Obama's Tax Dodgers

President Barack Obama signs an Emergency Declaration for the State of Arkansas Wednesday evening, Jan. 28, 2008 in the Oval Office, and also signed a declaration for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. (White House photo by Pete Souza).

From The New York Post:

Here's a tip for President Obama: Next time you excoriate tax cheats, try to keep Rep. Charles Rangel's name out of the discussion.

Somehow, it doesn't further your case.

Yet that's precisely what Obama did Monday, singling out the powerful Harlem congressman for praise as he announced legislation meant to close what he calls tax "loopholes" for corporations that expand their operations abroad.

Rangel, of course, knows a thing or two about offshore tax shelters: He'd been operating one for years.

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John Edwards Is A Cad, His Wife's A Partner In Grime -- A Commentary

Democratic Presidential hopeful John Edwards hugs his wife Elizabeth while
they speak about her recurrence of cancer. AP

From The New York Daily News:

The news that federal prosecutors are investigating John Edwards' presidential campaign payments to his mistress brings a sense of satisfaction. The phoniest man in American politics is finally getting the comeuppance he so richly deserves.

With his $400 haircuts and investments in predatory lenders, all while saying ending poverty was a "moral issue" and the "cause of my life," Edwards set new standards for hypocrisy as he sought the Democratic nomination. His contrived compassion was a joke among rivals.

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Details Thin On Stimulus Contracts

President Obama, with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., signed the $787 billion stimulus bill at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on Tuesday. Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

From USA Today:

WASHINGTON — Although President Obama has vowed that citizens will be able to track "every dime" of the $787 billion stimulus bill, a government website dedicated to the spending won't have details on contracts and grants until October and may not be complete until next spring — halfway through the program, administration officials said.

Recovery.gov now lists programs being funded by the stimulus money, but provides no details on who received the grants and contracts. Agencies won't report that data until Oct. 10, according to Earl Devaney, chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, which manages the website.

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My Comment: Why is anyone surprised? When it comes to oversight, Congress is the worse instrument to use.

Stimulus Oversight Left Up To Taxpayers

From Washington Times:

So just who's tracking that $787 billion in taxpayer money that President Obama and the Democrat-led Congress are doling out? You are. Or you're supposed to be, anyway.

"We are, in essence, deputizing the entire American citizenry to help with the oversight of this program," said Rep. Brad Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology's subcommittee on investigations and oversight.

So, too, said Earl Devaney, the ex-cop who's now chairman of the Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board, charged with tracking the torrent of cash now pouring out of federal coffers.

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My Comment: So mych for Congressional oversight. Can someone tell me why are we paying these politicians?

Democrats Wallow In A 'Culture Of Corruption' -- A Commentary

President-elect Barack Obama will need to work effectively with Congress if he hopes to enact his legislative agenda. (WDCpix)

From The L.A. Times:

Meet the new political bosses, worse than the old political bosses.

Some days you have to ask yourself, my God, what if these people were Republicans?

Democrats took back Congress in 2006 and the presidency in 2008 in no small part because of their ability to bang their spoons on their high chairs about what they called the Republican "culture of corruption." Their choreographed outrage was coordinated with the precision of a North Korean missile launch pageant. And, to be fair, they had a point. The GOP did have its legitimate embarrassments. California Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham and lobbyist Jack Abramoff were fair game, and so was Rep. Mark Foley, the twisted Florida congressman who allegedly wanted male congressional pages cleaned and perfumed and brought to his tent, as it were.

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Murtha's Nephew Got Defense Contracts

Photo: Murtha has "no influence" in the awarding of particular contracts, a Pentagon spokesman said. (By Charles Dharapak -- Associated Press)

From The Washington Post:

Millions in Work Came Without Competition.

The headquarters of Murtech, in a low-slung, bland building in a Glen Burnie business park, has its blinds drawn tight and few signs of life. On several days of visits, a handful of cars sit in the parking lot, and no trucks arrive at the 10 loading bays at the back of the building.

Yet last year, Murtech received $4 million in Pentagon work, all of it without competition, for a variety of warehousing and engineering services. With its long corridor of sparsely occupied offices and an unmanned reception area, Murtech's most striking feature is its owner -- Robert C. Murtha Jr., 49. He is the nephew of Rep. John P. Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has significant sway over the Defense Department's spending as chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.

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My Comment: Another deal that stinks to high heaven .... this Congressman has no shame and is not even bothering hiding the favoritism.

Obama Official Kareem Dale Confirms White House's Love For MSNBC

From L.A. Times:

For some inexplicable reason having to do with who knows what, a widespread impression has grown among many politics fans that MSNBC and its crowd of talkers -- including Chris "Thrill Up My Leg" Matthews, Norah "The GOP Is Doomed to Die" O'Donnell and Ed "It's Time to Grind Them Into the Ground" Schultz -- are somewhat in favor of President Obama.

