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Breaking News
A Constitutional Right to Public Funds
Activist group and organized crime syndicate ACORN has a constitutional right to defraud the people of the United States it claims in a federal lawsuit.
Actually, the lawsuit, filed with the assistance of the allegedly terrorist-funded Center for Constitutional Rights, doesn't use the word fraud, but that's what it amounts to because ACORN argues in the document that it has a right to taxpayer dollars. I kid you not.
In the action filed in U.S. District Court ACORN plays the victim -- as always.
ACORN claims the congressionally approved cutoff of federal funding that expires Dec. 18 violates the Constitution's prohibition on bills of attainder, along with ACORN's free speech and due process rights.
Of course, due process is a rather specific legal concept
that applies to judicial proceedings, rather than the lawmaking
process. A bill of attainder singles out an individual or group
for punishment without trial.
Is it punishment for ACORN to be denied public funds? That implies the group has the right to receive those funds.
Legal scholar Hans A. von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation flatly rejects the argument that the Constitution prevents Congress from doing the right thing. "The bill of attainder clause has never been read to prevent Congress from defunding an organization or a corporation whose employees engage in criminal conduct, and it has rarely been invoked by the modern Supreme Court," he writes.
According to ACORN the cutoff happened not because hidden-camera videos showed Americans the corruption-plagued group's predilection for crime but because a vast right-wing conspiracy hoodwinked lawmakers.
The legislation "was passed in large part due to a public relations campaign orchestrated by political forces that have persistently attacked and defamed the Plaintiff ACORN, its members, affiliates and allies (other Plaintiffs herein)," according to the legal complaint.
ACORN's villainous tormentors, it continues, are "motivated by their hostility toward the Plaintiffs' tireless commitment to registering voters, particularly those poor and working Americans who have been consistently disenfranchised and excluded from the American political system."
We've heard all this before from ACORN's veracity-challenged CEO Bertha Lewis and from outspoken ACORN defender Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.).
Lewis deserved to receive an Academy Award nomination for her virtuoso performance last month. In a widely publicized speech, she not only depicted ACORN as an innocent victim but also as a whistleblower that tried to nip the subprime mortgage crisis -- that it had a role in creating -- in the bud.
With Congressman Nadler, conflicts abound. As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on the Constitution, civil rights, and civil liberties, he may have to investigate ACORN in the not-too-distant future, yet he came up with the novel bill of attainder argument within days of the undercover prostitution sting videos surfacing in September.
After he tried to associate the funding suspension with a McCarthy-era witch hunt, Nadler said, "Whatever one may think of the subject matter or the organization, the Constitution and the ban on bills of attainder are there for the protection of all of our liberties."
Needless to say, Nadler never explained how failing to appropriate funds for a notorious group involved in racketeering violates American liberties. In recent weeks Nadler's spokesman, Ilan Kayatsky, has refused to respond to my requests for comment.
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Warren Piece| 11.13.09 @ 6:40AM
Maybe we should take another look at this! If funding is a constitutional right, then what do we need Congress for? Just take your funding request to court and our priests in black robes do the rest. The next step will be to claim a right to privacy and then no one will know how much loot you're getting. Smart!
sale women gucci shoes| 11.13.09 @ 8:29PM
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Tom| 11.13.09 @ 6:43AM
ACORN needs a little RICO
Hardius| 11.13.09 @ 6:48AM
Considering the corrupt degenerates that now occupy the benchs in our current court system, I am afraid my money is on ACORN. The A.B.A. (American Bar Association) wonders why it is known as the lowest form of life available to this planet.
Adam Smith| 11.13.09 @ 6:49AM
I want my constitutionally "guranteed" cheddar.
Can I just walk into one of the Fed banks & just walk out with sack?
Do I need to take a number after Bertha Lewis and Van Jones?
Help me President Obama. I need to be stimulated too.
