Even more reasons to oppose the stimulus

NTU's blog has a long list (via Tom Coburn) of wasteful spending and bad policy in the federal "stimulus" bill, including:

• $2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Dept. of Energy defunded last year because the project was inefficient
  
• A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film
• $75 million for "smoking cessation activities"
  

FreedomWorks also has a list of the Top 10 Reasons to Oppose the Stimulus, starting with "The Stimulus Will Not Work"

The chart to the right, courtesy of the Heritage Foundation, shows that the cost of the "stimulus" per family is more than they spend on food, health care, and apparel per year. 

Finally, Matthew Vadum writes how the stimulus contains numerous provisions to reward Obama's political allies, such as ACORN.

ACORN: The Shenanigans Continue

Tax evasion can now be added to the list of shady dealings with which ACORN has been associated in the recent weeks. Matthew Vadum, from Capital Research Center, did some digging and found that over 200 tax liens totaling over $3.7 million have been filed against the group by the government. Check out the full report.

I wish this were a laughing matter, but with such a close presidential race, ACORN's voter drives could have a profound impact on the results next Tuesday.

Report Voter Fraud, Win Money

The Sam Adams Alliance is holding a video contest to raise public awareness in election fraud and prevent it from occurring. Click here for details.



While you're at it, I recommend checking out the entire Voter Integrity Project on Ballotpedia, including an ACORN page, voter ID laws by state, a voter fraud news page, and ways to report voter fraud.

One rotten Acorn?

GrassrootsPA has a roundup of stories on the Philadelphia man, working with ACORN, who was charged with 108 counts related to forgery and fraud in voter registration.  In the Tribune-Review Story, an ACORN spokesman call it "a case of one bad apple."

Of course, eating the number of "bad apples" that ACORN has produced would probably be as hazardous to your health as eating an actual acorn.  (NOTE: after further research, my metaphor is flawed, as eating an acorn is not hazardous to your health.  I was thinking of buckeyes, which are poisonous.  Coincidentally, the Buckeye Institute has filed a Rico suit against ACORN).

In related news, the Pennsylvania GOP has launched a new site - www.wewantafairelection.com.- aimed at reporting voter fraud.  Right now, there isn't anything useful on there, but there might be by election day.

ACORN Workers Afraid to Fall Short

An article in the New York Post today describes how ACORN employees in Ohio were pressured and bullied to meet voter registration quotas. Some workers were driven to bribing applicants with money and cigarettes.

Autumn: Falling Leaves and ACORNS

The PA GOP filed a lawsuit today against ACORN and the Secretary of the Commonwealth for incidents of voter fraud.

The lawsuit makes a number of requests, including requiring first-time voters to show valid identification before voting and providing provisional ballots for applicants whose registrations have not been processed. You can view the full GOP press release here.

Heritage on ACORN

The Heritage Foundation has a post today giving an informative primer on ACORN and how it gets it money.

Buckeye Institute files Rico suit against ACORN

Our sister think tank in Ohio has filed a RICO suit (i.e. for organized crime) against ACORN for voter fraud.  The full complaint is here.

Since stories of ACORN's fraud is filling up my Google Reader, I can't link to them all (but we have previous posts here and here), but I will point to a new site - Stop Acorn - that has compiled many stories, as well as this guide to ACORN voter fraud. 

More on ACORN and Voter Fraud

As a followup to Jessica's post on ACORN and Voter Fraud, here are some recent updates:

• The Tribune Review notes that investigations of ACORN could be coming to Allegheny County.
• IBD Editorials asks if ACORN is stealing the election, noting they registered most of the Dallas Cowboys team to vote - in Nevada - among other charges.
• The NY Post has a story, citing investigations or arrests of ACORN operatives in 15 states.
• Michell Malkin has a roundup of stories from Missouri, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana. 
• The news out of Indianapolis is that they now have 105% of voter-age eligible population now registered to vote.
• Tony Phyrillas has stories from Nevada, Ohio, and Missouri.
• The Heritage Foundation explains how the Motor-Voter law makes it tough to purge voter rolls (and explains how the dead still vote).

