by Andrew Walden (updated Sept 18, 2009 and Sept 22, 2009)
The US House Sept 17 voted 345-75 to cut off funding for the controversial community orgnaization ACORN after a series of internet-published videos showed ACORN personnel assisting a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute. The videos showed similar assistance by ACORN personnel in even as the undercover reporters explained they would be importing underage illegal aliens to work as prostitues. ACORN personnel in Baltimore, Washington, New York, San Bernadino, and San Diego are shown on the videos. In San Diego, an ACORN employee suggested that his "contacts" in Tijuana could assist the pimp in illegaly smuggling Salvadoran children into the US to work as prostitutes. He also propositioned the female reporter posing as a prostitute.
Of Hawaii's four-person all-Democrat delegation, Senators Inouye and Akaka voted September 14 for Senate Amendment 2355 to HR 3288 banning any federal funding to ACORN. On the House side, Rep Abercrombie chose to be absent from the September 17 roll-call vote. But whereas most people believe that operatiors of underage prostitution rings should be in prison, Rep Mazie Hirono apparently wants taxpayers to pay for ACORN to provide such criminals free advice on tax evasion, low-income housing assistance, and cross-border human trafficking. Hirono joined her comrades in the mis-named Congressional Progressive Caucus and voted AGAINST the ACORN funding cut-off.
No candidate has yet emerged to challenge Hirono either in the Democratic Primary or in the General Election.
The two votes are not yet final. The bills must go to conference committee and then be resubmitted to a vote by both houses. Will the ACORN cut-off be kept in the final version? Stay tuned.
UPDATE: Hawaii ACORN Office abandoned (so sad)
UPDATE: HIRONO RESPONDS (She gives the usual excuses designed to fool children who know nothing about the legislative process.)
RELATED: Honolulu Meth-Dealer Protection Racketeer tied to Mehau, politicians (photo of Hirono at Mehau Ranch)
CHILD PROSTITUTION IS POPULAR WITH OTHER HAWAII DEMOCRATS AS WELL: Child molester back at work at Hawaii Legislature
HOUSE VOTE: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll718.xml
House votes to cut off ACORN funding
SENATE VOTE: http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00275
Senate Votes to Cut Off ACORN Housing Funding
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GOP: HAWAI'I’S REPRESENTATIVES VOTE WRONG OR DON’T VOTE AT ALL
I am pleased to hear the House of Representatives voted yesterday to pull federal money out of one of the most corrupt political organizations our nation has seen. I have no doubt that the people of Hawai`i do not want their hard earned tax dollars funding an organization like ACORN-- a radical left group of liberal activists that have engaged in heinous and illegal behavior.
But where were our representatives from Hawai`i? How did these Democrat “leaders” vote?
Mazie Hirono was one of only 75 who shamefully voted against stripping funds from ACORN, an organization who has made headlines with its gross offenses of voter fraud and embezzlement. And of course who can forget this is the same organization caught on tape helping a prostitute avoid paying taxes?
Representative Neil Abercrombie is not on the record when it comes to ACORN. When he had the opportunity to stop your tax dollars from going to ACORN, he didn’t even bother to show up to vote. That’s either a sign of ducking a hot issue in a political season or neglect of responsibility.
ACORN has emerged as one of the most far-reaching, corrupt and shameful organizations in our political system. We should be proud that conservatives continued to push for an investigation and kept the story alive in the news. Otherwise, Americans would not have understood the full extent of ACORN’s stranglehold on the liberty of our nation.
It is time the people of Hawai`i reevaluate the leadership of their elected officials, beginning with our members of Congress. If they continue to vote wrong on important issues or fail to vote at all, the true voice of Hawai`i will not be heard in Washington D.C.
Jonah Ka`auwai
State Chairman, Hawai`i Republican Party
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VIDEO: Jon Stewart to media on ACORN: “Where the hell were you?”
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EDITOR'S NOTE: If you need help with your uh "business", the Hawaii ACORN office is located at 949 Kapiolani in Honolulu right next to the offices of the leftist Hawaii People's Fund. So pull on your beaverskin fedora and hop in your '73 Coupe Deville and cruise on over.
