New Book Exposes Depravity of Elected Officials In Washington DC

GUESSING GAME: 'The Confessions of Congressman X' is due on bookshelves May 24 and Washington is abuzz with speculation about who wrote it.

[From article]
A new book threatens to blow the lid off of Congress as a federal legislator's tell-all book lays out the worst parts of serving in the House of Representatives – saying that his main job is to raise money for re-election and that leaves little time for reading the bills he votes on.
Mill City Press, a small Minnesota-based 'vanity press' publisher describes 'The Confessions of Congressman X' as 'a devastating inside look at the dark side of Congress as revealed by one of its own.'
'No wonder Congressman X wants to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. His admissions are deeply disturbing.'
[. . .]

the congressman is a Democrat.

[. . .]
'Voters claim they want substance and detailed position papers, but what they really crave are cutesy cat videos, celebrity gossip, top 10 lists, reality TV shows, tabloid tripe, and the next f***ing Twitter message,' the congressman gripes in the book.
'I worry about our country's future when critical issues take a backseat to the inane utterings of illiterate athletes and celebrity twits.'
Much of what's in the book will come as little surprise to Americans who are cynical about the political process.
'Fundraising is so time-consuming I seldom read any bills I vote on,' the anonymous legislator admits. 'I don't even know how they'll be implemented or what they'll cost.'
'My staff gives me a last-minute briefing before I go to the floor and tells me whether to vote yea or nay. How bad is that?'
And on controversial bills, he says, 'I sometimes vote "yes" on a motion and "no" on an amendment so I can claim I'm on either side of an issue.'
'It's the old shell game: if you can't convince 'em, confuse 'em.'
The congressman laments that politics has become a matter of picking a team by the jerseys they wear rather than looking at the players underneath.
'Things are so partisan today most folks vote the straight party line, even though they don't know s*** about who they're voting for. They just don't want the other guys to win,' he explains.
And he seemingly takes a shot at the Bill and Hillary Clinton Foundation, noting how family philanthropies can be the beneficiaries of what amounts to bribes in exchange for legislative favors.
'Some contributions are subtle,' he explains. 'Donations to a member's nonprofit foundation. Funding a member's charitable pet project. Offsetting the costs of a member's portrait to adorn the committee room he or she has so faithfully served.'
'It's all a bunch of bulls*** to get around gift bans and limits on campaign contributions. Where there's a will, there's a way.'
The mystery man reserves special scorn for Sen. Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat who serves as Senate Minority Leader.
One chapter is titled 'Harry Reid's a Pompous A**' and says the senator is 'sometimes a bit too clever for his own good. The same goes for [Republican Sen. Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell and his pathetic lieutenants. Ditto for most of the House leadership bullies on both sides of the aisle. They wield too much dictatorial power, manipulating legislative procedures and denying members due process.'

The larger picture that emerges is one of disenchantment with the political process and the professional office-holders behind it.

Especially those in the Democratic Party.
'Our party used to be a strong advocate for the working class,' he says. 'We still pretend to be, but we aren't. Large corporations and public unions grease the palms of those who have the power to determine legislative winners and losers.'
'Most of my colleagues want to help the poor and disadvantaged. To a point,' he adds. 'We certainly don't want to live among them. Or mingle with them, unless it's for a soup kitchen photo op. ... Poverty's a great concern as long as it's kept at a safe distance.'

POVERTY POSEURS: 'Congressman X' says lawmakers don't want to 'mingle' with the poor 'unless it's for a soup kitchen photo op.' House Speaker Paul Ryan and his wife Janna washed pots at Youngstown, Ohio's St. Vincent DePaul dining hall in 2012.

