Before the recap, further below, and today’s industry-connected commentary, we will begin with a programming note.
There is a local post-production issue that is brewing. It is part of a national pattern. The topic is classic efforts to zone out current and future manufactured homes (MH). It is a big issue, one that both national MH associations has noted. But it falls in the self-stated area or interest for the mission of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI). Rick Robinson, MHI General Counsel and Tom Hodges, JD, who sits on the Executive Committee for Clayton Homes have been contacted by MHProNews. We’ve documented the contact with MHI and Clayton’s attorney. The local officials involved, plus a number of other attorneys and other interested MH parties have also been contacted.
MHProNews will let you know who does what.
An initial report on that hot button, local issue that could impact communities, retailers, residents, and others is drafted and awaiting publication early tomorrow morning here on the Daily Business News on MHProNews.
The draft can be changed if/as parties respond. Actions speak louder than words. That’s tomorrow’s sneak peak.
Shift One
We will shift gears twice before getting to our headline news recap. Here’s the first shift. Our focus is Texas, and MHVille. But first this disclosure.
This writer has witnessed first-hand politics in three different nations. Iran, Hungary, and here in the U.S. In all countries, you can find candidates who can say or promise anything to get elected. As someone who loves her native land, as someone who went to medical school in the noble nation of Hungary, I can tell you that we were happy to support candidate-now-President, Donald J. Trump in 2016. Fair minded people agree that like his style or not, he has been working day-by-day at keeping his campaign promises.
That’s why millions love President Trump. That’s also why so many hate him. There is nothing more dangerous to the left wing of the U.S. than a businessman turned politician like POTUS Trump. Recall that 21st’s Tim Williams observed that the progressive movement is at the top of the threats to manufactured housing.
President Trump has also threatens several in the “establishment” or “RINO” wings of the Republican Party. He has made enemies. One might say, he’s made the right enemies.
Now look at the history of Senator Barack Obama, who was previously an attorney and community organizer for ACORN.
On October 18, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) wrote: “We’ve written about them for years, but Acorn is now getting more attention as John McCain’s campaign makes an issue of the fraud reports and Acorn’s ties to Mr. Obama. It’s about time…”
FactCheck is a “Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center.” It is funded by the Annenberg Foundation, and has received major donations from Facebook. Follow the politics, follow the money. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is pro-Democratic, and admits he and his many of his companies people are left-leaning. This is what Tim Williams notably said is a threat to MH.
Inside Philanthropy reported about FactCheck that “The organization’s biggest funder is the Annenberg Foundation, which has given over a million dollars to FactCheck.org in the past two years. We can’t resist pointing out the irony here: Walter Annenberg, the newspaper magnate behind this fortune, was not above using his publications to slant the news to advance an agenda.”
This is part of how “news” is shaped. This is why we’ve shared Sharyl Attkisson’s media chart, and the video documentary, Shadows of Liberty.
This is why it pays to “follow the money,” as Marty Lavin, JD, has said.
At the same time as the WSJ quote above, part of what Fact Check wrote is this, quoting from a McCain-Palin ad.
“Announcer: Massive voter fraud. And the Obama campaign paid more than $800,000 to an ACORN front for get out the vote efforts.
Pressuring banks to issue risky loans. Nationwide voter fraud. Barack Obama. Bad judgment. Blind ambition. Too risky for America.” It is part of a longer message that included, Senator McCain saying, “I’m John McCain and I approve this message.”
Left-leaning backed FactCheck claimed there was no real evidence ACORN. Here’s a key part of how they said it.
“On Oct. 16 The Associated Press quoted two “senior law enforcement” officials as saying that the FBI is investigating ACORN seeking “any evidence of a coordinated national scam.” The following day the Obama campaign’s lawyer, Robert Bauer, sent a seven-page letter to the attorney general claiming that federal law enforcement officials were being improperly used to help McCain by suppressing the vote through “unsupported, spurious allegations of vote fraud.” He asked that the investigation be transferred to the special prosecutor investigating the U.S. attorney firing scandal. The McCain campaign issued a statement in which spokesman Ben Porritt called Bauer’s letter “outrageous” and “absurd” and a “heavy handed tactic of attempting to criminalize political discourse.”
But so far ACORN itself has not been officially charged with any fraud. Aside from the heated charges and counter-charges, no evidence has yet surfaced to show that the ACORN employees who submitted fraudulent registration forms intended to pave the way for illegal voting…”
Fact Check’s full report is linked here.
