Ellie Light Revealed — and Then Revealed Again!
Michael Smerconish spoke to someone claiming to be Ellie Light. Ben Smith has the audio.
The person claiming to be Light admits deception in representing her address, and places herself in Southern California (presumably Long Beach, the residence she claimed in several of the letters). She says she’s a traveling nurse who submitted it to newspapers in many places she has been to. That is consistent with the IP address that we traced to Huntington Beach — which is close enough to Long Beach for IP purposes.
I don’t know that I’m convinced. She stumbles on the name of “Ben Smith’s blog” where her letter was initially published. (It’s Politico. Would she not know that?)
Complicating matters is that a second person is stepping forward and “admitting” to be Ellie Light . . . or, at least, Ellie Light’s spouse.
Someone on Facebook named Barbara Brooks (a pediatric nurse) claims that Ellie Light is . . . her husband. She writes on her Wall:
Don’t think you can make a difference? Well, my husband wrote letters to newspapers under a pen name “Ellie Light” and over 42 newspapers published the letters and now Ellie Light is the most searched name on google. I don’t agree with using phony names, though. But then he isn’t a Mennonite . . .
The same comment was left on Left Coast Rebel yesterday at about the same time.
Reader Joseph D. e-mails with a complicated chain of evidence linking her to an earlier comment left at Left Coast Rebel’s blog, under the screenname Winston44. Joseph D. says:
The corresponding twitter account has one friend, Jerry Schaefer, from Long Beach, California (the same town as some of Ellie’s claimed residences.) Jerry’s facebook showed one friend named Winston, Winston Steward. Under Winston’s friends, Barbara Brooks claims to be his wife and that he is Ellie Light.
For more background on this angle, see Dan Riehl, who discusses a link with an Adam Segal of the 2050 Group.
I have to go to work and I honestly don’t know what to make of any of this. The Smerconish interview may well be with the real “Ellie Light” — but assume nothing. Ellie still has a few questions to answer, I think.
And again, keep your eye on the ball. Don’t get carried away with focusing on a single person. This isn’t about one person, but about identifying deception generally.
UPDATE: Looks like Joseph D. and Dan Riehl were onto something. Maybe.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer tells us that Ellie has been identified. She is a nice old grandma type who made a little mistake. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.
Except . . .
Except that they have an update which reads:
UPDATE: The Plain Dealer has now talked to two different people claiming to be Barbara Brooks. One says the real Ellie Light is her husband; the other, husky-voiced, says she’s divorced. The story below was posted based on an interview with the husky-voiced version.
You thought that was weird? You haven’t seen weird.
Now we get to the strangest part of all. Gawker picks up on the Facebook page entry by Barbara Brooks, mentioned above, in this post.
And then it gets bizarre. Brooks says the Ellie Light on Smerconish’s show was her ex-husband. Who sounds, according to her, like a woman. (?!?!)
Meanwhile, Gawker says, there is another Ellie Light sending around her phone number.
I called it this morning, after receiving it indirectly, and invited her to lunch.
No response.
Stay tuned!
I had noticed the Winston name coincidence early; but one thing arguing against a connection was that Winston (facebook Winston) can’t write for toffee.
SarahW (692fc6) — 1/26/2010 @ 7:29 amHey, On your Patterico.com on Hannity thread I posted this:
Hey, Pat, You were mentioned on the Michael Smerconish radio show this morning. He had “Ellie Light” on, but being the in the bag Obama supporter, he didn’t press her for her real identity and investigate any ties to Cass Sunenstien (SP?). I don’t know why I care about their names as they butchered yours badly.
Comment by PCD — 1/26/2010 @ 5:22 am
PCD (1d8b6d) — 1/26/2010 @ 7:42 amWhat about the fact that one of her emails came from Italy and the other from Saudi Arabia which was part of a bot net?
yarrrrr (e0f897) — 1/26/2010 @ 7:43 amI heard the “Smerkanoff” interview. I thought that “Ellie Light” was being coached in the background. Also, the “Phoney from Philly” didn’t press much. He was almost appologizing for interviewing her.
