(Sep. 25, 2008): ACORN / Buyout Bill bid Discussion Thread

[xj550]

Are they nuts.
They need to make this BILL pulbic before the VOTE. It is our tax dollars.

[samkm]

I dont understand what you are saying about ACORN.

[xj550]

They buyout bill. 20 Million

[Agent 00½ FL]

They were setting I think 20% of the money asside to give ACORN. I heard it too.

[Horizon]

They were calling it some type of housing reform group it sounded like???

[xj550]

As if they would make sure the money went to the people that needed it.
19% in pockets, 1% to help people keep their houses.

[mondayblues]

Hey I thought this was supposed to save the economy!

What is in that bill? Doesn't the American people have a right to know?

[lanney]

This is crazy, it is making me very angry.
They think Americans are stupid.

[freethinker]

$20 million or 20%?

Either way, WT? Talk about pork!

:cool:


Do you have a link??

[lanney]

They were calling it some type of housing reform group it sounded like???

It means for Rezko and other Obama's friend.

[samkm]

What does ACORN have to do with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae?

Reference link on the $20M for ACORN please!!

[geneo]

20% of what!? to acorn! who,s idea was that?

[Horizon]

What does ACORN have to do with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae?

Reference link on the $20M for ACORN please!!

That was my question!! When they were talking about it,it sounded like some type of housing reform bill or something.Not the ACORN we know about.They are either scamming the Repubs,or it is something else altogether.

[lanney]

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2008/0908-17
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 8, 2008
6:00 PM
CONTACT: ACORN

ACORN Calls on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to Modify Loans
NEW ORLEANS - September 8 - ACORN National President Maude Hurd released the following statement today:

"We already know that the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be an unprecedented bailout of these private giants. Now the only question that remains is whether this move will help or hinder American homeowners who are struggling with their mortgages. ACORN calls upon the new leadership of Fannie and Freddie to pull all delinquent loans out of securities and place them in their portfolios so that they can be modified to a fixed rate affordable to the homeowner, using interest rate reductions, term extensions, and principal reductions as needed to create true affordability based on a borrower's income and expenses. The FDIC's recent work in modifying Indymac-held loans en masse is a good example of how the public good can be served in this situation.

"Holders of the Fannie and Freddie securities have reaped an enormous windfall with this move by the federal government, and we are asking that American homeowners struggling with their mortgages be afforded some consideration as well. Streamlined modifications by Fannie and Freddie for all delinquent loans would ensure that American homeowners, and not just banks and insurance companies, can emerge from this difficult situation better off."


Dems agenda

[xj550]

I do not know 20mil or 20%. No link but they are screaming about "mainstreet"

no link because they have not uploaded any draft of the BILL so the TAX payers can read it.

I found this (huff post)

But a number of liberal activist groups and think tanks -- including ACORN, US Action, MoveOn , the AFL-CIO, SEIU, the Steelworkers Union, the American Federation of Teachers, the Center for American Progress, the Campaign for America's Future, and others -- have already taken the lead, formulating a progressive alternative to Bush's plan and urging the Democrats in Congress to show some backbone in standing up to the White House. On Tuesday, for example, ACORN sponsored protests at Federal Reserve banks and financial institutions in 40 cities to protest the failure of the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve to include lifelines for American homeowners facing foreclosures in its big bank bailout bill.

[Jill4Hillary]

Link please? :)

[Marie]

It was 20%, according to - I think it was Gramm who said it - a republican senator, he was on with Greta. Lord almighty.

[Wyoming Dem]

Money to Acorn to rig voter lists and get Obama elected by hook or by crook. THis needs to be blasted everywhere. PORK on a "Hail Mary" bill to save the nation? You gotta be freakin' kidding me. Goddamn DNC losers.

[lanney]

Fannie Mae is proud to work with ACORN Housing, " said Thomas Collins, Director, Single Family Business, and Fannie Mae. By working with ACORN and lenders like Citibank, we can support their efforts to expand homeownership opportunities for underserved communities at affordable price points achieve sustainable homeownership."

here it is.

[samkm]

Send that link to everyone in media.

[Agent 00½ FL]

It was on Greta. I will see if I can find more infor.

[michu]

Great balls of fire! Are they out of their minds???

[xj550]

Link please? :)

There is none and I do not think there will be one before they vote on this thing. I want to know what is in it. I do not trust them at all.

[sadie]

I'm speechless. What the hell is going on???? The Obama Dems are blaming McCain for political grandstanding while they try to give money to some BOGUS group?? What the hell does ACORN have to do with economic collapse? More $$ to bribe voters to vote for Obama so he can "fix" it all via a phone call?? I just don't get it.

