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#1559079 - 10/15/08 05:48 PM
Acorn in Minnesota
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Sr IceLeaders Family
Registered: 10/22/04
Posts: 1728
Loc: Duluth
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They're Here!
From the Minnesota Lawyer's Blog
Friday, August 1, 2008
From small ACORNs, great votes grow
Remember the mini-flap over the settlement terms of a lawsuit the Minnesota Attorney General’s office filed against Capital One Bank? Buried in the June report on the AGO by Legislative Auditor James Nobles was the revelation that the suit (filed by then-AG Mike Hatch) was settled for $749,999. If the case had settled for a dollar more, the money would have gone into the general fund for the Legislature to distribute.
About a third of that amount ($249,999 -- there are those nines again) went to Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a nonprofit that calls itself the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families.
If you haven’t heard much of ACORN, you might soon. The group was the focus of a story in the Wall Street Journal that reported that aside from its well-known housing advocacy efforts, ACORN is active in voter mobilization efforts. ACORN is co-managing a $15.9 million campaign with the group Project Vote to register 1.2 million low-income Hispanics and African-Americans, the WSJ article says.
Republicans are crying foul, saying that funds from the $5 billion housing bill will indirectly end up in the coffers of groups like ACORN, which, they feel, have a clear Democratic tilt.
Incidentally, after the Capital One settlement and subsequent distribution of funds, ACORN’s political action committee later endorsed Hatch in his gubernatorial bid. I guess in legal terminology that would qualify as your basic quid pro quo.
Posted by Dan Heilman, staff writer at 2:30 PM
_________________________
"Tolerance is the last virtue of a dying society." Aristotle
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#1559089 - 10/15/08 05:58 PM
Re: Acorn in Minnesota
[Re: gunflint]
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HotSpotOutdoors Pro Staff
Registered: 12/23/01
Posts: 16192
Loc: Ely, MN
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They're Here!
From the Minnesota Lawyer's Blog
Friday, August 1, 2008
From small ACORNs, great votes grow
Remember the mini-flap over the settlement terms of a lawsuit the Minnesota Attorney General’s office filed against Capital One Bank? Buried in the June report on the AGO by Legislative Auditor James Nobles was the revelation that the suit (filed by then-AG Mike Hatch) was settled for $749,999. If the case had settled for a dollar more, the money would have gone into the general fund for the Legislature to distribute.
About a third of that amount ($249,999 -- there are those nines again) went to Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a nonprofit that calls itself the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families.
If you haven’t heard much of ACORN, you might soon. The group was the focus of a story in the Wall Street Journal that reported that aside from its well-known housing advocacy efforts, ACORN is active in voter mobilization efforts. ACORN is co-managing a $15.9 million campaign with the group Project Vote to register 1.2 million low-income Hispanics and African-Americans, the WSJ article says.
Republicans are crying foul, saying that funds from the $5 billion housing bill will indirectly end up in the coffers of groups like ACORN, which, they feel, have a clear Democratic tilt.
Incidentally, after the Capital One settlement and subsequent distribution of funds, ACORN’s political action committee later endorsed Hatch in his gubernatorial bid. I guess in legal terminology that would qualify as your basic quid pro quo.
Posted by Dan Heilman, staff writer at 2:30 PM What were the grounds for the suit? Does anyone remember? No reason on the face of it that settlement money should come to ACORN. Wouldn't surprise me at all it was ACORN and Hatch scratching each others' backs. The numbers alone make that likely. That certainly bites. I'd rather have seen another dollar added so the people of Minnesota could make use of the money directly through our elected representatives. Smells stinky to me. Those bad deals happen all the time with both major political parties and the groups that reflect their respective political philosophies. Just one more reason to cast a vote based on belief rather than fear that we'll "waste a vote" by selecting a third-party candidate. And of course ACORN is Democratic leaning. The people they represent and mobilize (the lowest-income minorities in general) are the disenfranchised of this country, and the disenfranchised generally vote Democrat. Nothing to stop Republican leaning community organizing agencies from signing up as many unregistered Republican voters as they can. Frankly, both parties' colors should avoid red, white and blue. Brown is much more appropriate. If it looks like feces, smells like feces and squishes under your boot when you step on it, odds are it is feces. Dem or Repub, their feces are equally odiferous, and since it's the American public the politicians are using as their Fruit-of-the-Looms, the skid marks show up on all of us. 
