Blockbuster: Philly ACORN Video Released

 

UPDATE III: Video is back up! See below. New YouTube address, so it may be taken down again…

UPDATE II: Philly video is reportedly available at The Hope for America site, but I’ve been unable to access even the home page there.

UPDATE: Someone has rendered the video inaccessible by marking it PRIVATE. A friend of ACORN, perhaps? All previous videos linked below still play. Further updates as they become available.

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James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles have released another ACORN sting over at BreitbartTV. Although this version has been edited, presumably to comply with whatever lawsuits are pending (several voices are blanked out), the full video and transcript should be available soon.

Differing from the previous films (San Diego, New York, Washington DC, San Bernadino, and Baltimore), this release has narration by O’Keefe and is interspersed with clips of ACORN personnel making claims that the video shows to be false. There are also a few disconcerting gaps in the audio stream where audio has been blanked out.

Well worth watching:

ACORN needs to stop digging.

Stoutcat

Yes! ACORN Fired By Census Bureau

BREAKING: Major Garret of FoxNews just reported that the Director of the Census Bureau has sent a letter to ACORN headquarters, indicating that the Census Bureau will sever all ties with the radical group.

More on this as it becomes available.

UPDATE: AP reports that Census Director Robert Groves spoke about the issue”

“It is clear that ACORN’s affiliation with the 2010 census promotion has caused sufficient concern in the general public, has indeed become a distraction from our mission, and may even become a discouragement to public cooperation, negatively impacting 2010 census efforts,”

Yes, I’d say that with the recent ACORN firings in Baltimore and Washington DC that the general public has vastly sufficient cause for concern about the relationship between the Census Bureau, the White House, and ACORN.

Up to now, the Census Bureau had defended ACORN’s involvement, explaining it was one of 80,000 unpaid volunteer groups that the bureau hoped would be able to raise local awareness. But in his letter, Groves said it no longer had confidence that ACORN was effectively managing its partnership.

Next up: stripping ACORN of all access to taxpayer money, including the billions of stimulus dollars they expect to receive.

Now if we could just get the Census Bureau back out of the White House…

Stoutcat

Warrants Issued For More ACORN Workers

 

UPDATE: Fox News Video added below

Michelle Malkin reports that the Florida state attorney has issued arrest warrants in Miami for 11 ACORN employees  suspected of falsifying information on hundreds of voter registration cards. 

Yes, folks, this would be the same ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) to whom President Obama has entrusted the accuracy of our 2010 Census. What could possibly go wrong there?

FBI and state authorities took seven people into custody for the voter registration fraud which took place in Homestead Florida in June of 2008. One of the fraudulent registrations was for the late actor Paul Newman.

In a statement from Florida ACORN board member Leroy Bell, he said: 

“We want to commend the state attorney for taking decisive action. Today’s action demonstrates the seriousness we brought to the task of not only expanding the electorate, but also of protecting the integrity of the voting process. “

“Over the last five years thousands of dedicated people have worked or volunteered with Florida ACORN and succeeded in helping hundreds of thousands of Florida citizens — especially African-Americans, Latinos, low-income and young people — to apply to become registered voters. Fortunately, our quality control managers and the systems we developed ensured their ability to spot the isolated wrongdoing by these 11 workers who tried to pass off phony forms instead of doing their work.”

Sounds like a responsible statement. But then Bell added that he feels the government should do more to modernize the voter registration system.  He stated that ACORN  prefers that “Florida and the United States adopt a more modern voter registration system where getting everyone on the rolls is the government’s job and mission.”

Say that sounds like a good idea. Uh, wait a moment… isn’t it already the government’s job and mission? And aren’t  you (ACORN) doing this because you’ve been anointed by “The One” to do so? And haven’t you botched this in some 12 states now?

As I recall…

• Washington State has filed felony charges against  ACORN employees and supervisors for more than 1,700 fraudulent voter registrations.
• Last year, a Pennsylvania ACORN employee was sentenced for making 29 phony voter registration forms.
• ACORN workers have pleaded guiltyor been found guilty on numerous occasions in as many as 12 states.

I could go on, but here’s an excellent article written back in October of last year by Jim Hoft of Pajamas Media, called The Complete Guide To ACORN Voter Fraud.  While excellent, the article is somewhat outdated by now as ACORN has been very busy in this past year. They’ve been funded by Obama through pork projects snuck into that stimulus package we were supposed to have five days to look at.