This feels like some kind of alternate universe. I hope McCain fights this to the death. Who the hell cares about some stupid debate now? This needs to be fixed, it needs to be fixed right, and it needs to fixed NOW. I'm appalled that Reid would say that he will make sure no votes happen on Friday night so the debate can go on (another thread, sorry, but I'm mad as hell and on a roll). Economic collapse is a reality and they're worried about some stupid debate??

[cynthia2]

WTF??????

Isn't that Obama's Housing group that is shady?

Someone help me understand. This was just on Greta.

[michu]

It was on Greta. Lindsey Graham said that ACORN was to get funding in the deal. He said 20% of money to buyout mortgages.

[cynthia2]

Sorry Mods, I was flipping out. you can delete this thread as there is already one on this.

[Jill4Hillary]

It is the ACORN of which we all are so fond.
Check out these links:
http://www.thealbanyproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4477
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/major-progressive-labor-leaders-demand/story.aspx?guid=%7B54578A04-BB20-40A9-8A35-343E6133505E%7D&dist=hppr

[Vici57]

We need to start writing to our Senators and tell them this is unacceptable. This is nothing but bullshit. They are there to bail out the Wall Street screw-up not add anything else to the bill. We need to scream as loud as we can. When you send to your senator, copy the MSM, Reid, Pelosi, Obama, and McCain. That way everyone will know that the American People are not dumb. Get anyone and everyone to send. This must be stopped now.

[michu]

More Reid, btw. How do we get rid of this stinking b*&(*&d???

[Marie]

I just heard there were "heated exchanges" behind closed doors!!
Why can't WE hear what's going on?? It's our money!

This is just crazy.

[Horizon]

It is the ACORN of which we all are so fond.
Check out these links:
http://www.thealbanyproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4477
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/major-progressive-labor-leaders-demand/story.aspx?guid=%7B54578A04-BB20-40A9-8A35-343E6133505E%7D&dist=hppr

Excuse me if I offend....For Fu**'s sake,How stupid is this!!!???? These people have the most gigantic balls ever!!Americans are supposed to give money to the very group that will fraud their votes??!!!

Twilight Zone.Call Fidel and tell him we're on the way.

[mondayblues]

Just to put things in perspective.... 20% of $700 Billion is

$140 BILLION

[eviee]

It was on Greta. Lindsey Graham said that ACORN was to get funding in the deal. He said 20%.



....but 20% comes out to 140 billion. No way should this handout be passed, until all these rogue organizations go under scrutiny.

[michu]

20% of the money set aside to bailout mortgages. I don't know how much was set aside to come up with the correct figure. Anybody know?

[BuckyKatt]

I will NOT pay for the shiity mistakes of these people.

Folks. I'm an extreme right wing fundie and this very idea makes me want to march in the streets with my guns. This is NOT America, this is NOT our country. This is our future, this is our childrens future, this has got to STOP.:mad:

Mad as hell.

[Agent 00½ FL]

I can't find anything in writing in connection with Graham. OK, we all heard it this not in our imagination. Is Sen. Graham an OK guy, I mean can we take his word. We need confirmation before we start a major FREAK OUT!

[Jill4Hillary]

No Deal Yet On Bailout; Republicans Want To Ease Taxes On Wall Street
Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 20:02:04 PM EDT

A deal on the bailout is close, but not close enough. Tonight it was announced that Congress is still at odds over a bailout plan, with the House Republicans proposing their own plan:

Still to be worked out is whether to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgage terms, a provision backed by many Democrats and community activists but opposed by Republicans and the banking industry.
The bankruptcy provision is not the only sticking point, however. House Republicans are not on board, according to Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio.

"House Republicans have not agreed to any plan at this point," Boehner said.

Instead, they issued a statement of economic rescue principles that calls for Wall Street to fund the recovery by injecting private capital - not taxpayer dollars - into the financial markets. Easing tax laws would prompt investors to put in their own dollars, they said.

The plan also calls for: participating firms to disclose the value of the mortgage assets on their books, ending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's securitization of "unsound mortgages," reviewing the performance of the credit rating agencies and having the Securities and Exchange Commission audit failed companies to ensure their financial standing was accurately portrayed.

House Republicans also want to create a panel to make recommendations for reforming the financial industry by year's end.

This is a classic conservative Republican move and one that should show the American people their true colors. They want to ease tax laws so that investors would invest more, according to their plan.

Even during a time of financial crisis, the Republicans are still thinking about rewarding their rich friends on Wall Street instead of the millions of Americans who have faced foreclosures or are on the brink of foreclosure.

