Here's an interesting piece to the puzzle from the DUmmie formerly known as "Newsguyone":
Ignored Andygate Angle
Hello,
I was banned from DU last week when I asked if people were sure that the Andy fundraiser was on the up and up. (I was Newsguyone, there, as well)
I'd only been at DU for about six or seven months and made about 10 or 15 posts and decided that the place was too paranoid of "low post count" posters, so I split about a month after the election.
Anyway, I wasn't there long enough or often enough to get a good sense of who's who at DU. Nor did I care.
But one dude did stick out: Andy Stephenson.
I remembered Stepheson because he claimed to be close to a guy at the center of a conspiracy theory I'd been following for a few years.
Delmart Vreeland is a conman who faces charges in many states for duping stupid people out of lots of money over the years. He became an Internet phenomenon after the 9-11 attacks while jailed in Canada, facing extradition to the US. He claimed he was an ONI spy who tried to warn people about9-11. Somehow, he pulled off a couple stunts that seemed to give some credibility to an otherwise bizarre and preposterous story.
Anyway, after awhile the Canadians wised up to his story, and it appeared that he was going to be sent back to the US for trial and much jail time.
Of course, he disappeared.
He was pretty much invisible until October of 2004, when he was arrested in Iowa for credit card fraud.
What does this have to do with Andy?
Well, shortly after his arrest, Andy claimed that Vreeland called him from his Iowa jail cell. He made this claim at DU:
http://www.democraticunderground.co...id=925254&page= (read the entire thread, and you'll get an idea of just how gullible these people can be)
Anyway, Vreeland is a notorious scammer:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/ron666/mishawaka.html http://www.freep.com/news/local/qmoore16.htm http://www.detnews.com/2000/oakland...9/c04-44605.htm http://www.state.mi.us/mdoc/asp/oti...ocNumber=197864 http://www.dc.state.fl.us/ActiveOff...ionID=928899223 http://cvweb.clerk.leon.fl.us/proce...=%2716488922%27 And who does this guy call as soon as he is arrested????
Andy Stephenson.
So imagine my shock when I log onto DU a few weeks ago and I see this massive drive to raise $50,000 for this poor fella with cancer. And then I realize that Stephenson is Vreeland's confidant. And that Stephenson was one of Vreeland's buddies known around the net as God-Bush-n-Cheney.
Now, knowing Vreeland doesn't make Stephenson a criminal, per se.
But it doesn't stop me from wondering if maybe, just maybe, Vreeland is in on this little scam.
Afterall, I bet he could use some money right now. He's gonna need a helluva lawyer.
Not only that, but Stephenson's scam, and it's unravelling, has all the hallmarks of Vreeland's escapades on the net.
People wanted to believe Vreeland, just like they wanted to believe Stephenson. But then inconsistencies were pointed out. And then entire facets of the story would change. And then documents were promised. But they didn't appear for days. And when they were did, they were dubious, at best.
And, of course, people who questioned the story on message boards got banned, left, right and center.
Anyway, look around for yourself.
I hope this sheds some new light on the situation.
Not only that, but Stephenson's scam, and it's unravelling, has all the hallmarks of Vreeland's escapades on the net. People wanted to believe Vreeland, just like they wanted to believe Stephenson. But then inconsistencies were pointed out. And then entire facets of the story would change. And then documents were promised. But they didn't appear for days. And when they were did, they were dubious, at best. And, of course, people who questioned the story on message boards got banned, left, right and center.
So the plot thickens.