The American Spectator

Timothy L. Pennell| 10.1.09 @ 7:44AM

I know this is a stupid question, but did anyone happen to accidently flip on that idiot, Rachael Maddows' Show, last night? I know. It's practically a statistical impossibility. But you never know. You might have dropped the remote in the toilet, or down the stairs. The dog coulda grabbed it, and started biting it. I don't know...Anyway. This 'Thing', this Rachael Maddow creature, was running a segment entitled "The TRUTH about the ACORN LIES". You see, ACORN is the VICTIM in all of this. George Bush picked up the phone and called Dick Cheney and said: "Hey Dick. Let's get some folks together at our next Klan meeting, and go over to that ACORN place, and make it look like those Colords are breaking the law. And see if you can rustle up a coupla Jews. Nothing gets the base going, like Colords and Jews."
It was UNBELIEVABLE. This was all a set up. ACORN is GOOD. When they load up their buses with their SCUM, and head off to somebodys' house, so they can THREATEN and TERRORIZE the Family that lives inside, they're the GOOD GUYS. I guess there really are two Americas. One for MSNBC, and one for People.

mike| 10.1.09 @ 3:39PM

rachael who????

Jon| 10.2.09 @ 4:16AM

Its that liberal basketball dude we're forced to watch on AFN in the morning in europe.

RPTM| 10.2.09 @ 9:56AM

Timothy,
I have never watched Rachael Maddow. Your point about the dumb ed down liberal base and uninvolved middle of the road conservatives hits home. As far as the "unbiased" news media, NBC, CBS, etc were forced into covering the uni-ACORN issues - have faith and please continue to follow our constitution. We will overcome!

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Melvin| 10.1.09 @ 8:00AM

The lack of domestic and foreign policy experience by Barrack Obama and the radial left wing is compensated by their fervent believe in fascism and the final victory over the American way of life.
Barrack Obama has no sympathy, because he feels and this should not come as a surprise to some people, that the American people chose their fate by electing him because after he and the
Democrats didn't exactly force themselves on the American voters.
Many moderates and independents gave Obama a mandate and now he is cutting their throats with it.

Margie| 10.1.09 @ 12:32PM

"Democrats didn't exactly force themselves on the American voters."
~Right. The people are already so dummed down they they don't need to. They believe the lies that the government will save them already and then along comes an even bigger savior than their last one (Bill Clinton). Wow! that along with sending out the ACORN buses to rally up all the illegals to register to vote, so no sweat off their brow (the Dems). Now with the State run media and a near dictatorship Obama has it made in the shade. Obama doesn't even NEED to feel our pain.

Daxter| 10.1.09 @ 1:30PM

Melvin, you've got it. As I understand it, Hugo Chavez "ran" under the premise of "change." Once elected, he used his electoral "mandate"for "change" to turn his country into a regime. His supporters say he is "Democratically elected." Needless to say, he changed his country, all right.

Obama's big mistake, though, is that most other countries have had Socialism in one form or another for a long time. American's won't stand for it -- Freedom is too precious to us.

MIKE-N-TN| 10.2.09 @ 7:52AM

Only SOME Americans love freedom and only SOME will not stand for Socialism. The demographics of this nation has changed drastically over the last few decades. Now we live in a world where bad is good and good is bad. At least that is what is being pumped out of the media and Hollywood. That is injected straight into the receptive minds of the brainwashed masses. BO and the rest of the Marxist Liberals are making their move now because the environment is perfect for that. Proof of that is the fact that Obama got elected in the first place. After he is finished nationalizing the largest sections of our economy and has control of our health care, he will move, more quickly than he already has, to relinquish the population of of their liberties and most especially the gun rights. Expect this to happen about 3/4 into his term because he knows he is most likely a "one term wonder".

S.L. Toddard| 10.2.09 @ 6:16PM

Mike N TN; the destruction of our country won't happen if fatalistic people like you stop bending over and grabbing your ankles!

Scuzz Buster| 10.4.09 @ 2:35PM

Toddard- You're already there. You can honestly say "Been there, done that." Socialism is quite fatal, and you subscribe to it. Thanks idiot!

Richard Baker| 10.1.09 @ 8:04AM

"Once-proud activist conglomerate?" This organization was started to scam as much federal money as possible by use of the tactics being decried today. By this standard, the Teamsters union (once proud) was just trying to take care of their rank and file when Hoffa engaged the Mafia to handle the pension fund.

