[News] Who's the Pimp? - The Democrats, Pfizer and Acorn

[Anti-Imperialist News]

http://www.counterpunch.org/mokhiber09222009.html
September 22, 2009


The Democrats, Pfizer and Acorn


Who's the Pimp?

By RUSSELL MOKHIBER

Acorn is a poor people's grassroots organization.

Earlier this month, some of it's employees were caught on tape giving 
advice to two young right-wing activists posing as pimp and prostitute.

Pfizer is a wealthy and powerful multinational corporation.

Earlier this month, a Pfizer unit pled guilty to a felony in 
connection with a major health care fraud and paid $2.3 billion in fines.

So, if the Democratically controlled Congress were to vote to either:

a) strip federal funding from the grassroots group Acorn, or

b) ban corporate felon Pfizer from future government business

Which would it be?

Let me guess.

Last week, the Democratic controlled Congress voted to strip Acorn of 
its federal funding.

Why?

The vote came a day after the release of the latest video by the two 
activists who crisscrossed the country trying to get Acorn employees 
to help them in setting up a child-prostitution business.

In some Acorn offices, workers reported the two to the police.

In others, they sought to help the fake pimp and prostitute.

Fox and Limbaugh and Hannity and Beck and O'Reilly made it seem as if 
Acorn was a corporate felon.

And reacting to the right-wing echo chamber, the House and Senate 
voted to end Acorn's federal funding.

Unclear whether such a move is Constitutional.

The Constitution prohibits bills of attainder.

That means Congress can't punish individual organizations.

But putting that minor detail aside for a moment, let's say Congress 
can punish.

Why bully the weak?

After all, a society rots from the head down.

Let's chop at the top.

Let's find a list of major corporate criminals who rip off the 
federal government.

And bar them from ever doing business with the federal government again.

Lo and behold, we have such a list right here.

A quick and dirty list from the annals of Taxpayers Against Fraud and 
the Corporate Crime Reporter:

Pfizer, Serono, Takeda-Abbott Pharmaceutical, Shering-Plough, Lilly, 
Abbott Labs, Cephalon, National Medical Enterprises, HCA, Gambro 
Health Care, Schering-Plough, Astra-Zeneca, Bayer, Purdue.

Major corporate criminals?

Check.

Convicted in a court of law?

Check.

Ripped off the federal government?

Check.

Paid fines that would keep Acorn in business until hell freezes over?

Check.

Which raises an obvious question for the members of Congress who 
voted overwhelmingly to strip Acorn of its federal funding:

Who's the pimp?

Russell Mokhiber is editor of Corporate Crime Reporter and founder of 
<mailto:singlepayeraction.org>singlepayeraction.org




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