The Antics of ACORN

[Martrae]

Washington
July 26, 2007,Seattle Times
Felony charges filed against 7 in state's biggest case of voter-registration fraud. The defendants, who were paid employees and supervisors of ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now

Michigan
September 14, 2008, Detroit Free Press
Several municipal clerks across the state are reporting fraudulent and duplicate voter registration applications, most of them from a nationwide community activist group working to help low- and moderate-income families.The majority of the problem applications are coming from the group ACORN, Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now ...

Florida
Oct. 13, 2007, PRNewswire
A Florida state attorney is investigating thousands of potentially fraudulent voter registrations associated with the leading organizer of Florida's Amendment 5 ballot initiative. But this is just the tip of an iceberg of illegalities, fraud and contradictions connected to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) ... Former ACORN Miami-Dade field director Mac Stuart has declared an intent to sue ACORN and has made charges of rampant voter fraud operations. Stuart was employed and specifically tasked by ACORN to generate 103,000 new voter registrations from Dade County. He reports that ACORN threw out Republican registrations while paying for Democratic ones. Stuart also charges that ACORN targeted ex-cons and that he personally set up registration tables outside the Miami police department and Dade County jail.

New Mexico
Sept. 18, 2008, Judicial Watch Blog
This week officials in New Mexico's most populous county (Bernalillo) notified federal authorities that more than 1,000 fraudulent voter registration cards were submitted to the clerk's office. ACORN, which pays workers for each registration, is the prime suspect since it has handled thousands of new voter registrations in New Mexico since January. County workers subsequently discovered that at least 1,100 new registrations list Social Security numbers for people already in the county's database of registered voters, names of registered voters with different birth dates and addresses that don't exist.

Wisconsin
Aug. 6, 2008, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Criminal investigations could be launched against at least six voter registration workers who tried to add dead, imprisoned or imaginary people to the voter rolls, according to the Milwaukee Election Commission and the organization that employed them. "One woman called us to complain because her husband has been dead for 10 years and a voter registration was submitted," Edman said. In about 12 cases, deputy registrars paid by ACORN were "making people up or registering people that were still in prison," said Carolyn Castore, ACORN's state political director. And in other cases, workers used the same address for numerous voters or used driver's license numbers that did not fit the voters' birth dates, Edman said. But most of the fraud involved submitting duplicate cards for voters who were already registered, and forging the voters' signatures, Castore said.

Ohio
August 27, 2008, The Plain Dealer
A national organization that conducts voter registration drives for low-income people has curtailed its push in Cuyahoga County after the Board of Elections accused its workers of submitting fraudulent registration cards. Board employees said ACORN workers often handed in the same name on a number of voter registration cards, but showing that person living at different addresses. Other times, cards had the same name listed, but a different date of birth. Still another sign of possible fraud showed a number of people living at an address that turned out to be a restaurant. ACORN has submitted about 75,000 voter registration cards to the Cuyahoga board this year.

Pennsylvania
Sept. 18, 2008, The Bulletin: Philadelphia's Family Newspaper
A community organization, with longstanding ties to Barack Obama, has, according to numerous reports, repeatedly run afoul of voter registration laws both locally and nationally. Philadelphia election officials recently accused ACORN, of filing multiple fraudulent voter registrations during the 2008 Pennsylvania primary. The case has been referred to the U.S. Attorney's office, according to Philadelphia Deputy Election Commissioner Fred Voight. Delaware County election officials have made similar allegations against the group, and criminal indictments are pending. This past July 24, Dauphin County detectives offered a $2,000 reward for information about the whereabouts of Luis R. Torres-Serrano, an ACORN worker, who was accused of submitting more than 100 fraudulent voter registrations.

Nevada
July 7,2008, Las Vegas Review Journal
ACORN, which stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, claims to have collected 60,000 new voter registrations in Clark County since February ... Lomax said while he supports the goal of getting more people registered to vote, he sees rampant fraud in the 2,000 to 3,000 registrations ACORN turns in every week.


What's that got to do with anything?

Check out this.

[araby]

damn. nice work, gonna repost this.

[Tossica]

Oh, more "it's the poor peoples fault" bullshit?

Give me a fucking break.

[Martrae]

Um...did you miss the point completely or what?

[Arlos]

No one wants to see voter fraud. But many of the claims made in that Post article are simply ridiculous. All Community Organizers do is work to get banks to go under by making bad loans? Give me a fucking break. By the way, was there any information whatsoever on the default rate of the people who got loans as part of that pilot project? Hmm? There was no evidence presented whatsoever that they had a higher default rate than normal loans.

-Arlos

[Martrae]

The point of this was that ACORN has engaged in some pretty massive voter fraud and that Barack Obama was heavily involved with ACORN.

Didn't think I was gonna have to spell it out....

