A Rotten ACORN?

[question everything]

This is from the WSJ's John Fund, not exactly a welcomed opinioner on DU.

But I wonder whether these facts are correct:

A growing number of people once affiliated with Acorn want nothing more to do with the group. Marcel Reid, for example, was one of eight national Acorn board members who were removed last year after demanding an audit of the group's books. She notes that Acorn received $7.4 million in contributions from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) between 2005 and 2008 but actively fights unionization efforts by its own employees. Ms. Reid also notes that Acorn was sanctioned by the National Labor Relations Board in 2003 for illegally firing workers trying to organize a union.

In 1995, Acorn unsuccessfully sued California to be exempt from the minimum wage, claiming that "the more that Acorn must pay each individual outreach worker . . . the fewer outreach workers it will be able to hire." The decision to file that lawsuit was made by Wade Rathke, who founded Acorn in 1970 and was its long-time leader. He was forced by the group's board to resign last year after it found that he'd engaged in a cover-up of a nearly $1 million embezzlement of Acorn funds by his brother Dale, then the group's chief financial officer.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203917304...

[emulatorloo]

1. Fund Lies All The Time. Start from the position that Fund is lying

Personally, I am taking a big wait and see with Acorn. It doesn't look good to me.

But I will not be taking any evidence from John Fund.

Last example of Fund's compulsive wingnut lying that I remember was when he claimed hordes of liberal lawyers and Democratic Operatives had descended on Alaska after the Palin VP nod. It was not true.

[jonnyblitz]

4. he was the ghostwriter for Rush Limbaugh's books. nt

[emulatorloo]

7. interesting . . . n/t

[question everything]

8. Why not follow the example of O'Reily and shout: shut up?

What difference does it make if the source is Fund, Chavez, or Sheehan (the last two have been canonized on DU)?

Does ACORN resist any attempt to unionize, and did ACORN seek an exemption from paying min wage?

I would think that these two actions would raise a concern on DU.

[emulatorloo]

11. Don't be ridiculous. Sources do matter. Fund is a proven liar, you need to realize that

You are best off throwing out Fund and doing your own research on the issues you bring up.

[question everything]

23. You clearly are on a mission against Fund but you will have more

credibility if you will be able to bring proof that:

1. ACORN does not block unionizing

2. ACRON does not want to be exempt from paying min. wage.

I don't care one way or the other, I just find it a bit... hypocrite that so many DUers who support union have no problem with this.

Just to throw you a bone:

Here is CNN

http://siu.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/14/acorn-board-fires-m... /

and the NYT

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/us/16acorn.html

[spanone]

2. once the swiftboating starts facts get lost in the feeding frenzy

[politicallore]

3. If that is true about acorn trying to sue...

Then that is the funniest thing I have ever read!

They lost all credibility with me through the election...

[CJCRANE]

5. Is it Rupert Murdoch day today on DU?

Endless links to Fox News, now the WSJ. What's missing? The NY Post, the London Times...

Why not have a Rupert Murdoch forum, that would be good.

[question everything]

10. How sad that so many DUers choose to ignore facts and to concentrate

on the source.

Would you accept CNN?

http://siu.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/14/acorn-board-fires-m... /

The possible embezzlement by Dale Rathke, brother of ACORN founder Wade Rathke, allegedly occurred about eight years ago. But the ACORN board did not find out about it until this year. In July, the ACORN board selected an interim management committee to look at the possible embezzlement and its concealment. Inman and Reid were two of the members appointed to the committee.

When an ACORN affiliate that acts as the group’s accounting firm denied the committee members access to the books, Inman said, she, Reid and several others filed a lawsuit to have the court order ACORN to preserve the books and give them access to all accounting matters. That suit became known as the ACORN 8 because, according to Inman, eight ACORN people signed onto it. She now says there are 25 members demanding the accountability.

and

The problems at ACORN already have cost it the financial support of one of its major donors. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development froze contributions to ACORN in June amid the embezzlement allegations. This week, as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops met in Baltimore, Maryland, the campaign’s chairman said it was cutting all ties with the group.

[Lagomorph]

6. There's been some poor decision making....

...by some employees that make ACORN look more like an organized crime syndicate than a community activist organization. Just like most media events, the actions of a few are blown up to represent the actions of anyone who might be, in any way, associated with them.

It's the bad news that gets all the press.

[emulatorloo]

9. mediamatters.org search for John Fund. Will give you an idea of who you are dealing with

http://mediamatters.org/search/index?qstring=&from=&to=...

[emulatorloo]

13. Results: Wall Street Journal's Fund claimed "AIG bonuses ... were in the stimulus"

[emulatorloo]

14. WSJ's Fund falsely claimed that ACORN "almost got a slush fund in the housing bailout bill"

[emulatorloo]

15. John Fund introduces new falsehoods in 2008 version of Stealing Elections

[question everything]

17. Boy, you really are having a grudge agaisnt Fund

what did he do? Refused...?

Never mind

[emulatorloo]

20. Because he is a right wing propagandist. And a particularly vile one at that

He is in the Ann Coulter league.

[redqueen]

21. Learning from experience is so not the same thing as having a grudge.

Usually when people find that a person makes a habit of lying, they stop bothering to pay attention to them. And for good reason.

The reasonable response to finding out that the person who's saying what you want to hear is a well-known habitual liar is finding another source... try doing that.

[emulatorloo]

16. Recycling misinformation, WSJ's Fund accused Gore of "environmental exaggerations and hypocrisy"

http://mediamatters.org/research/200703200003

[emulatorloo]

18. Fund falsely suggested that "intelligence agencies all agree Saddam Hussein was involved in 9-11

http://mediamatters.org/research/200609130005

[emulatorloo]

22. etc. etc. etc.

[question everything]

24. You two need to get a room

and settle you differences.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. The WSJ is a disreputable journal.

One of its employees once committed a crime.

[Octafish]

19. Didn't Fund beat his girlfriend and later got her daughter pregnant?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[emulatorloo]

26. Eric Alterman of The Nation has an article that debunks that issue

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20030602/alterman

[Octafish]

28. Thanks for sharing.

While their credibility has been called to question, I still side with the mom and daughter:

Stealing Truth - The John Fund Backstory

FWIW: I think the world of Mr. Morganthau.

[BlooInBloo]

25. Pathetic.

[question everything]

27. Can you prove otherwise?

Since you carry the Union Yes avatar can you answer these two questions?

1. Have ACORN employees ever been blocked in unionizing?

2. Are ACRON employees being paid min. wage?

Until you, and the others can answe this question, all your hot air against WSJ is, indeed, pathetic.