Obama supporters lack honesty and ethics just like Obama and the Democrats in general.
PCD (1d8b6d) — 1/26/2010 @ 7:54 amDevice spoofing and anonymizers are a clue that perhaps deception is involved here. 🙂
Winston44 can’t write. I’m sorry to say it, but his huffpo and kosdiaries and chat room participation can be contrasted sharply with the writing style of “Ellie”.
It’s not beyond the pale that someone wrote the letter for him and he distributed it, however.
SarahW (692fc6) — 1/26/2010 @ 8:01 amIt’s not just that one person wrote the same letter to multiple newspapers falsifying 1) her name & sex and 2) her address. Why did so many newspapers choose to run the same letter? Was it so much better than their typical letters — which should raise questions on that ground? Surely there are actual local people who wrote to the local newspaper saying “Obama = good, Bush = bad, give Obama time.”
I wonder if these newspapers are in danger of bankruptcy, and Emanuel/Axelrod have told them “we’ll let you go non-profit, but we want a favor from you. . .”
rbj (65c648) — 1/26/2010 @ 8:09 amFWIW, Winston is Hispanic. Speaking as Captain Obvious, the Hispanic health care lobby connections make sense. And of course,
Segal, who clearly does, was the first person he chose to follow on Twitter.
Winston has one FB friend in the Marketing/PR biz, coincidentally named Ellie. If that firm has any official connection to Segal I haven’t found it, though. It may be unfair to even mention it.
But I don’t think WInston wrote that letter himself.
SarahW (692fc6) — 1/26/2010 @ 8:11 amrbj, ask one of these editors yourself, wbluhm@greenbay.gannett.com, Warren Bluhm, Green Bay Press-Gazette.
PCD (1d8b6d) — 1/26/2010 @ 8:14 amShe is Light. She is legion. Do not question her or the full force and fury of the turf will crash down upon you like Alistair Crowley after too much poppy. Rationality!
chaos (c9f3ec) — 1/26/2010 @ 8:17 amThis has been a great story to follow. I have to say that it looks fishier every time I log on.
Lincolntf (3c40c5) — 1/26/2010 @ 8:25 amSo, if I may be so bold as to put the cart before the horse, what happens if the “worst” suspicions prove to be true? Like, if we get incontrovertible proof that Pres. Obama and his team deliberately seeded the public discourse with this kind of dishonest propaganda, what’s the appropriate response? If we find out a news bureau or community of editors decided to simultaneously publish the letter as part of a national partisan political push, what’s the response then?
Anyone have any ideas?
The woman behind Ellie Light is Barbara Brooks, she tells The Plain Dealer.
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2010/01/ellie_light_really_ellie_li.html
John Kroll (56d570) — 1/26/2010 @ 9:27 amWhat looks fishy is the huge loss of comments on this site. Did it get attacked?
John Hitchcock (3ef141) — 1/26/2010 @ 9:36 amJohn Hitchcock,
Bradley J. Fikes, C. O.R. (a18ddc) — 1/26/2010 @ 9:41 amIf the site was attacked, it would be a backhanded compliment to Patterico’s effectiveness. But I suspect a technical glitch. The site is notoriously troublesome when traffic is high, and the mention by Malkin and others probably caused a huge spike.
“Like, if we get incontrovertible proof that Pres. Obama and his team deliberately seeded the public discourse with this kind of dishonest propaganda, what’s the appropriate response? If we find out a news bureau or community of editors decided to simultaneously publish the letter as part of a national partisan political push, what’s the response then?
Anyone have any ideas?”
Start with tinfoil hats, because this likely is not the only way obama is programming you.
imdw (1ffec3) — 1/26/2010 @ 9:46 amI wonder if Ellie Light posts on Topix.Com .
