Turkey Jerky

Recall this post from December 13. RealClearPolitics.com, genius blog, linked to the comments of Rep. John Conyers. The thumbnail is that because Democrat voters in heavily Democratic districts weren't given a champagne reception at the polls, and suffered the indignity of having to wait in line (while other Democrats voted), and because they were too stupid to understand the confusing ballots which were written using that tricky English alphabet, that Bush stole the election. Fair enough.

But when you see something like this, it makes you just a little sick. Apparently Conyers' staff took 60 Thanksgiving turkeys from a charity to distribute to the poor and needy, and they may have misappropriated them. A federal court worker (i.e., government employee, cushy job, full benefits) was apparently offered turkeys by Conyers' staff. Not a needy person.

Forgetting the most obvious issue at hand for a moment, why is a Member of Congress permitted to use a charity's resources to deceptively put his own personal stamp on a gift to the poor? Let Conyers and his staff line up on Thanksgiving day in a kitchen to feed the poor and clean up after them if they want to be involved. Let him spend his own personal money on the turkeys instead of taking free turkeys for the holidays from charities.

But back to the main thrust of the issue. Conyers and his people promised to explain where the turkeys went by the end of November. They haven't, and have repeatedly dodged inquiries. And why not? One of the people involved was someone fired from Conyers' office in 2002, and recently convicted of seven counts of fraud for a scam run out of Conyers' office in 1999. It's good to see that the Congressman forgives & forgets even infamous crimes.

I don't want to demagogue this, but this guy is quick to put Republicans under the spotlight for controversies he concocts.

So save your Jesse Jacksonian claims of election fraud, Congressman. What did you and your staff do with poor people's food that you never paid for and received from a charity? And why do you permit former employees charged (and then convicted) of criminal fraud to act as your agents? Or do ethics only apply to Republicans?