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e-mail:chronicle4@aol.com February 3-9, 2010


There is a price to pay for greed


By Tonyaa Weathersbee It was an act of duti-


fulness – and dumbness. Leslie Johnson, wife of em- battled Prince George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson, was following her husband’s orders when FBI agents said he told her, in a wiretapped conversation, to cram $79,600 in alleged bribes into her bra. Johnson was caught with


the loot stashed in her bra. She and her husband were charged with witness tamper- ing and destroying evidence. But even though Johnson has a lot to be concerned about right now –


includ-Jack Johnson


ing the possibility of facing 20 years in prison – she doesn’t have to worry about people snickering about her bra size. The Washington Post has seen to that. “Is it physically possible to stuff that much


bread into one’s bust without drawing notice?” reads a piece on its blog, The Reliable Source, after explaining that if all that cash was in 796 $100 bills, it would weigh around 1.75 pounds. Still, according to the Post: “Provid- ed it’s a proper-fitting bra, yes, It


it is. just wouldn’t be very comfortable.”


It even goes as far as to quote a bra shop manager who explained how it would work: “It would require the full use of the cups, straps and band … in her [Johnson’s] pic- tures, she’s always wearing a jacket, noth- ing form-fitting. It would completely cover up those bills so you would never see it.” Unfortunately, Johnson, who was also a


member of Prince George’s County Coun- cil, will never see any legacy she might have had recover from this scandal either. Ideally, the Post ought to be dissecting her successes in pushing and preserving prog- ress in the nation’s wealthiest, mostly-Black county, not the dynamics of how she managed to pack $79,600 in alleged payola into her bra. But greed, it seems, has a particular way of


reducing the black leaders who succumb to it not just into criminals, but into caricatures. This seems to be especially true when it comes to them finding places to stash their ill-gotten gains. Back in 2004, in Pensacola, Fla, Willie


Junior (his real name), a Black Escambia County commissioner facing bribery, ex- tortion and theft charges, testified that an- other commissioner, W.D. Childers, bought


his votes for $90,000 in cash. Junior, who is now dead, tes- tified that Childers secret- ed the cash to him in – get this – a collard greens pot. Then, a year later, U.S. Rep. William Jefferson of Louisi- ana was caught on videotape accepting a briefcase with $100,000 in cash as a bribe. He stashed most of it in a freez- er at his home, a discovery that spawned all kinds of puns about “cold cash” and “frozen assets.” Jefferson was convicted on bribery charges and sentenced to 13 years in prison but is free on bond as he appeals. All this craziness, however, is more lamentable than laughable.


It’s lamentable because the people these Black public officials represent can’t afford to have them reduced to punch lines. They need effective leadership and they can’t get that when their council member, commis- sioner or congressman have to fight not just corruption charges but stares and guffaws. It’s also lamentable because society tends not to forgive and forget their transgressions the way it does White officials who fall from grace. Just two years ago Eliott Spitzer, then gover-


nor of New York, resigned after federal inves- tigators learned that he had been patronizing a high-priced prostitution ring. Yet Spitzer’s scandalous past didn’t stop CNN from reward- ing him with a slot as co-host on its new politi- cal talk show, “Parker Spitzer.”


Then last year ABC’s popular reality show,


“Dancing with the Stars,” booked former GOP House Majority Leader Tom DeLay as a contes- tant – even as he was fighting charges of money laundering and criminal violations of state campaign finance laws, charges that forced him to resign from Congress.


Of course, people like Spitzer catch a break


because we live in a society in which the intel- lect of people like him makes their weaknesses tolerable.


DeLay’s troubles are seen more as a conse-


quence of him being politically assertive and slick instead of him being an out-and-out crook. But when Black public officials get caught hiding payola in bras, collard green pots and freezers,, they’re just seen as being corrupt and dumb. And that’s one stereotype that they – and their constituents – really don’t need.


Once again, a great career in Harlem must come to an end


By Wilmer J. Leon III Congressman Charles Rangel


(D-New York), formerly one of the most influential members of the House, has been convicted of 11 of 12 ethics charges (he was originally charged with 13, but two were combined).


After a nearly two-year inves-


tigation, a House subcommittee ethics panel formerly convicted him of improperly soliciting donations for a public center and library bearing his name and omitting over $600,000 of income and assets on disclo- sure statements. Rep. Zoe Lof- gren (D-California), the chair of the House ethics committee, stated, “We have tried to act with fairness, led only by the facts and the law. And I believe that we have accomplished that mission.”


fering the same fate as the man he replaced. The Reverend and Honor- able Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Powell represented Harlem in Congress for 26 years and during his tenure served as chairman of the powerful Educa- tion and Labor Committee.


“I Now, the full ethics committee will conduct


a hearing to determine the appropriate punish- ment for the congressman and that recommen- dation will be sent to the House. The possible sanctions include a House vote deploring Ran- gel’s conduct, a fine and denial of privileges.