TOTALLY RELATED: The transsexual agenda for Hawaii schools , Conspiracy Nuts Pass Out Cash , No Freedom to Celebrate Statehood , Raycom Honolulu TV Deal: Honolulu Community Media Council has its own issues with "media control"
SEE ALL THE VIDEOS: http://biggovernment.com/category/exclusives/
by Leigh Scott BigHollywood.Breitbart.com
I just found out that the two women featured on the undercover ACORN video posted on our sister site Big Government were fired by the community organizing group. This is really good news. First, it proves that the ridiculously funny and unbelievable video is real. At first glance, it’s so over-the-top that one assumes it must be fake. Now, we have the proof that these women really were ACORN employees and not the most talented improv actors to ever live. Secondly, it means that these two women are now unemployed.
And I want to hire them immediately.
These women can navigate the tax code so well that they managed to gin up dependent child tax credits for underage El Salvadorian prostitutes. They provided detailed instructions on how to obtain a low interest, government subsidized mortgage for a brothel. They gave clever insight into laundering a pimp’s take of prostitute earnings into a campaign account for a would be Democratic politician.
I look at them, as an independent film producer, and think; “must hire.”
With these two on my side, imagine what I could accomplish. My tax credit revenue would triple. My financing schemes would abandon foreign pre-sales and network television deals and embrace government grants and subsidies. Bureaucratic and confusing union paperwork would dissolve in their capable hands. At the end of the first show, SAG and IATSE would owe me money.
Ladies, whatever ACORN was paying, I’ll double it! And I’ll give you gross points.
Joking aside (and ask yourself, is he really joking?), this little video tells us a lot. It’s not simply that ACORN is a corrupt and shady organization … we already knew that. That’s no more a revelation than the fact that Lindsay Lohan has some issues with the drinky. No, it shows us that the default mode of human nature is capitalism. There is no way around it.
These women were supposedly working to benefit their community. A noble and selfless pursuit. What they were really adept at is gaming the system. Just like an independent, scrappy filmmaker.
At the root of Communism and Socialism is the undeniable truth that there is always someone at the top. Capitalism rewards ingenuity, smarts, and hard work. Socialism rewards cronyism, manipulation, and collective thought. If the politicians in Washington really believed that we should all “pitch in” as their policies dictate, why wouldn’t those millionaires donate their federal salaries to charity? If they were really true believers they would live like monks, sleeping in their office and shopping at Goodwill. Instead, they’re eating Kobe steaks and buying fracking jets! Get real.
I’ve always been baffled by the fact that people who rabidly embrace Darwinism over Christian Doctrine don’t see Natural Selection at work in the political, economic, and social realms. That seems backwards to me. Shouldn’t the followers of Jesus, not Darwin, be the ones who push for all of us to be “our brother’s keepers?” I can understand how a Christians can interpret their beliefs to gel with Ben Franklin’s “God helps those who help themselves,” but I can’t for the life of me figure out how “people of science and reason” have adopted the belief system that they have.
Communism and Socialism fly in the face of natural law.
All that I can conclude is that the Socialists and Communists have selected their ideology as a means to consolidate power and money. They are averse to hard work and true entrepreneurialism and have found a shortcut to wealth and control.
Communism is Capitalism for schemers. ACORN is no different than AIG.
As a side note, I would like to further commend the two women in the video. We “typical white folks” get a sort of racist vibe from the whole ACORN thing, so I applaud those two African-American women for their treatment of the Caucasian pimp and his ho. I can only hope that white ACORN workers show the same respect for all the black hustlers and trick-turners who seek their assistance.
So ladies, consider me impressed. From one Capitalist to another, ready to work the system to our benefit, please consider my offer. We kindred spirits need to stick together.
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Breaking: Senate votes to cut off federal funding for ACORN; Update: Child-Whoring Pimp Assistance 7 identified; Update: Brooklyn DA “taking a look”; Update: ACORN disappointed
posted at 6:03 pm on September 14, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) introduced an amendment to the HUD and Transportation appropriation bill to strip ACORN of all federal funding. A week ago, Johanns wouldn’t have gotten the amendment to the floor. Today, however, after three straight days of BigGovernment.com’s video exposés of ACORN offices in Washington DC, New York City, and Baltimore offering assistance to pimping, tax evasion, and trafficking in underage Salvadorean girls, Johanns not only got his vote — but he got an impressive bipartisan showing. The Senate passed the Johanns amendment 83-7.
At the beginning of the vote, it appeared that Democrats might resist. Initially, a half-dozen Democrats cast votes in opposition to the amendment. A few more cast votes against it as the rest of the Senate voted, but the tide appeared to shift. More and more Democrats signed onto the amendment, and votes started changing. One male voice could be heard in the chamber saying, “I want to change my vote!” Among those who changed their votes: Tom Udall (D-NM), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Herb Kohl (D-WI).
