Can a Blog Replace a Whispering Campaign?

by Cal Skinner

The McHenry County Sheriff's race has heated up considerably since former Democratic Party candidate for coroner Dave Bachmann started a blog called

"DIRTY KEITH vs. DIRTY HARRY."

The blog has taken off. As I write this article, 1,623 folks have taken a look, according to what is apparently the first counter installed. 

A second counter popped up yesterday. It has a map feature which shows where readers are located.  You see the nationwide distribution of the last 100 hits above.  I copied it yesterday afternoon.  The concentration of hits is in our area, as you can see below.

Here's what a close-up of readers in the Chicago area looked like yesterday.  The one up top is Milwaukee.  The background is not too sharp, but you can make out Lake Michigan.  The two dots above what looks like a "Hidden Mickey" are in Walworth County.  One guy was on the blog for over two hours, the counting mechanism indicates.

The blog is not laid out like McHenry County Blog.  The latest entries are not on top.  They may be in the middle or at the bottom.  To find what is new, one has to go searching.

As anyone who followed the 2008 race between Bachmann and Marlene Lantz knows, Sheriff Keith Nygren was on his fellow Republican's side. That no love is lost between Bachmann and the two Republicans is blatantly obvious.

How would one characterize Bachmann's effort?

It's satire.  No doubt about that.

Bachmann is using it to even scores.   Bachmann was none too pleased at Nygren's comments to the Northwest Herald about Bachmann's lack of investigative abilities. 

The blog's first substantive post had a photo of what readers were led to believe were items related to some arson crime on a rainy night. One that had not been solved, it seemed.  It was beyond me, but insiders might get more from it.

There are a lot of implications in the blog, but readers have to pretty much draw the inferences.  They are usually not stated directly.

To be sure, the content is over the top on any number of topics.  It even contains some "eye candy."

It reminds me of the whispering campaigns that occur in virtually every campaign of any significance. 

One side tries to get undecided voters to oppose the opponent because of something they dare not put in writing because of the backlash it might occur among those who think the whisperers are just taking part in dirty politics.

But, assuming the charges are amusing, if you aren't the target of the satire, a number of people might be interested in the blog.

Indeed, what I found above shows a number are.

How often does a sheriff get taken on by a citizen?

Maybe that's part of the draw.

As I have stated before, ridicule is the one type of criticism that politicians can't stand.

Who wants to be the butt of Saturday Night Live skits or a Chicago Tribune cut and fold doll or a Chicago Tribune editorial cartoon or another editorial cartoon in the same paper on the same subject or a fake Christmas card.

As I think about what Bachmann has created, it reminds me most of what Saturday Night Live did to Rod Blagojevich and Roland Burris.

Definitely over the top, but funny.

With Bachmann's blog out there, neither of Nygren's opponents has to play the bad guy.

Bachmann is.

Hard to blame Green Party candidate Gus Philpott and Nygren's Republican primary opponent Zane Seipler for what Bachmann does.

Bachmann does link to Seipler's web page and has a supplementary web page entitled

DIRTY KEITH INTELL

on which he asks readers to send him information at this email address:

RANOFF2MEXICO@AOL.COM

Somehow I don't think Bachmann has enough material to keep this going through the November general election in 2010, but it's going strong now.

Posted first on McHenry County Blog.

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Coroner Candidate Dave Bachmann Ahead of Curve on Pill Disposal

Based on narcotics being left in the house after his mother died, Dave Bachmann, Democratic Party candidate for McHenry County Coroner. came up with the idea that deputy coroners could pick up unused pills after people passed away. (Some are outright illegal to possess after a patient’s death.)

He floated this idea on McHenry County Blog last September.

Since then, the Fox Rive Grove Police have started the practice and the Chicago Tribune had an article by Ray Hood on the idea last Thursday.

The headline:

To avoid water contamination, officials hold medicine-collection drives
Flushing old pills no longer considered safe

“On Saturday, Cook County will hold its first medicine collection drive in the south suburb of Midlothian, joining Will, Kendall and other counties in the Chicago region in providing a safe way for residents to toss out their old prescription drugs,” the story said.

