[Vision2020] Reward Fund Regarding Bouma Postcard Hoax

Art Deco deco at moscow.com
Fri Oct 29 17:28:00 PDT 2010


Dan,

Thank you for pointing out the obvious.  I am sorry that I did not express myself more clearly. I will attempt again without any promise of success.

Here's why I thought the article missed the mark:  Why didn't Ms. Herrmann at least ask of Dani Bright (a possible misnomer?) the following:


How do you know what the intent of the mailing was if the sender(s) is/are unknown?

Didn't Bouma benefit from this mailing?  How much money has he raised from his pleas for help about the mailings?  Given that Bouma has benefitted, wasn't the timing of  the postcards a little suspicious?  Wouldn't a real hoaxer have waited until just before the election?

How do you know that the community offered the reward in order to help Bouma?  Could there be other reasons like they are appalled the anonymous nature of the mailings?

Do the mailings really misrepresent the religious beliefs of Bouma given that he preaches in the church where people were urged to attend in the mailing, and which church appears to hold these beliefs?

Does Bouma believe that Mormons worship a false god, and therefore are doomed to hell?

In what way do Bouma's religious beliefs determine his political beliefs and political plans of action?

Why hasn't Bouma himself addressed these questions?

Why has Bouma stopped attending forums where spontaneous questions from the public are allowed?  Doesn't this raise the issue of honesty and courage?


Here is the issue in a nutshell:  Herrmann's article is like the local print media's articles on many news items which are basically "she said, he said, etc" journalism.  There was no attempt to discover the truth or falsity of the utterances of those quoted.  

The mailings have generated a great deal of discussion.  Among other things, people want to know exactly what Bouma's views are, if he can defend them, if he has a spine, if he is honest and forthcoming, what his religious views are in so far as they affect his political views, and if he believes that a significant part of the populace of Latah County, whom he aspires to represent, are doomed to hell, etc.

Ms. Herrmann missed a golden opportunity to discover and to reveal vital, much needed information.  And even if no answers would have been provided -- that failure would speak volumes in itself.  

Ms. Herrmann writes for a college newspaper.  One would hope for high standards, but it may not be realistic to expect them.  There is no excuse for the local mainstream print media, who ostensibly are peopled by professionals, for not reporting on these issues.

For example, David Johnson followed his sob-sister, fact-short article on the distressed so-called Reverend Knerr with another article with the same "she said, he said" approach.  Why doesn't Johnson's news editor straighten this out?  Why doesn't the news editor demand some factual research on the truth or falsity of what people say?  Why doesn't his news editor remove the prejudicial slant and values from his articles?  Why hasn't the publisher noted these problems?

We are now facing an election where candidates views, values, and prejudices are at issue.  And it's just not Bouma.  There are some real unanswered questions about McGraw's, Warner's, Young's and Goesling's political beliefs and their groundings in extreme right-wing positions.

The media have failed to ask important questions and have failed to provide vital information to the electorate.  Until the local media get beyond "he said, she said" journalism and start try to verify the statements of those they quote, we will be left in the dark, not only with important election related information, but on many other issues as well.



Wayne A. Fox
1009 Karen Lane
PO Box 9421
Moscow, ID  83843

waf at moscow.com
208 882-7975




  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Dan Carscallen 
  To: Vision 2020 
  Sent: Friday, October 29, 2010 1:00 PM
  Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Reward Fund Regarding Bouma Postcard Hoax


  Wayne,


  Ms. Hermann didn't write that of her own volition, she was quoting Dani Bright, a member of the college republicans. 


  Just didn't want you throwing Ms. Hermann under the bus for actually writing a pretty good article.

  DC

  On Oct 29, 2010, at 11:08, "Art Deco" <deco at moscow.com> wrote:


    Kayla Herrmann of the Argonaut wrote:

    "Whoever made these postcards did so with malicious intent and that is pretty obvious, however I do think it's cool that the community got together to help him out."

    This statement is grossly inaccurate, and one suspects that Kayla Herrman would be the kind of reporter the local print media would love to hire:

    1.    Since the sender is unknown, the intent is unknown.  It could of have been sent by the Bouma campaign or a Bouma supporter.  Given the money and sympathy raised by Bouma on the mailings, a healthy dose of skepticism about who sent the mailings is indicated.  In fact, if the LCSD asked at the start of their investigation "Who benefits?" they would not be wasting time interviewing Saundra Lund and attempting to intimidate her for expressing her views in a public forum.  It appears that the LCSD is again floundering around.  Given the sheriff's religious and political perspectives, this is hardly surprising.

