According to the following documents, ACORN, Inc.–the parent organization of all things ACORN–forfeited its corporate charter in Maryland in 2006. ACORN Housing forfeited its corporate charter in 2008. Any ACORN office in the state of Maryland is potentially operating illegally.

The Maryland Attorney General has made noise about prosecuting the intrepid journalists who undercovered the misdeeds of ACORN employees. Perhaps he should focus instead on how ACORN was able to operate without a license in his state.

ACORN Illegally Operating in Maryland –

In the “gee, I made this not very smart person look really stupid” genre of film making- the sort of “ask stupid questions and play ridiculous characters and edit to make funny” made most famous by Sacha Baron Cohen- comes “Baltimore Acorn Workers support prostitution.”

Acorn is a community organizing network that works on a variety of issues, from voter registration to fighting predatory lending practices. In other words, it is just the sort of organization for poor people that the Right loves to hate.

According to the news stories, the video may show two (Black and seemingly not terribly educated) Acorn employees trying to help two (white and seemingly educated) young people figure out how to start a brothel with girls from El Salvador (who, not coincidentally, are here illegally).

ACORN workers caught on tape allegedly advising on prostitution – CNN.com.

Within this fantasy is every fear and desire of the far right: evil Black women activists, poor people, illegal immigrants, and sex.

Of course, it’s also every left wing fear and desire as well: two upper class white kids pretending to be a pimp and a prostitute in a way that can only be described as “are you fucking kidding me?”. He is wearing white pants and a blue oxford (very preppy) and a fur cape! What white college kid “pimp and ho” party did that cape come from? Also, as you watch the video, it is clear that these women are trying to help, but also seriously disturbed by the behavior of these two white kids. On the other hand, the class hierarchy is beyond them, the power dynamics well known to all the participants, and the women continue to try to please the white kids.

And who is this brilliant Borat of the Right? A young man by the name of James O’Keefe. According to his website, he

directed, scripted, produced and acted in a series of undercover videos showcasing racism and statutory rape at Planned Parenthood in 2007 and 2008.

Before that he served as Publications Coordinator at the Leadership Institute, where he helped initiate 22 independent newspapers and magazines on college campuses nationwide. He also gave lectures on campus strategy and fundraising, preaching the gospel of Saul Alinsky.

His most recent project is Veritasvisuals.com, a collection of satirical short films on newsworthy topics, featuring ridiculous situations and demands. These have included straight men with girlfriends getting married to each other in Massachusetts and petitions to adopt Gitmo detainees into American homes…

James got his start producing videos… at his alma mater, Rutgers University, where he founded The Centurion in 2004.

Okay, I don’t really get the Saul Alinsky reference, but the rest of it makes sense. A privileged, ultraconservative, straight white man who hates: same sex marriage, Planned Parenthood, civil liberties, and ACORN. Gee, who would have guessed that’s the genius behind this incredibly “shocking” piece of film.

The worst part is, of course, that this ultraconservative fantasy will be played over and over on Fox News, throwing grease on the fire that is white resentment. More “evidence’ that Acorn and other groups that work for social justice for poor people are in fact part of a vast left-wing conspiracy to deflower the purity of “our” women.

Perhaps we need a Borat of the Left who will make right wing nuts like James O’Keefe look ridiculous? Oh, never mind, they don’t need our help.

~~

Laurie Essig teaches sociology at Middlebury College and writes for a variety of publications, from Salon to the Chronicle of Higher Ed.  She currently blogs at true/slant, where this piece was originally published.  Her book, “American Plastic: Boob Jobs, Credit Cards, and the Spirit of Our Time,” will be published by Beacon in 2010.

Washington, D.C., Sep 11 -

U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann (MN-06) today requested the U.S. Census Bureau to refrain from partnering with ACORN in light of the numerous additional criminal activities uncovered this week:

“The past three days have brought to light further evidence that ACORN is untrustworthy and not worthy of being a partner for the 2010 census,” said Bachmann.  “These additional findings are disturbing and merely solidify my original and long-standing position that an organization with a continuous cloud of suspicion should be banned from receiving taxpayer dollars.  So long as this cloud of suspicion hangs over ACORN, I am afraid that its partnership with the Bureau could jeopardize the integrity of the census process and diminish the public’s trust in the Census.”

Bachmann has also requested Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chairman Barney Frank conduct a congressional investigation into ACORN, its use of tax dollars, and whether it should repay tax dollars already received.

In order to immediately stop taxpayer dollars from funding ACORN, Bachmann is requesting the IRS revoke ACORN’s tax exempt status; the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) halt any current funding; and the HUD Suspension and Debarment Committee suspend any future access to funding until ACORN cleans up its operation.

Click here to learn about the 11 ACORN workers arrested for voter registration or click here to view video of the Baltimore prostitution investigation.

Text of the letter to the U.S. Census Bureau provided below:

September 11, 2009

Mr. Robert M. Grovers

Director

U.S. Census Bureau

4600 Silver Hill Rd.

Suitland, MD 20746

This week the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a current participant in the Census Bureau’s Planning Partnership Program for the 2010 Census, once again made unsavory headlines.

On Wednesday, FBI and state authorities charged 11 ACORN employees with voter registration fraud in Miami, Florida.  In this case, of 1,400 registration cards collected by these employees, 888 were found to be falsified.  A day later, two Baltimore-based ACORN workers were caught on camera giving advice to a couple, whom they believed were opening a brothel, on avoiding taxes, seeking HUD grants, and setting up a prostitution ring as a legitimate business.  Today, yet another video surfaced showing two more ACORN employees assisting this couple under the same premise in Washington, D.C.

