Thursday, October 30, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
what's the difference between voter fraud and Bigfoot? Bigfoot might exist.
I've been lame about blogging lately, but those of you who actually read it are probably bombarded anyway with emails, links, and Facebook posts from me. I do have a happy update, though.
I went on Channel 9 today with Alex Triantafilou and Tim Burke, the R and D chairs of the Hamilton County BOE. The subject was voter fraud, and the format was a roundtable moderated by Lynn Giroux. I'll post the link after it airs on Sunday evening (or you can watch it yourself at 6:30). I was prepared for the worst, but really it was ho-hum. It was short and sweet and the message was - surprise - there is no voter fraud. Even Triantafilou said that while there may be voter registration problems, he wouldn't call it fraud. Giroux seemed disappointed in this, saying to him afterwards, "Hey, Alex, weren't you supposed to be the one making a big deal out of this?
Also, please check out this video and this link, and keep spreading the truth about ACORN!
I went on Channel 9 today with Alex Triantafilou and Tim Burke, the R and D chairs of the Hamilton County BOE. The subject was voter fraud, and the format was a roundtable moderated by Lynn Giroux. I'll post the link after it airs on Sunday evening (or you can watch it yourself at 6:30). I was prepared for the worst, but really it was ho-hum. It was short and sweet and the message was - surprise - there is no voter fraud. Even Triantafilou said that while there may be voter registration problems, he wouldn't call it fraud. Giroux seemed disappointed in this, saying to him afterwards, "Hey, Alex, weren't you supposed to be the one making a big deal out of this?
Also, please check out this video and this link, and keep spreading the truth about ACORN!
Friday, October 10, 2008
if you're going to read one thing this election season...
I'm asking you to read this whole post right now. It's a little bit long, but I think it will be interesting to you. It may answer some questions you have about ACORN, and it may help you answer people's questions when they say, "Hey, don't know know someone who works there? WTF?"
So please, stick with it until the end. It's really, really important to me that you know the real story. And at the end of this post, if you are angry as I am that partisan forces are trying to vilify the organization that my fellow organizers, members and I work our butts off for, then you can help.
This is Lynncoyia Bradley. Coyia is a lifelong resident of Cincinnati and grew up in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood. ACORN canvassers registered her to vote while she was at the mall.
As a young voter and a new mother of a 9-month-old, she feels this is an historic election year. "I have to vote this time because this is history in the making. It's the first time we've had an African-American candidate. I want to be able to tell my daughter that I voted in the election in the year she was born."
Coyia feels that the most important issues in this election are the economy and health care. She understands economic issues first hand - her mother lost her home to foreclosure in 2006 and had a stroke last year, and is now struggling with health care costs.
ACORN is working to protect Coyia's right to vote. My smart and dedicated colleagues, Bertha Lewis and Steve Kest, have written a very eloquent letter about this work and how it's being attacked. It follows, with a few edits by me:
Election Day is less than a month away, and our efforts to make sure that low-income and minority voters have a voice and vote on November 4th are in full swing.
Unfortunately, just as we've seen in previous election cycles, the more success we have in empowering these voters, the more attacks we have to fend off from partisan forces making unfounded accusations to disparage our work and help maintain the status quo of an unbalanced electorate.
After a similar spate of charges against ACORN in 2006, we learned that then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had fired Republican US Attorneys because they refused to prosecute ACORN for trumped up fraud charges. This was the heart of the US Atttorneygate scandal that led Karl Rove, Gonzales and other top Department of Justice officials to resign.
On Monday, October 6, as voter registration deadlines passed in most states, ACORN completed the largest, most successful nonpartisan voter registration drive in history. In partnership with the nonpartisan organization Project Vote, we helped register over 1.3 million low-income, minority, and young voters in a total of 21 states.
We are proud of this unprecedented success, and grateful to everyone who supported us in this massive effort, from our funders and partners to the literally thousands of hardworking individuals across the country who dedicated themselves to the cause and conducted the difficult work of registering 1.3 million Americans, one voter at a time.
In the course of this work, we hired more than 12,000 registration workers to help people register. As with any business or agency that operates at this scale, there are always some people who want to get paid without really doing the job, or who aim to defraud their employer. Any large department store will have some workers who shoplift. Any large voter registration operation will have some workers who turn in bogus registration forms – not because the "Mickey Mouse" whose name they put on a registration form will ever attempt to vote on Election Day, but because they want to get paid without earning it. Only a small fraction of the workers we hire try to defraud ACORN in this way, but we obviously have a big stake in making sure people know we will turn them in and encourage prosecution when we catch them.
When a department store calls the police to report a shoplifting employee, no one says the department store is guilty of consumer fraud. But for some reason, when ACORN turns voter registration workers over to the authorities for filling out bogus forms, it gets accused of "voter fraud." This is a classic case of blaming the victim; indeed, the act is outrageous, libelous, and often politically motivated.
