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As Mata wrote about here, Bill Richardson was jettisoned from the Obama camp because of another “pay to play” scheme. But there is another one coming down the pike and this one involves the Clintons. I know…big shocker! Apparently in October of 2004 Hillary pushed through some bond legislation that allowed a developer named Robert Congel to use tax-exempt bonds to help construct an expansion of the Carousel Center in Syracuse called the Destiny USA entertainment and shopping complex.So what you say? Well, the next month a hundred grand shows up as a donation to the Clinton Foundation.

The 110th U.S. Congress has formally adjourned for the year without a conclusion to an ethics probe of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel, contrary to a November prediction by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi... Rangel, D-N.Y., is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee in at least four areas, including his reported failure to properly report income taxes on a Caribbean villa in the Dominican Republic; use of four, rent-controlled apartments in Harlem; questions about an off-shore firm asking Rangel for special tax exemptions; and whether Rangel improperly used House stationary to solicit donations for a school of...

California Rep. Joe Baca has long pushed legislation he said would "open the doors to the American Dream" for first-time home buyers in his largely Hispanic district. For many of them, those doors have slammed shut, quickly and painfully. Mortgage lenders flooded Mr. Baca's San Bernardino, Calif., district with loans that often didn't require down payments, solid credit ratings or documentation of employment. Now, many of the Hispanics who became homeowners find themselves mired in the national housing mess. Nearly 9,200 families in his district have lost their homes to foreclosure. Congressional districts with large Hispanic populations often feature heavy...

WASHINGTON – The Senate's leaders are standing solidly behind Israel's ground operation against Hamas. .. The senators say Israelis are victims of attacks by Hamas .. Israel is doing everything possible to protect its people. Sens. Harry Reid and Dick Durbin .. and Republican leader all say Israel's actions are understandable. ..

WASHINGTON — An upstate New York developer donated $100,000 to former President Bill Clinton’s foundation in November 2004, around the same time that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton helped secure millions of dollars in federal assistance for the businessman’s mall project.

Editor's Note- In this article Olivier Garret, CEO of The Casey Report shows us the massive extent of the bailout compared to every major Government expenditure from the Revolutionary War and the Louisiana Purchase to the Iraq War in inflation adjusted terms and the results are pretty scary. Based on the magnitude of the bailout expenditures it appears Hyperinflation is already baked into the cake. You thought WWII and Iraq were expensive? You "ain't seen nothin' yet. The current bailout is larger than all the major government expenditures since the revolutionary war combined.

Watch him squirm. I almost want to like David Gregory. Almost.

A new tax law will allow retirees to skip required withdrawals from individual retirement accounts and related accounts this year [2009]. The change -- signed into law by President Bush last month -- is intended to give beaten-down nest eggs time to rebound from the brutal bear market. ~snip~ The new law suspends required distributions in 2009. This gives those who can afford to leave their nest eggs alone a better chance of recovering some of the investment losses they sustained last year. "They'll have more dollars working for them in the event of a stock-market rebound," says Elizabeth Drigotas,...

Rep. Charles Rangel denies he made inappropriate pitch for fundsBY MICHAEL SAUL DAILY NEWS POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Sunday, January 4th 2009, 4:00 AM Rep. Charles Rangel vehemently denied any impropriety Saturday following a newspaper report chronicling how he sought a donation for a public service center built in his honor from a firm with business before his committee. "I would never do anything to embarrass my committee, the Congress or my country," Rangel (D-Harlem) told the Daily News. "It's really painful to make the front page of The New York Times with a nothing story because clearly I was supporting expanding...

A donorÂ’s gift soon followed ClintonÂ’s help $100,000 donation highlights ethics issues with links to foundations By CHARLIE SAVAGE WASHINGTON - An upstate New York developer donated $100,000 to former President Bill ClintonÂ’s foundation in November 2004, around the same time that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton helped secure millions of dollars in federal assistance for the businessmanÂ’s mall project. Mrs. Clinton helped enact legislation allowing the developer, Robert J. Congel, to use tax-exempt bonds to help finance the construction of the Destiny USA entertainment and shopping complex, an expansion of the Carousel Center in Syracuse. Mrs. Clinton also helped secure...