[Arlos]

Is there ANY evidence whatsoever that there was voter fraud when he was involved with it, and that he was knowledgeable about it or involved in it? Is there any evidence whatsoever that he is in any way aware of the current voter fraud, or in any way supports it or is in any way involved in it?

If not, you're taking 1 and 1 and getting 47.

-Arlos

[Martrae]

You are damned by your past and you have to admit Obama's had some pretty questionable associations in his past.

[Arlos]

Oh please. Did you damn Bush for being a coke fiend in his youth? Have you damned McCain for having multiple affairs when he got back from Nam? You're just looking for reasons to hate the man and are grasping at straws. If my brother robs a bank, does that make me a criminal? He's part of my past, isn't he?

Of course I don't want to see there be any voter fraud going on. But you have yet to provide ONE SHRED of proof that either a) it was going on when Obama was directly involved with them or b) that he has any knowledge or involvement in it NOW.

When Obama was involved with them, they were fighting to help put people into homes that they might not have otherwise gotten. No evidence whatsoever has been provided that those he helped put into homes had any higher default rate than the general population. So, it is impossible to make any sort of judgment as to whether or not getting those people into homes was or was not a good thing. Just a lot of right-wing ranting about how loans to poor people are the root of all evil, apparently.

In any case, yes, voter fraud is a crime. But attack those COMMITTING the crime, not someone who was once indirectly involved with the organization those fucking up are part of.

-Arlos

[Lueyen]

Citizens Services, Inc. was paid 800,000 + by the Obama campaign according to FEC filings this year. CSI shares and office and is closely tied to ACORN, all of CSI's directors are also in leadership positions in ACORN. This initially came to light because the filing listed the payment as being for lighting and stage setup... something CSI doesn't even remotely provide. The Obama campaign has since amended it's filings to indicate that the payment was for "get the vote out" services which is CSI's primary venue.

Obama is still involved with ACORN through a middle non profit organization via payment for their services, the very same type of services that are being found to be laced with voter fraud as stated in Mart's post.

Who knows if Obama has personal knowledge of the voter fraud actions, but he'd do well to take a note from history during the Nixon Administration. Claiming you hadn't specifically authorized illegal activity perpetuated by those employed by you doesn't shield you from all responsibility when it comes to being the President.

[Arlos]

Well, except Nixon DID know about the illegal activity, and specifically authorized it. Then, when it was discovered, he tried to cover it up. beeeeg differences.

Obviously, it needs to be determined if ACORN is directly encouraging illegal activity, or if it is individual actions by greedy workers. Once that determination has been made, the guilty parties need to be prosecuted and punished.

It still doesn't change the fact, though, that there is no evidence whatsoever of any direct tie between Obama and the illegal activity. None. Again, merely conflating him with it in the manner it's being done here is shoddy journalism at best, and an obvious organized smear campaign at worst.

-Arlos

[Martrae]

Oh please. Did you damn Bush for being a coke fiend in his youth? Have you damned McCain for having multiple affairs when he got back from Nam? You're just looking for reasons to hate the man and are grasping at straws. If my brother robs a bank, does that make me a criminal? He's part of my past, isn't he?

Oh please yourself. Did Bush belong to an organization of coke fiends? Did McCain belong to Adulterers Are Us? Did you help your brother? Did they all go out and try to recruit more people to be just like them? Try and use relevent comparisons and not apples to oranges. (and for the record McCain's affairs are one of the reasons I don't trust him and while Bush USED to be a coke fiend he has since kicked it and I can't help but admire anyone who can get that monkey off his back)

I don't need to look for reasons to 'hate' the man. I already thought he'd be a horrid President. The more I find out about groups he associated in the past the more my opinion is cemented.

If this had been anyone but Messiah Obama you'd be screaming about it...but since it's your boy you've got blinders on. You can't ever make snide remarks about Lyion and Bush again.

[Zanchief]

So it's his guy instead of yours. You’re just as partisan. The difference is, Obama hasn't failed on a monumental level...yet.

Berate Arlos after he puts his foot in his mouth the way Lyion did.

Oh please yourself. Did Bush belong to an organization of coke fiends? Did McCain belong to Adulterers Are Us? Did you help your brother? Did they all go out and try to recruit more people to be just like them?

Only this organization isn’t called voter frauds-R-us. Your comparison is just as ridiculous.

[Tossica]

Yeah Martrae, we all get it. You hate Obama because he is black and has a tendency to try to help poor people. That's great.

[Diekan]

It’s futile trying to convince people of any wrong doings committed by their respective candidates.

Obama could shot someone in the face on live TV and his supporters would just say… “Obama didn’t do anything wrong, that loser shouldn’t have had his head in the bullet’s path… how was Barrak supposed to know??”

