true to form for many Democrats these days, he failed to read his own legislation. It did not seem so bad last summer when the New York Post broke the story that Congressman Rangel (D/NY) would be investigated for allegedly sending out correspondence from his Congressional offices on Congressional stationary soliciting donation for a charity to be named after himself (D/NY). This is a big ethics no-no. But while being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for this violation, the Post reported that it was discovered Congressman Rangel (D/NY) allegedly failed to pay taxes on vacation property he owns and rents out in the Dominican Republic. This came to be about $75,000 worth of unreported income which Congressman Rangel (D/NY) paid back taxes owed, but (maybe) without any penalties.

On further investigation, the Post discovered four rent stabilized apartments that Congressman Rangel (D/NY) occupies in a fancy Harlem hi-rise for which one was being used as an Congressional office. Then came the unreported sale of property in New Jersey, the unreported sale of property in Florida, the unreported sale of the Harlem Brownstone that he claimed as his primary residence even though he occupied four rent stabilized Harlem hi-rise apartments, the recently discovered bank accounts, the old Mercedes stored in the Congressional parking lot for years, the donations to campaigns to Congresspersons (D/USA) who are on the Ethics committee - the list goes on and on.

Just last month, Congressman Rangel (D/NY) finally got around to filing his amended Congressional Disclosures for 2002 to 2006. and it was reported by the New York Post that he (D/NY) failed to report income of not $75,000, but closer to $3,000,000 in business and personal income. Now, I can buy forgetting to report rental property in DR as a mistake. I mean, he explained that they were speaking Spanish when the topic of renting his condo out came up. However, I find it inconceivable that the Chairman (D/NY) of the House Ways & Means Committee can accidentally misplace over $3,000,000 in income. But what do I know.

In late 2008, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D/CA) promised that Charlie Rangel’s (D/NY) alleged ethics violations would be investigated and cleared up by January 3, 2009 so it would not interfere with the very important work of the newly mandated Democratic-lead Congress and the newly elected President Barack Obama. Of course, this was when it was just the stationary-rent stabilized apartments-and-resort rental issues. Now with each passing day, comes new and more alleged egregious ethics violations, but Speaker Pelosi (D/CA) does nothing. But to her great credit, Pelosi (D/CA) stated that she is committed to standing by her man and she will not take any action until she is issued a full report. She will not be pressured by "media reports" or pushy Republicans.

But, as we say in Texas, here’s the real kicker –Ol’Forgetful Charlie (D/NY) and his cohorts on Ways & Means have approved and added a new provision to the every changing healthcare bill that “...would strip away legal defenses and pile higher penalties on corporate and individual taxpayers facing IRS proceedings for what they claim are unintentional mistakes”. I would call him a hypocrite, but that might be pushy. Oh, and this just in - we are all racists too.

I am not sure how long it will ultimately take to investigate Congressman Rangel (D/NY), but I am thinking when icicles form in Hell should probably be about right. In the mean time, at least he's very entertaining.

Next week: “Mayor Michael Bloomberg, NYC’s Own Little Hugo Chavez”.