U.S. Census Drops Acorn

The U.S. Census Bureau has dropped Acorn, one of the nation’s largest community organizations, as a partner for publicizing the 2010 Census after hidden-camera videos showed four employees giving tax advice on running a brothel, The Wall Street Journal reports. The employees addressed a man posing as an aspiring politician and a woman who said she was his girlfriend and a prostitute. The filmmaker is reported to be 25-year-old James O’Keefe, an activist for conservative issues. He told Acorn workers in both Baltimore and Washington D.C. offices that he planned to use his girlfriend’s prostitution profits to fund his campaign. The workers, who’ve been fired, told the couple to set up a company so they could prove they had the income to buy a house where the brothel could be run. "We will continue to do what we've said we'll do, which is encourage people in communities to participate fully in the Census," said Acorn’s deputy national director.