ABRAMOFF'S AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD BILLS TELL SOME NASTY SECRETS ABOUT POWERFUL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMEN-- MORE TROUBLE FOR TOM DELAY

It is so damned easy to get used to luxury. Damn, damn, damn. When I was president of an AOL-TimeWarner subsidiary, it never raised any eyebrows when I flew to London on British Air first class. I know inflation has been steep, but I have a childhood memory of my parents buying a house for nearly the cost of the roundtrip fair: $16,477.18 (taxes included; but you get $20 off if you book online). It's so comfy and they treat you nice (not like Delta) and the food is delicious. I love travel and when I flew that way, the glory of the trip started as soon as I boarded the airplane. But who's gonna pay $16,477.18 for a flight-- albeit roundtrip-- to London? Well, certain lobbyists paid that for certain legislators (and their wives or significant others), but only when they needed them for something, something important and valuable. Like what could that be? Oh, yeah... our tax dollars.

Would it surprise you to know that Republican lobbyist major domo, Jack Abramoff, put down his American Express credit card to the tune of $14,001 for the Little Bug Man and Mrs Delay to fly to Scotland for a little golfing at a fancy luxury resort? (Abramoff must've had a good corporate rate to get such a cheap fare!) I'm not sure if it was illegal for Abramoff to bribe DeLay like this or not but I do know that it was a specific and clear (no wiggle room: "The source of the travel expenses may not be a registered lobbyist") violation of House rules for DeLay to accept this kind of a trip.

I suppose if it becomes part of one of the myriad court cases pending against him, DeLay could plead with the judge that "everybody was doing it." And, of course, he'd have a point there-- not a legal point but a point-- because everybody was doing it, or at least everybody who was part of the crooked Republican politcal machine DeLay was running inside of the U.S. House of Representatives. DeLay may have been the worst abuser but, he could look any judge in the eyes and say "Judge, if you put me in the slammer, you'll have to lock up a good percentage of the U.S. Congress." Which reminds me... did Abramoff use Amex for Bob Ney's trips too? Or did he turn to MasterCard for Ney? And what credit card company was used in paying for the Pombo Family's fabulous summer vacations?