The Observation Deck

Posted: **Mon Oct 26, 2015 4:12 pm**

Bridget Conant wrote:Saying a Yes vote on 64 DOOMS the hospital was a devious attempt to mislead voters that if they want to SAVE the hospital they should vote no.

It's interesting that all the people who want to demolish the hospital are the ones saying "Vote no 64 because it will destroy the hospital!"

Posted: **Mon Oct 26, 2015 4:24 pm**

It was calculated. It is devious.

Posted: **Mon Oct 26, 2015 4:32 pm**

I think Dan was being facetious.
(I HOPE Dan was being facetious.)
Dan, were you being facetious?

Posted: **Mon Oct 26, 2015 4:43 pm**

Michael Deneen wrote:It's interesting that all the people who want to demolish the hospital are the ones saying "Vote no 64 because it will destroy the hospital!"

Mike,

That's the first thing that I thought of when I read this faux newspaper.

Then I was very surprised on how much of this fake newspaper is spent on the Lakewood Hospital ... which Team Summers and his trolls didn't even want to debate.

And none of the non-Lakewood Hospital issues that Team Summers allegedly wanted to debate so badly were even mentioned in this campaign piece ... errr ... pretend newspaper.

It sure seems like a waste of time and money if the main issue in this election is not the Lakewood Hospital.

But ... Team Summers does have lots of money to burn ... we just don't know where all of that money is coming from ... yet.

Matt

Posted: **Mon Oct 26, 2015 6:35 pm**

Margaret Brinich wrote:For a split second I was upset, until I realized there were no names listed. Now I think annoyed, offended, and thankful (yes, that is correct, thankful) are better words to describe this attempt at a "news" paper. If that is what they (whoever "they" is) were going for...although I'm hoping they didn't think they could actually pass this off as journalism and that I'm just overreacting).

But whatever the intent of this piece is, I'm glad they did it. Here is why.

Anyone who has ever taken the time to put together an article for the oldest citizen journalism project in the country, aka The Lakewood Observer, knows the blood, sweat, and tears that go into each and every issue of the newspaper. Putting together a paper every 2 weeks for the past 10 years plus, is no walk in the park, but the citizens of Lakewood have stepped up to the task and helped us do so issue after issue.

A project like this can't be bought and sold. It can't materialize out of thin air. No, it takes years of cultivating relationships, building partnerships, and, yes, letting "the other side" have their say too - no matter how much you agree or disagree.

It has been more than 6 years since I joined this project as Editor-In-Chief and admittedly, it can be exhausting, overwhelming, tedious, time-consuming, and at 1 o'clock in the morning when I'm arguing about what articles are going to have to get cut with O'Bryan, it can even cause me to question my own sanity. But then I see things like this - and no, it's not about Save Lakewood Hospital or Build Lakewood or Summers vs. Skindell - and I am reminded why I, why we all, need to keep playing our part in The Lakewood Observer project.

So to whoever put together the "Lakewood Neighborhood News" (news being a rather loose term here), thank you. Thank you for the reminder that Lakewood is full of amazing individuals who are dedicated to making their city all that it can be and who allow The Lakewood Observer to serve as their voice to make their vision a reality.

Margaret,

Thanks for all you do.

Their should be a special Pulitzer for the editor who has the most difficult publisher in the business.

Posted: **Mon Oct 26, 2015 6:46 pm**

My first reaction to the fake paper was comical, but there is a much darker underbelly to this.

This "paper" is intended to deceive the elderly, some of whom may exhibit signs of dementia and can be easily swayed.
Sadly, I experienced this with my own mother.
She began losing her judgement as she approached 80, and became vulnerable to mail and phone scams.
She was robbed of thousands of dollars before I knew what was happening.

This political ad operates on the same principle as those scam artists.
It's all really sad.

Mom and Charlie

Posted: **Mon Oct 26, 2015 7:05 pm**

Bridget Conant wrote - " It was calculated. It is devious". I would add it's who they are and what they've been since at least the Drug Mart deal. If you differ with Mike Summers you're an emotional child or the opposition that needs to be defeated. You are never a constituent whose opinion should be considered. Instead, your opinions, to borrow Mr. Kenny's distasteful adjective, are cancerous.