Michael Ejercito (b0a575) — 1/26/2010 @ 9:49 amI feel like I’m watching To Tell the Truth
“Will the real Ellie Light please stand up?”
my age is showing
quasimodo (4af144) — 1/26/2010 @ 9:58 amThe caller was obviously another Obama operative trying to do damage control by offering a plausible cover story. They figured the MSM would credit her account of being a “traveling” nurse to explain the number of addresses (but of course leaving out that all of them were fake). You know, just a legitimate, independent Obama supporter who got a little over-enthusiastic. But:
(1) Ellie’s letter appeared under names other than her own.
(2) No “Ellie Light” registered as a nurse in California.
(3) All the inconvenient facts you’ve listed.
When “Ellie” produces a copy of her drivers license and nurse’s registration I’ll be convinced. Which is to say, never.
Northeast Elizabeth (c780a0) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:06 amIamadickwad’s mendacity continues apace.
JD (3e47ac) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:09 amAlso, note in the Smerconish interview, her ridiculous explanation of how so many papers published it. She says she didn’t send it to all of them, just a “few dozen.” She then speculates that the rest were sent by people who saw her original letter at Politico, and who and sent the Politico link to local newspapers with a note saying “hey, look at this.” And the newspapers didn’t care that Ellie didn’t email it personally — they just ran it under her name, helpfully inventing a new hometown for her.
Northeast Elizabeth (c780a0) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:11 amAfter reading Brooks aka Light’s Plain Dealer convo –
Why did she tell a different story on her facebook page and say her husband, Winston, wrote the letter and distributed it. I guess it would be clear now to anyone he can’t write.
If she’s just grandma letter writer, why the spoofing, anonymizing, and husband-blaming?
That marketing firm I mentioned above did, in its first incarnation, anyway, do work for the Health Care industry. FWIW.
SarahW (453a4d) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:13 ami thought it was sort of common knowledge that there were letter writing mills for various causes, so i guess its hard for me to be shocked and appalled. yes, of course, this is particularly clumsy astroturfing, but oh well.
The whole thing goes to show you that you shouldn’t pay much attention to the letters to the editor anyway. why should anyone think that they are at all representative?
someone once said that a blog criticizing a newspaper is like a letter to the editor that they had no choice but to publish. so i would suppose bloggers are more useful source of commentary on the newspapers.
A.W. (e7d72e) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:31 amRather sullen for you. Not feeling the audacity, the hope, or the change today? Take two hope pills and comment in the morning.
chaos (9c54c6) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:39 am“Obama supporter trying to do damage control”
Yes, in all of this do not forget that Andrew Young initially stepped forward, blinded by loyalty to a cause, (but also for money) to claim parentage of Rielle Hunter’s baby. There are any number of kool aid drinkers who are still willing to fall on the sword for this White House. Take nothing at face value regarding the Ellie Light investigation.
elissa (e2dd14) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:40 amThe need for faked local support of Obama is the delicious thing to me. Apparently the local can’t be trusted to say anything useful, and the turfing is faked because efforts from the outside
aaren’t effective.
Husband Winston (who refers to himself an activist) says so himself (KosDiary)
Also, in times past, we were taught that pressuring Senators in districts other than your own is not effective, and could actually backfire. However, in this age of instant internet fund-raising, is this still true? Can anything be gained by organizing efforts to pressure a senator from a part of the country other than where you live?
I’d love to read some discussion on this.
We were “taught”?
SarahW (453a4d) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:43 amOH – link to that diary if you want to look at it.
I think he also posted under “Winston44”
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/28/666952/-Pressuring-Republican-Senators
SarahW (453a4d) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:45 amOH – link to that diary if you want to look at it.
I think he also posted under “Winston44”
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/28/666952/-Pressuring-Republican-Senators
SarahW (453a4d) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:45 amHey, touch you, Pat! Front page link on FoxNews.com. Watch that traffic meter now!
navyvet (e4db05) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:47 amOkay, lead story (at the moment)…not front page. Still pretty good stuff.
navyvet (e4db05) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:49 amI think you should add this article from Cleveland.com today to your post:
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2010/01/ellie_light_really_ellie_li.html
Things seem even more confusing than ever with “Ellie”….
