ACORN

ACORN - Budget - Congress - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - House of Representatives - Liberals - Lobbyists - President - Senate - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Waste: Feds Gave ACORN Half a Million for ‘Fire Prevention’

December 7, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Jonathan Strong of the Daily Caller has another sad tale of massive government waste involving the criminal group ACORN.

Everybody knows about ACORN, the dead, but not really dead activist group charged with all sorts of improprieties and illegalities, the most significant of which is voter fraud, including registering Mickey Mouse to vote.

But how did ACORN, a “grassroots reform” group, get grant money reserved mostly for local fire departments to do “fire prevention” work?

Continue reading “

Waste: Feds Gave ACORN Half a Million for ‘Fire Prevention’”

ACORN - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Liberals - Regulation - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Former ACORN Worker Takes Plea Deal for Vote Fraud

November 12, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Just prior to the election we discovered that in the state of Nevada the former chief of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now’s (ACORN) affiliated Project Vote organization was under indictment for voter fraud. This week we learn that Amy Busefink has coped a plea deal on charges of illegally paying “bonus” payments to workers registering voters during the 2008 election.

Busefink entered a plea on two gross misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit the crime of compensating people for registering voters and faced 13 felony counts for the same. The fact that Busefink accepted this plea deal means that she as much as admitted that the state had the evidence to convict her.

Busefink will soon be sentenced.
Continue reading “

Former ACORN Worker Takes Plea Deal for Vote Fraud”

ACORN - Budget - Congress - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - House of Representatives - Liberals - President - Warner Todd Huston

Another Reminder: ACORN Isn’t Dead

November 10, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The New York Post reminds us of an important fact: ACORN isn’t dead. It is merely attempting to morph into a new group with a different name in order to shed its ruined reputation. It has no intention, though, of disappearing entirely like it should.

I’ve also mentioned before that this assumption that the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is defunct is not a good assumption to make. These hardcore leftists won’t give up easily.

Interestingly, the new ACORN will also launch in an effort to skip out on the old ACORN’s creditors. That’s typical, isn’t it? So, to skip out on creditors and to get out from under it’s ruined reputation and name, ACORN plans to rebrand itself.
Continue reading “

Another Reminder: ACORN Isn’t Dead”

ACORN - Barack Obama - Congress - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Liberals - Regulation - Socialism - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

ACORN’s Get-Out-The-Vote Operative Under State Felony Charges

October 27, 2010 by 3 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Contrary to popular perception, the criminal group ACORN (Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now) is not quite a’moulderin’ in the grave, folks. Many might recall that Congress turned off the spigot of federal funds flowing into the coffers of the organization responsible for federal election law crimes all across the country. Many might all recall that ACORN itself eventually said it would shutter its operations.

But even with all that recent history, ACORN’s Project Vote is still in operation and one of its main directors is a woman under a cloud of criminal charges in the state of Nevada.

Project Vote is supposed to be separate from ACORN, at least on paper. But as Matthew Vadum writes, “Although legally separate entities, in practice the two are the same, as the congressional testimony of former ACORN/Project Vote employee Anita MonCrief can attest. They share office space, employees, and budgets. Project Vote continues to operate out of ACORN’s Washington, D.C., headquarters.”
Continue reading “

ACORN’s Get-Out-The-Vote Operative Under State Felony Charges”

Chicago Tribune - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Journalism - Liberals - Media - Patriotism - Republicans - Warner Todd Huston

Former ACORN Worker Justifies Preventing Pledge of Allegiance at Illinois Candidate Debate

October 24, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Thanks to Jeff Dunetz at Yid With Lid we have found out that a former ACORN worker turned director of the League of Women Voters has been heard justifying actions of the debate moderator who tried to prevent the audience at an 8th District candidate debate from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance last week.

As the debate began someone in the crowd yelled out asking if they were going to start the night’s activities with the pledge. The moderator of the debate nixed the idea saying “no we are not.” Then when the crowd expressed its shock and dismay she said “excuse me,” and “it has never been part of…” at which time she was interrupted by the entire crowd reciting the pledge anyway.

