Posted on 07/19/2005 4:32:20 PM PDT by Doug Loss
This was just posted to a web forum hosted by my local newspaper. Before I comment on it to the poster (who has posted before that he's a registered Republican, but who is a frothing liberal), I want to find out if anyone here knows anything about this. If Freepers really did this, I'm ashamed. But I have a hard time believing that, especially since DU is mentioned. In fact, as I re-read it I notice that there are no checkable or verifiable facts here. What can you all tell me about this? Here then is the post:
This is really off topic, and for this I apologize, but I'm nursing a bit of a rage, and I need to post this. A couple months ago, a voting rights advocate I was familiar with was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer (not good). I had heard that he was ill, and people were taking up a collection for him. My wife and I don't have much, but we gave what we could. About two weeks ago, sadly, Andy passed. While he was sick, I had heard some scuttlebut about people trying to impede the fundraising (that's right, impede). The people trying to stop the fundraising were from a very popular right wing website called "freerepublic". The community at this sight are almost without exception, drooling, knuckle dragging, hang on every word followers of the President, though I'd like to think they aren't "typical". They also, almost without exception tout themselves as "Christians". Today, I found out details of their little "operation". My hands are still shaking with rage, and don't really know what to do, so I thought I would post these details here, as written by a friend of Andy's. It's long, I hope you will take the time to read it, and feel free to comment. Thanks.
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When Andy knew his ill health was serious, I offered to make calls for him. I have made calls for families unable to find resources for over a decade. The public health care system nearly killed my husband, and when we were given a reprieve, I swore I'd work to help anyone to find the care they needed.
I had little real success in finding resources for Andy, except in the sense that we widened the circle of friends who helped us look. One of them struck gold, and was able to get Andy taken on as a patient by a respected doctor at Johns Hopkins. This seemed no less than a miracle to us. There are many cancer patients in the world and no matter their net worth, they are not taken on easily by doctors at Johns Hopkins.
That left only the money. Out of state patients must be prepared to pay the full costs of their surgeries in advance. So, a group of Andy’s friends set out to try to raise the funds needed, armed with only love and hope and a very narrow window in which to come up with the cash before the hospital would turn us away.
That we did indeed raise the $50,000 fee in 11 days, in small donations and in many currencies, is a measure of how beloved Andy was. None of us had the skill to open wallets, per se. This was for Andy, for his dedication to clean elections and his boundless generosity to the movement.
And at this point, the story becomes bifurcated. One fork is the progress of love and hope and generosity that he elicited in the progressive community who shook junk drawers and upended sofa cushions and did without one trip to the mall to send in a donation. They made Andy’s surgery possible. And it is true that when I announced to an incredulous employee at Johns Hopkins that we had raised the money, I’m sure she heard me say, we found Monopoly Money and would she accept that? Paypal and Amazon accounts seem not to be used very often by the Johns Hopkins clientele.
But the other fork of this story is the profound disturbance it created in the Bush right wing. I didn’t understand this until much later. But, the watchers saw our effort, watched the community response and were inspired with what can only be called hatred. Because only such a reaction could account for the vicious attack that was set into motion.
The first weekend of our fundraiser was without incident, but our jubilation at raising $25,000 in only one hundred hours must have goaded the Bush right. Before the week was out, the rumors of fraud and malfeasance crept over the internet. I began to get anonymous email demanding to know Andy’s most personal information. During the second and last weekend of our effort, the contact information I had made available to donors resulted in my email box being spammed with hate mail. I at that point ignored it. It simply never occurred to me that our effort for our friend would become a political death struggle.
I was in no way prepared for what followed. And, although I have no proof, what followed was a concerted political attack on Andy, on our progressive community, and especially on our ability to raise funds for our projects, as well as an attack on Andy’s productive work as an elections reform activist and watchdog.
What followed was a coordinated effort to block Andy’s medical care or his benefit from the medical care we could secure for him. In specific, the opposition had its agents make small donations so they could then call Paypal with allegations of fraud that froze Andy’s account. They also called Paypal, misrepresenting themselves as the hospital, to “verify” that this effort was a scam.
