Have you heard about US Congressman Charles Rangel’s wheels?  Did you know that YOU are paying the lease?

Congressman Charles Rangel was recently seen getting out of his Cadillac DeVille, which he leases for $774 per month.  Then there was Congressman Jose Serrano, getting out of his Buick LaCrosse, which he leases for $317 per month.  And how about this one: Congressman Gregory Meeks was recently seen waiting for Congressman John Conyers to step out of Meeks’ Lexus LS460, which Meeks leases for $998 per month.
All those leases are picked up by taxpayers through a little-known program available only to members of the House of Representatives.

Rangel: “I could probably find something for … one of those red cars and then I think my constituents would say, ‘With all the money that he gets, this is the respect he shows us?’”

“..this is the respect HE shows US?”   What a spit in the face of his consituents.

Hey, Congress…. don’t worry about it, really.   I mean it is only my money you are wasting.   We know you don’t care.

By sheer coincidence, all of the Members of Congress in the CBS News report seem to come from no particular political party at all.  You’d have to dig past the article itself to find out they are all from the House Majority Party — The Democrats.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

From a new Gallup Poll.  The headline, of course, is:  MAJORITY STILL FAVORS TIMETABLE FOR TROOP WITHDRAWAL.

But the guts of the story are telling a much more interesting perspective among the American public:

According to the poll, 43% of Americans say the surge of U.S. troops in Iraq is making the situation there better, a slight increase from 40% in late November, but up more substantially from 34% in early November. This is the most positive review of the surge Gallup has measured since it began. Thirty-five percent now say the surge is not making much difference, and just 21% say it is making things worse.

Republicans, Democrats, and independents have divergent views of the surge. Seventy-five percent of Republicans say it is making things better in Iraq, compared with 40% of independents and 21% of Democrats. Democrats are most likely to believe the surge is “not making much difference.“

Those who favor a timetable are more than twice as likely to favor a schedule of gradual troop withdrawal (67%) as they are to prefer a more immediate removal of troops (32%).  All told, [only] 18% of Americans favor removing troops from Iraq as rapidly as possible.

Americans who do not assess the surge positively overwhelmingly advocate a timetable, including 76% of those who see the surge as not making much difference, and 86% of those who think it is making things worse. Meanwhile, Americans who believe the surge is working are solidly against (70%) a timetable.

Nancy, Harry, Barack, Hillary & Hang ‘Em High Murtha need to get out and talk to ordinary Americans…  Oh yeah, and maybe actually GO TO Baghdad before they continue spouting off their 2006-era talking points of retreat and surrender.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Oh, wonderful…

The $146 billion stimulus package intended to jolt the economy by giving taxpayers rebates up to $1,200 includes cash returns for illegal immigrants who pay taxes.

Under the plan passed by the House, illegal immigrants who qualify as “resident aliens” and earned a minimum of $3,000 would be eligible for rebates of between $300-$600, FOX News has learned.

Only those illegals who have been assigned an Individual Tax Identification Number that allows them to file income taxes would be eligible. Resident aliens are defined as people who spend a “substantial” amount of time in the U.S. and have not been deported.

The provision has irked illegal immigration opponents, who say the assigning of TINs and collection of taxes from illegals sanctions their presence in the country.

Luckily, Senator John Ensign (R-NV) is making a stink about this horrible new incentive to cross the US-Mexico border.  

CALL YOUR SENATORS NOW AND DEMAND THE SENATE REMOVE THIS PROVISION.

I wonder what GOP Frontrunner John McAmnesty thinks about this provision.   Do I have any confidence that CNN will even ask the question at tonight’s debate?

PS — Yours truly, a legal-natural born resident of the USA for 39 years, will be getting no “rebate” with my own tax dollars.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

UPDATE (from GPW): This is McCain’s chance to show that he has heard from conservatives concerned about his immigration stance. Let’s hope he supports Ensign on this.

I don’t know how one would classify me in the realm of economics, and it is certainly not my strong suit.   But based on 39 years of experience paying taxes and acting like a normal human being when something is taxed versus not-taxed… I have a pretty good idea of how to spend the $150 Billion that Bush & Congress are talking about.

Forget the $800.00 check for most Americans.  It is fine for lower- and lower-middle class, don’t get me wrong.  But I’d gladly give up my $800.00 if Congress would use the money for more strategic economic and security projects.

Call it my “Kill Many Birds With One Stone” Economic Plan:

Fine, cut a check for $800 to those who would best benefit from it and were likely to put it back into the economy.

