Another ACORN job bites the dust
posted at 8:47 am on September 18, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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Maybe this will be the new attack on James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles. They’re making the unemployment situation worse! They’ve turned into a two-person recession, now responsible for at least five jobs lost in ACORN offices across the nation. ACORN announced that the star of the San Diego episode of Survivor: Community Organizer has just been voted off the island:
A San Diego ACORN employee who appeared to give human-smuggling advice to a pimp and prostitute in an undercover video made by conservative filmmakers has been fired, 10News’ Juliette Vara reported.
ACORN’s David Lagstein issued the following statement regarding Vera:
“After release of the second San Diego video by the unscrupulous partisan videographers, we have reevaluated our assessment of the incident that occurred last month. No paperwork was filed, but the video reflects unacceptable conduct that contradicts the earlier statements of ACORN Organizer Juan Carlos Vera. He has been terminated. San Diego ACORN and ACORN offices around the country are continuing to halt our service programs pending the results of the evaluation of the independent Advisory Council and we are continuing to fight on our campaigns: stopping foreclosures, affordable, accessible health care, and a strong education for all children.”
Well, that’s a new one. ACORN calls O’Keefe and Giles “unscrupulous,” and to prove it, they stand behind their employee — the better to kick him out the door. What’s more unscrupulous: providing advice to a pimp on how to hide a child-prostitution ring, or filming a man providing advice to a pimp on how to hide a child-prostitution ring? If ACORN wants to keep arguing the former over the latter, they’re going to find their public relations at about the NAMBLA level.
Interestingly, KGTV confirmed that Juan Carlos Vera did what the other ACORN staffers never considered: he called the cops. National City police confirmed that Vera contacted them after O’Keefe and Giles left, but that he didn’t get enough information for them to investigate. Unfortunately, he waters down his his own case by claiming that he only helped the pair because he thought they were in danger. And … that’s why he called the cops afterward?
If ACORN really thought these videos didn’t represent what really happened in their offices, none of these five would be unemployed today. That’s the bottom line here, and it speaks much louder than their silly press releases.
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You say you need a nutcracker for that acorn?
GnuBreed on September 18, 2009 at 10:36 AM
ED
They haven’t fired the white woman in San Bernadino, they put her on paid suspension.
Topsecretk9 on September 18, 2009 at 11:05 AM
but for these “unscrupulous partisan videographers” this poor man would still be helping young girls discover the wonders of the sex-slave industry.
Now he’s standing in the unemployment line. “tragic”
Justrand on September 18, 2009 at 11:20 AM
A number of times in my life I’ve come across lefties who believe — apparently quite honestly — that people working in private industry will gleefully consign others to death and dismemberment if it means a bigger bonus this year. I’ve never come across any such person actually working in private industry. While I’m willing to concede such people do exist — it’s a big world — the majority of people I’ve run into are more interested in Doing the Right Thing, often going beyond what’s required by regulation to protect customers’ privacy, etc.
So I’ve often wondered where the lefties get this image. Some, I’m sure, comes from the vivid examples of the few criminals and corrupt. But I’m increasingly of the opinion that lefties think people are this way because they are, themselves, corrupt, venal, and willing to do anything for their own gain.
Watching the endemic willingness to assist with crimes including underage prostitution and the slave trade among ACORN staffers only reinforces my impression.
Crawford on September 18, 2009 at 11:39 AM
whoa!
The ACORN mutt’s last name is Vera and the reporter’s last name is Vara?
WTF?
pabarge on September 18, 2009 at 11:44 AM
They fired two each in Baltimore and New York.
Ed Morrissey on September 18, 2009 at 11:49 AM
I laughed out loud.
Kralizec on September 18, 2009 at 11:58 AM
They fired two each in Baltimore and New York.
Ed Morrissey on September 18, 2009 at 11:49 AM
But nobody in DC? They were cool with that?
jwolf on September 18, 2009 at 11:58 AM
In the local paper, Vera claims that his English is bad and that he really did not understand well what was being talked about. Guess that explains his ‘hitting’ on Hannah.