C D (9f7388) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:49 amInteresting update over on cleveland.com:
UPDATE: A woman claiming to be Barbara Brooks has now contacted The Plain Dealer and said she is not the letter writer; she claims her ex-husband is running a spoof
Dumbledore (ce3cb5) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:51 amShe lied again. That’s all we know from this. It’s a plausible enough narrative to cover for the newspapers. ‘She claims to be a traveling nurse while critics say bla bla bla’.
Oh well, it’s amazing someone is still going to even further efforts here.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:53 amGrandmas trying to lie. They of all people should know that it isn’t going to work!
chaos (9c54c6) — 1/26/2010 @ 10:57 amGrandma lying is rabbit, chaos.
SarahW (453a4d) — 1/26/2010 @ 11:04 amSince Ellie Light has been delighted to lie, and delighted and proud to be caught lying, it’s really not a surprise that she’s deceptive again. She’s never going to admit the full reality of it. Even when we find out who she really is, know her name and see her photo, if there really is a female individual who sent letters in, she won’t admit who wrote the letter, or what organization wanted her to participate.
This laughing and re-lying just shows how deep their contempt of the people really is.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/26/2010 @ 11:05 am“UPDATE: A woman claiming to be Barbara Brooks has now contacted The Plain Dealer and said she is not the letter writer; she claims her ex-husband is running a spoof”
A good way to abuse someone: make them a target of winger manhunt.
imdw (d35e4b) — 1/26/2010 @ 11:13 amAnother one??
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/fox_news_finishes_week_1_in_all_of_primetime_cable_150010.asp
Fox News Finishes Week #1 in All of Primetime Cable
By Kevin Allocca on Jan 26, 2010 10:23 AM
(Found – 1:57 pm)
Ellie_Light
Lulu Jones (e4e912) — 1/26/2010 @ 11:19 am27 minutes ago
“FoxNews distorts reality. The truth of the matter is that on Saturday, Nov. 7, a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives made history by passing H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. After nearly a century of false starts, this was the first time a chamber of Congress has ever passed comprehensive health insurance reform. This is a historic accomplishment. Representatives who voted for this bill deserve thanks for resisting tremendous pressure from the insurance industry lobbyists and standing up for their constituents. Those who did not vote for the bill have one last opportunity to reconsider and support reform in the upcoming final House vote — and they should do so. A vote for this bill was a vote to provide secure and stable coverage for Americans with insurance, expand coverage for those who do not have insurance, lower costs for families and businesses, and begin to reduce the deficit.”
Another one??
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/fox_news_finishes_week_1_in_all_of_primetime_cable_150010.asp
Fox News Finishes Week #1 in All of Primetime Cable
By Kevin Allocca on Jan 26, 2010 10:23 AM
(Found – 1:57 pm)
Ellie_Light
Lulu Jones (e4e912) — 1/26/2010 @ 11:19 am27 minutes ago
“FoxNews distorts reality. The truth of the matter is that on Saturday, Nov. 7, a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives made history by passing H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. After nearly a century of false starts, this was the first time a chamber of Congress has ever passed comprehensive health insurance reform. This is a historic accomplishment. Representatives who voted for this bill deserve thanks for resisting tremendous pressure from the insurance industry lobbyists and standing up for their constituents. Those who did not vote for the bill have one last opportunity to reconsider and support reform in the upcoming final House vote — and they should do so. A vote for this bill was a vote to provide secure and stable coverage for Americans with insurance, expand coverage for those who do not have insurance, lower costs for families and businesses, and begin to reduce the deficit.”
35, imd-dummy, people like you ought to be exposed by picture, name, address, and if you work or not, posted on the internet for all to see and to shun you as you are just another mendacious, obama-liar like the “Ellie Light” industry.
