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ACORN Worker From Pimp Video Reported Incident to Police?

by Tommy Christopher | 4:04 pm, September 26th, 2009

» 15 comments

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Someone tweeted the link to this AP story this morning (I don’t remember who), and wondered if Fox News would be reporting this. The headline is “Police: ACORN worker in video reported couple.”

With a hed like that, I wouldn’t expect Fox News to report that story, but if they actually read the story, I’m thinking they would. As a defense of ACORN, this story is a miserable failure. Here’s the meat:

National City police said Monday that Juan Carlos Vera contacted his cousin, a police detective, to get advice on what to with information on possible human smuggling.

Police say he contacted law enforcement two days later. The detective consulted another police official who served on a federal human smuggling task force, who said he needed more details.

So, he didn’t actually “contact authorities” as much as he called up his cousin for advice. And, he waited 2 days to do it. Not exactly a slate-wiper.

No, the real defense of ACORN is that this story isn’t what the right is saying it is, and that its trajectory is a dangerous one for anyone the right doesn’t like.

ACORN isn’t perfect, that much is clear, and they’ve done a poor job of fending off this attack. However, the willingness of the media, and the US Senate, to accept the findings of a partisan activist and his sponsor is truly frightening. That willingness, according to a just-released study, extends back as far as the eye can see on the ACORN story.

Rachel Sklar posted a good summary of that report yesterday, which brings into stark relief that which most reasonable people who followed the 2008 campaign already know: coverage of the ACORN story has been uniformly unfair. This report just gives us the numbers to prove it.

The shame of the current iteration of the ACORN smear is that the media, and the US Senate, have allowed ACORN’s enemies to be both prosecutor and judge, letting James O’Keefe and Andrew Breitbart decide which evidence can be seen, and how to interpret it.

Sure, O’Keefe’s tapes are damning, but he and Breitbart have refused to answer legitimate questions about O’Keefe’s “investigation.” While ACORN has been defensive and evasive, O’Keefe and Breitbart have been given a pass for stonewalling, and even for apparent lying. They went on record as saying that O’Keefe wasn’t turned away at any ACORN offices, a claim contradicted by police. While Breitbart is happy to comment on self-serving aspects of this story, he refused to respond to questions raised about O’Keefe’s selective editing of transcripts, or O’Keefe’s funding.

The point is, O’Keefe’s reporting, as it has been presented, wouldn’t have gotten past any news editor in the country. Breitbart is well aware of this. He told me in a phone interview that his “strategy” of tightly controlling information about O’Keefe’s investigation, and rolling them out on a careful timetable, was specifically designed to force the mainstream media to cover this story. In his view, he’s getting around some kind of bias. In mine, he’s circumnavigating the editorial process, and doing it beautifully.

What’s more incredible is the contrast between the media’s response to O’Keefe’s tightly-controlled, factually light videos, and the work of Michael Moore, an activist filmmaker who is much more transparent about his methods.

Even more disturbing than that is the contrast between the Senate’s response to the decades-old health care crisis, versus the days-old ACORN crisis.

The problems at ACORN may, indeed, run deep, but we’ll probably never know, since they’ve been prematurely convicted in the public eye. What we do know is that the Democrats in the Senate and the mainstream media have set a course for our country to be led around by the nose by the likes of James O’Keefe. I guess the pimp costume really worked on them.

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ChuckfromTacoma

I am thrilled that somebody has found something positive about a single ACORN employee doing a half-assed job of doing the right thing and almost reporting a heinous crime.
This should be enough to justify giving that organisation hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.
Maybe just a little bit more investigation is in order. I am just not yet convinced that ACORN is not a criminal organisation. I smell something else, it’s doesn’t smell pretty and I want all the facts before we send another dollar to them.
I am certain that America can survive without them, for the time being while possible violations of law are investigated.
triv33

Chuck,
What we really need are more well informed people like you. Hundreds of millions? Try 53 million since1994 and just where are those videos from Los Angeles and Philadelphia? If not one ACORN office turned them away why is there a police report on filed on July 24, 2009 after the film maker’s visit? Not to mention this film maker has been accused of selective editing in the past. Let’s just keep banging that drum. ACORN is the worst waste of tax payer money ever!
ChuckfromTacoma

Well sorry triv if it is only $53,000,000.00. That makes it peanuts. Hell, it would only take one individual American family 700 years to pay that. Well, if they gave up food, housing, clothing and every thing else and just gave it all to the mob they could pay it.
sherryande

Little problem with this story – it’s ollllldddddd news. Fox did report on the police report the day this info was released from ACORN. There was also a police report from the Philadelphia ACORN office – which FOX also reported.

