More Fox fabrication: falsely claims Philly ACORN video shows "unlawful actions"
Following the release of what Fox News itself called "heavily edited tape" of conservative James O'Keefe's visit to a Philadelphia ACORN office, Fox News ran captions stating, "Exposing ACORN: New Video Shows Unlawful Actions." In fact, in the heavily edited video, there is no evidence of any ACORN worker engaged in any "unlawful actions," and moreover, ACORN workers filed an incident report with Philadelphia police following O'Keefe's visit.
Fox & Friends on-screen text: O'Keefe's video of Philly ACORN visit "shows unlawful actions"
During the 8 a.m. ET hour of the October 22 edition of Fox & Friends, Fox ran the following caption:
In fact, there is no evidence in O'Keefe's video that any worker in the Philadelphia ACORN office engaged in any "unlawful actions." In the video released on Andrew Breitbart's BigGovernment.com on October 21, the audio and video of O'Keefe and Hannah Giles' July 24 visit with Katherine Conway-Russell at the Philadelphia ACORN office have been heavily edited. Many of Russell's statements in the video of the office visit were edited out and replaced with audio of O'Keefe purporting to explain what she said, but nothing in the video supports the claim that Philadelphia ACORN workers actually assisted O'Keefe and Giles with any "unlawful actions." As Fox News reported: "The new eight-minute video depicts O'Keefe and Giles entering ACORN's Philadelphia office and meeting with Conway-Russell. O'Keefe and Giles are seen speaking with Conway-Russell, but audio portions of the video are missing or edited in some portions." O'Keefe later stated, "We muted the audio of the ACORN employees on the video" because of "ACORN's legal attack upon us."
Philadelphia ACORN office called the police on O'Keefe
ACORN released police report following O'Keefe's visit. ACORN has publicly released a July 24 Philadelphia police report stating that an ACORN employee complained to police that O'Keefe had created a "verbal disturbance" at ACORN's office.
Russell can be seen holding police report in O'Keefe's October 21 video. O'Keefe's video shows footage from Russell's September 17 YouTube video in which she made statements about O'Keefe and Giles' visit to the Philadelphia ACORN office. Russell said that following O'Keefe's visit, "We called the police and filed this report." In his October 21 video, O'Keefe does not dispute that ACORN filed a police report about his visit.
Fox has history of false attacks, smears using O'Keefe's ACORN videos
Fox News runs with San Bernardino ACORN video without needed fact check. On September 15 and 16, Fox News devoted significant programming to O'Keefe and Giles' video of their interactions with a San Bernardino ACORN worker who claimed she murdered her ex-husband and gave advice on how to run a brothel, but stated after the video was released that she had merely been attempting to "shock them as much as they were shocking me." In running with the video, Fox News hosts frequently promoted the fake claim that the ACORN employee killed her ex-husband without fact-checking the allegation or indicating that they had contacted ACORN for a response. In fact, ACORN called the video "an obvious set of lies and manipulations," and the San Bernardino Police Department found her former husbands "alive and well."
Chris Wallace attacks Media Matters on conservative funding of videographers, ignores Media Matters' evidence. On the September 27 edition of Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace stated: "O'Keefe wants to set the record straight. He denies reports on left-wing blogs he got any money from conservative backers." During that statement, Fox displayed an image of Media Matters' home page followed by an image of a Media Matters item that documented statements by conservative media figures that they were raising money for O'Keefe's and Giles' legal defense or that they would be willing to do so in the future --- information Wallace ignored. Wallace also ignored a September 22 Village Voice report -- noted by Media Matters -- that the spokesperson for conservative investor Peter Thiel acknowledged that Thiel had contributed "about $10,000" to an earlier video that O'Keefe released in February 2009.
Wallace also ignored Fox reporting that some ACORN employees "did the right thing." Wallace reported: "O'Keefe wants to set the record straight. ... And he says he'll release all the tapes soon to show if any ACORN offices did the right thing." Wallace then added, "Why not release all the tapes at the start?" and proceeded to air video of O'Keefe saying, "We knew that they would lie and they would say, 'Oh, you've got nothing,' or 'You're dubbing your voice in.' But you release a little bit at a time, and they get caught in their lie." However, on September 22, Fox News' Megyn Kelly reported: "[I]t appears that not every ACORN worker did go along with it. ACORN had been saying that the purported pimp and prostitute had failed in certain offices to actually convince the ACORN workers for help, and police in California say one ACORN worker at one office out there did, in fact, contact them after the filmmakers approached him about this human smuggling ring, or this trafficking ring. That worker realizing several days later that the whole thing was a hoax, but as ACORN pointed out when this thing first broke, some of their workers did the right thing."