Well, actually in complete love with the Great Change Agent.

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My Comment: Media bias ..... nah .....

Groups Want Ethics Probe Of Murtha, Others

Matthew Cavanaugh / EPA file

From The Washington Times:

Four political watchdog groups that typically support Democratic causes want a congressional ethics panel to probe ties between three House Democrats and the defunct Washington lobbying firm, the PMA Group, which benefited from the lawmakers' help.

In a letter Thursday to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, the groups Common Cause, Public Citizen, Democracy 21 and U.S. PIRG asked for the panel to investigate whether Reps. John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania, Peter J. Visclosky of Indiana and James P. Moran of Virginia were influenced by campaign contributions and other financial benefits when they approved special pet projects, or earmarks, for clients of the PMA Group, in violation of House ethics rules.

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Jimmy Carter Reported To Accept Coca Invitation From Evo Morales

Presidents Jimmy Carter and Evo Morales

From American Thinker:

Globovision of Caracas reports news that we hope is inaccurate, and which will be denied by former President Carter. The Venezuelan television network states that he has accepted an invitation to participate in the cultivation of coca with left wing Bolivian president Evo Morales, who grows it in Boliva.

In translation, Globovision's report includes:

In La Paz this Saturday, former U.S. President and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jimmy Carter accepted an invitation from Bolivian ruler and coca grower Evo Morales to harvest coca leaves on the Andean ruler's rural property in the El Chapare region (Central Bolivia).

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My Comment: Millions of lives have been destroyed because of the cocoa leaf. Former President Carter's willingness to cultivate it does disservice to all of those who have suffered because of it.

Pelosi Confronts Justice -- A Commentary

From The Washington Times:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is working to buffer lawmakers from federal investigators. This is a bad idea. Special legal protections for politicians encourage unethical conduct.

Irvin B. Nathan, general counsel of the House of Representatives, sent a letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Monday about establishing a protocol on how to handle "hopefully rare searches and electronic surveillance involving members of Congress." Mr. Nathan previously failed to negotiate such an agreement with the George W. Bush administration when Republicans controlled the House. His return to this effort isn't surprising given the number of congressional Democrats facing accusations of ethical misconduct.

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White House Denies Charge By Attorney That Administration Threatened To Destroy Investment Firm's Reputation

From ABC News:

A leading bankruptcy attorney representing hedge funds and money managers told ABC News Saturday that Steve Rattner, the leader of the Obama administration's Auto Industry Task Force, threatened one of the firms, an investment bank, that if it continued to oppose the administration's Chrysler bankruptcy plan, the White House would use the White House press corps to destroy its reputation.

The White House and a spokesperson for the investment bank in question challenged the accuracy of the story.

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Jackie Clegg Dodd Making Big Money As Corporate Director

Jackie Dodd, left, with daughter, Christina, 2, introduces her husband Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Chris Dodd at a campaign stop Christmas Eve Monday, Dec. 24, 2007, in Carroll, Iowa. (M. SPENCER GREEN / AP / December 24, 2007)

From Hartford Courant:

U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd has long had a reputation as a politician of limited means — a reputation underscored, for good or bad, by recent disclosures about his dependence on friends to finance his homes.

The reputation could prove difficult to sustain as Dodd begins what political operatives predict might be the toughest campaign of his 35-year congressional career — considering the dramatic uptick in his wife's income since they married.

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The White House Press Corps: You Report, We Deny

The White House Press Corps. SOURCE: AP/Charles Dharapak

From The Other McCain:

Sweet how the White House denies -- and everyone in the WH press corps except ABC's Jake Tapper ignores -- the accusation by an attorney that "Steve Rattner, the leader of the Obama administration’s Auto Industry Task Force, threatened . . . an investment bank, that if it continued to oppose the administration’s Chrysler bankruptcy plan, the White House would use the White House press corps to destroy its reputation."

Glenn Reynolds has a roundup, including a link to Nick Gillespie of Reason. Also, Jimmie Bise at Sundries Shack is on it, and there's lots more at Memeorandum.

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Feds Search Edwards Campaign for Affair Cover Up

John Edwards

From ABC News:

Did the presidential campaign of John Edwards pay Rielle Hunter to keep quiet about her affair with the former North Carolina senator?

That's what federal investigators are looking into.

Former Sen. Edwards confirmed to the Associated Press that feds are looking into his campaign funds.

The Charlotte Observer first reported that U.S. Attorney George Holding is conducting an investigation of the 2008 Edwards presidential campaign, looking for a cover up and or improper use of funds from campaign donors, and a federal grand jury could consider evidence, the Observer reports.

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