Justice trumps politics: ACORN's federal funding restored

Justice trumps politics: ACORN's federal funding restored. A U.S. District court has ruled Congress' decision to cut off ACORN's funding was unconstitutional, giving a much needed victory to the much maligned group.U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon issued a preliminary injunction against the government, saying it's in the public's interest for the organization to continue receiving federal funding.“The question here is only whether the Constitution allows Congress to declare that a single, named organization is barred from all federal funding in the absence of a trial,” Gershon wrote in her opinion. “Because it does not, and because the plaintiffs have shown the likelihood of irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction, I grant the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction.”ACORN claimed in its lawsuit that Congress' decision to cut off its funding was unconstitutional because it punitively targeted an individual organization.ACORN was set up by right wing activists intent on smearing the organization. Last September activists released amateur videos showing ACORN employees apparently offering advice on how to set up an illegal prostitution ring. Following, there was a rush to judgment on the part of both Congress and the media.There is now doubt to whether the heavily edited videos can stand up to impartial scrutiny. The unedited videos have never been made public. A comparison of the publicly available transcripts to the released videos confirms that large portions of the original video have been omitted from the released versions. Justice for ACORN is a welcome development. ACORN is a great American organization. ACORN advocates for low and moderate income families by working on neighborhood safety, voter registration, health care, affordable housing, and other social issues. - examiner.com