Indeed, the Associated Press reported:
Police say a worker with the activist group ACORN who was caught on video giving advice about human smuggling to a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute had reported the incident to authorities.
National City police said Monday that Juan Carlos Vera contacted his cousin, a police detective, to get advice on what to with information on possible human smuggling.
Vera was secretly filmed on Aug. 18 as part of a young couple's high-profile expose.
Police say he contacted law enforcement two days later. The detective consulted another police official who served on a federal human smuggling task force, who said he needed more details.
The ACORN employee responded several days later and explained that the information he received was not true and he had been duped. [AP, 9/22/09]
Mr. News
They Hired Mark Furman a Man Convicted of Telling Lies.
For Mark Furman the "N" word is considered a Casual Noun.
Who Vouched for this Guy, Bill-O the Clown?
Speak truth to power.
Mr. News
I would look at the "Man in the Mirror" & myself is who i would Blame.
I wouldn't hide behind my Attorney or try to have the Records Sealed.
What's the matter Bill O'Reilly? Did Andrea Mackris have you afraid of an Appeal?
Speak truth to power.
Mr. News
...gag...vomit...apologize
Why not just start creating pictures of Obama and Mao sharing a beer, or a picture of an ACORN office with guns on the table? Both kinds of pictures are easily done with a digital editing program.
Since they are not a news organization and they don't have to fact check anything, and Murdock can pretty well fight off any legal challenges, I am really amazed that the best they can come up with is truncating real quotes and cutting real video.
Making up stuff is so much easier (as long as the companies that purchase ad time are ok with it).
but she gets gamed by these attention whores who have nothing in mind but self promotion. thought they were going to drift off into the past- but then the balloon boy story happened. they had to catch up
*ahem*
Oh the horror! Poor ACORN lady, she was just trying to help a poor "Ho" work her way into starting a small business and hire some unemployed teen girls. She's trying to help the economy; it's stimulus! I feel terrible for her. These evil people, making this video. Liars and the evil FNC, teabaggers, right-wing wackos, and worst of all possibly REPUBLICANS! Oh yeah, I almost forgot; Bill O'Reilly is a rapist! Huh...what? Racist? Yeah that too! They're all racists! Poor ACORN, doesn't anyone see this is a vast right-wing conspiracy against them...What?...They're getting back their federal funding at the end of the month?...Never mind... One last thing; FAUX News (aren't I clever?) is a racist institution and they make up the news to hurt black people, small animals, and the environment too; and anyone who watches them hates the President because they are neo-conservative, racist teabagging Republicans...Yeah...so there! (Glen Beck sucks too!)
Well that about sums it up...carry on.
I'm not aware that ACORN has ever done that, so you may rest easy on that point.
No, for the most part they get very little in public funds. Most of what they do get is passed through to those in need where ACORN is helping them take advantage a particular program. ACORN is mainly a conduit for getting the money to qualified recipients. ACORN does not get public funding to put in their coffers for general operational uses.
ACORN didn't support one candidate over another in the last general election? Key words "not aware" Because that's not what I observed in my area, and I'm not talking on FNC, I'm talking first hand.
So let me get this straight. It's okay to engage in unethical or illegal behavior as long as you are only distributing public funds but not using public funds for operations? I disagree. Put on the logic goggles for just a moment and think if this were a right leaning organization that was distributing government funds to wealthy people and appeared to be offering advice on how to conceal and profit from criminal enterprise. Outrage would be justified. Guess for me that door swings both ways. To quote one of the left-wing posters from right here in MM "It's the ethics stupid." (Just to be clear I'm not calling you stupid) ACORN needed a good hard look, and these kids sparked that look, so let's beat them up.
No, you don't have that straight. I didn't say anything remotely similar. I was correcting you on your assertion that ACORN was publicly funded.
Regarding the rest, I'm very skeptical about what is on those videos. I've expanded on this in other MMFA articles, but the short version is that I don't believe that the ACORN workers heard the same questions and statements live that we heard from the off-camera voice in the video. The responses just don't match up.
Finally, I'm well aware of the excellent work ACORN has done over the decades helping to implement programs aimed at the poor honestly and efficiently. It would prevent a lot of good from being done to cut off all funding through ACORN because of the possibly unethical actions of a couple of workers. The reaction is grossly disproportionate to the actual offense.