I do not have the official roll call record of the vote yet, but three of the seven Democrats voting against the bill were Dick Durbin (D-IL), Roland Burris (D-IL), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). I’ll get the rest in a few minutes, but it’s worth repeating what Jim Geraghty said on the Twitter stream: “Who were the seven Child-Whoring Pimp Assistance Program defenders?”
The big question will be whether the House follows suit. Nancy Pelosi may not be inclined to let an amendment come to the floor, but James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles may not be done yet, either. A few more of these videos and even Pelosi will have little choice but to slam the door on ACORN. The big test will be whether the Johanns amendment survives a conference committee. This isn’t over yet.
Update: Thanks to Sean Hackbarth, we have the list of seven nays on the amendment so that the Child-Whoring Pimp Assitance 7 can be publicly identified:
So can we assume that Illinois and Vermont are especially sympathetic to child-whoring pimp assistance?
Update (AP): Man, this house of cards is toppling fast:
Meanwhile, Jerry Schmetterer, director of public information for the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, told FOXNews.com that officials will be “taking a look” into Brooklyn’s ACORN office.
“We are going to be taking a look at the situation,” Schmetterer said Monday.
A spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said ACORN’S tax status as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization should also be probed.
“We’ve already seen the Census Bureau severe its tie with ACORN,” the spokesman, Kurt Bardella, told FOXNews.com. “Certainly, as an organization being subsidized by taxpayer dollars, their relationship with other government entities should be called into question, and whether or not it’s appropriate for them to receive taxpayer dollars.”
Has The One opened his mouth yet to say anything about his pals being in such dire straits?
Update (Ed): The vote has been posted and can be found here.
Update (AP): So much heart-ache.
“We’re disappointed that the Senate took the rare and politically convenient step of supporting eliminating some federal funding for a single organization, one that has been the target of an historical political assault stemming variously from the Bush White House, Fox News, and other conservative quarters,” said Bertha Lewis, CEO of ACORN, in a statement after the Senate vote. “Fortunately, ACORN derives most of its income from its members and other supporters, so the decision will have little impact on overall operations. Tonight’s vote will burden the families who benefited from ACORN’s important work to improve housing conditions in the United States.”
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ACORN Watch: Charlie Gibson and the ostrich media; Update: Audio added
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/09/15/acorn-watch-charlie-gibson-and-the-ostrich-media/
Courtesy of Don and Roma and WLS, here is the audio clip of Gibson. His laugh is really something. Reminded me of Barney Rubble. My favorite comment from Gibson? When he snarks that “Maybe that’s just one you leave to the cables.”
Here’s a transcript:
Don: Okay, here’s my news question. A Senate bill yesterday passes, cutting off funds to this group called ACORN. Now, we got that bill passed and we have the embarrassing video of ACORN staffers giving tax advice on how to set up a brothel with 13-year-old hookers. It has everything you could want – corruption and sleazy action at tax-funded organizations and it’s got government ties. But nobody’s covering that story. Why?
Gibson: HAHAHAHAHA. HEHEHE. I didn’t even know about it. Um. So, you’ve got me at a loss. I don’t know. Uh. Uh. But my goodness, if it’s got everything including sleaziness in it, we should talk about it this morning.
Roma: This is the American way!
Gibson: Or maybe this is just one you leave to the cables.
Roma: Well, I think this is a huge issue because there’s so much funding that goes into this organization…
Gibson: I know we’ve done some stories about ACORN before, but this one I don’t know about…
Roma: Jake Tapper did some blogging on it. I know he’s blogged at least once on this scandal.
Gibson: You guys are uh really up on the website.
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RELATED: Grapes of Rathke: Acorn, a liberal activist group, comes under scrutiny. About time....
1. BREAKING: ACORN Suspends Operations
2. ABC News: White House Calls ACORN Actions 'Uacceptable'
3. Politico: White House distances from ACORN
4. New York Attorney General Cuomo opens ACORN investigation
5. WSJ: Time for a Special Prosecutor for ACORN?
6. ACORN Drops Smear Charge, Announces Reform
7. Grey Lady Discovers ACORN Scandal
8. ‘The Audacity of Hos’: ‘Daily Show’ Skewers ACORN
9. 'Tiffany Network' Notices Scandal: Katie Couric on ACORN
10. L.A. Times: Acorn Needs to 'Clean House'
11. 'We're just community organizers, just like the president used to be.'
12. Kudlow Report: ACORN Under Attack