Michigan congressman John D. Conyers Jr. is apologizing after it was reported that his 20-year-old son drove a government-owned SUV to a Detroit rap concert and parked it somewhere where it was later broken into.
John Conyers III, 20, told police two Apple MacBooks, valued at $1,100 apiece, and more than $27,000 worth of concert tickets to the Fillmore were stolen out of a burgundy 2010 Cadillac Escalade registered to the 14th Congressional District.
Dec. 1, Detroit News: "I have just learned about the inappropriate use of a congressional vehicle by my son over the Thanksgiving holiday," Conyers said in a statement Tuesday. "I am sorry it happened and will make sure that it does not happen again."
I'd also feel better knowing that Conyers is going to slap John Conyers III upside the head a couple of times to really make sure it doesn't happen again, but I guess you can't put that into an official press statement.
Of course, the congressman also didn't mention in his official statement any reason why his son was driving a 2010 Cadillac Escalade -- officially registered to "We the People" -- to a rap show. Or how the kid got the keys in the first place. Or why the truck was loaded with all of his rap-promoter stuff, a sign that he probably was driving the Escalade even before the Thanksgiving break-in.
Worse, this isn't the first time that Conyers Jr. Jr. has splashed around in the public trough. He once got over on taxpayers served as a $15-an-hour intern on his mother's staff, a fact that came out after an investigation of city records in the wake of her bribery scandal.
So this is how it starts with some of the children of our public officials, I suppose. The sweetheart jobs. The access to fancy, taxpayer-funded luxuries. Aides and staffers trying to hide the details of your screw-ups. Most of all, the sense that you're somehow entitled to all this, that there's nothing wrong with squandering money that'd be better used for roads or libraries to fund personal frivolities and excesses.
Maybe it starts before this even, I don't know. But Conyers Jr. Jr. has had a front-row seat to some unforgettable examples of how it can all end. He and his pop need to show a better appreciation for the slipperiness of that slope.
As far as the congressman himself, he's coming under some intense fire. And I agree that, as a longtime political player, he's likely far from being a mere innocent bystander in all of the controversy that has swirled about him and his jailed felon of a wife. .
http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2010/12/congressman_john_conyers_apolo.html
This just adds icing to the cake, I keep thinking of Nancy Pelosi's promise "the most honest, most open, most ethical Congress in history." and have to laugh out loud.
John Conyers III, 20, told police two Apple MacBooks, valued at $1,100 apiece, and more than $27,000 worth of concert tickets to the Fillmore were stolen out of a burgundy 2010 Cadillac Escalade registered to the 14th Congressional District.
Dec. 1, Detroit News: "I have just learned about the inappropriate use of a congressional vehicle by my son over the Thanksgiving holiday," Conyers said in a statement Tuesday. "I am sorry it happened and will make sure that it does not happen again."
I'd also feel better knowing that Conyers is going to slap John Conyers III upside the head a couple of times to really make sure it doesn't happen again, but I guess you can't put that into an official press statement.
Of course, the congressman also didn't mention in his official statement any reason why his son was driving a 2010 Cadillac Escalade -- officially registered to "We the People" -- to a rap show. Or how the kid got the keys in the first place. Or why the truck was loaded with all of his rap-promoter stuff, a sign that he probably was driving the Escalade even before the Thanksgiving break-in.
Worse, this isn't the first time that Conyers Jr. Jr. has splashed around in the public trough. He once got over on taxpayers served as a $15-an-hour intern on his mother's staff, a fact that came out after an investigation of city records in the wake of her bribery scandal.
So this is how it starts with some of the children of our public officials, I suppose. The sweetheart jobs. The access to fancy, taxpayer-funded luxuries. Aides and staffers trying to hide the details of your screw-ups. Most of all, the sense that you're somehow entitled to all this, that there's nothing wrong with squandering money that'd be better used for roads or libraries to fund personal frivolities and excesses.
Maybe it starts before this even, I don't know. But Conyers Jr. Jr. has had a front-row seat to some unforgettable examples of how it can all end. He and his pop need to show a better appreciation for the slipperiness of that slope.
As far as the congressman himself, he's coming under some intense fire. And I agree that, as a longtime political player, he's likely far from being a mere innocent bystander in all of the controversy that has swirled about him and his jailed felon of a wife. .
http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2010/12/congressman_john_conyers_apolo.html
This just adds icing to the cake, I keep thinking of Nancy Pelosi's promise "the most honest, most open, most ethical Congress in history." and have to laugh out loud.