Michelle Malkin, Graeme Frost, and SCHIP

[DaShi]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Yours and Berz's whining.

Where did I say there was something wrong with questioning their legitimacy? Do I need to make a fool of you again?

[DaShi]

Meh, I will anyway. This is what we're whinging about and you are either defending or don't understand:

http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1670210,00.html

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2007
The Swift-Boating of Graeme Frost
By Karen Tumulty/Washington

If you listen closely to the two-minute radio address that 12-year-old Graeme Frost delivered last week for the Democrats, you can hear the lingering effects of the 2004 car crash that put him into a coma for a week and left one of his vocal cords paralyzed. "Most kids my age probably haven't heard of CHIP, the Children's Health Insurance Program," he says in a voice that sounds weak and stressed. "But I know all about it, because if it weren't for CHIP, I might not be here today."

Graeme, whose sister suffered worse brain injuries when their family SUV hit a patch of black ice, was making an appeal for President Bush to reconsider his veto of legislation that would have expanded the program designed to provide health coverage to children of the working poor — those who are too rich to qualify for Medicaid but unable to afford private insurance.

Since then, Frost and his family have been introduced firsthand to something else that most kids his age haven't: the reality of how brutal partisan politics can be in the Internet age. It started over the weekend, when a blogger calling himself Icwhatudo put up a post on the conservative website Freerepublic.com noting what he had found by scavenging around the Internet: that Graeme attends a private school, lives in a remodeled house near one that had sold for $485,000 in March and is the child of parents whose wedding was announced in the New York Times. The post also noted that his father purchased a $160,000 commercial space in 1999.

"One has to wonder that if time and money can be found to remodel a home, send kids to exclusive private schools, purchase commercial property and run your own business... maybe money can be found for other things," the blogger wrote. "Maybe Dad should drop his woodworking hobby and get a real job that offers health insurance rather than making people like me (also with 4 kids in a 600sf smaller house and tuition $16,000 less per kid and no commercial property ownership) pay for it in my taxes."

That was just the beginning of what turned into a Category 5 hurricane on the blogosphere. Typical of the tone was what Mark Steyn wrote on National Review Online: "Bad things happen to good people, and they cause financial problems and tough choices. But, if this is the face of the 'needy' in America, then no one is not needy." Nameless commenters to conservative blogs were even harsher. "Let 'em twist in the wind and be eaten by ravens," wrote one one on Redstate.com, who was quoted in the Baltimore Sun. "Then maybe the bunch of socialist patsies will think twice."

It turns out, however, that not everything about the Frosts' life pops up on a Google search. While Graeme does attend a private school, he does so on scholarship. Halsey Frost is a self-employed woodworker; he and his wife say they earn between $45,000 and $50,000 a year to provide for their family of six. Their 1936 rowhouse was purchased in 1990 for $55,000. It was vacant and in a run-down neighborhood that has improved since then, in part because of people like themselves who took a chance. It is now assessed at $263,140, though under state law the value of that asset is not taken into account in determining their eligibility for SCHIP. And while they are still uninsured, they claim it is most certainly not by choice. Bonnie Frost says the last time she priced health coverage, she learned it would cost them $1,200 a month.

In short, just as the radio spot claimed, the Frosts are precisely the kind of people that the SCHIP program was intended to help.

While the family continues to support the vetoed bill that would expand the program to 4 million more children, they are hoping to remove themselves from the middle of the storm. After giving a few interviews, Halsey and Bonnie Frost now say they don't want to say anything more, though network camera crews have planted themselves in front of their house.

Halsey did have this to say in an e-mail to me:

"My son Graeme has helped put on a human face, that of a young boy, representing the needs of children and families across this nation. We are a hard working family that has stepped forward to support SCHIP. Mudslinging from the fringe has now been directed at the messenger. To be smeared all over the Internet and receive nasty e-mail — my family does not deserve this retribution. It is both shameful and pathetic.

"Driven by a most dubious agenda, shortsighted cut-and-paste bloggers, lacking all the facts, have made a feeble attempt at being crack reporters. This is an aberrant attempt to distract the American people from what the real issues are. Hard working American families need affordable health insurance.