The same thing with McCain… He could bend Palin over the podium on TV and his fanbois would cheer him on and scream “Hell I’d hit it too… go go McCain!!”

Ok, bad examples – but you get the point.

Obama supporters are never going to admit their guy has or does anything wrong.
McCain supporters are never going to admit their guy has or does anything wrong.

[Tossica]

Wrong. I just think the "examples" given of wrongdoing are pathetic at best.

[Diekan]

Really??

Ok, link me a post here where you, arlos, gyps or any other rabid Obama supporter HERE has posted on something they think he's done wrong...

I'll stand corrected FOR THIS FORUM if you can do that.

[Martrae]

Yeah Martrae, we all get it. You hate Obama because he is black and has a tendency to try to help poor people. That's great.

Yes, because that's EXACTLY what I said.

[Tossica]

Yeah Martrae, we all get it. You hate Obama because he is black and has a tendency to try to help poor people. That's great.

Yes, because that's EXACTLY what I said.

No one but nazi skinheads and Finawin come right out and say they are racist. You are much more subtle. You pull your kids out of public schools to shelter them from having to associate with any "brown" kids. You are outraged any time a "minority" is publicly outed doing something illegal yet if it's a rich white person, it's "the liberal media" making them look bad. You consistently defend rich, white corporate America and attack the poor. You have no reason to hate Obama or think he will be a horrible president other than the fact that he is black. It's a free country and you are welcome to your views just don't try to hide your racist, backwoods, redneck ways behind some bullshit "libertarian" stance.

[Tuggan]

hahaha, i haven't seen a good nt smack down owning in awhile

[Martrae]

You really need to examine your own feelings about things. There's an old adage to the effect that the evils we see in other people are merely the reflection of our innermost thoughts. I don't see color and it always sends a little shock of surprise down my system when someone else makes that an issue.

If Obama had more of a platform than screaming "CHANGE!" then I could probably bring myself to vote for him since I loathe John McCain. He doesn't, however. He also doesn't have any clue on how to handle any of the many issues that our country is currently faced with. But since he's half-black that automatically makes anyone who doesn't lick his toes a racist?

[Tossica]

You really need to examine your own feelings about things. There's an old adage to the effect that the evils we see in other people are merely the reflection of our innermost thoughts. I don't see color and it always sends a little shock of surprise down my system when someone else makes that an issue.

If Obama had more of a platform than screaming "CHANGE!" then I could probably bring myself to vote for him since I loathe John McCain. He doesn't, however. He also doesn't have any clue on how to handle any of the many issues that our country is currently faced with. But since he's half-black that automatically makes anyone who doesn't lick his toes a racist?

Have you bothered to READ his platform? What problem specifically has he not addressed sufficiently? Cutting taxes on the middle class, universal healthcare, withdrawal of troops from Iraq, making corporations pay their fair share of taxes and rewarding ones that specifically create jobs in the US instead of outsourcing, making the richest population pay their fair share of taxes, etc etc etc. ALL good things for the country. ALL things that will benefit MOST Americans. ALL things that the current administration has fucked up beyond belief. If you can't see that, YOU are the one with blinders on. Wake the fuck up.

[Arlos]

You still claiming that about Obama, Mart, just shows your prejudices against the man.

Links to his detailed, specific plans have been posted here by me, by gyps and by others on *SEVERAL* occasions. Hell, Gyps even linked to a tax calculator to figure out how much less taxes you'd pay under Obama than McCain. How do you equate having published a detailed enough tax plan for someone to make a calculator for it with only "Having a platform screaming CHANGE"???? They're mutually exclusive conditions, and I KNOW you read about the calculator, yet here you are again ignoring the detailed plans he's posted and claiming he hasn't posted any.

And in the face of that, we're supposed to believe you're impartial, or don't have some ulterior unstated motive for hating the man?

Oh, and Diekan, I think if you look back you can find me being rather pissed off and saying he was absolutely wrong back when he voted for the FISA bill in the form in which it passed. Still pissed about that.

-Arlos

[Martrae]

Just as you can't fight a war and cut taxes, you can't add universal health care and cut taxes. The money has to come from somewhere and something has to get give to make room for it.

The war was paid for by weakening the dollar more. How is Obama going to pay for health care? Do the same?

Bottom line, I want a president that will scale back the government...not make it even bigger and more bloated than it already is. Obama is not that person. And neither is McCain.

[Tossica]

Just as you can't fight a war and cut taxes, you can't add universal health care and cut taxes. The money has to come from somewhere and something has to get give to make room for it.

The war was paid for by weakening the dollar more. How is Obama going to pay for health care? Do the same?

Bottom line, I want a president that will scale back the government...not make it even bigger and more bloated than it already is. Obama is not that person. And neither is McCain.

READ HIS FUCKING PLATFORM. How everything is paid for is spelled out clearly.