As The Nation pointed out recently, ACORN's success in registering millions of low-income and minority voters has made it "something of a right-wing bogeyman." Though ACORN believes that the right to vote is not, and should never be, a partisan issue, attacks from groups threatened by our historic success continue to come, motivated by partisan politics and often perpetuated by the media without full investigation of the facts.
These stories typically lump together " incomplete" voter registration cards (applications missing key information) with "erroneous" or "fraudulent" voter registration applications. These distinctions are important, yet few media outlets discuss them. Predictably, however, partisan forces have tried to use these isolated incidents to incite fear of the "bogeyman" of "widespread voter fraud." But we want to take this opportunity to set the record straight and tell you a few facts to show how these incidents really exemplify everything that ACORN is doing right:
Fact: ACORN has implemented the most sophisticated quality-control system in the voter engagement field but in almost every state we are required to turn in ALL completed applications, even the ones we know to be problematic.
Fact: ACORN flags in writing incomplete, problem, or suspicious cards when we turn them in. Unfortunately, some of these same officials then come back weeks or months later and accuse us of deliberately turning in phony cards. In many cases, we can actually prove that these are the same cards we called to their attention.
Fact: Our canvassers are paid by the hour, not by the card . ACORN has a zero-tolerance policy for deliberately falsifying registrations, and in the cases where our internal quality controls have identified this happening we have fired the workers involved and turned them in to election officials and law-enforcement.
Fact: No criminal charges related to voter registration have ever been brought against ACORN or partner organizations. Convictions against individual former ACORN workers have been accomplished with our full cooperation, using the evidence obtained through our quality control and verification processes — evidence which in most cases WE called to the attention of authorities
Fact: There has never been a single proven case of anyone, anywhere, casting an illegal vote as a result of a phony voter registration. Even if someone wanted to influence the election this way, it would not work. Think of the risk someone would have to be motivated to take. They would be a sitting duck to be nabbed and prosecuted.
Fact: Most election officials have recognized ACORN's good work and praised our quality control systems. Even in the cities where election officials have complained about ACORN, the applications in question represent less than 1% of the thousands and thousands of registrations ACORN has collected.
Fact: Our accusers not only fail to provide any evidence, they fail to suggest a motive: there is virtually no chance anyone would be able to vote fraudulently, so there is no reason to deliberately submit phony registrations. ACORN is committed to ensuring that the greatest possible numbers of people are registered and allowed to vote, so there is also NO incentive to "disrupt the system" with phony cards.
Fact: Similar accusations were made, and attacks launched, against ACORN and other voter registration organizations in 2004 and 2006. These attacks were not only groundless, they have since been exposed as part of the U.S. Attorneygate scandal and revealed to be part of a systematic partisan agenda of voter suppression. Unfortunately, at this time of year, partisan forces and politicians seeking to portray themselves as "fraud-busters" can't resist the temptation to try again. As David Iglesias (former Republican US Attorney in New Mexico who was forced from office) has said, he refused Karl Rove's and Alberto Gonzales pressure to charge ACORN with voter fraud, because he knew ACORN was innocent of that charge. And another US Attorney, Bradley Schlozman, who did politicize prosecutions against former ACORN canvassers, was forced to acknowledge under cross examination by the Senate Judiciary Committee that ACORN was the victim of fraud by its employees and ACORN had caught the employees and had identified them to law enforcement.
These are the facts, and the truth is that a relatively small group of political operatives are trying to orchestrate hysteria about "voter fraud" and manufacture public outrage that they can use to justify fraudulently challenging voters at the polls and other schemes to suppress the votes of millions of low-income and minority Americans. These tactics are nothing new, and history has shown that they will come to nothing. We'll continue to weather the storm, as we've done for years, and we'll continue to share the truth about our work and express pride about our accomplishments.
Most importantly, we want to assure you that this good work continues, unabated and undeterred. ACORN will not be intimidated, we will not be provoked, and in this important moment in history we will not allow anyone to distract us from these vital efforts to empower our constituencies and our communities to speak for themselves. If the partisan political machines are afraid of low-income and minority voters, they're going to have to do a lot better than coming after ACORN.
Our work is far from over: now begins our effort to mobilize these new voters around local and national issues, getting them to the polls and helping to channel their commitment and conviction into an ongoing movement for change in our communities. After all, there are now at least 1.3 million more registered voters in this country. In Ohio, it's over 212,000. Right here in Hamilton County, at least 54,500. And they will not be silenced.
They're taking an interest, and taking a stand, and they'll be taking their concerns to the voting booth in November.
And ACORN will be here, to make sure that the voices of these Americans are heard, on Election Day and for every day to come.
