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Posted on 07/19/2005 4:32:20 PM PDT by Doug Loss
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.
http://www.conservativeunderground.com//forum/showthread.php?t=11789
Posts 11, and 12:
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If Andy did indeed die of cancer, it is Beth who is more responsible for his death than anyone. It was SHE who had to get him into Johns Hopkins. It was SHE who had to handle the money. It was SHE who was trying to be a savior.
I would not be surprised if it was not SHE who talked Andy out of gettting treated in Seattle and then wait around until SHE could get him into Johns Hopkins. The SHE made him wait around until SHE got the money together through donations.
The more I see and the more I see about this whole thing the more I am convinced that Andy was probably pretty much innocent in this and had the ball taken away from him early in the game. The poor guy thought Beth was going to help him and it wound up costing him his life.
It was not about helping Andy for Beth. It was about her being seen as a savior and making a name for herself. If there is blood on anyone's hands it is on the hands of Beth Ferrari and her ilk.
Now as liberals are want to do, it is someone elses fault.
If anyone got stalked during this whole thing it was me. I got the threatening calls to back off in the middle of the night. I got the hang ups. Ironically, it was I who was among the first Freepers to stand up for Andy. Andy himself gave me the benefit of the doubt and talked to me at length about his problem.
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Posted by sfexpat2000 on 7/12/05 on DU
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 Bush right 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 and the confusion it caused us all, Andy’s surgery date was cancelled 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.
Posted by Ben Burch on andythanksyou.com
"... Dr. Charles J. Yeo, M.D. at Johns Hopkins scheduled surgery for May 10th.
Andy had no medical insurance, so his friends, supporters and people of good-will came together and raised the money required for his treatment in mere days. Unfortunately, on the day of scheduled surgery, the payment checks were temporarily lost in the hospital's mail room, and surgery was rescheduled.
On May 25th, Andy underwent a long and difficult surgical procedure called a "Modified Whipple"."
Hmmmm....whose lying now? Do they think people are too stupid to read and see the discrepancies?
You might refer the hurting moobat to a professional. Tactfully, of course. The moonbat is being scammed, the moonbat is scamming you or you're the moonbat doing the scamming, period.
The pseudo lawyer who defended the child molestor is still around in DU, eh? Figures.
Andy Stephenson was not an amateur activist, he was a professional activist, experienced at fundraising. He even ran for WA SOS last year. He was the self-appointed champion of accountability and verifiability.
Will Pitt, chief mouthpiece, is a professional activist, experienced at fundraising.
Beth Ferrari, fundraising manager, has long been active in California politics and raising money for various causes.
These people should have known better.
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.
Hence, major red flags. This whole fundraiser could have been set up very easily and quickly in an accountable manner, by simply establishing an trust fund or account with a bank or hospital. Happens all the time in the real world.
Well, I think he did respond--on the newspaper web-site, suggesting that the story is much more than what Elizabeth Ferrari alleges it is.
And that's where a response was needed the most.
He doesn't respond here, where he's asking "questions" and we're giving answers. Not even a "thank you" I remain suspicious, even though my color is gold rather than aluminum foil silver.
IF 'Andy' is gone; why not give his last name.
Protecting the 'deceased' seems a bit over the top; given that the whole impetus is to get to the 'truth of the matter'.
Personally, never saw anything here resembling this story; but cannot check, in any event with only the name. . .'Andy'.
This obfuscation seems a red flag here. . .and addressing the sympathies of DUmmies; is another.
And the FR posters being mainly 'Christian' is another. . .(better 'members of taliban' I guess)
That would be 'telling'. . .surely, this little bit of info can be easily verified.
That said; stranger stories have been told. . .
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