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"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32
WEBCommentary Contributor
Author:  Michael J. Gaynor
Bio: Michael J. Gaynor
Date:  July 29, 2009
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Topic category:  Government/Politics

Michelle Malkin Exposes Obama's Culture of Corruption, Extols ACORN Whistleblower Anita MonCrief

In the book's acknowledgements, Ms. Malkin gave "special thanks to Anita MonCrief for her enormous courage and vigilance on ACORN corruption."

Michelle Malkin's latest fantastic book is called The Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies.

On July 27, it was released and Sean Hannity interviewed Ms. Malkin on both his radio and television shows.

The next day, Glenn Beck did the same on his shows.

Hannity focused on the chapter on Michelle Obama ("the First Crony").

Beck focused on the chapters involving ACORN and SEIU, the connection between them and their roles as providers of the "civilian soldiers" to implement the Obama plan to remake America.

The following excerpt from Beck's radio interview highlights the importance of ACORN in understanding how President Obama came to be elected and to his plan to transform America from a capitalist country into a socialist country:

MALKIN: ...the book has only been out a day and there's been a lot of traditional interest in looking at the cabinet and looking at the czars. But there are two important chapters on ACORN...as well as the SEIU, their twin, and

GLENN: Yeah, they are one and the same.

MALKIN: And the family with Barack Obama that dates back...20, 25 years really needs...much more mainstream public light. You've done a fabulous job of that and I think that including these two chapters of the book and putting it in the context of the larger Culture of Corruption and the Chicago way is a good start towards helping people enlighten them about it.

GLENN: Michelle, you and I talked about this during the election.

MALKIN: Yes.

GLENN: I mean, you knew what was coming, I knew what was coming. I didn't realize it would come this fast. I mean, this guy is amazing....most people don't understand....You they look at ACORN and they are like, it's a stupid group and everybody knows what it is. No, no, no. Community organizers are so unbelievably well funded. When you see how much distance we have made here or how much distance has been put between us and the Constitution since Obama got into office, are you as concerned as you were for our country or more so? And if so, how much time do you think we have before you just are not turning this car around?

MALKIN: I think we're already at an inflection point, Glenn, and I think that it calls for fueling even more curiosity and scrutiny on these meadow organizations. I quote Andy Stern, the president of the SEIU, the Service Employees International Union on his organizing philosophy and it is this: We prefer to use the power of persuasion but if that doesn't work, we use the persuasion of power. And it is the same theme and like motif that infuses the ACORN MO, the persuasion of power, the muscle for money program that whistle blower and, you know, Moncrief blew the whistle on. And I dedicate the book to the whistleblowers out there. You know, it's not just us on the right who are exposing this.

GLENN: Oh, no. Oh, yeah.

MALKIN: The fact is that we owe. We owe so much to very brave people on the other side, some of them who have come over, ex liberals like Anita who understand the depths and the intricacy and the intimacy between and among those groups. But also between them and Barack Obama.

EXACTLY!

In the book's acknowledgements, Ms. Malkin gave "special thanks to Anita MonCrief for her enormous courage and vigilance on ACORN corruption."

During the Beck television interview, Ms. Malkin not only again lauded Ms. MonCrief as the key ACORN whistleblower, but also deftly distinguished Ms. MonCrief from the ACORN 8 (a tiny group seeking to replace ACORN's current control group and regularly praised and promoted by Beck). Ms. Malkin pointedly noted not only that Ms.MonCrief has been sued by ACORN affiliate Project Vote for publicizing the ugly truth, but that Ms. MonCrief (a single mother of a three-year old) is an individual who became an ex-liberal and is not seeking to control of ACORN.

The sharp contrast between Ms. MonCrief and the ACORN 8 is made easily understandable by ACORN 8 statements in their latest press release.

That release, titled "ACORN 8 has the Power - House Oversight Committee Report Vindicates ACORN 8 and their RICO Claims," is billed by the ACORN 8 as their response "to a blistering report released by Rep. Darrell Issa (CA), the Ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which presents compelling evidence that ACORN has evaded taxes, obstructed justice, engaged in racketeering, and created a conspiracy to defraud the United States" and that report is characterized as confirmation of "the criminal violations of ACORN 8 member's constitutional rights" and cause for "the Justice Department to take this matter seriously and promptly move to prosecute" and "the federal government and large private donors to pursue injunctive relief so that ACORN assets and records are not dissipated or destroyed until the group undergoes a forensic audit."

On that, Ms. MonCrief and the ACORN 8 agree.

But the ACORN 8 do not want an investigation that would embarrass President Obama and Ms. MonCrief wants the whole truth exposed.

The ACORN 8 release significantly states that while the ACORN 8 "commend learned counsel and the committee on this in depth report on ACORN," they "do not share all of the conclusions drawn by the committee - particularly those related to ACORN's political operations or any purported connections to President Obama."

But those conclusions are equally valid and even more important.

ACORN was established in 1970 to subvert America and it became an unofficial arm of the Democrat Party long ago.

The fact that many people, including well-meaning ACORN members, did not know what ACORN was all about does not make ACORN any less subversive or dangerous.

The ACORN 8 are thrilled with the report's "conclusions about ACORN's mismanagement, poor governance and enterprise corruption," but they too are ardent Obama supporters and, unlike Ms. MonCrief, now a self-described "ex-liberal," they don't want the whole story of ACORN corruption to become public knowledge.