There are tons of organizations and politicians asking for donations right now, many of them worthy. I am asking you to help ACORN out in a tough and crucial time. We need your support more than ever. Please help me help Cincinnati ACORN fight voter suppression, educate voters, and get low-income people to the polls to vote. There are options on the website to donate one time, quarterly, or monthly (which is how our low-income members pay their du
es). Please make sure you specify Cincinnati, Ohio ACORN, and check the box for either general ACORN support, or Voter Registration.
It's so fast, and so easy, just like ordering that pair of shoes online and just as fulfilling.
Please feel free to shoot me an email or give me a call if you have questions. Thanks to all for your help, and here's to fair elections in the USA.
So please, stick with it until the end. It's really, really important to me that you know the real story. And at the end of this post, if you are angry as I am that partisan forces are trying to vilify the organization that my fellow organizers, members and I work our butts off for, then you can help.
This is Lynncoyia Bradley. Coyia is a lifelong resident of Cincinnati and grew up in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood. ACORN canvassers registered her to vote while she was at the mall.As a young voter and a new mother of a 9-month-old, she feels this is an historic election year. "I have to vote this time because this is history in the making. It's the first time we've had an African-American candidate. I want to be able to tell my daughter that I voted in the election in the year she was born."
Coyia feels that the most important issues in this election are the economy and health care. She understands economic issues first hand - her mother lost her home to foreclosure in 2006 and had a stroke last year, and is now struggling with health care costs.
ACORN is working to protect Coyia's right to vote. My smart and dedicated colleagues, Bertha Lewis and Steve Kest, have written a very eloquent letter about this work and how it's being attacked. It follows, with a few edits by me:
Election Day is less than a month away, and our efforts to make sure that low-income and minority voters have a voice and vote on November 4th are in full swing.
Unfortunately, just as we've seen in previous election cycles, the more success we have in empowering these voters, the more attacks we have to fend off from partisan forces making unfounded accusations to disparage our work and help maintain the status quo of an unbalanced electorate.
After a similar spate of charges against ACORN in 2006, we learned that then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had fired Republican US Attorneys because they refused to prosecute ACORN for trumped up fraud charges. This was the heart of the US Atttorneygate scandal that led Karl Rove, Gonzales and other top Department of Justice officials to resign.
On Monday, October 6, as voter registration deadlines passed in most states, ACORN completed the largest, most successful nonpartisan voter registration drive in history. In partnership with the nonpartisan organization Project Vote, we helped register over 1.3 million low-income, minority, and young voters in a total of 21 states.
We are proud of this unprecedented success, and grateful to everyone who supported us in this massive effort, from our funders and partners to the literally thousands of hardworking individuals across the country who dedicated themselves to the cause and conducted the difficult work of registering 1.3 million Americans, one voter at a time.
In the course of this work, we hired more than 12,000 registration workers to help people register. As with any business or agency that operates at this scale, there are always some people who want to get paid without really doing the job, or who aim to defraud their employer. Any large department store will have some workers who shoplift. Any large voter registration operation will have some workers who turn in bogus registration forms – not because the "Mickey Mouse" whose name they put on a registration form will ever attempt to vote on Election Day, but because they want to get paid without earning it. Only a small fraction of the workers we hire try to defraud ACORN in this way, but we obviously have a big stake in making sure people know we will turn them in and encourage prosecution when we catch them.
When a department store calls the police to report a shoplifting employee, no one says the department store is guilty of consumer fraud. But for some reason, when ACORN turns voter registration workers over to the authorities for filling out bogus forms, it gets accused of "voter fraud." This is a classic case of blaming the victim; indeed, the act is outrageous, libelous, and often politically motivated.
As The Nation pointed out recently, ACORN's success in registering millions of low-income and minority voters has made it "something of a right-wing bogeyman." Though ACORN believes that the right to vote is not, and should never be, a partisan issue, attacks from groups threatened by our historic success continue to come, motivated by partisan politics and often perpetuated by the media without full investigation of the facts.
These stories typically lump together " incomplete" voter registration cards (applications missing key information) with "erroneous" or "fraudulent" voter registration applications. These distinctions are important, yet few media outlets discuss them. Predictably, however, partisan forces have tried to use these isolated incidents to incite fear of the "bogeyman" of "widespread voter fraud." But we want to take this opportunity to set the record straight and tell you a few facts to show how these incidents really exemplify everything that ACORN is doing right:
Fact: ACORN has implemented the most sophisticated quality-control system in the voter engagement field but in almost every state we are required to turn in ALL completed applications, even the ones we know to be problematic.
Fact: ACORN flags in writing incomplete, problem, or suspicious cards when we turn them in. Unfortunately, some of these same officials then come back weeks or months later and accuse us of deliberately turning in phony cards. In many cases, we can actually prove that these are the same cards we called to their attention.
Fact: Our canvassers are paid by the hour, not by the card . ACORN has a zero-tolerance policy for deliberately falsifying registrations, and in the cases where our internal quality controls have identified this happening we have fired the workers involved and turned them in to election officials and law-enforcement.
