My friend Andy Stephenson pics- Then and now

[Tucker]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002911202

goodboy (8,929 posts)

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My friend Andy Stephenson. PHOTOS
This was the last time I saw him alive. He stayed with me before heading to Johns Hopkins.

CaliforniaPeggy (96,001 posts)
5. Thank you for your beautiful post, my dear goodboy...

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He sure was a Patriot.

I was devastated when I arrived home after a trip, where I had no internet access, and found out he'd died...

I had been sure he would make it.

May he rest in peace.

We will never forget you, Andy!

proud2BlibKansan (92,401 posts)
7. What great pictures. Thank you.

Slobberfest.

Note to DUmmies: Worms gotta eat too.

[formerlurker]

 

grasswire (34,089 posts)
44. I don't think RimJob had anything to do with it.

It was the toxic bunch who now hang out at a place called conservativecave.com. In particular, it was one freeper w/ user name franksolich. Reportedly, his real name is Fred Grady, from Nebraska. Anyone who really wants to follow that story will find plenty on the Internet, still.

grasswire, you simpleton.   There is no way a hospital would place a hold on funds based on commentary made from an internet website.   Please do print proof from the hospital itself or retract.   Slander like this is actionable.

[txradioguy]

grasswire (34,089 posts)
44. I don't think RimJob had anything to do with it.

It was the toxic bunch who now hang out at a place called conservativecave.com. In particular, it was one freeper w/ user name franksolich. Reportedly, his real name is Fred Grady, from Nebraska. Anyone who really wants to follow that story will find plenty on the Internet, still.

Oh grassy...I'm pissed you didn't mention my role in it.

Why don't you come over here and we can discuss what really happened with Andy.

[Big Dog]

Star Member awoke_in_2003 (15,542 posts)
20. He was a heavy weight...

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that always had a kind word for fellow DUers, and fought tirelessly for verifiable voting (paper ballots)

More cushion for the pushin', as they say.

[Tucker]

HUMMM!

MADem (74,265 posts)
37. I took that lesson away, too.

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I generally spend election day ferrying people to the polls, now, even in the off years and even for the local elections. This last presidential contest, with the help of a van, I got over a hundred Medicare - loving seniors to the voting booths to vote for the POTUS.

I guess Andy really got 'em there--I just did the driving!

Sounds like voter fraud.

[Bad Dog]

I so enjoy DUmmie sadness. I never realized he was a "ginger", explains a lot.

[EagleKeeper]

Alot of street cred building goin on.

Response to goodboy (Original post)
Fri Jul 6, 2012, 10:54 PM
awoke_in_2003 (15,542 posts)

21. I just realized...
it has been seven years.

Response to awoke_in_2003 (Reply #21)
Sat Jul 7, 2012, 02:18 AM

 progressoid (23,357 posts)

48. Doesn't seem possible.
Seems like just yesterday.

Response to progressoid (Reply #48)
Sat Jul 7, 2012, 02:32 AM

awoke_in_2003 (15,542 posts)

49. I was thinking that, too...
I guess times does go faster as you get older. I hope it gets even faster, because living in this country is getting unbearable.

Wow, I didn't see that last one coming.

[Tucker]

These are the ones that raise my eyebrows.

Star Member s-cubed (911 posts)
24. He stayed with me just before HUD surgery. I visited him at Johns Hopkins.

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I wasn't smart enough to take a picture, so thank you.

riverbendviewgal (523 posts)
25. I never met Andy

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but I remember him on DU.....so sad that he could not get the medical help he needed , all because he could no afford it.

badhair77 (298 posts)
52. Thanks for posting this, goodboy

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We must remember those who fought the good fight before us.

I was lurking in 2004. I came here to find others who were as upset about that election as I was. I will never forget the camaraderie of DUers as they spoke and raised funds for Andy. Again, we must honor those who went before and paved the way.

Thanks for the Jackson Browne video also - simple but important message.

philly_bob (1,692 posts)
27. Met him only once. We disagreed on some obscure point.

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But the disagreement was polite and he was the soul of calm and mellowness. This was at the Nashville election reform conference.

As I understand the story, right-wing pranksters delayed his medical treatment. Let us always remember that.

Has PhiliBob turned the odometer over?

A DUmmy that has been there for 8 years and only has 1600 posts! Shit! A real DUmmy can get that many in 24 business hours.

[Charles Henrickson]

I'm surprised to see the foul-mouthed piano player DUmmie goodboy still posting at the DUmp. I haven't seen his name pop up in years.

We were chronicling "The Andy Stephenson Situation" on a daily basis on DUmmie FUnnies at FR. Andy had been claiming that Bush/Diebold had stolen the 2004 election and was demanding proof that Bush actually won. So naturally when Andy then claimed he had cancer and was raising money because he couldn't be treated otherwise (which was not true), well, we expected that Mr. Proof-Demander would be able to verify his story. But he couldn't (or wouldn't). Meanwhile, he was traveling around, flying hither and yon, speaking at DUmmie meet-ups on his "election fraud" shtick, looking red and round and cherubic, not at all sickly or dying of cancer.