On April 21, 2008, Representative Charles B. Rangel met with officials of the American International Group, the now-troubled insurance giant, to ask for a donation to a school of public service that City College of New York was building in his honor. Mr. Rangel had already helped secure a $5 million pledge for the project from a foundation controlled by Maurice R. Greenberg, one of the company’s largest shareholders and its former chief executive. And C.C.N.Y. officials, according to the school’s own records, had high hopes for A.I.G. — a donation of perhaps as much as $10 million.

As he madly dashes further into socialism, Comrade George W. Bush seems determined to lavish billions of taxpayer dollars on Detroit’s automakers — conservatism, Congress, and the Constitution be damned.

Chairman Waxman Releases Letter Regarding Illegal Steroid Use in Professional Wrestling In a letter to Office of National Drug Control Policy Director John P. Walters, Chairman Waxman summarizes results of the Committee’s investigation into steroid use in professional wrestling and requests that ONDCP examine the widespread steroid abuse and systemic deficiencies in testing policies and practices. January 2, 2009 The Honorable John P. Walters Director Office of National Drug Control Policy Executive Office of the President Washington, DC 20503 Dear Mr. Walters: As you may know, I will be leaving the Oversight Committee to become Chairman of the Energy and...

A regulatory expert says President Bush is flagrantly ignoring the law by using money from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) for a second bailout of General Motors. The government's bailout of the auto industry has swelled to $23.4 billion after the White House committed to send GM and its financing arm an extra $6 billion. The Treasury Department plans to purchase a $5-billion equity stake in GMAC, the financing arm of GM, and give GM an additional billion dollars to in turn buy stock in GMAC. The $6 billion will come from the $700 billion Wall Street...

The passage of the economic bailout bill in October 2008 was viewed as a necessary evil by many reluctant politicians on both the left and the right, but the subsequent revelation of earmarks legislators stuffed in it at the last second only gave them more reservations. Under this particular provision, proposed by Oregon Sens. Democrat Ron Wyden and Republican Gordon Smith, manufacturers of certain wooden arrows designed for use by children would get an exception from an excise tax, which could save them up to $2 million over 10 years. The tax earmark was scarcely noticed during the Senate debate...

Federal judges lose bid for pay raisesA quirk in federal law prevents them from getting automatic cost-of-living increases. A bill before Congress to boost their salaries showed promise -- but that was before the Wall Street meltdown. By David G. Savage January 1, 2009 Reporting from Washington -- Joining the many who felt shortchanged by 2008 are the nation's federal judges. They were the only federal employees who did not receive a cost-of-living pay increase. **SNIP** In his fourth year-end report on the federal judiciary, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said he has been repeating himself. "I suspect many...

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Making his annual year-end report, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday renewed his call for an increase in judicial pay. "Our country wisely preserves and maintains its national symbols. As citizens, we should strive with no less determination and vigor to preserve and maintain what our flag signifies and our anthem celebrates," Roberts wrote. "The Judiciary depends on such people, who have made American courts the envy of the world and the model for new democracies. As I have previously pointed out, however, widespread esteem is no reason for complacency." "I suspect many...

After months of tortuous trading, Wall Street rang out its worst year since the Great Depression yesterday, leaving shareholders $6.9 trillion the poorer. It hardly mattered that the market finished the last day of the year with a modest gain. The losses in 2008 were so broad and deep that every sector in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index took a double-digit hit, and the financial sector lost more than half of its value. The Dow Jones industrial average, an index of 30 blue-chip stocks, and the S&P, a broader index watched by market professionals, were down 34 percent and...

For the first time in years, record producer and rapper John Forte, a former member of the Fugees, spent the holidays out of prison and is planning a new life helping troubled youth. It was a mission that Sen. Orrin Hatch assured Forte would commit to when the Utah Republican asked for Forte's release from prison in a 2006 letter obtained through an open records request. "In prison he is teaching guitar and music to his fellow inmates. He is writing songs with messages that today's youth need to hear -- from someone they will respond to, like John Forte,"...

