#1 - it was in a good purpose (the education, not the naming)
#2 - something along this line got good old Uncle Ted Stephens prosecuted - might be a place to start with Rangel
#3 - see #2, supra
#4 - another reason NOT to allow rent control - I thought he gave up a couple of those apartments (maybe he just said he was GOING to give them up)
#5 - they all do it Ted Stephens got his kid a job at a quarter of a million a year shaking down the Anchorage business community some years ago contributing to the Special Olympics
#6 - sounds like business as usual - grounds for expulsion for lesser folk
#7 - what amazes me about this item is that Rengel's Benzie got towed - not that it was parked illegally. Did he have to pay the impound fees?

Seems to me that we have the typical arrogance of power which has drifted over into criminality. If Rangel were a city pol somewhere there would have been a grand jury impaneled already - but as one of the most important men in congress he is pretty much bulletproof

None of these sounds all the big, but taken together they make a pattern. I'm used to Republicans brazening out their scandals, but Democrats have generally been better about policing their own. The ethics committee investigation can't be, or be seen as, a stalling tactic. The Democrats should do what they did with Richard Jefferson and make him give up his committee seat, or at least stop acting as chair. Alternatively, he could announce his retirement at the end of this term. He can pretend it's for any reason he wants.

There is very little here other than petty stuff. I can't believe the Democrats are allowing the Repukes to make this out as something significant.

There's no better photo than that one...it's hilarious!!

"There is very little here other than petty stuff."
oleeb...
I agree... bribery, abuse of power, tax evasion, misappropriation of funds...
all this petty stuff is meant only for common, everyday folk. Politicians and other important people shouldn't have to concern themselves with these pesky little indescretions.
After all, paying attention to these (and other) violations will only slow down our descent as a nation... and why in the world would we ever want to do that.

On #4, is that "rent-controlled" or "rent-stabilized"? Rent controls, which essentially freeze the rent, apply to only a relative handful of apartments occupied for decades by the original tenants or their heirs, and requires the apartment be a primary residence. Rent stabilization applies to a large fraction of apartments in the city, and allow rent to go up in increments related to increasing operating costs rather than what the market will bear. Two very different regimes, with different sets of arcane rules. Exactly which are we talking about here. (And although anything rent-controlled or rent-stabilized is nominally "below market rates" that's not really a good way to put it, because only a fraction of apartments rent at the "market" rate.)

Dang.... I'd always liked Rangel, but this sure doesn't sound good. If he can't pay attention to "details" like this, well, that's what a Congressional staff is for. The people of his district make the decision, but if these charges are substantiated, it's time for him to go.

Let's see:Nancy Pelosi "Drained the Swamp" and guess what she found:

Charles Rangel
Wm Jefferson
Chris Dodd
Harry Reid

and

Herself stuck on the bottom of the swamp.