Last week, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a crime syndicate dedicated to tightening the Democratic Party’s grip on America, dissolved its national structure. Too much of ACORN’s corruption had been exposed to public scrutiny for it to run its vote fraud and extortion rackets effectively. So, ACORN activists will have to soldier on in state-level organizations, such as New York Communities for Change and New England United for Justice in Massachusetts.
ACORN does indeed operate like the Mafia, but it more closely resembles another organization that began as an affiliate of the Democratic Party, the Ku Klux Klan. Aside from intimidating some bank executives, ACORN does not engage in violence, but like the KKK it has vote fraud as a top priority.
There have been two distinct organizations known as the Ku Klux Klan. The modern-day KKK, with whom most people are familiar, was spawned in 1915 by the Hollywood epic Birth of a Nation, premiered at the White House by a Democrat president, Woodrow Wilson. Cross-burning and other rituals were actually inspired by the movie. The Klan came to dominate the Democratic Party so thoroughly that the 1924 Democratic National Convention was known as the “Klanbake.”
It is not so much this Klan 2.0 that ACORN parallels as the original version. Established in 1866, Klan 1.0 was an affiliate of the Democratic Party during the Reconstruction era. Named for “kuklos,” the Greek word for “circle,” the Ku Klux Klan waged war against the Republican Party in the former Confederate states. Goofy titles for its commanders such as Wizard and Cyclops were intended to disguise the fact that the KKK was a paramilitary organization. In some areas, leadership of the Ku Klux Klan and the Democratic Party were indistinguishable.
Democrats used the Klan to suppress their political opposition, with vote fraud and intimidation and violence. Klansmen aimed at African-Americans, nearly all Republicans in those days, and at white Republicans who tried to help them. Once threatened by the KKK, Republicans could in many cases save their lives only by publicly swearing allegiance to the Democratic Party. According to a southern governor, “Few Republicans dare sleep in their houses at night.”
“The suppression of enough GOP votes could ensure a Democratic victory,” wrote one historian. “There’s no question that Klansmen closely watched the polls” – easy to do before the secret ballot was introduced in the United States in the 1880s. All too often, Republican ballots were not even counted.
Like ACORN, the Ku Klux Klan operated with impunity until Republican politicians and journalists sounded an alarm. In 1869, Nathan Bedford Forrest, the KKK’s Grand Dragon, ordered the Klan disbanded. Why? The national organization was getting too much attention, so Klansmen would have to soldier on in state-level organizations, such as the Red Shirts in South Carolina and the Men of Justice in Alabama. Nonetheless, most members of these spin-off groups considered themselves to be Klansmen.
A congressional investigation reported that “the operations of the Klan are executed in the night and are invariably directed against members of the Republican Party.”
In 1871, the Republican-controlled 41st Congress passed the Ku Klux Klan Act, and a Republican president, Ulysses Grant, signed it. Until overturned by the Supreme Court twelve years later, the law effectively banned the KKK. Federal troops crushed Klan uprisings in South Carolina and Louisiana, while hundreds of Klansmen were convicted in federal court. Law enforcement played a role in eliminating the Ku Klux Klan, but primarily the Klan disappeared because after Democrat regimes replaced the Reconstruction state governments there was no need for Democrats to suppress Republican opposition by covert means when government authorities could do so openly.
Back then, Klansmen had to contend with a Republican administration, but now, with a Democrat in the White House, ACORNistas know that the federal government is on their side. With Eric Holder’s Justice Department condoning polling place thuggery [pictured] and other illicit activity against the GOP, there is less incentive for Democrats to suppress Republican opposition by covert means when government authorities are doing so openly.
The Democrat-controlled 111th Congress has made ACORN spin-off groups eligible for billions of taxpayer dollars. Once an insurgency, community organizers are now part of the establishment. To the victors go the spoils.
What about Jerry Brown and ACORN? Smells like rotten eggs…
Over a week ago, Attorney General Jerry Brown got yet another reminder, this time coming from the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The report “Follow the Money: ACORN, SEIU and their Political Allies” focuses public attention on AG Brown’s failed investigation of ACORN. While some of Brown’s gubernatorial challengers talk of the need for a California Governor to have a spine of steel, AG Brown has instead crumpled like an aluminum can cowardly hiding behind state bureaucrats and a wall of state agencies.