It has been reported by numerous media outlets that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will meet with congressional leaders again tonight to try and hammer out a deal.

http://www.thealbanyproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4530

[michu]

I'm NOT an extreme right wing fundie and I'm considering refusing to pay my taxes and letting them lock me up in jail. I REFUSE to pay for ACORN to steal this election and no telling how many future elections. This is beyond outrageous!

No wonder they needed JM to come help them! This mess could have been rammed through without Republican support.

[cynthia2]

We need to start writing to our Senators and tell them this is unacceptable. This is nothing but bullshit. They are there to bail out the Wall Street screw-up not add anything else to the bill. We need to scream as loud as we can. When you send to your senator, copy the MSM, Reid, Pelosi, Obama, and McCain. That way everyone will know that the American People are not dumb. Get anyone and everyone to send. This must be stopped now.


Write Congress (too). House Republicans are the one's killing the Paulson plan as it is. House Repubs can investigate this and have reason to do so. Don't write the House Dems and then it will take them by surprise. Apparently our congress is listening to us because they are saying that they have heard so many calls on the Paulson Plan.

[nette60]

This is why they wanted to pass it through quickly and give Paulson sole authority to make decisions.....The Republicans wanted to know the specifics and Pelosi, Reid et al want to Rush it through

[xj550]

I am so glad Gramm let this part out. He knows we won't like it and spread it all around.

[michu]

http://www.thealbanyproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4530

I'm surprised they left "Big Oil" out of that statement. They usually throw that in for good measure whenever they're trying to hide something.

[mondayblues]

http://www.thealbanyproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4530

The Story:

"House Republicans have not agreed to any plan at this point," Boehner said.

Instead, they issued a statement of economic rescue principles that calls for Wall Street to fund the recovery by injecting private capital - not taxpayer dollars - into the financial markets. Easing tax laws would prompt investors to put in their own dollars, they said.

The plan also calls for: participating firms to disclose the value of the mortgage assets on their books, ending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's securitization of "unsound mortgages," reviewing the performance of the credit rating agencies and having the Securities and Exchange Commission audit failed companies to ensure their financial standing was accurately portrayed.

The Spin:

This is a classic conservative Republican move and one that should show the American people their true colors. They want to ease tax laws so that investors would invest more, according to their plan.

Even during a time of financial crisis, the Republicans are still thinking about rewarding their rich friends on Wall Street instead of the millions of Americans who have faced foreclosures or are on the brink of foreclosure.


How about the millions of Americans who are not on the brink of foreclosure but is burdened to pay the debt of that isn't theirs with no obvious gains?

Is handing out $700 Billion Tax Payers Money without actually sitting down to investigate what the hell is going on the right thing?

[Jill4Hillary]

Looks like the majority of protests across the country today (re:bail-out) were ACORN sponsored events. Hmmmmm....Smell a rat?

[Horizon]

Looks like the majority of protests across the country today (re:bail-out) were ACORN sponsored events. Hmmmmm....Smell a rat?

We have one going on right now in my town,we only have a population of 65,000.This is ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad::mad::mad::mad:

[ggreen]

http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/14552

MS. BLOCK: But the idea, obviously, is that this goes to Congress and that provisions are written in and that’s just what they’re doing now. Are you not reassured by what’s the debate in Congress right now?

MR. GINGRICH: Well, the last time we were promised they were going to save us, it was $300 billion; it was a housing bill. And what liberal Democrats in Congress did, for example, was add $500 million a year for a left-wing activist group called Acorn. Now, I can’t imagine why we’d want the taxpayer to give $500 million a year to a left-wing activist group, but it’s in the bill which the Bush administration signed and that was only back in July and that was going to solve everything. That was $300 billion ago.

Now we have a brand-new, liberal Democrats, many of whom, for example, Chris Dodd, was the largest single recipient of money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and he is the chairman of the Banking Committee. So the guy who got the most money is now going to write a bill to give taxpayers money to the people who gave him money. Somehow, I am not reassured.

[Lillie]

More on ACORN at Michelle Malkin:

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/09/25/kill-the-bailout-more-acorn-funding/

deals with testimony this week about ACORN fraud and also talks about the $$ in the bailout...Worth a read!

Voter registration fraud and mismanagement of funds covered at the link...

[Horizon]

http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/14552

GO NEWT!!!! And I don't even like him,but damn,this cannot happen!!!

