Okay so where was I, yeah, I hung out on line to get the vibe - even though I donned the button: "I voted Early for John Kerry" - As I walked back to the Kerry tent a battle erupted. A kerchiefed hippie kid held an 8-foot long plywood board in the air in front of the Bush tent. It read, "1200 Americans Killed in Iraq. 10,000 wounded..." The Bush people went nuts. They wrestled with the guy. Swat team went into high gear. The kid was with the Kerry group, which of course was strategically placed four feet to their left.
The sign being eight feet long well, you get the idea. Meanwhile the chanting from the Military Trail drifted into the parking lot. A soaking wet sexy socialite in high heels approached the front door. "I don't have to vote. I just have to use the ladies room. Cops obliged. Doors opened. Line didn’t move. A five-year-old black girl stared in bewilderment at the whole nutty scene. It was in the words of the Sorkin's, a middle-age Jewish couple, "A real happening."
Please see the updates at the bottom for the most current status. The original post was based upon a mistaken identity. I have left the original post intact with corrections below it.
If you were to believe Jeff Baker, you'd think that he was just a disgruntled small business owner who is frustrated with the economy squeezing him to the point where he needed to shut the doors. It's a story we've all heard, one I can even tell with my own specifics.
But Jeff Baker wanted to be sure the President heard him, so he put up a billboard on Interstate 190 that says "I need a freakin job. Period."
But every lost job hurts, said Jeff Baker, a Buffalo native who was forced to close his niche textile company near Albany, Adirondack Blanket Works, during the financial collapse more than a year ago.
"Losing a business is right up there in catastrophe land," said Baker, who had planned the billboard long before learning Obama was coming to town. "It's personally catastrophic and having to let go of people who were like family for over 10 years, you go through all that heartbreak."
He and his brother put up the sign and launched a website (www.inafj.org) with the hope of steering the conversation in Washington back toward the average American worker.
It's a really nice website, too. Not a homegrown. boring kind of site at all. It's got merchandise, videos, even "inafj.tv"!
A website like that doesn't come cheap, even if they hire a designer who uses a stock template and stock photos. It's nicely done.
Scott Baker has reported and anchored television news for nearly 20 years.
He became interested in broadcasting while working on political campaigns during his school years at Wheaton College (Illinois).
He has worked at the Voice of America in Washington, D.C., CBS News in New York, and at local television stations in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Saginaw, Michigan, and for the last 13 years at WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh.
Viewers have come to know Scott best for both his humor and his skills anchoring and reporting during breaking news events.
According to Jeff Baker, Scott Baker paid for the sign, and likely for the rest of their 'movement', too. Or Breitbart did.
A movement? No. A campaign? Yes. Non-partisan? No. Hidden agenda? Yes.
Got it? Good. Now tell everyone else, including the MSM like CNN.com, CBS.com, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and anyone else you can think of, because presenting this as the effort of one disgruntled businessman and his brother is just a lie, and Andrew Breitbart knows it.
John Amato is debating Breitbart in Beverly Hills next week. I hope he nails him with this duplicitous nonsense. [See update #2]
Update: A commenter points to this article published in the Buffalo News after mine was written which states that Scott Baker lives in Akron and is "vice president of operations at a local manufacturing company."
Would that be a local manufacturing company in Akron, or in Buffalo? Quite a commuting distance between the two. (3:40pm Although it is true that there's an Akron, NY as well near Buffalo.)
It goes on to say this about the video and website:
The CBS segment included two of the Buffalo State College students who appeared on the billboard and on a video posted on the brothers’ Web site, www.inafj.org . Scott Baker said his brother designed the site and produced the professional- looking video, using students Scott found through a friend on the college faculty, Jim Mayrose.
Obviously, if this article is accurate, I am inaccurate. And if I am accurate, the other article is inaccurate. Yes, the name Scott Baker is a common one, and I was able to find a listing for a Scott Baker in the Cleveland/Akron area. There's even a listing for a Scott Baker, HR Director of Cintas Corporation online, though one could wonder why a human resources specialist would be open to promoting this particular campaign. Still, those facts certainly support the conclusion that I was incorrect. Despite the fact that one of the earliest mentions (2 days ahead of the President's visit) was on Breitbart.com and Fox News got the first "exclusive" with the "creator of the movement", these facts would have cast enough doubt to stop me from concluding what I did.
I've given you the additional references so you, the reader can decide. Based on this additional information, I would not have made the definitive conclusion that I did last night. I would have said that given the commonality of the name no firm conclusion can be made.
I'd also recommend Jeff Baker consider web design or video production as his next career, since he did such a splendid job on the site, the integrated Facebook page, the social media PR management and the billboard. He's obviously quite talented.
I have one more question to ask Andrew Breitbart. When will he admit his "error" by publishing video edited to make ACORN look guilty when in fact, they acted in strict compliance with the law?
