Not just a river in Egypt:
A powerful new coalition of educators, clergy, civic, labor, and other leaders, “Communities Standing Together” – will hold an important press conference to denounce the recent slew of smear campaigns, factual distortions, and ugly attacks on ACORN and other organizations and individuals working for justice.
Well.
ACORN has unleashed a lawsuit against citizen journalists James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles for doing that citizen journalist thing. And ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis has claimed publicly that the pair were kicked out of a diminishing list of cities Philadelphia when those darn kids tried a similar stunt there. The local manager put out a denial of her own.
Which, between the two of them as it turns out, may not be entirely, you know: True.
O’Keefe and Giles – perhaps stung by the threatened lawsuit – blanked out Philly office manager’s responses to their questions, and the tape ran out before they could finish the interview.
In the interest of getting to the bottom of all this, I sincerely hope that ACORN will agree to hold the pair harmless and authorize an unexpurgated version of the tape to be publicly aired.
Alternatively, they could demagogue the gaps as proof that O’Keefe and Giles edited the office manager’s responses in bad faith.
Which, given the way things have gone for ACORN recently, is probably a bad idea. The dynamic duo have been a step ahead of ACORN at every turn, and if it comes down to it, truth is a defense to libel.
Update: Bertha Lewis condemns the “air of McCarthyism.” To no one’s surprise, she’s not talking about speaking truth to the administration’s naked exercise in using presidential power to silence critics. She’s talking about a couple of kids whose combined age is less than 50.
While I know that in the end the Lawyers are most likely the only ones to come out smelling like roses and pockets full of money. I’m looking forward to the revelations of this trial. Of course the judge could block everything from the public until the trial is over but it will still come out how dishonest and (other vile terms) ACORN is.
But to be honest it appears that Congress has not followed through on their initial displeasure, no bills have passed nor been sent. I’m sure that many are just hoping that we will not notice that.
Papa Ray
In a perverse moment, my mind wonders how it would be should effigies of the ‘Hammer and Sickle’ be burned in the front yard of our dearly, beloved ACORN membership. Quickly passes the moment, but then…
I have a simple question: Why are huge numbers of our tax dollars going to support this group that is, at heart, a democrat vote-getting machine? And how did that come about without my hearing about ACORN until the recent scandals? Ok, that’s two questions, but they are related . . . and I do really want to know the answers.
Acorn has no choice but to go to court. What more could they lose?
Seeing Bertha Lewis being interviewed on television reminds me of that old “Knock Knock Joke”.
Who’s there?
Cleopatra.
Cleopatra who?
Cleopatra, Queen of Denial.
What say you, is there a “culture” of corruption? Are there not people who you can observe and conclude that they’re lying just because their lips are moving? Why are 99.8% of them democrats?
Apparently (and I apologize for putting out unsubstantiated posts) the “end to Acorn funding” was only for the previous fiscal year as an a$$ covering move by congress. With the new one here, the flood gates are once again open, including a cool mil for “fire safety” in the state of Louisiana.
We all need to call our reps and sens and loudly complain and remind them that 2010 is nearly upon us.
I’ve a new term for all that is politics, power, and so forth particularly as played in Washington.
Its not a Culture of Corruption but a Culture of Collusion – those colluding at every level to keep things as they are. And as they are is where groups and organizations feel free to suck at the public tit with no consideration for anyone else needing succor nor the limited supply of nourishment being depleted.
ACORN is in collusion with their apologists and enablers who, as far as I can tell, seem to be just about every Democratic machine politician there is. Collusion to commit fraud on the taxpayers on a massive scale.