[freethinker]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACORN

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a community organization of low- and moderate-income families that addresses housing, schools, neighborhood safety, health care, job conditions, and other social issues that affect its members. With a membership of over 350,000, ACORN is organized into more than 850 neighborhood chapters in over 100 cities across the United States, as well as in Argentina, Canada, Mexico, and Peru. The organization was born out of the American Civil Rights Movement. ACORN was founded in 1970 by Wade Rathke, George Wiley, and Gary Delgado.[1] Maude Hurd has been National President of ACORN since 1990.

ACORN groups work through direct action, negotiations, and with public officials.

Contents [hide]
1 Issues and actions
1.1 Predatory lending
1.2 Living wages
1.3 Katrina Relief
1.4 Education
1.5 Gun Control
2 History
2.1 1970-1975: Founding
2.2 1975-1980: Growth beyond Arkansas
2.3 1980-1988: Reagan Era
2.4 1988-1998: Focus on housing
2.5 1998-2004: Building capacity
2.6 False registrations by employees
3 See also
4 Bibliography
5 External links
6 References

[edit] Issues and actions

[edit] Predatory lending
ACORN has fought against lending practices that it sees as predatory by targeting the national companies that practice them, working for stronger state laws against predatory practices, organizing against local financial scams, and steering individuals toward loan counseling.[2] Following a three-year campaign Household International (now owned by HSBC Holdings and renamed HSBC Finance Corporation), one of the largest subprime lenders in the country, and ACORN announced on November 25, 2003 a proposed settlement of a 2002 national class-action lawsuit brought by ACORN. The settlement created a $72 million Foreclosure Avoidance Program to provide relief to Household borrowers who are at risk of losing their homes.[2] The settlement came on the heels of an earlier $484 million settlement between Household, Attorneys General, and bank regulators from all 50 US states.[3]


[edit] Living wages
Living wage ordinances require private businesses that do business with the government to pay their workers a wage that enables them to afford basic necessities. ACORN has helped pass local living wage laws in fifteen cities including Chicago, Oakland, Denver, and New York City.[4] ACORN maintains a website that provides strategic and logistical assistance to organizations nationwide.


[edit] Katrina Relief
ACORN members across the country, particularly in the Gulf region, have organized fundraising and organizing drives to ensure that victims of Hurricane Katrina will receive assistance and will be able to return to affected areas. ACORN's Home Cleanout Demonstration Program has gutted and rebuilt over 1,850 homes with the help of volunteers. The ACORN Katrina Survivors Association formed in the aftermath of the storm is the first nationwide organization for Katrina survivors and has been working for equitable treatment for victims. Displaced citizens were bused into the city for the New Orleans primary and general elections. ACORN Housing Services have helped more than 2,000 homeowners affected by the storm and is an official planner working with the city on reconstruction.[5][unreliable source?]


[edit] Education
ACORN pushes education reform usually in the form of organizing neighborhood groups and "community" or "ACORN schools". In Chicago, ACORN has advocated for a certified teacher to be in every classroom. In California ACORN has documented the need for textbooks and school repairs. ACORN works with teachers unions to get money for school construction and more funding for schools.[6] ACORN opposes charter schools and for-profit schooling initiatives, most notably the proposed Edison Schools takeover of the New York City public schools in 2001.[6][unreliable source?]


[edit] Gun Control
In 2006, ACORN intervened on behalf of Jersey City, New Jersey in a lawsuit brought against the city, which challenged a local ordinance that limited handgun purchasers to one gun a month.[7] The ordinance was ultimately struck down as it violated the New Jersey Constitution's Equal Protection clause, and a state statute prohibiting towns and municipalities from enacting firearms legislation.[8]


[edit] History

[edit] 1970-1975: Founding
ACORN was founded by Wade Rathke when he was sent to Little Rock, Arkansas by the National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO) in 1970 as an organizer.[9] Gary Delgado and George A. Wiley were also instrumental to its founding. ACORN's first campaign was aimed at helping welfare recipients attain their basic needs, such as clothing and furniture. This drive, inspired by a clause in the Arkansas welfare laws, began the effort to create and sustain a movement that would grow to become the Arkansas Community Organizations for Reform Now, the beginnings of ACORN.[10]

ACORN's goal was to unite welfare recipients with needy working people around issues of free school lunches, unemployment issues, Vietnam veterans' rights, and emergency room care. The broad range of issues did not stop there as the organization grew throughout Arkansas. ACORN organized farmers to take on environmental issues concerning sulfur emissions.