As if that isn’t enough to cause you to question ACORN just a wee bit, now, Malkin also reports that, in addition to the latest in ACORN’S voter registration fraud in Florida, ACORN officials in Baltimore, MD have been caught on videotape advising two people how to pose as a pimp and a prostitute and lie to the Internal Revenue Service in order to secure housing. Oh, yes… and also on how to claim underage girls from South America as dependents. 

Yeah, that 2010 Census is bound to be interesting. Like I said: What could possibly go wrong?

H/T: Michelle Malkin, Jim Hoft

Gerry Ashley

When Government Stops Listening

 

What does a citizenry do when its government stops listening?

• Consider the release of the “Lockerbie bomber”… The following is from The Edinburgh Paper, Evening News:

A POLL today showed a majority of Scots believe justice secretary Kenny MacAskill made the wrong decision in releasing the Lockerbie bomber.
The survey found 43 per cent believed it was right to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds, but 51 per cent were against the move.

• It’s no great secret that most Americans want secure borders. In 2006 a Fox News poll found the following:
  Almost all Americans (90 percent) say illegal immigration is a “very” serious (60 percent) or “somewhat” serious (30 percent) problem for the country today — essentially unchanged from a year ago this time.
• A 2007 NY Times/CBS Poll found similar dissatisfaction to the tune of  69%. Yet we still haven’t even completed a fence.
• Look at the outrage over the health care and the deficit, yet the government charges ahead.
• And then there’s Knollberg claiming that tax dollars aren’t our money…

What does the body politic do when its representatives place money, power, and job security (votes) before the well-being of their constituents? I don’t know… I really don’t. Perhaps the story of the Lockerbie bomber might provide insight though… That individual walked free after serving 11 days for each of the 270 he helped to slaughter. And by some happy coincidence a lucrative oil deal was struck between Libya and the U.K. a week later… What do we do?

Maybe, the first thing we do is let the “officials” know that we’re watching, we remember, and that we’re not stupid.

Maybe we use things like town meetings and blogs and “letters to the editor” to voice our contempt and anger. Maybe we jam their phone lines and fill their servers with emails respectfully but firmly taking them to task. And maybe, when the time comes, we vote these “power clowns” and their unions, and their lawyers, and their special interest groups, and their “community action groups”, and their lobbyists right out of office.

And that goes for both Jackasses and fat old Elephants. Perhaps, just as a fluke, we should put our selfishness and agenda aside and vote in folks who understand what “Vox populi, vox Dei” really means – “The voice of the people is the voice of God.”

Maybe then they’ll start listening to us again.

Alan Speakman

Obama… Gerrymanderer Extraordinaire

As you no doubt know, “gerrymandering” is redefining areas within a state or region to redistribute the voting impact for political purposes. But in a larger sense, it’s a rather tawdry method to circumvent “the system”.

It seems that President Obama and his crew might just be the master gerrymanderers. Consider the following:

• Friday, Obama-appointed EPA head Lisa Jackson proposed a ruling that greenhouse gases represent a threat to public safety, and hence should be regulated by the EPA. Last I checked, the EPA could fine polluters of all sorts. Bottom line? Who needs the hassle of  Congress with” cap and trade”, when one can simply take a “shortcut”. White House “Energy Czar” Carol Browner probably put it best:
  

  “There are things that can be done that won’t quite work within the existing law…”

• One of the very first things that the President did was to take control of the census. As goes the census findings, so goes the layout of the congressional districts – gerrymandering at its finest.
• Another aspect of the census that is troubling has to do with the involvement of ACORN in the taking the census. Honest and objective? No. Circuitous? Yes.
• Ever notice how many “Czars” this POTUS has appointed? Depending on who you count as a “czar” the number adds up to 18. I think that more czars than Russia had! But why so many czars in Obama’s administration?? Because senate confirmation hearing can be such a bore.

The bottom line is that President Obama is gerrymandering not just the EPA and the census, but so much of the system itself.

Alan Speakman

Hat tip to:
Gateway Pundit
CNN

A Storm Brewing on Tax Day

Don’t be surprised if some of the Tea Parties today turn ugly. There are two groups that may clash tomorrow – one, the “Hannity/O’Reilly/Limbaugh/Beck/Coulter” crowd, and the other the agenda-blind (but very-well funded) ACORN ilk. Things to think very seriously about…

• The far left is out-and-out lying. Consider the following April 14 quote:
  

  “This is the first we’ve heard of these so-called ‘tea parties.’ And, frankly, a bunch of small get-togethers by fringe conservative activists dedicated to simply saying ‘no’ is of little interest to us,” said ACORN spokesman Brian Kettenring.

