I have to admit that Acorn and other corruptions that cheat the vote is dampening on the spirit of voting....
Tinka, the Acorn "corruptions" turned out not to be true. It was an evil, Republican-sponsored, right-wing, smear campaign. Be sure to admit that, too, while you are busy admitting things. It's sort of disheartening when I see a website with the title
political facts happening and then I see what appears to be a thumbs-up endorsement of a smear campaign.
Tinka, if you go to the Acorn Web site -- or elsewhere-- the complete explanation is out there, as elsewhere. Emphasis is mine:
http://www.acorn.org/node/693ACORN, a national network of community organizations has conducted campaigns to win living wages for low income workers; an end to predatory financial practices and foreclosures; decent and affordable housing, for first time homebuyers and tenants; better public schools; voting rights; a path to citizenship for new immigrants to this country; and an equitable response to natural disasters such as Katrina.
The organization came under attack from Republicans after it helped millions of mostly minority and low-income citizens apply to register to vote in recent years. The attacks escalated in September, 2009 after a video sting operation by conservative activists led to a Congressional vote to "defund" the group. The controversy sapped the organization's resources and hampered its fundraising. On March 1, 2010
Brooklyn prosecutors on Monday cleared ACORN of criminal wrongdoing after a four-month probe triggered by the films produced by undercover conservative activists. "They edited the tape to meet their agenda," a source in the District Attorney's office told the New York Daily News.
On March 10th Federal judge Nina Gershon again declared unconstitutional the federal law which blacklisted ACORN and allied organizations. The judge ordered government to make it clear the funding isn't blocked.
Last year an independent report by former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger examining the undercover videos filmed in offices of the national anti-poverty group ACORN states the employees portrayed in the videos did not engage in any illegal activity. Another study by the Congressional Research Service
cleared the group of charges leveled by right wing activist hostile to its voter registration work and stated that there were no instances were identified in which ACORN "violated the terms of federal funding in the last five years."
Contact: Kevin Whelan, kwhelan(at)acorn.org