PCD (1d8b6d) — 1/26/2010 @ 11:26 amimdw, as opposed to the manhunt that Democrats put to a plumber who dared to ask a question of the President in a campaign appearance?
You really don’t realize how you are continually beclowning yourself, do you?
SPQR (26be8b) — 1/26/2010 @ 11:32 amTake those pills dammit!
chaos (9c54c6) — 1/26/2010 @ 11:34 amPCD, he’s very sick. Anyone can look into his postings on here to see that he’s tried to abuse people by calling them (their IRL name) anti semites or child rapists. Always fails to back up his accusations, and often claims he was making a satirical joke (many hours later). No one takes him seriously… I don’t even know if he’s serious (hard to imagine).
He’s the argument against anonymity; I agree with you on that.
A lot of people are going to be using the Ellie Light handle now. It’s funny. This Barbara person wasn’t trying to abuse anyone… she was a true believer… and it’s possible her husband lied to her and took credit for this.
Anyway, no one is going to hurt the people actually behind this scam. imdw knows that. He passed along one nut’s horrible fraud on here, and that nut actually can here (isaac something or other), with absolutely no fear of being harmed. It’s pretty safe to bash Christians, conservatives, republicans, corporations. No one is going to hunt you down for that, which is why the slobs, lazys and internet tough guys tend to only target those groups.
Since imdw has made this accusation that conservatives are going to abuse anyone they think of as being Ellie Light, I think it’s important to point out that this simply never happens. Liberals in America rarely go the Ayers route too. We’ve got a superior culture in this respect.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/26/2010 @ 11:37 amThe Ellie Light material linked above in duplicate posts #36 and #37 were copied (except for the Fox News reference) directly from The Democratic Party web site. Patterico has a screenshot of the actual text from The Democratic Party web site in his post here from yesterday.
Official Internet Data Office (f6c4a0) — 1/26/2010 @ 11:41 am[…] P.S. Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem. […]
[Insert Ellie Light pun here] | The DC Trawler (3870e4) — 1/26/2010 @ 11:42 amThis abuse imdw’s talking about, not only does it resemble how democrats treated Joe the Plumber… it resembles how imdw treats people he disagrees with.
He’s right that it is wrong to abuse dumbass liberals who play “I am Spartacus” here. There’s nothing honorable about what Ellie did… people who agree with her should just write their opinions on policy directly.
But since he has admitted it’s wrong to abuse those he agrees with, he’s trying to establish a system where it’s OK for him to accuse Rush of being an antisemite and lie about rape, and all the dozens of other things he’s done. He’s saying that liberals are humans who deserve respect and safety (true), but conservatives aren’t.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/26/2010 @ 11:43 am“Traveling Nurse”?
Dr Carlo Lombardi (afb703) — 1/26/2010 @ 11:45 amI think that was a paperback book I read years ago.
Ellie Light = Smelly Hippie Dude
http://gawker.com/5457424/ellie-light-is-not-who-she-says-she-is
Shocker (65f749) — 1/26/2010 @ 11:50 amUPDATE: A woman claiming to be Barbara Brooks has now contacted The Plain Dealer and said she is not the letter writer; she claims her ex-husband is running a spoof. The newspaper is investigating; more details as they become available. What follows is our original story, published this morning.
Shocker (65f749) — 1/26/2010 @ 12:06 pmNo no, *I* am Ellie Light!
rick ellers (4dce1a) — 1/26/2010 @ 12:40 pmHe lies, *I* am Ellie Light!
thomas ellensburg (4dce1a) — 1/26/2010 @ 12:46 pmIt now appears the Facebook account of it being someone’s husband is correct — or, at least, that’s the closest The Plain Dealer has been able to come. Will be adding a link to your item.
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2010/01/ellie_light_mystery_letter_wri.html
John Kroll (56d570) — 1/26/2010 @ 1:08 pmI want to buy one of i-masticate-doody-vittles’s tin-foil hats. He’s OBVIOUSLY very good at making them.
