If Van Jones was feeling lonely and singled out, he’s got some friends headed to join him under the bus…
Obama appointee, Robert Grove, has dashed off a letter, notifying the national ACORN headquarters he is severing all ties with the community organizing group for all 2010 census work.
“Over the last several months, through ongoing communication with our regional offices, it is clear that ACORN’s affiliation with the 2010 Census promotion has caused sufficient concern in the general public, has indeed become a distraction from our mission, and may even become a discouragement to public cooperation, negatively impacting 2010 Census efforts,” read a letter from Census Director Robert M. Groves to the president of ACORN.
“Unfortunately, we no longer have confidence that our national partnership agreement is being effectively managed through your many local offices. For the reasons stated, we therefore have decided to terminate the partnership,” the letter said.
ummmm, yeah. So while the FBI investigations and corruption charges couldn’t sway Obama’s devotion to his pet non-profit, an entrepreneurial journalist-wannabe correction… activist filmmaker and his trusty female sidekick topple the group’s cushy position with the POTUS… armed merely with a hidden camera, a good plot line, and a spot on YouTube and a website. All they needed to complete a quest obviously unachievable by federal law enforcement agencies was a few over eager ACORN mortgage advisors… apparently not too difficult to find.
The two ACORN workers are, of course, history… employee Sherona Boone and volunteer mortgage consultant Lavernia Boone were fired after advising the pair of stealth reporters how to commit mortgage fraud.
This is the second set of ACORN workers caught by intrepid two – James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles – and released from any future ACORN tasks. Aye Chi posted both the videos yesterday.
Are we learning any lessons here, folks? It seems the power of the people is actually growing, cowering admin officials into doing the right thing by being vocal with their opinions, and doing some proactive citizen investigative journalism. Indeed, the big budget MSM seems to be missing out, with the most bold exposés by joe blow citizens, using Internet tools, cell phones and consumer technology… amazing.
But the predictable is already leering it’s ugly head… ACORN is crying foul, insinuating the tapes were altered. And the state attorney in Baltimore proper is considering investigating and prosecuting O’Keefe and Giles for “illegal wiretapping”.
The Baltimore city state’s attorney is considering prosecuting those responsible for taping the ACORN employees on charges that they violated Maryland’s wiretap laws.
STATEMENT OF STATE’S ATTORNEYS OFFICE FOR BALTIMORE CITY RELATIVE TO THE ALLEGED BALTIMORE ACORN INCIDENT Baltimore, MD – September 11, 2009 – We have received inquiries from citizens and the media asking whether the Baltimore City State’s Attorneys Office would initiate a criminal investigation for acts allegedly committed at ACORN offices located in Baltimore. The only information received in reference to this alleged criminal behavior was a YouTube video. Upon review by this office, the video appears to be incomplete. In addition, the audio portion could possibly have been obtained in violation of Maryland Law, Annotated Code of Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article §10-402, which requires two party consent.
If it is determined that the audio portion now being heard on YouTube was illegally obtained, it is also illegal under Maryland Law to willfully use or willfully disclose the content of said audio. The penalty for the unlawful interception, disclosure or use of it is a felony punishable up to 5 years.
Hummm… not good to have enemies in high places. They send Mondo from Chicago after you.
Rather a topsy turvy world when you think of it. A couple of daring young activists expose the very kind of mortgage fraud that played a part in tanking the US housing market, and the establishment prefers to focus on them.
Gee… I wonder how they get away with not having a two party consent with the pedophiles on How to Catch a Predator”? I guess, in the world of politics, morality gets tossed, and the line between good guys and bad is forever smudged.
Vietnam era Navy wife, indy/conservative, and an official California escapee now residing as a red speck in the sea of Oregon blue.
Having Acorn out of the census is great news. I hope somebody sometime soon can put the RICO to these jerks.
Maryland went after Linda Tripp for illegal wiretaping. All parties have to consent to wiretaping it seems in Maryland. But Linda Tripp actually recorded telephone conversations while the current case we have an investigative team using a camera. How can a Maryland prosecutor define a camera as a wiretap device I think is stretching things alot. If a camera with a microphone can be defined as a wiretap device, then all the television hidden camera projects must be prosecuted. If Maryland presses ahead with this persecution, what it will affirm to the citizenry is some people and groups are above the law, which bodes ill for future respect of law and order.
What prosecuting this case would do is bring the crimes of ACORN to the public that the MSN won’t. Think of the anger this would cause. This threat is just scare tactics trying to stop these kids from releasing more tapes.
I have mixed feelings about the ACORN “hidden camera” situation, and it has nothing to do with not believing that ACORN is corrupt to its core. I can’t really pinpoint what about it makes me so uneasy, but I suspect it’s the hidden camera thing.