For days the controversy has raged since the October 20 debate where debate moderator Kathy Tate-Bradish tried to prevent the people from reciting the pledge. Then on Oct. 22, there was an outrageous story that Executive Director Jan Czarnik of the League of Women Voters was lambasting the pledge controversy as a stunt set up by GOP candidate Joe Walsh and an example of “phony patriotism.”

So the LWV thinks reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is “phony patriotism,” eh?

Disgusting.
Continue reading “

Former ACORN Worker Justifies Preventing Pledge of Allegiance at Illinois Candidate Debate”

ACORN - Barack Obama - Budget - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Liberals - Lobbyists - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Vadum: A Reminder, ACORN Funding NOT Permanently Cut Off

September 29, 2010 by 6 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Matthew Vadum, ever vigilant on the evils perpetrated by ACORN, reminds us that the criminal community organizer has not had its federal funding cut off permanently. The temporary cut off is soon to expire and Vadum reports that there doesn’t seem to be anyone in Congress taking up a reinstatement of the ban.

In his Sept. 28 piece at the American Spectator, Vadum says that many people are confused about the funding ban imagining it was permanent.

This confusion about ACORN can probably be blamed in part on the quirks of parliamentary procedure and the complexity of the appropriations process. The legal language prohibiting the funding is contained in spending legislation that covers only the federal government’s current fiscal year which ends this Sept. 30.

The current funding ban is due to run out soon.

So is Congress making to fix this lack of attention on ACORN?
Continue reading “

Vadum: A Reminder, ACORN Funding NOT Permanently Cut Off”

ACORN - Budget - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Liberals - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Government Report Says ACORN Spinoff Illicitly Got Federal Funding

September 25, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

A report by the inspector general of the Department of Housing and Urban Development says that the ACORN Housing Corporation improperly received millions in federal funds. The report demands that the group repay the ill-gotten gain.

The organization later changed its name to Affordable Housing Centers of America after ACRON’s name was so badly tarnished by revelations of its corruption.

The report said that more than $9 million went to the organization and that some 80 percent of the $3.25 million received between 2008 and 2009 went to salaries for ACORN employees.
Continue reading “

Government Report Says ACORN Spinoff Illicitly Got Federal Funding”

ACORN - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Judges - Law - Liberals - Regulation - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

New Court Decision: Congress Can Withhold ACORN Funding

August 15, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Looks like ACORN lost another round in court last week. New York’s 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court’s decision to re-instate Congressional funding of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) ruling that halting funding did not violate the group’s rights.

Congress finally cut off federal funding to ACORN after the controversy stirred by conservative activist James O’Keefe who videotapped various ACORN offices advising a prostitute to hide her profession in order to get federal housing funding. The “prostitute” was in truth an investigative reporter working with O’Keefe.

ACORN tried to sue James O’Keefe but its lawsuit was thrown out.

Eventually ACORN became so politically toxic that Congress eventually and properly cut off funding for the organization. In response to the actions by Congress ACORN sued to re-instate the finding claiming their rights were being violated and that Congress had given the group what amounted to a “corporate death sentence” by having the funding removed.

After winning the first round with favorable decision by a district court judge in Brooklyn, the case was appealed to the 2nd District Court of Appeals. The Appeals Court ruled that the Brooklyn judge was wrong and said that since ACORN only got 10 percent of its funding from the federal government that the organization’s rights were not being violated and its existence was not endangered by removal of federal funding.

It would appear however, that ACORN is fighting a losing battle. Time will tell, certainly.
Continue reading “

New Court Decision: Congress Can Withhold ACORN Funding”

ACORN - Budget - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Federal Funds Paid for ACORN Youth Groups

June 24, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

If you haven’t checked out CNSNews.com, it is a great place to find stories not widely discussed in the Old Media. Often CNS hits stories before anyone else and the Old Media has to play catch-up to report what CNSNews already reported. Recently CNS had an investigative story detailing millions in federal funds that went to pay for ACORN sponsored youth indoctrination groups.

According to CNS the U.S. Justice Dept. gave $135,130 in 2005 to a group called The New York Agency for Community Affairs. It turns out that this group was just an adjunct of ACORN and served as a recruitment arm among young people for the parent organization.