Further, FReepers did not cause his death. The surgery was successful. He got a post-op infection, not all that uncommon, especially back in the early-to-mid '00s, when that antibiotic-resistant type of infection was going around. And with Andy's "lifestyle choices," his immune system may have already been compromised.

Also, nobody was gleeful when Andy died. It was the hypocrisy, the double-standard of the DUmmies, in regard to verification that we were after.

[Bad Dog]

Perhaps this is their problem. They all seem to be at each others throat lately. They just need another diseased DUmmy to coalesce around & collect donations for.

[Duke Nukum]

HUMMM!

Sounds like voter fraud.

If those seniors love Medicare they better vote for anyone but 0bama this time.

[Big Dog]

Perhaps this is their problem. They all seem to be at each others throat lately. They just need another diseased DUmmy to coalesce around & collect donations for.

Perfect opportunity for the perfect mole!

And where is franksolich, anyway?

[Tucker]

Perfect opportunity for the perfect mole!

And where is franksolich, anyway?

Sometimes you need to get away from the DUmmies. Especially for those that play in the DUmpster looking for the garbage to bring over. You gotta read20 threads to find one worthy of cave standards.

It gets to you.

[Bad Dog]

Sometimes you need to get away from the DUmmies. Especially for those that play in the DUmpster looking for the garbage to bring over. You gotta read20 threads to find one worthy of cave standards.

It gets to you.

Yeah!!! that's the ticket. Nice misdirection.

[formerlurker]

Perhaps this is their problem. They all seem to be at each others throat lately. They just need another diseased DUmmy to coalesce around & collect donations for.

Pam has been trying to tap that keg for years.  Nothing.

[Bad Dog]

Pam has been trying to tap that keg for years.  Nothing.

I meant diseased body not mind.

[formerlurker]

I meant diseased body not mind.

Pam has played the cancer card twice.

[Bad Dog]

Pam has played the cancer card twice.

The diseased mind trumps it. Face it, she's not a sympathetic figure.

[Mr Mannn]

Hi5 to Tucker for making me laugh out loud. I was not expecting that at all.

You sir, are the KING OF ZING!

[formerlurker]

yewberry (5,506 posts)
47. Andy

Andy was a DUer back in the old days when we were still learning about about voter manipulation and suppression. He was very active in work around what was happening with voting machines (in particular with right-leaning tech companies supplying elections boards with their own proprietary software, e.g. Diebold).

Andy got sick. He had pancreatic cancer, which is a very difficult cancer to treat. He didn't have medical insurance, and there was a pretty surprising effort across Dem sites (and particularly on DU) to raise money to get him treatment from the best possible doctors.

Unfortunately, there was a group of, uh, 'people' who believed that Andy was faking his illness. They spouted their vile beliefs and accusations in several locations, going as far setting up an entire website to debunk Andy's illness (scamdy.com). They essentially decided that their mission was to catch Andy in some great lie, so they effectively placed a bounty on his head, They tried to catch him out, sending people to his hospital or to his home while he was sick with cancer. Worst of all, they contacted Paypal, the site through which all of the fundraising for Andy's surgery had been raised, and claimed that it was a scam.

Paypal held the funds.
Andy's surgery was delayed.
Andy later died.

We did love him.

Paypal killed Andy?     

[formerlurker]

D.  April 28, 2005 . Big Push for Big Money.

As stated above, the last known surgery date scheduled in Washington state was April 20th . Late on April 19th, Stephenson posted that his surgery was postponed. There were a few public disclosures in April about a possible treatment option at the renowned Johns Hopkins University hospital. Not much information was offered for the next week until a surprising and colorful campaign was initiated on April 28th by Elizabeth Ferrari and an unknown number of liberal posters on DemocraticUnderground.com seeking $25,000 as a down payment for major surgery and participation in an experimental vaccine study for Pancreatic Cancer at Johns Hopkins.

Stephenson launched an elaborate team of supporters to serve as third party money solicitors. The name value of Mike Malloy, William Rivers Pitt, and Thom Hartmann were employed as celebrity endorsements for Andy's need for a "Whipple" procedure available only at Johns Hopkins to fight an already-diagnosed cancerous tumor on the pancreas.

It was claimed by another friend of Stephenson's, Arlene Martinez aka Flyarm, her husband's boss Peter Angelos, owner of the Baltimore Orioles, used his position and influence at Johns Hopkins to get Andy into a "test vaccine program".

Organized by Elizabeth "Beth" Ferrari aka sfexpat, with the agreement of the Administration of DemocraticUnderground, a group of supporters proceeded to spread the message far and wide to over 200 websites, forums, blogs, listservs, email, and radio that Andy Stephenson was going to die without this surgery and experimental vaccine program.

