Friday, April 3, 2009

ACORN to Play Role in 2010 Census




The following story is from Fox News on March 18, 2009. I am very surprised that this is the first I heard of it, although I guessed it would happen way back when NObama took the power for the Census away from the Commerce Secretary, which lead Senator Gregg to "flip him off!"

The U.S. Census Bureau is working with several national organizations to help recruit 1.4 million workers to produce the country's 2010 census, including one with a history of voter fraud charges: ACORN.

The U.S. Census is supposed to be free of politics, but one group with a history of voter fraud, ACORN, is participating in next year's count, raising concerns about the politicization of the decennial survey.

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now signed on as a national partner with the U.S. Census Bureau in February 2009 to assist with the recruitment of the 1.4 million temporary workers needed to go door-to-door to count every person in the United States -- currently believed to be more than 306 million people.

A U.S. Census "sell sheet," an advertisement used to recruit national partners, says partnerships with groups like ACORN "play an important role in making the 2010 Census successful," including by "help[ing] recruit census workers."

The bureau is currently employing help from more than 250 national partners, including TARGET and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), to assist in the hiring effort.

But ACORN's partnership with the 2010 Census is worrisome to lawmakers who say past allegations of fraud should raise concerns about the organization.

"It's a concern, especially when you look at all the different charges of voter fraud. And it's not just the lawmakers' concern. It should be the concern of every citizen in the country," Rep. Lynn A. Westmoreland, R-Ga., vice ranking member of the subcommittee for the U.S. Census, told FOXNews.com. "We want an enumeration. We don't want to have any false numbers."

ACORN, which claims to be a non-partisan grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people, came under fire in 2007 when Washington State filed felony charges against several paid ACORN employees and supervisors for more than 1,700 fraudulent voter registrations. In March 2008, an ACORN worker in Pennsylvania was sentenced for making 29 phony voter registration forms. The group's activities were frequently questioned in the 2008 presidential election.

ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson told FOXNews.com that "ACORN as an organization has not been charged with any crime." He added that fears that the organization will unfairly influence the census are unfounded.

"It will be the Census Bureau that determines the role and scope of its 300 national partners. ACORN is committed to a fair and accurate count," Levenson said.

The census is an official count of the country's population mandated by the U.S. Constitution. It is used to determine distribution of taxpayer money through grants and appropriations and the apportionment of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. Every U.S. household unit, including those occupied by non-citizens and illegal immigrants, must be counted.

Westmoreland and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, a member of the House census subcommittee, said the panel has held hearings to make sure the penalties for census takers committing fraud are clearly defined.

"I feel fairly confident that the penalties for an individual manipulating the count are pretty severe," Chaffetz said. The penalty for any fraudulent activity can be up to five years in jail.

Westmoreland said he hopes the Census Bureau will maintain its measures to ensure an accurate report.

"I feel comfortable right now with the people at the census department that they're going to put forth their best effort to have a fair count," he said.

The U.S. Census Bureau has refuted any suggestions that ACORN or any other groups will fraudulently and unduly influence the results of the census.

"The Census (Bureau) is a nonpartisan, non-political agency and we're very dedicated to an accurate account," bureau spokesman Stephen Buckner told FOXNews.com. "We have a lot of quality controls in place to keep any kind of systemic error or fraudulent behavior to affect the counts."

Buckner said the bureau received an overwhelming number of qualified applicants -- more than 1 million -- for the 140,000 census taker jobs filled to complete the first phase of the effort. Each applicant, he said, must take a basic skills exam, which includes reading a map and entering data into a handheld computer. Applicants are also subject to an FBI background check, he said.

But Buckner acknowledged that it is difficult to track an applicant's political background.

"I have no way of tracking any of that information," he said. "If somebody comes in to a position with a political agenda and their work exhibits that, there are rules against that," he said.

Buckner stressed the need for organizations like ACORN to assist in the effort, saying that "any group that has a grassroots organization that can help get the word out that we have jobs" is helpful.

