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"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32
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Author:  Jim Kouri
Bio: Jim Kouri
Date:  August 4, 2006
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Promises, Promises: Charlie Rangel Threatens to Quit Congress

by Jim Kouri, CPP

Congressman Charles Rangel is in the news again for making another outrageous statement: If the Democrat Party doesn't take control of the House of Representative in after the November elections, he will quit perpetual stranglehold on his House seat.

If there are any incentives for disillusioned conservatives to hold their noses and vote for GOP congressional candidates this November, surely the prospect of a US Congress without the likes of Rangel is one of them. An added plus would be the rescue of Harlem, NY blacks from the Liberal Plantation, of which Rangel is a primary overseer.

From comparing President George W. Bush to arguably the worst racist in recent history, Bull Conner, to alleging that blacks are the cannon fodder for the US military, each day brings another Rangelism to national attention. Any clear thinking person can easily disprove Rangel's statements by simply checking the facts. But Congressman Rangel never let's the facts get in the way of a good soundbite.

The problem is that Rangel's statements resonate within the African-American community, which is already being fed a steady diet of lies, half-truths and conspiracy theories by the likes of Rev. Jesse Jackson, former President Bill Clinton -- America's first black president -- and the biggest civil rights blowhard in the country, Rev. Al Sharpton. We are told by the mainstream media that there's a high degree of anger within the black community and these intellectual giants in America's newsrooms fail to see their part in creating that anger.

Wouldn't you be angry if you were constantly told America hates you, white Americans want to keep you impoverished, many of your fellow citizens don't care if you're sick or dying, and the United States establishment wants to exploit you? Most folks, white or black, would be angry after being barraged with such messages on a regular basis. And Charlie Rangel can be always be counted on to capitalize on that anger.

Well, let's take a look at the real Charlie Rangel as evidenced in a little known story of how a New York City detective knocked the robust politician on his keister following the utterance of a Rangelism in the 1960s:

Sidney was one of New York City’s first African-American detectives. In fact, he was so good at policing in the city's toughest neighborhoods, that he was promoted to the coveted rank of 1st Grade Detective in the NYPD, the youngest in New York's history. A former Marine -- one of the first blacks to be accepted into the Marine Corps in 1945 -- Sid was your consummate police officer. Tough, relentless and proud Sid tempered his tough street persona with intelligence and a sense of fairness that won the respect of his superiors, his fellow cops and the citizens he served. Sid came from a black family of achievement with one brother becoming a police captain and another serving as a colonel in the US Army.

Sidney saw action in Korea at about the same time as Rangel took to the battlefield with the US Army. While Rangel brags about his military service and being awarded a Purple Heart for wounds he received, Sid believed a good marine does the wounding and killing not the other way around. He openly admired General George Patton and Sid repeatedly viewed the motion picture "Patton" in which, during the opening monologue by George C. Scott portraying General Patton, he says, "No one wins a war by dying for his country. You win a war by making the other poor son-of-a-bitch die for his country." Sid was a blood and guts Marine and a blood and guts cop. I know. I partnered with him during his later years.

While still a young detective, Sidney arrested a black man who was dealing drugs on streets and schoolyards of Harlem. The drug dealer sold heroin to black youngsters who were being told over and over again since they were knee high that their lives were hopeless in an America that at best cared little for them, at worst wanted them in prison or dead. They were indoctrinated with this rhetoric by the likes of Charlie Rangel, white liberals and their echo chamber, the mainstream news media. Detective Sid had little compassion for a man who sold drugs to black kids.

At the time, Charlie Rangel was an up-and-coming political hack in the local Democrat Club and a lawyer more adept at shooting off his mouth than arguing his position on jurisprudence. Rangel ended up representing the drug-pushing punk -- whose parents, by the way, were financially very well off. The punk's dad was a bigtime contributor to the local Democrat Party and a supporter of Rangel for congressman which led to Rangel acting on behalf of an unrepentant drug pusher. Ironically, Rangel later would become chairman of Congress' Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control.

So Charles Rangel, attorney-at-law, visited my partner Sid in order to get him to back off and perhaps change some of the testimony should the case go to trial. The young detective told Rangel, “No way. That skell sells poison to kids.” At that point Charlie Rangel, a known bully in Harlem and northern Manhattan, called Sid an Uncle Tom and got in his face. The six-foot tall detective hauled off and bopped him right in his face and Rangel went down.

After getting up from the floor and brushing himself off, the opulent future congressman made some empty threats of retaliation, however Rangel never filed departmental charges of police brutality. Sid believed Charlie Rangel knew if he did he would find himself in a jackpot over witness tampering and he may have had to kiss his political career goodbye.

So now whenever you see Congressman Charles Rangel on television ridiculing the president or denigrating the US military, think about a fat lawyer lying flat on his back at the feet of a patriot, a leader and one of the best cops who ever breathed.    

Jim Kouri
Chief of Police Magazine (Contributing Editor)

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Biography - Jim Kouri

Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for a number of organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. He writes for many police and crime magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal, and others. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered at local bookstores. Kouri holds a bachelor of science in criminal justice and master of arts in public administration and he's a board certified protection professional.


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