"I find it morally reprehensible, and the act of a true coward, to publicly (world wide) smear a man and his family and not sign one's own real name to what they have written. I sign my name to what I write.

-Halsey Frost"

He also passed along a letter from a friend, Andrew Gray, who wrote: "Chances are, Bonnie, Halsey and their kids will survive this. The sad reality is that they've already been through much worse. But what does it say about us as a nation that we seek to destroy the reputations of those we should honor? Have we become so cynical and nasty that we no longer can recognize simple courage and decency?"

Politics has never been a gentle game. As far back as 1895, satirist Finley Peter Dunne's fictional saloonkeeper Martin Dooley observed that women, children and prohibitionists would do well to stay out of it, because "politics ain't beanbag." But surely, even Mr. Dooley could never have imagined a day would come when a mere seventh grader could be swift-boated.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-te.frosts10oct10,0,5063837,print.story

Frost family draws ire of conservatives
By Matthew Hay Brown

Sun Reporter

October 10, 2007

When Halsey and Bonnie Frost agreed to go public with how the State Children's Health Insurance Program helped them after a car crash left two of their children comatose, the Baltimore couple expected to hear from critics of government-funded health care.

But while the Frosts were helping a bipartisan majority in Congress sell a plan to expand the program, they were not prepared for comments such as this one, posted over the weekend on the conservative Web site Redstate:

"If federal funds were required [they] could die for all I care. Let the parents get second jobs, let their state foot the bill or let them seek help from private charities. ... I would hire a team of PIs and find out exactly how much their parents made and where they spent every nickel. Then I'd do everything possible to destroy their lives with that info."

So has begun the education of the Frosts, the young family of six who volunteered to advocate for the program for moderate-income families - the expansion has been approved by Congress but vetoed by President Bush - and now find themselves the focus of a nasty national debate.

The onslaught began over the weekend, a week after 12-year-old Graeme Frost delivered the Democrats' weekly radio address with a plea to Bush to sign the bill. A contributor to the conservative Web site Free Republic noted Graeme's enrollment in the private Park School and the sale of a smaller rowhouse on the Frosts' block for $485,000 this year and questioned whether the family should be taking advantage of the state program.

That post was picked up by the National Review Online and other Web sites. By Monday, Rush Limbaugh was discussing the family's earnings and assets on the air, and the blogger Michelle Malkin was writing about her visit to Halsey Frost's East Baltimore warehouse and her drive past the family's Butchers Hill rowhouse. Liberal bloggers, meanwhile, were complaining that the Frosts were being "swift-boated."

"It's really frustrating," said Bonnie Frost, 41, who stated she is upset by the angry Internet posts, e-mails and telephone calls targeting the family. "The whole point of it for me was that this program helped my family, and I wanted it to help others. That's the message, and I can't believe the way the spotlight has been taken off of that."

"It's a distractive technique," said Halsey Frost, also 41. Speaking from their cluttered front room yesterday, the Frosts said they would continue to advocate for government-funded health care.

The Sun, which published articles about the Frosts when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced Bonnie and 9-year-old Gemma at a news conference last month and again when Graeme delivered the radio address, also has drawn criticism from posters on conservative Web sites for not reporting the details of the family's financial circumstances more fully.

At issue is the proposal to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program - also known as SCHIP - which provides coverage for 6.6 million children from families not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid. Democrats, joined by some Republicans, voted last month to expand coverage to 4 million more children at a cost of $35 billion over five years. Bush has vetoed the bill.

While the president has called for negotiations on the measure, Democrats and their allies have launched a campaign to pressure Republicans into helping to override the veto. The attempt is scheduled for next week.

The Frosts joined the debate through family acquaintance Vinnie DeMarco, the president of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative. DeMarco introduced them to the pro-SCHIP organization Families USA, which put them in touch with Pelosi's office.

Bonnie Frost was driving children Zeke, Graeme and Gemma in Baltimore County in December 2004 when the family SUV hit a patch of black ice and slammed into a tree. Graeme sustained a brain stem injury; Gemma suffered a cranial fracture.

