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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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ACORN branches rename, rebrand after video scandal
By MICHAEL TARM, AP
Mon Mar 15, 6:55 AM EDT
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In this photo taken, March 12, 2010, in Chicago, Michael Shea, Executive Dir...
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CHICAGO — Affiliates of the once mighty liberal activist group ACORN are remaking themselves in a desperate bid to ditch the tarnished name of their parent organization and restore federal grants and other revenue streams that ran dry in the wake of a video scandal.
The letters A, C, O, R and N are coming off office doors from New York to California. Business cards are being reprinted. New signs with new names are popping up in front of offices.
The breakaways are trying to shed the scandal that emerged six months ago when videos showed some ACORN workers giving tax tips to conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute. But while their names are different, most groups have kept the same offices and staff.
That, critics say, means the groups really haven't started anew and severed all ties to ACORN, which faced accusations of mismanagement and rampant voter registration fraud well before the video brouhaha sent even longtime Democratic backers scattering.
Even the national office of ACORN, or the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, doesn't blame affiliates for bolting from under its umbrella — conceding its entire 40-state network has been devastated by what backers characterize as right-wing attacks.
"It is true that these range of attacks do damage to your brand and your good name," said Kevin Whelan, ACORN's communication's director. "The other reality is that we are starting to win some vindication on the facts. But vindication doesn't necessarily pay the rent."
ACORN's financial situation and reputation went into free fall within days of the videos' release in September. Congress reacted by yanking ACORN's federal funding, private donors held back cash and scores of ACORN offices closed.
On Wednesday, a U.S. judge reiterated an earlier ruling that the federal law blacklisting ACORN and groups allied with it was unconstitutional because it singled them out. That doesn't mean any money will automatically be restored, however.
For years, ACORN could draw on 400,000 members to lobby for liberal causes, such as raising the minimum wage or adopting universal health care. Locally, its activists pushed city officials to fix broken street lights and it pressured banks to offer more favorable loans to low-income Americans. ACORN was arguably most successful at registering hundreds of thousands of low-income voters, though that mission was dogged by fraud allegations, including that some workers submitted forms signed by 'Mickey Mouse' or other cartoon characters.
There's a chance the national group could disband, and it, too, may consider changing its name.
"The sorts of attacks ACORN has faced as an organization are unprecedented since the McCarthyism in the '50s, and it remains an open question whether an organization can survive that," Whelan said. "Time will tell."
One of the latest groups to adopt a new name is ACORN Housing, long one of the best-funded affiliates. Now, the group is calling itself the Affordable Housing Centers of America.
Others changing their names include what were among the largest affiliates: California ACORN is now Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, and New York ACORN has become New York Communities for Change. More are expected to follow suit.
The housing affiliate has lost more than most. The federal cutoff slashed its budget 75 percent, from $24 million in 2009 to $6 million in 2010. It's closed half of its 33 offices, cut half its 250 staff and reduced numbers of low-income families it gives financial advice to from 20,000 to 10,000.
An unadorned paper sign with the new name was taped at the entrance of the group's Chicago headquarters on a recent afternoon. But much else is unchanged: The new group is in the same offices; and the head of the old group, Mike Shea, is the head of the new one.
Still, insisted Shea, "We really have no relationship with ACORN whatsoever."
Many opponents don't buy it. A distinguishing feature of ACORN for years has been its complex web of affiliates, some of which shared money and manpower without ever assuming ACORN's name, said Frederick Hill, spokesman for Republicans on the U.S. House oversight and government reform committee.
"The idea that some ACORN organizations are trying to obscure who they really are should be troubling to Americans," he said.
A recent report on ACORN compiled by the House Republicans whom Hill represents describes ACORN as a "shell game" with a structure "designed to conceal illegal activities, to use taxpayer and tax-exempt dollars for partisan political purposes, and to distract investigators."
To credibly claim a clean break, argued Hill, the new groups should at least have hired directors from outside ACORN.
"But I can't tell you of a single example our committee has seen where we say, 'Geez, it really looks like they're purging all the individuals who are with national ACORN,'" he said.
The breakaways insist they have changed in more than just name, pointing to tougher ethics rules and better management. Shea said his Chicago-based housing group brought in independent auditors to pour through its books; all, he says, gave them high marks.
"We can prove to our stakeholders that we've put reforms in place and what you saw on the video can never happen again," he said.
In the end, all the confidence-building measures may do little good when it comes to divisive, politically active groups like ACORN. Foes like Hill and a vast range of longtime detractors are sure to harken back to the old ACORN names at every opportunity.
"If a company changes its name, the hubbub eventually dies down," said Bill Lozito, head of Minneapolis-based branding firm, Strategic Name Development. "Changing a name associated with politics is a lot tougher. People won't let go of the original name and won't forget."