Fact: No criminal charges related to voter registration have ever been brought against ACORN or partner organizations. Convictions against individual former ACORN workers have been accomplished with our full cooperation, using the evidence obtained through our quality control and verification processes — evidence which in most cases WE called to the attention of authorities
Fact: There has never been a single proven case of anyone, anywhere, casting an illegal vote as a result of a phony voter registration. Even if someone wanted to influence the election this way, it would not work. Think of the risk someone would have to be motivated to take. They would be a sitting duck to be nabbed and prosecuted.
Fact: Most election officials have recognized ACORN's good work and praised our quality control systems. Even in the cities where election officials have complained about ACORN, the applications in question represent less than 1% of the thousands and thousands of registrations ACORN has collected.
Fact: Our accusers not only fail to provide any evidence, they fail to suggest a motive: there is virtually no chance anyone would be able to vote fraudulently, so there is no reason to deliberately submit phony registrations. ACORN is committed to ensuring that the greatest possible numbers of people are registered and allowed to vote, so there is also NO incentive to "disrupt the system" with phony cards.
Fact: Similar accusations were made, and attacks launched, against ACORN and other voter registration organizations in 2004 and 2006. These attacks were not only groundless, they have since been exposed as part of the U.S. Attorneygate scandal and revealed to be part of a systematic partisan agenda of voter suppression. Unfortunately, at this time of year, partisan forces and politicians seeking to portray themselves as "fraud-busters" can't resist the temptation to try again. As David Iglesias (former Republican US Attorney in New Mexico who was forced from office) has said, he refused Karl Rove's and Alberto Gonzales pressure to charge ACORN with voter fraud, because he knew ACORN was innocent of that charge. And another US Attorney, Bradley Schlozman, who did politicize prosecutions against former ACORN canvassers, was forced to acknowledge under cross examination by the Senate Judiciary Committee that ACORN was the victim of fraud by its employees and ACORN had caught the employees and had identified them to law enforcement.
These are the facts, and the truth is that a relatively small group of political operatives are trying to orchestrate hysteria about "voter fraud" and manufacture public outrage that they can use to justify fraudulently challenging voters at the polls and other schemes to suppress the votes of millions of low-income and minority Americans. These tactics are nothing new, and history has shown that they will come to nothing. We'll continue to weather the storm, as we've done for years, and we'll continue to share the truth about our work and express pride about our accomplishments.
Most importantly, we want to assure you that this good work continues, unabated and undeterred. ACORN will not be intimidated, we will not be provoked, and in this important moment in history we will not allow anyone to distract us from these vital efforts to empower our constituencies and our communities to speak for themselves. If the partisan political machines are afraid of low-income and minority voters, they're going to have to do a lot better than coming after ACORN.
Our work is far from over: now begins our effort to mobilize these new voters around local and national issues, getting them to the polls and helping to channel their commitment and conviction into an ongoing movement for change in our communities. After all, there are now at least 1.3 million more registered voters in this country. In Ohio, it's over 212,000. Right here in Hamilton County, at least 54,500. And they will not be silenced.
They're taking an interest, and taking a stand, and they'll be taking their concerns to the voting booth in November.
And ACORN will be here, to make sure that the voices of these Americans are heard, on Election Day and for every day to come.
There are tons of organizations and politicians asking for donations right now, many of them worthy. I am asking you to help ACORN out in a tough and crucial time. We need your support more than ever. Please help me help Cincinnati ACORN fight voter suppression, educate voters, and get low-income people to the polls to vote. There are options on the website to donate one time, quarterly, or monthly (which is how our low-income members pay their du
es). Please make sure you specify Cincinnati, Ohio ACORN, and check the box for either general ACORN support, or Voter Registration.It's so fast, and so easy, just like ordering that pair of shoes online and just as fulfilling.
Please feel free to shoot me an email or give me a call if you have questions. Thanks to all for your help, and here's to fair elections in the USA.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
and while we're at it
The press release below also mentions the right wing's usual favorite critique of ACORN - that it is perpetrating “voter fraud." No courts have been able to substantiate this outrageous and defamatory claim, and in fact the last time this went to court, in Florida in 2004 , ACORN won a counter-suit. Still, this tidbit has proven to be fantastic grist for the right-wing rumor-mill.
What ACORN actuallyis doing is helping millions of lower income people register to vote (over 210,000 to date in OH), a responsibility the organization takes very seriously, and the very issue that scares, let's face it, Republicans. Republicans would prefer that lower income and minority people stay home on election day. So, they attempt to raise the specter of "voter fraud" where none exists, further eroding trust in the electoral system for people who don't really trust it to begin with. What is ironic - and disgusting - is that attempts to cast ACORN's non-partisan voter registration program as "fraudulently helping the Democrats" is in fact a totally partisan effort to shut ACORN's program down. True fraud, I'm sorry to say, is perpetrated by the GOP. Ever hear of caging?
slush fund? really?