S.L. Toddard| 11.13.09 @ 7:27AM
mon⋅o⋅ma⋅ni⋅a
–noun
1. (no longer in technical use) a psychosis characterized by thoughts confined to one idea or group of ideas.
2. an inordinate or obsessive zeal for or interest in a single thing, idea, subject, or the like.
David Williams| 11.13.09 @ 8:57AM
bore
--noun
1. S.L. Toddard
2. Nuf said
John II| 11.13.09 @ 10:47AM
Contradiction, please.
Confucius say, "Logophobic monomania come in many forms, with -ism attached to same. Honorable examples include 'botulism' and 'non-interventionism.'")
Thank you so much.
Ray| 11.13.09 @ 12:54PM
Toddard, do you mean like how you're constantly using definitions as to demean and disparage what is posted here simple because this is a Conservative website? I would call that a perfect example of Liberal monomania!
Big J| 11.14.09 @ 6:27PM
Toddard, for the life of me I cannot figure out why articles on ACORN irk you so.
Shall we just let them quietly steal your money as they have been doing for years?
Shall we play ostrich and just pretend they don't exist?
After all, what in the world is wrong with a taxpayer funded, non-profit, 501 C3 organization that doesn't have a problem helping a young couple set up a brothel containing underage, illegal aliens? If said couple can avoid paying taxes, all the better, right?
You claim to be a REAL conservative....
Are you an employee of ACORN, or just schizophrenic?
I seriously doubt I'll get an answer to that one.
Toddard's M.O. when it comes to ACORN articles: Cut / paste the definition of monomania and high-tail it.
We all know what it means. What's your point?
Pingback| 11.13.09 @ 7:53AM
Twitter Trackbacks for The American Spectator : A Constitutional Right to Public Fun links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Jim O'Brien| 11.13.09 @ 7:59AM
No doubt they are supported by the ACORN Administration, their dear leader Obama and Atty Gen Holder.
martin j smith| 11.13.09 @ 8:04AM
The kind of thinking that leads ACORN to this law suit is exactly the kind of thinking that you see in the Democratic leadership such as Pelosi as well as Obama himself. This is why we are in the mess we are in. In summary: There are no rules but our rules,no laws but the ones we make up --and Constitution: What Constitution ?
Pingback| 11.13.09 @ 8:37AM
ACORN seeks to amend the Constitution … | Worth Reading links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
hunter| 11.13.09 @ 9:00AM
This acorn group is a real bright group. Kind of reminds me of the guy that called the cops because he had been cheated on a drug deal. This pack has been in the cheese drawer so much they belive its theirs. Never mind several of the their rat pack vermin are caught up in traps of their own design.
Appleby| 11.13.09 @ 9:21AM
In Ontario a public employee (and I use the term advisedly) who had been fired for cause filed suit because he didn't get a Golden Handshake. He coined a phrase in his testimony before the Commons that has become the Socialist Fight Song.
"I," he insisted, "am entitled to my entitlements!"
Melvin| 11.13.09 @ 9:06AM
Good morning Toddy, glad to see you in such fine form this morning.
It is rather humorous with what is happening with ACORN and their suit. All of a sudden the Constitution becomes a sword of righteousness with them.
Pingback| 11.13.09 @ 9:13AM
New York Adult Entertainment: A Constitutional Right to Public Funds | New York Escor links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Lea| 11.13.09 @ 9:17AM
Right. ACORN has Constitutional rights and the American People do not. Hmmm Hmmm Hmmmm
David Williams| 11.13.09 @ 9:55AM
To be fair, perhaps we should give ACORN some credit. If a handfull of lawyers, upgraded to black robes and referred to as Justices can find in the Constitution wording that justifies abortion, permits the taking of private property from one person and giving to another because the latter might make better use of it or restricts political free speech as elections near then they can probably find wording that justifies ACORN's claim to your tax dollars.
