ACORN Under Congressional Microscope

ACORN engaged in a scheme to use taxpayer money to support a partisan political agenda, according to a new report from Republicans on a House oversight committee.

The report, released Thursday, accuses ACORN of fraudulent activities and widespread corruption and calls for a criminal investigation into the advocacy group. It offers the first detailed account of the allegations that have dogged the organization in recent months.
ACORN, or the Association of Community Organizations for Reform, has been under constant fire from conservatives since last year for its support of Barack Obama's presidential candidacy and its planned participation in next year's 2010 census.

The report was released by Rep. Darrell Issa, the top Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Issa's GOP colleagues.

"This report is about getting to the truth and when there are significant accusations and questions outstanding regarding an organization that has benefited from millions of taxpayer dollars, those questions should be answered and the truth should be brought to light," Issa said in a statement.

The executive summary of the report says ACORN provided contributions of financial and personnel resources to indicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and candidate Obama, among others, in what the report calls a scheme to use taxpayer money to support a partisan political agenda, which would be a clear violation of numerous tax and election laws.

"Both structurally and operationally, ACORN hides behind a paper wall of nonprofit corporate protections to conceal a criminal conspiracy on the part of its directors, to launder federal money in order to pursue a partisan agenda and to manipulate the American electorate," an executive summary of the report reads.

ACORN, which was sent a copy of the executive summary by FOXNews.com, dismissed the report as a "partisan attack job."

"We are busy fighting to stop the foreclosure crisis, to win quality affordable health care for all Americans and to build a stronger economy for working families, so we haven't had the opportunity to read Rep. Issa's screed at length," Bertha Lewis, CEO of ACORN, said in a written statement to FOXNews.com.

"But an initial review indicates that the document is a recycled and repackaged partisan attack job on ACORN's good work," she added.

The report accuses ACORN, after receiving more than $53 million in federal funds since 1994, of blurring the legal distinctions among 361 tax-exempt and non-exempt entities to divert that money into partisan political activities.

Evidence found in the report relies in part on documents provided by former ACORN employees.
"Operationally, ACORN is a shell game played in 120 cities, 43 states and the District of Columbia through a complex structure designed to conceal illegal activities, to use taxpayer and tax-exempt dollars for partisan political purposes, and to distract investigators," the report read.
"Structurally, ACORN is a chess game in which senior management is shielded from accountability by multiple layers of volunteers and compensated employees who serve as pawns to take the fall for every bad act."

Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for Issa, said ACORN's response suggests the report "hit a nerve."
"We stand by the findings of the report," he told FOXNews.com. "There are a lot of legitimate questions raised about the political activities and organizational structure of ACORN. We'd certainly like to have a venue and platform for ACORN to respond to our report."

In his statement, Issa said, "It is outrageous that ACORN will be rewarded for its criminal acts by taxpayer money in the stimulus and is being asked to help with the U.S. census. This report shines a light on clear criminal conduct and it is abundantly clear that they cannot and should not be trusted with taxpayer dollars."

It would be up to the chairman of the oversight panel to hold hearings on the ACORN report and up to the Justice Department to pursue a criminal investigation. Likewise, the census director will determine whether ACORN remains a partner with the U.S. Census Bureau to assist with the recruitment of the 1.4 million temporary workers needed to go door-to-door to count every person in the United States.

A spokeswoman for Rep. Edolphus Towns, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, did not respond to e-mails seeking comment.

Last Week in Obamanation

I feel like I am living a very bizarre episode of "The Twilight Zone" with a script that goes something like this:

Inspite millions of the protests of millions of Americans, Congress indulged in a porkgasm that our grandchildren will have to pay for, volumes have already been written on the size, so I won't go there.

Then somewhere in the last few weeks or so, Congress gave themselves a 4% pay raise, no kidding. Then come the TARP bailouts and millions of dollars are sent overseas to "honor the contracts" with the foreign banks. Then it was AIG's turn at the trough.

Somewhere in there, roughly $200 million was promised in bonuses(from a contract that was created back in May 08). The public got wind of the bonuses and what began as a dull rumble became a full throated roar of outrage, with Barry as our Cheerleader in Chief of Outrage. Then we find out that his boy Timmy the TaxCheat had alot more to do with writing in those bonuses than even the Cheeleader in Chief knew(or so the MSM reports). Enter Barney Frankinosense who raved that it was outrageous that out of all those millions of dollars going to overseas banks and porcine projects back home that those executives would "dare" to collect those bonuses--I'm guessing it was less than 1%(of the bailout funds) give or take a few million, but whats a few million, right?

Why the hubris of those knaves! Off with their heads, Barney shouted to the approval of those in Congress who should have known better than to advocate targeting a specific group of private citizens (that pesky Constitution again), then demanded the names of those knaves so they could send Timmy the TaxCheat's little buddies to collect those ill-gotten bonuses.

But, wait, what did you say Doddering Dodd the soon to be Doorman? You said you knew about those bonuses when you voted for the bailout? You didn't? No, wait, you did? Well which is it, man? So, you and your posse knew all along about those bonuses,did you? Well now, that might explain in part why so many Republicans refused to vote for the Porkulus spending bill. The Dems just keep writing the Repubs campaign commercials, very nice of them I must say.

When the Cheerleader in Chief realized he had struck a thinly stretched chord with the "chattering classes" of Upchucky's derision and scorn, he decided to scoot out of town and let the hired help handle the rest of the week, for you see, Cheerleaders in Chief must remain spotless when the stuff starts getting flung against the wall. And fling they did. In voices(and jowls) quivering with affected affront they whipped up the chattering classes with their rhetoric and venom against those employees who refused to return their hard earned bonuses. Then in fiendish delight they passed legislation which would snatch back the bonuses in the form of exorbitant taxation--that's what you get for nay-saying the tyrants, you foolish knaves.

Then in a final disquieting display of avarice and class-envy a community organizing group( AKA Connecticut Working Families Party, not at all surprisingly, a branch of ACORN) organized(it's what they do) a bus tour through the neighborhoods of some of those greedy knaves, in order to gawk and grumble about what the greedy knaves have and the chattering classes do not have.

Nevermind it was a legally binding contract! HUSH, you cannot speak the truth in this episode, truth no longer exists. Truth was crushed beneath the bootheel of the tyranical jowl-wavers and her sister Freedom wept.

All of this brouhaha was merely a smoke screen you know. To keep us from seeing the real story of 1 trillion dollars being printed by our government to pay our government, because China will not buy anymore debt from us, neither will the rest of the world. We are now printing more money than it is worth.

Literally.

And in the dark shadows the jittery jihadis wait and watch.



http://faustasblog.com/?p=10979
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/03/busload_of_crazies_to_tour_hom.html?imw=Y&f=most-emailed-24h5
Take a Tour of the Tour Organizers--its only fair

Obama and Acorn sitting in a tree...