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#1559093 - 10/15/08 06:02 PM
Re: Acorn in Minnesota
[Re: gunflint]
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IceLeaders Family
Registered: 05/11/08
Posts: 175
Loc: B-town
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What a load of bull! ACORN is basically a government funded Democratic support agency. Just like AFSCME (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees [look these guys up])they are built in government support for the Democrats. THIS IS WRONG! How do they get away with this stuff!?!?!?
_________________________
"Then it comes to be, that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel, was just a freight train coming your way!" - Hetfield
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#1559147 - 10/15/08 07:07 PM
Re: Acorn in Minnesota
[Re: AngelicFatum]
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Sr IceLeaders Family
Registered: 10/22/04
Posts: 1728
Loc: Duluth
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Stcatfish, I agree with most of what you say with the exception of registering voters. If someone is disenfranchised it's by choice. Other than the physically handicapped and shut-ins.If you don't have the mental where with all to register to vote, you shouldn't be voting. If you're not competent enough to understand the registration and voting process you sure aren't competent enough to weigh in on our leadership. Being poor or a minority has nothing to do with it. It's about understanding your responsibilities as a citizen and whether or not you choose to be responsible.
_________________________
"Tolerance is the last virtue of a dying society." Aristotle
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#1559212 - 10/15/08 08:12 PM
Re: Acorn in Minnesota
[Re: gunflint]
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Sr IceLeaders Family
Registered: 04/24/02
Posts: 1824
Loc: Twin Cities
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<yawn>
I hear something really funny on the radio today that hadn't occured to me, or most of the ACORN-bashers, yet. Someone said that for all the talk of registration cards being turned in for non-existent & nonsensical names, that nobody named "Jive Talkin'" was likely to actually show up & vote on Election Day. Think about that.
The accusations of election fraud are getting old. I'd like to see some facts rather than just one more election cycle where the GOP is yelling about it without any reason (see: fired Attorneys General). One of my friends actually told me, with a straight face, that Obama "stole" the Senate election from Alan Keyes in Illinois in 2004. Y'know, the one that ended up 70% to 30% or something like that. And he wonders why no one listens to his logical positions...
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#1559218 - 10/15/08 08:17 PM
Re: Acorn in Minnesota
[Re: gunflint]
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FishingMN Family
Registered: 09/05/08
Posts: 18
Loc: St. Paul, MN
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Yes you have to be responsible. The poor and minorities, as you say, need to be more responsible. After all only the rich white guys on Wall Street are allowed to be irresponsible and get a bail out. How dare this group ACORN try to help anyone not rich and white on Wall Street.
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#1559231 - 10/15/08 08:28 PM
Re: Acorn in Minnesota
[Re: Maximum12]
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Sr FishingMN Family
Registered: 12/28/06
Posts: 367
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stcatfish,
You disappoint me, not one of your better posts.
"The disenfranchised generally vote Democrat"?
disenfranchise
verb
deprive of voting rights [ant: enfranchise]
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
How could the disenfranchised vote for anyone if deprived of voting rights?
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#1559341 - 10/15/08 09:45 PM
Re: Acorn in Minnesota
[Re: Dhhenry]
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Sr FishingMN Family
Registered: 02/01/07
Posts: 1033
Loc: Isle
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Yes you have to be responsible. The poor and minorities, as you say, need to be more responsible. After all only the rich white guys on Wall Street are allowed to be irresponsible and get a bail out. How dare this group ACORN try to help anyone not rich and white on Wall Street. "rich" "white" "wallstreet" Not to hard to figure out were your hate lies.