Have most of the rest of Federal money specifically targeted toward energy independence construction — ANWR development, refinery construction, nuclear plant construction, and drilling infrastructure off the coast of Florida (where Castro is trying to steal our oil reservers).

Simply set aside $10B to build a wall on our Southern Border.  Use only American construction workers. 

These are kind of jobs that American workers would definitely want!!   And the investment now would reap future benefits in energy independence and border security.

It seems like a no-brainer to me.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

A must read from today’s Washington Post.

Making Iraq Safe for Politics - Fred Kagan, Jack Keane & Michael O’Hanlon

Iraq’s parliament this month passed a new de-Baathification bill, which awaits only expected approval by the five-member presidency council before becoming law. Much remains to be done, but this is an important step toward political reconciliation — and it further strengthens the case for America to remain committed to its crucial mission in Iraq in the months and years ahead.

The reformed de-Baathification legislation is one of half a dozen key political issues codified into American law last year by President Bush and Congress as “benchmarks” we expected Iraqi leaders to address. Other matters so identified are hydrocarbon legislation; a provincial powers act (clarifying the roles of Iraq’s 18 provinces vis-a-vis the central government); a provincial election law to facilitate the next round of local elections; a process for holding a referendum on the political future of Kirkuk, the disputed northern oil city (and for compensating individual property holders and sectarian groups who lose out in such a vote); and a more transparent and trustworthy process for purging sectarian extremists from positions of government authority.

These benchmarks are reasonable goals. It is regrettable that insufficient progress has been made on the others (with the exception of the long, slow progress of purging extremists from official positions). What really matters, however, is that Iraqis come to view themselves as a single people working together to build a new nation, and address their inevitable differences legislatively rather than violently.

This political progress resulted from a year’s worth of substantial effort to reduce violence in Iraq. Proponents of the surge always said that getting violence under control was an essential prerequisite to reconciliation, not the other way around. The full surge has been in place and operating for just over six months, and already violence has fallen dramatically across the country. The achievement in such a short time of significant legislation that requires all sides to accept risk and compromise with people they had been fighting only a few months ago is remarkable. It would have been unattainable without the change in strategy and addition of American forces that helped bring the violence down.

Many people in Washington (mainly from one political party) are still urging, hoping and pushing for America to slink away from Iraq and give a victory to al-Qaeda.  Luckily, our brave men and women on the ground (around the world) are taking this World War to the enemy….. and keeping further attacks on our homeland.

God Bless America and our brave US military.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Associated Press:  The vote reflected the reluctance by each party to deny money to troops in the field. At the same time, anti-war Democrats had found their position weakened by the decline in violence in Iraq.

Yes, Congress… you have shown the truth to the lie that “you can support the troops without supporting the mission.”  When it came down to it, you HAVE to support the mission in order to support the troops.

Thank you, US Congress, for recognizing that our men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan are doing important work that demands to be supported.

House OKs War Spending, Bill Heads to President for Welcome Signature - AP/FOX News.com

Congress approved $70 billion Wednesday for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, a bitter finish for majority Democrats who tried to force a change in President Bush’s war policy.

The House’s 272-142 vote also sent the president a $555 billion catchall spending bill that combines the war money with money for 14 Cabinet departments.

Bush and his Senate GOP allies forced the Iraq money upon anti-war Democrats as the price for permitting the year-end budget deal to pass and be signed. But other Democrats were eager to avoid being seen as not supporting troops who are in harm’s way — and avoid weeks of bashing by Bush for failing to provide that money.

God Bless the United States Armed Forces for liberating 60 million oppressed men, women and children since 2001.

[RELATED STORY – Another Democrat Visits Iraq, Sees Success - MichelleMalkin.com]

[RELATED LINK:  Please donate to Soldiers’ Angels this Christmas season.]

-Bruce (GayPatriot) 

Log cabin’s latest press release puts me in a bind. On the one hand, I’m delighted that they’re taking on the congressional Democratic leadership for blocking legislation they favor. On the other hand, I oppose the legislation the Democrats are blocking.

Just a few moments ago, I learned that Log Cabin had condemned Democrats for “Derailing Hate Crimes.” According to Log Cabin, Democrats removed “the hate crimes provision from the final Defense Authorization Bill.“

There are two things to note in this, the first is about the Democrats. Here, it seems that when push comes to shove, despite the strong support (including financial contributions) they receive from gay organizations and citizens, they won’t go to bat on issues of concern to those groups.