Much of Washington's problems are created on the fringes of America's dominant political parties, he says.
'The GOP have their crazy wingnuts, and we have our loony leftists. Screw them both. What we need are more common-sense lawmakers. Folks who see both sides of an issue. Who are open to accommodating each other's priorities. Today, both sides assume their views are the only logical ones.'
'I'm concerned my party has an activist far-left wing intolerant of center-leftists. Like the Republican Tea Party, these ideologues are much too rigid and extreme in their beliefs. And they're equally unappealing to mainstream Americans.'
He cites education policy as an example: 'I'm a strong advocate of improving our public schools. I also see the near-term value of vouchers and charter schools committed to lending a helping hand to disadvantaged kids. Especially inner-city kids.'
'Hell, most of us send our children to private schools and wouldn't be caught dead sending them to public schools in places like DC. How hypocritical's that? It's time to set aside petty politics. Are both parties so f***ing stubborn they can't work out a reasonable compromise on this common-sense issue? Our educational system's in the toilet, and all we do is snipe at each other.'
The publisher released a few short samples to the public on Amazon.
'Most of my colleagues are dishonest career politicians who revel in the power and special-interest money that's lavished upon them,' Atkinson recorded his mystery collaborator saying.
'My main job is to keep my job, to get reelected. It takes precedence over everything.'
'Fundraising is so time consuming I seldom read any bills I vote on. Like many of my colleagues, I don't know how the legislation will be implemented, or what it'll cost.'
The book also takes shots at voters as disconnected idiots who let Congress abuse its power through sheer incompetence.
'Voters are incredibly ignorant and know little about our form of government and how it works,' the anonymous writer claims.
'It's far easier than you think to manipulate a nation of naive, self-absorbed sheep who crave instant gratification.'
And the take-away message is one of resigned depression about how Congress sacrifices America's future on the altar of its collective ego.
'We spend money we don't have and blithely mortgage the future with a wink and a nod. Screw the next generation,' the author writes.
'Nobody here gives a rat's a** about the future and who's going to pay for all this stuff we vote for. That's the next generation's problem. It's all about immediate publicity, getting credit now, lookin' good for the upcoming election.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3586858/Screw-generation-Anonymous-congressman-writes-tell-slams-nation-naive-self-absorbed-sheep-admits-never-reads-bills-votes-on.html

'Screw the next generation' and 'Harry Reid's a pompous a**': Democratic congressman writes Anonymous tell-all book slamming 'nation of naive, self-absorbed sheep' as he admits he never reads bills he votes on
'My main job is to keep my job, to get reelected. It takes precedence over everything,' an anonymous member of Congress writes in a new book
'Voters are incredibly ignorant and know little about our form of government and how it works,' he writes
'It's far easier than you think to manipulate a nation of naive, self-absorbed sheep who crave instant gratification'
The author is a Democrat in Congress who laid out his complaints to a long-time friend and former Capitol Hill staffer who edited them into a book
'The Confessions of Congressman X' will be released May 24 by a small Minnesota-based 'vanity press' publisher
By DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 07:36 EST, 12 May 2016 | UPDATED: 17:42 EST, 12 May 2016



* * *



[From article]
An anonymous congressman has dropped a bombshell election-year book that confirms why Americans hate their national government and have rallied to anti-establishment presidential candidates like Donald Trump.
The veteran politician lays bare a rotten and corrupt Congress enslaved by lobbyists and interested only in re-election in an anonymous, 65-page manifesto called “The Confessions of Congressman X.”
“Like most of my colleagues, I promise my constituents a lot of stuff I can never deliver,” he admits. “But what the hell? It makes them happy hearing it . . . My main job is to keep my job.”
The House member — a Democrat who is either still in Congress or served sometime over the past two decades — says more time is spent fundraising than reading bills and calls Washington a “sinkhole of leeches.”
The title of one chapter sums up his view of congressional leaders: “Harry Reid’s a Pompous Ass,” he says of the Senate Democratic leader.
The book, published by the small Mill City Press, is based on years of transcribed private discussions, which the congressman last November gave editor Robert Atkinson.
Atkinson declined to say whether Congressman X is a current or former House member.
X says the cloak of anonymity gave him the freedom to expose ­secrets, including how the public’s money is wasted.
“We spend money we don’t have and blithely mortgage the future with a wink and a nod. Screw the next generation. It’s about getting credit now, lookin’ good for the upcoming election,” he says.
He said he and his colleagues often lie to try to be all things to all people instead of tackling the nation’s problems.
“I contradict myself all the time, but few people notice,” X says. “One minute I rail against excessive spending and ballooning debt. The next minute I’m demanding more spending on education, health care, unemployment benefits, conservation projects, yadda, yadda, yadda.”
Voters are described as gullible, know-nothing jerks, while the only people who count are the big donors who pour billions of dollars into lobbying.
“Voters are incredibly ignorant. It’s far easier than you think to manipulate a nation of naive, self-absorbed sheep who crave instant gratification . . .,” vents Congressman X.
He says money “corrupts” and House members are “puppets” to lobbyists who bankroll their campaigns.
“Business organizations and unions fork over more than $3 billion a year to those who lobby the federal government. Does that tell you something? We’re operating a f–king casino,” he says.
He describes himself as a “closet moderate” who supports charter schools and tax vouchers to allow poor kids to go to private schools.
But students take a back seat to partisan politics..
“Our education’s in the toilet, and all we do is snipe at each other,” he says.
Congress is too polarized and partisan to get anything done, by the congressman’s account.
“There seems to be a complete disintegration of confidence in government. A fear that government is its own special interest,” he says.
“America’s on an irreversible decline and no one in Washington seems to care . . . God help us.”
The controversial book set off a guessing game in the political world about the author’s identity.
New York sources speculated it’s Rep. Steve Israel (D-LI), a moderate who announced he’s retiring and who has complained about the constant need to fundraise to finance re-election campaigns.
But Israel, a novelist, denied that he took pen to paper this time.
“Absolutely not true, never heard of it before. And frankly, now that I’m leaving Congress, if I were to write a book like that, I would put my name on it,” ­Israel said in a statement.

