VIDEO- Rachel Maddow Show: ACORN pimp, UNedited

By GottaLaff

This was simply beauteous. Rachel turned the "ACORN pimp" story on its head. If you missed it, now's your chance:

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O'Keef Watch: Connected white people rule

By GottaLaff

UPDATE:

Via an e-mail news alert:

Federal prosecutors have filed reduced charges against conservative activist James O'Keefe and three others accused of trying to tamper with the phones in Sen. Mary Landrieu's New Orleans office, the Associated Press reports.

For more information, visit washingtonpost.com:

Via MSNBC, he pleaded guilty to get the reduced charges.

ORIGINAL POST, BUMPED UP FROM AN EARLIER DATE:

Connected white people, indeed, "rule", and the injustice is nauseating. How nice for relatives of U.S. attorneys that they get breaks the rest of us don't.

Imagine if these little conservative brats had been "unconnected", "liberal" African Americans who approached a white employee... while duping the public into thinking they were dressed as pimps/hookers at the time.

Now imagine those same African Americans popping into a U.S. Senator's office to snoop around with a hidden camera, checking out the phones. Yeah, that would have gone over well:

Louis Moore, the magistrate judge for the federal district court in New Orleans, agreed Wednesday to motions on behalf of the four to extend the time by which the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District must seek a felony indictment, press misdemeanor charges or drop the case.

Moore said the extension, which was unopposed by prosecutors, would offer the parties "additional time to conduct informal discussions and discovery and avoid or lessen additional proceedings," suggesting the possibility of a plea deal that would likely spare the four from facing felony charges.

At the time of their arrest Jan. 25, O'Keefe, 25, Joseph Basel, 24, Stan Dai, 24, and Robert Flanagan, 24, were charged with entering federal property under false pretenses for the purposes of committing a felony, a crime that carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Whitewash.

H/t: Cody

VIDEO- Colbert: "It was casual pimp Friday"; Makes Hannity his b*tch

By GottaLaff

The Colbert Report, March 4:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Tip/Wag - James O'Keefe & Sean Hannity
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Skate Expectations

Slow news days allow us to post the fun stuff. And boyoboy was this fun!

Politico: "ACORN cleared in Brooklyn: 'No criminality' "

By GottaLaff

This would not be the first time that that ACORN has been shown to have done nothing illegal. Now we have more evidence. They get cleared... again:

From a March 1 post by Politico's Ben Smith:

Kings County, New York District Attorney Joe Hynes put out a statement just now:

On September 15, 2009, my office began an investigation into possible criminality on the part of three ACORN employees. The three had been secretly videotaped by two people posing as a pimp and prostitute, who came to ACORN'S Brooklyn office, seeking advice about how to purchase a house with money generated by their 'business.' The 'couple' later made the recording public. That investigation is now concluded and no criminality has been found.

No criminality. None.

Unfortunately, as usual, the media reports have already done so much damage, as has the pampered, well-connected Team O'Keefe, and the Rushpublic smear machine, that the ACORN brand has been irreparably marred.

So who's the real pimp here?

But hey, it's the American way.

The James O'Keefe Stealth Health Care Plan

By GottaLaff

Takeaway line-o'-the-day, courtesy of Tom Coburn.

He wants "undercover patients" to catch fraud and abuse in health care.

James O'Keefe would be proud.

Think the stealth patients will dress as pimps?

ACORN 'dissolved as a national structure'

By GottaLaff

This is utterly wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Thank you Rushpublics, for screwing with the lives of real Americans... You know... the ones who need those evil, helpful reachy-outers:

The embattled liberal group ACORN is in the process of dissolving its national structure, with state and local-chapters splitting off from the underfunded, controversial national group, an official close to the group confirmed.

And thank you Jimmy Olsen O'Keefe, Jr. Felon.

Though the videos did not produce criminal charges, they appear to have been fatal to the national organization.

"Consistent with what the internal recommendations have been, each of the states are developing plans for reconstitution independence and self-sufficiency," said the official, citing ACORN's "diminished resources, damage to the brand, unprecedented attacks."

No criminal charges. That's right. None.

There is some better news, though:

A person familiar with the New York reorganization said the new group has a new board, including some relative outsiders, like an official at the union Workers United, Wilfredo Larancuent, as well as most of the old leadership. [...]

"It’s not like this is some kind of hostile thing," said the New York source. "This is what Fox has produced. National Acorn and Bertha Lewis are continuing doing their thing, but the New York flagship has been forced into this new organization."

[...] It’s people who still believe in their basic mission of fighting for poor people."

Conservatives don't like poor people. They're "different".