The second is that Log Cabin is criticizing Democrats instead of taking on fellow Republicans. This is something we want to see more of.

While I oppose federal Hate Crimes legislation for a great variety of reasons, it’s nice to see Log Cabin taking the Democrats to task. Kudos to Log Cabin President Patrick Sammon for so quickly criticizing their congressional leadership. Now, let’s see if other gay leaders follow suit.

Well, well, well.

The U.S. Senate aide arrested for arranging a three-way with an undercover informant and who he thought was a 13-year-old male was previously an employee with the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest GLBT rights group. Mike McHaney, 28, was fired from his job as a scheduler for Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state within hours his arrest for attempting to sexually exploit a minor.

McHaney, who remains in federal custody without bond at least until a hearing tomorrow, was arrested by FBI agents after showing up to meet a cooperating witness and the fictional teen.

Brad Luna, an HRC spokesperson, confirmed that McHaney worked as an executive scheduler for the D.C.-based gay rights group from September 2005 to May 2006.

The Gay Left cabal must be close to a complete meltdown.   After all, for three years they have been criminalizing and personally punishing gay Americans for merely not towing the liberal political line on gay policy issues. 

But now they would have to make a moral equivalent of an alleged child sex predator commiting an actual crime to merely denying your gay sexual preferences.  Otherwise, wouldn’t they be outraged and condemn the emerging Democrat child sex predator problem they have.   Because, there is no equivalent here.

I wonder do the masters of outing gay Republicans believe that being a child predator the same as being against same-sex marriage?

The cricket-chirping silence of condemnation of the liberal bloggers and the MSM about James “Mike” McHaney arrest is now becoming uber-deafening.

In addition to his HRC experience, it turns out that McHaney is quite the seasoned Democratic political operative.  Dick Gephardt, John Kerry.  Wow.

Picture of alleged child sex predator and
Democrat Party activist, James Michael McHaney.

One has to ask the following question, since it was repeated ad nauseum during the Mark Foley affair:   Who knew and/or enabled Mike McHaney’s alleged child sex predatory activities?  

Mike Meehan, Sen. Cantwell’s chief of staff, worked with McHaney at Kerry 2004 HQ.  Did Meehan bring McHaney along to Cantwell’s office?  What does Meehan know about McHaney’s history and when did he know it?

And do McHaney and Lane Hudson — revealer of all things Mark Foley – know each other?  After all, they both worked for the HRC, John Kerry for President and Rep. Rodney Alexander.  It stretches the imagination to think Hudson and McHaney don’t know each other.   If so, what does Hudson know about McHaney’s child sex predatory ways? 

If the Republicans have a closeted gay denial issue, it appears the Democrats have a closeted child sex predator who-happens-to-be issue.  I’ll let you decide which is the crime.

The onion is just beginning to be peeled back, folks.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

“To Catch A Predator” has come to the front door step of US Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA).

A U.S. Senate aide was arrested Friday after allegedly arranging a lunchtime sexual encounter with a teenage boy, according to federal court records.

James McHaney, 28, was nabbed by FBI agents after he arranged the afternoon liaison via a “cooperating witness” working with investigators. According to the … felony complaint and an accompanying statement of facts filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the CW and McHaney were conversing online Friday afternoon when the CW asked whether McHaney was interested in engaging in anal sex with a 13-year-old boy.

“I’ll be there,” McHaney allegedly replied. He later asked for a photo of the child with whom he and the CW would have sex and whether the boy had “any pubes.” When told no, McHaney allegedly replied, “That’s hot.”

McHaney was nabbed in the lobby of an unnamed “predetermined location,” where he had arranged to meet CW. Until his arrest Friday, McHaney had worked as the D.C. scheduler for Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell. A caller to Cantwell’s office was told late today that, as of last Friday, McHaney no longer worked for the Washington state politician.

A GP Reader tipped me off to this story with the following observation….

Nothing like the deafening sound of crickets chirping from the gay left blogosphere.

Unlike all the others who were entrapped for just being gay (or foottapping), this guy is a sex criminal.

And he has a Facebook profile: McHaney –loaded with pics of him at Human Rights Campaign events, wearing a John Kerry shirt, etc etc.

Sad.

My reader is a reliable source…. so I’m trusting him on the Facebook profile information. If anyone has the link and/or photos of McHaney touting his Democratic credentials…. please email them.