Posted: **Mon Oct 26, 2015 7:35 pm**

Just received a recorded phone call from the Lakewood Republican Club Political Action Committee about this. Are they endorsing Skindell since they ask me to vote for him? From what I'm reading here, I'm sure Matt can chime in about it, they "As a candidate political action committee, the LRC is prohibited from endorsing or supporting issues." http://lakewoodobserver.com/read/2015/0 ... ratic-club

Posted: **Mon Oct 26, 2015 8:06 pm**

Bravo Todd,

One sentence, one question and a lengthy run on sentence.

Good effort.

Posted: **Mon Oct 26, 2015 8:52 pm**

Brian Essi wrote:Bravo Todd,

One sentence, one question and a lengthy run on sentence.

Good effort.

Am I being graded?

Posted: **Mon Oct 26, 2015 8:58 pm**

I mean no disrespect to Fitzgerald when I say this..... but I'm not sure how much a political endorsement from Fitzgerald will help.

See below:

http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/in ... ors_r.html

Fitzgerald lost the governors race by double digits and his likability amongst voters in Ohio was in Dick Cheney range.

In the national political scene everyone is talking about the economy and jobs, only in Lakewood is "healthcare changing". We have "Lakewood democrats" actively engaged in closing the city's largest employer, It's bizarre. I would expect anyone carrying the mantle of the democratic party to fight to keep healthcare in Lakewood.

The hospital has been a part of the Lakewood community for over 100 years, its fate shouldn't be decided in less than a year.

Posted: **Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:00 pm**

Bridget Conant wrote:Dan

I'd like to point out one little error in your post - these are not new facts being presented, these are continued and unrelenting bare-faced lies and misleading statements meant to confuse the electorate and influence the election.

Saying a Yes vote on 64 DOOMS the hospital was a devious attempt to mislead voters that if they want to SAVE the hospital they should vote no.

Please tell everyone you know- VOTE YES ON 64 and VOTE SKINDELL.

I guess the Deck needs to make those emojis bigger. Take a closer look.
"VOTE YES ON 64 and VOTE SKINDELL."
Done and done.

Posted: **Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:15 pm**

Nadhal Eadeh wrote:I mean no disrespect to Fitzgerald when I say this..... but I'm not sure how much a political endorsement from Fitzgerald will help.

Fitzy deserves no respect. His name is mud to the general public, but his disciples still run City Hall. He consults with them regularly.

Nadhal Eadeh wrote:We have "Lakewood democrats" actively engaged in closing the city's largest employer, It's bizarre. I would expect anyone carrying the mantle of the democratic party to fight to keep healthcare in Lakewood.

The so-called "Democrats" that comprise the "democratic establishment" in Lakewood reject basic Democratic principles.
They endorse worker abuse, urban sprawl, corporate power, and marginalization of the poor and elderly.

As I've said, that's a big reason the "Lakewood Democratic Club" has only 47 members.

Posted: **Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:58 pm**

Nadhal Eadeh wrote:

The hospital has been a part of the Lakewood community for over 100 years, its fate shouldn't be decided in less than a year.

Nadhal,

I very much agree with your spot on posts.

I believe in the rule of law and that regardless of the outcome of this election, the people of Lakewood eventually see how corrupt and scandalous this Mayor and the ex-officio Trustees Madigan and Bullock have been. They be held accountable. One year is not long enough to uncover so many lies.

Summers has received a slanted endorsement and extremely favorable coverage from the tabloid downtown.

Because he is a control freak, it was not good enough for him to have balanced coverage in the LO so he created his own fake propaganda "newspaper" so he could control everything in it.

In keeping with his MO he wanted to deceive the public and filled the "paper" with stories about himself and his political allies.

This is reminiscent of the brown shirts in Germany or state controlled media in a fascist state.

Anonymous with no names--very sneaky--just like the last three years on the hospital--all done in a mysterious way.

Posted: **Mon Oct 26, 2015 10:58 pm**

Might go down like the Brooklyn law director and mayoral candidate.

The Observation Deck

FitzGerald/Summers Has Come To Shut You Down

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