[edit] 1975-1980: Growth beyond Arkansas
In 1975, ACORN created branches in Texas and South Dakota. On December 13, 1975, sixty leaders from the three ACORN states elected the first associate Executive Board and the first ACORN president, Steve McDonald, to deal with matters beyond the scope of the individual city and state boards. Each year thereafter saw three or more states join ACORN, building to a total of twenty states by 1980. This expansion led to multi-state campaigns beginning with a mass meeting of 1,000 members in Memphis in 1978. At the end of the conference, ACORN convention delegates marched on the Democratic Party conference with the outline of a nine-point "People’s Platform" which would go on to become the foundation of ACORN's platform when it was ratified in 1979.

ACORN was active in the 1980 Election with the "People's Platform" serving as its standard.[11] It led demonstrations aimed at both major party candidates; demanded to meet with President Jimmy Carter; marched on the president's campaign finance committee chair's home; and presented its platform to the Republican Party platform committee.


[edit] 1980-1988: Reagan Era
By 1980, ACORN’S staff was stretched thin by the demands of meeting its expansion goals. Much of its resources and energy had been dedicated to the presidential primaries and national party conventions. ACORN launched squatting campaigns in an attempt to obtain affordable housing, and encouraged squatters to refit the premises for comfortable living.

In June 1982 ACORN sponsored "Reagan Ranches" in over 35 cities believing the president's focus to be on military as opposed to social spending. These tent cities were erected for two days and were met with resistance from the National Park Service, which tried repeatedly to evict the tenters. The protesters remained and then marched on the White House and testified before a Congressional committee about what they described as the housing crisis in America. The last Reagan Ranch was held at the Republican Convention in Dallas in 1984.

In addition to protesting, ACORN also developed and strengthened its political action committees and encouraged its members to run for office. For the 1984 Election ACORN wanted to endorse a candidate, setting a 75% support in polls among members as its requirement. No candidate reached that level, though there was strong support for Jesse Jackson. ACORN also established a legislative office that year in Washington, DC. During this period ACORN also focused on local election reform in a number of cities, including Pittsburgh, Columbia, South Carolina, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, encouraging the change of at-large legislative bodies to district representation.

ACORN grew to twenty-seven states, adding chapters in New York City, Washington, DC, and Chicago, Illinois by the end of Reagan's first term.[10]

During the 1988 Election ACORN held its National Convention in the same city as the Democratic Convention — Atlanta, Georgia. During the preceding four years ACORN had strengthened its ties with Jesse Jackson and accounted for thirty Jackson delegates. It also sponsored a march at the convention.

ACORN's membership grew to 70,000 plus in twenty-eight states during this time. It increased its legislative lobbying efforts in Washington and strengthened its PACs. It also developed what it called the Affiliated Media Foundation Movement (AM/FM). Starting with station KNON in Dallas, AM/FM moved on to establish radio stations, UHF television and cable television programming. It also sought and received appointments to the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) which was formed to dissolve the assets of failed Savings and Loans resulting from the Savings and Loan crisis.


[edit] 1988-1998: Focus on housing

ACORN member demonstrating against predatory lendingWhile some of ACORN’s most notable efforts were in the area of housing, it has counted health, public safety, education, representation, work and workers’ rights and communications concerns among its victories.

The 1990 ACORN convention in Chicago focused on the fast-breaking housing campaign. It featured a squatting demonstration at an RTC house. Later, ACORN members demanded cooperation from banks about providing loan data on low- and moderate-income communities and compliance with the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).

ACORN fought weakening of the CRA in 1991, staging a two-day takeover of the House Banking Committee hearing room. It also established ACORN Housing Corporation to service people moving into homes under the housing campaign, rehabilitated hundreds of houses addressed by CRA.

The ACORN convention in New York in 1992, called the "ACORN-Bank Summit", was organized to make deals with giant banks. When Citibank, the nation’s largest bank, did not participate conventioneers protested at its downtown Manhattan headquarters, and won a meeting to negotiate for similar programs.

ACORN supported and lobbied for the "Motor Voter" Act. After its passage, ACORN members attended President Clinton’s signing ceremony. ACORN then pursued new registration laws in Arkansas and Massachusetts and filed suit in Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania as a result of the act.

In 1993, ACORN also began a national campaign to fight insurance redlining, a practice that put the gains made in other housing campaigns at risk. The campaign targeted Allstate, hitting sales offices in fourteen cities and a stockholders meeting. Allstate agreed to negotiate and signed an agreement in 1994 for a $10 million partnership with ACORN and NationsBank for below-market mortgages to low-income homebuyers. Travelers Insurance agreed to a Neighborhood and Home Safety Program, linking access to insurance and lower rates to public safety programs.

