July 27, 2010

One Senator, One Representative

Why are the very people who play fast and loose with our hard-earned money so cheap when it comes to their own pocketbooks. Lurch had enough public pressure and has said that he will pay the $500K sales tax to Massachusetts for his $7M spiffy new yacht. From the Boston Globe:
Sen. Kerry to pay $500K tax on yacht
Senator John Kerry said today he will voluntarily cut a check to the state of Massachusetts for some $500,000 in sales tax for a yacht he purchased in Rhode Island earlier this year.

"We�ve reached out to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and made clear that, whether owed or not, we intend to pay the equivalent taxes as if the boat�s home-port were currently in Massachusetts," Kerry said in a statement released this afternoon. "That payment is being made promptly."

Kerry has been dogged by questions in recent days by questions about whether he purposely tried to evade taxes in his home state by listing the $7 million yacht's home berth as Newport, R.I., when he actually intended to use the boat at his summer home on Nantucket. His yacht purchase was first reported in the Boston Herald.
Next up is Barney Frank who wanted a dollar senior-citizen discount for his boat ride and was petulant when told he didn't have the proper documentation. From The New York Post:
Rep. Barney Frank causes scene demanding discount
Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank caused a scene when he demanded a $1 senior discount on his ferry fare to Fire Island's popular gay haunt, The Pines, last Friday. Frank was turned down by ticket clerks at the dock in Sayville because he didn't have the required Suffolk County Senior Citizens ID. A witness reports, "Frank made such a drama over the senior rate that I contemplated offering him the dollar to cool down the situation." Frank made news last year when he was spotted looking uncomfortable around a bevy of topless, well-built men at the Pines Annual Ascension Beach Party. Frank's spokesperson confirmed to Page Six that his partner, James Ready, asked the ticket office for a regular ticket for himself and a senior ticket for Frank, "but was turned down because Frank didn't have a resident ID."
No problem with gays -- I am straight but not narrow. That being said, Barney Frank is about the sorriest sack of shit that ever walked the face of this planet. Shame on him for lying to Congress, to the President and to us about the financial state of Fannie and Freddy. Shame on him for bedding Fannie Mae exec Herb Moses all the while (eight years) that Fannie was digging itself further into the hole. Shame on him for spearheading this new regulatory legislation that makes the banking industry a lot more complex (ie: more expensive to consumers and businesses) but does not touch Fannie and Freddie. The 100+ comments to the NY Post article echo my sentiments... Posted by DaveH at July 27, 2010 10:10 PM