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On the Net:
ACORN: http://www.acorn.org/ |
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Tue Mar 16, 2010 9:46 pm |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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| In stead of acorn they could go with something similar you find laying on the woods floor,
"DEER TURDS"
On second thought skip that deer are elegant animals and any connection to the acorn scammers would be insulting. |
_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
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Wed Mar 17, 2010 8:58 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| How about Weasels? They don't have many socially redeeming qualities. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:19 am |
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1pissedoffguy
F L I N T O I D
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| ACORN should be stripped of all tax free status regardless of it's new apperance. A pig in a suit is still a pig. That video clearly demonstrates the totaly unethical beliefs this organization is founded upon. But Americans are a forgiving lot, something that will prove to be their undoing. |
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Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:58 pm |
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LakeWoman50
F L I N T O I D
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| accorn is a good organization that has been a target of the republicants |
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Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:36 am |
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ConcernedCitizen
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quote:
LakeWoman50 schreef:
accorn is a good organization that has been a target of the republicants
Lakewoman,
I am no a Republican and I see great fault in the actions of ACORN.
How can you justify that tape of those women giving illegaltax advise to what they thought were a prostitute and a pimp? And being fine with the idea that they were going to bring underage girls into the country to use as prostitutes? Until you can legitimately justify that, ACORN will not have my support. I don't care who ACORN supported or what party they are affiliated with,
morals
take precedent over those type of actions. If you support that type of behavior,
then obviously you have no morals
, something I have suspected since reading many of your posts.
And don't forget, it took democrats as well as republicans to cut off funding to ACORN!
Last edited by ConcernedCitizen on Thu Mar 18, 2010 6:07 pm; edited 1 time in total |
_________________
"When people fear their government, there is TYRANNY.
When the government fears the people, there is Liberty"
Thomas Jefferson |
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Thu Mar 18, 2010 12:14 pm |
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ConcernedCitizen
F L I N T O I D
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And changing their name? "A rose by any other name is still as sweet"
Well in this case, a pile of crap by any other name still stinks as bad! |
_________________
"When people fear their government, there is TYRANNY.
When the government fears the people, there is Liberty"
Thomas Jefferson |
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Thu Mar 18, 2010 12:19 pm |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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And of course let us not forget who was up to his ass involved as a community agitator with that corrupt bunch.
Heres a clue.
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_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
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Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:45 pm |
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Domet
F L I N T O I D
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Concerned Citizen, Webs - I don't know if you folks heard, but it came out that those videos were "heavily doctored" and ACORN was cleared of those charges. This is why I have and continue urge you folks hold your decisions until the evidence is really out - ACORN has been cleared time and time again for crimes and accustions. This situation isn't any different.
I still have my problems with the organization - they have enough problems on their own without people just assuming they are there to do great evil work. They have enough problems without us making up new ones they need to deal with as well.
Also, just because it needs to be said - your assumption about lakewoman's morals based on her belief in ACORN is not really fair, nor logically framed. Though I am loathe to appear on her side, I have to say that the argument you framed (though funny, certainly) is neither fair nor accurate. ACORN is a national institution, regional institutions and local groups - they can operate quite independently and do not necessarily reflect on one another. It is as if your brother was a criminal who killed 20 people and everybody thinks you'll do it too, just because you have the same last name. Not necessarily fair to categorically call all of ACORN evil or lacking morals and equally unfair to suggest Lakewoman or anybody supporting the organization is morally corrupt. I have a good amount of respect for you from past conversation, I expect you'll be able to see the reason of this and find more relevant reasons to criticize her position.
BTW - Twotap - where were you when they decided your boy O'Keefe was a lying crook that was trying to make a name for himself by smearing good people and organizations? Where were you when all your bashing turned out to be nothing but a sad, retired man with a bone to grind bitching and moaning? Where were you when I was vindicated you were wrong?
Oh I know - you weren't wrong, because you can never be wrong. Because even in the face of evidence and facts, you continue to prove what a pathetic individual you are - unable to accept fact. You are and continue to be a massive joke perpetrated on Flint Talk, and your punchline stopped being funny a long, long time ago.
Man, back to the nice weather in New York. Have a nice weekend folks. |
_________________
Lack of support for your assertions does not make you a sage, it just makes the rest of us doubt your reasoning skills. - Elias12, Flint Talk Poster |
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Sun Mar 21, 2010 11:37 am |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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Sun Mar 21, 2010 12:37 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| Acorn was cleared by it's own internal review! They were just looking out for their own interests. |
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Sun Mar 21, 2010 12:43 pm |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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obama, domet both ex acorn agitators but at least we dont have THE ONE trying to con us with their bullcrap on this forum . domet your a clown for sure and part of the problem that got acorn where they are today. keep up the good work.  |
_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
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Sun Mar 21, 2010 12:47 pm |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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Mon Mar 22, 2010 8:45 pm |
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1pissedoffguy
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| The ACORN people I met up with are worse than any Jehovah Witness/Moonie/Amway people I had ever met up with. At least those from the other 3 groups could tell you what they were all about, even if their reasoning was flawed. The buttheads I met from ACORN didn't know anything nor could they tell me anything about what the organization was about. Yet they were out there, knocking on doors. I thought the Left prided itself on being able to quote from Marx and engage in debates about Dialectical Materialism. The wankers from ACORN I met up with couldn't tell me what ACORN stood for. |
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Mon Mar 22, 2010 8:57 pm |
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Dave Starr
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| I never did see any news reports about them being victims of squirrel attacks. Probably another media coverup. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Tue Mar 23, 2010 7:28 am |
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