  Remember, ACORN is the same group who break into vacant houses claiming, “This is our house now.” Oh goody…

• The 2009 “Pig Book” was just released. That isn’t going to make “The Right” very happy either. The Christian Science Monitor is reporting:
  

  Capitol Hill lawmakers added 10,160 pet projects – aka “pork barrel” projects – to this year’s government spending.

• The new DHS (Dept. of Homeland Security) just released their blistering report warning of “Right-wing Extremism” including a warning concerning “radicalized veterans”… From Fox News:
  

  The report also suggests that returning veterans are attractive recruits for right-wing groups looking for “combat skills and experience” so as to boost their “violent capabilities.” It adds that new restrictions on gun ownership and the difficulty of veterans to reintegrate into their communities “could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks.”

  
  That’s not going to sit well with the conservatives either.

The simple fact is that without caution and restraint, two groups of people could collide today, and the collision could very easily follow socioeconomic and racial lines.

Time will tell,

Alan Speakman

Once is Happenstance…

 

There’s an old saying that goes, “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.”

Let’s paraphrase that a bit and say: One is happenstance. Two is coincidence. Three (or more) is ACORN action.

With that in mind, I draw your attention to Doug Ross at DirectorBlue, who notes the curious case of over 200 nearly- identical headlines running in newspapers within a 24-hour time span. And, surprise, surprise, each of those headlines, which appeard in newspapers large and small across the country, has to do with exaggeraged numbers of uninsured Americans.

A partial list, as provided by Mr. Ross:

• Third of Illinoisans went without health insurance in last 2 years: Sun-Times
• Report: 2.5M in Michigan lacked health insurance: Chicago Tribune
• Study: 29% of Ohioans have gone without health insurance: BizJournals
• Report: More NJ residents lacking health insurance: Forbes
• Study: Many Kansans are uninsured: BizJournals
• Study: 1 in 3 Alabamians have no insurance: BizJournals
• 1 out of 3 Coloradans lacked insurance in past two years: Denver Post
• Nearly 1 in 3 Idahoans lack health insurance, study says: Idaho Statesman
• One in four nonelderly Minnesotans has been without health insurance, study shows: Twin Cities
• 1 in 3 are uninsured in Georgia, study says: Augusta Chronicle
• 1.3 million Louisiana residents uninsured: Independent
• Millions in N.C. lack health plan: Winston-Salem Journal
• Uninsured are mostly working: Sun-Herald
• Nearly one-third of Wyoming residents went without health insurance in past two years: Wyoming Tribune
• Report finds health insurance lacking in W.Va.: Charleston Gazette

According to Mr. Ross, he quit listing them, because he got tired of all the cutting and pasting.

So what could have possessed all those editors to run all those headlines and the corresponding “stories”? Well, it wasn’t happenstance, and it wasn’t coincidence, that’s for sure. It turns out that they were all shopped around by a group called Families USA. It’s a group that claims to be “The voice for health care consumers” although I don’t recall their asking if they could speak for me. Ross did some digging, and guess what he found?

According to Discover the Networks, Families USA is a member of the “Progressive States Network”, which works closely with (you guessed it) ACORN and the SEIU. These ultra-partisan groups have truly one agenda: big government.

During his presidential campaign, then-Senator Obama spoke to a conference of Family USA activists and promised, “I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country.”

Mr. Ross goes on to examine in some depth the “legendary” claim of 47 million uninsured Americans, and based on his research, comes to the unsurprising conclusion that the figure 47 million is pure bunk, used by groups like ACORN as scare tactics to further their agenda by ginning up a non-existent “health care crisis” and persuading newspapers across the country to deliver their message, disguised as news.

It wouldn’t be nearly so easy for them if they didn’t have the willing help of a third-rate fourth estate.

Stoutcat

Breaking News: Obama Switches To Stand-up Comedy

This just in from the TIC (Tongue-In-Cheek) News Network:

Washington DC – (TIC) President Barack Obama, in a move some Republicans are calling “calculated to counter his “Doom & Gloom” speeches recently, has decided to add Stand-Up Comedy to his speaking style.

The day after the Senate House of Reps (just wait) approved his pork-riddled $410 Billion, cluttered to the gills with earmarks, Obama announced he will be outlining his proposal for cutting wasteful spending.

(Cue laugh track)

From the AP news story on Foxnews.com:

Obama’s directive would order Peter Orszag, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, to work with Cabinet and agency officials to draft new contracting rules by the end of September. Those new rules, officials said, would make it more difficult for contractors to bilk taxpayers and make around $500 billion in federal contracts each year more accessible to independent contractors.

