Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Is Charlie Rangel an honorable man simply caught up in a series of oversights caused by incompetent staff? I think not. Why? Well, let’s take a look at one of Charlie’s longest-standing abuses of power. For years now, he has tied up not less than four rent controlled apartments for his personal and business use. Four.

Illegal? No, not technically. Abusive? You bet! Is it within the spirit of our rent control laws for a powerful and wealthy Congressman to maintain one of these spaces let alone four? Is this way rent control was meant to be applied? These apartments could be rented to young people just starting out in careers or marriage. When he’s not being chauffeured around at our expense, Mr. Rangel drives a Mercedes Benz automobile. He owns a lavish villa in the Caribbean which he has not paid his taxes on.

Well, its not against the law and, after all, Ed Koch, David Dinkins, and David Paterson have all lived in rent controlled apartments for years. Apparently Rangel has plenty of company from his compadres. Shame on them as well.

Now I’m no fan of rent control – I think it is a law that forces one person to subsidize the life style of another. If the people of the state believe that rent control is necessary, then all of the people of the state ought to subsidize the needy – not one landlord. At the very least, there ought to be a public shaming of any well-to-do public servant who abuses the system in such a manner.

No, Charlie Rangel is not an honorable man. A man who forces his constituents to subsidize his personal living arrangements has no honor. A man who imposes taxes on us that he fails to pay himself is not honorable. A man who takes advantage of every perk that is his due…and more than a few that are not…well, you get the point. Shame.

And the beat goes on….

Sourcing on Rent Control:
Rent Control for the Rich & Famous
Rent Stabilized Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous

It took a full month of fumbling around in the haze that generally obscures reality in LiberalLand before these revealing facts came to light. It appears that the President wasn’t the only one pushing back from his Christmas Day turkey dinner, popping the waist button on his pants, and having a second piece of that apple pie.

Apparently there was no reason to interrupt anyone’s Christmas dinner to see to the man who very nearly blew several hundred innocents to smithereens in the Christmas Day skies over Detroit. What a picture that would have made in between dinner courses. Never fear…the authorities were perfectly capable of handling the Panty Bomber without help from specially trained interrogators.

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told us countless times that the Panty Bomber had been interrogated for 30 hours before being Mirandized and that he had given up important information about terrorist activities. Of course, Mr. Gibbs refused to elaborate and the state-sponsored media repeated the talking points and asked few questions.

No one asked, for instance, how the Panty Bomber could have been questioned for 30 hours despite his serious self-inflicted wounds in what is arguably the most sensitive area of the male anatomy. No one asked if he had been sedated and for how long. No one asked how long he was under treatment by doctors. No one asked how much time he spent asleep or unconscious.

Indeed, no one even thought to ask if the slick new High Value Detainee Interrogation Unit (HIG) had been mobilized to make the most of the 50 minutes. Really! You can read all about HIG in the government’s own press release issued on August 24, 2009. Here’s the link: The Interrogation Group that Never Was.

Now, one month after the fact, it becomes clear that HIG doesn’t even exist in our reality – only in LiberalLand reality – and that 30 hours of questioning really equals only 50 minutes of questioning.

Initially, Secretary Napolitano made her now-famous “the system worked” comment – apparently because the plane did not actually explode! She subsequently claimed that she had been taken out of context and clarified that the system had worked only in the aftermath of the event. We now know something about the “aftermath.” One of the things we know is that the system failed…and not only did it fail, it imploded.

And the beat goes on…

During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Mr. Reid said that Mr. Obama was electable, basically, because he is a light-skinned black man who didn’t speak with a “negro” dialect. Agreed? OK, let’s move on.

Did somebody badger Mr. Reid into answering a trick question? It appears not. I’d suggest to you that he made this statement in a casual, unguarded conversation and that this is what Harry Reid actually thinks. Now, what did Harry mean when he said that? Some Democrats are suggesting that he was actually saying something nice about the President. I beg to differ. I think it means that, to Harry, light-skinned blacks are more acceptable, more palatable, less threatening, than are dark-skinned blacks.