And it got more vicious from there. Due to the frozen funds – exacerbating Johns Hopkins' mislaying of a deposit check -- and the confusion it caused us all, Andy’s surgery date was canceled by Johns Hopkins. It was with great difficulty that we were able to persuade the doctor to be put Andy back into the surgical rotation. That cost him two weeks while he suffered from the most aggressive, invasive form of cancer.
The smears and the rumors were seeded all over the internet. Ill, on hold waiting for his surgery, Andy and the rest of us cast about trying to answer questions that were more often simply calculated accusations meant to discredit us all, meant to make Andy’s health care as difficult as possible.
Andy called me one day, happy because he’d been given a new date. Then called again, because they’d moved the date up. He was terrified, sobbing and I was caught flatfooted. Torn between trying to mind Andy’s care and trying to stop or answer the horrible accusations being sown all over our community, I had very little to offer his terror, dealing with my own.
After Andy was admitted to the hospital, the rumors turned into threats. A bounty was offered for anyone who could sneak into his hospital room. It was said he was getting a face lift. A telegram was sent just to see if it could be successfully delivered. The harassment was nonstop. We tried to shield Andy from it, with less success than we would have liked.
A day or so after his surgery, Andy called me from his bed in ICU. I picked up the phone and he began to sing to me, “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” I started crying. And when we hung up, I offered that bit of good news to our on line progressive community at the Democratic Underground. Immediately, the opposition took that as evidence that Andy was not in fact recovering from a surgical marathon. And this was their pattern. Every specific I offered to comfort the community was taken up by Andy’s stalkers and used as evidence that we were frauds.
Andy left the hospital and spent two weeks recovering at a friend’s house, learning how to eat again, learning how to move, weaning himself from the morphine that he’d needed post surgery. During this time, one of his supporters in Baltimore had her car vandalized – a message was sent. Shortly after he left to return to Seattle, his second East Coast hostess was stalked to her home and she watched as someone tried to open her front door. His supporters everywhere were systematically intimidated and all the while, they tried to keep it from Andy.
Andy then went back home to Seattle, preparing for a medical course of chemotherapy and radiation. Once he arrived, he found that an anonymous tipster had managed to get his Medicaid shut down. It took us two weeks to get him back in the system. Andy had anaplastic pancreatic cancer and was again forced to wait weeks for follow up care.
By this time, Andy’s stalkers had set up a website. It purported to be concerned that the funds for his surgery were raised fraudulently. Thankfully by this time, Andy spent very little time on line. But it wore on his core advocates who were repeatedly attacked, defamed and baited.
We were threatened with everything from the FBI to the Washington State Attorney General. And of course, because our first concern was Andy, his attitude and his care, our response had to be measured or none. On a good day, we didn’t want Andy logging in and reading that he would soon be visited by federal agents to answer for the mythical hundreds of thousands of dollars we’d supposedly raised.
As late as a week before Andy died, we couldn’t keep this poisonous campaign from him. One of the last times he felt well enough to log into to his email, he found a multipage denunciation, supposedly being filed with his state’s attorney general. He called me, not so much in a panic. Panic was no longer a speed Andy had. He called me in despair, because he could no longer fight the barrage of hatred being leveled at him. I don’t remember what I said to him but I hope it helped for a moment.
The attack from the Bush right never paused, not even through the agony of Andy’s last days. Not at all. Even the fact of his death is being disputed. Two days after his passing, his advocates are still being harassed, still receiving anonymous hate calls, “It was a scam.” The friend planning his service was visited by two men impersonating sheriffs on the morning after Andy passed. They were there to ask about fraud, they said.
Andy’s physical death has not stopped the attack, has not slowed the hatred, has not stemmed the steady stream of intimidation.
But, we’re not afraid. And we take up Andy’s work to secure our elections in his honor and in your face.