In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau had 140,000 partnerships from "national organizations to local and community organizations to elected officials," he said. "The list is as broad as the phone book."


So here's one more reason to deport our 20 million unwelcomed illegal aliens, feeding them our hard earned tax money is and has been all along, a planned event! On top of that, why should states that pander to them get more legislative clout than states that don't?

There may be a five year jail term as penalty for fraudulently padding the numbers, but how much would you like to bet that no one will ever see it. Just like the voter registration fiasco. See how well THAT worked out. The FBI checks are the ONLY positive thing I can see in this whole mess, IF they actually get done, that is. I STILL question whether or not they ever even looked into our most illustrious leader. I rather doubt it!

16 comments:

Chuck said...

I saw the the national director (president?) of ACORN interviewed by Megyn Kelly. She kicked his buttocks. He's a complete and total whackjob. There is definitely a method to the madness here. How much you wanna bet the Dems see gains in their districts?

Anonymous said...

Time to party, the Gray Headed Brudder has bitten the dust

Anonymous said...

"There may be a five year jail term as penalty for fraudulently padding the numbers, but how much would you like to bet that no one will ever see it."

Exactly Joe, i've lost count of the number of assholes who tell us at press conferences that there are tough laws and they will crack down and no one will get away with illegal activity, only to hear reports day after day of just the opposite.

If i weren't in my own home when i hear these scumbags prattle on, i'd be spitting on the ground.

Average American said...

Chuck, I won't take that bet with someone else's money. Sanctuary cities and ghetto areas will reap huge benefits from this administration, we all knew that, and now we know how. No wonder he took the Census out of Commerce control. Judd Gregg might have ruined the messiah's plans. I'll bet Chicago gets at least another rep and many millions of dollars out of this move.

Right is Right, good riddance. I checked out his blog once and promised myself never to go back. I'm sure he will still be trolling around though.

MK, it has always pissed me off how most politicians think the population is so stupid that they can get away with whatever they want. What makes me even madder is that the asshole at the helm right now also knows that we can't do anything but bitch for the next two years, and man, aren't they taking advantage of that!!

Law and Order Teacher said...

AA,
Good find. This type of stuff is sometimes hard to believe. When I read the news I always feel this is really and April Fool's joke, right? It just keeps getting worse. I hope we survive your counter until it hits zero.

Don't you want to ask "Is this what we risked our lives for?"

Anonymous said...

There is a preponderance of evidence that ACORN is a corrupt organization with a decidedly leftist agenda. This revelation should result in significant changes in government behavior for, and its tolerance of ACORN organizations at the federal and state levels. I have no confidence this will happen, however. Buckner’s statement, “If somebody comes in to a position with a political agenda and their work exhibits that, there are rules against that,” is laughable. Every political appointee or volunteer has a political agenda. Acorn’s grass roots foundation is based on a political agenda. But more to the point, rules against pressing a leftist agenda while working as a census taker aren’t worth a damn if those rules are not enforced.

As I pointed out today in my post, neither John Conyers or Jerrold Nadler appear sufficiently outraged by the level of corruption of ACORN, or the de facto violations of federal and state laws while in pursuit of their political agenda: to elect a democratic congress and a democratic president.

Meanwhile, Acorn’s national organization continues to display mock outrage, pretending as though they do not know what is going on and pointing fingers at local “errors.” Right. You may recall a few weeks back that someone from Acorn broke into someone else’s house as part of a quest to “return the property to its rightful owner.” Fox reported on this incident, but no one else did. My point here is that selective prosecution is a dangerous path. We are either a nation of laws, or we are not; there is no middle ground here.

Average American said...

LOT, unfortunately this is not April 1st and we are not dreaming, things really are getting worse every day. I do not remember America changing the constitution to make that asshole a king and I can only hope that we survive until 2010 when we will have a chance to cut his power in half by taking back the Senate. It will be the last national election before the redistricting takes place.