Now, is that racism? I’d say it is, but apparently the President and most Democrats know what is in Harry’s heart. If you are struggling with this one, I’d suggest a quick exercise to help you settle into an answer.

In Scenario 1, the comment comes from Harry Reid.

In Scenario 2, the comment comes from Mitt Romney

Things they have in common: Both are white Mormon males who have been successful politicians.

Where they differ: Reid is a Democrat. Romney is a Republican.

Now, do you arrive at the same conclusion vis-a-vis both men? If not, consult a psychiatrist or, better still, confront your biases honestly. And don’t look for any help from Anderson Cooper of CNN…he’s AWOL on the subject (he’s working on a full-blown case of PDS - Palin Derangement Syndrome).

And the beat goes on…

The Virginia Five, all Americans, arrested in Pakistan after trying to hook up with a jihadi group. The Fort Dix Six who were plotting to murder soldiers and their families at a Fort Dix dance. Najibullah Zazi who is accused of planning to blow up several New York targets. Major Nidal Malik Hasan who murdered 13 fellow soldiers right on the base at Fort Hood, Texas.

What should we be thinking about as we enter this new decade? It may be time to start thinking about the vulnerability of crowded commuter trains, malls, movie theaters, out-door street fairs, and large public gatherings of any kind. It is very possible the game is changing.

Yet, as the President becomes more reasonable in his dealings with Muslim nations, those who practice radical Islam meet his outstretched hand with explosive devices. Mr. Obama’s response to the Christmas Day attempt to blow up an American airliner filled with American citizens is so measured and controlled, one wonders if he actually appreciates what happened last week.

Mr. Obama and his Administration dodged a very big bullet, no thanks to any of the procedures, agencies or Government bureaucrats put in place since 2001. He owes his good fortune to brave and vigilent passengers who subdued the terrorist. Our enemies are taking our measure and, I’m afraid, we are being found wanting.

And the beat goes on…

What worked here is that one passenger risked his life by tackling this terrorist and he was fortunate enough to have succeeded. That’s what worked…and that’s the only thing that worked.

Now that we’ve dodged another bullet, what is going to happen? Well, its like this…you can’t use the bathroom during the last hour of a flight and you shouldn’t even think about covering yourself with a blanket. You can’t hold anything on your lap, and you will be restricted even further on what you can bring on board an airplane. Will the kinds of people most likely to commit such acts be subject to increased scrutiny? Don’t be silly…they don’t even have luggage and forget about profiling…no can do.

Let’s see here, we’ve got Ahmed Abdullah Minni, Umar Farooq, Aman Hassan Yemer, Waqar Hussain Khan, and Ramy Zamzam and – all Americans recently arrested in Pakistan for seeking out jihadist groups there.

We also have Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan-born man living legally in Colorado, who was a central figure in a inquiry into a plot to detonate explosives in the United States.

Then there is the Fort Dix Six, convicted of plotting to stage an attack on the Fort Dix military base in New Jersey. Dritan Duka, Shain Duka and Eljvir Duka, ethnic Albanians. Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, a Palestinian from Jordan who became a naturalized citizen, Serdar Tatar, born in Turkey, Agron Abdullahu, Albanian from Kosovo, who provided weaponry instruction to the group and who worked at a ShopRite supermarket in Buena Vista Township, New Jersey.

Finally, and worst of all, Nidal Malik Hasan, American born and a Major in the US Army, murders 13 fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas.

So what do all of these people have in common? Well, you can say they are all males, or that they each have two eyes, one nose and a mouth. But the real common link among them is that they are all Muslim fanatics who want to kill us. And as the days go by, we learn more about the bizarre manner in which this radical made his way onto a plane bound for a US city on the holiest day on the Christian calendar. If the US Government doesn’t wise up, we are going to be sitting here one day crying over our dead and talking about connecting the dots.