Well sure, if you are going to hold libertycop to those kind of impossible standards then forget it. If he actually cared about facts and evidence wouldn't he want to see unedited versions of these prank videos before assuming that anything they had to offer was legitimate. And, if these unedited videos actually showed any illegal activity, wouldn't they have already been turned over to the authorities?
LOL!
Unfortunately I didn't take any hidden camera video. Not that that would convince you either...Please.
Regardless, no funds should be passing from the Federal Government through ACORN or any other organization, but that's a moot point here.
Please tell me why my suspicions are not justified.
As for the rest of the advice, I question whether any of it actually qualifies as illegal. I'm not convinced that a prostitute might not be able to justify a categorization of performance artist. Some of the other advice might be unorthodox, but it's questionable whether it crosses the line into illegal. That's for others to decide.
Your opinion on whether ACORN or any other organization should be used to pass the funds through is pointless. It's simple subcontracting and it's done by the government all the time to achieve greater efficiencies.
Your suspicion is completely justified and you're right to question. If it turns out to be a hoax then the full measure of the law should be brought against all involved. However if it's not a hoax, ACORN should be punished as well.
Don't forget some people tried to say 9-11 was a "demolition" and that it was perpetrated by our Government.
One may not agree with it, but, at this point, but adult prostitution was illegal in the jurisdictions where this activity was alleged to be taking place and certainly the importation of underage girls to that end is a heinous plan.
Bottom line is that the Federal Government should not be using levied tax dollars for social engineering.
That aside, if ACORN is going to be a conduit for Federal funds, for goodness sake hire folks with ethical integrity who would report to appropriate authorities that these two mopes were trying to conduct a criminal scheme on the tax payer dime.
If a prostitute wants to buy a house, I don't believe that there is any good reason it should be refused. It's hard for me to regard the actions of someone who helps her as criminal. I don't believe the ACORN workers ever heard a single word said about prostitution with underage girls.
I believe that effective anti-poverty programs make our country stronger.
Just curious as to how you feel about our tax dollars going to a corporation like, say, Halliburton?
Halliburton and KBR should be denied public funding.
Especially since they are importing real, actual, living and breathing underage sex slaves while ACORN talked about fake, fictional, imaginary underage sex slave rings.
Not to mention they are raping women, electrocuting soldiers, smugging in weapons that are killing our soldiers, and providing substandard food and water that are making our soldiers sick.
Yes, they should be denied public funding.
Also the people I know who were helped by ACORN were given assistance to find JOBS. Despite your subtle association of poor people to birds looking for a handout shows me you are biased in that matter but that's not surprising. Wrong again about ACORN supporting a certain candidate, they registered voters, they didn't go into the voting booth to make sure those registered voted for a particular candidate unless you have evidence they did. Like the others if you do have evidence of this I would love to see it. And no I am very consistant about my ethical stance, I said it before if those ACORN workers did anything illegal they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Didn't I already say that or do you need to fit me in your extreme box? If a law was broken why were there no charges filed? Simply put they were set up.
To close, yes there is class warfare and the rich are winning. I just want a fair fight.
Well, there you go. Perception is everything. Just remember: when you pick the pocket of the guy ahead of you to get ahead, the guy behind you gets to pick your pocket too.
When you take money or property earned through their own industry from one person in order to give it to another with no goods or services being exchanged, what would you call it?
How is that?
Has society been unfair to you because you're black? See in the Marines we were all green. In the Troopers all grey. In business I don't care what color you are. I think people should succeed on merit and hard work. If I have a black employee who is a worker and a white who is a slacker; I'll fire the white guy and promote the black guy and if it's reversed the black guy goes. I can only speak for myself. I now live in a great neighborhood with a black cardiac surgeon. He's way wealthier than me! He spent four years in college, four years in med-school, and eight years between residency and fellowship and now has his own practice. Should I feel cheated? This handsome fellow in the White House, what's his ethnicity again? Nobody keeps you down but you my friend. You can't get results without the effort. Blame the public school system? I went to public school, so did my wife, she's a doctor and I own my own business. The school I went to was 55% black and near the projects, I worked part time and summers from the age of 14. Both of my parents worked just to pay the bills. I admire that surgeon, he worked his butt off and studied hard, why should he be forced to support those who didn't by giving half of his income in taxes. He happens to be a good Christian as well and I know he gives generously to charity but it rubs him wrong as well that his taxes are going to support generations of lazy, irresponsible slugs, black or white. I'm all for helping people but when I see people on social services texting on the latest blackberry, smoking and buying beer and then complaining they can't afford antibiotics for their sick kids. Explain to me how well the system of government social redistribution of wealth works again. Oh and take a look at the party that political power in those poor neighborhoods belongs to and look for how long and explain it to me.
