After a nine month investigation into alleged ethics violations against Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) the House Ethics Committee has released its report. The Committee has found that the congresswoman improperly used her office to assist OneUnited, a Massachusetts-based bank in receiving $12 million in federal bailout funds in December 2008. Her husband, Sidney Williams owned stock in and served on the banks board of directors from January 2004 to April 2008. The congresswoman now stands charged with violating three rules-one that requires it

 In the wake of the House Ethics Committee formerly charging Charles Rangel (D-NY) with thirteen ethics violations, another member of congress is poised to have an ethics trial in the House. It has been reported by numerous sources that Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) will be charged with improperly intervening with Treasury officials to bailout a bank in which her husband owned at least $250,000 in stock and on whose board he once served.

After a nearly two-year investigation a House subcommittee ethics panel formerly charged Charles Rangel (D-NY) with thirteen ethics violations.  Congressman Rangel has been charged with improperly soliciting donations for a public center and library bearing his name and omitting over $600 thousand of dollars of income and assets on disclosure statements. Is this déjà-vu all over again?
 

 In the wake of the Shirley Sherrod incident various news sources are trying to contextualize the numerous apologies and mia culpas by taking this travesty out of context.  The Seattle Times wrote, “When it became clear that Shirley Sherrod's comments had been taken out of context, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack apologized …” even Fox anchor Bill O’Reilly apologized and stated, “I owe Ms. Sherrod an apology for not doing my homework . . .

 The conservative spin machine is at it again.  The attack on the USDA’s former Georgia director of Rural Development, Ms. Shirley Sherrod by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart is the most recent example of the dangers that come from reactionary sound-bite politics being put in the context of race.