"Good-Time Charlie!"

When you were little, did you ever had the "shame, shame" finger pointed at you? I remember several occasions where I had that dreaded gesture pointed toward me. This is the punishment used on the very young when they do something wrong and get caught. I've seen little ones reduced to tears when confronted with this embarrassing moment. The next punishment level after that was standing in the corner. This bit of toddler exile was pretty tough, especially if one has siblings to taunt you during your term of separation. Going to your room was the next step in the punishment ladder for those youthful transgressions. Today, if you send a child to their room, you have to have stipulations; no television, no computer, no cell phone and no music. Back when I was a little kid, all I had in my room was a bed and a dresser, with some scattered toys on the floor, which I was told not to play with. I couldn't bring in a book; no distractions were allowed. I was supposed to think about what I had done: most of the time I spent feeling sorry for myself, and blaming someone else for my "sentence" in the bedroom. Corporal punishment was saved for the most severe offenses, and was given rarely. The worst thing one could do was to show disrespect to an elder of any household. This was usually met with immediate punishment at the speed of a "heat seeking missile".

Yesterday, Charlie Rangel was found guilty of numerous ethics violations by the House Ethics Committee. Rangel has been the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Commission for a very long time; perhaps the most powerful seat in the House other than Speaker. "Good-Time Charlie" was found guilty of tax avoidance and hiding "special favors' while he was in control of much of America's money. Charlie's violations run into the millions of dollars in fraud and tax evasion. Poor Charlie walked out on Ethics Committee hearings two days ago, citing his lack of legal counsel. For nearly two years, Charlie has been aware of these charges, and did have a legal team which resigned from his case. Evidence must have been found by Charlie's former legal team, and that evidence must be made available to any new council Charlie would hire. With the many influential friends Charlie has, I'm sure he could get a qualified attorney with little delay, yet Charlie chose not to do so. Charlie, it seems, has retreated to his "bedroom" in protest of his impending punishment. Sadly, the probable outcome of Charlie's guilty verdict will be a minor slap on the wrist from his Congressional colleagues.

Eric Holder can bring charges against Rangel for tax fraud, but that is unlikely. As we have seen in the past, this administration picks and chooses who they will charge and who they won't! If you or I did the things Mr. Rangal has been found guilty of, we would be spending some serious time in Federal Prison.

Is Congressional Censure really a fair punishment for the breach of the public trust that Rangel has committed? Is the "shame, shame, shame" finger all that we will see for "Good-Time Charlie? Those in power should be held to the same standard as the citizens of this country when they violate its laws. If anything, public officials should receive the maximum punishments, for they have cheated every person in the United States when they decided to "work the system". Perhaps the Congress should revoke Charlie's Congressional pension; I'll bet that would send a message to those who are contemplating taking Charlie's path.