    2.    I do not think those would contributed to the reward fund did it to help Bouma out.  They believed at the time, thanks in part to the kneejerk reaction of the local media, that the postcard was a nasty political hoax.  At best, we don't know if it was a hoax or not.  Smart money is on the side that it was a cleverly crafted political ploy that has very successfully benefited Bouma.  

    Pursuing this line, let us not forget that the postcard was an invitation to attend Freeze Church.  The language clearly indicated that the recipient targeted was already assumed to be committed to vote for Bouma and McGraw.  There were political implications -- implications which those already committed to vote for Bouma would presumably be in agreement with and supportive of candidates that held such beliefs.  

    The religious driven beliefs expressed on the postcard were not only consistent but in agreement with the beliefs of Freeze Church where Bouma attends and occasionally preaches.  In this regard, the religious statements/imperatives on the postcard were accurate, not libelous, hence not defamatory.


    Wayne A. Fox
    1009 Karen Lane
    PO Box 9421
    Moscow, ID  83843

    waf at moscow.com
    208 882-7975



      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: Tom Hansen 
      To: Moscow Vision 2020 
      Sent: Friday, October 29, 2010 10:08 AM
      Subject: [Vision2020] Reward Fund Regarding Bouma Postcard Hoax


      Courtesy of today's (October 29, 2010) UI Argonaut.

      ---------------------------------------------------------

      Reward Fund Regarding Bouma Postcard Hoax
      Kayla Herrman, Argonaut

      A $3,000 reward has been promised by an Idaho non-profit cooperation to
      anyone who is knowledgeable about the "Friends of Bouma" postcard hoax
      that happened the weekend of Oct. 16.

      Currently, the city, county, and state are involved in investigations
      regarding the hoax, which blatantly attacked several groups and targeted
      Latah County Senate candidate Gresham Bouma.

      The fund has been put together by David Nelson, chair of the local
      Democratic Party, Walter Steed, chair of the local Republican Party, and
      Tom Hansen, owner and manager of Moscow Cares, a service entity that
      contributes to and funds charitable causes.

      A reward of $2,900 and $500 that is further promised has been pledged to
      the Postcard Hoax Information Reward Fund, which includes $1,000 from
      Gresham Bouma, and $1,000 from Moscow Cares, Hansen said.

      "The remaining contributions were from the community.  The largest
      contribution we received was $100, and donations have ranged from $20 to
      $100," Hansen said.

      "The main purpose of the reward is to clean up the damage done to the
      community.  If it is ignored it could eventually grow like a cancer," he
      said.

      Dani Bright, a member of College Republicans, said she was very upset
      about the postcard hoax.

      "I just think it is sad that people have to debase themselves to such a
      dirty level of politics to throw an election like that.  I feel horrible
      for Bouma and hope that Election Day goes well for him and everyone,"
      Bright said.

      "Whoever made these postcards did so with malicious intent and that is
      pretty obvious, however I do think it's cool that the community got
      together to help him out."

      If no one has been arrested by Dec. 1 the funds will be returned to the
      donors, however if the county sheriff has any suspects, the funds will be
      put on hold for an additional 30 days, said Hansen.

      "It's not if they get caught, it is when they get caught.  I hope people
      in the future will learn to not participate in such illegal activities,"
      Hansen said.

      ---------------------------------------------------------

      This morning an additional $500 will be deposited into the Postcard Hoax
      Information Reward Fund on behalf of Debi Robinson-Smith and several other
      local citizens, bringing the fund to a total of $3,900.

      I have but one thing to add to this article, Moscow . . .

      "Be a Hero"
      http://www.MoscowCares.com/Hero

      Seeya round town, Moscow.

      Tom Hansen
      Moscow, Idaho

      "The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
      and the Realist adjusts his sails."

      - Unknown


      =======================================================
       List services made available by First Step Internet, 
       serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.   
                     http://www.fsr.net                       
                mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
      =======================================================

    =======================================================
    List services made available by First Step Internet, 
    serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.   
                  http://www.fsr.net                       
             mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
    =======================================================


------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  =======================================================
   List services made available by First Step Internet, 
   serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.   
                 http://www.fsr.net                       
            mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
  =======================================================
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20101029/a9603bcd/attachment-0001.html 


More information about the Vision2020 mailing list