Sorry for the rant.
The gap between rich and poor is a wide as the Grand Canyon, and people are working longer hours for less pay and less job security. Unemployment is as high as it's been since the Great Depression yet CEO salaries are 400x's more than their employees. There is redistriburion taking place but it ain't to the bottom ,it's to the top. The top 1% hold more wealth than the combined wealth of the bottom 50% of this nation and the trend is getting worse as unemployment climbs. This inequality is not because people are lazy, and don't get me wrong I'am not whinning just pointing out reality,for every job openning there is a flood of applicants. I will not sit back and let you denigrate hard working poor people with a few examples you may have come across in your life of people gaming the system. You are entitled to your opinions but don't try and pass them off as facts. Your perception of poor people is where we clash as illustrated by your above post . It ain't the poor that has their hands in your pocket or your doctor friend. Oh and by the way my brothers and my sister work hard for everything they have but we never forget where we came from,and despite all the racism we've experienced we don't hate "white" people so save your self-gratifying stories about working at 14 and being robbed and so on for your kids. We've been there done that. I was one of the first to be placed in a bussing program in New York City from P.S.39 to a school in the North Bronx with kids from East Harlem. I remember vivivdly @ 9 yrs. old (3rd grade)the reception we received as we got off the bus in our "new" school clothes only to be spat on and screamed at by angry "white" adults who thought we would ruin their school. Parents that thought we came from homes where our parents drank and smoked their welfare checks away or were irresponsible slugs as you so ineloquently put it. You including "white" along with "black" doesn't lessen the hate of people that word denotes. I know I speak for others when I say that experiences like that as a people only made us stronger. As a people we did not come as far as we have by whinning and crying victim...another myth people like you try to push, we have had to fight every step of the way. My mother taught me this song when I was very young and I've taught it to my children,all three college graduates,and this was the mantra of my community not the exception. It's called The Negro National Anthem(can you tell me why black people might write an anthem?)Hint : It isn't because we play the victim.
The Negro National Anthem
(Lift Every Voice and Sing)
Composed by James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson
James Weldon Johnson
(1871-1938)
Lift Every Voice and sing till earth and heaven ring
Ring with the harmonies of liberty
Let our rejoicing rise high as the listening skies
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea
Sing a song, full of the faith that the dark past has taught us
Sing a song, full of the hope that the present has brought us
Facing the rising sum of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won
Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod
felt in the days when hope unborn had died
yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet
come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come, over a way that which tears has been watered
We have come, treading out path through the blood of the slaughtered
Out of the gloomy past, till now we stand at last,
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast
GOD of our weary years, GOD of our silent tears
Thou Who has brought us thus far on the way
Thou Who hast by Thy might, led us into the light
Keep us for-e-ver in the path we pray
Lest our feet, stray from the places our GOD where me met thee
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world we forget Thee
Shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand
TRUE TO OUR GOD, TRUE TO OUR NATIVE LAND
Excuse the rant everyone but I could not let libertycop post and sorry if you don't like my bluntness his trash without a rebuttal. Oh and libertycop you can call me what you like,I've been called worse and can hold my own I've come to far to let "moron" hold me back. I too will try to remain civil but that will not stop me from calling it or telling it like it tis'.
Actually your "cookie-cutter GOP troll" comment proves what a complete moron you really are. In terms of ignorance; if you think you derived what I "believe" or do not from my tongue in cheek parody of the idiotic little left-wing, anti-FNC, squawking parrots here, then it is you who are sublimely ignorant. In terms of reading comprehension, I can point you to any number of your ilk, on this site and others, that even with the text in front of them can't see through their own lefist rage to comprehend even the most simple concept. I see from your tag you fancy yourself something of a debater. So far; not too impressed. - LOL!
Isn't this fun!
I call you a moron because you are.
The "look in the mirror" comment reflects your own inability to even get beyond the "You! - No you!" level of debate. "Your debate skills suck big time" is what garnered you the title "moron", moron. Yep I'm calling you names, it seems common practice around here so I just figure I'll join in, especially with you, congero6189599.
No, you didn't understand my post because you are too stupid to get beyond your little preconceived notions rather than actually reading what I had written, moron. Really? Articulate that point, moron. Weren't you lecturing me on racism, bigotry and preconceptions? You have something against liberty? Or cops?How clever! You're calling someone stupid, right? Moron.You are a moron end of story.