The message was clear. Johns Hopkins was the only place Andy's life saving surgery could be performed and they were demanding 50% payment upfront of the $50 thousand cost for the procedure. The date of this surgery was set for the second week in May. All money was to be donated to personal accounts belonging to Andy Stephenson.

One of the dates claimed for the surgery was May 2nd; this was also the day that Beth announced that the fundraiser successfully reached its goal of $25k . But later news broke that Johns Hopkins now needed all 100% of the $50 thousand upfront and the race was back on to raise another $25 thousand dollars before the new May 10th surgery date.

All previous surgery dates fell by the wayside without public mention until it was announced on May 10th that Stephenson's surgery had been cancelled because the venerable Johns Hopkins lost Stephenson's cashiers checks in their mailroom and refused to perform the surgery until the money was found. The checks were allegedly found by one of Andy's supporters called "MissWaverly" on Democratic Underground and who allegedly works at Johns Hopkins. The next day Andy went in to Hopkins for a preliminary MRI. "MissWaverly" claimed this MRI would have cancelled the surgery the day before anyway irrespective of the lost check escapade. This MRI preformed the day after the cancelled surgery cast even more suspicion on the claims made the day before as many question whether Hopkins would do such a test after and not before the May 10th surgery date. The questions being raised about the validity of the May 10th surgery date also cast doubt on the claims that all $50 thousand was due on or before the 10th.

With this latest cancellation the bizarre turned down right troubling. On the afternoon of May 10th a Democratic Underground user posted that he had called Johns Hopkins and was told the fundraiser was a hoax. While this user was quickly banned, and his posts deleted, several other members also called and verified that someone from Hopkins was in fact calling the fundraiser a scam.

In the words of the Democratic Underground Administration these posts "lit a powder keg" under the website that acted as a home base for the fundraisers. "Skinner" the site's administrator and owner issued a statement expressing his own doubts about the legitimacy of the efforts to collect the money and stated he had been trying to verify the claims himself without success.

Stephenson then personally posted outlining the troubles he claimed Johns Hopkins had caused him due to their incompetence and insinuated that "trolls" had tried to tamper with his paypal account causing further hassles. He then went on to add that Hopkins had rescheduled his surgery for May 26th a full 15 days after they had erroneously cancelled his life saving surgery for one of the most virulent cancers there is.

"Skinner" announced that he would confirm that Andy was a patient at Hopkins when he checked in on the 26th in order to verify his claims. He stated the need for Andy to sign a waiver to release the hospital from strict HIPAA laws preventing them from officially commenting. This however didn't quiet the discontent now spreading to all corners of the internet and to the organizations that helped Stephenson collect the money.

On May 17th one of Stephenson's confidants who had spent the previous weekend with Stephenson announced that he did NOT have pancreatic cancer as had been reported and instead had "a tumor on the bile duct not the pancreas". After this admission William Rivers Pitt one of the celebrity endorsees posted a blistering critic of the fundraiser, its lack of accountability, and the lack of any verifiable evidence to substantiate Stephenson's claims. Specifically, Will Pitt asked for the following;



If it was not the very serious pancreatic cancer, why did the surgery need to be done at Johns Hopkins?
If a Whipple was not required, why was $25,000 and then $50,000 needed for this surgery? Andy could have gotten this far-less-serious procedure done back in Seattle for a hell of a lot less money.
Why was I personally told this was pancreatic cancer? Why was I allowed to repeat this now-inaccurate diagnosis many times without anyone correcting me?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3672828
There have never been satisfactory answers to those questions or the questions that need to be answered to quiet those claiming Stephenson and his fundraisers committed fraud when collecting the money. Although it appears that Stephenson did have a procedure at Johns Hopkins on May 25th (moved up one day), to date, what procedure was performed or why it was preformed has not been verified.

The fundraisers, endorsees, DU admin, and Stephenson himself have closed ranks and in many cases done a complete about-face without offering the proof they were asked for and for which they promised the people they so eagerly solicited money from under seemingly false pretenses.

The official "line" now is that all donors are happy Stephenson received surgery on May 25th (moved up one day) and that all questions of fundraising methods have been simply reduced to an "academic exercise" to avoid similar problems in the future.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/06/13/121559/-Allegations-of-Fraud-Hound-Andy-Stephenson-Charity-Fundraising-Campaign

This has been brought up several times and each time I poke around google I find more damning information.  How in the hell did these people get scammed so easily? 

[Bad Dog]

Paypal killed Andy?     

You Bastards!!!

[Ralph Wiggum]

Paypal killed Andy?   

No, "we" did.

People such as the dearly departed Crockspot, Hookemhorns, and NoPittsBill had more brains and integrity in their pinkie toenail than the deceased red round one.

(Forgive me if I've omitted other CC & CU members who passed away)

[Charles Henrickson]

Paypal killed Andy?     

Paypal,
People who need Paypal
Are the unluckiest people in the world . . .

[Tucker]

Paypal,
People who need Paypal
Are the unluckiest people in the world . . .

Fabulous.