Voter Beware

ACORN, a “community organizing” grassroots group, has been raising a few eyebrows lately. The group engages in activism, lobbying, get-out-the-vote drives, and voter registration. The organization's activities almost always help Democrats, and, of course, it gets some payback in return. Before some got wind of it, the failed bailout plan originally included additional handouts that would have benefited ACORN and its allies. This is troubling since ACORN had at least some hand in the housing crisis and current financial state.

Senator Obama has close ties with the group, going back into the early 1990’s. His roles at the Chicago ACORN chapter include counsel in a “motor voter” lawsuit (ACORN requested his assistance [free registration to site needed]), teaching leadership seminars, and directing Project Vote 1992, a registration drive. In addition, he was a board member on the Wood Fund and Joyce Foundation, “both of which poured money into ACORN’s coffers.” Here is a collection of reports on Obama’s ACORN connections.

Here’s where it gets sticky: ACORN prides itself on “successful” registration campaigns, but workers have been indicted for or suspected of voter registration fraud in several states: Washington State 2006, Missouri 2006, Colorado 2006, Michigan 2008, Ohio 2004 and 2008. Here is a John Fund interview, in which he discusses the implications of mass voter fraud for this year’s election.

While ACORN is drawing ire for its actions in several states across the country, the group is also very active here in Pennsylvania.

ACORN has 6 offices across the state in Pennsylvania, with some located in crucial voting areas such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It would be nice to think ACORN’s more dubious activities have not affected the Commonwealth; however, incidents of voter fraud have surfaced in the state.

Two ACORN employees in West Reading were charged with identity theft and tampering with records. In Dauphin County, an ongoing investigation is looking into the validity of 100 to 150 registration applications. Philadelphia registration officials rejected about 3,000 registration cards submitted by ACORN due to missing or invalid information. Meanwhile, Obama’s campaign has made a concerted effort to recruit new voters en masse before today’s registration deadline.

Here are some video clips on ACORN’s activities in our state: the PA Political Committee Chair brags about ACORN’s registration progress in Pennsylvania. He admits there have been a few instances of registration fraud “irregularities,” despite a “great quality program as far as application verification.” In Philadelphia, ACORN protestors gather on the streets with vitriolic chants.

As usual, Pennsylvania will be a battleground state in November. Who will stand up to voter fraud and defend the rights of those voters who have gone through the proper channels?

What Congress is up to

While the Pennsylvania General Assembly is on vacation, Congress is not - and they are up to no good.

1) The House passed the housing bailout bill, which backs (with taxpayer funds) the refinancing of up to $300 billion in bad mortgages, tax incentives for housing development and purchasing, funding for state and local governments to buy and rehab foreclosed homes, and bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Wall Street Journal blasts this bill, as does NTU. Open Markets notes that protections against Kelo-style eminent domain abuses were stripped from the bill.

President Bush had promised to veto the bill, but backed off, to the ire of CAGW and Capital Research Center. Open Markets has the harshest words:

The White House is now backing away from its threat to veto the pork-filled bills that would bail out government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae's executives engaged in massive accounting fraud to inflate their multimillion dollar bonuses. They also used heavy-handed tactics against the press and lawmakers like Paul Ryan and Richard Baker to fight off reforms that would have curbed their risky practices. Fannie Mae's liberal supporters on Capitol Hill, like Barney Frank, Charles Schumer, and Chris Dodd, are now using mortgage bailout legislation to subsidize left-wing groups that support them, like ACORN and La Raza, at taxpayer expense.

2) The Senate may vote on "Harry Reid's Monkey Pork Bill". This bill combines some 35 bills, creates at least 34 new government programs and costs $11 billion in federal spending. Reid is trying to push it through without debate, out of frustration with Sen. Tom Coburn, who was - get this - demanding debate on all these bills, rather than rush them through via "unanimous consent agreements". More on this one from NTU, CAGW, and the Club for Growth.

3) The House voted to transfer $8 billion to bail out the Highway Trust Fund, rather than address the $24 billion in pork and earmarks coming out of this fund.

The Acorn Indictments

Say it isn't so, a union-backed organization involved in election fraud? Wow, I thought unions were only concerned about the working man, not politics.