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#1559353 - 10/15/08 09:51 PM
Re: Acorn in Minnesota
[Re: fishorgolf]
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Sr FishingMN Family
Registered: 06/11/07
Posts: 1049
Loc: Bloomington, MN
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Yes you have to be responsible. The poor and minorities, as you say, need to be more responsible. After all only the rich white guys on Wall Street are allowed to be irresponsible and get a bail out. How dare this group ACORN try to help anyone not rich and white on Wall Street. "rich" "white" "wallstreet" Not to hard to figure out were your hate lies. haha, that's where you lean too
Edited by Loos15 (10/15/08 09:51 PM)
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#1559355 - 10/15/08 09:53 PM
Re: Acorn in Minnesota
[Re: fishorgolf]
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Sr IceLeaders Family
Registered: 10/22/04
Posts: 1728
Loc: Duluth
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The idea is not that jive talking votes. The idea is to flood the small districts with so many registrations that it is impossible to vet them all. What legitimate reason is there to register false names? Is it some kind of joke? I don't get it. The idea that false registrations do not indicate the possibility of voter fraud is beyond me.
_________________________
"Tolerance is the last virtue of a dying society." Aristotle
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#1559359 - 10/15/08 09:55 PM
Re: Acorn in Minnesota
[Re: gunflint]
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Sr FishingMN Family
Registered: 06/11/07
Posts: 1049
Loc: Bloomington, MN
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Considering in district 3 requireing photo i.d., kinda hard to pass yourself up as mickey mouse, or Tony Romo, especially if you're like me, Asian.
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#1559365 - 10/15/08 10:00 PM
Re: Acorn in Minnesota
[Re: walleye101]
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HotSpotOutdoors Pro Staff
Registered: 12/23/01
Posts: 16192
Loc: Ely, MN
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stcatfish,
You disappoint me, not one of your better posts.
"The disenfranchised generally vote Democrat"?
disenfranchise
verb
deprive of voting rights [ant: enfranchise]
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
How could the disenfranchised vote for anyone if deprived of voting rights? walleye101, I am disappointed in your shallow approach to the meaning of the word "disenfranchised." Perhaps we'll move on past the basics and call this post: meanings202.  Here's Webster's definition of the verb disenfranchise, which is the genesis of the adjective or noun disenfranchised. to deprive of a franchise, of a legal right, or of some privilege or immunity, especially to deprive of the right to voteYou'll see the the word is not necessarily misused in my post when considering the broader overall definition. To constrain the meaning of a word to its narrowest interpretation in an attempt to make a point is self-serving and intellectually lazy. As for my post, it was neither especially fine nor particularly inept, it was just another post among many. 
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#1559375 - 10/15/08 10:08 PM
Re: Acorn in Minnesota
[Re: gunflint]
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Sr FishingMN Family
Registered: 12/03/03
Posts: 645
Loc: Elk River
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The idea is not that jive talking votes. The idea is to flood the small districts with so many registrations that it is impossible to vet them all. What legitimate reason is there to register false names? Is it some kind of joke? I don't get it. The idea that false registrations do not indicate the possibility of voter fraud is beyond me. Personally, I'm more concerned with the voting machines.
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#1559384 - 10/15/08 10:14 PM
Re: Acorn in Minnesota
[Re: stfcatfish]
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Sr FishingMN Family
Registered: 12/28/06
Posts: 367
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No offense but that was not my shallow approach to the meaning. I simply searched the definition of disenfranchised and posted the first one that came up.
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#1559388 - 10/15/08 10:19 PM
Re: Acorn in Minnesota
[Re: walleye101]
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HotSpotOutdoors Pro Staff
Registered: 12/23/01
Posts: 16192
Loc: Ely, MN
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No offense but that was not my shallow approach to the meaning. I simply searched the definition of disenfranchised and posted the first one that came up. I was not offended in any way, truly. I simply felt compelled to respond to your post. Shame that you settled for the first one that came up instead of looking a little deeper to find the more complete meaning. My reply to gunflint was not aimed at scoring points. I got the feeling your reply to me was.
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