Thus, it is not surprising that the day before the ACORN 8 filed a complaint with the United States Justice Department, they dropped two Illinois ACORNians connected to President Obama (Madeline Talbott and Keith Kelleher) as "defendants."

On January 6, 2009, ACORN 8 leader Marcel Reid emailed Ms. MonCrief that the prior version of the complaint including those two as "defendants" should be filed. Ms. Reid to Ms. MonCrief: "Here is the complaint I would file on January 7, 2009. We don't have all of the exhibits prepared exactly like Zena wants --but I personally would not let that delay us."

The ACORN 8 claim that their "mission is to protect ACORN's low and moderate income membership and the communities in which they live" and to "stand for our members and the little guy".

That's noble-sounding, but standing for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and the rule of law must come first.

Top ACORN 8 leaders (there are 32 dues-paying members) only want part of the truth told (part that helps them, unsurprisingly).

Last July they agreed that ACORN should NOT take ACORN founder and former Chief Organizer Wade Rathke to court in order to protect then presidential candidate Obama.

Check the notes of the ISM Meeting in Chicago held on July 29, 2008. Ms. Reid and Karen Inman of the ACORN 8 are listed among the four ACORN members present at the meeting.

Under "Wade Rathke's Liabilities and other Liabilities Matters," it is stated: "IF the idea for ACORN to go after Wade is decided upon--the recommendation is to wait until after December--elections, ACORN needs to get their corporation in order, clean house in terms of getting paperwork in order, etc."

Ms. Reid and Ms. Inman wanted Wade Rathke replaced, but they did not necessarily want to go after him publicly ("IF") and certainly not before Election Day 2008! In addition, the minutes state under 'Wade Rathke's Liabilities and other Liabilities Matters': "These matters are an issue not to be discussed with other board members, management staff UNLESS they have officially signed the joint defense agreement."

So much for the ACORN 8's call for "truth, transparency and accountability" even "within ACORN"!

The ACORN 8 release also states: "The Oversight Committee Report simply confirms what we've argued all along, and that is ACORN has been hijacked by a cabel of senior managers at the expense of its poor and working class membership and the American taxpayers."

That's false. It's a fairy tale. ACORN has been a subversive organization from the start. Zach Pollett has been the director of ACORN's political operations from the start. The public disclosure last summer of the Dale Rathke embezzlement and its cover up for years led to a power struggle and some personnel change, not political change. Lastly, the ACORN 8 release states: "While various rights and interests are implicated by the committee report, we hasten all involved and the general public to remember that ultimately it is the rights and interests of low and moderate income people that need to be vindicated given ACORN's questionable business practices."

Wrong again!

What is needed is for the whole truth to become publicly known and the law to be enforced, for the sake of the United States of America as a whole, not the promotion of any special interest at the expense of the truth and the rule of law.

For that to happen, people need to know what Ms. MonCrief learned.

Ms. MonCrief has been sharing and Ms. Malkin has been reporting powerfully, both in her new book and at www.michellemalkin.com under ACORN Watch.

These ladies are fighting for America, and they deserve our support.

Michael J. Gaynor

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Biography - Michael J. Gaynor

Michael J. Gaynor has been practicing law in New York since 1973. A former partner at Fulton, Duncombe & Rowe and Gaynor & Bass, he is a solo practitioner admitted to practice in New York state and federal courts and an Association of the Bar of the City of New York member.

Gaynor graduated magna cum laude, with Honors in Social Science, from Hofstra University's New College, and received his J.D. degree from St. John's Law School, where he won the American Jurisprudence Award in Evidence and served as an editor of the Law Review and the St. Thomas More Institute for Legal Research. He wrote on the Pentagon Papers case for the Review and obscenity law for The Catholic Lawyer and edited the Law Review's commentary on significant developments in New York law.

The day after graduating, Gaynor joined the Fulton firm, where he focused on litigation and corporate law. In 1997 Gaynor and Emily Bass formed Gaynor & Bass and then conducted a general legal practice, emphasizing litigation, and represented corporations, individuals and a New York City labor union. Notably, Gaynor & Bass prevailed in the Second Circuit in a seminal copyright infringement case, Tasini v. New York Times, against newspaper and magazine publishers and Lexis-Nexis. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed, 7 to 2, holding that the copyrights of freelance writers had been infringed when their work was put online without permission or compensation.

Gaynor currently contributes regularly to www.MichNews.com, www.RenewAmerica.com, www.WebCommentary.com, www.PostChronicle.com and www.therealitycheck.org and has contributed to many other websites. He has written extensively on political and religious issues, notably the Terry Schiavo case, the Duke "no rape" case, ACORN and canon law, and appeared as a guest on television and radio. He was acknowledged in Until Proven Innocent, by Stuart Taylor and KC Johnson, and Culture of Corruption, by Michelle Malkin. He appeared on "Your World With Cavuto" to promote an eBay boycott that he initiated and "The World Over With Raymond Arroyo" (EWTN) to discuss the legal implications of the Schiavo case. On October 22, 2008, Gaynor was the first to report that The New York Times had killed an Obama/ACORN expose on which a Times reporter had been working with ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief.

Gaynor's email address is gaynormike@aol.com.


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