And never mind the gay left blogosphere…. where is Brian “Mark Foley” Ross from ABC News reporting about a child sex predator hooking up on US Senate computers?

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Who said the following statement this week?

It suffices as evidence of this your entering of this war and your excusing of American soldiers from being held to account by the European courts. For this reason, this address of mine is to you, not to your politicians, as it is no longer a secret that Blair, Brown, Berlusconi, Aznar, Sarkozy and those with him and their like love to shade themselves in the shade of the White House. And there isn’t a major difference worth mentioning between them and many of the leaders of the Third World.

A - Cindy Sheehan

B - Nancy Pelosi

C - Osama bin Laden

D - Harry Reid

E - Dick Durbin

F - John Kerry

G - John Murtha

H - Hugo Chavez

Hard to tell, eh?   The answer is C - Osama bin Laden…. but you would hardly know for sure, would you?

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Many thanks to Alex Nicholson and Jarrod Chlapowski for joining us tonight. Alex and Jarrod are Director and Deputy Director of “Servicemembers United” — an organization comprised of young Iraq and Afghanistan veterans opposed to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law signed by President Clinton.

Alex and Jarrod are true American heroes and great representatives of the American gay community. I personally applaud both their military service (cut short by DADT) and their current activism on behalf of their fellow gays and lesbians who want to serve our nation in uniform.

If you would like to know more about the “12,000 Flags for 12,000 Patriots” event this weekend, make sure to visit the Servicemembers United website.

One American flag will be placed on the Mall for each discharged service member. According to organizers, these flags will stand as a testament to the national security harm caused by this discriminatory law, and will serve as the backdrop for a series of events honoring LGBT service members, their sacrifice, and their fight to serve with dignity.

*****

NOTE: We will be having more podcasts as Election 2008 moves into high gear. More details later, but I am hoping to have LIVE GayPatriot Election Night broadcasts on BlogTalkRadio.com the evenings of the Iowa caucuses, New Hampshire primary, and the Feb. 5th MegaPrimary.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Long before I speculated about Trent Lott’s kleptomania, I had been eager to see Mississippi’s junior Senator leave the political scene.

It wasn’t just his comments about homosexuality. It wasn’t just his penchant for pork. It was that he had, in his 6 1/2 years helming the Senate GOP, been a largely ineffective leader. He seemed more eager to get along with the Democratic minority (when he was Majority Leader) than to advance a conservative agenda.

Thus, my face lit up in a smile when, a few minutes before my departure from Cincinnati, I heard from CNN that he was stepping down. (Side note: I wonder how much audience that left-leaning “news” network would lose if airports did not pipe in its broadcasts.)

His departure opens up the Senate Republican Whip slot to someone who has a better appreciation of conservative ideas — and advancing them — than does Mr. Lott. And removes an embarrassingly arrogant man from the GOP leadership.

All I can see is Good Riddance, Trent Lott. You won’t be missed (Via Instapundit).

First, LA Times: Sects Unite To Battle Al Qaeda…

In the last two months, a U.S.-backed policing movement called Concerned Citizens, launched last year in Sunni-dominated Anbar province under the banner of the Awakening movement, has spread rapidly into the mixed Iraqi heartland.

Of the nearly 70,000 Iraqi men in the Awakening movement, started by Sunni Muslim sheiks who turned their followers against Al Qaeda in Iraq, there are now more in Baghdad and its environs than anywhere else, and a growing number of those are Shiite Muslims.

Commanders in the field think they have tapped into a genuine public expression of reconciliation that has outpaced the elected government’s progress on mending the sectarian rift.

“What you find is these people have lived together for decades with no problem until the terrorists arrived and tried to instigate the problem,” said Lt. Col. Valery Keaveny, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 509th Airborne unit in the Iskandariya area south of Baghdad. “So they are perfectly willing to work together to keep the terrorists out.”

As late as this summer, there were no Shiites in the community policing groups. Today, there are about 15,000 in 24 all-Shiite groups and 18 mixed groups, senior U.S. military officials say. More are joining daily.

Harry Reid says “the war is lost”.  His fellow Democrats, especially those running for President, say there is a civil war in Iraq.  The LA Times doesn’t create a picture at all of “civil war.”  Obviously the Democrats aren’t reading their talking points lately from the American News Media (D-USA).

Second, Newsweek: Baghdad Comes Alive…..

