The successful demonization and execution of ACORN is nothing short of a scary example of what can happen to a person or group that pisses off "the machine".

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The Infamous low-income and minority support group ACORN is seeking to have the Defund ACORN Act repealed. They claim the much acclaimed video of the sting operation performed by right-wing activists was heavily edited in order to mislead viewers and hide the truth. Subsequent evidence appears to support that claim. In fact one of the ACORN employees in the now famous video actually called the police and reported the scam artists after they left.

Here is a letter that ACORN is requesting its supporters send to their congressmen.

Dear Congress member,

I am writing to strongly urge you to go on record using a floor speech or other public venue opposing the clearly unconstitutional Defund ACORN Act and the continuing actions of the Justice Department to defend the Act in court. The Act contravenes the Constitution's prohibition on "bills of attainder".

Not only have three independent, month's long investigations by respected current and former law enforcement officials - former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office, and the California Attorney General - cleared ACORN of any wrongdoing and determined that the videos used to attack ACORN were "splice jobs" in which "the truth is on the cutting room floor", but a fourth investigation concluded just last week that ACORN also never mishandled government money. That's right; the Government Accountability Office released the results of an investigation showing that ACORN had not misused any of the Federal funds it had received. In other words, the entire set of attacks was a witch hunt driven using modern propaganda techniques and with millions of dollars in dedicated air time on a "news" channel and talk radio.

Therefore because of these conclusions and because of ACORN's 40 years of accomplishments fighting for working families - helping 860,000 new voters get on the voter rolls since 2004 (the largest non-partisan voter registration effort ever carried out by a single non-profit organization), raising the minimum wage in seven states, blowing the whistle about predatory lending in the sub-prime market back in 1999, and bringing in over $15 billion in direct benefits to America's low- and moderate-income neighborhoods from 1994 - 2004 - we believe taxpayers' money can be better spent on prosecuting real criminals defrauding the government or on efforts to create jobs and invest in working families.

Please show your support for the triumph of justice over political expediency by making a floor speech on ACORN and the bill of attainder issue this week. On Thursday, June 24, an appeal of the bill will be heard in NY Federal court and we need leaders from the body that passed this unconstitutional law to stand up and denounce it.

Best regards,

A report on this issue by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow reveals what defenders of ACORN are calling the truth. You can view that video online at http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/06/10/4492750-preshow-homework-acorn-sorta. Maddow has done other features on the "jihad" against ACORN and called out mainstream media for not doing any fact checking before playing "the video" or other speeches by politicians portraying the group as a cancer on democracy.

Clearly, there has been a war on ACORN for some time now. Why? Those who vigorously condemn issues they support, such as a higher minimum wage and registering minorities to vote, want to see ACORN go away. At least for now, they have succeeded.

You owe it to yourself and democracy to do a little research on this issue and decide for yourself.

Authors Bio:

A graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo with an MBA in 1980, John went into the banking business from 1981-1991. John went into the gymnastics business with his wife, with whom he has two children, in 1992 and grew it enough by 1995 that he could quit conventional employment. He became politically active after his divorce in 2004 becoming a news reporter and talk show host for KPFT, a Pacifica station, in Houston. He has since been involved with the peace movement in many ways and continues to promote progressive interests. John now volunteers in his neighborhood Civic Association and the local homeless center.