ACORN filed a lawsuit in California seeking to exempt itself from the state's minimum wage of $4.25 per hour in 1995. ACORN alleged in its complaint that "its workers, if paid the minimum wage, will be less empathetic with ACORN's low and moderate income constituency and will therefore be less effective advocates." The court denied ACORN's petition; the denial was sustained on appeal.[12]


[edit] 1998-2004: Building capacity
ACORN's subsequent activities have included its "Living Wage" programs, voter registration, and grassroots political organization.

In 1998 ACORN helped form the Working Families Party in New York which counts increasing the minimum wage as its centerpiece issue.

Dale Rathke, the brother of ACORN's founder Wade Rathke, was found to have embezzled $948,607.50 from the group and affiliated charitable organizations in 1999 and 2000. ACORN executives did not inform the board or law enforcement, but signed an enforceable restitution agreement with the Rathke family to repay the amount of the embezzlement. Wade Rathke stated to the Times that "the decision to keep the matter secret was not made to protect his brother but because word of the embezzlement would have put a “weapon” into the hands of [...] conservatives who object to [ACORN]'s often strident advocacy on behalf of low- and moderate-income families and workers." A whistleblower revealed the fraud in 2008, leading to the departure of both Dale and Wade Rathke.[13]

A March 27, 2003 decision of the National Labor Relations Board found that ACORN attempted to thwart union organizing efforts within its own organization by laying off two workers who were attempting to organize.[14] The two workers, both field organizers with ACORN, began discussions with the Service Employees International Union and later sought to organize under Industrial Workers of the World in response to their $16,000 annual salary for a 54-hour work week.[citation needed] The NLRB ordered the two employees be reinstated in their former jobs and ACORN cease from interrogating employees about organizing activity.[14]. ACORN has since strengthened its ties with the Service Employees International Union, which donates over two million dollars to ACORN each year,[15] often working collaboratively on issues (including health insurance costs and the minimum wage) and sharing office space.

In 2004, Florida ACORN helped to raise Florida's minimum wage by $1.00 an hour by lobbying for a minimum wage amendment to be placed on the ballot. Over 1 million Florida employees were affected by the raise, which is adjusted annually for inflation.

2004 saw ACORN become an international organization, opening offices in Canada, Peru, and beginning work in Dominican Republic. Since then offices have opened in Mexico and Argentina.


[edit] False registrations by employees
In some locations, ACORN employees have submitted false voter registration forms rather than obtaining registrations from actual eligible voters.

In Ohio in 2004, four ACORN employees were indicted by a federal grand jury for submitting false voter registration forms.[16][17]
In January 2005 two Colorado ACORN workers were sentenced to community service for submitting false voter registrations.[18] ACORN's regional director said, "we find it abhorrent and do everything we can to prevent it from happening."[19]
On November 1, 2006, four part time ACORN employees were indicted in Kansas City, Missouri for voter registration fraud. Prosecutors said the indictments are part of a national investigation.[20] ACORN said in a press release that it is in part responsible in these individuals being caught, has fired them, and has cooperated and publicly supported efforts to look into the validity of the allegations.[21]
ACORN was investigated in 2006 for submitting false voter registrations in St. Louis, Missouri. 1,492 fraudulent voter registrations were identified.[22][23]
In 2007, five Washington state ACORN workers were sentenced to jail time.[24] ACORN agreed to pay King County $25 000 for its investigative costs and acknowledged that the national organization could be subject to criminal prosecution if fraud occurs again. According to King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg, the misconduct was done "as an easy way to get paid [by ACORN], not as an attempt to influence the outcome of elections."[25][26]
In 2008, the Michigan Secretary of State office told the Detroit Free Press that ACORN had been submitting a sizeable number of duplicate and fraudulent applications to vote.[27]
On September 17 2008, the Bernalillo County clerk in New Mexico notified prosecutors that the office had received fraudulent registration cards.[28]

[AKFamily]

This is stupid beyond stupid to the point I can't actually believe it until I see proof :mad::mad::mad::mad:

[Mrsawd]

We need to be Screaming ACORN BIG Fraud MIS management of funds we should have to help pay the discusting asses any thing!

[Agent 00½ FL]

What in the hell are they doing with all this money? Starting their own Country!!!!:eek:

[Horizon]

What in the hell are they doing with all this money? Starting their own Country!!!!:eek:

No.They are taking over this one.