Update #2: I believe it's fair to say, at this point, that the Scott Baker associated with Breitbart.tv is NOT the same Scott Baker. In this case, it would appear that MSM has it right, that *I* got it wrong, and for that, I apologize to the Baker brothers, Scott Baker and Andrew Breitbart for getting it wrong. Additional information supports what was reported in the Buffalo News article in my first update.
I could ask to have this post pulled down completely but for the fact that bells can't be unrung, and I believe in owning my words AND my mistakes.
Please note: John Amato was not involved in the creation, research or updated information attached to this post. I take full responsibility for it and apologize to all readers for misleading them on this one.
Lost in all the discussion about healthcare reform is the oddly American notion that our teeth are not connected to the rest of our bodies, and have nothing to do with health. So am I surprised that 2000 people stood in line to get free dental care in America yesterday? Hell, no:
BRIGHTON — The doors to a free dental clinic in Brighton opened at 5:00 this morning to a throng of anxious people.
The first person in line was Robin Kelley, 59, of Westminster, who got in line last night at 5 p.m.
We only have one car," she explained, "and my husband works at night, so he dropped me off."
Like others in line, she had a blanket and camped out on the sidewalk. "The company was warm and great," she said.
At 6:15 organizers gave out 808 tickets for services, then ended the line because they felt that was the number of patients that could be seen today. The free clinic continues tomorrow.
David Hathaway, 49, of Arvada was second in line. He is unemployed with no insurance. He heard about the opportunity for free dental care at 3:30 Thursday afternoon and said to himself, "I gotta get out there," he related.
This morning he has already had two root canals and expects to leave with a cleaning, as well.
This is "a godsend," he said. "I think it's great what they are offering."
Earlier this week, Molly Pereira, associate executive director of the Colorado Dental Association, had predicted "a humongous turnout.
Rep. Judy Solano, D-Brighton, sent an automated call to 20,000 constituents, letting them know about the clinic.
Solano reported that a Thornton woman called her to say, "This must be an answer to our prayers."
The woman said her husband and son need dental treatment, but the family can't afford it because of medical bills for their child with special needs.
The two-day clinic is not taking appointments, Pereira said. It is treating people on a first-come, first- served basis.
Dentists, dental hygienists and other medical professionals are volunteering their services for the event, called the Colorado Mission of Mercy.
It's the first COMOM clinic in the metro area and the first since the economy slid into a recession.
"I think we are going to get patients from all walks of life," Pereira said.
First he brought up a conspiracy theory that says the Vice President slipped up and was giving us information that the government didn't want Americans to know. Namely, that the swine flu is highly contagious and you had better stay in your house and lock your doors.
Wallace: I have to tell you, some people have said to me since Vice President talked. Maybe you guys are telling the public one thing, but at the highest levels of government you've heard something else, no -- you're saying to me that everything the Vice President Biden said, I'm not talking to the travel to Mexico. Being in a confined space, being in a classroom. Being in a school. Being in a subway, no health danger to any of that?
Sebelius: Again, with, we're letting the science lead this investigation and trying to be prudent...
Second, he asked if Biden was just insane.
Wallace: So why would the Vice President tell his family that? Are we to believe that the Vice President of the United States is a crackpot?
Sebelius: I think that each member of our country makes decisions about themselves and their family and about safety and security. What we're telling you is what the science says.
Kathleen Sebelius should have gotten up in his grill on that last point, but she's trying to be reassuring to the American people. We hope the next time a talking head gets out of line she will call them on it.
Wow, Chris Wallace had plenty of good reasons to call out Dick Cheney on a host of topics, but he never would have ever used that language to describe a "Vice President" of the United States during Cheney's tenure. FOX News has completely gone off the rails since President Obama was elected. They were always a propaganda arm for the GOP, but the ad hominem attacks have escalated to monumental proportions among their talk-show hosts.
The California Nurses Associaton are working with the family of Nataline Sarkisyan, a 17 year old from Northridge, California, who is lying in the intensive care unit at UCLA Medical Center hoping that CIGNA will approve the liver transplant she desperately needs.
You heard that right, folks. A seventeen-year-old needs a LIVER TRANSPLANT and the insurance company is making up their mind whether to pay for it. And certain presidential candidates think we should all be required to buy "affordable coverage" from these people. Bless their hearts.
At a minimum, can you go read and comment on nyceve's dkos diary on this situation to help build a tsunami of public anger and embarass Cigna into approving this medically-necessary treatment?
Cigna? I got yer embarrassment right here. Please recommend and comment at the Kos Diary and digg this story. And thanks.
UPDATE: (Nicole) FANTASTIC news! Apparently, Cigna's offices were flooded with phone calls and all the work that CNA/NNOC coordinated to support Nataline paid off as Cigna decided late this afternoon to reverse its previous denial.
