Weekly Wrapup

Apologies are all the rage these days, thanks to President Barack Obama (http://tinyurl.com/pjg385). So I’d like to end this week with some apologies of my own.

First, new unemployment numbers were just released by the Labor Department (http://tinyurl.com/p65nkd), and though layoffs have slowed, the news is not good: “With companies in no mood to hire, the U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent in May, the highest in more than 25 years.”

I want to apologize to anyone who believed the Obama Administration spin that this year’s “stimulus” bill would immediately create jobs. Sorry, but you’ve been had.

I’d also like to apologize to Rep. Charlie Rangel, for thinking his ethical problems couldn’t get any worse. We should never underestimate him, as The New York Post reports (http://tinyurl.com/qepvsg):

“The House ethics committee is looking into yet another possible breach of ethics by Rep. Charles B. Rangel, just as the New York Democrat was gearing up to appear before the panel to defend himself against several pending charges of breaking congressional rules.”

The newest ethical lapse? A Caribbean “conference” that may have actually been a corporate giveaway to members of Congress.

And before I have to apologize for not giving all of New York’s politicians their due, let me note that, as the Post reports, “New York Rep. Yvette Clarke is among the six House members who attended the conference, according to ethics filings.”

Let me go ahead and apologize to the media for suspecting that they’re not going to pay too much attention to any ethics violations committed by liberals in Congress.

I must also apologize for thinking that our fearless leaders in Albany were the least bit serious about reforming our state’s ethics system (http://tinyurl.com/pu2u3z).

According to The New York Times, “Gov. David A. Paterson shelved his plan to overhaul the state’s ethics oversight commission on Wednesday after Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver unveiled a far different proposal that would preserve the Legislature’s tradition of regulating itself.”

I apologize for laughing as I read this story – but can we be expected to take Sheldon Silver’s plan seriously? The Times says this “complex proposal... would create four commissions charged with ethics and lobbying oversight of the executive branch and the Legislature.” Big Government to the rescue, right?

The laughs keep coming. According to the Times, “The plan would...create a special commission for the Assembly, similar to the Office of Congressional Ethics in the United States House of Representatives.”

That’s right: Sheldon wants to use the U.S. Congress as a model for ethics oversight. Maybe he and Charlie Rangel can go to the Caribbean for a “conference” on this bright idea?

Here’s the punch line: “Members of the new commission would be appointed by the Assembly’s leaders.” Sorry, but this leaves me speechless.

Have a great weekend!