Below is a press release regarding patently false allegations by Rep. Weldon (R-Fla) that ACORN would have received a "slush fund" from the failed bailout plan, which has been blowing up all over the news, including here. Alas, if only that were true, a certain head organizer would get reimbursements. And would be able to buy toner any old time it was needed. Not to mention hire more staff.
On Sept. 27, ACORN responded to Florida Republican Congressman Dave Weldon's false allegations Friday that ACORN would be a beneficiary of housing funds from the financial bailout plan pending in Congress. In a news release headlined, “Chairman Frank Wants to Funnel $100 Million in Taxpayer Funds to Corrupt Liberal Housing Group,” Weldon made a series of inaccurate and outrageous charges against ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now).
Weldon claims ACORN will benefit through a proposal from leading Democrats to address America’s affordable housing crisis by directing monies to the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF). The NHTF was set up for the production, preservation, rehabilitation, or operation of rental housing to assist low-income households. ACORN is a national leader in the arena of affordable housing, tackling problems from predatory lending to affordable housing policy. However, ACORN neither builds, rehabilitates, nor manages housing and would not be a recipient of NHTF funds. Congressman Weldon’s statements are outright false.
“Under the Housing Trust Fund, no group is guaranteed any grants, said ACORN President Maude Hurd. “The funds will be awarded on a competitive, merit-based process administered by non-partisan career employees of the relevant agencies. Apparently, Republicans don’t know how federal grants are awarded. But why would they, since they are only familiar with non-bid contracts, like those awarded to Halliburton.”
ACORN members contend that Rep. Weldon and his Republican counterparts are causing the financial implosion because of their deregulatory policies.
“When the Republican administration relaxed the rules, predatory lending practices skyrocketed, sending our economy soaring out of control and landing in this current financial crisis,” Hurd said.
“ACORN applauds the efforts of Congressman Frank and Senator Dodd to tighten the rules and get the economy back on track,” Hurd said. “That starts with the creation of high quality, affordable housing for working families. And who better to build these homes than qualified and experienced non-profit housing developers? How much affordably housing has Rep. Weldon built, and what programs does he suggest for housing low income families in his district?”
Weldon also includes the following falsehoods in his release:
· Accusing Democrats of pushing for taxpayer funding of ACORN, a non tax-exempt advocacy organization that has a policy of not accepting government funds.
· Asserting unproven “voter fraud” charges against ACORN voter registration work, repeating Republican talking points from earlier this week. On Monday and Wednesday, respectively, the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee conducted press conferences attempting to smear ACORN’s voter registration work in Florida and other battleground states. As facts emerged through the course of the week, those slanderous allegations proved unsubstantiated. The last time conservative forces tried to accuse Florida ACORN of voter fraud, in 2004, ACORN won a counterclaim of defamation in court.
Friday, September 5, 2008
ACORN Responds to Attack on Community Organizing
Cincinnati ACORN board chairperson James Moreland and national ACORN president Maude Hurd issued the following statements in response to Palin's and Giulani's remarks.
James Moreland’s statement: “As a member of Cincinnati ACORN, I’m baffled as to why someone would belittle the crucial work that organizers do. This kind of thinking – the idea that organizing doesn’t matter – is exactly what’s wrong with our country, and what’s right about organizing. In Cincinnati, ACORN members and organizers are fighting to stop foreclosures, to keep the Walnut Hills Kroger open, to improve low-income apartment buildings, and to fix the health care system. Community organizers, despite what Palin and Giuliani imply, are actually doing the hard, daily work of changing our communities to benefit and empower low- and- moderate income families.”
Maude Hurd’s statement: “ACORN members, leaders and staff are extremely disappointed that Republican leaders would make such condescending remarks on the great work community organizers accomplish in cities throughout this country. The fact that they marginalize our success in empowering low- and moderate-income people to improve their communities further illustrates their lack of touch with ordinary people. Every great movement in the history of the world has community organizing.
"ACORN has been building organizations and developing leadership among low- and moderate- income residents in neighborhoods throughout the United States for 38 years. During that time, ACORN chapters have worked individually and collectively to organize innovative grassroots campaigns on a number of critical issues.
"As the nation’s largest grassroots community organization with more than 400,000 member families, ACORN employs 400 organizers that carry a huge responsibility of helping disenfranchised people in their communities.
In the past 10 years, ACORN has helped more than 30 million American families through our various organizing campaigns: better schools, financial justice, living wages, community improvement, environmental justice, immigration, healthcare, predatory lending, voter engagement and utilities.
"The total monetary value of recent victorious ACORN campaigns was quantified in a 2006 report, entitled “ACORN Wins”. Over the last decade, ACORN’s victories amount to $15 billion, an average of $1.5 billion per year going directly into low- and moderate-income communities to help strengthen working families."
