…Exactly as Fox is doing and has been doing for some time now. If MSM means Main Stream Media … I began to lose faith during the 60 Minute fiasco a few years ago.
Sharon O’Hara

When I was in school, we were instructed that journalists always have a choice – just take a slant on a national story and, BOOM, it’s… (surprise!)…LOCAL!

I actually think this is a great opportunity for local papers to shine like they’ve never shined before – to scoop and upstage the MSM! I urge all local papers to chew on this idea .

I can only speak for myself, as a reader, when I say, what happens in our town (Port Orchard) is not the ONLY thing I find “critical” to my interests and that I would be MOST proud of any local paper defining stories based on a poll of actual readership interests, like (or unlike) mine.

Let’s face it, while it’s been fun, reading about bickering over paint colors isn’t half as important to me as knowing where my tax dollars are going and to what impacts local, small businesses. Just one example – to my knowledge, no one has yet done a top-notch, in-depth feature on the damage the federal CPSIA legislation is having on small, local businesses like mine. This is a law that impacts every parent (if you believe in parental authority, it should get you steaming mad), every garage-sale-host, every library, you name it – the list goes on…but, where is the real local story being told? The MSM is burying this and other stories (you can find links on my blog about CPSIA – there are many of us doing all we can to shed light on this nightmare – http://tristansepinion.blogspot.com/2009/09/campaign-for-small-business-equal.html ).

Again, I think the what is now happening in America presents nothing but the PERFECT OPPORTUNITY for local newspapers to elevate themselves to the status of oh-so-incredibly-superior-to-the-MSM in actually SERVING the REAL interests of its (yes, local) readers.

Let’s face it – people are leaving MSM sources in droves, now that all the corruption and bias is being revealed as…utterly blatant. Could there be a more perfect time to consider a re-definition of what constitutes a “local interest” story?

Possibly, it is not unlike Kitsap Community Resources. That organization hires from within its clientele. Subsequently, the people employed are often poorly trained and little educated. KCR pulls in a huge amount of tax money. I have often wanted it investigated for the quality of the service rendered to people.

Maybe ACORN did the same, offering jobs to people with little or no skill. I don’t know.

As far as the trafficing in children, Sharon. No one believes that is acceptable. It seemed as if the women in the videos glossed over that fact. That was another absurd piece of the story. In fact, the stories were so preposterous, that I cannot believe that anyone could possibly have fallen for them.

But, I have no desire to debate anyone here. I just wanted to express that ACORN has done great work in the past, and had done great work for me. Work that no one else was doing or willing to do. They investigated what others overlooked, whether due to greed, ignorance or negligence. I still believe that means a lot.

‘… I don’t believe for a minute that these were real ACORN reps. If they were, they are too stupid for words. Typically people in the position of serving the population ACORN serves would be very street savvy. …”

Street savvy is exactly what I thought the employees had…so ’street savvy’ they were beyond the realm of decency.

“Did you see the silly coat the future politican and Georgetown law student was wearing? What of the girlfriend’s outfit? It was as if they were dressed for Halloween and not very convincingly at that…”

The Acorn employees were convinced, Mary. Maybe the clothes were what convinced them that these folks were legitimate traffickers in children for sex purposes and they intended to help them.

Until that tape showing on Fox, I knew next to nothing about Acorn, including that it is a Democratic organization… I’ve learned that here. Decency doesn’t carry a label, Mary…not Democrat or Republican…only the rule that we PROTECT CHILDREN, we do not exploit them!
Sharon O’Hara

Child trafficking is immoral, illegal and the people who do it should be lined up and shot.

Your comments sort of remind me of the people who claim the Holocaust never happened. In spite of all the facts and proof that it did…they deny it.
People will believe what they want to believe – no matter the facts or proof…they will claim it is all fabricated.

Our lawyers said that it the note was legal, but hardly ethical and moral. Long before Congress would look at the issue of predatory subprime lenders, those who prey on vulnerable adults, we experienced it first hand. In other to create the loan, the lenders had gotten a quick claim deed that pulled the farm out of the trust. I contacted everyone, who was anyone – local congress men and women, state legislators, the attorney general, et al. No one could or would help us with this matter. We were stuck with the debt and to make tragic matters worse, there was no evidence that she had obtained any money from the loan.