Pete| 11.13.09 @ 9:29AM
Shall I just turn on MSNBC and learn more about this? Un F'ing believable. Wastes of oxygen. I shouldn't have read this first thing in the morning - I am afraid I will be prone to road rage taking my daughter to school.
owyheewine| 11.13.09 @ 9:31AM
Remember ACORN was born as a successor to the old National Welfare Rights Organization, so is anyone surprised by their claim of entitlement?
We really need more tort reform on a national basis, but when we have a congress filled with sleazy lawyer types and a prez that is the epitome of that particular breed, guess we'll have to wait for the tea party revolution.
crookedwren| 11.13.09 @ 10:05AM
Dear Lord in Heaven,
Don't let these people win.
"Innovative impact litigation" indeed.
That CCR was opposed to Operation Babylift speaks volumes. Volumes.
And, gosh, haven't heard Kunstler's name in years.
Folks, if you haven't read Ann Coulter's "Treason," please do. It's a revelation.
Kent Lyon| 11.13.09 @ 10:07AM
How is it that a Congressman is co-counsel for a lawsuit filed by an organization for which the Congressional committee he chairs is supposed to oversee funding? Isn't that a conflict of interest? Doesn't that violate Bar ethics? Doesn't that qualify Nadler for disbarment?
All of this is evidence that the US Congress is a criminal enterprise, not just ACORN. Can RICO statutues be used against Congressmen like Nadler, who funds, advises, acts as counsel for, and aids and abets criminal behavior at ACORN?
With Holder's Injustice Department, of course, one cannot hold one's breath waiting for any action from the Administration, who is joined at the hip as well with ACORN, and probably trained and is likely advising them as well, via Gaspard in the White House. The criminal organization has reached into the heart of the Federal Government, and appears to directly influence it.
Washington, we have a Cosa Nostra problem, called ACORN. America has become a criminal nation.
Pingback| 11.13.09 @ 11:24AM
Capital Research Center: links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
cindy, california| 11.13.09 @ 11:29AM
Hmmm, wonder who the legal council is? Another attempt to change the Constitution.
John II| 11.13.09 @ 12:21PM
Confucius also say, "From small acorn giant criminal enterprise grow."
Ray| 11.13.09 @ 12:50PM
Acorn in their filing, just defeated their own arguments! If the defunding was due to "a public relations campaign orchestrated by political forces that have persistently attacked and defamed the Plaintiff ACORN," as they allege, then it can't be due to some type of extra-judicial "punishment" iposed unconstitutionally by Congress, as they allege, but, instead, is the product of lobbing (part of the way laws are made) and, therefor, the Bill of Attainder argument doesn't apply.
Matthew Vadum| 11.13.09 @ 2:00PM
Interesting observation. Thanks.
Pingback| 11.13.09 @ 1:33PM
A Constitutional Right to Public Funds « Depravity links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Robert Pinkerton| 11.13.09 @ 2:44PM
An earlier variation on this theme was the claim that cessation of public funding on exhibitions by "artists(?!?!)? like Robert Mapplethorpe, the creator of [i]Piss Christ[/i] and the creator of the picture of the Christians' Virgin Mary festooned with elephant excrement, would be censorship. Now I grant you that all of the examples I cited, tried and tried hard to be obscene. I might even concede to a speculation that Mapplethorpe [i]et al.[/i] willed and tried their respected hardest to produce obscenity. None the less, the works under discussion failed at obscenity, producing only rather puerile absurdity. However, this does [i]noy[/i] mean that obscenity was absent from the exhibitions: The obscenity lay in the fact that the exhibitions were [i]publicly[/i] funded; if these exhibitions had been exclusively privately funded, they would have been hree from obscenity.
Richard Burgess| 11.13.09 @ 6:47PM
Acorn is like a bad meal that we ate a few hour back. Right now our nation is waking up to the fact that we have a bad bacteria growing in our guts, and we have taken some Pepto-B, but it isn't doing too much for it. It will not be long and we will be on our knees heaving our guts out - BUT- and it will not stop there. The cooks (Congress) that prepared the meal will be hunted down and "fired" because it it now obvious that they INTENTIONALLY put something in the food...