The family relied on SCHIP during the more than five months that the children were hospitalized. Graeme had to learn again to walk and talk, his parents say; he remains weak on his left side and speaks with a lisp. Gemma is blind in her left eye; she has difficulty with memory, learning and speech, and sees a behavioral psychologist to help her deal with her frustration.

"Her personality has changed," Bonnie Frost said yesterday. "She's not the same girl."

Bonnie and Gemma Frost joined Pelosi at the Capitol Hill news conference before the SCHIP vote. Then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asked Graeme to record the radio address.

It was the news coverage of that broadcast that set off the blogo- sphere. A pseudonymous contributor to Free Republic cataloged the $20,000 cost of tuition at the Park School, the $160,000 Halsey Frost paid for his warehouse in 1999 and the $485,000 for which a neighbor sold his home in March. Links were provided to photos of the Park School's 44,000-square- foot Wyman Arts Center and the Frosts' 1992 wedding announcement in The New York Times.

Soon strangers were posting accusatory messages describing Halsey Frost as a business owner who lived on a street of half-million-dollar homes, worked out of his own commercial property and paid to send his children to private school, yet still took advantage of government-funded health care.

"Bad things happen to good people, and they cause financial problems and tough choices," Mark Steyn wrote on the National Review Online. "But, if this is the face of the 'needy' in America, then no-one is not needy."

The Redstate contributor was less civil.

"Hang 'em. Publically," the contributor wrote. "Let 'em twist in the wind and be eaten by ravens. Then maybe the bunch of socialist patsies will think twice."

The Frosts say the description of their family's circumstances now circulating is misleading. Halsey, they say, is a self-employed woodworker - he has no employees - while Bonnie works part time for a medical publishing firm. Together, they say, they earn between $45,000 and $50,000 a year.

That would make the Frosts eligible for Maryland's Children's Health Program, which is open to families that earn no more than 300 percent of the federal poverty level, or $82,830 a year for a family of six.

The Frosts declined to show The Sun their 2006 income tax returns, and the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene would not confirm their enrollment in the program. But John G. Folkemer, the deputy secretary for health care financing, said yesterday that applicants must prove their income levels through Social Security numbers or tax returns to be accepted for coverage.

Folkemer said a family's assets are not considered in determining eligibility. Halsey Frost purchased the family home for $55,000 in 1990, according to city records, and refinanced in 2005, he says, to make improvements to accommodate the return of Graeme and Gemma from the hospital. The 1936 brick rowhouse, on a side street near Patterson Park, has an assessed value of $263,140.

Halsey Frost purchased a 1920 warehouse in East Baltimore for $160,000 in 1999, according to city records. It is assessed at $160,500. Frost says he is still paying off the mortgages on both properties.

The four Frost children depend on financial aid to attend private school, the Frosts say. In addition, they say, Gemma receives money from the city for special education made necessary by her injuries.

Halsey and Bonnie Frost say they still have no health insurance. Bonnie Frost said she priced coverage recently at $1,200 a month.

Malkin wrote that the Democrats' use of Graeme Frost to deliver the radio address was "poster child abuse"; Limbaugh told listeners that Democrats had "filled this kid's head with lies."

Pelosi fired back yesterday.

"I think that the attack on this family is just breaking new ground and stooping to new lows in terms of what happens in Washington, D.C.," she told reporters. "I think it's a sad statement about how bankrupt some of these people are in their arguments against SCHIP that they attack a 12-year-old."

The Frosts say they stand by their support of the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

"I'm just trying to understand this moment of nastiness," Bonnie Frost said. "The nastiness caught me by surprise."

[DinoDoc]

You post an op-ed and expect me to care? Though I am curious when earning 50k per year meant you were needy.

[DaShi]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
You post an op-ed and expect me to care? Though I am curious when earning 50k per year meant you were needy.

Are you playing dense?

You claimed "Is no one allowed to question the legitimacy of the figure they have made the poster child for an entitlement expansion? Especially one's that attend a 20k per year private school?"

I pointed out that this was not the case. Also, that 20k private school is paid for by scholarships. Now you're trying to save your sorry ass by arguing something else. That's ridiculous too because it's answered in both articles. Just admit it, you're wrong on this issue and all the squirmin' and weaslin' ain't gonna get you out of this.

