Another ACORN to drive the rightists nuts

While the extreme Right continues its war against ACORN - the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now - a much-needed bill in Congress has now found a different use for the acronym.

Right-wing legislative efforts against ACORN are predicated on hoax videos by "filmmakers" that are underwritten by billionaire investors - even though ACORN has never been convicted of a crime. But big corporations that have been convicted of felonies not only avoid punishment but receive government handouts by the zillions.

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minnesota) has a new bill to crack down on Big Business's fleecing of the taxpayers. This bill is driving corporatists mad, for it would bar federal dollars to corporations convicted of felonies and prohibit these firms from donating to federal election campaigns for 5 years.

One has to ask why corporations are getting so much taxpayer money or are able to donate to political campaigns in the first place. This also debunks the commonly held belief that businesses can't donate to political campaigns.

The name of the bill? To poke fun at right-wingers' vendetta against ACORN, this bill is also called ACORN - which stands for Against Corporations Organizing to Rip-off the Nation.

Conservatives' opposition to this bill underscores their hypocrisy. While they support decimating community groups like ACORN that haven't been convicted of a crime, they support handouts for corporations that have been convicted of felonies. Indeed, the government continues to do business with felonious corporations.

One corporation that would be affected by McCollum's long-overdue bill is pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, which recently had to pay a hefty criminal penalty in a health care fraud investigation. Pfizer's PAC is a major contributor to right-wing lawmakers who have assailed ACORN.

If McCollum's bill doesn't pass (after bills to punish ACORN have already passed), I'll just bip. Only a Congress full of royal hypocrites would oppose this bill after supporting the witch hunt against ACORN.

(Source: http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/congress/62896792.html)