Lullaby's, Legends and Lies| 10.1.09 @ 8:32AM

“ACORN should view their current situation as an opportunity to truly reform itself”

No, it’s too late for that now. We don’t need “reform now”, we need indictments now. We need ACORN’s files seized (or what’s left of them), and we need deals made with employees (current & former), to testify in court against the “big fish” at ACORN to get to the truth behind these extortionist. We need Congress to begin one of their infamous investigations, to get to the “real” truth behind all of this.

Reform now? No, we don’t need reform now, it’s gone way beyond that now, we only need facts now. Today is the time to see people in handcuffs, and for chains and locks to be put on their doors, and files to be seized in all ACORN offices and affiliates, Nationwide.

We still have laws in America don’t we? And these laws do apply to ACORN and other non-profits too, don’t they? Of course they do! So let ACORN answer our questions if they have nothing to hide (ACORN's total 2008 budget was $50 million-Wow!!), show us your books. What have you done with the American Taxpayer’s money?

Really? Wrong answer, go directly to jail.

crookedwren| 10.1.09 @ 8:48AM

"Indictments Now." I agree.

derekcrane| 10.1.09 @ 9:49AM

Below is an example of the left's response to the Spectator investigation of ACORN et al.

I hate to put a damper on the day's firestorm on the right over a White House staffer, but an American Spectator report making the rounds this morning that White House political director Patrick Gaspard used to work for ACORN in New York just isn't true.

The Spectator (accurately) quotes ACORN founder Wade Rathke claiming that Gaspard was political director at the group's New York chapter at some point before 2003.

I covered New York politics at the time, and that was news to me; the also White House denies it. But just to be sure, I checked checked just now with Gaspard's former boss, whom he ultimately replaced as the political director of the giant New York SEIU local, 1199, Jennifer Cunningham. Cunningham confirmed to me that he'd worked for her starting in 1999; that he'd worked for a City Council member before that; and before that, for the Dinkins Administration.

The fact that Rathke got this wrong does provide more evidence of how totally decentralized and disorganized -- contrary to the claims of both fans and detractors -- the group is, but that's all it says.

The Spectator piece is a model of the sort of guilt-by-association Google work in which partisans of both sides specialize. Gaspard is also allegedly linked -- gasp! -- to Rep. Jerry Nadler. Writes the Spectator:

As the old Washington saying goes, politics is personnel. Who knows how many administration officials were put in place by Gaspard with direct input from ACORN's Bertha Lewis. It boggles the mind.

Indeed.

Missy| 10.2.09 @ 6:21PM

Who cares if Gaspard worked for ACORN or not--Obama did! Guilt by association, indeed.

Who is the clueless one here?

Anthony| 10.1.09 @ 11:01AM

There is nothing wrong with ACORN that a good old fashioned RICO prosecution won't cure. A fit acronym if there ever was one: Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization.
Anybody see Eric Holder lately? How about Chicago's own pitbull Patrick Fitzgerald? Hello, anybody home at the Halls of Justice???

Walljasper| 10.1.09 @ 5:27PM

When the special investigations team gets done prosecuting the ACORN "account" under RICO, maybe they'll be warmed up enough for tackling Congress.

Tim| 10.1.09 @ 11:49AM

"Never steal anything small".

Tom| 10.1.09 @ 11:53AM

ACORN needs a little RICO

See where the evidence takes us.

Son Of Sam| 10.1.09 @ 12:02PM

We the people of America will never regain our freedom until the traitors who hate this country, its history, its laws, its Constitution and its people are in the ground, in prison or in exile. Lets start with ACORN and the "new" Black Panthers, and then move right on up the food chain through Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Nancy Pelosi, Rahm Emmanuel and last but not least, the TelePrompter in Chief himself

stand strong until freedom dawns
Son of Sam

Margie| 10.1.09 @ 12:40PM

How on earth do you suggest we do this when the entire lot of them are one huge gang? Is there no man? I mean if it were the days of old the good guys could just round them up..