The Government Accountability Office also reports that nearly $40 million in federal funds went to ACORN and groups like it between 2005 and 2009.
Continue reading “

Federal Funds Paid for ACORN Youth Groups”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - EFCA - Government - Jobs - Liberals - NLRB - President - Warner Todd Huston

Union Hack Becker Gets Recess Appointment

March 29, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

President Obama is determined to misuse his office to payoff unions and to that end he has given union goon Craig Becker a recess appointment as the head of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the agency tasked with implementing fair and responsible federal rules to govern labor and employers.

The U.S. Chamber of commerce has slammed Obama’s appointment of union hack Becker to such an important position. The Chamber was disgusted by Obama’s actions. According to The Hill the Chamber slammed the decision because it “‘disregards the Senate’s bipartisan rejection’ of Becker and ‘contradicts the president’s claim to change the tone in Washington,’ said Randel K. Johnson, the chamber’s senior vice president of Labor, Immigration and Employee Benefits.”

“This is the first time since 1993 that the Chamber has opposed a nominee to the NLRB,” Johnson said. “The Chamber’s opposition is based on Mr. Becker’s prolific writings, which suggest a radical view of labor law that flies in the face of established precedent and case law and is far outside the mainstream.”

Now unions can likely expect Becker to re-write NLRB rules to allow the things that unions want to get implemented even though Congress has in a bi-partisan manner refused to do so thus far. Obama is, in other words, warping our process, subverting Congress, and using back doors to get his radical, left-wing agenda passed above the desires of the people’s representatives and the will of the voters.
Continue reading “

Union Hack Becker Gets Recess Appointment”

ACORN - Barack Obama - California - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Government - Illinois - Law - Liberals - Louisiana - New York - SEIU - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

ACORN’s Tangled Branches

March 25, 2010 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

News is all over the country that the often criminal group the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is dead, folding its tent, kaput. All this is because, as Politico puts it, of a “conservative assault that never prompted any prosecutions.”

But let us not get our hopes up that ACORN is defeated. It isn’t. In fact, most of the groups that huddled under ACORN’s left-wing are just changing their names and moving on with all the same people involved as if nothing ever happened. And this isn’t anything new. The fact is, ACORN activists have always hid behind dozens of false front organizations and corporate identities to disguise their criminal network.

In California, for instance, one of the ACORN affiliates is changing its name to “Californians for Community Empowerment” and one of the New York offices will now be known as “New York Communities for Change.” But all the same people that ran these former ACORN offices in these states are still there, no change has been made but the name.

We also saw the shady groups connected with ACORN but not named ACORN just last year during the Doug Hoffman, New York 23 arc. There an ACORN affiliate had created a fake political party in order to funnel cash to the Democrat running in that race. One of the organizations hip-deep in that election was a political group called the Working Families Party. Of course, the WFP is more-or-less a front for ACORN in New York and no political party at all.
Continue reading “

ACORN’s Tangled Branches”

ACORN - Barack Obama - Budget - Campaign Finance - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Media - Media Bias - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Lord of the Rings Updated for 2010, The Dark Lord ACORN Lives

March 20, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The last book of the famous Lord of the Rings Trilogy is ripe for some updating, so here’s a proposal to that end. The Dark Lord Sauron is a perfect evil villain, of course. He’s shadowy, unseen, hard to grasp, but pervasive and the personification of oppression and evil. But his name needs to be updated and so does his downfall in order to reflect today’s sensibilities.

So, instead of being named Lord Sauron, his new name will be the Dark Lord ACORN. See, the evil still works but it’s updated, ya know?

Now we all know that in the original final book of LOTR, The Return of the King, the Dark Lord and his forces are beaten by the combined forces of the good people of Middle Earth. Evil is vanquished and all live forever after in love and harmony. The age of magic does pass, but a new idyllic age of man dawns.

Well, poppycock says I. We all know that evil isn’t so easily vanquished, don’t we? We need to rewrite the demise of the evil Lord ACORN to one more befitting of reality.
Continue reading “

Lord of the Rings Updated for 2010, The Dark Lord ACORN Lives”

ACORN - Warner Todd Huston

ACORN is Dead?