GarandFan on September 18, 2009 at 12:01 PM
10NEWS in San Diego is a liberal network news station. They are also incompetent and rarely ever disseminate full or fully correct information in many of their reports that are even slightly critical of Obama and/or the Democrat agenda. Pretty much everyone who has lived in San Diego for awhile and watches the local news channels knows that.
He didn’t dash to the phone and call National City police immediately after the sting left the ACORN office. He later contacted a cousin who happens to be a National City police detective. It is not clear if he contacted him during or after work hours.
The linked local news article from San Diego Union-Tribune also claims:
No fear? Of course not. You’re ‘the law’.
No favor? HA! It is already obvious to lay-persons that journalists are constantly doing udercover stings covering unscrupulous business practices that include surreptitious recordings, and have been for decades… without fear of investigation or prosecution by the State’s ‘top cops’.
Again, as I have stated in other ACORN related threads in the last week where Government Employed attorney general’s and/or prosecutor’s have claimed there has to be ‘consent’ to record, journalists surreptitiously recording Businesses and employees of those businesses are exempt from the ‘consent’ decree. Otherwise, there would be no journalistic ‘News Stings’ of ‘unscrupulous’ businesses ripping off the public. From auto repair shops, to nefarious lenders and brokers, to slum lords, etc etc.
Attorney General’s and Prosecutors would have to investigate and prosecute practically every news network in existence if it were as they claim, and prosecute them and their news staff as well. From your local auto repair shop being stung by your local undercover news team to the primetime network news undercover news stings like Chris Hansen’s NBC-Dateline “To Catch A Predator” show.
The threats by state and local Attorney General’s and Prosecutors to investigate and potentially seek prosecution of O’Keefe for his journalist undercover stings of the
racketbusiness, ACORN, further goes to prove that your local government law enforcement is as deeply into Barack Hussein Obama’s and our Democrat government’s pocket as is your federal government law enforcement. Incredible.SilverStar830 on September 18, 2009 at 12:11 PM
So, you work in an Acorn office and you’ve heard of all the videos of people in other acorn offices getting busted by a sting operation. You think to yourself when you see the videos: “Gee that pimp and prositute look just like the ones that came into my office last week. They sure were nice folks.”
Why in the hell would you still be at your job waiting for the video that has you in it to go public?
You’d think the guy would quit his job and go hide in a hole somewhere. But no, he’s still sitting there at his desk waiting to get fired. They sure don’t hire the best and brightest at Acorn, do they?
Scrappy on September 18, 2009 at 12:34 PM
If Vera did indeed call the police on the two, he’s one of the rare ones that should not have been fired. That he was indicates something else troubling — perhaps contacting the authorities on your clients is a firing offense at ACORN too.
unclesmrgol on September 18, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Well, of course this is totally RACIST!!!
:-)
Mike D. on September 18, 2009 at 12:45 PM
I just got the Newsmax late night joke message for last night. Jay Leno went after Acorn:
EconomicNeocon on September 18, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Dear Mr. RATHKE,
We received your order for 75 paper shredders. I wanted to inform you that we have to ship your order separately as such a large order must be filled at multiple locations.
Thank You,
Staples
Wine_N_Dine on September 18, 2009 at 1:18 PM
So, ACORN cans the Baltimore, NYC, and San Diego people — but keeps the San Berdoo and DC folks — despite the utterly weird “girl talk” segment in SB…
Why the distinction. Could it be that those cut loose were less of an existential threat to the organization had they turned “state’s evidence”?
cthulhu on September 18, 2009 at 1:24 PM
What are the odds Senor Juan Carlos Vera is married?
(was?)
Heh.
perroviejo on September 18, 2009 at 1:57 PM
You don’t need to know English to know that you need to hit on her. She is drop dead gorgeous.
That is what most men would call, “Wife material”.