http://nypost.com/2016/05/13/were-running-a-f-ing-casino-politician-tells-all-in-manifesto/

‘We’re running a f—ing casino:’ Politician tells all in manifesto
By Carl Campanile
New York Post
May 13, 2016 | 12:12am

Updated (3): NYC Mayor's Wife's Chief of Staff Lives With Man With Long Arrest Record, Given A Pass

Posted September 25, 2014 10:14 PM ET; Last updated October 10, 2014 4:48 PM ET


Hassaun McFarlan (right), Convicted of Homicide

[From article]
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s embattled aide Rachel Noerdlinger was with her convicted killer boyfriend when he was busted for marijuana possession after the couple was pulled over in a car that reeked of pot, DNA Info reported.
Hassaun McFarlan was driving Noerdlinger — who works as chief of staff to de Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray — and an underage passenger in the back seat when they were pulled over for driving down the wrong side of the street toward oncoming traffic on Sept. 27, 2011, Edgewater (NJ) Police Department records show.
An officer approached the car and “could smell a strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle,” he wrote.
The cop asked McFarlan to step outside, at which point “he threw two clear zip lock baggies of marijuana onto the driver’s seat,” according to the report.
[. . .]
Noerdlinger was slapped with a violation for allowing her boyfriend to get behind the wheel of her Mercedes-Benz without a license, the records show.
[. . .]
He was busted for giving the officer a fake name and address to avoid $1,575 in active warrants, records show.
Last week, the Department of Investigation discovered Noerdlinger did not disclose that she lived in Edgewater with her ex-con boyfriend, McFarlan, on her government background paperwork.

http://nypost.com/2014/10/10/de-blasio-aide-was-with-killer-boyfriend-when-he-was-busted-for-pot/

De Blasio aide was with killer boyfriend when he was busted for pot
By Danika Fears
October 10, 2014 | 11:16am

* * *

[From article]
Noerdlinger failed to list her remaining debt from a 2011 IRS tax lien of $28,190 on a public financial disclosure form that the Conflicts of Interest Board requires all top city officials to file each year.
It’s the latest instance of first lady Chirlane McCray’s chief of staff withholding sensitive information.
[. . .]
Noerdlinger, an ex-aide to the Rev. Al Sharpton and an associate of scandalized lawyer Sanford Rubenstein, has since entered into a payment plan to settle up, according to her attorney.
[. . .]
The mayor’s office insisted the omission wasn’t a big deal.
[. . .]
The DOI has traditionally released its findings after cases are closed and the targets of investigations face penalties.
Noerdlinger got a mild slap on the wrist — a notice in her personnel file — for not listing her boyfriend on the background check.
DOI concluded Noerdlinger had not provided McFarlan’s name when specifically asked to identify whom she lives with — but concluded the omission wasn’t an attempt to deceive.

