Some day it would be helpful to figure out how an organization so obviously shady, whose branches are routinely under indictment (or worse), could become so entrenched in both the government and in the markets, particularly the housing market. Until then, it good to see another ACORN relationship severed. Bank of America has just cut its ties with ACORN due to ACORN's most recent scandal.
Already facing the loss of federal government funding, the community-organizing group ACORN also has run afoul of one of its big corporate partners, Bank of America Corp.
In response to questions from The Wall Street Journal, a spokesman for the banking company said it has "suspended current commitments" to ACORN Housing, an affiliated group, and "will not enter into any further agreements with ACORN or any of its affiliates," pending assessments by the bank of the organization's operations.
Rasmussen Reports polling shows, Health Care Reform - Support for Health Care Plan Hits New Low. The most likely health reform plan at this time is the Baucus plan, yet what health care reform means is still largely unknown as numerous amendments to this bill are under review including whether a public option will be part of the bill. Many basic factors regarding cost and effectiveness have not been fully addressed, and a new CBO report states that Medicare benefits will likely be cut eventually even though supporters of the bill have stated the opposite. The Rasmussen poll and accompanying article is an interesting read as it shows how the American people are viewing health reform and its effects.
Just 41% of voters nationwide now favor the health care reform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s down two points from a week ago and the lowest level of support yet measured.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 56% are opposed to the plan.
If the plan passes, 24% of voters say the quality of care will get better, and 55% say it will get worse. In August, the numbers were 23% better and 50% worse.
Fifty-four percent (54%) say passage of the plan will make the cost of health care go up while 23% say it will make costs go down. In August, 52% thought the plan would lead to higher costs, and just 17% thought it would achieve the stated goal of lowering costs.
While many credit or blame the town hall protests for building opposition to the plan, it appears they were simply a reflection of public opinion rather than a creator of it. This sense is confirmed by the fact that Obama’s approval ratings fell more in June and July before stabilizing in August.
This time the whole world is paying attention to us with Pittsburgh and the G-20 and NY having its annual United Nations gabfest. I love New York or New Jersey or anywhere that will let me pitch my tent said Col. Qaddafi (dozen spelling variations). It is funny how hugging a terrorist in a hero's welcome makes you unwelcomed in the Mid-Atlantic.
New York--This was actually a very good week substantively for NY Governor David Patterson so it figures he spent most of in a tiff with President Obama and overshadowed by leaders around the world. Poor guy even Mayor Rudy Giuliani said he felt for him. He had a major victory where the New York Court of Appeals (their highest court) overturned lower court decisions and validated his Lt. Governor. He called for eliminating the entire 2 billion dollar short fall with spending cuts and no tax or fee increases. We didn't even have new women pop up, yet what will be remembered about the week for him was the Thursday night version of Saturday night live (use the whole program option). When you are Liberal and SNL treats you like trash, you are in trouble.
Pennsylvania The G20 deserves its own report Sunday evening or Monday. They finally got a budget deal. Governor Ed Rendell finally forced higher taxes on businesses and expanded the state sales tax to concerts and sports but could not get any income or sales tax hikes. He had to accept (gasp) a 1% spending cut. The bad news for Delaware and New Jersey is that he forced preliminary acceptance of table games. If the enabling legislation passes it may be back to the drawing board for next year's revenue projections for both states and it may kill already shaky financing for some Maryland racinos. PA is a larger state with an older population.
Delaware Secretly reeling from two surprise blows to its gaming strategy. DEFAC won't like this one. Speaking of the devil, DEFAC projected Delaware revenue to be 45 million dollars softer than July. Interestingly after the personal income tax rates were raised, the take fell over 20 million. In a bad economy, can you raise taxes faster than you kill activity? Hey, I am not the guy who wrote the book purportedly solving all of the state's problems. They should elect him governor, oh we did.
New Jersey Chris Christie still leads. Now that he is on air he is holding his own. The Dems may actually lose the Assembly, but they think they will win it all. They actually hope to get enough anti-Corzine voters to vote for former Kean EPA administrator Chris Daggett to win. When that is the only hope that is desperation. It won't sink in until November. The only hope for traditional marriage in New Jersey is to vote yellow dog Republican this one election. A word to the wise.
Virginia Most polls I findare before the big debate. The only one afterward shows the same result. McDonnell with a 4 point lead. Deeds is using radio ads featuring President Obama in areas with high minority populations and on targeted stations. He is using Senator Mark Warner on TV and statewide. With all that is said and done the base support of both candidates has hardened and it now appears McDonnell is ahead, narrowly, but the race is too close to call.
Maryland When VP Joe Biden has to campaign for health care reform in liberal Montgomery County (which has a tax revolt brewing under the surface), it is not a good sign for the administration.
For the second time this year the Democrats have voted against transparency and by voting against posting a bill online 72 hours before it the vote. Transparency was a huge theme in the last election, this administration claimed it would be the most transparent in history, and while this vote is not President Obama fault, it shows that the Democrats, as a whole, are not living up to the promises of last election. Posting bills online prior to a vote was specifically mentioned during the 2008 race, and now that it is no longer politically convenient, transparency has been thrown overboard.