[Laura Cereta]

Buyout Bill included 20% to ACORN

WTF?!?!? :confused::mad::eek::confused::mad::eek:

[Jill4Hillary]

Another informative link:
Agreement Reached on Overhaul of U.S. Financial System
...Dodd, whose state is home to the nation's largest insurance companies, and Schumer, with strong ties to Wall Street, have long sought legislation to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act. Both men said in interviews Friday that they moved to strike a compromise after it became apparent that the legislation might be killed, as it was last year by Gramm, over the debate about the Community Reinvestment Act.

Gramm had maintained that he did not want anything in the bill that would expand the application of the Community Reinvestment Act because it was, he said, unnecessarily burdensome to banks. He had sought a provision that would exempt thousands of smaller banks from the law. He also wanted a provision that would expose what he has described as the "extortion" committed by community groups against banks by requiring the groups to disclose any special financial deals the groups extract from the banks...
Sheesh! Just keeps getting better!
http://partners.nytimes.com/library/financial/102399banks-congress.html

[Karen Keefe]

ACORN = corruption, voter fraud for Obama. No longer trust Dems on anything if Hillary is not President.

[PartyOfOne]

Are we talking about Lindsey Graham or Phil Gramm? I've seen both spellings in the posts. Graham is pretty reliable and is a good friend of McCain's. Gramm is a retired GOP Senator from Texas who appears on FOX occasionally and (keeping it polite) you can't always believe what he says.

[xj550]

Are we talking about Lindsey Graham or Phil Gramm? I've seen both spellings in the posts. Graham is pretty reliable and is a good friend of McCain's. Gramm is a retired GOP Senator from Texas who appears on FOX occasionally and (keeping it polite) you can't always believe what he says.

Lindsey Graham

[Kbentleyis]

Not to worry! John and his gang put a stop to that! Want's to investigate before giving money to ACORN.

[michu]

Thanks for clarifying. The Gramm had my head spinning.

[DemKR]

Better call your congressman and Senators and tell them a penny of this better not go to ACORN..in other word's straight into B.H. Obama's pocket.

[cindyb]

More Reid, btw. How do we get rid of this stinking b*&(*&d???


Please, PLEASE tell me how and I will help.

[Calico]

This is beyond ridiculous!

We need to get the word out that this is an outrage!

No wonder, Obama wants to keep a low profile and let his DNC buddies do the dirty work for him.

[SadStateOfAffairs]

This is an attempt of a hostile takeover of the US financial system by ACORN and the left wing zealots of the DNC and Baracks commie buddies. No wonder JM is throwing a wrench into the works. Thank god for John McCain! This is total insanity.:eek:

[denmyboysmoc]

Senator Graham just said on Greta that ACORN was going to get funds in the original deal.

It will be a cold day in hell if those leftist crooks get my tax dollars. :mad:

I am PISSED!!!!!!! Call your Senator and Reps. There should be NO funds to ANY groups, left OR right!!! NO PORK!!!!!!! Get on it Johnnie Mac!!!! :D:D

[Ron4Hill]

More about this here and some video:

http://www.hyscience.com/archives/2008/09/sen_lindsey_gra.php

Lindsey Graham says there was never a deal:

YouTube - Sen. Lindsey Graham: There was never a deal

[brussell]

ACORN To Feds: Bail Out Main Street, Not Just Wall Street
by: robert.harding
Tue Sep 23, 2008 at 12:56:21 PM EDT

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now isn't too happy about the bailout being proposed in Washington D.C. Some of ACORN's members are facing foreclosures and ACORN wants Washington D.C. to bail out Main Street, not just Wall Street.

ACORN Pickets Federal Reserve and Congress:

Bail Out Main Street, Not Just Wall Street; Don't Foreclose on Victims

NEW YORK CITY - Today, ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) picketed the Federal Reserve to protest the failure of the Bush administration and Chairman Ben Bernanke to include lifelines for American homeowners facing foreclosures in its big bank bailout bill.

As similar rallies occurred across the country, dozens of ACORN members gathered, including those facing foreclosure. ACORN was joined by supportive elected officials including: Assembly Member Hakeem Jeffries, State Senator John Sampson, and a representative from City Council Member David Weprin's office.

"The Bush plan calls for spending hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to bail out his former colleagues on Wall Street, but does not devote a single penny to rescue American homeowners who were victimized by the predatory lending of these same institutions," said Maude Hurd, President of ACORN. "We urge Congress to protect the millions of American homeowners who are facing foreclosure before they bail out the shareholders of big banks."

ACORN called on leaders of Congress to include homeowner rescue provisions in any Wall Street bailout, including:

· Bankruptcy Shelter for Homeowners. Congress should amend the bankruptcy bill to allow federal bankruptcy judges to modify the terms on a principal residence, just like they can on vacation homes and yachts.