On October 1, 2009, Jerry Brown publicly announced that an investigation had been opened concerning undercover videos that were obtained by citizen journalists James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles who videotaped ACORN employees at two California offices. ACORN employees were filmed providing advice regarding tax evasion, prostitution and human smuggling of underage girls. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was informed by AG Brown in a letter that he had “opened an investigation of both ACORN and the circumstances under which ACORN employees were videotaped.” Since that announcement, AG Brown has found himself at the center of a controversy surrounding the mismanagement of the investigation as well as a potential scandal due to a double standard involving one of his own state employees secretly recording conversations with reporters.
Seek treatment, psycho. I knew you wrote this even though you tried posting it under Art’s name, and then commented to yourself! Nobody else would make such a weak attempt to tie a group that fights racism to the early 20th century KKK.
Now, stop with the foolishness. I am trying to work on a serious article about tort reform.
Making it even weirder, comment #1 is not even your writing. And I think you plagiarized much of the KKK article itself. Do you do that a lot?
Not that it’s lacking in the kind of lies you find amenable. I see the ACORN vote fraud there, which has never been found; and of course the supposed advice on tax evasion, prostitution, and underage girls, which you’re perfectly aware is also untrue and disproven.
How much lower can Crowley still sink? It is darkly fascinating.
I knew it. I was just guessing, but I know Crowley’s style. This article is just as mendacious and evil as anything he’d come up with, but it’s written by someone much more sober and level-headed. Namely someone called Micheal Zak, over at Breitbart’s hellscape:
http://biggovernment.com/mzak/2010/03/02/acorn-and-the-ku-klux-klan/
Then he posted it under Art’s name, or “admin”, but I was sure Art didn’t write it as he’s got nothing against ACORN, let alone trying to tie them to the KKK. And I called Art, who confirmed he didn’t write it, and Art changed it to Crowley’s authorship.
But not before Crowley posted comment #1 as though he were responding to his own story. That comment doesn’t sound like Crowley’s writing either. Let’s see if we can find it on the INTERWEBS:
Well, that wasn’t hard. http://biggovernment.com/droach/2010/03/01/what-happened-to-that-acorn-investigation-jerry-brown-promised/
You need to let us know what you actually do write, Brother Crowley. Although I think I can usually tell.
Yes, I am the author of this article. I also wrote Back to Basics for the Republican Party.
Round one: Vern got Terry by the balls.
Round two??
Well! Mr. Zak, thanks for the visit. If you are still here, I just have to say, your article is a whole bunch of nothing.
It was nice having a little history lesson about the KKK, but where’s the connective tissue? How in the hell is ACORN anything like the KKK?
I know it’s real tempting and convenient for Republicans like you to make believe that the Democratic Party is still the anti-black racist party it was 100-150 years ago, but that’s just laughable. If anything the GOP has taken over that shady distinction, ever since LBJ’s embrace of civil rights and Nixon’s famous “Southern Strategy.”
The other connection is supposedly “vote fraud.” The vote fraud charges against ACORN are 95% hot air, mostly minimum wage workers inventing phony names like Mickey Mouse to make a little extra money; of course Mickey Mouse never shows up to vote; and the government finds out about these phony names because ACORN lets them know.
But even if ACORN was guilty of systematic vote fraud… what a thin reed to connect them to early 20th-century KKK. You must spend all your time thinking up far-fetched ways to smear groups that help poor people. Does this pay well?
Oh Hi Lam! I’ve moved on to bigger fish obviously.
My article does not compare ACORN to “the early 20th century KKK” but to the 19th century KKK — a completely distinct organization. Cheers
Well, excUUUUUUUse me! Slanderous and far-fetched nonetheless.
Cheers yourself, and stop by again some time.
Hm. I wake up, there’s a hyperventilating lady here, this Crowley plagiarism is once again posted as “admin” to make it look like Art did it, and I’ve got an e-mail from Michael Zak:
“We may disagree on politics but agree that plagarism ought not to be tolerated. Cheers”
Vern,
Agreed. If we borrow from soneone’s idea we ought to provide a link to that original post and cite the source.
How boring. I didnt post as me so as to not take credit and I will not. If this websites Admin insists, then he should have the cojones to take the post down. Actually, all this is about is not offending the last interesting Progressive writer who hasn’t taken their toys and left.
It seems once more that I need to explain softly and slowly to Vern the definition of something. In this case, plagiarism.