Son of Sam| 10.1.09 @ 12:55PM

Simple: when we defeat them in elections, our first move after doing so should be to launch an investigation of EVERYTHING they did while in office. If its actionable, then indict, prosecute, convict and toss 'em in stir. And not "white collar resort prison" either: this criminal scum has stolen BILLIONS of our hard earned tax dollars, and they need to pay for these crimes, not just simply slither away after an electoral defeat to re-emerge as lobbyists or "consultants"

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Son Of Sam
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FRANK COLLATT| 10.1.09 @ 12:25PM

The Governor for the State of Louisiana issued this statement on 09-30-2009':"This past week we reiterated our commitment to protecting Louisiana taxpayers' hard-earned dollars by issuing an executive order preventing the state from funding or entering into contracts that benefit the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). The Executive Order will prevent any state departments, agencies, offices, boards, and officers from entering future contracts with ACORN, as well as force those entities to immediately eliminate funding for the organization, and for state agencies to report any such contracts to my executive council's office.

Thus far, our search through current state records has led to, as reported by the Alexandria Town Talk, the "terminat[ion] financing of two social services contracts with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now." The actions carried out by ACORN have shown us all that Louisiana taxpayer dollars should not be used to assist the organization in anyway, and we will continue to protect your hard earned tax dollars as we move forward." ACORN has been a SCAM since it's inception. Whom have they ever helped out(besides theirselves)? During Hurricane Katrina, ACORN was first to set up shop, and apply for Federal Grant Money. Want to know more about ACORN? Please visit:
http://www.rottenacorn.com

Daxter| 10.1.09 @ 2:11PM

Vadam says: "Citizens Services Inc. (CSI), an ACORN affiliate that received $832,598 from the Obama campaign for get-out-the-vote work during primary season, is a prime example."

Am I the only one who sees a severe problem with a Presidential Candidate giving money to an organization for "get-out-the-vote" work? If I'm not hallucinating here, I believe that there are many legal boundaries rightfully in place which prevent "campaigning" on behalf of a candidate. Yet, those same boundaries often don't apply for a group that is merely going to different functions to help get people registered to vote, etc.
Eight-hundred-thousand just to get people to register and go to the polls? Yeah, right.

CopyKatnj| 10.1.09 @ 4:18PM

A whistle blower from ACORN testified that the DNC supplied a mailing list if donors. I think that is illegal for a non profit. The NY Times reporter working on the story was told to kill the story.

Everly Waverly| 10.1.09 @ 2:55PM

Yeah, lets just imagine a concerted effort to clean-up the documentation issues. Does anyone believe Bertha Lewis has a remote notion as to what to do and how to do it?

Another thing to imagine, Maxine Waters, an idiot congresswoman from CA. Would she be a candidate for some kind supervisory, let me show you how to clean this mess-up authority, my tuckas. Maybe it's a societal "Peter Principle" aspect that allows a person to believe they are somehow qualified for a job, like President.

Bertha Lewis is corrupt and her pleas to her minions to straighten-up all that is corrupt would be like entering a inner-city smack house and suggesting they all sit-up straight, won't happen...

TVB| 10.1.09 @ 2:56PM

Would it be wrong for me to print that memo off, wipe my rear-end with it, and mail it to Bertha Lewis? I gotta go realllly bad right now!

tjsker| 10.1.09 @ 3:07PM

I wouldn't give Elizabeth Kingsley any credit for making the recommendations she did. Any accountant that prepares annual information returns for non-profits (Form 990) will notice that all of those points are now questions on the revised 2008 form. ACORN, and just about every non-profit, will have to answer those questions.

Kraphtsman| 10.1.09 @ 3:12PM

This article's assertion that an "army of Freedom of Information Act requestors" is required to get information (to answer basic questions such as "WHO got HOW MUCH, WHEN and FROM WHOM for WHAT PURPOSE ?", etc...) about all the taxpayer money that's been doled out to ACORN and its affiliates by the myriad federal, state and local governing bodies/agencies looks like a "call to arms" to me! For instance, if anyone took the time to read the details regarding funding of non-profits like ACORN in last year's "economic stimulus/recovery bill", you'd know that each project/grant up to $500,000 is supposed to recieve a "summary audit" by the ontrolling/doling agency every 6 months... And since a FOIA request must be somewhat narrowly limited in order to be acted on in an expeditious manner, I think this would be a good place to start. Let's see.... there's 50 states with how may counties ? And I believe there's probably a handful or so concerned private citizens and honest lawyers residing in same who might want to enlist in such an "army". And once the requests are responded to (or possibly not), the results (and obvious conclusions or reasonable suspicions) could be shared with each "soldier's" elected federal/state/county representatives. Oh, and you'd certainly want to include all the local/regional "mass" media/news outlets, too. This would be a logical and fair way to "out" much of the actual (or at least, the available) truth regarding ACORN's alleged corruption. Of course, our system of courts and justice should already be involved in this process, and our esteemd 4th estate should be hot on the ACORN money-trail, but that's a whole other story !

j_in_mesa| 10.1.09 @ 4:46PM

Let me adjust your statement Melvin: "The lack of domestic and foreign policy experience by [George Bush] and the radial [right] wing is compensated by their fervent believe in fascism and the final victory over the American way of life."

Left ... right - good thing I'm ambidextrous.

Xavier Xsyllman| 10.2.09 @ 2:28AM

Here's an adjustment to your notions, j_in_mesa: Of all the faults and shortcomings of the administration of President George W. Bush, a lack of foreign policy experience was not one of them. Contrary to your assertion, G.W. Bush's White House had many persons with deep foreign policy experience and the credentials to show it. On the other hand, the administration of President Barak H. Obama has an almost complete absence of anyone possessing what might resemble deep foreign policy experience. (Not even SecState H. R. Clinton qualifies in that regard; in her relative newcomer status, including her time in Congress from 2000 to 2009, places her as a babe in the woods compared to any of those in G.W. Bush's administration.) The Obama White House is largely a collection of social and political ideologues bereft of very much functional or practical knowledge requisite for managing the country. It is like comparing children to adults: The Obama Nursery has a long way to go before it grows up into mature thinking with regard to foreign policy.

Brian G.| 10.1.09 @ 6:08PM

I noticed that this article doesn't discuss how this memo was obtained, other than some quick some guy gave it us. How do you know it wasn't stolen from an ACORN office or the lawyer's office? And how do we know it was not altered to conveniently fit the radical right wing agenda and to placate the angry conservatives that can't stand that a black man is President? What better way to discret him than to act like he worked for a criminal organization before becoming President. What should be investigated and prosecuted are those involved in the theft of a confidential memo that was meant as a simple internal review of practices in order to help ACORN run its business more efficiently. I don't see anything in it that should alarm anyone. Of course, the depserate right-wingers that are grasping at straws act like this is the modenr day discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Matthew Vadum| 10.1.09 @ 8:13PM

In fact the authenticity of the memo was verified by my ACORN sources. I neglected to mention that. I will include that detail in future articles. Thank you for pointing this tidbit out.
A further thought: compare the contents of the memo with Stephanie Strom's descriptions of it in the New York Times. I notice that as of now ACORN has not put out any statement denying the document is genuine. Nor has Kingsley's law firm. You seem to be the only person questioning it.

Xavier Xsyllman| 10.2.09 @ 2:07AM

Yes, the boy does seem to be a tad upset that people are (continuing) to question his leftist Messiah. Notice how the radical Brian G. desperately graps at straws by deploying the race card, asserting that this is all because conservatives are angry at the fact that a black man is president. What utter hogwash.

Obama and his cronies are just plain corrupt. That's what angers conservatives. And if they had any decency, liberals would be angry as well. But like their kindred souls in Hollywood, who are trying to defend Roman Polanski, they long ago traded in their moral compass for a bowl of pottage known as transitory political power.

Scuzz Buster| 10.4.09 @ 2:37PM

"But like their kindred souls in Hollywood,"

and their kindred souls here at the American Spectator.

Harry s| 10.2.09 @ 6:36AM

U silly, President Obama's mother was white. he is not a black man, as if that anything to do with anything. he is not in the middle mainstream of American politics, another lie like being black man. This is a far left socialist who is being exposed even while MSM tries to cover it up. Lets talk about the people he surrounds himself with accorn? Socialists, Proud Communists!!! Silly, it has nothing to do with his motherr being white and his father being Arab, but you do need to get soemthign right!!

Nobama| 10.2.09 @ 6:27PM

Tinfoil hat TRUTHER alert: Aider and abettor of child sexual slavery on display.

lco| 10.1.09 @ 6:15PM

RICO? You've got to be kidding? By the way, I fully agree, but who is going to prosecute them? Holder & Co.? The process will involve vigilant investigative journalism and a bulldog or two like Hannity to keep the pot stirred. The only solution, considering the current political landscape, will be to vote the statists out of town.

Thomas| 10.1.09 @ 6:19PM

What's the average IQ on the posters here, somewhere around 80? The IRS should be looking at the non-profit churches that illegally engage in political campaigns as well. What's good for the goose etc. Note to Daxter: Bush ran under the mantle of "change" as well and we have had elements of "socialism" here for a long time -- it's called Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Health Care, and Social Security.