And the beat goes on….

I guess slick politicians like Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez don’t really know how to play this game. Go along and you pay the full freight. Hold out for “your principles” and you get a big box filled with expensive goodies, wrapped up with a great big bow. Let’s take a look at what the really smart folks got for Christmas:

Sen. Ben (I’ve got my principles) Nelson is the big winner in the Senate. He managed to get Nebraska a freebie on any costs associated with future expansions of Medicaid…in perpetuity…also known as forever. Now that’s worth over $100 million over the first 10 years alone. Oh, and you’ll be picking up the tab for that.

Nebraska’s Blue Cross/Blue Shield will not have to pay the annual fee on insurers and the same exemption could also be applied to “non-profit” insurers in other states. (Pssst..if this provision can also be applied to other states, maybe you’ll get something out of this bill yet.)

In addition, supplemental “Medigap” policies like those sold by Mutual of Omaha are exempt from the annual fee on insurers.

Finally, a physician-owned hospital now being built in Bellevue, Nebraska could get referrals from the doctors who own it. This is special treatment because the Senate bill will ban such referrals to hospitals to be built in the future. No, your new hospitals won’t be able to do the same thing.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana), who was active in drafting the legislation, put in a provision to help out the 2,900 residents of Libbey Montana, many of whom have asbestos-related illnesses from a defunct mineral mine. Under the provision, sickened residents can receive Medicare benefits at your expense.

Sen. Chris (Friends of Angelo) Dodd (D-Connecticut), added an item making $100 million available for the construction of a hospital at a public Connecticut university. Again, your tax dollars at work. Health & Human Services will decide where the money goes, but Chris hopes it will go to the University of Connecticut.

Sen. Pat (Leakin’) Leahy (D-Vermont) will be getting $600 million in additional Medicaid benefits (at your expense) for his state over 10 years. Pat pointed out that Massachusetts is already getting $500 million in Medicaid assistance, so why shouldn’t Vermonters get a taste of that?

Sen. Bernie (Socialist) Sanders (I-Vermont), who was peeved after the public option was dropped from legislation, held out until Harry Reid agreed let taxpayers (you) subsidize a $10 billion increase in support for community health centers. For a relatively small state, Vermont made out like a bandit (no pun…).

Sen. Mary (Louisiana Purchase) Landrieu, (D-Louisiana) refused to support the legislation until Harry served up $100 million (of your money) to go to Medicaid for Louisianans. (Now Mary already squeezed Harry for $300 million to cover a state budget shorfall so she’s probably up there in the #2 spot right behind Principled Ben Nelson of Nebraska…go Mare!)

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Florida), insisted on a provision to permit 800,000 Florida seniors to keep the extra benefits they receive through Medicare Advantage plans. You may not be able to keep your benefits, but Florida residents are more important than you are.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) added longshoremen to the list of “high-risk” professions that will not suffer the full impact of a new tax on high-value health plans. They are being lumped in with police, firefighters and emergency responders. Makes sense…longshoremen risk their lives for you every day in every way.

Jeff also managed to exclude almost all small businesses – with the exception of the very smallest construction industry businesses – from the bill’s small business exemption. That’s the one that says that companies with fewer than 50 workers aren’t subject to penalties if they don’t ensure their workers. Jeff thinks only companies with fewer than 5 workers should be exempt. So Jeff has pretty much stuck it to small business across the board.

Well, folks, that’s pretty much it! What’s that? Your state wasn’t on the goodie-bag list? And you’re going to have to start paying for insurance you won’t benefit from for at least four years? Too bad…maybe you’ll go to the next town hall meeting your “public servants” schedule.

Have a Blue Christmas now!

And the beat goes on…

Well, this is how the government is going to compete with the private sector for your business. You asked for change…well you’re going to get it. Just click on the words below:

The Real Public Option

And the beat goes on…