http://nypost.com/2014/10/10/mccray-aide-left-28k-irs-tax-lien-off-disclosure-form/

McCray aide left $28K IRS tax lien off disclosure form
By Tara Palmeri and Yoav Gonen
New York Post
October 10, 2014 | 3:56am

* * *

Updated October 5, 2014 5:57 PM ET

[From article]
Instead, the de Blasio administration tried to ride out the latest storm involving Chief of Staff Rachel Noerdlinger, who got only a slap on the wrist for not reporting her living arrangement with longtime boyfriend Hassaun McFarlan on a Department of Investigation background check.
Noerdlinger, who earns $170,000 a year, was a longtime aide for the Rev. Al Sharpton, a close ally and adviser of Mayor de Blasio.
“DOI found no evidence of intent to deceive the mayor or City Hall,” said mayoral spokesman Phil Walzak.
[. . .]
McFarlan — who has been convicted of drug trafficking and manslaughter and has called cops “pigs” on social media — has lived with Noerdlinger for six years, sources say. They currently live in Edgewater, NJ.
The DOI form clearly states that willful omissions “may result . . . in termination.”
[. . .]
The inquiry’s conclusion raises questions about the close relationship between the mayor and his handpicked DOI commissioner, Mark Peters — who served as treasurer on de Blasio’s mayoral campaign in 2013.
Peters was confirmed by City Council in a 48-2 vote in February, although a number of members expressed concerns at the time.
“Mark Peters is doing his friend a big favor,” ex-state Assemblyman Michael Benjamin said Friday, referring to de Blasio. “It just confirms what the ordinary worker in city government already knows when it comes to discipline: It’s about who you know.”
[. . .]
“If she didn’t mean to lie, then the next question is . . . is she incompetent and cannot read. Because if she is incompetent, then she doesn’t belong in that position,” [Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association] said.

http://nypost.com/2014/10/04/mccray-aide-spared-discipline-for-failing-to-disclose-romance/

McCray aide spared discipline for failing to disclose romance
By Carl Campanile, Tara Palmeri and Yoav Gonen
New York Post
October 4, 2014 | 1:34am

* * *
Updated October 2, 2014 8:55 PM ET

[From article]
None of this would matter publicly if McFarlan’s girlfriend’s boss, the mayor’s wife, did not play so central a role in New York City governance. But she does. “As I’ve said probably a thousand times,” de Blasio declared of McCray, “she’s my most important adviser and the person I’m closest to in the world—and the person I listen to the most.” That’s not hyperbole—the mayor listed his wife alongside himself on his campaign’s organization chart, and New York Magazine reports that since the inauguration, people describe them as “virtual co-mayors.” “Understand Chirlane and you’ll understand me,” de Blasio once said. “We do everything as a couple—we think as a couple.” McCray has approved and often interviewed all important hires in her husband’s administration, from commissioners and deputy mayors on down, and she has ensured that women and minorities are heavily represented in their ranks. In addition, she runs the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, controlling a $50 million-plus pot of public and private money to set up pilot programs for everything from youth employment to immigrant assistance, as she sees fit.
[. . .]
McCray hired Noerdlinger after her husband’s inauguration at a salary of $170,000. Many New Yorkers believe that states and cities don’t have “first ladies,” that the nation’s only First Lady lives on Pennsylvania Avenue. Many also don’t see why McCray, who fashions herself on social media as #FLONYC, is spending so many of their tax dollars on a chief of staff, when even Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s wife, Donna Hanover, paid her chief of staff $53,580. Indeed, only 27 percent of New Yorkers told pollsters that they thought a mayor’s wife should have any city policymaking role (perhaps especially so with a mayor who won with the ballots of only 16 percent of registered voters). But, as de Blasio says, McCray is his closest advisor, and Noerdlinger is “a very influential figure in City Hall,” according to one of de Blasio’s closest aides.

http://www.city-journal.org/2014/eon1001mm.html

Myron Magnet
Strange Bedfellows Make Strange Politics
Understanding the Rachel Noerdlinger affair
1 October 2014