National ACORN says it continues to exist, despite the departure of state chapters, including also California's, which departed under similar terms last month.

Small comfort. The smear campaign worked. Congratulations on your successful sliming of a decent, productive American organization.

ACORN mounts campaign to ’sting the stinger’

By GottaLaff

ACORN Pimp/PhoneGater "Jimmy" Olsen O'Keefe is going to have his hands full. He's got legal issues coming out his fedora. Let's hope every charge sticks.

ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis:

"Now that he's proven that [O'Keefe's] law-breaking isn't a one-shot deal, we are demanding that the attorneys general in California and Maryland conduct formal investigations of O'Keefe's actions from last year," Lewis said in the email. [...]

"Regardless of the impact on ACORN, the fact remains that the attorneys general for California and Maryland should be investigating O'Keefe's actions at our offices in those states, especially in light of what has happened in New Orleans" [...]

"[I]t is ACORN's success that has made the Glenn Beck/Karl Rove/Sarah Palin crowd so determined to destroy us," Lewis wrote. "According to a study by the New Organizing Institute (NOI), an estimated 865,000 people cast ballots in 2008 that had been successfully registered by ACORN since 2004."

Brad over at BradBlog had a few interesting little tidbits. Did you know this?

You folks do realize that James O'Keefe never actually wore his ridiculous pimp costume into those ACORN offices on those doctored and illegally recorded video tapes, right? But, rather, he was filmed outside of the offices wearing his get-up, while appearing as the conservatively dressed boyfriend of a hooker trying to escape an abusive pimp when the cameras were rolling inside the offices. That's just one of many deceptions O'Keefe carried out."

That's right: Little Baby James decked himself out like his role models, but only for the videos outside the offices. Once he was with Hookerette, he wore preppy wear. Maybe he just likes to play dress-up.

Let's hope his next outfit is orange.

Again, for the record, ACORN employees have done nothing illegal... unlike Hannity's little protege, Jimmy the Wonder Pimp.

ACORN Pimp/PhoneGater James O'Keefe's race problem

By GottaLaff

Salon.com has a new post up. Here's a nibble... that you'll want to spit out:

Now an activist organization that monitors hate groups has produced a photo of O'Keefe at a 2006 conference on "Race and Conservatism" that featured leading white nationalists. The photo, first published Jan. 30 on the Web site of the anti-racism group One People's Project, shows O’Keefe at the gathering, which was so controversial even the ultra-right Leadership Institute, which employed O'Keefe at the time, withdrew its backing. But O'Keefe and fellow young conservative provocateur Marcus Epstein soldiered on to give anti-Semites, professional racists and proponents of Aryanism an opportunity to share their grievances and plans to make inroads in the GOP.

According to One People's Project founder Daryle Jenkins, O'Keefe was manning the literature table at the gathering that brought together anti-Semites, professional racists and proponents of Aryanism.

This little twerp never fails to reveal an even dirtier, scuzzier, more repugnant side to him.

In an online diary that has since been scrubbed from the Web (but not before being captured on Daily Kos), he wrote that he was forced to live on an all-black dormitory floor after refusing to live with the gay roommate he was initially assigned. O’Keefe claimed his next roommate was “an Indian midget ... who smelled like shit.” The roommate left, however, and was replaced by “a greek kid.” The new roommate complained to a residential administrator that O’Keefe had called his neighbors “niggers,” prompting the school to expel him from the dorm.

This is the new conservative darling, huh? They can have him. May he bring them exactly what they, and he, deserve.

All you need to know about little Jimmy Olsen can be found in my previous posts here.

VIDEO: Part 2: Sean Hannity Interviews PhoneGater/ACORN Pimp James O'Keefe

By GottaLaff



He really, reeeeaaaaalllly wants to go into details, but he can't. And he really, reeeeaaaaaallly just wants to get to the truth, 'cause that's the kind of guy he is.

Oh, and he's not a fan of jail applesauce.

VIDEO: Part 1: Sean Hannity Interviews PhoneGater/ACORN Pimp James O'Keefe

By GottaLaff

Don't forget now: It's an ongoing investigation. And hey, Baby James just wanted to get to the truth. By breaking into the phone system of "the people's office". Why all the fuss?



H/t: Hippie_Cyndi

Meet the Landrieu PhoneGaters' mentor

By GottaLaff

Mentoring can be so rewarding. It's such a moment of pride when you see your charges venture out on their own:

Justin Elliott of TPM Muckraker points to a new story in the New York Times about Ben Wetmore, a 28-year-old conservative activist who let anti-ACORN provocateur James O'Keefe and his merry band crash at his New Orleans home prior to their arrest for allegedly attempting to tamper with Sen. Mary Landrieu's phones.