Bio: Elizabeth Ferrari is a writer and a family mental health advocate in San Francisco, CA. She is married to comedian Doug Ferrari.
You should have waited for evidence besides some lefty writer to post these unsubstantiated charges here in the first place.
This sounds bizarre, and I doubt that anyone from FreeRepublic had anything to do with this, if anything here is true. The behavior described is certainly NOT the style of anyone I know on this forum, and I've been aroun dhere quite a while.
Well, Doug, you've been here since 2001. Have you seen anything such as this here?
I've been here since 1998 and haven't.
---The people trying to stop the fundraising were from a very popular right wing website called "freerepublic". The community at this sight are almost without exception, drooling, knuckle dragging, hang on every word followers of the President, though I'd like to think they aren't "typical". They also, almost without exception tout themselves as "Christians".---
Yeah, he sounds like a republican alright ...insert 'rollingeyes' smiley face here.
Ping.
It doesn't sound right to me.
For only 10 more dollars, I'm sure someone will give you the answer,
Hmmmm....Andy....DU....I recollect reading something here about him. Perhaps DU Funnies? I think I recall this was a scam or something. Anyone else have info?
Gee, he didn't have an preconceived notions or biased opinions...
I have never heard this story. In addition, I live in PA and fairly near Williamsport, which has turned from the home if the Grange to a bastion of Pannsylvania State University (It's a COMMONWEALTH) stupidity and strip clubs. Likely, it's a convienient setup.
Check with PJ-Comix. I think it is pretty much a given the whole "Andy is dying of pancreatic cancer" fund raiser turned out to be a huge hoax perpetrated on DU'ers. More than likely, what happened was people from DU realized they were being taken, and they complained.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1400244/posts
---Thanks for replying.
Briefly I'd like to explain why I called in the first place. Over the
past couple of years Andy Stephenson has been involved in a few
questionable donation drives that ended rather badly. In the past six
months I've received no less than 40 emails from Andy, or one of his
agents, soliciting donations for everything from lawyer fees,
unemployment relief, to medical tests.
This week the request took a rather shocking turn when the pleas for
money stated the were to receive cancer treatment.
Now if Andy in fact does require this treatment I'm not the type of
person that would try and hamper those efforts. However, there have
been several claims made that just don't quite add up. ---
Looks like he ran into problems because DU smelled something funny. But hey, if they can blame free republic for it, why the hell not???
Of course I haven't seen any such thing here. Quite the opposite, in fact. But I'm also not one to tell a guy, even a moonbat, who is obviously hurting that what he's saying couldn't be true without some evidence to back me up. I was hoping that someone else had heard about this posting he picked up and could tell me more about it.
From the use of their inflammatory language, I would say this is a bigger pile of lies than Joe Wilson's fact finding tour of Niger.
Hmmmm....this starts out saying "My wife and I" and ends with a bio of a woman writer.......????
Bogon flux rising, captain!!!!
Proof? Who needs any stinkin' proof?
Here's something of an answer. I know there was talk about this on FreeRepublic in threads, probably DUmmy FUnny threads. But there was a website devoted to this:
http://www.scamdy.com/
Apparently some people believed Andy's illness was a scam to make money. I don't know if it was or not. I don't know if he really died or not. But you can go to the link and maybe find more info for yourself.
Interesting times on FR....see Franksolich, speed_addiction,(one's off the top of my head) among many others...
This is the guy that tried to spread the conspiracy theory that the election was stolen from John Kerry because of DIEBOLD right?
Don't be ashamed. What you have been told is a gross distortion.
I notice that there are no checkable or verifiable facts here.
That should tell you something.
What can you all tell me about this?
It's a l-o-o-o-o-n-g story, but I'll see if we can give you the Cliff Notes version along with some links for further reading.
Also, you can do some FR title searches for "dummie" and keyword searches for "andystephenson".
Oh, I don't know a lot about this, but there are threads on this tpoic here on FR. The guy's name is andy Stephensen and there was a lot of discussion about his cancer being a scam. Do a search on "Andy" and you'll see them.