...(I)t is deplorable and appalling that CIGNA needed to have hundreds of people pounding on their doors and besieging them with calls to take the humanitarian step they should have done long before today," said Geri Jenkins, RN, a member of the CNA/NNOC Council of Presidents, who spoke at the Glendale rally.
Nataline's mother, Hilda Sarkisyan, expressed her profound thanks to CNA/NNOC. "We couldn't have done this without you helping us to stand up against this insurance company and forcing them to finally do the right thing. It is not right in this country for it to take a rally, a protest, and a major press conference to get an insurance company to listen."
"Every politician who thinks the answer to our healthcare crisis is more insurance should stop and think about Nataline Sarkysian," said (CNA/NNOC Executive Director Rose Ann) DeMoro. "Insurance is not care. Paying for insurance coverage is not the same as assuring you will receive appropriate care, even when recommended by a physician as it was for Nataline. Insurance corporations profit by denying care to the sick, and that is no way to run a humane healthcare system."
UPDATE #2: A heartbreaking end to the story. Literally as Cigna was reversing their position, Nataline took a turn for the worst. Her family opted to remove her from life support and she passed away this evening. Our hearts and prayers go to her family.
Hello, everybody, Steven of The Opinion Mill here. It's been quite a week filling in for Mike on this Blog Roundup thing, and frankly I'm getting a little misty-eyed at the thought that it will soon be over. After Saturday, I'll be opening a good bottle of red and sipping it slowly while a recording of John Dowland's "Flow, My Tears" plays in the background. Meanwhile, if you want to join this here party, send your favors to steve[dot]theopinionmill[at]gmail[dot]com, where all will be seen and all will be heard.
Dear Phyllis Schlafly: Next time you want to start hurling accusations about higher education, take a remedial English class first.
He may have been good enough for the Nobel Prize committee, but Bishop Desmond Tutu is persona non grata at Minnesota's Universiity of St. Thomas.
If the burghers and the Bible-bangers are deserting the Republican Party, does that mean we're seeing the end of an era? Rick Perlstein isn't sure.
Michigan Republicans are trying to silence Ambassador Batshit J. Crazee! Oliver Willis says: Let this true conservative voice be heard . And we say: And then get it on YouTube as fast as possible.
HOLY CRAP: This charming inspirational story of how a good Christian couple raised their son in the grace of God's love and guidance will have you running to lock the doors whenever you hear a church bell toll. But never fear -- here's a religious pantheon we can all get behind.
The Creation Museum, a $27-million tourist attraction for those who don’t care for modern science, will open its doors this morning near Cincinnati. The LA Times had an interesting editorial on the facility.
[B]efore the first visitor risks succumbing to the museum’s animatronic balderdash — dinosaurs and humans actually coexisted! the Grand Canyon was carved by the great flood described in Genesis! — we’d like to clear up a few things: “The Flintstones” is a cartoon, not a documentary. Fred and Wilma? Those woolly mammoth vacuum cleaners? All make-believe.
Science is under assault, and that calls for bold truths. Here’s another: The Earth is round.
ABC News investigative journalist Brian Ross blows the doors off the Washington DC prostitution scandal and reveals the myriad Washington insiders involved.
"There are thousands of names, tens of thousands of phone numbers, and there are people there at the Pentagon, lobbyists, others at the White House, prominent lawyers — a long, long list, and as well, the women who work for the service, David, include university professors, legal secretaries, scientists, military officers."
Although after six years of Bush-rule nothing shocks me, this scandal has the potential to take down a lot of prominent people, and this is just the beginning. By refusing to accept the plea bargain offered to her, Jeane Palfrey is going to trial and naming names. Could this be the call service that "Dusty" Foggo was allegedly getting his party favors from? Which White House employees are involved? Which Pentagon officials, lobbyists and prominent lawyers are we talking about here?
If Bill Clinton's impeachment taught us anything, it's that the American people have an insatiable appetite for sex scandals. Can't wait to see where this one goes. And how ironic is it that the man charged with combating worldwide prostitution just resigned because of his fetish for prostitutes?
This has Liebermans website written all over it. In New Jersey, Republican challenger Tom Kean Jr. has accused the Menendez campaign of jamming the campaign headquarters doors with locks, chains and broken keys. Of course, no evidence whatsoever. Other than baseless accusations, that is.
On CNN, I just heard McCain, Graham and his posse being called "The Rebel Republicans." I might come up with a different name for the men who spent a few minutes hidden behind closed doors to help Bush authorize torture in America. But, that's just me.
ABC News investigative journalist Brian Ross 
This has Liebermans website written all over it. In New Jersey, Republican challenger Tom Kean Jr. has accused the Menendez campaign of jamming the campaign headquarters doors with locks, chains and broken keys. Of course, no evidence whatsoever. Other than baseless accusations, that is.