James Moreland’s statement: “As a member of Cincinnati ACORN, I’m baffled as to why someone would belittle the crucial work that organizers do. This kind of thinking – the idea that organizing doesn’t matter – is exactly what’s wrong with our country, and what’s right about organizing. In Cincinnati, ACORN members and organizers are fighting to stop foreclosures, to keep the Walnut Hills Kroger open, to improve low-income apartment buildings, and to fix the health care system. Community organizers, despite what Palin and Giuliani imply, are actually doing the hard, daily work of changing our communities to benefit and empower low- and- moderate income families.”
Maude Hurd’s statement: “ACORN members, leaders and staff are extremely disappointed that Republican leaders would make such condescending remarks on the great work community organizers accomplish in cities throughout this country. The fact that they marginalize our success in empowering low- and moderate-income people to improve their communities further illustrates their lack of touch with ordinary people. Every great movement in the history of the world has community organizing.
"ACORN has been building organizations and developing leadership among low- and moderate- income residents in neighborhoods throughout the United States for 38 years. During that time, ACORN chapters have worked individually and collectively to organize innovative grassroots campaigns on a number of critical issues.
"As the nation’s largest grassroots community organization with more than 400,000 member families, ACORN employs 400 organizers that carry a huge responsibility of helping disenfranchised people in their communities.
In the past 10 years, ACORN has helped more than 30 million American families through our various organizing campaigns: better schools, financial justice, living wages, community improvement, environmental justice, immigration, healthcare, predatory lending, voter engagement and utilities.
"The total monetary value of recent victorious ACORN campaigns was quantified in a 2006 report, entitled “ACORN Wins”. Over the last decade, ACORN’s victories amount to $15 billion, an average of $1.5 billion per year going directly into low- and moderate-income communities to help strengthen working families."
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Who let the dogs out?
In case you missed it, both Sarah "Pit Bull with Lipstick" Palin and Rudy "Rottweiler" Giulani slammed Obama for his community organizing experience. (I missed it too, but that's why Al Gore invented Googlez.) Basically, the message was that Obama was a community organizer, and community organizers have no responsibilities and don't do anything, therefore Obama is unqualified to be president. You can read the full text of Palin's speech here, and an article about Giulani's speech here.
Often when right-wing folks go after Obama for his organizing history, it's all kinds of teeth-gnashing about his connections with a particular organization. Conservatives tend to believe fervently that this organization, which shall remain nameless, through "thuggery" and voter fraud, is going to turn our country into Stalinist Russia, starring a young black male - with a hammer-and-sickle embossed grill - as Stalin. Now, I know enough to know that this paranoid fantasy will never be realized. (The dictator will be a 70 year old black woman, duh.)
But this kind of panicky, Red Scare statement would give the wrong idea to the GOP - the idea that community organizing is legitimate and powerful. Instead, both Palin and Giuliani minimized Obama's experience, brushing it off 'cause it ain't no thang. Both of them incited derisive laughter from the crowd. Tee hee, who's afraid of little bitty Barack Obama and his grassroots community organizers? Not me!!
Yup. Dear, sweet, silly community organizers, sitting around, drinking coffee, blogging on the Internetz, daring to think that regular folks should have power, door-knocking all day, phone-banking all night, de-segregating schools, passing the Civil Rights Act, raising the minimum wage, forcing (and saving) the Community Reinvestment Act, shutting down payday lenders, stopping foreclosures. And what's that other thing community organizers do?
Oh, yeah. Win elections.
Often when right-wing folks go after Obama for his organizing history, it's all kinds of teeth-gnashing about his connections with a particular organization. Conservatives tend to believe fervently that this organization, which shall remain nameless, through "thuggery" and voter fraud, is going to turn our country into Stalinist Russia, starring a young black male - with a hammer-and-sickle embossed grill - as Stalin. Now, I know enough to know that this paranoid fantasy will never be realized. (The dictator will be a 70 year old black woman, duh.)
But this kind of panicky, Red Scare statement would give the wrong idea to the GOP - the idea that community organizing is legitimate and powerful. Instead, both Palin and Giuliani minimized Obama's experience, brushing it off 'cause it ain't no thang. Both of them incited derisive laughter from the crowd. Tee hee, who's afraid of little bitty Barack Obama and his grassroots community organizers? Not me!!
Yup. Dear, sweet, silly community organizers, sitting around, drinking coffee, blogging on the Internetz, daring to think that regular folks should have power, door-knocking all day, phone-banking all night, de-segregating schools, passing the Civil Rights Act, raising the minimum wage, forcing (and saving) the Community Reinvestment Act, shutting down payday lenders, stopping foreclosures. And what's that other thing community organizers do?
