Let me apologize in advance for the rant that is to follow. I really am a happy person that people (I think ... for the most part ... I hope) like to be around. I'm even smiling as I write this.
Do you remember the movie "Back to The Future", with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd and various and sundry other actors? Well, one of the lines from that movie that has stuck with me over the years is the on
e uttered by bully Biff Tannen as he knocks on the forehead of George McFly (two different times in the movie, actually) and says: "Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Huh? Think, McFly." That always struck me as an awfully rude thing to do and say to someone, and yet there have been several times over the years when I have wanted to do and say the same thing in certain situations. Today was one of those times.
I read in the news today that two of President Obama's picks for cabinet positions have withdrawn their names for consideration for the offered posts: Tom Daschle for health and human services secretary, and Nancy Killefer as chief performance officer (whatever the heck that is). The reason for the withdrawals? Basically, tax fraud. Killefer didn't pay 1 1/2 years worth of employment taxes on "household help", and Daschle didn't pay taxes on income from "consulting work" and other benefits from 2005 - 2007. And all of this comes about a week after the senate confirmed Timothy Geithner, Obama's pick for treasury secretary (the guy that will oversee the IRS for the near future...), even though Geithner failed to pay $34,000 in certain taxes.
Hello? Hello? Anybody home?
It's not like these people wouldn't understand how the political process works. Could they possibly have forgotten that every detail of their lives would be scrutinized when they accepted the invitations to serve in the Obama cabinet? Did they nevertheless think that tax evasion wouldn't cause people even a little concern? Have they not been watching the news at all over the past 15 years and seen other people make the same dumb mistakes?
Think, McFly!
I mean, we little folks have to deal with those pesky tax laws. And at least part of those taxes we pay are used to pay the salaries for senators (like Daschle used to be) and cabinet appointees. It is things like this that cause me to have a fairly dim view of politics and politicians in general. I just love the double-standard that some of these people in politics seem to live. They appear to think that the rules don't really apply to them ... at least not until the president creates a fancy sounding job for them. I know there are some good people in politics, but there are just too many fools thrown in there as well.
Do you remember the movie "Back to The Future", with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd and various and sundry other actors? Well, one of the lines from that movie that has stuck with me over the years is the on
e uttered by bully Biff Tannen as he knocks on the forehead of George McFly (two different times in the movie, actually) and says: "Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Huh? Think, McFly." That always struck me as an awfully rude thing to do and say to someone, and yet there have been several times over the years when I have wanted to do and say the same thing in certain situations. Today was one of those times.I read in the news today that two of President Obama's picks for cabinet positions have withdrawn their names for consideration for the offered posts: Tom Daschle for health and human services secretary, and Nancy Killefer as chief performance officer (whatever the heck that is). The reason for the withdrawals? Basically, tax fraud. Killefer didn't pay 1 1/2 years worth of employment taxes on "household help", and Daschle didn't pay taxes on income from "consulting work" and other benefits from 2005 - 2007. And all of this comes about a week after the senate confirmed Timothy Geithner, Obama's pick for treasury secretary (the guy that will oversee the IRS for the near future...), even though Geithner failed to pay $34,000 in certain taxes.
Hello? Hello? Anybody home?
It's not like these people wouldn't understand how the political process works. Could they possibly have forgotten that every detail of their lives would be scrutinized when they accepted the invitations to serve in the Obama cabinet? Did they nevertheless think that tax evasion wouldn't cause people even a little concern? Have they not been watching the news at all over the past 15 years and seen other people make the same dumb mistakes?
Think, McFly!
I mean, we little folks have to deal with those pesky tax laws. And at least part of those taxes we pay are used to pay the salaries for senators (like Daschle used to be) and cabinet appointees. It is things like this that cause me to have a fairly dim view of politics and politicians in general. I just love the double-standard that some of these people in politics seem to live. They appear to think that the rules don't really apply to them ... at least not until the president creates a fancy sounding job for them. I know there are some good people in politics, but there are just too many fools thrown in there as well.
Unlike Biff in "Back to The Future," these three won't likely have a truck-load of manure dumped over them as they sit in their fancy convertibles. Too bad. Some politicians spend a lot of time doing the same to us.
Norm,
ReplyDeleteI was thinking maybe Obama thought, 'let's check out all the people I hate and see who hasn't paid their taxes. Then we can appoint them, expose all of it and make them look bad. The worst that can happen is they say YES!'
Ah, I hadn't thought of that possibility. That would mean Obama is even smarter than I thought.
ReplyDelete