With all due respect, it is time for Congress-


man Rangel to step aside. He was given his presumption of innocence and provid- ed due process. The system ran its course and the focus must now turn away from the congressman and to the people of Harlem. Rangel has honorably represented the people of the 15th District of New York for 20 terms, over 40 years, and it’s the people of Harlem who have been the direct beneficiaries of his leadership. He was re-elected to a 21st term on Nov. 2.


What should not get lost in the debate about


ethics charges, trials and parking violations is his laser-like focus on the interests and needs of the people he has served. What should not get lost in the focus on his personal battles is an understanding of the positions he took in 1969 on the Vietnam War, his position that the “War on Drugs” was anti-people (you can’t focus on the user and not the supplier), or his 2003 stand to “democratize” the military to


t is ironic that he is suf-


ensure that those with the least were not sacrificed to protect those with the most. It’s been about the people.


His life and politics have been


shaped by the people of Harlem. Throughout his political career, he has been a strong voice of support for social programs such as Medicare, Head Start, Social Security and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).


Congressman Rangel under- Charles Rangel


stood the impact that drugs were having on the community long before that issue became a political football. As a member of Congress, Rangel has used his


personal power and the power of the commit- tees that he has participated in and chaired for the good of the people.


In spite of all of this political history and ac-


complishment, Rangel has reduced most of his political legacy to a battle for his political life. The battle is over; it’s time to surrender. The longer he drags this out, the worse it will be for him, his legacy and the people he was sent to Congress to represent.


It is ironic that he is suffering the same


fate as the man he replaced, The Reverend and Honorable Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Powell rep- resented Harlem in Congress for 26 years and during his tenure served as chairman of the powerful Education and Labor Committee. Fol- lowing allegations that Powell had misappro- priated committee funds for his personal use, the House Democratic Caucus stripped Powell of his committee chairmanship. The full House refused to seat him until completion of an in- vestigation by the Judiciary Committee. Rangel defeated Powell in the Democratic primary in 1970.


A proud and brilliant political mind has been


reduced to an unfortunate pubic spectacle. Rangel’s initial legal team quit out of fear that he would not be able to pay the $1 million for his trial. He has stated that he cannot afford an attorney and requested more time to raise the needed funds.


Congressman Rangel could have made this


go away months ago with an admission of guilt on some fairly minor charges. His ego would not allow him to clearly see and accurately assess the reality before him. One must never underestimate the blindness that attends ar- rogance. Proverbs 16.18 states, “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”


Once again, a great career in Harlem must


come to a close. Congressman Rangel is suf- fering the same fate as the man he replaced. Those who fail to study and learn from history are doomed to repeat it.


By Deborah Mathis It was strange to see George W. Bush all over


In Kanye West vs. Dubya, West wins


TV last week after nearly two years of lying low. A promotional tour for his new book got him off the couch and onto the talk show circuit, in- cluding a three-hour chat with NBC’s “Today” show host Matt Lauer.


Three things I learned or surmised from


Bush’s various appearances to pump up inter- est in – and sales of – “Decision Points,” a puta- tive memoir:


1. Even freed from the pressures of high


office, Bush has not given in to reflection or self-examination. He is as indifferent and un- concerned as ever about the many serious de- cisions he made and orders he issued as presi- dent.


I’m not a big fan of body language interpre-


tation except when it demands notice, as with Bush’s constant shrugging and cocked pos- ture, which screamed, “Who cares?”


Doubt? Remorse? Solemnity? Nah. In the


everyday world, this is the person camping out at the checkout counter, going over his receipt, holding up a long line of pregnant women and old folks with heavy packages and never even blinking when he finally turns around and sees the hassle he’s caused.


2. The man has no thermometer for public


discourse. In the interview with Lauer and again with Oprah Winfrey, Bush said “one of the most disgusting moments” of his presidency came when rap star Kanye West said, “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” – the enter- tainer’s take on the Bush administration’s dis- graceful response to the chaos and suffering in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005.


How about the planes crashing into the


World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the field in Shanksville? Or the public’s discovery that the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were a White House fiction? Or the demonstrations of waterboarding? Or Abu Gharib?


What about the day you heard that First Lt.


Shane Childers and Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez had lost their lives in southern Iraq – the first of the thousands to be killed in your fraudulent war?


What about bamboozling your secretary of


state – a proud and distinguished man – and making him do the dirty work with a speech to the United Nations that you knew was full of lies?


What about the sight of all those poor, des-


perate, deprived people chanting “help, help, help” outside the Ernest Morial Convention Center in New Orleans and the dead bodies floating in the streets?


Might any of those filled your heart and mind


with so much disgust that there would be no room for self-piteous grudges about a guy on NBC spouting off about you in the heat of the moment?


3. Although Kanye West has demons to


wrestle – and, though it’s possible, if not prob- able, that he will say something again that will get him into hot water – he made better use of his time with Lauer and left a better taste in the mouth than did Bush.


I must say that Lauer came off as rather


sanctimonious in trying to pry an apology from West.


“I want you to just look at his face when


he’s commenting about you. Just look at him,” Lauer said melodramatically. “This is the most emotional he got during my entire three-and-a- half hour interview with him. What would you say to him if he were to meet with you face to face?”