Icy Texan (2406e4) — 1/26/2010 @ 1:28 pmJames Lileks says he was contacted by Ellie Light, given a number to call, and he called it and spoke with EL and received her explanation of her mailings.
First, however, he matched the area code he was given with property records in the area and found an Eleanor Light in the area.
He doesn’t clarify whether the FULL number he was given was linked with the name or the property.
Lileks also doesn’t say that he contacted Eleanor light through a different phone, say, a land line, connected with the name or property.
If he didn’t I’m not sure how having an Eleanor light in the same area code as the number “Ellie” gave him, is dispositive.
Wish he would clarify.
Here’s a link to his Tribune post: http://tiny.cc/hdsOL
SarahW (692fc6) — 1/26/2010 @ 2:09 pmIf you listen to Ellie’s radio interview again, it does sound like a man.
Not a Barry White sounding dude, but a dude nonetheless.
Then if you listen to it with Winston’s face book picture up, it fits together very well.
This all goes to show to watch what you name kids.
I knew a kid who’s real name was Winston growing up. They called him Tony.
I never got that until this very day.
JayCee (00f5a1) — 1/26/2010 @ 2:11 pmPatterico – Did you get the same letter that Lileks got – did he forward it to you, and is it the “Eleanor Light” he linked to property records in the same area code?
Do YOU know if he used the *full* number to confirm identity, by cross referencing with property records, or merely relied on the area code in the number he was given?
Do You know if he contacted this Eleanor light by the number given, or if he used some other number attached to those property records?
SarahW (692fc6) — 1/26/2010 @ 2:21 pmI found this comment at Ben Smith’s blog thread:
“latest news is that it was not her, but her husband. She also has a facebook page as Barbara Brooks but it looks to have been created on Sunday. She made one or two posts and then “spilled the beans. ” Sorry “Ellie”, I am not buying it. This has a poorly run PR firm written all over it.”
If this is true (I don’t have a facebook account), then it goes along with what other commenters here have said about Winston’s writing ability.
My intuition tells me that the nurse/wife swerves too much into hack talking points in a way that a genuine personality with a real ego would not. OTOH, the drama between the “husband” and “wife” is compelling and bold. In the end, the poor writing of the “husband”, the angry “wife’s” defense that sheds more light on their political beliefs rather than personalities, and the robotic, inhuman quality of the original letters, make me lean towards a larger operation; the drama perhaps is smoke and mirrors.
Emma (9bbea0) — 1/26/2010 @ 2:50 pmTwo things that have already been mentioned:
Stashiu3 (44da70) — 1/26/2010 @ 3:00 pm1. A likely reason the same name was used is for proof so “Ellie” could get paid. I would venture they’ve been doing this for a while without getting caught.
2. Any “Ellie” sightings after the story broke are suspect and might just be intended to obfuscate the facts. Damage control.
The part that matters: that massive and sophisticated astroturf is lying to us and spreading propaganda, and the press is part of the problem (whether on purpose or by mistake)… that part has been proven.
There is no woman out there typing these letters. There is no hero fighting her crazy hippie husband. That’s a nice narrative to distract people from the already proven case… Obama’s machine employs a hell of a lot of lying and astroturf.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/26/2010 @ 3:06 pmMSNBC’s Dillon Radigan show reported on the story at about 4:20 EST, labelling it ‘concern’ by ‘internet conspiracy theorists’ and aired a portion of the interview from the Smerconish radio show.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 1/26/2010 @ 3:14 pm56. and 57. I hear you on all that.
How does one explain then, how The Plain Dealer seems to have had “seamless” communication with “her” (some iteration of Brooke/Steward) at ellie.light@yahoo.com?
They seem to have use of the email account.
Unless this hapless duo didn’t get the memo on the spoofer email server.