For the first time, however, returning to Baghdad after an absence of four months, I can actually say that things do seem to have gotten better, and in ways that may even be durable. “It’s hard to believe,” says a friend named Fareed, who has also gone and come back over the years to find the situation always worse, “but this time it’s really not.” Such words are uttered only grudgingly by those such as me, who have been disappointed again and again by Iraq, where a pessimist is merely someone who has had to endure too many optimists.

So the following observations do not come so much from the brass: Al Qaeda in Iraq is starting to look like a spent force, especially in Baghdad. The civil war is in the midst of a huge, though nervous, pause. Most Shiite militias are honoring a truce. Iran appears to have stopped shipping deadly arms to Iraqi militants. The indigenous Sunni insurgency has declared for the Americans across broad swaths of the country, especially in the capital.

Emerging from our bunkers into the Red Zone, I see the results everywhere. Throughout Baghdad, shops and street markets are open late again, taking advantage of the fine November weather. Parks are crowded with strollers, and kids play soccer on the streets. Traffic has resumed its customary epic snarl. The Baghdad Zoo is open, and caretakers have even managed to bring in two lionesses to replace the menagerie that escaped in the early days of the war (and was hunted down by U.S. soldiers).

The nearby Funfair in Zawra Park—where insurgents used to set up mortar tubes to rocket government ministries, and where a car bombing killed four and wounded 25 on Oct. 15—is back in business. “Just four months ago, you could hardly see a single family here,” says Zawra official Hussein Matar. One of our translators succumbed to the tears of his son recently and took him to Zawra for his 9th birthday. It was the boy’s first visit to a Baghdad amusement park; the war has robbed him of nearly half his childhood.

Read the whole thing….. it isn’t all roses, but it is most certainly a different picture of Baghdad then we are used to hearing about since the surge from CBSMSNBCCNNHarryReidNancyPelosi.

But it is also most certainly a testament to the outstanding abilities of our military men and women stationed in Iraq who have turned a civil war/terrorist last stand into a burgeoning American victory in World War III.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Thanks to Vince P for the heads-up.  Here are the two videos he referenced in comments earlier.

First, almost unbelieveably from CNN is a report featuring blogger Michael Yon (he finally is on network TV!) discussing the dramatic improvement in Iraq.

Second, is the Victory Parade in Ramadi.

I’ll give the first person $100 that provides me definitive proof that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have both watched at least the CNN report.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader - April 19, 2007:  “I believe … that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week.”

Fortunately, Reid’s plans to help al-Qaeda and bring defeat to the USA by undercutting America’s troops is itself failing.

Military Reports Lower Casualty Rates In Key Iraq Insurgent Strongholds - FOX News - October 25, 2007

U.S. combat troop deaths and other violence in Iraq are down significantly in some of the most dangerous places of insurgent activity, including Al Anbar province, military officials in Washington and Baghdad said Wednesday.

Maybe most significant was that last week there was not a single military casualty — Iraqi or U.S. — in Anbar, said Maj. Gen. Richard Sherlock, a Joint Chiefs spokesman.  It is apparently the first time since March 2003 that could be said.

The numbers reflect the timeframe between mid-June — the peak of the troop surge President Bush announced in January — and the beginning of this week. The surge amounted to roughly 30,000 more troops in Iraq, hitting full-force with nearly 170,000 U.S. troops.

The numbers might be the most positive sign yet of progress against insurgent activity since January.

Sherlock also listed several other statistics that he said showed terrorist activity is decreasing:

— Violence in and around Baghdad is down 59 percent.
— Car bombs are down 65 percent.
— Casualties from car bombs and roadside bombs are down by 80 percent.
— Casualties from enemy attacks down 77 percent.
— Operations against Iraqi security forces are down 62 percent.
— Assassination attempts for sectarian reasons are down 72 percent.

Oh yeah, and a reminder of what Not-My-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said earlier this week:

“Afghanistan, we have to be there.  That’s where the terrorism began, that’s the fight we have. Iraq is not the war on terror.”

Maybe she should sit down and tell that to Iran, al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremists hell bent on killing Americans in Iraq.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Osama bin Laden, October 22, 2007: “My mujahedeen brothers in Iraq, you are a people worthy of praise and flattery.  You’ve done well to carry out a glorious duty by fighting the enemy.”

Um… I don’t think bin Laden was talking about “global warming” or ”pesky alley cats” when he refers to “the enemy”.  He’s talking about you and me… the USA and Western democracies.

Osam