Tim Burton on September 18, 2009 at 2:03 PM
I’d be interested in seeing the phone records. Did he call, as stated in the video, his ‘cousins’ who are cops?
You betcha!
mrt721 on September 18, 2009 at 2:11 PM
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200909180011
Yes! More videos!
mbs on September 18, 2009 at 2:24 PM
Not in a public setting! How many people have been recorded at grocery stores, the airport, banks, streets, Freeways.
Do people getting tickets from traffic stop cameras not have to pay a fine because they didn’t give permission for the photo to be taken?
Walk-in services? Ya mean like a grocery store?
Do you really want me to believe that if someone commits a crime in a store that is caught on tape, the tape is illegal? Really? Is that the best defense they got?
Obviously, Cal AG is a moron!
Was anybody ever charged with a crime during the “redline undercover investigations” of the 70’s 80’?
Would it be ironic if some of the people who did the “redline undercover investigations” also turn out to be ACORN.
That would be a hoot!
DSchoen on September 18, 2009 at 3:53 PM
Ed, it turns out that Juan Carlos Vera did not exactly called the cops. He called his cousin, who works for the police (scroll down to bottom for links to news articles that reveal it was a cousin he called).
It may be he just wanted to bounce what just happened off of a knowledgeable and sympathetic relative, partially because of the language barrier. I can understand that.
Or maybe it was something else.
At any rate, calling your cousin who works for the police is not quite the same thing as ‘calling the police.’
DeputyHeadmistress on September 18, 2009 at 4:36 PM
Not exactly, or not as most would think by that statement.
FTA:
Gee one report says he called the cops but was told not enough info for the police to file a report. I find that a little hard to believe, concerning the subject matter.
IE: “setting up a child sex slave prostitution ring, international human trafficking”
How many cops are there that after hearing about “setting up a child sex slave prostitution ring, international human trafficking” would say forget about it!
The other report says:
Golly, is there a difference tween calling the cops and, at sometime, calling your cousin who is a cop?
He called his cousin, a police detective, and a detective told him “setting up a child sex slave prostitution ring, international human trafficking? No problem naw don’t make a police report about this”
If true, this cop needs to be investigated! Is he sure it was a National City cop and not a Tijuana cop?
Only 10 miles tween National City and Tijuana.
DSchoen on September 18, 2009 at 4:43 PM
LOL! I seriously was thinking almost the exact same thing before I got to this sentence and almost spilled my drink on my work computer!
Seriously, it shouldn’t come as a shock that a far left organization has no concept of accountability. They THRIVE on the passing of the blame buck.
Your people effed up, ACORN. Admit it. Stop blaming a person’s eyes for seeing the truth and calling the sky blue. Enough. They would make this all go away faster if they simply fired the people on tape, apologized profusely and promised ’swift and prompt’ action. Many people would say ‘oh well at least they are committed to fixing it…” and it would likely be forgotten. (not that it should be they are corrupt as all hell, but it probably would be over)
Instead they chose to make it partisan and making it seem like video tapes are lying. In the process ther are digging themselves a giant sized trench. Good riddance to them. I don’t need Mickey Mouse voting 10,000 times in the next elections anyway.
MannyT-vA on September 18, 2009 at 6:41 PM
DSchoen on September 18, 2009 at 4:43 PM
SOOO true. In the town I grew up in. (outside of Chicago in DuPage county–the GOOD county in IL) if I called the cops with a report like this they would tell me not to touch anything and be there pulling print from any place the pimp and prostitute may have touched in under 10 minutes.
I mean people have various tolerances for prostitution but I don’t think anyone would disagree that shipping in illegal children to perform sex acts, presumably, on adults is at the very very least not a good idea at all. (I’m guessing most would choose to call it ‘atrocious’ )
MannyT-vA on September 18, 2009 at 6:49 PM
Answer: HOLLYWEIRD.
ExpressoBold on September 19, 2009 at 9:42 AM
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