Representatives of ACORN were the only people who helped me. They were the only people back in 1999, as far as my research showed, who were looking at the problem of the subprime mortgage mess and how it targeted widows, women of color and disabled adults. I spoke to ACORN reps frequently.

As far as a local angle goes, when Beneficial Financial attempted to convince us that they could offer us a better deal on our home in Washington State, I had to laugh. We owed no more than $30,000 or so and had just three years to go on the note, if I remember correctly. They were going to offer us this amazing deal, they said. They would give us a loan for $150,000 for 30 years. The hilarious thing was that we would get all of $3,000 back. The loan they were designing would have eaten our entire equity.

I laughed and faxed the paperwork from Beneficial immediately to ACORN. They were documenting these types of loans.

When I went to Washington D.C. two years ago, I joined in a rally of ACORN folks on the mall. I even got a hat with the logo. They would call me periodically for get the vote out pushes.

When I watched those videos, I had to laugh at the absurdity of them. A Georgetown law student is pimping his girlfriend to cover his future political campaigns? Seriously? That is the best story they could come up with? Would anyone really believe that story? My thought is “No.”

I think they hired actors to pay these roles. I don’t believe for a minute that these were real ACORN reps. If they were, they are too stupid for words. Typically people in the position of serving the population ACORN serves would be very street savvy. These women acted like imbeciles.

I don’t believe the videos. I think ACORN did an amazing get the vote out push and it’s being blamed for Obama’s election. That’s what I think.

Unfortunately, the amazing work that the organization has done for so long is being overshadowed by this deceptive, supposed “detective” work. Don’t believe it?

Did you see the silly coat the future politican and Georgetown law student was wearing? What of the girlfriend’s outfit? It was as if they were dressed for Halloween and not very convincingly at that.

I think they set up stages, hired actors and filmed the whole thing.

“should have the SAME level of impact on ACORN as a whole as the actions of some REPUBLICAN workers have on the REPUBLICAN party as a whole”

It does! It really does. Because there are commenter’s like yourself who take pretty much every opportunity to point out misbehavior by Conservatives or Republicans and tie it back to the party as a whole. I don’t mean that in a snarky way, it’s just the way it is. When the Democrats screw up, I try to point it out. ACORN is screwing up and Sharon is pointing it out.

ACORN has had a pretty easy and long ride of being taken at face value by the American public. They have lost that untarnished perception now and can’t ever get it back. Because of this scandal there will be a hesitation or an outright reluctance in any new people who think they might want to get involved with the group to actually do so.

Any organization that has experienced some tarnish by certain individuals in their organization being publically ousted for their misbehavior has the same problem. You only mention the Republicans, but the same could be said for the Democrats as well. Shady opportunists are shady opportunists and when given the opportunity within ANY organization they WILL take advantage.

The defining moment of impact for the organization itself is how it deals with the misbehavior and what it does to make sure that its own philosophy and policies don’t continue to provide such a lush breeding ground for continued misbehavior. People will be watching and judging how ACORN takes its lumps and how it changes to move forward.

I’m not defending ACORN, or the individuals.

I’m pointing out that the actions of some ACORN workers should have the SAME level of impact on ACORN as a whole as the actions of some REPUBLICAN workers have on the REPUBLICAN party as a whole.

You are rebutting by speaking of Republican INDIVIDUALS in a job by way of an election. INDIVIDUALS, Elliot, committing INDIVIDUAL crimes, if that is what they did.

I am not a registered Republican, nor a Democrat. I am an independent voter and outraged woman who takes exception to the trafficking of children for immoral purposes by anyone much less a tax supported organization who is supposed to be PROTECTING and helping minorities and, I thought that included CHILDREN!

Acorn seems only outraged by the public DISCOVERY of the crimes. Acorns lawsuit against the filmmakers for showing the PROOF of the ROT is incomprehensible.

So is your defense. I’ve read your posts, Elliot, that make your defense of the Acorn shame and crime, surprising. Human beings, decent human beings, do not traffic or assist in the trafficking of children for immoral purposes.

Stone throwing doesn’t have a place in this crime against children.
Sharon O’Hara