Now that was easy!
I will attempt to maintain a civil tone and not rely on sarcasm or insults to make a point or disagree.
In this video, there is no indication that the woman on tape did anything improper. There is no evidence that she entertained the outlandish story put forth by the "pimp and prostitute". She called the cops on them.
Why do you hate Jesus?
There was no prostitute being helped. There was no prostitute, remember, nor was there any child smuggling.
People who have no idea what they're talking about shouldn't try to educate those of us who DO know what they're talking about.
Its obvious that ACORN just wants to dupe the American Taxpayer out of their money.
Add on the false voter registration and most people can see who ACORN is in bed with.
You folks sound like 3rd graders:
"Liar"
"Same to you but more of it"
"Liar"
"I'm gonna tell!"
Jeeesh!
Taxpayer money is an extremely small part of ACORN's funding. Most of the taxpayer funding they get is pretty much flow-through money, going to the needy. ACORN simply acts as a conduit. It's ignorant to suggest that they are handed tax money that goes into their coffers to do with as they please.
Please tell me, how does ACORN benefit from fraudulent voter registrations. They are a victim of that, not a beneficiary.
You're quick to accuse the posters here of third grade tactics. It's nonsense in most instances. A lot of very substantive discussion takes place on these boards. However, that suggests that you favor more adult conversation. Would you like to respond to the facts I listed above?
Guys like Limbaugh and Sharpton can only keep people who choose to be divided, divided.
I am fully aware of exactly what Warren said to Juan and to be clear I did not use the term porch monkey (bad enough these guys already think I'm Republican).
In my opinion degradation and the use of racial slurs among the black community, regardless of intent, does nothing to change negative perceptions and only serves to strengthen them. Also, if some chooses racial prejudice above common sense, there isn't much you can do. Just observe what goes on here. Anyone who disagrees with a point made by the little left leaning gang in here is labeled a Republican (shudder), Teabagging, neo-con, racist, right-wing, etc.. and if that doesn't work you get "well you suck!" I don't worry about it, and in fact I find it pretty amusing because I can take as well as give. - Peace
LOL! - Actually as a cop found being sensitive was a good thing, I treated people like I would expect to treated in the same situation.
Ohhhhhh, you meant metaphorically as in "the battle of wits". Now see; that was clever! Not original, but clever.
I apologize for the moron comments. It was uncalled for and juvenile for me to engage in. It just feels good sometimes to air it out a little though, doesn't it?
With regard to Sharpton, I lived and worked and had first hand contact in the area of the Tawana Brawley case, so please don't lecture me on the good Reverend Al and his tendencies.
I presented plenty of facts to support my opinions and generally base them on first hand experience. Sometimes though opinions are simply that; opinions and are neither right nor wrong just different.
really? so when are you going to start giving. so far you have given nothing that my 10 y.o. couldn't
Hahahahahaha! That was awsome peace4all!
As a friend of mine says: What do call someone who speaks only one language? American.
I actually speak four German, Spanish, Italian and English...but I'm still an American. Damn it.
Peace
I'm not going to attack you here but let's clarify your assertion. Here's what I actually wrote:Here's what what you distilled from that:
Really? That's what you got? Wow.
You said:
What truth are you referring to? Care to offer something substantial? Are you saying I lived a sheltered existence? Would you like to meet and go through my employment records and residential history? Would it be fair for me to make the assumption that for you the truth doesn't matter and you're just interested in telling everyone that I'm some sort of "nut" because I don't view the world though your eyes?
8. Keep the pressure on with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose.
9. The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.
10. The major premise of tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.
11. If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its counterside.
One mistake I think O'Keefe is making is he is ignoring rule number 7:
7. A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.
When the videos first appeared, they whipped up everybody into a frenzy, even spurring congress to strip funding for ACORN, but now, as O'Keefe trickles out his edited films, it only riles up Fox News. Knowing that O'Keefe follows these rules, and combining the comments that he made in The New Guard Magazine about being your own media, you can see his true agenda.
----------------------------
The Midnight Review
Mum Is The Word
Breitbart stands by his claim that the pair were kicked out of no ACORN offices anywhere. So far, no evidence to the contrary has emerged.
Will MediaMatters guard its credibility and issue a correction of its story containing the false claim that the pair were kicked out of ACORN's Philly office?
So I say, KEEP BEATING ON ACORN! My popcorn bowl overfloweth.
Randy