Why even bother to post it then?
The fund-raising effort for Stephenson was the work of amateur activists, not professional charities. Spontaneous mutual aid has both good and bad characteristics. Stephenson's friends did not provide the kind of checks and balances that are associated with mainstream philanthropy. For instance, the money went directly to Stephenson—there was no board of trustees controlling a third-party account and carefully documenting expenditures and donations.
Meanwhile, Stephenson was readmitted to the hospital because of postsurgical complications on Wednesday, June 22, and remained there at press time on Tuesday, July 5. Stephenson says Medicaid is now covering him, so his medical bills are not a cause of concern.
I don't remember the title or who the freeper was. Try searching for it if your that concerned what those DU'ers think of us.
I am on the DUmmie FUnnies ping list and I can say that while PJComix was curious as to how this situation developed, he never asked for anyone to do any of the things this person accuses FR of.
In fact, DUmmie FUnnies showed threads from DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND about how THEY had questions and were investigating.
There is also a site called "Scamdie" or something which I think investigated this.
But the point is, this looks like an attempt to toss the blame on FR when in fact DU was where the first questions on this appeared, on threads which DU has deleted, I've been told.
This person is trying to use his friend's death to smear FR, without mentioning that DU was the source of at least the initial questions about this, if not more.
This is an absolute lie in my opinion.
The whole story has a BS smell. She knows enough to know they are Bush righties harressing them but can't find out any names? And whoever it was, was able to stop his medicaid? Oh yeah, I bet that's easy to do anonymously. Oh yeah, and I remember the frantic Freerepublic campaign on this--not! She sounds more like a delusional, far left, nut bag.
Many older threads on this person who I assume the post you posted is about.
This story is so stupid as to be unbelievable.
Elizabeth Ferrari ("sfexpat2000" at DU) is the self-styled bookkeeper for the Give-Money-To-Andy project.
She never met Mr Stephenson while he was alive, and yet she's been the main torchbearer in all this.
This screed of hers is a big steaming heap of lies.
For the WHOLE story (it's very complex) goto:
http://scamdy.com/forum/html/index.php
Hmmmm....see post 55
Andy played a big part in the scamming lots of money out of the DUmmies in the Bev Harris ordeal then returned to claim that she had ripped him off.
It wasn't long after that when he began his fundraising. It didn't take long before questions were raised among the DUmmies. Those questions became a taboo subject when donors began asking for proof. Finally there's the news that Andy has died, yet still no proof.
Lets not forget that the DUmmies are people who cheered the death of Ronald Reagan and regularly call for the death of other conservatives. Any guilt here has been more than matched there.
"This person is trying to use his friend's death to smear FR, without mentioning that DU was the source of at least the initial questions about this, if not more."
Suprise suprise. Yup, the post is a gross distortion of events. I was there. No one interferred or wished Andy any ill will (the "anonymous" hatemail charge should be your first clue).
Andy has a history of fraud... and he "championed" election reform. He wants an open veriable paper trail (except when it applies to his fundraising). He wants socialized health care... except when it applie to him.
All party's (FR, Dem Underground, Conservative Underground) found alot of holes in story and, given his history, suspected fraud. The writer's outrage is being selective.
He's trying to use Andy's death for political gain. Typical moonbat.
There is not an iota of truth in the statements made by Elizabeth Ferrari, otherwise known as the member of democraticunderground "sfexpat2000."
She made the allegations, and we on scamdy have repeatedly asked that she prove them.
She made the allegations, so it is up to her to prove them.
They cannot be proven because they are fantastical creations; pulled out of thin air, reinforced by "projection," in which actually it was those involved with scamdy who were stalked, threatened, and harrassed, both on the internet and in real life.
No one involved with scamdy, no one involved with the DUmmie FUnnies, and no one inolved with Free Republic has stalked, threatened, or harrassed anyone on that side.
Speaking as the owner of scamdy, I am still waiting for Elizabeth Ferrari to prove any single one of these things.