Mustang, as usual, you have hit the nail on the head. We are all well aware of just how corrupt ACORN is. We bloggers should all be investigative reporters with huge audiences. THAT would ensure the halfrican only gets one term! Hell, he wouldn't even have come close to winning this time.

I don't believe that we are still a "nation of laws", at least not for all of us. The constitution, the bill of rights, and every thing else we stand for has been put through the shredder since he took office. I really believe that only through God's miracle will we get through this without a second revolution. As much as I DO NOT want to see that happen, it just seems more and more likely everyday. I am sure that is why he wants to have a national security force, to protect his ass from the masses. He talked of this early in the campaign. That tells me that he was planning all this shit long long ago. WHY couldn't people, other than us, see it? I mean, he even TOLD America what he was all about, well, a little bit anyway. You know, our population really is stupid. I suspected such for a long time, but Nov 4th was the proof! It was a far worse day than Pearl Harbor, or 9/11, and believe me when I say, I do not make that comparison lightly. History will NOT smile upon this arrogant ass that we are supposed to respect and hope he succeeds. NOT ME!

Always On Watch said...

For God's sake!

ACORN is so dirty and still has a role in the census which will determine political boundaries?

If the leftista trends continue, America will be unrecognizable as the land of the free to the next generation.

The Wordsmith said...

Excellent blog...thank you for it.

Brooke said...

Completely obscene!

I don't know what else to say!

Angie Lee said...

There's a big stank coming off W-DC and it's about time we took some fire hoses to the place.

The Dummycraps are in power, and they are going to do any and everything they can to keep it. They have one mission: Destruction of America. They will not be deterred.

But then, you know my thoughts on where this is headed, eh?

Joe "Truth 101" Kelly said...

Right on about those damn illegals AA. Thank God Bush got the fence built and deported all them squatters before they could scrub any more toilets and cook more burritos.

Ooops! Bush didn't get the fence built or crack down any? Well, uh. Um. Er. So I guess that along with some greaseballs working for ACORN is President Obama's fault also?

Average American said...

AOW, we have a chance to fix things next year. If we can win back the Senate, a tall order--I know, then we can put a stop to this insanity. Are enough Americans so pissed off as to make this happen---I sure hope so!

Wordsmith, thank you. I tried to leave a comment at your blog the other day, but wasn't able to. Have you changed it yet?

Brooke, I know just what you mean!

Angie Lee, We the people have got to do more than bitch on our blogs to make anything change. We have to get the message to our representatives that we have had enough! There are a lot of Senators and House members who can be persuaded by their constituents, but they have to hear from them. That and voting next year are the two main things we must concentrate on right now. A good start might be mailing a teabag to every representative from your state. It can't hurt.

Truth, you and I both know that most Americans want something done about the whole illegal alien mess. What good does it do to come here and cast stones about who didn't do what? Both parties are to blame. This shit has been going on for years, no, decades! It is not a democrat/republican problem. It IS an AMERICAN problem. Stay focused please. As for ACORN, yes, I do hold NObama responsible for that organization, in many respects. Remember, he taught/coached many of their people for years, he has steered them a lot of taxpayer dollars oover the years, and they share his socialistic ideology. I know you see that as a plus----I DO NOT!

Anonymous said...

How in God's name can we stop this?

Average American said...

Rebel, NEVER give up the fight! Eventually we will win, if we keep working at it. The first thing we need to do is win a lot of seats in the 2010 elections. If we do a real bang-up job, his last 2 years will be NO picnic for him, and then in 2012 we can vote his ass OUT and start mending the damages, and there will be plenty of them.

dmarks said...

Sampling/etc is nothing more than an attempt to pollute the census with fake, non-existant people and make it much less accurate.

The census should count real people. Period.

Truth: Yes, any existing Federal policy is Obama's fault. He and his party are in control. They have been in control for more than enough time to have passed any bill they wanted.