The Daily Caller recently reported on and posted an embargoed Department of Homeland Security Inspector General audit of a FEMA fire prevention grant to the ACORN. In fiscal year 2007, ACORN created the ACORN Institute to specifically apply for a $1 million FEMA grant to help urban communities prevent fires. According to the Inspector General audit, FEMA’s grant application review panel recommended against awarding ACORN grant funding because of concerns over ACORN’s lack of fire prevention experience and doubts about the proposed project’s effectiveness. Despite the panel’s rejection based on …
Good news on the efforts to defund ACORN: On Friday, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the injunction against the federal funding ban that had been granted by a federal district judge in New York, Clinton nominee Nina Gershon. Last fall, the ultra-radical Center for Constitutional Rights brought suit on behalf of ACORN, claiming the provisions in several federal appropriations laws barring distribution of U.S. taxpayers’ money to ACORN were unconstitutional “bills of attainder.” As I wrote at the time, Judge Gershon’s opinion would …
ACORN might have disbanded, but the risk of vote fraud in the November 2010 elections is still real. “Desperate men and women will do desperate things to maintain power when the public threatens to take that power away from them,” said David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union. “That means that, more so than in other years, [some candidates] are going to be relying on whatever kind of assistance they can get from whatever quarter that assistance might come.” That assistance will come from ACORN-like groups, Keene explained at …
Tomorrow, a new documentary, The Lottery, will premier in Washington, DC. The film is based on the Harlem charter school lottery: a luck-of-the-draw process to determine who of thousands of vying New York City children will be offered 475 charter school slots. Specifically, it tells the stories of four New York families hoping to break free from New York City public schools to increase the likelihood of their children’s educational success. Madeleine Sackler, the film’s director tells the Wall Street Journal: These are parents who don’t have the means to …
It’s hard not to sympathize with organized labor—at least to some extent. After all, during the 2008 elections, unions donated roughly half a billion dollars to Democrats, and so far have few legislative victories to show for their efforts; the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), the Respect Act, and the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act have all stalled in Congress. Union leaders were further outraged by last month’s bipartisan Senate vote against Craig Becker, President Obama’s nominee to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Rather than accept another setback, however, …
From CBS News’ 60 Minutes interview with Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal: Asked how often he talks to the president, McChrystal said, “I’ve talked to the president since I’ve been here once on a VTC.” “You talked to him once in 70 days?” Martin asked. “That’s correct,” McChrystal replied. From the Los Angeles Times profile of Service Employee International President Andy Stern Moreover, Stern has enjoyed considerable entree to the new administration — starting on Inauguration Day, when he joined Obama and the new president’s family on the …
This Monday the Senate voted 83 to 7 to strip funding for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) from this year’s housing and transportation appropriation bill. The move came after upstart website BigGovernment.com posted videos showing ACORN employees in multiple cities across the country conspiring to help under cover reporters avoid taxes for criminal enterprises. Despite the swiftness with which the Senate acted, this is hardly the first time ACORN has been accused of illegality. Last fall when ACORN was investigated for vote fraud in a dozen …
In the age of Obama, the media formerly known as mainstream can remind one of 19th century British literature. Pride and Prejudice sometimes, of course, but more often a favorite Sherlock Holmes story, Silver Blaze. In it, the famous sleuth has the following exchange with Inspector Gregory: Gregory: “Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?” Holmes: “To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.” Gregory: “The dog did nothing in the night-time.” Holmes: “That was the curious incident.” The media, you …
Remember ACORN? The Association of Community Organizations for Reform (ACORN), which has been plagued by allegations of voter fraud and abuse? It appears the chips just keep getting cashed in for the group that President Barack Obama once counseled as an attorney. First it was discovered that they were going to literally ‘cash in’ on the $800 Billion “Stimulus” bill that lawmakers ensured would give them access to hundreds of millions of dollars. Not really the ‘stimulus’ people were expecting. Then it was discovered that the White House and Congressional leaders …
On Wednesday morning it was 725; on Wednesday night it was 477; on Thursday night it was down to 336; by Friday it was 239; Sunday it was 221; and by today it was down to only 204. Are we talking about the Dow Jones falling on Wall Street? No, we are talking about the incredible shrinking margin of Sen. Norm Coleman’s victory over Al Franken. There is no question that there are usually some slight changes in the vote totals in counties throughout a state as election officials check …