But here are two kickers, all of which impacted manufactured housing, but part of which continues to impact manufactured housing, most notably the community sector.
Less than 18 months after FactCheck said ACORN was ok, the Week reported “Scandal-plagued community group ACORN is formally disbanding. It will reportedly reorganise all of its local and state chapters as independent, non-affiliated organizations…”
And one of those radical spin-off groups from ACORN is connected to MHAction!
Wikipedia notes that in 2009, Project Veritas used an undercover sting operation to help expose the corruption at ACORN. Here’s how Project Veritas described it. “The Power of Citizen Journalism. This Investigation didn’t just expose the corruption at ACORN. It also stunned the corporate media organizations by bringing to light the power of citizen journalism.”
We’ve shown Project Veritas videos before, and can to this point recommend them. They do the work real journalists ought to be doing.
The New York Times reported on October 10, “Mr. Davis said Mr. Obama had worked as Acorn’s lawyer and conducted training events for its leaders. He also noted a payment the Obama campaign made in February to an Acorn affiliate…”
PolitiFact came to a similar conclusion about the McCain ad against ACORN, and then Senator Obama’s role in ACORN, as did FactCheck.
Who funds PolitiFact?
Per their own website, major donors include the Ford Foundation, which Kevin Clayton has spoken about. It also includes the Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation, which Warren Buffett has made big donations to, and both Gates and Buffett supported Senator Obama and Secretary Clinton for president.
That’s a tiny example of how ‘the game’ of politics and businesses are played in the U.S. This is why following the money, and following the history, are important.
Don’t be revolted or turned off, vote against those behind the scenes donors who seek to manipulate voters.
Mr. Obama was and is charismatic. But his history is quite like how Dinesh D’Szousa’s video documentaries portrayed him. As president, what the Obama Administration did was harm the independent interests of manufactured housing communities, retailers, producers, independent lenders, and the majority of professionals. He doubled the federal debt in 8 years, after hypocritically condemning President Bush for his lavish spending.
It may not be politically correct to some, but these are all demonstrable facts. Your ability to advance depends upon acting upon reality. No one else in MHVille gives you this kind of background, evidence, checking of fact-checkers – all of which impact businesses like yours.
Shifting gears again to Texas and MHVille
That’s a long lead-up to this short commentary. The number one state in manufactured housing for new HUD Code homes is Texas. Texans sell the most new manufactured homes. Texans build the most new HUD Code manufactured homes too.
So what happens in the Texas Senate race could be huge, as a recent Daily Business News on MHProNews report further below outlined.
The contest is between Democratic Party candidate Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke, who faced off in their first televised debate.
We favored Donald J. Trump over Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) in 2016. In this contest, MHProNews asks you to support Senator Cruz as better for our industry than Congressman O’Rourke (D-TX).
Senator Cruz has taken positions useful for manufactured housing, like the passage of tax cuts, and S. 2155, the “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act.” That’s the bill that rolled back some of Dodd-Frank, that former President Obama promoted and signed into law.
O’Rourke is slick. But his track record aligns with the Clintons and Mr. Obama. See the video. It’s a spirited debate. Watch how O’Rourke plays the game, because his appeal is emotional. He looks sharp, talks sharp. This is a microcosm of other states too. Left-wing, big-donor money is pouring into O’Rourke’s campaign and allied super-PAC.
But O’Rourke’s policies would be bad for manufactured home owners, businesses, and investors. We suggest you see for yourself, and then get your colleagues to vote accordingly. See the related reports, among the other stories for the week that was, all of which are found below.
On the Masthead
The Rich, Famous, PreFab Homes, Manufactured Housing, Hypocrisy, and You
The Masthead
There are some who can’t win based upon sound reason and the truth. So, to obtain their goals, they lie, play act, and deceive others to get what they want. That pattern impacts independent businesses, our industry’s home owners and millions of potential customers.
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Sunday 9.16.2018
Okay, that’s all she wrote this week. Yes, that other guy here helped, but that’s what team work looks like. You can sign up for the most read industry headline news, routinely delivered twice weekly into your inbox, at the link below. Large to small, they read here and on our emails too. It’s the MH “Industry News Tips and Views That Pros Can Use.” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © (News, analysis, and commentary.)
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