JayCee (00f5a1) — 1/26/2010 @ 3:21 pmJayCee,
I think you meant just Dustin at #57 because I don’t see a contradiction to what I wrote. I wasn’t able to find a Yahoo profile for that email address when I looked, just an “Ellie” on the UK/Ireland Yahoo who wasn’t a likely candidate. Even if the account already existed, it doesn’t mean “Ellie” wasn’t a paid agent or that the bulk of the recent sightings aren’t damage control by others. “Ellie” has been making personalized comments at dozens of blogs that I’ve seen. I haven’t compared the posting times, but it wouldn’t surprise me if some turned out to have identical timestamps. I think others are laying false trails. They can then call anyone trying to follow them “conspiracy nuts” and dismiss anyone who happens upon real evidence as more of the same.
Stashiu3 (44da70) — 1/26/2010 @ 3:38 pmWinston Steward appears to be some kind of new age musician with an album called “Luna”. Check out these album credits where Barbara is mentioned too. This must be him.
Winston Steward (Guitar), David Arkenstone (Bass), Barbara Brooks (Pre-Production Coordinator), Winston Steward (Keyboards)
CCC (679517) — 1/26/2010 @ 3:40 pmOH. Lileks mystery solved. On Twitter, he says he talked to the radio-voice Ellie.
SarahW (692fc6) — 1/26/2010 @ 3:43 pmWell I hate to say it out loud. But the 4channish play may be in action.
If the Barbara Brooks site is new as of Sunday (I don’t remember seeing it before then) then I’m more suspicious of the rabbit suit.
(Google bulling is rabbit).
SarahW (692fc6) — 1/26/2010 @ 3:49 pmWinston’s stuff is old, though
SarahW (692fc6) — 1/26/2010 @ 3:52 pmI think it must be this Winston guy. If it’s the same person as the musician linked above, he’s also an author of several technical books which means it would be relatively easy for him to hide his identity online.
Wireless Devices End to End
Every Family’s Guide to Computers
But this is what pulled it all together for me.
http://www.atompark.com/testimonials/
He comments on this software sellers page as a customer of automatic email hunting/verifying software. He probably spammed this letter to every newspaper email in the country.
[note: fished from spam filter. –Stashiu]
CCC (679517) — 1/26/2010 @ 3:55 pmYou gotta see this. Winston was buying email address gathering/verifying software back in 2007. He comments on this page as a happy customer.
http://www.atompark.com/testimonials/
[note: fished from spam filter. –Stashiu]
CCC (679517) — 1/26/2010 @ 3:56 pmI seem to be losing the comments I’m posting. If suddenly 3 comments show up I apologize in advance. Winston writes computer books so he could easily hide his online location. But this takes the cake. He was buying email address grabbing/verifying software back in 2007. He could have bulk spammed a billion newspapers with the letter.
http://www.atompark.com/testimonials/
[note: fished from spam filter. –Stashiu]
CCC (679517) — 1/26/2010 @ 3:59 pmCCC – I didn’t see any link between FB Steward and the Steward you mention. I don’t think they are the same person – why do you think they are?
SarahW (692fc6) — 1/26/2010 @ 4:23 pmSarah W – I’m not following. I thought the guys name was Winston Steward. Who the heck is FB Steward.
“I purchased both Hunter and Verifier yesterday. I am very pleased with both products. They are much better than similar products, for example Fast Email Extractor. Your programmer has obviously been working very hard to get the bugs out of the last few versions. If you google Winston Steward, you’ll see that I’m an author of end-user computer books…
CCC (679517) — 1/26/2010 @ 4:26 pmWinston Steward | November 28, 2007”
Ah sorry FB must be FaceBook. I’m a little too old to give a damn about that site, but you may have a point. It might not be him. What made me think it might be is this note on amazon about the author where it said he was a musician too.
“Winston Steward is a freelance author, videographer, musician, and Web designer. He has written over a dozen books covering computer technology, including “Scanner Solutions.” He is a frequent guest on computer-related radio shows and has taught computer applications courses.”
CCC (679517) — 1/26/2010 @ 4:35 pmCCC I’m sorry for not writing that out – I meant “Facebook” Steward.