February 23, 2010 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The news has it today that young Mr. James O’Keefe and Andrew Breitbart have laid low ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. ACORN is dissolved, they say.

Don’t believe a word of it. Yes, it is obvious that ACORN was materially hurt by the expose showing its propensity towards criminality. But the organization is not dead. It it merely rebranding.

Tucked into the Politico story, for instance, was the admission that nothing is really changing but the name.
Continue reading “

ACORN is Dead?”

ACORN - Anti-Americanism - Business - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Illinois - Liberals - State Government - Warner Todd Huston

ACORN’s Tangled Webs

November 1, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

In one of our early postings we discovered how ACORN hides behind hundreds of different incorporated names and sets up dozens and dozens of LLCs and organizations that they hide behind in order to fool people into imagining they aren’t, indeed, doing business with ACORN. This is a story of one of those organizations, one politically active and actively attempting to undermine the trust voters have in the political system.

Some of you may have heard of the election in New York’s 23rd District where a liberal Democrat, a very liberal Republican, and a conservative Republican running on the New York conservative Party ticket all of whom are vying for the open Congressional seat there. Well, one of the organizations hip-deep in this election is a political group called the Working Families Party. Of course, the WFP is more-or-less a front for ACORN in New York and no political party at all.

The WFP is part and parcel to ACORN in New York. The “party” is run out of the ACORN offices at 88 Third Avenue in Brooklyn, its Co-chair is ACORN President Bertha Lewis, and one of its prime representatives is New York’s ACORN leader, Steven Kest. ACORN and the Working Families Party are inextricable. The two are one and the same.
Continue reading “

ACORN’s Tangled Webs”

ACORN - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Illinois - Liberals - SEIU - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

ACORN’s Defenders Not Remaining Silent

October 31, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

As we at SayNoToACORN.com are fighting to help inform you about what you can do to impress upon our local and federal officials to distance themselves from ACORN, the other side — those that support the actions of ACORN — are also organizing. This fact proves that we cannot just sit idly by and hope that things go our way. We must act to make sure our politicians listen to us and defund this criminal organization. We must speak because our opponents definitely are.

Once again, Byron York reports on this story and he finds a webpage trying to cajole our lawmakers into increasing ACORN’s federal funding instead of eliminating it. York finds a site called defoxamerica.com that serves to both attack Fox News and advocate for increased funding for ACORN.

With Congress getting ready to pass a continuing resolution that might — or might not — extend the ban on federal funds for ACORN, there’s a new campaign urging lawmakers to restore federal funding for the community organizing group. The website DeFOX America, which is devoted both to attacking Fox News and defending ACORN, is asking readers to sign a petition urging Congress “to stand up to [Fox’s] McCarthyite tactics by voting against any unconstitutional legislation that singles out specific organizations. This includes the continuing resolution that cuts off Federal support to the national anti-poverty group ACORN.”

This webpage is being funded by an extremist, left-wing Hollywood filmmaker named Robert Greenwald.
Continue reading “

ACORN’s Defenders Not Remaining Silent”

ACORN - Barack Obama - Budget - Chicago - Congress - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Illinois - Liberals - SEIU - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Any Minute Congress Could Re-Fund ACORN

October 29, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Earlier I noted that we need your voice to keep the pressure on our representatives to keep government funds out of the hands of the criminal organization ACORN. Today Byron York posted another reminder of this salient fact in his headlined, “Will Congress’ Defunding of ACORN Expire Saturday?”

York concludes that it is unlikely that ACORN funding will be restored on Saturday, but the simple fact of the matter is that it could be. Either this Saturday or during the very next budgeting process, ACORN funding can be easily slipped right back into a budget any time Congress feels like it’s safe to do so.