According to the New York Times, Wetmore was a mentor to a network of right wing provocateurs who embraced various forms of political theater to dramatize their issues on college campuses. Marcy Wheeler's commenter cinnamonape connected the dots between Ben Wetmore and James O'Keefe last Friday. [...]

Though Ben's claim to have encouraged phone pranks to disrupt lefty speakers should raise red flags. He was a campus activist who traveled around advising college conservatives on disruptive tactics. [...]

But in another cached post, Ben seems to be seriously advocating a dirty tricks robocall to sway elderly voters by impersonating Barack Obama

Wait. His name is... Wetmore? I couldn't have thought of a better one myself.

There's a lot more to read. And for even more, go to TPM.

H/t: Wolfrum

Veterans Today- Landrieu Senate Burglary: CIA domestic Black-Op Team Arrested

By GottaLaff

(Photos via)

I'm not sure what to make of this, but here is the headline over at Veterans Today.com:

ALL 4 INVOLVED IN SENATE HOMELAND SECURITY BREAKIN CIA “N-O-C” AGENTS

CIA PROGRAM MAY HAVE TRAINED DOMESTIC “DEATH SQUADS”

That sure seems like a huge deal. What about evidence to back it up?

Last week’s breakin at Senator Mary Landrieu’s office in the New Orleans Federal Building was more than it seemed, much more. All of the 4 arrested had been trained by the CIA and, possibly, Israel. One arrested, Stan Dai, is listed as an Operations Officer of the Department of Defense Irregular Warfare Program and a known expert and lecturer on, not only surveillance but explosives training, assassinations and “false flag operations.” If you wanted a plane to crash, an enemy to get sick and die or a building to blow up, Dai would be the man to know how to make it happen. Problem is, his skills were being used as part of a criminal conspiracy inside the United States against members of our own government. [...]

What is not initially known is whether this was the first attempt or, as is much more likely, an additional incursion to plant new bugs as the ones in place were missing key conversations. Also, it is not known how many “black ops” crews are being run by the CIA inside the United States in violation of their charter or if their operations are being limited to spying on Democratic lawmakers or if operations of a more threatening nature have been performed but remain undiscovered.

Additionally, as this was a covert op against US government investigations of, not only terrorism and terrorism funding but major financial crimes against the United States, it is unclear who the recipient of the “product,” an intelligence industry term for “output” or information put up for “distribution” might be. Potential buyers could be the Republican Party, Israel, Turkey, India, Russia, China, Venezuela, North Korea or financial institutions involved in massive money laundering schemes being investigated by the Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security of which Senator Landrieu is a member. [...]

With much of the CIA’s former leadership now employed by Blackwater/Xe, a company owned and controlled by Republican party leadership, the lines between domestic and foreign intelligence operations have become blurred.

Please go read the whole thing.

I'd like to know a whole lot more. It's good to have facts and more facts, and the tone of this piece is urgent, but more information is needed. Still, the background on Dai is, well, intriguing.

H/t: Tymlee

ACORN Pimp aka PhoneGater accuses others of " journalistic malpractice"

By GottaLaff

Here's everything you need to know about James O'Keefe and his journalistic standards.

Here's what Pimpy McBreakIn is saying now:

On reflection, I could have used a different approach to this investigation, particularly given the sensitivities that people understandably have about security in a federal building. [...]

It has been amazing to witness the journalistic malpractice committed by many of the organizations covering this story.

He says a whole lot more, too. Please follow the link to read all of it.

Tommy Christopher says:

When O’Keefe says “The government has now confirmed what has always been clear: No one tried to wiretap or bug Senator Landrieu’s office. Nor did we try to cut or shut down her phone lines,” he doesn’t provide any evidence of this confirmation. The original affidavit states that they tried to gain access to the telephone closet, and that it was probable that their intention was to maliciously interfere with the telephone system.

O’Keefe’s revision notwithstanding, reporting the contents of an FBI document can hardly be considered “journalistic malpractice.” Journalists have a duty to report facts from credible sources, not to tailor them to James O’Keefe’s legal defense.

This is the same Tommy Christopher who appeared in my pilot webisode of Blunt.

Any way you look at it, PhoneGate McHatCam is in hot water. And he's no "kid" as he is referred to in so many reports. He's 25, and his father is a federal attorney.

He knew better. He broke the law. He did this under the guise of being a journalist. I'd call that "journalistic malpractice".

VIDEO- Breitbart in tussle with David Shuster: O'Keefe was slandered.