Health Care legislation is still on a fast-forward track, at least in the House. This creates a dilemma for Democrats as two very different bills are underway in the House and Senate. Neither have any support from Republicans, and the measures such as the public option and surtax that are likely to be included in the House bill probably will not be accepted in the Senate. The Democrats have full control of the both chambers of Congress, yet are deeply divided on core elements of health care reform creating an odd circumstance where there is a big rush on a bill that has yet to find any consensus.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to make final decisions this week on the healthcare reform bill that will hit the House floor, but some centrists in the lower chamber want her to hold off until the Senate Finance Committee acts.
Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) push to decide issues like how to pay for the bill and the shape of the “public option” means that this week will be crucial for healthcare in both chambers.
It also makes it more likely that the House bill will include an income surtax on the wealthy and a public option more to the liking of liberals in her caucus.
“That’s where the caucus is,” said a Democratic leadership aide.
During an event in Philadelphia on Monday, Pelosi said the House will pass a healthcare reform bill “within weeks.”
The Speaker last week publicly reaffirmed her support for the surtax and the public option. In a leadership meeting last week, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) spoke up strongly in favor of the surtax, though he and Pelosi have disagreed on its parameters.
More trouble for ACORN as th Department of Justice looks into whether they have granted ACORN any money over the years as grant recipents are bound to uphold the law.
The Justice Department's inspector general has agreed to investigate whether ACORN has applied for or received any DOJ grant money, in the wake of bipartisan criticism of the community activist group's operation.
And seven other inspectors general are being asked by two congressional members to take a look at their funding mechanisms.
Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, issued a statement Monday praising the Justice Department inspector general's decision to look into whether ACORN sought or received any grant money or whether the department conducted any reviews of ACORN's use of such money.
The inspector general agreed to probe the matter at Smith's request.
"As the primary federal law enforcement agency, the Justice Department has a responsibility to ensure that no organization receiving federal funds ignores our nation's laws," he said. "I am pleased that Inspector General (Glenn) Fine has agreed to investigate whether the Justice Department provided federal funds to ACORN through its grant program."
ACORN, upset about unflattering media attention from Fox news due to recent videos showing ACORN workers giving tax cheat advice to a couple dressed as a pimp and prostitute, is threatening lawsuits. However, as Ken Blackwell of TownHall.com points out, that could backfire in a big way...
If ACORN sues, it would have to sue alleging some variation of defamation or fraud. The problem is that for either allegation, truth is an absolute defense. Nothing could be more relevant to Fox establishing its defense of truth in the lawsuit than having access to ACORN’s office memos, emails, phone records, and bank statements. All of these would have a reasonable chance of providing evidence as to whether ACORN workers had knowledge of any of the topics seen on the videotapes.
In short, it would blow the doors off ACORN’s vault of secrets. Fox would learn which organizations collaborate with ACORN, how they spend taxpayer money and what ACORN’s leaders say to each other behind closed doors. It would be a treasure trove for a media organization.
An interesting article on BigGovernment.com shows that the problem with ACORN is not just that they receive federal funding, but many states fund them as well. Pennsylvania, even after the recent video tapes showed the depth of ACORN's corruption, are not resisting calls to de-fund the organization.
Despite receiving a “cease and desist” notice from the Department of State to stop soliciting contributions, Pennsylvania taxpayers have given ACORN over $200,000 in state grants since November 2007. Yet none of the mainstream media in the Commonwealth is bothering to cover this issue. Nor has it reported on recent efforts to defend this rogue organization.
Jeff Lord, writing in The American Spectator, noted how Rep. Steve Barrar’s efforts to investigate ACORN’s activities in Pennsylvania are being stymied by Rep. Babette Josephs—a self-identified member of ACORN. Josephs is the Chair of the House State Government Committee—the committee where good government legislation goes to die.
If there is any question that ACORN supplying tax cheat info, and overlooking human trafficking was a fluke or a couple isolated instances, here's a third tape from ACORN's New York office. ACORN New York - Third Corruption Tape
The Census Bureau has terminated its relationship with ACORN after tapes were released that showed staffers aiding a couple in the human trafficking of underage girls from El Salvador in order to establish a prostitution ring.
The Census Director has sent a letter to the National Headquarters of ACORN notifying the group that the Census Bureau is severing all ties with the community organizing group for all work having to do with the 2010 census.
"Over the last several months, through ongoing communication with our regional offices, 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," read a letter from Census Director Robert M. Groves to the president of ACORN.
"Unfortunately, we no longer have confidence that our national partnership agreement is being effectively managed through your many local offices. For the reasons stated, we therefore have decided to terminate the partnership," the letter said.
The news follows the firing Friday of two more ACORN employees after new hidden-camera footage showed workers for the group advising a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute how to subvert the law.
Yesterday a video showed the staff at an ACORN office in Baltimore giving advice to two people posing as a pimp and prostitute on how to avoid taxes, for themselves and underage girls that they planned on bringing in to the country from El Salvador. Today there is another video from a ACORN Washington office showing employees explaining again how to hide a prostitution ring.
The following video made by DT Thompson after listening to presentations by Marcio Rubio who is running as a one of the Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate.