You see, Congress works by writing continuing budget resolutions — or CRs — several times a year. These CRs delineate Congress’ budget and can be added to or subtracted from at each and every session. Currently the defunding of ACORN is an idea whose time has come. But there can easily come a day when Democrats think no one is watching any longer and slip the ACORN funding right back in to any future CR.
Continue reading “

Any Minute Congress Could Re-Fund ACORN”

ACORN - Anti-Americanism - Budget - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Illinois - Liberals - Republicans - State Government - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Durkin and Connelly move to overturn Quinn’s EO 09-15

October 28, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Illinois Review has some great news on the Gov. Quinn/ACORN/SEIU front. As we’ve discussed many times here, Gov. Quinn authored Executive Order 9-15 that tried to unionize in-home healthcare workers that get a stipend from the state to care for their own family members. I’ve been working with Americans for Tax Reform to sponsor an investigation into the millions of state dollars that end up with the unions and ACORN. Our effort can be seen at SayNoToACORN.com.

It looks like several state pols have finally taken notice of Gov. Quinn’s stealth sop to unions and ACORN and are sponsoring a resolution to begin the process to stop it. Illinois Review takes it from here….
Continue reading “

Durkin and Connelly move to overturn Quinn’s EO 09-15″

ACORN - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Chicago - Congress - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - House of Representatives - Illinois - Liberals - SEIU - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Why do We Need YOUR Voice Against ACORN? Because Gov’t Cannot Be Trusted!

October 28, 2009 by 4 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Not long ago I posted a piece with news that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) had decided to cut off its association with the Association for Community Activists for Reform Now (ACORN). I also reported that the RIS and several other Federal agencies had stopped their dealings with ACORN, essentially defunding them of federal dollars.

But that was then…

On October 22 Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D, Calif) was sadly successful in getting an amendment passed in the House Financial Services Committee that would allow ACORN to become an official government actor in setting regulations for financial institutions.

You read that right. Rep. Waters thought it would be a great idea to give federal power to an organization that has repeatedly broken multiple state election laws in nearly every state in the union and an organization that has been guilty of covering up the embezzlement nearly five million dollars of its own funds by one of its highest ranking members.
Continue reading “

Why do We Need YOUR Voice Against ACORN? Because Gov’t Cannot Be Trusted!”

ACORN - Budget - Campaign Finance - Chicago - Cook County - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Illinois - Liberals - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

New Stop ACORN TV Ad

October 22, 2009 by

Illinois state government is so mixed up with AORN and the SEIU but the people are left in the dark about the truth. One group wants to launch an investigation into just how much state money these corrupt politicians are giving to ACORN and the SEIU.

SayNoToACRON.com has launched a new TV ad to inform Illinoisans on the threat to their government and taxes.

ACORN - Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Chicago - Congress - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - House of Representatives - Illinois - Liberals - SEIU - Society/Culture - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Illinois Rep. Biggert Introduces Defund ACORN Bill

October 20, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R, Hinsdale, IL) introduced legislation last week intended to prevent misuse of federal housing counseling funds.

“It’s abundantly clear that ACORN and its affiliates cannot be trusted as a federally certified entity,” said Biggert, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee. “Given the group’s clear links to illegal and inappropriate activities, how can we knowingly give them federal certification to divert precious resources from legitimate housing counselors working overtime to help struggling homeowners?”

For years federal funds have flowed into ACORN’s coffers for services given to low-income home buyers across the country. These services are intended to counsel low-income buyers on how to go about the mortgage process, to inform them of subsides and government services, and to assist the purchase.
Continue reading “

Illinois Rep. Biggert Introduces Defund ACORN Bill”

ACORN - Anti-Americanism - Business - Chicago - Communism - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Jobs - Liberals - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Union Plans Voted Down by Home Healthcare Workers

October 20, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

If CBS News has it right, the majority of in-home healthcare workers in Illinois voted not to join a union despite the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Governor Quinn’s best efforts to force the issue.

Earlier in the year, Governor Quinn signed Executive Order 09-15 that gave away the private information of every in-home healthcare worker in the state to several unions so that they might begin a campaign to cajole these workers into joining a union by calling them on the phone and visiting them at their homes.

In-home healthcare workers receive a stipend from the state in order to help them care for developmentally disabled or medically at risk family members.
Continue reading “

Union Plans Voted Down by Home Healthcare Workers”

ACORN - Anti-Americanism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Liberals - Warner Todd Huston

ACORN Destroying Republican Voter Registration Forms

October 19, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Not long ago, Pam Geller told the story of an ACORN office in Florida that had destroyed all the Republican voter registration forms it had gotten during a 2008 voter registration drive.

