# NYT apologized for ACORN story, where are Doper apologies? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 4, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945 "2010-04-04T20:24:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/301 "2010-08-14T14:16:21Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > No. That is the way of Them, and their way is wrong. It takes enormous faith to press our cause, a faith that is gets the shit kicked out of it on a regular basis, the faith in the ultimate justice of a democratic way. Without it, we are just Tweedledum to Tweedledumber. No. “Your way,” may well be the way of justice. I don’t disagree with the fact that the action against ACORN was not justified. But it wasn’t a Bill of Attainder. And all the mouth-breathing idiots in the world cannot make it so, even by closing their eyes and wishing really really hard. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/302 "2010-08-14T15:33:11Z")
I’m sure many of us gasp in admiration for your rhetorical victory over **Gonzo** , who so often tries to parse his way to a hair-splitting, sophistic, and legalistic triumph. And I must admit that even I, incensed over the back stabbing of a bunch of idealists by a cynical band of political low-lifes, even I lose track of the crucial and all-important distinction of whether the instrument was a dirk or a dagger. Bad **Gonzo**! Bad! Now, go lay down by your water dish! ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/303 "2010-08-14T15:34:27Z")
BRICKER you are such a insulting jerk. Mouth beathing idiots include Nina Gershon REp Robert Wexler Cong, Jerrold Nadler Kenneth Thomas, Congressional Research Committee Law Blog, who declares it a very close call Constitutional Law Prof. Blog Strange some highly qualified experts disagree. I suppose in BRICKER land they are all mouth breathing idiots. Others declared it a close call for very specific reasons such as whether ACORN had a “right” to the contracts. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/304 "2010-08-14T16:14:07Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > [http://www.metrotimes.com/news/story.asp?id=14877](http://www.metrotimes.com/news/story.asp?id=14877) > There are Dopers who ran with the anti-ACORN video that righty O’Keefe showed to the world. It was bullshit. He never went into any ACORN office dressed in that insulting garb. He wore a pair of Dockers and a dress shirt. Then he told them he was a law student trying to protect his hooker girlfriend from an aggressive pimp. He then collected enough tape so he could edit them in a way that made ACORN look bad. The righties on this board and FOx ran with this story in a blind rage. It was obviously blind. The pimp outfit was so absurd that it would only convince righty suburbanites living in gated communities. It was laughable. It was a lie. The NYT finally printed a detraction. We are waiting patiently for one from the Dopers who should have known better, but bought the story because it might hurt the left and the blacks. Shame on you. > \*\*Then a Federal Judge ruled the drying up of funds was a bill of Attainder. Which some board member insisted it was not. \*\*ACORN has been destroyed by lies . But at least the Times wrote an apology. I am waiting for the righties on this board to do as much. (bolding mine) **Bricker** , in the above OP I count but two sentences which address the Bill of Attainder issue. Are you really so desperate for a victory that you dug this thread up to have him apologize for being wrong about that particular issue? You’re a lawyer, he’s not (at least as far as I know). Do you often call up laymen who defend themselves against you in court and gloat when they lose? And does **gonzomax’s** wrongness on the Bill of Attainder issue invalidate the rest of his post? This is seriously weak tea here, **Bricker**. You’re better than this. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/305 "2010-08-14T17:01:33Z")
Sadly, the weight of the evidence is that he is not. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/306 "2010-08-14T17:19:49Z")
**Bricker’s** gloating may be slightly unseemly, but a far worse offense is the failure of certain posters to just admit error. And it wouldn’t be terribly offensive for those posters in question to just say that the current state of the law doesn’t match their notions of where it ought to be - an opinion I have concerning several subjects, myself. Why not just state this and move on with the issue on other legal or political venues? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/307 "2010-08-14T17:39:52Z")
More important than all of that is ACORN was destroyed by ruthless people for political reasons. It was never about a legal definition of Bill of Attainder. However the latest ruling( is it the final ruling?) says Gershon was incorrect. OK. On a purely technical definition the ruling was tossed. At this point in time, BICKER was correct. He may begin breathing out of his gills again. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/308 "2010-08-14T17:44:04Z")
The ruling was because they determined it was not a corporate death sentence because not all their funding was Federal. That is it? It sure as hell became a death sentence, due to the gutlessness of the politicians. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/309 "2010-08-14T18:06:58Z")