Under two different screen names, so have I. All I have ever seen here was sympathy and generosity for the plight of others, even when it's someone we geneally despise. Remember the thread about Bill Clinton's bypass surgery? The only posts which needed to be removed were from newbie trolls over from the DU. Mosts of the 400+ others were from genuinely concerned FReepers, pouring out empathy, personal experience which might be helpful, and wishes for a full recovery.
That says volumes about us iggorant, white, far-right, Christian extremist gun nuts, while the deleted posts WOULD have said equal volumes about the "progressives" who allegedly worship(ed) the man.
I have not heard a hint of this event, not even in the most oblique terms.
I've got to iterate what someone else said: if you are worked so easily into a rage before checking facts, I feel sorry for your family and your friends.
Anything is possible, but it would surprise me more than anyone else to discover that any regularly present freeper, regardless of ideology, would participate in such petty and childish petulence.
Trolls and stealth hand grenades (and we get more than our share) are a distinct possibility. Plants, here specifically to create incidents later to be cited as "proof" of Free Republic's decadence and distilled mean-spiritedness. Sure beats rational debate between Freepers and unarmed morons.
None of us tried to impede or stop the fundraising. That is an outright lie (that's right, lie).
able to get Andy taken on as a patient by a respected doctor at Johns Hopkins.
Andy could have had the treatment done sooner in his home town of Seattle rather than delaying treatment to have it done in Baltimore.
That left only the money.
Andy could have had the treatment done at low or no cost in the state of Washington but passed that up to have it done for much more at Johns Hopkins.
the profound disturbance it created in the Bush right wing.
It also created a disturbance in their own left-wing Democratic Underground site. A number of DUers themselves raised questions and complained about how the fundraiser was being conducted, i.e., with a distinct lack of accountability and verifiability.
were inspired with what can only be called hatred.
You will search in vain to find any expressions of hatred toward Andy here on FR. All of us only wished him well physically. On the other hand, you can find mountains of hatred toward FReepers over on DU, including death threats.
although I have no proof
A telling remark.
a coordinated effort to block Andy’s medical care
None of us blocked his medical care. This is a lie.
Due to the frozen funds – exacerbating Johns Hopkins' mislaying of a deposit check -- and the confusion it caused us all, Andy’s surgery date was canceled by Johns Hopkins.
This is not true, even according to Andy's own words and the posts by other insiders on his team. They themselves said at the time that the May 10 surgery was delayed because of lost checks in the JHH mailroom. And any shortfall in funds was covered by a check from another DUer, but that check was not needed. So their own posts at the time contradict what is being charged here.
Well, you get the idea. Gross distortions.
No one killed Andy. He was reported as recovering nicely after the successful surgery, but then he got an infection. That, unfortunately, happens; any time the body is cut open, there is the risk of a deadly staph infection like Andy got.
None of us rejoiced at Andy's death.
Chill out, I didn't say anyone did.
Sorry, sir--not directed at you, but I didn't know where to start.
I thought I needed to make a statement somewhere here, and your name was the one the mouse landed on.
For the record, scamdy is still waiting for Elizabeth Ferrari to prove a single one of her fantastical allegations.
Also for the record, although the DUmmies don't believe it, Free Republic and its most-popular feature, the DUmmie FUnnies (sometimes more "hits" on that feature in a single day, than in ALL of DUmmieland), are not associated in any way, manner, or means, with scamdy.
scamdy is a group of people representing all colors of the political spectrum, whose sole interest is in honest and open fund-raising.....not exactly an ideological issue.
D'OH!
In that thread there are a number of summarizing posts that put this whole thing in perspective and respond to the particular DU accusations.
Great post.
That whole write up by Beth Ferrari is rubbish. FReepers creeping around opening people's front doors, vandalizing vehicles, impersonating sheriff's deputies, shutting down Medicaid, tampering with Paypal? What a joke.
I'm surprised she left out us landing UFOs on her roof.
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