Geller had a first-hand account of this crime from one Fathiyyah Muhammad, an Obama voter that is a registered Republican. She is also an African-American.

“This is my first experience” with ACORN, Muhammad said. “This was before Obama got the nomination, long before then….I heard about this group that was paying $3.00 per person, to go out and to get people to sign up to vote. So I went over, I thought that well this is a good way to make some money because I know everybody, you know. I went over there and this guy signed me up and everything, and gave me my little pad, all this stuff.”

Muhammad dutifully went out and registered a bunch of Republican voters in Jacksonville and returned to the ACORN office to turn in her results. However, the ACORN representatives were incensed to find out that her registrations were for Republicans and not Democrats.
Continue reading “

ACORN Destroying Republican Voter Registration Forms”

ACORN - Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Chicago - Cook County - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Illinois - Liberals - SEIU - Society/Culture - State Government - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Even SEIU Says ACORN is Toxic

October 17, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

In an amusing case of the pot calling the kettle, Anna Burger, the Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), told Representative Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) that the SEIU had dumped ACORN during a Sept. 30 hearing conducted by the House Financial Services Committee. Apparently Mrs. Burger felt that ACORN was too toxic for the SEIU to associate with.

Certainly it is quite amazing that the SEIU has taken the step to dump ACORN as a vendor. Groups such as SEIU rarely reassess associations preferring to stubbornly stick to their guns in most cases.

During the hearing, Rep. McHenry mentioned to Mrs. Burger that the U.S. Census Bureau, the IRS, and even Bank of America had cut ties with ACORN because of the community organizer’s declining credibility and apparent criminal activities. Burger replied, “SEIU has also cut all ties to ACORN.”
Continue reading “

Even SEIU Says ACORN is Toxic”

ACORN - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Communism - Cook County - Economy/Finances - Illinois - Liberals - Republicans - SEIU - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

The Big Score: Springfield’s Subsidies to ACORN

October 15, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

For a little further information on the cozy relationship between the Illinois State government in Springfield and the troubled Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the sort of corrupt bargain to which we are attempting to bring sunlight, we’ve done a little research into some of the funding distributed from our tax dollars to ACORN. In this case, we have some documents on funds given to ACORN for the Illinois Housing Development Authority’s Predatory Lending Database Program (PLD) and related programs.

It isn’t just the taxpayer’s money given to ACORN that is at issue, to be sure. Not only do we see our tax dollars going to this organization that has so often been caught up in instances of criminal voter fraud across the country as well as a $5 million embezzlement controversy, but our state government has allowed this group to help it create government programs and policies, as well.

Why would the state turn to this often times criminal organization to help it create the PLD program? For the answer to that we turn to the 2008 Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan progress report.

Continue reading “

The Big Score: Springfield’s Subsidies to ACORN”

ACORN - Anti-Americanism - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Jobs - Liberals - President - Society/Culture - State Government - Warner Todd Huston

Smosska’s ACORN Smoke Screen

October 11, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is an update on a story about a company in South Carolina named Smosska that I covered back in July. At this point, it seems beyond question that Smosska is a sham organization that was set up by ACORN in order to hide “community activism” behind a false front in South Carolina.


Back in July I reported on a corporation that swept into Florence, South Carolina promising all sorts of new jobs with wonderful new benefits. Naturally none of these jobs have materialized. Looking into this Smosska, Corp. proves that the company is a sham group formed to serve the needs of the criminal ACORN organization.

Well, for an update, it looks like this sham company is getting served with an eviction notice.
Continue reading “

Smosska’s ACORN Smoke Screen”

ACORN - Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Illinois - Liberals - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

How ACORN Hides Behind Fake Names

October 9, 2009 by 5 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Many states have ways to look up the businesses, organizations and people with whom the state does business. Illinois has such a service on the Secretary of State’s website.

In Illinois there is a way to search the folks the state does business with on a page titled Corporate/LLC Search / Certificate of Good Standing. There you can input the name of a corporation or LLC and find out the address of its offices, its registered manager’s name, etc.