Among Arizona’s 10-member congressional delegation, Sen. John McCain and U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi — both for different reasons — missed the most votes in the 110th Congress, according to a report by Congressional Quarterly.

Black survivors of Hurricane Katrina said Tuesday that racism contributed to the slow disaster response, at times likening themselves in emotional congressional testimony to victims of genocide and the Holocaust. The comparison is inappropriate, according to Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla. “Not a single person was marched into a gas chamber and killed,” Miller told the survivors. “They died from abject neglect,” retorted community activist Leah Hodges. “We left body bags behind... The people of New Orleans were stranded in a flood and were allowed to die.” Angry evacuees described being trapped in temporary shelters where one New Orleans resident said...

Although President George W. Bush succeeded with some of his policies, the bailout of the Detroit Three is possibly his most significant mistake. The recent damage he’s done to the Republican brand will take leadership with a command focus to repair. The president’s mistake could repeat the hardship Americans experienced the last time we went down this path early in the last century. . . . . . The Republican Party was once the champion of limited government and economic freedom. President Bush’s recent actions have thoroughly distorted that image. It will take strong leadership for the GOP to reclaim...

Ain't this post-racial period great? Here we have one of the more famous members of the Black Congressional Caucus accusing Senate Democrats of threatening to act like Orville Faubus, George Wallace and perhaps the most iconic of segregationists, Bull Connor. Bobby Rush, the former Black Panther who is now a congressman from Chicago, levelled his accusation on the CBS Early Show this morning in reaction to the letter signed by all 50 Senate Democrats declaring that they would not seat Roland Burris, the African-American that Gov. Rod Blagojevich yesterday named to take Barack Obama's Senate seat. View video here.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich has parted ways with his Democratic colleagues and called for a United Nations investigation into what he calls Israel’s “disproportionate” attacks on Gaza. Referring to Israel’s air assault on Hamas targets in Gaza, the Ohio legislator issued a statement saying: “All this was, and is, disproportionate, indiscriminate mass violence in violation of international law. Israel is not exempt from international law and must be held accountable.” The perpetrators of the rocket barrages aimed at Israeli population centers should be brought to justice, said Kucinich, adding that Israel “cannot create a war against an entire people in order...

Does anyone know where George W. Bush is? You don’t hear much from him anymore. The last image most of us remember is of the president ducking a pair of size 10s that were hurled at him in Baghdad. We’re still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Israel is thrashing the Palestinians in Gaza. And the U.S. economy is about as vibrant as the 0-16 Detroit Lions. But hardly a peep have we heard from George, the 43rd. When Mr. Bush officially takes his leave in three weeks (in reality, he checked out long ago), most Americans will be content...

When times are tough - and these are unquestionably very, very tough times - our fearless politicians in Washington can be counted on to call upon the American public to "make sacrifices." This then begs the question: "What sacrifices are they making?" Let's get real. The "sacrifices" our intrepid leaders in Washington are calling on you and me to make are not voluntary, but forced upon us by the irresponsible conduct on the part of congressional lawmakers of both parties. As I see it, if the working men and women and those who are retired and living on a fixed...

As a young Navy swift boat commander in Vietnam, Senator John F. Kerry was no stranger to the perils of hot pursuit in combat. He was awarded a Silver Star for beaching his boat after a rocket attack and racing ashore to chase down and kill a Viet Cong fighter armed with a rocket launcher. Nearly 40 years later, as incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry favors using hot pursuit against pirates in the waters off Somalia, but urges a cautious approach before US officials consider sending American forces to chase them ashore. Kerry plans committee hearings...

In what would amount to a slap in the face to a sitting Republican president and the party's Senate and House leaders, national GOP officials, including the vice chairman of the Republican National Committee, are sponsoring a resolution opposing the resort to "socialist" means to save capitalism. "We can't be a party of small government, free markets and low taxes while supporting bailouts and nationalizing industries, which lead to big government, socialism and high taxes at the expense of individual liberty and freedoms," said Solomon Yue, a cosponsor of a resolution that would put the RNC -- the party's national...

