As my esteemed colleague Paul
Chesser blogged earlier, the
Washington Times is reporting:
ACORN, calling the actions of some of its employees
"indefensible," has suspended advising new clients as part of
its service programs and is setting up an independent review to
see what happened.
ACORN chief executive Bertha Lewis said in a written statement
that she was "ordering a halt to any new intakes into ACORN's
service programs until completion of an independent review."
The actions were taken, she said, "as a result of indefensible
action of a handful of our employees."
Videos of ACORN workers giving tax advice to people posing as
prostitutes and other revelations have led to growing criticism
of the organization in recent days.
Lewis continued: "We have all been deeply disturbed by what
weve seen in some of these videos. I must say, on behalf of
ACORN's Board and our Advisory Council, that we will go to
whatever lengths necessary to reestablish the public trust. For
nearly forty years, ACORN has given voice to communities, and
gotten results. Right now, our nearly 500,000 member are
working their hearts out for quality, affordable healthcare for
every American and to help stop the foreclosure crisis. We must
get this process right, so the good work can go forward." [...]
Certainly, this is progress in a sense but this sounds like
yet another public relations scheme by the criminal
organization known as ACORN.
I've been studying ACORN for more than a year now and have
written tens of thousands of words on the organization. Clearly,
ACORN management is well aware of what goes on in its
offices. Management will probably use this so-called
investigation as a smokescreen and throw lower-level employees to
the wolves.
That's what ACORN does.
It's what ACORN has always done.
Do not be suckered by ACORN chief organizer Bertha Lewis's
statement, which is merely a concession to the political
exigencies of the moment. (Lewis isn't really in control of ACORN
anyway. She's a figurehead.)
ACORN will try to stall and ride this out. It cannot be trusted
to investigate itself. All of its major offices should be raided
by law enforcement immediately.
These people are not mere activists.
They are gangsters and deserve to be treated as such.