CONGRESS - you better wake up. There will be prosecutions in the future - many of you will go to jail. We are collecting the information we need right now, and there are MANY on the inside helping us that do not want to go with you... I know that a warning will not help nor matter to you, so don't consider this one - just keep on telling us lies and stealing from us (while it lasts).
The pendulum is at the far, far left and a massive amount of weight has been added to it - when it swings back, you better be gone.
Marc Jeric| 11.13.09 @ 7:55PM
Obama, or as I call him Abu Hussein from Kenya, is our Community Organizer-in-Chief; as such he is the ultimate boss of ACORN, having had only one kind of "working" experience", i.e., as community organizer, as lawyer for community organizers, and as law instructor for future lawyers for community organizers. Through his White House czars or better said komissars Obama directs all activities of ACORN brownshirts, SEIU thugs, teacher union marxists, and their local soviets. His AG Holder (pardoner of Puertorican terrorists, Castro's lawyer in Elian Gonzalez case) closes all suits against ACORN (voter frauds) and against Black Panthers (voter intimidation). Congressional vote against ACORN funding is a make-believe measure and expires in a month; also, Obama's stimulus bill has $8.5 billion for them which is outside Congressional authority.
ben| 11.13.09 @ 10:05PM
"A bill of attainder singles out an individual or group for punishment without trial."
This got me thinking. Could our progressive tax laws be considered bills of attainder since they single out certain individuals and groups, and punish them without trial through higher fees(penalties)?
Hostile Knowledge| 11.13.09 @ 11:47PM
If the Founding Fathers were alive and could be here to see how this country is being crapped on by progressives (socialists), progressives would label them as ultra right wing incestuous hillbillies. They would also demand that the Founders be arrested for sedition.
This is the true face and character of modern American progressives (socialist crapweasels).
Flapjawman| 11.14.09 @ 8:55AM
HEY
just drop out of the tax-paying system. Turn to barter and collect unemployment as long as you can. This will keep you under radar. Register you house in your dog's name (or hampster, if you perfer), load old bessy up with dry powder, and only go out to vote those rascals out of office.
In the meantime, when ACORN knocks on your door to attempt to evict you so some of their crocked co-conspirators can sieze your property in the name of public domain, invite them in, and bombard them with videos of their own corrupt dealings - take their video reactions, and post it on youtube...
last step: Enjoy yourself !
REMEMBER:
Annoy a Liberal -
Work, Succeed, Be Happy
Osamas Pajamas| 11.14.09 @ 1:29PM
Hmmm. The ACORNS are hungry, ay? Let 'em eat snake ---- not the privately-employed taxpayers of the USA.
I think we should supply each member, employee, or affilliate of ACORN and its bloodsucking fellow-travelers with a suitable length of rope, a and lamppost, and a real swingin' party.
Richard Baker| 11.15.09 @ 9:48AM
Last I checked, their appropriation is a line item on a budget which the Congress can delete or change at will. Bill of attainder? Certainly an interesting ploy but a ploy nonetheless. Would they then advocate that the Ku Klux Klan has a right to Federal money? If so, the Klan needs to contact their local Congressional representatives.
Edward| 11.15.09 @ 2:16PM
http://anitamoncrief.blogivist.....-evidence/
Pingback| 11.16.09 @ 1:02AM
Notary Public Review Class – New York State. | Vocabulation links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 11.16.09 @ 4:24PM
ACORN may go broke, couldn’t happen to a better group! | Holeinthehull links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 11.16.09 @ 9:15PM
Here's George Clooney getting crushed by a piano – TV Squad | George Clooney Celebrit links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 11.17.09 @ 12:00AM
Judge breaks new ground in credit card fraud trial | Ottawa and … | Credit Finance Wi links to this page. Here’s an excerpt: