Just Say Nuts to ACORN

Dear Mark: What is this ACORN group I've been hearing so much about? —Needing Knowledge in Norman

Dear Needing: You must be watching FOX News because the mainstream media certainly have been remiss in covering the ACORN story with any intensity.

ACORN stands for the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now. The organization was originally formed in 1970 to help poor and minority communities with housing, wages and voter registration. ACORN has hundreds of offices across the country but has left its altruistic roots and appears to have become a street level tool for the Democrat Party.

ACORN might not be relevant except for the fact that since 1994 the group has received, by some reports, over $53 million from you and your fellow taxpayers. Today the organization is steeped in controversy, from massive voter registration fraud and mortgage fraud to the current hidden video of several ACORN offices helping a fake pimp and prostitute set up a brothel and lie to the IRS.

Kudos to the House and Senate for taking swift bipartisan action and overwhelmingly voting to cut off funds to ACORN. Kudos also to the Census Bureau for severing ties with this corrupt organization. I know that Democrats hope this vote will end the scandal but the ball remains firmly in the president's court.

Obama who is very proud of his lengthy association with ACORN, even to the point of promising them serious input into his administration's policies, must now make a tough decision. Should the president stand by an organization he once worked for and trusted to the point that his presidential campaign as recently as 2008 gave ACORN $800,000 for get out the vote services? Or does President Obama, as the country's chief law enforcement officer, order a full investigation despite alienating one of his biggest political allies?

The ACORN connection points to Barack Obama's character and begs the question: Besides his wife and two beautiful daughters, does the president have any relationships that are not controversial? William Ayers, Reverend Wright, Tony Rezko, Van Jones, ACORN ...

Dear Mark: I watched Barack Obama's recent interview on "60 Minutes." I am so proud of our president for taking responsibility if his health care reform plan fails to work. Americans need that kind of "buck stops here" leadership. Don't you agree? — Cool Confidence in California

Dear Cool: I agree that America needs that kind of Harry Truman leadership, but we're not getting anything close with Barack Obama. President Obama was laughable when he said, "You know I intend to be president for a while and once the bill passes, I own it."

Excuse me, but who will own it? The president's statement would have been more accurate if he had said, "When my health care reform bill passes and then fails, you the American people will own it." Besides, what does Obama really care about the cost of health care anyway? He is already a millionaire and will make millions more upon leaving office.

Dear Mark: I am impressed with the three NFL football players who are going to donate their brains to Boston University Medical School in order to study the long-term effects of repeated concussions. What do you think? — Fine Football Fellow in Fredericksburg

Dear Football: I never cease to be amazed by the generosity of professional athletes. Boston University had originally asked Congress for help but quickly realized there weren't enough brains in Washington to conduct a legitimate study.

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