As IF Times

link FOXNews.com – Ex-Official Accuses Justice Department of Racial Bias in Black Panther Case.

As kids, we all remember watching horror movies which seemed to follow set formats for creating wide eyed, on the edge of the seat suspense for viewers.  Typically, a young girl or young girls are in a house at night and often there’s a storm raging outside.  Over the course of the film, one by one, the girls are killed off.  Naturally the phone lines are out and the remaining heroine hears strange noises.  The curiosity gets the better of her as she searches for the source of the sound.  It seems to be coming from behind….a….particular…..door….   Of course, by then, the viewer is imploring her not to open that door as the increasingly suspenseful music ramps up….  The viewer knows that the end result won’t be good since there’s been ample evidence and hints throughout the movie.  Somehow, the heroine and future victim, is oblivious to the clues so apparent to us the viewer.

This is the same plot line unfolding  in American politics today.  When you step back and assess the actions and inactions of the Obama White house, you can virtually hear the urgent pitched music ramping up in the background, REENH REENH!

The story reference in the link above is the most egregious of recent actions implemented by this administration.  From all accounts in this case, the attorney general, Eric Holder (a dead ringer for Stedman, Oprah’s BF in case no one noticed) decides to call off the case against some  Black Panther intimidators during the 2008 election despite compelling video and eye witness evidence in support of conviction.  According to the Justice Department, wearing para military gear, wielding black truncheons and spewing racial slurs at whites on camera wasn’t sufficient evidence to press on with a sentence, even though the suit was won.  Laws that are on the books are clearly being ignored or overruled in favour of certain groups.   We have yet to hear of any outrage by minority groups over the blatant reverse racism involved here. 

Just the other day, the administration decided to pursue a lawsuit against the state of Arizona for enforcing federal laws on illegal immigrants in that state.   Again, these are not really new laws, they are laws which only emphasize long standing existing Federal regulations.  Once again, laws are already on the books and once again, they are being ignored or overruled in favour of certain groups.

Oh, and on a recent post, we noted that the incoming NASA head states that reaching out to the Muslim world would be the prime goal of that agency.  !!! As if that’s the mandate of NASA, to bring religion into the space program.  Can anyone hear the pitched music blaring in the background yet?  Does all this sound reasonable??  On the financial front meanwhile, it was announced that the U.S. budget deficit would be over one TRILLION dollars in June.  REENH! REENH! More scary music. 

Do the viewers at home not see the unfolding of the horror show?  The evidence is stacking up for anyone paying attention. Aren’t Americans collectively the young girl about to open the scary door?  Or has the door already opened? When the President campaigned for the “fundamental transformation of America”, did he really mean that existing laws would be set aside in favour of ones that fit his vision of society?  It looks more and more like executing an agenda instead of innocent policy errors.  As George Orwell may have noted, some people have become more equal than others. Naive Americans have become the young girls in the horror movies.  Sadly, in the horror flicks, she usually meets an unfortunate end.  Doubly sadly, this isn’t a movie.

link The End for Rangel Appears Greatly Exaggerated – NYTimes.com.

The old cliche goes, people elect who they deserve.  Mr. Rangel, under clouds of  ethical suspicion that would have made those over then president Bill Clinton seem like rainbows, is looking likely to hang on to his congressional seat if his supporters have their way according to this article.  The 79 year old congressman who has presided over his Harlem district for forty years  is looking to extend for one more term his tenure to preserve his legacy.  !!!

Really?  In all that time, no one else has emerged to possibly be  more capable  to represent the constituency that he oversees? Think of all that has happened in the world since Mr. Rangel came to office just after the Nixon administration.  The Vietnam war aftermath, the seventies, Jimmy Carter and the Iran hostage crisis, massive interest rate hikes, Reaganomics, the Clinton era, O.J., the twin towers bombing, 9-11, the Iraq war, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, real estate collapse, Obama, banking collapse and  the currency crisis  just to name a few events.  This guy is like Forest Gump, throughout all the changes that America lived through, Charlie Rangel was the only constant. 

Meanwhile, Harlem has evolved from an enclave of poor blacks to a somewhat gentrified and cosmopolitan area of yuppie housing and mainstream living.  Even the Clinton library is there now.  The whole Harlem experience has moved essentially to other cities including Detroit and south Chicago.  The fact is, poor people can’t afford to live in New York without massive subsidies.

For whatever lapses of ethics Mr. Rangel may be accused of during his 40 year tenure, obviously, he must have delivered the goods to his district.  As noted, the poor black neighborhoods he originally represented doesn’t really exist any more.  How then is he able to hang onto his seat?  Accusations, yet to be proven of course, that he engaged in graft, took advantage of rent control programs intended for the poor, tax  and asset amnesia would sink any other politician in today’s tabloid style political climate.  Yet, somehow, Rangel seems to command the loyalty of those that would like to see him finish out his career on “his own terms”.  From what I can see, he’s pretty much had a career on his own terms for 40 years.

There is no logical explanation for this but we see elements of this in all political dynasties and that is this:  It doesn’t matter what your guy does, as long as it’s YOUR guy.  If politics was about putting the most capable people in office, the nation would be run by the Coca Cola people.  Politics is a popularity contest supported by payola and quid pro quo activities.  As long as the candidate is not found to be hiding dismembered corpses in his basement, chances are good that he will be supported especially if he happens to identify with his constituents in the simplest of ways.  People are tribal.  Blacks will elect blacks, Asians will elect Asians and Latinos will elect Latinos.  Liberals and Conservatives will pull for their man even if it happens to be Al Franken or Arnold Schwarzennegger respectively, regardless of  how unqualified they may happen to be.   In the case of Arnold, to be fair, he may have conned some liberals to vote for him based on the hollywood pedigree. We are seeing some changes to this in some ways on the conservative side with the rise of the Tea Party movement, but generally, capability and integrity are not job requirements for office.

In the early 90’s, the mayor of Washington DC, Marion Barry was arrested, convicted and went to prison for crack cocaine use and possession.  Amazingly, the voters put him back into that office in 1994.  Think of that.  Of all the possible candidates the voters could have put into the mayor’s office, the people decided that a convicted drug felon was the best choice.   Earlier this year, Ted Kennedy passed away after battling cancer.  Long worshipped by the American left, but especially in Massachusetts, he died as a hero to his peeps.  Somehow the events at Chappaquiddick were ignored in the deification of uncle Ted.

It’s no wonder that so many people try to get into office.  Once you get in, it’s practically a life entitlement as long as you keep your peeps happy.  So I would tend to agree with the premise of the linked article.  Don’t count Charlie out.