free charlie rangel

Charlie Rangel is no crook. He’s right to insist on the opportunity to clear his name, because the charges against him range from the technical all the way to the trivial.

All right, there’s one exception: On his federal tax returns, Rangel failed to declare rental income from a vacation property he owns in the Dominican Republic -- a mortifying embarrassment for the one-time chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which writes the tax code. But certain facts about this transgression rarely get mentioned. For one thing, Rangel’s so-called “villa” can’t be very palatial, since it cost only $82,750 when he bought it in 1987. For another, Rangel has already filed amended tax returns and paid everything he owed, plus penalties and interest.

The remaining charges are yawn-inducing. Even assuming that the allegations, as presented to the House Ethics Committee, are wholly true, the case against Rangel has a Gertrude Stein problem: There’s no there there.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2010/08/charlie_rangel_is_no_crook.html

Plus, he's a democrat and as a member of the party in power, if you can't be a little bit crooked, why, what in hell is the purpose of being in congress. Sheesh!

The big difference between him and the others, he got caught.

Of course he's a crook. The difference between him and the others is that Rangel is funny.

I wonder which big wig in congress he pissed off. As far as I can see he hasent done anything more than 95% of the other politicians in washington.

If 95% of politicians in Washington are conducting illegal operations, let's arrest 95% of the politicians. I have no opinion on the charges against Rangel and I'm content to let that play out in court, but I think the culture of tolerance for crooked politicians has to change. I don't believe that all politicians are crooked any more than I believe that all priests are fondling alter boys or all policemen are shaking down small businesses, but I do believe that if we find crooked politicians or pederast priests or crooked cops that we should remove them immediately. If they have done great good for their communities, that can be a mitigating factor at the trial. On this thread, someone is arguing that all CEO's are crooked so the HP board should not have fired Hurd for falsifying his expense reports. I think you are making the same argument about Rangel (assuming he is guilty). Give him his day in court and if the charges against him are proven, he should be gone. I heard an interview with the recently deceased Dan Rostenkowski bemoaning his belief that he would only be remembered as a crook and that he didn't do anything that others didn't do and my only thought was that he never really understood how he betrayed the trust of the entire country.

I liked Charlies Angels star Farrah Fawcett the best

You went to plumbing school in Egypt, right?

you sir, are correct

You misunderstand my post. I am not saying free him without a trial, I am saying get the 95% of politicians that I believe are crooked and put them all in jail. All politicians owe big money and business for their elections and pay up if they are elected in order to be reelected. Political contributions are the same as graft but have been redefined by politicians and the court including that nonpolitical court the supreme court.