Some excellent organizations in Washington, D.C., had been working for many months to win higher funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). They had fact sheets, lobbyists, forums, and brochures. They made phone calls and churned out press statements. But none of them actually raised the funding, provided the heat, and saved lives. Old ladies with sleeping bags and a lot of courage did that. Following Bush's trip to Chicago, he released emergency funding, and Congress refused to slash regular funding as he had requested. Everything changed when ACORN members used direct action.
David Swanson was communications coordinator for ACORN from 2000 to 2003 and is the author of the new book "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union" by Seven Stories Press. You can order it and find out when tour will be in your town: http://davidswanson.org/book
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