Your tax dollars at work

Rich Lord was on the case this morning as Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle

was arraigned on charges including theft by deception, criminal conspiracy and ethics violations.

The charges detail what is alleged to have been a four-person conspiracy to steal $43,160 from the city through "consultants" to Ms. Carlisle.

In a novel insight, Constance Parker, the councilman's mother, found an echo of Don Imus in the prosecution.

"And also, you know, if you look at our society, any time you have a person come out and say, 'rough, tough, nappy-headed hos,' this is what our society thinks of women, women as a whole," Ms. Parker said. "So it's really a dangerous type situation, how we can be handled when things happen. ... It's difficult, but we'll make it through, because we've got greater powers."

Early Returns will get back you when we figure that one out.

Similarly enlightening was the analysis of the case offered by said Ms. Carlisle's attorney, Patrick Thomassey: "Lots of times, people, you know, they're ultimately responsible for where the money goes, but it's always not their doings."

Huh.

The race goes on

Ms. Carlisle, 48 and of East Hills, was chosen as councilwoman in a 2002 special election. She won a full term easily in 2003, but faces seven rivals in the May 15 Democratic primary.

Her legal travails had already helped to cost her the Democratic Party's endorsement in the May 15 primary. Ms. Parker said her daughter planned to remain in the 9th District race. The charges will provide a controversial background to that competition and to a forum on that and other city contests Thursday night. The session, sponsored by the Black Political Empowerment Project and the Pennsylvania League for Young Voters, will host candidates for that seat as well as council's 7th District and for city controller.

It's set for 6:30 p.m. at St. James A.M.E. Church, 444 Lincoln Avenue.

The two groups will sponsor a similar forum covering the mayor's race, the controller's race and county council District 13 next Thursday, April, 26, at the Hill House, 1835 Centre Avenue.

Wait a minute. Mayor's race? They must know something we don't.

Several of the candidates can be expected at another voter forum, this one sponsored by the Allegheny County Democratic Party, set for Saturday, April 21, at the Ebeneezer Baptist Church, 2001 Wylie Avenue, in the Hill District.

The bigger picture

Nationally, the reality of cancer has put the prosaic concerns of politics in perspective in recent weeks, as Elizabeth Edwards and Tony Snow have revealed their continuing struggles with the disease. Yesterday, Fred Thompson, the former senator, actor and potential GOP presidential candidate told Fox News' Neil Cavuto that he discovered that he had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2004. He said the disease is in remission with no illness or symptoms.

"I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't satisfied in my own mind as to the nature of it and the fact that not only will I have an average lifespan but in the meantime I will not be affected in anyway by it," Thompson said. "Now of course nobody knows the future but that has been in the history for almost three years now in terms of no symptoms and no sickness."'

Based on reporting before that news emerged, Ralph Hallow of the Washington Times described a growing conservative hunger for a Thompson candidacy.

Hot buttons

Checking in on some of his potential rivals, The New York Sun finds Rudy Giuliani fumbling a question about Terri Schaivo. The New York Times reported, meanwhile, that Rudy said that flying the Confederate flag is a state issue.

McCain on Iraq

Sen. John McCain, who's confessed that his own since renounced support for flying the Stars and Bars was a political cave, yesterday denounced Democratic opposition to the war in Iraq as "politically expedient but strategically disastrous.''

According to the Associated Press, he told cadets at the Virginia Military Academy that the Democrats were acting in "giddy anticipation of the next election."

"Let's put aside for a moment the small politics of the day," he said. "The judgment of history should be the approval we seek, not the temporary favor of the latest public opinion poll."

"Democrats, who deny our soldiers the means to prevent an American defeat, have chosen another road," he said, referring to the standoff between Democrats in control of Congress and Bush over war funding. "It may appear to be the easier course of action, but it is a much more reckless one, and it does them no credit even if it gives them an advantage in the next election."

No big news on the Democratic side of the presidential race yesterday. Sen. Hillary Clinton urged supporters to join in a show of solidarity with Rutgers basketball players against Don Imus. She didn't mention Twanda Carlisle.

Tax dollars at work II

The big guy with the big checks will be in town tomorrow to shower state tax dollars on the research efforts of the University of Pittsburgh's Hillman Cancer Center. Gov. Ed Rendell will be joined by two freshman Democrats, Reps. Chelsa Wagner and Matt Smith, at a new conference and tour of the center's Proteomics Laboratory.

"Proteomics can be defined as the qualitative and quantitative comparison of proteomes under different conditions to further unravel biological processes,'' according to the Swiss Institute for Bioinformatics.

"A new fundamental concept called proteome (PROTEin complement to a genOME) has recently emerged that should drastically help to unravel biochemical and physiological mechanisms of complex multivariate diseases at the functional molecular level.''

But you already knew that, didn't you?

Taxing times

Frustrated with your taxes? So is Sen. Arlen Specter, and he wants to throw out the American tax system as we know it. Yesterday, just in time for tax season, he dusted off an old proposal as he "introduced legislation that would scrap the 17,000 pages of current IRS code in favor of a 20 percent flat tax for all individuals and businesses," according to his office.

A "15-minute," 10-line postcard would be the only form for tax returns.

"We talk frequently about the burden of regulation in the federal government, the most onerous of which is the tax regulation," Mr. Specter said in the statement. "My flat tax legislation will fundamentally revise the present tax code with its myriad rates, deductions and instructions, and will make filing a tax return a manageable chore, not a seemingly endless nightmare."

More from his office: "The 20% flat tax plan would eliminate taxes on estates, dividends and capital gains, but would maintain two important deductions: those on mortgage interest and charitable contributions. Tax returns would be filed on a 10-line postcard tax form that requires information related to wages, personal allowance, number of dependents, and total taxable compensation. In contrast to Form 1040, for which the IRS estimates takes 13 hours and 15 minutes to complete, the flat tax form could be completed in fifteen minutes."

The conservative Heritage Foundation is a major supporter of a flat tax, calling it "simple, fair and good for growth":

Critics argue that such a tax system would favor the wealthy.