They have the same name, Computer Steward and Facebook Steward. How did you stike a connection besides name? I haven’t found anything that ties them together.
SarahW (692fc6) — 1/26/2010 @ 4:36 pmFB means Facebook, naturally.
Winston claims he told people it was his wife who wrote this stuff, because he was afraid the right wing would harm “ellie”.
Nothing about this guy makes sense. I don’t really care if this is legit, but it doesn’t seem legit. Why go to all this effort to hide your tracks just to admit to everything the next day? I think it’s just garbage meant to distract. Maybe it’s to distract from the fact that a lot of Obama support is faked, or maybe it’s to distract from the PR firm.
I don’t care because it’s already proven that Obama astroturf is pervasive and easy, and we should develop measures to avoid and identify it.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/26/2010 @ 4:39 pmNo way the Winston on facebook, husband of Barbara, is a prolific IT author and sitting on a couch 40 miles outside Bakersfield waiting for a workman’s comp claim, too.
JayCee (00f5a1) — 1/26/2010 @ 4:41 pmCrossposting! Let me check a couple of things. I don’t think they are the same person but can’t definitively rule it out yet.
SarahW (692fc6) — 1/26/2010 @ 4:41 pmJust the note on Amazon that the author is a musician. Sorry to be so stupid about Facebook.
CCC (679517) — 1/26/2010 @ 4:42 pmWell the last book that guy wrote about IT seems to be 8 years ago so I’m not sure I’d label him as a “prolific IT author” but you may have a point.
CCC (679517) — 1/26/2010 @ 4:50 pmThe man himself, speaking as a man, talks to The Plain Dealer’s Stephen Koff:
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2010/01/im_ellie_light_california_man.html
John Kroll (1cbec8) — 1/26/2010 @ 6:10 pmMr. Kroll,
Thanks for sticking to this story.
DRJ (84a0c3) — 1/26/2010 @ 6:12 pm[…] name which you first read on this blog this morning, thanks to reader Joseph D, whom I quoted as saying: The corresponding twitter account has one […]
Patterico's Pontifications » Ellie Light Is Winston Steward (e4ab32) — 1/26/2010 @ 7:26 pm[…] you saw the name Winston Steward here first. But how many times has Big Media taken work done by others and claimed it as their […]
Patterico's Pontifications » Cheers to the Cleveland Plain Dealer (e4ab32) — 1/26/2010 @ 8:10 pmLike liberal newspapers need encouragement to print biased political opinions?????
cj hart (09b68a) — 1/27/2010 @ 9:10 amThere ya have it, Ellie Light is now claiming the plot line of Victor/Victoria
No doubt “Ellie” will be offered a job in the WH adminstration once he/she/it has been decided as the patsy to take the fall.
what a set up (60044b) — 1/27/2010 @ 3:44 pmI found this scientific article co-authored by a Barbara Brooks, RN, MSN from Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.
Creating partnerships for optimal transplant care
Linda A. Amato RN, Jeffrey Arnovitz RN, MSN, CNP, CCTC, Jean Baxter RN, BSN, Barbara K. Brooks RN, MSN, Irene DeAndero RN, BSN, CCTC and Kelly Taylor RN, BSN, CCM
Linda A. Amato, RN, is a case manager for QualCare, Inc., in Piscataway, N.J. Jeffrey Arnovitz, RN, MSN, CNP, CCTC, is the renal transplant coordinator at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. Jean Baxter, RN, BSN, is a transplant case manager for Private Healthcare Systems, Inc., in Waltham, Mass. Barbara K. Brooks, RN, MSN, is an advanced nurse practitioner at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. Irene DeAndero, RN, BSN, CCTC, is the posttransplant coordinator at Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus. Kelly Taylor, RN, BSN, CCM, is a complex case manager for SecureCare of Iowa, Inc., in Des Moines.
Available online 23 May 2002.
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mosescleaveland (b1437a) — 1/27/2010 @ 5:01 pmThe Case Manager
Volume 13, Issue 2, March 2002, Pages 64-66