Saturday, March 27, 2010

How In The Hell Did I/We Miss This???

A few years ago my former employer was besieged, one afternoon, for several hours by members of ACORN. An entire busload of them pulled up, disgorged and invaded our lobby. Effectively jamming it shut. They were loud and nasty.

We were never really sure what they were protesting.

However, at the time, quite a number of employees were afraid to pass from one end of the building through the lobby to the other.

My boss asked me how I thought we should handle the situation. I gave him my pithy quick quip of a reply.

Instead, the police were called and the nuts disbanded.

I just sent my former boss a note telling him he could have the snipers on the roof stand down now.

Dallas Morning News (4 days ago!!!):

ACORN to disband amid falling revenue, damaged reputation

08:31 AM CDT on Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Michael Tarm, The Associated Press

CHICAGO – The once mighty community activist group ACORN announced Monday that it is folding amid falling revenues – six months after video footage emerged showing some of its workers giving tax tips to conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute.

"It's really declining revenue in the face of a series of attacks from partisan operatives and right-wing activists that have taken away our ability to raise the resources we need," ACORN spokesman Kevin Whelan said.

Several of its largest affiliates, including ACORN New York and ACORN California, broke away this year and changed their names in a bid to ditch the tarnished image of their parent organization and restore revenue that ran dry in the wake of the video scandal.

ACORN's financial situation and reputation went into free fall within days of the videos' release in September. Congress reacted by yanking ACORN's federal funding, private donors held back cash and scores of ACORN offices closed.

Earlier this month, a U.S. judge reiterated an earlier ruling that the federal law blacklisting ACORN and groups allied with it was unconstitutional because it singled them out. But that didn't mean any money would be automatically be restored.

Bertha Lewis, the CEO of ACORN, which stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, alluded to financial hardships in a weekend statement as the group's board prepared to deliberate by phone.

"ACORN has faced a series of well-orchestrated, relentless, well-funded right-wing attacks that are unprecedented since the McCarthy era," she said. "The videos were a manufactured, sensational story that led to rush to judgment and an unconstitutional act by Congress."

ACORN's board decided to close remaining state affiliates and field offices by April 1 because of falling revenues, with some national operations continuing to operate for at least several weeks before shutting for good, Whelan said Monday.

Michael Tarm,

The Associated Press

4 comments:

cjk said...

Gone?...Definitely not forgotten by me.
Too bad we can't attach GPS monitors to all the upper and middle management to see under what name they all recongregate within a year.

Always On Watch said...

I read somewhere that ACORN is regrouping under a different name. I can't find the link right now, though.

christian soldier said...

I read the same as AOW---there is too much money and power connected w/ the ACORN concept - for the Dark Side (Lucifer's kids) to let it go....
C-CS

midnight rider said...

Pastorius said the same thing to me this afternoon. If you find it please send it to me so I can update or, AoW, just jump in and update this post yourself if you like.

Thank you.