[Aeson]

Raising 6 kids is slightly more expensive than living on your own. ~$200k per kid up to the age of 18. Divide by 18 for the average yearly cost, multiply by 6... hmmmm... $67k a year.

It would seem they've been skimping to get by.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by DaShi
You claimed "Is no one allowed to question the legitimacy of the figure they have made the poster child for an entitlement expansion?

Yes, I did. I'm proud that you're able to read. Now if you'd care to explain how any of the stuff you posted contradicts that point, I will admit that I was wrong in my earlier assumption that questioning the narrative the Dems and parents were putting foward by shoving their child into the spotlight for political gain was an illegitimate thing to do.

@ Aeson: I guess it depends on what area of the country, one happens to live in. What is the cost of living where they live?

[Aeson]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
@ Aeson: I guess it depends on what area of the country, one happens to live in. What is the cost of living where they live?

Probably higher than average. Maryland is the 6th most expensive state to live in. According to the article, the qualification for SCHIP in Maryland is < $82,830 for a family of 6. They are a family of 8, and significantly below that number.

[DaShi]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Yes, I did. I'm proud that you're able to read. Now if you'd care to explain how any of the stuff you posted contradicts that point, I will admit that I was wrong in my earlier assumption that questioning the narrative the Dems and parents were putting foward by shoving their child into the spotlight for political gain was an illegitimate thing to do.

Now I don't think you're playing dense. The whole point is that I wasn't talking about "Is no one allowed to question the legitimacy of the figure they have made the poster child for an entitlement expansion?" in my first post. You brought this up out of the blue in response to my post. Most likely because you didn't know what was going on, didn't like it, and needed a kneejerk response to it.

Now remember I said: "What are you talking about?" And: "I pointed out that this was not the case." To make it clear to you: "This is what we're whinging about. . ."

Got it? Did I explain it simple enough for you?

[Berzerker]

Berz: Where is the harrassment in Malkin's blog?

I agree, there is no harrassment from Malkin.

I'd call lying about, oops, "investigating" the family constitutes harassment. Her "journalistic" visit is just downright creepy, but the fact she "investigated" adds weight to her "reporting", true? Michelle Malice aint a reporter, she's a partisan hack. Slander is harassment, slander contributing to this family's ordeal is harassment and despicable.

What Freepers did is completely irrelevant to the topic at hand. It's not even mentioned in Berzerker's link and hasn't appeared on Malkin's website.

Its in my OP

Read the blog post again. Nowhere does it say Michelle Malkin posted the home address or phone number of the Frost family.

You say that after quoting this?

FreeRepublic posted their home address

Damn, you even bolded the relevant part.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Aeson
Raising 6 kids is slightly more expensive than living on your own. ~$200k per kid up to the age of 18. Divide by 18 for the average yearly cost, multiply by 6... hmmmm... $67k a year.

It would seem they've been skimping to get by.

Yep, I'd agree. 6 kids cost a Hell of a lot. And raising them on 60k a year must be brutal.

[Berzerker]

I thought they had 4, read somewhere it was a family of 6

[Berzerker]

You know, I'm reading her updated column and I dont really see any lies. I'll take that back, Sorry Michelle. I see a misrepresentation of reality (and a former tenant ). Her claim that the kids tuition is not scholarship based but paid by the grandparents clears her of that "lie"
(unless Mike R didn't say that). Maybe Dad is trying to save face a bit, scholarship sounds better....


OMG, I've joined the evil side

But she did describe the place and it wouldn't take a brain surgeon to find it. I sure wouldn't want to own the vehicle she described.

[Aeson]

Originally posted by Berzerker
I thought they had 4, read somewhere it was a family of 6

Yah.. oops. Shows me for trusting info on a blog...

4 kids on $50k a year is still kinda scraping by. Here's a photo of the 4 kids with their parents:

http://www.floppingaces.net/32837229.jpg

Here's a shot of the house?

[Aeson]

dp

[GePap]

can we swift boat Mihcelle Malkin? Please?