Oh, the sweet irony! One way contractors could be prevented from bilking us out of $500 Billion in federal contracts is to stop passing “Stimulus Packages” costing hundreds of billions of dollars. Simply put, those packages are loaded with over 8,000 slabs of pork. (Do we REALLY need a high-speed rail linking Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Harry Reid?).

Remember the good old days when if politicians wanted to shove a bill down the taxpayers’ throats (and down our wallets), they actually had to do it LEGALLY by presenting a bill with a single point project and pass it in both houses plus get the President to sign it? I think way back then they called that a system of Checks & Balances. Now, all you have to do is have the Congressional Cheerleaders join the President in declaring dire emergencies that can only be solved by spending more trillions of dollars, then attaching all your porcine projects to this emergency legislation and, Voila!  up to 8 Years of Lobbying is now reduced to ONE BILL.

There’s your CHANGE, Obama fans. All that lobbying and screwing of the taxpayers, reduced from 8 years down to 6 weeks!

But wait! There’s More! Act before midnight tonight  and here’s what you’ll get (at a phenomenal extra charge):

No doubt ACORN will receive a $20 million grant to study how to change the whole procurement system.

Gerry Ashley

A Winning Strategy For McCain?

This Just In From the Tongue-In-Cheek News Service (“TIC”)

By now, it’s fairly obvious to most that ACORN seems to be dedicated to creating as many “extra” voters for Obama as possible to assure him of victory in next month’s Presidential election.

For John McCain, the task before him is enormous. He’s working his tail off to get every legitimate vote while Obama basks in the knowledge that, most likely thanks to ACORN, not only are millions of people going to vote for him, but a lot of dead people too. In fact, I’m pretty sure Obama can count on Mickey Mouse’s vote since the moldy rodent registered in Florida. So did Goofy, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and the rest of the Disney family.

As the FBI investigation widens, however, Obama might just find himself on the wrong end of the ugly stick. Assuming the investigtion digs deep enough to find the real purpose (and use) of that $800,000+ “contribution” to ACORN, Obama might suffer the same fate as Eddie Valiant’s brother in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” If you recall, Valiant bemoaned the fact that his brother was “Done in by a bunch of ‘toons.” The Mickey Mouse voter registration could ultimately make Obama look… well, GOOFY. Ah-hyuck!

Meanwhile, I hear a lot of people complaining, “I just don’t know if I can vote for John McCain… he might DIE in office!” Hey, his mother is in her 90s and, if I’m not mistaken, just signed up on “Match.com.” She recently announced she was going to have to push off the start of her Tae-bo classes until she returns from running in The Boston Marathon. So I think we can assume that John McCain comes from a pretty decent gene pool.

The truth of the matter is that John McCain just looks a lot older because he’s standing next to Sarah Palin. I think the real issue is that John McCain needs a charisma implant. Better yet, maybe he should replace the endings of his TV and Radio ads. Instead of the cliched “I’m John McCain and I approve of this ad,” maybe he should just state: I”m John McCain. I might not be the most exciting candidate running, but I won’t lead you down the path to becoming a socialist state.”

When you think about it, it’s too bad the election is so close. We could use a few extra weeks with a new Campaign Slogan for McCain/Palin that would shake things up a bit. A few suggestions:

1.) “McCain/Palin – Nope, No Terrorists In Our Inner Circle.”

2.) “Vote McCain-Palin for 8 more years of Democracy and Freedom.”

3.) “McCain-Palin: You can say our name 3 times fast. (Go ahead. Try the other guys)”

4.) “McCain-Palin: Something Old and Something New – Saving Democracy For You.”

5.) “Sarah Palin: Ready To Lead When McCain’s Taking His Nap.”

I’m Gerry Ashley and I approve of this rant.

No Voter Fraud – Wanna Buy a Bridge?

 

Dear Ohio (and the rest of the US for that matter),

Gonna let you in on a little secret – a little street wisdom. Groups like ACORN ain’t for nothing. Voter registration fraud ain’t for nothing. Obama didn’t funnel $800,000 to ACORN for nothing.

Unlike a lot of academics, I’ve spent way too much time on the streets to be so naive as to think the voter registration fraud will stop when voters try to sign in. If you really believe that voter registration fraud won’t turn into voter fraud, then you’re either a damned fool or agenda blind, but either way I’ve got a bridge for sale cheap.

But maybe there is a silver lining to this very dark cloud. The Dems have been whining about both the 2000 and 2004 election processes. Now the GOP will gripe about the 2008 election. In short, everyone understands that the government struggles with the complexities of running a simple election. Shouldn’t that be an object lesson as to how badly the gov’ment would run a national health plan?

Alan Speakman