As far as the $53 million – this is ONLY the amount that can be tracked that was paid directly to ACORN. It does not account for monies paid by the federal government to other charities – such as United Way – that have been funneled to ACORN via subgrants. You seem to forget that ACORN was investigated by Congress in 1997 and funds that were being paid to ACORN through federal grants from Americorp were cut off – due to misappropriations. This is when Americorp began funding United Way – who then funds ACORN. United Way has funneled millions over the last couple of years to ACORN…………

Or how about the FEMA grants since August 2008 that total $1.4 million – for fire protection – which ACORN does not do???

The bottom line – ACORN is an extortion ring – and I don’t know about you – but I want them removed from MY PAYROLL…………
CaptainAmerica

Look what Tommy uses as “proof” to slam Giles and Hannah….. MEDIA LIES TO AMERICA (aka Media Matters). How pathetic!! Using one of the most dishonest, distortionist organizations around as supposed “proof” of anything.

The poor left wingers just love trying defend such a corrupt organization. How pathetic!
CaptainAmerica

Look how laughable this is:
The point is, O’Keefe’s reporting, as it has been presented, wouldn’t have gotten past any news editor in the country. >>

Sure it wouldn’t! That’s why all those lies about John McCain having an affair where all over the paper. That’s why all the lies about Sarah Palin and the baby were all over MSNBC etc. Give me an effing break!!! And in reality, no one with any crediblity at all would use Media Matters as a source! Why not just start using the Daily Ko’s.

Might as well just hire Tommy to work at MSNBC.
CaptainAmerica

http://ow.ly/15RfBC Too bad Mediaite couldn’t do a story on why John Podesta is handling the internal investigation of corrupt Acorn, while his website http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/09/ta092409.html is attacking James and Hannah.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ted-Silliman/1203235293 Ted Silliman

Any idiot on the right who gets wood over these ACORN stories brings a smile to my face.

While you keep chasing your boogeymen, we on the left get to consolidate our majorities. Only in the insular world of Fox News does anyone think this minor ACORN issue will have any effect on future policy or elections.

Republicans, all smear, no governance. Losers, once and again.
CaptainAmerica

While you keep chasing your boogeymen, we on the left get to consolidate our majorities.>

How is that going to happen, when you’re bound to lose a ton of House and Senate seats in 2010? It’s going to be 1994 all over again.

Also, isn’t it great that its the Democrats who are stopping Obama on his take over of 1/6 of the economy. The libs sold their souls to get conservative Dems that would have a chance to win. They got their wish and now they are paying the price.
triv33

No, by all means, bang that drum. Defund ACORN and do it on the double! Meanwhile, KBR really has misplaced countless millions of tax-payer dollars… is responsible for how many American service people’s death’s? 13? 18? I’ve lost count, and was awarded a new 35 million dollar contract in February, but keep your eye on the ball…you know what’s really important, Obama never worked for KBR.
http://www.youtube.com/cmdrgmh cmdrgmh

New Rule: Go after ACORN and all of the right wing Organization’s fall . Why Because you can’t take down one without the others. It’s The LAW!!!!
Jelperman

Hey Captain America, would you care to give an example of where Media Matters ever lied? Or is this just projection on your part, making you the liar.
ImNotBlue

Here you go, Jelper… this is a fun one:

http://homepage.mac.com/mkoldys/blog/wll273368806.html

I’ll give you the long and short of it: Media Matters (as well as a bunch of other left-wing places) gets upset claiming: “Fox Nation renews smear comparing Obama administration to organized crime.”
The catch has a few levels:
[1] They didn’t get all huffy when Keith Olbermann “smeared” the Bush Administration with the same analogy — That’s called “hypocrisy.”
[2] They’ve made similar comparisons with the Bush Admin on their OWN site, with no complaint — That’s called “super hypocrisy.
[3] They failed to mention in their “report,” that it wasn’t actually the FOX Nation that made the comparison, but it was a story in the NY Daily News, and FOX Nation simply linked to it — Reporting that “they” said something, “they” aren’t actually responsible for is a lie.

So there you have it. If you want more lies… http://www.google.com
CaptainAmerica

Even Dan Abrams has ripped that site on air for their dishonest tactics. Granted, I know how liberals like yourself can’t handle the reality of things.
Pam1151

I am all for going after ACORN. They are just small fish in a huge ocean of crooks. Can’t we spend some time going after the bigger fish like KBR?? Now there is a big fish and why arn’t all of you media types harping on that story as much as ACORN. Haliburton is another and they get as much money a day as ACORN has received in all the years they have been receiving federal money.