By GottaLaff

David faced off in a huge way with Andrew Breitbart. If only they hadn't overtalked each other, this very heated exchange would have been a little easier to understand:

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Dorky Baby Conservatives Just Trying To Embarass Landrieu

David Shuster is down in NOLA reporting on this and is what he is saying. Plus, Jughead there tweeted about it last night, breaking his gag order. These guys aren't that smart. More from TPM here.

A law enforcement official told NBC News that the four men were not trying to intercept or wiretap the calls.

Instead the men, led by O'Keefe, wanted to see how her staff would respond if the phones were inoperative, the official said.

They were apparently motivated by local criticism of Landrieu — some voters reportedly felt it was too difficult to get through to her office to register their views.

Update on ACORN Pimp O'Keefe

By GottaLaff

MSNBC's David Shuster is reporting the latest on ACORN Pimp James O'Keefe and his band of merry felons (earlier post here, original post here):

There was no phone tapping equipment ON the felonious lads.

The so-called "listening device" in the van was actually a walkie talkie.... or cell phone.

Their motive? They were trying to shame Mary Landrieu, but too late... She did that on her own during the health care "debate".

They still face felony charges.

UPDATE: It is not a wiretap case, it is a federal trespass case, per Shuster just now. Additional charges could be brought, and plea deals are possible.

The people upstairs were communicating with the guy in the truck, via walkie talkie or cell phone.

O'Keefe had an exclusive deal with Andrew Breitbart for writing. Breitbart claims he had no idea O'Keefe was up to this, hadn't spoken to him in weeks.

But the question is, did O'Keefe have any financial incentive? They won't just take the word of the 4 guys.

On Keith Olbermann's Countdown, John Dean:

He says it's no prank, pretty serious, more of O'Keefe's entrapment journalism. They went beyond what is legal.

Karl Rove was one of the "early tutors" of this kind of thing, says Dean. Plus, he says, O'Keefe has been enouraged by his elders in the party. "Stupidity.... You'd think we'd evolved in our political intelligence..."

This was a classic criminal conspiracy... but we don't know who all the co-conspirators are. This may be more than 4 people.

This kind of thing has been embraced by the Republican right, although they're distancing themselves now.

VIDEO- Rep. Steve King: The real story is shielding ACORN, not NOLAGate

By GottaLaff

So this is what a conservative journalist looks like:

James O'Keefe's mug shot courtesy of Media Matters

Dave Weigel has more, but watch Rep. King do the "O'Keefe's innocent until proven guilty" dance.

"I don't need a lot more evidence to think there's something wrong with ACORN, I saw it with my own eyes. I didn't see James O'Keefe"

.... regardless of the fact that there's been no trial.

Rushpublic hypocrisy in action.

Video- New Orleans CBS affiliate reports on O'Keefe arrest, attorney has "no idea at this point" who is paying him

A little schadenfreude with your coffee.

Congressman Who Sponsored Resolution Honoring O’Keefe Criticizes Landrieu Sting

By GottaLaff

Texas Republican Rep. Pete Olson's resolution, co-sponsored by--count 'em-- 31 senators, honored James O'Keefe the "ACORN Pimp". Yes, that's the very same "filmmaker" who just got busted for being part of a plot to wiretap Senator Mary Landrieu.

What a great plan! Oh, and so was O'Keefe's.

Here's what Olson told Dave Weigel (in part):

Individuals who lawfully expose wrongful activities by an entity like ACORN receiving federal tax dollars should be praised. [...] Citizens have an important role in helping to expose waste and/or fraud when their tax dollars are being spent, but it must be done in a lawful manner.

Go here for more.

"ACORN Pimp" busted

By GottaLaff

I've posted about James O'Keefe's little antics before, and about his background.

Finally, I get to post about his bustification:

The FBI, alleging a plot to wiretap Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu's office in downtown New Orleans, arrested four people Monday, including James O'Keefe, a conservative filmmaker whose undercover videos at ACORN field offices severely damaged the advocacy group's credibility.

FBI Special Agent Steven Rayes alleges that O'Keefe aided and abetted two others, Joseph Basel and Robert Flanagan, who dressed up as employees of a telephone company and attempted to interfere with the office's telephone system.

A fourth person, Stan Dai, was accused of aiding and abetting Basel and Flanagan. All four were charged with entering fedral property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony.

A witness from Landrieu's staff said O'Keefe was present in the office and claimed to be "waiting for someone to arrive."

Gee, hypocritical much? This from the genius who was doing everything in his sleazy little power to bust ACORN.

Bugging a Senator's office, that's using your noodle.

Couldn't happen to a more deserving pimp.

More here and here.