The question reeked of supposition, had un-


dertones of scolding and scorn, and was other- wise out of line. And Kanye sensed it.


Still, there was this jewel: “I’m here to man up to different mistakes


that I made and to speak to the moment when I pegged George Bush as a racist,” said West. “I came here to say that I made mistakes, that I’ve grown as a person.”


Which is a hell of a lot more than we got


from the man who presided over the collapse of the economy, the demise of civil liberties, the rise of crooked mortgage schemes, the erosion of health care, the flouting of environmental standards, the Katrina debacle, the deaths of thousands of U.S. servicemen and women and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi and Afghan civilians, and the thriving of Dick Cheney.


Disgusting moments? Let me count the ways.


Let’s pass some laws before Republicans come to town


By Michael Moore


Dear Congressional Democrats: Welcome back to our nation’s capital for


your one final session of the 111th Congress. Come January, the Republicans will take over the House while the Democrats will retain con- trol of the Senate.


But Dems, here’s something I don’t un-


derstand: Why do you look all sullen and de- pressed? Clearly you’re not aware of one very important fact: YOU ARE STILL COMPLETELY, TOTALLY, LEGALLY IN CHARGE! When (and if, mostly if) you wake up to the reality that you can do whatever you want for the next seven weeks, you will realize that you have two clear options:


1. You can continue your “Sit Quietly and


Hope No One Hits Me” strategy and thus lay the groundwork for an even bigger ass-kicking two years from now.


Or... 2. You can actually use the power you hold


for the next seven weeks and have the Senate pass the legislation that the House has already passed.


Wake up, Democrats! You are in an awesome


position right now. The House of Representa- tives, in this current session of Congress, has already passed an astounding 420 bills since January 2009 – 420 bills that are just sitting there on the Senate leader’s desk. The Senate has refused to take up these House bills be- cause they’ve been afraid of a Republican fili- buster. Well, Dems, here’s the truth: You can pass all of these bills and turn them into law RIGHT NOW, TODAY, by simply calling for a majority vote of 50 senators (plus Vice Presi- dent/President of the Senate Joe Biden). Yes, you will need to change the filibuster rules. So do it. You have the votes! And yes, the Republi- cans will scream bloody murder -- so let them. Make them. Let America see them in all their hateful, spiteful ways. It will act as a beautiful coming attraction trailer for all the world to see. Let all of America watch the Republicans as they try to derail democracy by holding up a bunch of bills that nearly every American I know would want to see as the law of the land.


Many of these bills are so safe, so innoc-


uous, I have a hard time understanding what the heck the problem was in the first place. Like the bill that’s already passed the House to name a post office after Jimmy Stewart. I know, I know, the idea of a post office named after Jimmy Stewart is really, really, incredibly


controversial and divisive and somebody on the other side of the aisle might yell at you. Be brave, Democrats!


There’s a whole slew of these bills the House


has passed. Some are no-brainers; others are absolutely necessary. You can pass them in the next seven weeks. And because you Dems seem to have a problem with properly naming your bills and communicating effectively with the average American, I have helpfully renamed them for you so they sound like what they ac- tually are – things people would really want. Here’s a partial list of the bills the House has already passed and are now just in need of ap- proval by the U.S. Senate:


• The "Give Mom a Raise Act," officially known as the "Paycheck Fairness Act," which addresses pay gaps between men and women. Now, who out there still believes women should be paid less than men? I REALLY want to see Republicans try to stop this one.


• The "Don't Amputate Our Feet Act," aka the "Eliminating Disparities in Diabetes Pre- vention Access and Care Act of 2009." Which Republican will stand to speak out in favor of diabetes?


• The "Pay Up, BP Act," aka the "Audit the BP Fund Act," which makes sure BP is paying people hurt by the Gulf oil spill as quickly as possible – and makes BP pay the cost of keep- ing track of where the money’s going.


• The "Stop Foreigners From Hitting Grandma Act," aka the "Elder Abuse Victims Act." This doesn't really have anything to do with foreign- ers but our fellow Americans seem to automat- ically dislike people from other countries, so this should help just in case the Republicans think an "elders abuse victims act" doesn't sound patriotic enough.


• The "Let's Try Not to Destroy Planet Earth Act" (aka Cap and Trade, a lousy half-way mea- sure to begin with but about the best you can expect from you Democrats these days).


• The "National Bombing Prevention Act" (it's actually already called that, which is hard to improve on).


And while those of you in the Senate are


taking care of all that, the House can come up with a better version of Michelle Obama’s “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act” to improve child nutrition. The Senate has already passed this bill. (The House should fix it so that it isn't paid for by cutting food stamps to poor people. Yes, you, a Democratic Senate, did that.)


JACKIE BERG Chief Marketing Officer


BANKOLE THOMPSON Senior Editor


CORNELIUS A. FORTUNE Managing Editor


JOHN H. SENGSTACKE


Chairman-Emeritus 1912-1997 LONGWORTH M. QUINN


Publisher-Emeritus 1909-1989 Page A-6


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