Sadly, this feature is not easy to use. The problem is you have to know the actual name of the corporation you are looking for. Of course, if you don’t really know what you are looking for you just cannot find anything useful.

The problem with the Illinois search system is that groups like ACORN register hundreds of different shell corporations to hide behind. They register them to their workers and their directors and then they offer them to government as a vendor or organization for the state’s use. Naturally, state funds flow like water into ACORN’s coffers as a result.
Continue reading “

How ACORN Hides Behind Fake Names”

ACORN - Budget - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Illinois - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - SEIU - Socialism - State Government - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Illinois Families Forced Into Unions Courtesy of Gov. Quinn

October 7, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Governor Pat Quinn signed Executive Order number 09-15 earlier in the year. This order gave the state government the OK to hand over the private information — the addresses, names, and telephone numbers — of hundreds of families that have developmentally disabled children and other family members with chronic medical problems in their homes. Many of these people are considered home-based healthcare workers by the state and they receive state aid to help them take care of their disabled family members.

Unions like the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) are salivating to take some of this money out of the pockets of these needy Illinois citizens that only want a little help to take care of family members with major and costly medical problems.

Now, with the signing of EO 09-15, Governor Pat Quinn has given these unions the “in” they need to accost these citizens in their homes or on the phone in order to cajole them into joining their unions. Once these unions get done bothering Illinois citizens in their homes, thanks to being given private addresses by Quinn, they will then begin to reap the reward of millions of dollars in forced dues remittances.

Quinn has also agreed that these unions will get a portion of these citizen’s state aid whether they join a union or not.
Continue reading “

Illinois Families Forced Into Unions Courtesy of Gov. Quinn”

ACORN - Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Free Trade - Health - Illinois - Liberals - President - Republicans - SEIU - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Join Me, Illinois, to SAY NO to ACORN!

October 1, 2009 by 1 Comment

Illinois is a bankrupt state, yet our accidental Governor Pat Quinn is handing over millions of state dollars to ACORN/SEIU and any other union that wants to put its hand out. Join me and Americans For Prosperity to Say NO to ACORN.com.
Continue reading “

Join Me, Illinois, to SAY NO to ACORN!”

ACORN - Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Liberals - President - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Federal Recovery Tracking Website Hides $$ to ACORN

September 30, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

We are discovering that Obama’s promised transparency only goes so far in reporting where stimulus money ends up going. The new tracking website, Recovery.gov, is supposed to let us all know where the federal “stimulus” money is going but apparently will not track money that goes to groups like the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).

The Denver Post published a story by reporter Miles Moffeit that reveals that the stimulus tracking website will only report so far into the chain of agencies and organizations that end up receiving stimulus cash and will not report where billions of dollars actually end up.

The site will delineate which state and local governments get what amounts of money but will not report any destinations after it arrives in the accounts of state and local governments. If I read Moffeit’s article correctly the site apparently will not report the identities of the agencies and vendors that end up actually getting all the cash at the end of the line.

The Post reports that payments to “grassroots-level recipients and their identities, such as subcontractors, the subcontractors’ own vendors” will not appear on Recovery.org and will remain unreported unless the states themselves decide to post the ultimate destination of the funding.
Continue reading “

Federal Recovery Tracking Website Hides $$ to ACORN”

ACORN - Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Conservatives - Constitution - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Liberals - Socialism - Society/Culture - The Law - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

CYA: ACORN, ACLU Attempt to Throw Out Penn. Voter Law

August 11, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

So, what do you do if you are the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and you are accused of violating state election laws? What else but hire the ACLU to try and get those laws thrown out as unconstitutional?

In Pennsylvania, six members of ACORN have been indicted for violating a state election law prohibiting groups from setting quotas for voter registration drives. The ACLU claims that this rule violates the constitutional right of ACORN to utilize “commonplace management tools” and techniques to manage its paid workers.

But the statute is clearly meant to maintain the integrity of the voter rolls, something that ACORN just as clearly violated with its illicit practices to inflate voter rolls with fake Democrat voters.

Continue reading “

CYA: ACORN, ACLU Attempt to Throw Out Penn. Voter Law”