· Automatic Modifications for Distressed Homeowners. Any financial institution that participates in the federal bailout must be obligated to provide automatic affordable loan modifications to homeowners facing foreclosure, structured along the lines of the modification program recently implemented by the FDIC as conservator of Indymac. This provision would apply to any home mortgages, either wholly owned or included in securities owned by the institution.

· Re-regulate the financial industry. Any financial institution that benefits from the bailout must in return provide public benefit by investing in low- and moderate-income communities under the provisions of the Community Reinvestment Act.

"Wall Street created and financed the tidal wave of predatory mortgage products that have led us directly to this crisis," Hurd said. "Their irresponsible lending and greed, combined with the deregulatory zeal of the Federal Reserve, has caused millions of Americans to lose their homes. Taxpayer money must be used to rescue the victims of these crimes before it is used to save the criminals from failure."

This is similar to an e-mail Working Families Party Executive Director Dan Cantor sent out yesterday calling on Congress to bailout Main Street, not just Wall Street. That sentiment should be shouted to our representatives and senators in Washington D.C. as they figure out the best way to address this crisis. We don't need anymore bailouts. We need accountability, discipline and common sense. Unfortunately, all three have been absent for too long and have led to the downfall of many corporations and to the decline of our economy.

http://www.thealbanyproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4477

[Phoenix]

Perhaps we should get HillaryClintonForum.net put in this bill for some funds. Heck...we'd probably be able to get by on just .0001%.

[Lealy]

Just sent out more emails to my congress people. This is worse than the twilight zone.

[Sandi]

There is a HUGE difference between allowing a provision for mortgages to be renegotiated to a reasonable fixed % or extending to a longer loan period and REDUCING THE PRINCIPAL amount of the loan (which was included in the request from ACORN). THIS SHOULD NEVER BE DONE. I want to protect homeowners from predatory lending practices, too, but we can not just forgive the original mortgage amount agreed to when they purchased their homes. That is crazy!!! This is not some lottery for people who made bad financial decisions. We can help people stay in their homes by extending their mortgages to lower their payments but in the end they should have to repay the full amount of their loans.

[hobbitt]

to rescue American homeowners who were victimized by the predatory lending of these same institutions,"

Subprime mortgages were not "predatory lending." This was not a bait-and-switch scam, this was not a "sign this document or else" threat, this was not an example of "hidden fees." This was an agreement entered into willingly by both parties.

Only the most unaware individuals could believe that a worker on cannery row making minimum wage could afford a six bedroom McMansion.

Any financial institution that benefits from the bailout must in return provide public benefit by investing in low- and moderate-income communities under the provisions of the Community Reinvestment Act.

Great idea. NOT. Force banks which are already bust to go create more shakey loans.

Let us 'call on leaders of Congress" to investigate ACORN and put their fraudulent little bodies in the clink.

[Den2006]

This is what I'm afraid of you start talking about a spending bill and these clowns want to go nuts adding extra crap to it. I'm so sick of Congress and thier underhanded behavior. This has to stop or we need to march on Washington with our buckets of tar and bales of feathers.

[Ace]

merged.

[samkm]

http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/14552
MS. BLOCK: But the idea, obviously, is that this goes to Congress and that provisions are written in and that’s just what they’re doing now. Are you not reassured by what’s the debate in Congress right now?

MR. GINGRICH: Well, the last time we were promised they were going to save us, it was $300 billion; it was a housing bill. And what liberal Democrats in Congress did, for example, was add $500 million a year for a left-wing activist group called Acorn. Now, I can’t imagine why we’d want the taxpayer to give $500 million a year to a left-wing activist group, but it’s in the bill which the Bush administration signed and that was only back in July and that was going to solve everything. That was $300 billion ago.

Now we have a brand-new, liberal Democrats, many of whom, for example, Chris Dodd, was the largest single recipient of money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and he is the chairman of the Banking Committee. So the guy who got the most money is now going to write a bill to give taxpayers money to the people who gave him money. Somehow, I am not reassured.

This really bothers me... that the President signs a bill to give this much money to the activists in JULY 2008 and we have not heard inspite of being as vigilant on the news as we have been.

[Mike78]

If this goes through I will not be paying taxes, that's total bullshit and I flat out refuse to give one red penny to a group that registers dead people for elections. :mad:

[michu]

I'm with you Mike78. They obviously truly to believe us to be stupid.

[Ron4Hill]

I'm not sure if this link has already been posted but it's worth repeating anyway:

Kill the bailout: More ACORN funding?! (http://michellemalkin.com/2008/09/25/kill-the-bailout-more-acorn-funding/)