Congressman Rahm Emanuel will resign his congressional seat on Friday in anticipation of joining President-elect Barack Obama's administration. Emanuel delivered the news in an automated call to constituents on Monday. "This is Congressman Rahm Emanuel. As you may have heard, President-elect Obama has asked me to be his new chief of staff and I have accepted this offer. Therefore, in the near future, I will be resigning from Congress. ... I also want you to know, it has been a privilege and an honor to serve as your representative for the last six years," he says in the taped call.

Kucinich criticizes Israel; wants U.N. probe By Ian Swanson Posted: 12/29/08 01:48 PM [ET] Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) is calling for a United Nations investigation into Israel’s attacks on Gaza, criticizing Israel for a disproportionate response to Hamas rocket attacks. The criticism stands in stark contrast to the statements of other Democrats, who have offered near-unanimous support for Israel amid the latest violence in the Middle East. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other Democrats have blamed Hamas for the violence, which has left more than 300 people in Gaza dead. One person in...

Prosecutors to court: Get on with Jefferson trialThe Associated Press Sun, Dec 28, 2008 (12:03 a.m.) Federal prosecutors are urging an appeals court to get on with Rep. William Jefferson's corruption trial, saying his appeal to the Supreme Court does not have enough chance of success to justify further delays. Jefferson. D-La., was indicted on bribery charges after agents found $90,000 in his freezer. He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers argue that his trial should be delayed pending his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Jefferson argues that the charges are invalid because a grand jury got access...

The Bush administration is moving in its last weeks to complete regulations to enforce a controversial law that seeks to block Internet gambling. The move is drawing hot protests from Democratic lawmakers and supporters of online betting.

This probably won't shock you, but MapLight is reporting today that those House of Representatives members voting for the auto bailout received 65% more in campaign contributions from the auto industry than did those who voted against: House Democrats voted overwhelmingly in favor of this bill, 205 voting Yes and 20 voting No (11 not voting). Democrats voting Yes received an average of $74,846 each, about 19% more than those voting No, who received an average of $63,140. House Republicans were somewhat more divided on this bill, 32 voting Yes and 150 voting No (16 not voting). Republicans voting Yes...

The Talk Shows Sunday, December 28th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): First lady Laura Bush. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): David Axelrod, senior adviser to Obama.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn; David Axelrod, senior adviser to Obama; Paul Krugman, Nobel Memorial Prize-winning economist.THIS WEEK (ABC): Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Robert Gibbs, incoming press secretary to Obama. LATE EDITION (CNN) : A compilation of interviews from 2008 featuring New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Sen. John McCain,...

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and gun control groups are concerned that some visitors attending President-elect Obama’s inauguration may try to pack heat because of a rule allowing concealed weapons in national parks. The Bush administration recently altered federal regulations to allow people with permits to carry concealed firearms while in national parks if the park falls within a state or district that allows concealed weapons. Washington D.C. does not allow concealed weapons, but Norton and other think confusion over the rule could lead visitors to bring guns to Obama’s Jan. 20 inauguration, which will be held on two miles...

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid will command the biggest party majority of any Senate leader in a quarter century when the new Congress convenes in January. But the Nevada Democrat is already worried about his own re-election fight in 2010. Sen. Reid, perhaps the most-vulnerable Democrat who will face re-election in a midterm race that is likely to favor his party once again, began interviewing campaign managers last week. The Senate majority leader also recently stepped up fund-raising. Starting early could help Sen. Reid avoid the fate of his predecessor, Tom Daschle, who was Democratic leader for a decade before...

George Bush, Protectionist by Patrick J. Buchanan (more by this author) Posted 12/26/2008 ET "I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system," President Bush told CNN, defending his offer of $17 billion in loans to the Big Three "to make sure the economy doesn't collapse." Thus did Bush concede that protectionism, if a critical U.S. industry is in peril, must trump free-trade ideology. For in offering the bailout to GM, Ford and Chrysler, Bush, by omission, excluded BMW, Mercedes, Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai -- though all operate auto plants here in the United States and all are...

