Did I Really Start A Firestorm in Washington?

Myself and Multiple links ^ | 10-09-07 | ICWHATUDO

[icwhatudo]

Hello everyone, its been an interesting few days. I had no idea my post about the family used by democrats to push for expansion of the S-CHIP program would cause such a stir. There have been many questions and comments raised about me and my simple Google research that I thought I'd deal with them all on this post if it's ok with the Mods.

My interest in the S-CHIP issue came about because of the way it's portrayed in the media. President Bush's veto was of an EXPANSION of this health insurance program to include higher income families. It would not cut the program, (in fact Bush wants to increase funding), nor would it cause the Frost family to lose their coverage under it.

The Frost family choose to allow their son to give the democrat radio response to the president's veto. They choose to put their family story, picture of their home, and income information in the papers for all to see. Now that I look into the facts of that same story I'm accused of "invading their privacy" or "attacking a 12 year old boy". Could someone from Daily Kos, Think Progress, or Democratic Underground please cut and paste the part of my article that attacked the 12 year old boy?

The Baltimore Sun article about the family mentioned that the son attended Park school. I knew this was an expensive private school so I began to wonder why someone who could send their child there would need others to pay for their health insurance. It led to my use of Google to find out if there was information that the Baltimore Sun left out of the article. All the information I found I linked to in my post.

After posting my article a number of Freepers started emailing the story out to local papers and other blogs, talk show hosts, etc. It really exploded when Mark Steyn of National Review Online posted about it. From there it spread through the blogs including Michelle Malkin and even made it on the Rush Limbaugh's show. Last night ABC news online posted about the "firestorm in Washington" it was causing. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was accusing GOP leadership aides of "pushing falsehood" and complained that Republican staffers where passing the information out to reporters.

Left wing sites have begun to hit back, questioning my information. Many are linking to these 5 points from Thinkprogress.org that I will comment on:

"1) Graeme has a scholarship to a private school. The school costs $15K a year, but the family only pays $500 a year."

For all the claims my research was poor...where's your link? $15,000? From my link to the schools tuition page:

Tuition for 2007-2008
Lower School $19,530
Middle School $19,530
Upper School $21,080

Where did you get your information the family was paying $500 per year? Was this from the talking points memo you got from Harry Reid spokesman Jim Manley? Did he tell you how long they’ve had those scholarships? Any idea why the tenant in the commercial building they own, Mike Reilly (who has known the Frosts for 10 years) said See "Update 2:50pm"it was his understanding the children’s grandparents paid the bill?

We can debate the amount they are paying, or the amount the grandparents are contributing, or the amount that is earned through scholarships but the fact remains the family is paying to send their child to a private school while asking others to pay for their health insurance. Are you claiming otherwise?

"2) His sister Gemma attends another private school to help her with the brain injuries that occurred due to her accident. The school costs $23,000 a year, but the state pays the entire cost."

Again no link but I heard this as well. It was why I stated in my article that: "His sister Gemma, also severely injured in the accident, attended the same school PRIOR to the accident"

Its funny how the left wing echo chamber is seizing on this point to somehow show my information was bad. That somehow I was saying she was still attending the Park School. Will you concede that my statement "His sister Gemma, also severely injured in the accident, attended the same school PRIOR to the accident" is 100% true? At the time they choose to not purchase health insurance, prior to the accident, at least 2 of their kids attended Park school.

"3) They bought their “lavish house” sixteen years ago for $55,000 at a time when the neighborhood was less than safe."

Your information is incorrect (and again fails to provide a link). "They" did not buy the house 16 years ago, Mr. Frost bought the home on his own on 11/30/1990. The couple was married in 1992, and it appears his wife paid him $52,500 to be added to the deed on 09/06/2005. Interesting that on the Department of Assessments and Taxation form under "Principal Residence:" it states "NO". Do they own a second home in addition to the commercial property? Also, please cut and paste from my article where I said they lived in a "Lavish house". Large house-yes, and nice kitchen from the photo.

"4) Last year, the Frost’s made $45,000 combined. Over the past few years they have made no more than $50,000 combined.

Again no link. What is the source of this claim? Not saying their reported income was not as you state, but as Mr. Frost set up a LLC would you concede its possible that reported income could be different than actual access to financial resources? Maybe those more familiar on why people set up LLC's can tell us what creative things can be done with finances this way.

"5) The state of Maryland has found them eligible to participate in the CHIP program."

Exactly! Thanks for making my point. Even with the private school you admit they are partially paying for, even with the home that is not their primary residence, even with the LLC they set up and purchased commercial property with, even with a tenant in the building they own...they still qualify! So why then do we need to expand the program to families with even higher incomes than the Frosts?

I am also a father of 4 and I live in a waterfront house. We have 2 boats and go to the beach for 2 weeks each year. All 4 of my kids go to private school. If the S-CHIP program is expanded...WE WILL QUALIFY! I'd love to use the savings from others paying for my kids health insurance to buy a new motor for my bass boat but is that what we really want from S-CHIP?

A few other points:

Some blogs, radio shows, etc have incorrectly stated that I claimed their house was bought for $485,000 or was worth $500,000 etc. My actual quote on this was:

"The current market value of their improved 3,040 SF home at 104 S Collington Ave is unknown but 113 S COLLINGTON AVE, also an end unit, sold for $485,000 this past March and it was only 2,060 SF."

