[NY Post] He'll still vote
Former New York City Congressman Charlie Rangel, a fixture on Capitol Hill and Democratic power player for nearly half a century, died Monday. He was 94.
Rangel, 94, was a Harlem political institution who spent his life in public service, from the Korean War to becoming the first African American to chair the influential House Ways and Means Committee.
His influence can still be felt today, said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who sits atop the Empire State’s political delegation in the House – a role long held by Rangel himself.
“The Lion of Lenox Ave was a transformational force of nature,” Jeffries wrote on X. “Harlem, NYC & America are better today because of his service.
“May he forever rest in power,” Jeffries said.
Rangel was first elected to Congress in 1970 after challenging civil-rights leader Adam Clayton Powell Jr. for his seat.
During his tenure, Rangel was part of the Gang of Four, a legendary political coalition from Harlem.
The four — Rangel, former Mayor David Dinkins, former Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton and former state Sen. Basil Paterson — were a powerful political force centered in Upper Manhattan for years.
The City College of New York in Harlem — which named its school of public service after Rangel — posted a statement online announcing Rangel’s death on Memorial Day and deeming him a champion for his Big Apple constituents.
“He served for 23 terms in the House of Representatives and was cited as the most effective lawmaker in Congress, leading all of his colleagues in passing legislation,” the statement said.
In another online tribute, Big Apple businessman and supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis called Rangel “a symbol of Harlem, a fighter for justice, a skilled diplomat.
“We knew each other for more than 50 years,” Catsimatidis said. “Charlie was a Harlem youth. You couldn’t walk down a street without someone calling his name.”
Still, Rangel’s illustrious career was tarnished by an ethics scandal and accusations first reported by The Post.
Rangel had owned a beachfront village in a sunny Dominican Republic resort but failed to report his income from it.
The Post’s exposé included an infamous front-page photo of Rangel sleepily basking in the sun on the beach property.
A House panel convicted Rangel on ethics charges after a two-year investigation found he repeatedly broke rules, dodged taxes, concealed assets and misused his position to raise money for the City College center that bears his name.
Despite Rangel’s pleas for leniency, his House colleagues overwhelmingly voted to censure him – a rare step only taken 28 times in the legislative body’s more than 200-year history. The move involves a public vote of condemnation by the chamber, although those censured keep all of their powers as House members.
Rangel, a Democrat, served in the House from 1971 until 2017, spending part of his tenure as the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. After leaving Congress, Rangel served as statesman-in-residence at The City College of New York, its website said.
"Rangel was a war hero, history-making congressman, and master lawmaker," the college wrote in an obit for Rangel, later adding that he was "recognized as one of the hardest working legislators in Congress."
[RedState] Originally formed in 1919, the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the highest level of the Soviet government. Various dictators held power, most notably Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, but the Politburo was the executive council, from its formation to the collapse of the Soviet Union, which led to the Politburo's disbanding in November 1991.
And now, in one of history's funny little ironies, we learned on Friday that the shadowy group of Biden administration officials who were running the country while old Joe was drooling into a pudding cup was called "the Politburo." And now we know who they are.
A small, tight-knit group in former President Joe Biden’s inner circle was running the White House like a “politburo,” and they were the “ultimate decision-makers” as Biden’s health and cognitive function continued to decline, according to the authors of a bombshell new book.
This group, dubbed the “politburo,” included a coterie of seasoned political veterans, including Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti and Bruce Reed — but also family members such as first lady Jill Biden and the president’s son Hunter, the authors of “Original Sin” claim.
Hunter. What a shock. The President of the United States was non compos mentis, and his ne'er-do-well druggy son was part of the cabal that was running the country. At least he wasn't the only one:
“In terms of who was running the White House, it’s a small group of people that have been around,” “Original Sin” author Alex Thompson told PBS’ “Washington Week” on Friday. “Some people within the administration called them the Politburo. That’s the term we used in the book.”
Former White House chief of staff Ron Klain was at times part of the “politburo,” as was former senior adviser to the president Annie Tomasini. Also on the “politburo” was the first lady’s former top adviser and “work husband,” Anthony Bernal, whom The Post previously reported created a toxic workplace environment.
Anthony Bernal has been accused of sexual harassment, among other things. Charming fellow, and he was the former first lady's "work husband?" Some things just don't bear too much close scrutiny, and that relationship is surely one of those things.
Here's the part I find questionable:
“And Joe Biden himself also is part of this. Joe Biden is not like — it’s not ‘Weekend at Bernie’s,’ right?” said co-author and CNN anchor Jake Tapper, referring to the movie about a dead guy who is wheeled around as part of an elaborate ruse.
“He has some purchase here. He has some agency. And he’s aware of some of what’s going on.”
Tapper added: “He’s aware of the fact that they are keeping the cabinet away from him, they are keeping some White House staffers away from him.”
Maybe he had some agency at the beginning. Maybe he had some agency when they loaded him up with whatever cocktail of pharmaceuticals they were using to make him lucid enough for a brief appearance or to deliver a brief, rambling address. But by the end, I think we all know what kind of shape Joe Biden was in.
#4
I always thought the Democrat Party has a politburo. You might call the flunkies surrounding Biden a politburo. But I still think there has always been another even more shadowy group of people and they are the ones who are really calling the shots. Baraq is most likely one of them but I doubt if he is the chairman. Some of you might suspect John Brennan or Alex Soros. I don't know. I just can't believe the real politburo members worked in the White House every day. They just told the flunkies in the White House what to do.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/26/2025 11:20 Comments ||
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#5
Tapper claims that Joe has some agency in this. He doesn’t. It all the Truman Show to him. That’s senility. Tapper knows this.