“the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work.”
STRAW MAN ALERT!!
No one represented it as original work Vern. Actually, I wonder if Vern tried clicking on the one link in the article which takes you to… whoa! The Original! You can’t argue with the point of the article, so you make specious accusations. You can shut your fat mouth Vern and take your little temper tantrum elsewhere.
The comparison is apt and cute and I loved tweaking you.
Cheers!
Terry,
Why don’t you set up another anon identity rather than use our “Admin” I.D.? Call yourself “Acorn Hater,” or whatever. The problem with posting as “Admin” is that folks will suppose I wrote the post.
No bueno! I don’t have an issue with Acorn.
So please, set up some other anon I.D. and post away!
Thank you for the picture Terry. I have an imaginary mind and therefore, that picture looks hot. Look at it again and tell me you disagree.
Lam, now i see it. Sorry about that. Didn’t want to inject emotions into this.
Acorn Hater. LOL! I was thinking Anti-Vern, Ernest P Worrell, Piano Players Suck United…
ok. i’ve had my fun.
EPIC FLAIL.
You can’t argue with the point of the article, so you make specious accusations.
As lame as any contention of yours. I argued plenty with the point of the article, once I was able to make contact with the guy who wrote it. (See comment 7 above.)
…the one link in the article which takes you to… whoa! The Original!
Smooth… NOT. You added that this morning. I checked all the links last night and they were exactly the links Mr. Zak put in his original article, no more, no less. Epic flail. You can run around trying to talk your way out of being a plagiarist, but Zak was here last night and says you plagiarized him. Not making a great reputation amongst your fellow wordsmithing hatemongers – no bueno!
If this websites Admin insists, then he should have the cojones to take the post down.
You’re saying if Art has the cojones he’ll delete your post. That would be good for you if this whole thing disappeared. You could delete it yourself. But I like this morning’s solution of “ACORN hater.”
Actually I think I understand. You were working hard on your tort reform piece – (which I appreciate! the subject makes my head spin, and now I have something to chew on) Then when you saw I put up a little ACORN video from Colbert, you wanted to counter it with a quick riposte so you went a-copying-and-pasting, but neglected (I imagine through carelessness or laziness more than dishonesty) to put up the right credit. But far be it from you or ANY Republican to EVER say, “I screwed up.”
Cheers!
First, Mr Zak coming here and saying he wrote the piece isn’t saying i’m a plagiarist. Again, only if someone attempted to say they were taking credit for the piece is plagiarism.
Second, perhaps you saw the piece last night after a first iteration. But I did change it so a link went to the original. There are edits that take place.
Leave it to a socialist to keep saying the dead parrot talks.
renember in verns world acorn is a legit orginization. cough , cough , im trying to hold my laughter back .
Terry,
Plagiarism has such a nasty sound, The Urban Dictionary provides a much better excuse ( I know you’re living all alone in that cabin, but I think we could all agree that those “voices” in your head, could be counted as “staff” );
“poor staff work”;
A catch all excuse for plagiarism by public figures, politicians and occasionally ,students.
1. Governor Palin’s office explains the use of unattributed material from a four year old Newt Gingrich article that she used in a recent speech as “poor staff work”.
2. Professor Smith: Mr Jones, I have read your speech that you “wrote” for your semester project . I must say , it bears an uncanny resemblance to the Gettysburg Address, the reference to “your friend Abe” not withstanding. Your explanation?
Mr . Jones: Oh…sorry dude , poor staff work.
One LAST comment since you stupidly had to say Mr Zak coming here and saying he wrote the piece isn’t saying i’m a plagiarist.
Michael Zak e-mail to Vern, 10:49PM
“Does that blogger often post other people’s writing as his own?”
Vern STICKING UP for Crowley, 11:16 PM
“Not sure… I don’t think so… his usual style is kind of rambling and bizarre. That’s how I could tell it wasn’t him, and I googled ACORN KKK and found you on Breitbart…
He may have just got sloppy and forgot to credit you.”
Michael Zak e-mail, 11:24 PM
“We may disagree on politics but agree that plagarism ought not to be tolerated. Cheers”
So now get the last word in, and we’ll drop it. Cheers!
(PS Thanks for the Python video – you do know how to put me in a better mood.)
Thanks Vern. Since I didn’t post the writing as my own, you made my point. Appreciate that! Anonster ramblings aside, a fine fun time.