Oh, yeah. Win elections.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Palinalysis
I decided to re-post the following, which I wrote as a comment on my friend Everything But Law's blog:
We all know that McCain's numbskull assumption that Hillary supporters will flock to Palin because she is a woman will backfire (and already has).
But I think the more important reason he selected her is that she is a far-right, anti-choice Evangelical Christian, and he hopes she will recapture votes he is losing for being too "moderate."
As for all of the ruckus about her mother and grandmother-to-be status: there are many good arguments against Palin, but this is one of the poorest ones. I'm getting pissed at some fellow progressives and Obama supporters - men and women - complaining that she shouldn't be traveling the country campaigning with a pregnant teenager and a baby with Down Syndrome at home.
The public wouldn't raise such questions - at least not to the same degree - about a man with the same family situation. That is because people assume that the mother is, and should be, the primary caretaker of the children. Maybe Palin's husband is a stay-at-home dad. Maybe she has a good nanny. I don't know and I don't care, because I believe people have the right to make their own work / child care choices.
My friend EBL is right: it's none of our business. She is also correct that Mr. Limbaugh and Dr. Dobson would have a f-ing field day with this, were Palin a Dem.
Progressives need to focus on the real arguments against a McCain-Palin ticket - the economy, choice, the environment, the war, you name it; there is plenty of material there to keep us busy without resorting to sexism and motherism.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
half-caf, part-skim, extra shot of wheatgrass with paprika, please
I am embarrassed when I go to the coffee shop and order a drink with many variables. But then I realize, really, it's just like going to the doctor with a weird medical problem - they've seen a lot worse.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
i hate you, hipsters
I hate you. I hate your smugness. I hate your carefully-cultivated flat affect. I hate your self-conscious b&w photos. I hate your Urban Outfitter clothing that you say you got in a thrift store. Oh, I hate your thrift stores, too. I mean, I hate your "vintage" stores, which are just thrift stores with a 200% markup. I hate your jailhouse tattooes which you definitely did not get in jail, and your trucker hat which you definitely do not wear on long-distance hauls (unless you count driving to Ikea). I hate seeing you in the Comet, pretending to be entranced by your boyfriend's brother's shitty band. Your facial expression is interfering with the digestion of my burrito which, by the way, turned out to be not-that-tasty anyway. I hate your "art" and the fact that you think it's the best fucking thing that ever happened to Northside.
Also I hate your hairdo.
Also I hate your hairdo.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
dear employee,
Trust me, I've been there. I have locked my keys in the car. With the car running. Twice. I have locked myself out of my boyfriend's apartment. I have locked myself out of my own apartment. I have locked myself out of my dorm room in a towel. In fact, I recently locked myself out of a dorm room at my college reunion. Thank God my friend Tracy remembered how to call Security. We had to wait forever, sitting in the grody hallway, watching the class of '03 parade up and down in their pre-class-dinner glory, reeking of perfume and alcohol. That was pretty bad.
So, I come to you from a place of empathy. It sucks anytime a locked door comes between you and your plans, belongings, or dignity. You stand there, sans key, wondering if that really just happened. I understand, honey. I really do.
That said, it is not my responsibility to remind you to collect your keys, your purse, your cell phone, your snacks, your water bottle, your folder of important papers, and any other personal items from the back room before the last person who has a key to that room, and who does not have a cell phone, locks the door and leaves for the day. Also, stomping around the office will not help. Also, talking loudly on your cell phone will not help.
I wasn't holding out on you - it just took me awhile to think of where the extra key might be hidden. I can think better without stomping and yelling. I know you didn't mean to yell, but your voice is naturally kinda loud.
No, I am not going to tell you where the extra key is kept. But now you know who to call if it happens again. Just please use your inside voice.
Sincerely,
Me.
P.S. You're welcome.
So, I come to you from a place of empathy. It sucks anytime a locked door comes between you and your plans, belongings, or dignity. You stand there, sans key, wondering if that really just happened. I understand, honey. I really do.
That said, it is not my responsibility to remind you to collect your keys, your purse, your cell phone, your snacks, your water bottle, your folder of important papers, and any other personal items from the back room before the last person who has a key to that room, and who does not have a cell phone, locks the door and leaves for the day. Also, stomping around the office will not help. Also, talking loudly on your cell phone will not help.
I wasn't holding out on you - it just took me awhile to think of where the extra key might be hidden. I can think better without stomping and yelling. I know you didn't mean to yell, but your voice is naturally kinda loud.
No, I am not going to tell you where the extra key is kept. But now you know who to call if it happens again. Just please use your inside voice.
Sincerely,
Me.
P.S. You're welcome.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
love in this club...and everywhere
So tonight I was driving from work to Mike's. As I stopped for the light at the corner of Gilbert and MLK, I glanced over at the corner store there because someone was blasting that Usher song at full volume, specifically the romantic keyboard part at the end (in the back, in the side, in the front...). And then I saw him, and the memories came flooding back.