Unfortunately, the past three days have brought to light further evidence of that ACORN either cannot or will not enforce even the most basic standards of ethical behavior amongst its employees.  This is not something that should be new and surprising to anyone who has seen the plethora of headlines about criminal investigations, indictments, and consent decrees in more than a dozen states.  And, despite ACORN’s pleas that this is just a few bad apples, it’s clear that the problems exist on a systemic level.  In fact, Nevada’s Democrat attorney general, Catherine Cortez Masto, said earlier this year that ACORN’s own training manuals “clearly detail, condone and require illegal acts.”  These new videos provide a clear glimpse into the behind-the-scenes activities occurring in ACORN offices across our nation.

It is my understanding that the Census Bureau remains intent on allowing ACORN’s participation in the Census Partnership Program, particularly in light of the fact that the program is meant to develop trust with the census amongst the American people.  Given ACORN’s past, I have asked before how ACORN could be considered worthy of the Census Bureau’s imprimatur.  However, in light of this week’s even more disturbing reports, I am requesting that you reconsider the Bureau’s position and refrain from partnering with ACORN during the course of the 2010 Census.  So long as this cloud of suspicion hangs over ACORN, I am afraid that its partnership with the Bureau could jeopardize the integrity of the census process and diminish the public’s trust in the Census.

Thank you for your consideration and please do not hesitate to contact me or my Legislative Director, Jessica Perry, at 202-225-2331 should you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Michele Bachmann

Member of Congress

~~

Read the full transcript and listen to the audio here.

When I pitched the “prostitute goes into ACORN seeking housing” idea to James O’Keefe at the beginning of the summer, I had absolutely no idea how he would respond. He came back with, “Would you be willing to portray the prostitute?  And if so, when can you do this?”

Needless to say, the project had officially begun.

An idea conceived on an afternoon jog would soon birth material evidence.

Most people come up with ridiculous ideas, things that graze against societal norms. However, not all are capable of action because not all are comfortable with action. Many lack the desire for truth and justice, most don’t even know to want it.  But on occasion, the previous join forces. The right people with the appropriate calling unite against a common enemy, then the sky is the limit and hell is the target. There will be no compromises, only adaptation and infiltration.

The socially unacceptable became our mode of visual operation. When visuals match content, the system will fall.

The staff we dealt with in Baltimore had no problem offering their time to James and me, not because we were two white kids undercover looking for a big story, but because of the mess we claimed to be in and wished to create.

We connected with these people on a level they were comfortable with. We came off as troubled, torn, innovative and devoted individuals who couldn’t skirt the system unless the system helped us along our journey.

Our presence screamed, as James puts it, “unique situation.”  And so when we sought council in regards to tax evasion, obtaining a house for use as an underage brothel, the avoidance of an abusive pimp, and establishing illegitimate congressional campaign funds, they were ready and unfazed by the direction our conversation took.

James and I saw the ACORN Housing location in Baltimore as a target–the den of a giant corrupt lion. We wanted to get a reaction and gauge the corruption. We came armed with the things necessary to cause a reaction; we came equipped with the things necessary to capture the reaction.  We expected to be successful. We weren’t overly confident but we had tested methods at our disposal and were able to calculate the lines along which the staffers would react. We didn’t go in expecting major results; we also didn’t limit what could happen seated behind closed doors. We went in knowing that if we were meant to succeed, we would. It is not as if we went in carefree and lah-dee-dah. But we were confident in our mission.

Complete ACORN Baltimore Prostitution Investigation Transcript –

~

The scenario we posed the ACORN Housing employees in Baltimore is due to the application of similar power tactics. We gave ACORN a taste of its own medicine.  ACORN was alleged to be thug-like, criminal, and nefarious.  This criminal behavior was evidenced by a video of Baltimore ACORN community organizers breaking the locks on foreclosed homes.  Instead of railing against their radicalism, it is best to bring out this type of radicalism. Hannah Giles and I took advantage of ACORN’s regard for thug criminality by posing the most ridiculous criminal scenario we could think of and seeing if they would comply–which they did without hesitation.

Additionally, instead of focusing on foreclosure itself, which has become seemingly as politicized as abortion, we focused on crimes more difficult for the left to defend: trafficking of young helpless girls and tax evasion. The first group represents the severely disadvantaged, the second a threat to the distribution of wealth.

While manipulation or entrapment occurs when people are encouraged to do things they otherwise wouldn’t, the pre-set trap is their own.  These tactics allow the viewer to see ACORN’s soul; their playing field and their morality, out in the open.  Their system is based on conflict and change for its own sake.  This system is based on totalitarian principles and class war techniques. These people understand pressure, power and self-interest.  When the Baltimore employees saw we were shady dealers, their instincts clicked in, as we were prime recruits.

ACORN has ascended.  They elect our politicians and receive billions in tax money. Their world is a revolutionary, socialistic, atheistic world, where all means are justifiable.  And they create chaos, again, for it’s own sake.  It is time for us to be studying and applying their tactics, many of which are ideologically neutral.  It is time, as Hannah said as we walked out of the ACORN facility, for conservative activists to “create chaos for glory.”

Listen to the complete audio here.

View the complete transcript here.