Even Glenn Beck’s take on it, who I still think is an amazing courageous “truth seeker”, made me somewhat uneasy. Maybe it was Beck’s “overstatement” of it, warning us that the “world was going to change” after we saw THIS tape. Sorry Glenn, not really; corruption has and continues to be part of human nature and American Politics, although perhaps never to this degree.
Maybe it’s my own ego, feeling “duped” that what I originally thought was the real deal, turned out to be a sting by two young wanna be journalists. Initially I was horrified, thinking that the “house of prostitutes” was real. But that’s just me I guess, certainly relieved that it wasn’t real. I just have an acute sensitivity to sexual exploitation of any type, but especially of the youth. It’s not just countries like Thailand that exploit young girls into prostitution. There is plenty of it right here in America, especially in San Francisco.
As I said, my feelings are mixed. I do LOVE the fact that citizens are getting involved, and that we can make a difference. I was just never a big “hidden camera” person, even, as in this case, when it exposes the guilty. Will we get to a point that behind every closed door we should all fear “hidden camera?” I also wondered about the legality of it, but if 20/20 has gotten away with it for all of these years, I suspect it’s legal.
On the other hand, that’s what we elect representatives for, and if they aren’t going to do their jobs, I guess we have no choice left but to take it upon ourselves.
One thing I am NOT having mixed feelings about, is the fact that ACORN needs to be cut off from all federal monies NOW , including the 8.5 million (or is it billion) in stimulus money. If our elected representatives are not going to call for an investigation or make our voices heard, then why should any of us pay another penny in tax money? That’s not the way America is supposed to work, but thanks to total corruption from the MSM to our congress, we are being left with few, if any alternatives.
I’ll be at the Tea Party today in DC; should be interesting!
Like Beck did when Van Jones and Color of Change.org attempted to remove his sponsors, if you have the goods, you have to speak bold and freely…
release the tapes…
if the prosecutor even tries to pull charges… his/her ass will be removed as prosecutor quicker than you can say b-u-l-l-s-h-i-t
look at how Rep. Wilson is getting financial support for saying “you lie” to Usurper Obama….
it is amazing how Acorn is trying to do this in the cover of darkness….
The sad part of this is the corruption will not stop. Dropping ACORN from the census taking means nothing. These same people will open another organization under a different name , and it will be business as usual. Until this group of crooks are put in jail nothing will be accomplished. Untill all federal funds are removed from these crooks nothing will be accomplished. Until the American people stand up and vote all these crooked politicians out of office nothing will be accomplished. Wake up America, it’s later then you think!
Unlike a previous poster I HAVE NO MIXED FEELINGS ON THIS. This is citizen activism at its finest which makes liberals and spineless dolts qweezy. This is no different then green groups brining hidden cameras to industrial plants or puppy mills.
This is a resistance to a growing undertone of marxist/socialist/communist/corupt organizations who are undercutting our country’s stability. I applaud them for doing this. In today’s world of YouTube and camcorders, EVERYONE is a citizen journalist.
Can you imagine anyone in the MSM (other than FOX) who would do this? This begs the question….why???? Once you realize the answer, you be applauding these two for their courage.
The left’s response was typical: (a) denial, (b) excuse (c) dispute the tape (d) find allies to back them up (e) attack the messenger.
Once again, bloggers and courageous citizen’s have to do the job that “journalists” used to do. I’m very proud of these two, taking the risk for us. Journalism has died in America.
Anna Puma #2, you are correct INRE the video. This is why the MD state attorneys are focusing on the audio portion for their prospective charges against O’Keefe and Giles. BTW, I caught Hannah (female sting team member) on Red Eye last night… a show I rarely watch. But when I saw she was a guest (and I can’t abide Hannity), I stayed my hand on the remote.
She didn’t go into detail, but they went more places than just these two locations (Baltimore and DC). Makes me wonder if they’ll be releasing them bit by bit.
Pdill #4, yes I understand the mixed feelings you have. Then again, we have cameras at ATMs, store security, street intersections, and in the sky. Every email you send can become public at any given moment in time in the right circumstances. Privacy in this day and age has become a pipe dream because of technology. In essence, we live in a world where all of us have the capability of becoming whistleblowers.
And remember that whistleblowers have a very uphill battle collecting enough evidence that meet our courts’ standards.
You might want to consider this… don’t be behaving in a way that you wouldn’t behave in full sight of the public. Because you never know when someone is watching… and documenting.
It figures – have proof that Obama’s friends are crooks, and they want to convict the persons doing the digging. Just goes to show you what pitiful examples of humans we have in our political system. If it had been a Republican run office, all hell would be breaking loose. I say give these kids a big ATTABOY!
Let Obama and his criminal friends take the rap like they should have been doing for years now. It is about time someone had the guts to show up these ACORN felons.
My opinion and I state it proudly
Madalyn