If Joe was calling some of the shots, it would not necessarily have been better. Joe was notoriously petty, evil and stupid. He is the victim in this case, though.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/26/2025 12:15 Comments ||
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#6
An what is actually being done?
Any arrests?
Any TREASONOUS charges yet?
ZERO - Not even, a usual offered up sacrificial Scape Goat yet.
[FoxNews] Dr. Oz highlights how states are incentivized to keep ineligible people enrolled in federal healthcare program
Federal spending riddled with waste, fraud and abuse is costing taxpayers billions – and Dr. Mehmet Oz says Medicaid is a glaring example, where crucial care is being siphoned away from the Americans who need it most.
"There's about $14 billion we've identified with DOGE, of folks who are duly enrolled wrongly in multiple states for Medicaid," Oz said on this week's "Sunday Morning Futures."
"You live in New Jersey, but you move to Pennsylvania, and which state gets your Medicaid? Turns out both states collect money from the federal government."
Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, urged that Medicaid be "clean[ed] up" so it serves the people it was initially designed to assist – those at the dawn or twilight of their life, those "living in the shadows," and those with disabilities who are unable to receive access to care because of others "clawing at the cloth" of the system.
Republicans have urged the need to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in such medical assistance programs, much to the concern of those who say the "big, beautiful bill" on its way through Congress threatens healthcare for those in need.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has denied that the bill threatens such coverage, telling "Sunday Morning Futures" last month that safeguarding Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security remains a "big priority" for Republicans, but rooting out waste, fraud and abuse is essential to make these programs work more efficiently for all.
"We have to eliminate people, for example, on Medicaid who are not actually eligible to be there. Able-bodied workers… young men who should never be on the program at all," he said at the time.
Oz told guest host Jackie DeAngelis that the problem goes even further, pivoting to the lack of a federal work requirement for Medicaid — something that exists in other federal programs like food stamps.
"Let's be clear what this means. It doesn't mean you have a job. It means you're trying to get a job – which is a good thing because we have twice as many jobs as there are people looking for them right now," he said.
"But, if you don't or can't seek a job, you can volunteer somewhere. You can get an education. You can help out with other people inside the household. There's many ways that you can chip in."
"There is a work requirement for SNAP, right, the food stamps program. There's a lot we can do. I think there's a moral hazard if we don't, because you've got people who are not working who could work, who should work, and it's better for them and better for the country if they do."
Oz also said states are currently "incentivized" to not cooperate with the federal government. He pointed to a provision under the program's expansion that allows the federal government to cover up to 90% of the costs in some states compared to 50% or 60% in others.
That uneven structure, he argued, incentivizes states to keep more able-bodied adults enrolled in Medicaid to bring in more federal money.
"Right now, in many states, if you go to the hospital, and you're an able-bodied person, the hospital gets paid more [for a Medicaid beneficiary] than if you're a Medicare beneficiary. Now, how does that work?" he said.
"People work their whole life, chipped into Medicare, they get the program, they retire thinking they have got a great system, and the hospital tells them, 'Listen, you guys don't pay as well as the able-bodied folks on Medicaid who haven't been able to get a job.' So, in a way, we value them more, and that's what ends up happening that disrupts the system."
[Breitbart] The Texas Legislature is one step closer to requiring the sheriffs of the state’s largest counties to enter into cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Texas Senate passed SB8 in April and forwarded the legislation to the House. On Saturday, the House passed the third reading of the bill.
Texas House members voted 89-50 to pass the third reading of SB8. One member voted “present,” and ten others were absent from the roll call vote. Four Democrats voted with 85 Republicans. Before the vote, the House approved four amendments to the bill, forcing a conference committee to reconcile the differences.
The bill will mandate that the sheriffs in Texas’s 43 counties with populations of over 100,000 people enter into agreements with ICE under the federal 287(g) program. The bill encourages the remaining smaller counties to enter into agreements by providing funding to all counties with a population of less than 1,000,000 residents.
The Senate bill, authored by State Senator Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown), passed the Senate on a bipartisan vote of 26-5. While all 11 Democrats joined with the majority, five Republicans voted against the measure before sending it to the House.
In addition to mandating participation in the federal immigration program, the bill authorized the Texas Attorney General to file a lawsuit against sheriffs who do not comply. The bill also grants all but seven of Texas’s most populous counties help to defray the costs of training and operating the federal immigration enforcement program.
According to information obtained from the federal immigration agency, 85 Texas counties have signed some level of agreement with ICE as of May 23. Most of the state’s largest counties are not included in this list and would be required to enter into an agreement.
In a written statement published by the Texas Tribune, Governor Greg Abbott’s Deputy Press Secretary Eduardo Leal said, “Gov. Abbott has made it clear that cities and counties across Texas must fully cooperate with the federal government’s efforts to arrest, jail, and deport illegal immigrants. The Governor will review this legislation, as he does with any legislation sent to his desk that helps achieve that goal.”
The Texas Tribune added:
ICE can authorize local authorities to carry out certain types of immigration enforcement in local jails, where officers can be deputized to question inmates about their immigration status and to serve administrative warrants.
In the field, ICE can authorize local officers to question people about their immigration status through a model the Trump administration has revived after it fell into disuse following allegations that it led to racial profiling.
SB 8 would require that sheriffs enter agreements for the program that authorizes local officers to serve administrative warrants, known as the “warrant service” model. But Texas sheriffs could also satisfy the bill’s requirement by participating in the other programs, too.
Once signed by Governor Abbott and implemented statewide, the bill will help the Trump administration’s efforts to remove criminal aliens from the United States.
Continued on Page 47
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Breitbart] The Texas Legislature is one step closer to requiring the sheriffs of the state’s largest counties to enter into cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Texas Senate passed SB8 in April and forwarded the legislation to the House. On Saturday, the House passed the third reading of the bill.