I found a similar (actually smaller) home a few doors down that recently sold for $485,000. A Freeper early on in my original post linked a zillow estimate of $360,000. The taxation page assesses the home at $263,140 and we all know assessed values for taxes are lower than market price(at least in Maryland). Are there cheaper homes in the area that have not been renovated yet? Sure, but lets not miss the point here. This is not a family of renters, they own not only a 3,040 SF home but a commercial property as well. I'm not faulting them for it, I'm not trying to say they are rich, I'm trying to make people aware of what types of families are CURRENTLY covered by S-CHIP so we can honestly debate if the income ceiling should be raised.

Hmmmm, I really could use that new bass boat motor and the kids really would like a Nintendo Wii ... maybe I'll change my position.

[TigersEye]

So they could have insured those two children for under $1,000 per year? That’s the cost of premium cable TV and I bet they’ve got that.

[tobyhill]

Here’s the family plan with BCBS in Baltimore, Maryland. Mother 40, Father 40, male child 12, female child 15, $1200 deductible, $30 co pays = $275 a month or $3300 a year. Cost of a single broken arm = minimum $7500.

If the parents are over 50 the plan jumps to approx. $412 a month.

http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/ehi/Census.fs

[tobyhill]

sorry, bad link

http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I don’t know how to Cut and Paste...could you repeat that please!!!!

Taking your statement at face value:

What country!

A postman’s family living in [a] dump in Daly City can afford to donate $250,000 to Democratic candidates, but an independent busi[ness]man whose wife works for a medical publisher (!) cannot afford health insurance!

Maybe one of the charities Hillary! can give her funny money donations to is this not-so-Paw family!

[DocRock]

Anyone see a pattern? Clinton, Gore and Kerry all used phony human props to cite their position on health care insurance.

---

During John Kerry's nomination acceptance speech during the 2004 DNC, he trotted out his health insurance "poster child", Mary Ann Knowles. Kerry stated that she had to "keep working day after day right through her chemotherapy, no matter how sick she felt, because she was terrified of losing her family's health insurance". In reality, she had excellent coverage with 26 weeks of paid disability leave, but she chose to work through most of her treatment because her husband was unemployed.

Video of Kerry's Speech

Links to story on FR

---

Al Gore tried this same tactic in 2000 with Winifred Skinner.

Al Gore said, "It brings tears to your eyes. Here's this adorable, elderly woman out in Iowa who's so sick and so poor, that in order to pay for medicines she needs to stay alive, she has to scavenge in a local dump yard for cast-off tin cans."

"She gets a small pension," he said. "But in order to pay for her prescription drug benefits she has to go out seven days a week, several hours a day, picking up cans."

It turns out, as the statement was rectified, Mrs. Skinner goes out zero days a week, for zero hours a day, and that she was only speaking "in the name of" people she assumes must do this.

---

In 1994, Hillary Clinton used Kathy Bush when citing her case as an example of the high cost of medical care.

Later, investigators found the mother guilty of intentionally making Jennifer, her daughter, sick and forcing her to undergo more than 40 needless surgeries, in what prosecutors called a case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.

“Forty-two-year old Kathy Bush had been charged with aggravated child abuse and fraud for bilking thousands of dollars from the State of Florida for medical expenses incurred by her daughter, Jennifer. The mother faces up to 45 years in prison.”

Link

[visualops]

Holy cow them’s some impressive numbers!

[Suzy Quzy]

THANK YOU!! I was NOT kidding!

[kalee]

bookmark

[Sir Gawain]

The commenters on that thread over at ThinkProgress are more interested in arguing about religion than the topic at hand. You can tell when they admit defeat to themselves. They “lose interest” in the topic.

[Publius6961]

BUMP!

[Suzy Quzy]

What country! A postman’s family living in [a] dump in Daly City can afford to donate $250,000 to Democratic candidates, but an independent busi[ness]man whose wife works for a medical publisher (!) cannot afford health insurance!

OMG!! THANKS!! how do I do Italics????? :)

[mojo114]

Do not be intimitated this is not about icwhaudo the person, this is about intimidation so no one like you will speak out. Do not worry they are doing the same thing with Rush, Hannity, Levine and before them Imus. It is just a part of shutting up the people. Be Proud and Stand Tall. By the way where is Doug from Upland?

[PGalt]

Thank you, icwhatudo!

Truth, freedom, life.

BUMP-TO-THE-TOP!

[doug from upland]

I’m here. I returned yesterday from enemy territory -— San Francisco. I did a report yesterday about the Blue Angels.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

All right, You asked for it:

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a1e6b7134bf.htm

Everything you need to know about formatting in Free Republic, but really, do buy the “Book”. Better, take the course, you’ll meet nice people like yourself and find a much better teacher. Most people learn better in social settings.

Have fun!

[Palladin]

Great expose of this rich family pretending to be poor. Looks like they know the ropes on getting all the freebies out there for their kids. “Moochers”, we used to call people like that.

[Palladin]

The kid may lose his scholarship when the administrators of the private school learn about all the family assets. You have to fill out lengthy and very detailed financial aid forms for those scholarships. I wonder if the Frosts fudged a little when listing their incomes and assets?

I wonder if they declare everything on their IRS forms, which usually have to be presented along with the scholarship FAF. HMMMMMM.....

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

You show off!

[mojo114]

Whew worried alittle.

[doug from upland]

I knew if I were not on FR for a few days, people would wonder if Hillary had performed a little damage control. :)