It was September of 2005, and I was a green, innocent field organizer. One of my jobs was to register people to vote in the West End. I was on Dayton Street. Once called Millionaire's Row, it's a grand, tree-lined residential street where, you guessed it, millionaires lived back in the day. And back in the day, it was a way bigger deal to be a millionaire. It is now home to lower-income, mostly African-American renters, as well as a handful of higher income, mostly white homeowners who hide from the poor folk inside their beautifully restored 19th century Italianate row houses, and plan West End Gentrifiers' Club meetings. But I digress.
This older, white Santa Claus-looking man was sitting on the steps outside his apartment. Or maybe it was someone else's apartment, in which case he was loitering. I approached him enthusiastically and, after ascertaining that he'd moved since the last time he voted, got him registered to vote. As he was filling it out, he seemed to be smiling at me a bit oddly, but I was like, whatever, he's Santa Claus. He signed the card, still leering at me. I looked at it. And then down. At. His balls. Hanging. Out of. His shorts. His short shorts. They were very red. The balls were. And very...long. They were practically touching the pavement, people.
"Thankyouverymuchyouwillreceiveyourcardfromtheboardofelectionsinfourto sixweeks," I blurted and ran away. Not really ran - you should never run from a rotund old man with exposed testicles, much like you should never run from a stray dog. I walked fast. I guess I sort of trotted. He stayed put. Those nuts were like anchors. They weighed him down. He was still smiling though. Wouldn't you be, if you were feeling a nice, gentle breeze on your scrotum while watching an earnest organizer skip off to get you registered to vote?
So I saw him again today at the corner store, as the bass line of romance was reverberating in the air. I only got to gaze upon him for a moment (the light changed). He looked the same, except he was wearing pants. Ah, memories. Perhaps I shouldn't have been so quick to leave him. But now we've both moved on. Or something.
Perhaps this story makes you sad for things that could have been. No. Do not be sad. Instead, view this link.
It was September of 2005, and I was a green, innocent field organizer. One of my jobs was to register people to vote in the West End. I was on Dayton Street. Once called Millionaire's Row, it's a grand, tree-lined residential street where, you guessed it, millionaires lived back in the day. And back in the day, it was a way bigger deal to be a millionaire. It is now home to lower-income, mostly African-American renters, as well as a handful of higher income, mostly white homeowners who hide from the poor folk inside their beautifully restored 19th century Italianate row houses, and plan West End Gentrifiers' Club meetings. But I digress.
This older, white Santa Claus-looking man was sitting on the steps outside his apartment. Or maybe it was someone else's apartment, in which case he was loitering. I approached him enthusiastically and, after ascertaining that he'd moved since the last time he voted, got him registered to vote. As he was filling it out, he seemed to be smiling at me a bit oddly, but I was like, whatever, he's Santa Claus. He signed the card, still leering at me. I looked at it. And then down. At. His balls. Hanging. Out of. His shorts. His short shorts. They were very red. The balls were. And very...long. They were practically touching the pavement, people.
"Thankyouverymuchyouwillreceiveyourcardfromtheboardofelectionsinfourto sixweeks," I blurted and ran away. Not really ran - you should never run from a rotund old man with exposed testicles, much like you should never run from a stray dog. I walked fast. I guess I sort of trotted. He stayed put. Those nuts were like anchors. They weighed him down. He was still smiling though. Wouldn't you be, if you were feeling a nice, gentle breeze on your scrotum while watching an earnest organizer skip off to get you registered to vote?
So I saw him again today at the corner store, as the bass line of romance was reverberating in the air. I only got to gaze upon him for a moment (the light changed). He looked the same, except he was wearing pants. Ah, memories. Perhaps I shouldn't have been so quick to leave him. But now we've both moved on. Or something.
Perhaps this story makes you sad for things that could have been. No. Do not be sad. Instead, view this link.
well, well, well....
It appears I have a blog. For many, many moons, I have been anti-blog. I don't even like how it sounds - blog, blog, bloooog. I used to refuse to even say it. I would say "weblog," or even "online journal." Perhaps I was a little pretentious. I just thought blogs were just narcissistic, navel-gazing drivel. Then I realized that I liked narcissistic, navel-gazing drivel - as long as I liked the person, and/or if they had an ability to make their story compelling. Examples: Smashed, anything Plath, my own online personal profiles (talk about narcissistic...) and my friend Lucy's excellent blog (bring it back, Pants!) , which did more than anything to bring me around from my blogism.
So I guess that's all I have to say for my first blog post, except that I found something on my desk chair, something that I was very worried about. But, fortunately, I didn't have to worry, and neither do you, because it was just a piece of black olive.
So I guess that's all I have to say for my first blog post, except that I found something on my desk chair, something that I was very worried about. But, fortunately, I didn't have to worry, and neither do you, because it was just a piece of black olive.
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