Xavier Xsyllman| 10.2.09 @ 2:13AM

"Non-profit churches that illegally engage in political campaigns" ?

Hmmm. I can recall many, many occasions when leftist Democrat candidates spoke from the pulpits of (primarily black) churches, but there is a comparitive dearth --- an extreme dearth --- of such examples on the right side of the political spectrum. Not to say that there haven't been cases of conservative candidates using a church pulpit for campaigning, but the preponderance of non-profit churches engaging in illegal political activities are on the left side of the political dividing line.

Sue| 10.2.09 @ 6:04AM

Yeah. Good try on the "socialism" thing. Let's see - Roosevelt (FDR) packed the Supreme Court to get his programs through (people who thought like him and didn't follow the Constitution), then he wrote the Social Security Act and made sure to call it a "revenue raiser" (in other words - a tax) so it would pass Constitutional muster by the same boneheads appointed by him to the Court.

The public had no clue as to what was going on. All they heard from Roosevelt was "the state will take care of you," which, of course, was after the "Great Depression" and people were desperate to cling to anything for the simplest of basic human needs.

Let's not forget that it was Roosevelt's policies that exacerbated the "recession" and turned it into the "great depression." Oh, restrictive trade policies of a protectionist nature, the Wagner Act, and many, many more.

So, yes, we have socialism now. But it wasn't agreed to by the voting citizenry. It was foisted upon the public in a time of "depressing anxiety" about life which was all political makings.

The exact same situation is being duplicated by the Democrats today. Hold out to the uneducated public a carrot, pull them in, then take the stick out and beat them over the head with it for the next generation all the while collecting "taxes" and lining their pockets in the process.

When we give up our freedoms to secure our basic needs, we lose, always. Never has it succeeded in the world when dictates come from government as to how one is to live his life.

WAKE UP AMERICA. DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOUR COUNTRY AGAIN.

WE NOW HAVE THE "NEW MEDIA" AND THE POLITICOS DO NOT HAVE A LOCK ON WHAT WE READ, WRITE, AND TRANSFER IN THE WAY OF KNOWLEDGE TO OTHERS.

S.L. Toddard| 10.2.09 @ 11:25PM

Okay, Thomas, that makes a lot of sense: We've had socialism for a long time so let's completely socialize the country. Unlike you, fascist liberal--we don't want socialism period.

Numbnut.

Rosealee| 10.4.09 @ 2:43PM

Toddard the Progressive "Libertarian" Lefty Communist thinker. (And spouter). A rose by any other name.....

Scuzz Buster| 10.4.09 @ 2:40PM

My goose is ganderin' that you're IQ is around 45.

nick| 10.1.09 @ 7:26PM

Thomas - of course we must have the initial ad hominum attack to start the "debate" - which church would you like to start with? Reverend Wright's? Just because there is already socialism here and has been for awhile does not justify a furtherance of such or the legitimacy of what has happened in the past. Oh and all of those programs are, of course paragons of efficiency and good healthcare, right????

Shyster MacGee| 10.4.09 @ 2:47PM

Reverend Wright's little chick-a-dees are comin' home to roost, aren't they? Poor Obama. Poor Rev. Wright. Obama's slipping faster than you can say "God d!@# America!"

Robert| 10.1.09 @ 7:40PM

Is there any chance that "Harmon, Curran, Spielberg Eisenberg LLP Memo" has come due to someone not being paid? This takes HCSE off the hook in some respects, but how do expect gain clients when confidential correspondence with a client has been distributed. The source is likely a disgusted ACORN employee saying "a pox on both your houses."

theBuckWheat| 10.2.09 @ 10:14AM

I suspect that in time we will find similar corruption in Planned Parenthood, which is also organized with local boards and a national umbrella organization.

SAL| 10.2.09 @ 10:21AM

obama, the so called president, was part of ACORN for years and didn't even care what was happening in our country.

C| 10.2.09 @ 8:32PM

Most likely you will not approve this comment, but it does not hurt to try… Open up your mind and see the big picture…
I Work For ACORN – http://tdaait.wordpress.com/20.....for-acorn/

C4P| 10.2.09 @ 11:22PM

C, if ACORN is legit why won't they open their books to investigators? They've got nothing to hide, right?

You're the one who needs to open up your mind.

Cara| 10.6.09 @ 12:13AM

They are opening their books, an audit will be conducted by former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, whose specialties include corporate governance. Thank you for bringing this up.
Cara

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