The country's largest retail trade association asked President-elect Barack Obama Tuesday to add a series of sales tax-exempt shopping days to a coming economic stimulus package in an effort to revive consumer confidence and spur spending. The National Retail Federation called for three periods of sales tax-free shopping that would last 10 days each in March, July and October 2009. The trade group estimates that it would save consumers about $20 billion, or $175 per family. Under the industry group's proposal, which would exclude alcohol and tobacco sales, the federal government would reimburse states for the lost tax revenue. State...

CHICAGO ( A small fire started at the home of U. S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. early Wednesday on the South Side. At 12:15 a.m. Chicago Fire Department's truck 49, Engine 126 and Battalion Chief 17 responded to a fire in the 2500 block of East 72nd Street, police said. A still alarm was called for the small fire, according to Fire Media Affairs Cmdr. Will Knight.

KAILUA, Hawaii — Even at the end of his long journey to win the White House, one question about Barack Obama came up again and again: How did he appear to stay even-tempered and levelheaded while traveling such a grueling road? At least part of the answer can be found here on the island of Oahu. As Mr. Obama walks along the beaches while on vacation, returning to the place of his birth and his adolescence, he is relaxing after the most trying year of his life and recharging for the responsibilities that await. In both cases, friends say, he...

In the US, the President elect says this Christmas will be a tough time for many people struggling because of the recession. He says millions of Americans have no job and many are unable to pay their bills. Barack Obama says this season should be a time for Americans to renew a sense of common purpose and shared citizenship. He has calling on his countrymen to rededicate themselves to the notion that they share a common destiny.

Link only - US lawmakers to insist on rescue fund accountability

You remember the Bible story in Genesis 41 about the fat cows and the lean cows, representing years of plenty and years of famine? And how Joseph wisely proposed to Pharaoh that he store up the extra during the time of plenty to get the nation through the time of famine? Liberals sure don’t. Too bad they don’t bother with the Bible; it’s wisdom would have helped out a lot right about now. The media would never dream of telling you this, but 3/4ths of the Bush presidency - in spite of being handed an economy already stumbling into recession,...

WASHINGTON (NNPA) - They clearly won't have it by Christmas, but the nation's Black state legislators are now looking for what they perceive as their fair share of an economic bailout for 'the neighborhood' while Congress is doling them out to corporations....

It's one of those things that sneaks up on you in politics, a sense of things happening not quite as you expected. It started in April when our Times colleague Louise Roug called with a quote from Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Isn't it time that U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd came clean and released documents on two mortgages hew received from Countrywide Financial Corp. that has already sparked a Senate ethics inquiry? Following a meeting in Westport on Monday with Fairfield County labor leaders, Connecticut's senior senator once again hedged on saying when he would release the documents. Dodd continues to say the information will be forthcoming but he refuses to say when. Well, it's been five month since the disclosure that Dodd and another senator may have received preferential treatment in 2003 on mortgages from Countrywide Financial, which was later...

Regulator in IndyMac case gets reassigned WASHINGTON (AP) -- A key senator questioned regulators' approval of a backdated cash infusion for IndyMac, a big thrift that failed in July and cost the federal insurance fund for banks nearly $9 billion. The official at the Office of Thrift Supervision who approved the action has been reassigned within the Treasury Department agency that oversees savings and loans. Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said the "backdating" to March 31 of the $18 million capital injection into IndyMac by its parent company was done in May...

(Washington, D.C. - 12/24/08) Pondering retirement in a few years time, Representative Barney Frank is giving serious consideration to opening an investment firm once those golden years arrive. Said Frank, “After years of gaining experience in the House of Representatives, and the large funds which we have had to manage during that time, I believe I’ll turn that experience to the public sector and help people manage their funds to help them out of the funk of 8 years of Bush policies. It would be my honor to take the nest egg from unsuspecting Americans and invest it in the...