* * *

Rachel Noerdlinger (left), the chief of staff to First Lady Chirlane McCray who has attended top-level NYPD meetings, has been romantically linked to Hassaun McFarlan since 2010. Court and police records show that the two have lived together for nearly two years.
[From article]
A senior advisor to Mayor Bill de Blasio is in a serious relationship with a convicted killer and interstate drug trafficker whose most recent run-in with the law happened late last year — when he nearly ran over a New Jersey police officer while driving her car, records show.
Rachel Noerdlinger, the chief of staff to First Lady Chirlane McCray who has attended top-level NYPD meetings, has been romantically linked to Hassaun McFarlan since 2010. Court and police records show that the two have lived together for nearly two years.
McFarlan, 36, has been arrested at least five times, including for the fatal shooting of a teenager over a down jacket, records show.
Two of the arrests occurred while he was dating Noerdlinger, a former aide to the Rev. Al Sharpton. While they’ve been an item, McFarlan has also trashed police officers on his Facebook account, referring to them as “pigs” in two posts.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140925/civic-center/senior-de-blasio-aide-dates-convicted-killer-who-calls-police-pigs

Senior De Blasio Aide Dates Convicted Killer Who Calls Police 'Pigs'

By James Fanelli

September 25, 2014 3:28pm

Chicago Mayor Refuses To Address Alleged Illegal Wiretaps

http://www.suntimes.com/news/marin/16359472-452/emanuel-downplays-eavesdrop-act.html

Emanuel downplays eavesdrop act
BY CAROL MARIN cmarin (at) suntimes.com
November 13, 2012 7:40PM

MA State Rep. Charged With KIdnapping, Assault

Photo by Patrick Whittemore (file)

State Rep. Carlos T. Henriquez has been arrested on charges of domestic kidnapping and assault.

http://bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1061145073&format=&page=2&listingType=MA2004#articleFull

State Rep. Henriquez’s ex gives her side of story
Boston Herald
By Chris Cassidy And Laurel J. Sweet
Wednesday, July 11, 2012

* * *

[From article]
Henriquez tweeted that he was attending a massive block party that was dispersed by police in Upham’s Corner in Dorchester last night, hours before and far from the scene of the alleged altercation with the woman in the car on Forsyth Way.
[. . .]
“I stopped by #ProjectV to support my friends and community,” Henriquez wrote on his Twitter feed last night. “It is a peaceful loving event. Thanks for the love.”

http://bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1061144253&position=1

State rep charged with domestic kidnapping, assault
Boston Herald
By Laurel J. Sweet And Christine McConville
Sunday, July 8, 2012

Create DNA Data Base for Elected Officials Too

Here's an idea that should be applied to politicians. Sons, daughters, cousins, wives of politicians are intimately involved with public policy and taxpayer funds. A data base of elected officials' DNA would save time for investigators.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/felons_dna_could_bust_crooked_kin_Tah6MGCwJrLtMgvEx9ZF1J

Felons' DNA could bust crooked kin
By DOUG AUER
New York Post
Last Updated: 11:41 AM, March 22, 2011
Posted: 12:24 AM, March 22, 2011

FBI Arrests 44 N.J. Officials, Rabbis


http://www.app.com/article/20090723/NEWS/90723016/-1/FRONTTABS01/30+arrested+in+federal+corruption++international+money+laundering+probe

Rabbis charged with illegally laundering $3M
Lakewood housing official charged with taking thousands in bribes
Asbury Park Press
By Jean Mikle • STAFF WRITER
July 23, 2009

Must Know Problem Before Being Able to Solve It


This is tilting at windmills. You cannot solve a problem unless you know what the problem is. The state is run by organized crime. All state and US offices obey the master of the crime family, probably an administrator at one of the universities. Now figure out how to get the government mechanism back under the control of the people. Only three speakers in a row? Just changing the occupants of the state and US offices does not change who runs the state.

http://bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1178476

or

http://tinyurl.com/nukr4a

Surprise! Sal DiMasi’s lawyer convicted felon
Lawyer shows his (prison) stripes
By Howie Carr
Boston Herald
Friday, June 12, 2009