Nina Gershon, another slippery ACORN ally

Yesterday, Brooklyn federal judge Nina Gershon delivered a ruling that must have ACORN members dancing in the streets.

In a written ruling Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon made permanent her conclusion last year that the cutoff of funding was unconstitutional. She ordered all federal agencies to put the word out about it.

The Brooklyn judge said ACORN was punished by Congress without the enactment of administrative processes to decide if money had been handled inappropriately. She said the harm to ACORN's reputation continues because the government never rescinded its advice to withhold funding after it was distributed to "hundreds, if not thousands, of recipients."

Despite the fact that Congress has the power of the purse under the Constitution, Gershon ruled that ACORN was entitled to taxpayer money. The corrupt community organizer group has received more than $53 million in federal funds since 1994.

Gershon, who was appointed by Bill Clinton, is leftward even of Barack Obama on the ACORN issue. After Gershon's initial ruling in December, the Obama Administration stepped in and asked her to reconsider, which she refused in a statement yesterday. Gershon has a history of meddling with taxpayer money in this way. In 1999, she ruled that New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani couldn't cut funding to the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The museum had introduced an exhibit displaying a picture of the Virgin Mary covered with pictures of vaginas and smeared with elephant dung.

Gershon was born in Chicago and later moved to New York City to practice law, rising to the position of federal judge in Brooklyn. ACORN was encouraged to sue the government by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat from Brooklyn. Nadler is an enthusiastic ACORN supporter and has run with the blessing of the Working Families Party, ACORN's kissing cousin.

Obama's health police swing into action

At his State of the Union address, Barack Obama promised to tackle the problem of childhood obesity. Today, he signed a presidential memorandum creating a creepy Orwellian "task force" to think up ideas on how to keep kids from getting fat.

The memorandum is one of the most sinister documents Obama has ever released, and that's saying something. According to the president, "My Administration is committed to redoubling our efforts to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation through a comprehensive approach that builds on effective strategies, engages families and communities, and mobilizes both public and private sector resources." How exactly does one "solve" the "problem" of childhood obesity? Send SWAT teams to kick down Burger King doors? In Great Britain, the government sticks a camera in your living room if they don't think you're parenting properly. Is that what's in our future?

Obesity might seem like a personal problem that's none of the government's business. Not so in Barack Obama's America. As Obama warns in his memorandum, "Without effective intervention, many more children will endure serious illnesses that will put a strain on our health-care system." This is the road to socialism mapped out as clearly as you'll ever see. Obama is pushing for a government-run health care system. If that happens, everyone will be subsidizing everyone else's health problems. If you're overweight, you'll become a strain on the system.

What a chilling reminder of Obama's nanny statism. As Rudy Giuliani said today, "I find it strange this administration is uncomfortable saying 'war on terrorism' but is eager to embrace a 'war on obesity.'"