Well, at the time of the controversy private support for ACORN also collapsed. But I don’t know what except for a possible civil remedy ACORN has there - private organizations are entitled to donate to whoever they wish, and they may make a decision to withdraw funding even when an organization has done nothing wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/310 "2010-08-14T19:06:55Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > MKn a purely technical definition the ruling was tossed. At this point in time, BICKER was correct. He may begin breathing out of his gills again. what other kinds of definitions are there? oh, yeah In liberalland, definitions are never technical; they change to whatever the needs of liberal orthodoxy require at the time. They are living, breathing definitions. they serve The People. the actual words mean nothing. the law consists of whatever the liberal mind wants to have happen. so i can see how disappointing and frustrating it must be to encounter a technical definition. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/311 "2010-08-14T19:24:43Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > > [@gonzomax](#): > > > > MKn a purely technical definition the ruling was tossed. At this point in time, BICKER was correct. He may begin breathing out of his gills again. > > what other kinds of definitions are there? > > oh, yeah In liberalland, definitions are never technical; they change to whatever the needs of liberal orthodoxy require at the time. They are living, breathing definitions. they serve The People. the actual words mean nothing. the law consists of whatever the liberal mind wants to have happen. > > so i can see how disappointing and frustrating it must be to encounter a technical definition. The debate over whether ACORN was put out of business seems like an aside. Whether parts of it reformed does not strike me as germane. This is the law. But is appears outside the definition because it deals with the impact. Why should the impact of the decision have any thing to do with it, when it comes after the fact? Quit being snotty. It is ill becoming. Act like a reasonable adult some times. Put downs are high school stuff. You should be over that by now. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/312 "2010-08-14T21:34:57Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Quit being snotty. It is ill becoming. Act like a reasonable adult some times. Put downs are high school stuff. You should be over that by now. Meanwhile, 11 posts earlier… > [@gonzomax](#): > > At this point in time, BICKER was correct. He may begin breathing out of his gills again. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/313 "2010-08-14T21:56:21Z")
> [@Lord\_Ashtar](#): > > > [@gonzomax](#): > > > > Quit being snotty. It is ill becoming. Act like a reasonable adult some times. Put downs are high school stuff. You should be over that by now. > > Meanwhile, 11 posts earlier… > > > [@gonzomax](#): > > > > At this point in time, BICKER was correct. He may begin breathing out of his gills again. Nice try but he came up with calling calling those who disagreed with him “mouth breathing idiots”. I merely pointed out it was time to breathe air now. He set the table. I did not call him a name. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/314 "2010-08-14T22:28:08Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Quit being snotty. It is ill becoming. Act like a reasonable adult some times. Put downs are high school stuff. You should be over that by now. 45 posts ago, and not incidentally the post that caused me to bookmark this thread and wait for the appellate reversal: > [@gonzomax](#): > > The preponderance of evidence is against you. you must forfeit half of your Legal hit points until you demonstrate that you can make legal points not slanted by your political bias. I guess civility is important only when you’re on the losing end. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/315 "2010-08-14T23:07:01Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > > [@gonzomax](#): > > > > Quit being snotty. It is ill becoming. Act like a reasonable adult some times. Put downs are high school stuff. You should be over that by now. > > 45 posts ago, and not incidentally the post that caused me to bookmark this thread and wait for the appellate reversal: > > > [@gonzomax](#): > > > > The preponderance of evidence is against you. you must forfeit half of your Legal hit points until you demonstrate that you can make legal points not slanted by your political bias. > > I guess civility is important only when you’re on the losing end. Do you really not see the difference? I responded with humor. You as a condescending ass. That is quite different. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/316 "2010-08-14T23:32:11Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Do you really not see the difference? I responded with humor. You as a condescending ass. That is quite different. No. See, if that had been humor, then we’d both have been laughing. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/317 "2010-08-14T23:43:06Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > > [@gonzomax](#): > > > > Do you really not see the difference? I responded with humor. You as a condescending ass. That is quite different. > > No. See, if that had been humor, then we’d both have been laughing. You are a lawyer. You can not laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/318 "2010-08-14T23:43:10Z")
I’m not entirely sure what a Bill of Attainder is, but I know jackasses when I see them. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/319 "2010-08-14T23:57:48Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I’m not entirely sure what a Bill of Attainder is, but I know jackasses when I see them. Great. I won’t insist you’re a jackass, when I have no idea if you are; you don’t insist a law is a Bill of Attainder when you have no idea what that is. We’ll get along great. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945/320 "2010-08-14T23:59:14Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I’m not entirely sure what a Bill of Attainder is, but I know jackasses when I see them. Anybody know any lawyer jokes? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-apologized-for-acorn-story-where-are-doper-apologies/534945.md?page=17)