Continuing,

“Chicago officials reacted swiftly in April after testing performed for the Chicago Tribune showed trace amounts of many common household medicines in the water supply, which serves 7 million people in the city and suburbs.”

The Illinois EPA is encouraging such efforts.

Posted first at McHenry County Blog.

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Some Internet Campaigning for McHenry County Coroner

Some Internet Campaigning for McHenry County Coroner

A man named Rhino made a comment about one of my articles about the McHenry County Coroner's employees wanting to unionize. He obviously is a supporter of incumbent Republican Marlene Lantz.

Democratic Party challenger Dave Bachmann sent a reply, which was published yesterday. Then, Bachmann sent a Post Script, which appears below:

PS Rhino.. About your comment on the 19th century:

About 20 years ago, the state of Colorado, completely threw out ALL rules and regulatory statues governing the Funeral Home industry in Colorado.

Nobody needs any license or education to work in a funeral home in Colorado. (Do you like snow, Rhino?)

Some, private individuals in Colorado, the "Wealthy" family owned funeral directors, have tried to get the state legislators to re-instate funeral home regulation(a ploy to keep out corporate funeral homes). At least 3 attempts have all failed. Do you know why Rhino?

Colorado, even though it has ZERO legal or educational requirements to operate a funeral home, has had, since it abolished funeral home regulation, the LOWEST number of consumer complaints in the NATION!

Both on the State and Federal FTC sides.

State legislators have taken, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" stance.

So if you think more is better, Vote for Lantz and get your check book out.

Your assertions again, are patently false and without merit.

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Dem Coroner Candidate Dave Bachmann Questions Incumbent Marlene Lantz Lack of Role in “Angel of Death” Nursing Home Deaths and More Prosaic Questions

Yesterday, McHenry County Blog printed information from McHenry County Democratic Party Coroner Candidate Dave Bachmann on how the Indiana State Coroners Training Board answers these questions:

• When is a death a coroner's case?
• What are the requirements to become a coroner?

Today, the only countywide Democratic Party candidate to face primary voters puts his views of when a coroner should get involved in a death in writing and critiques incumbent Republican Party Coroner Marlene Lantz' performance in office.

(Let me repeat my offer to publish press releases from any local candidate. Replies to press releases like this certainly are included in that offer.)

Among his prosaic criticisms, Bachmann seems to be saying that the current office is overstaffed, suggesting the county board needs to concentrate on more fiscal oversight.

Bachmann also questions whether the continuing education taken by Lantz has been excessive.

Potentially most explosively, Bachmann asks,

“Where was Coroner Lantz when the nursing home in Woodstock had an 'angel of death' working within?

“A spike in deaths of over 100 percent in 9 months from the previous 5 year totals? The nursing homes have to call the coroners office when any death occurs to verify a doctor will sign the death certificate.

“This should have been noticed by the coroners office.”

His comments follow:

Let me put this into context for you.

When I was an embalmer in California, at the funeral home I worked, we handled 2,000 bodies per year.. THERE WERE ONLY 4 of us. We picked every body up, embalmed them, dressed them, casket-ed them, and had one secretary handle the death certificates. This included 24 hour shift work coverage for night calls.

When I operated a human remains shipping company out of south Florida, myself and only one other man, handled 500 bodies per year... that was A LOT of work... picking up the body, embalming and preparing for shipment, (many were autopsied bodies, which is twice the work to prepare) doing all the death certificate work, which included tracking down the doctor, waiting in his office for him to sign, doing the burial transit permits also requiring going to the local heath department, contacting the airlines for arrangements... and, driving the body to the airline cargo department. Plus, speaking to the family of the deceased. Again 24 hour on call work.

Our coroner (Marlene Lantz)says she has six employees... and given the numbers, I believe she may "handle" at most 350 cases per year.. and out of those 350, many are just phone call releases (going by a county population of 300,000). This county in Indiana, Marion County.. has 900,000 residents... They have 7 deputies, plus 2 secretaries.. and it's a major city.. Indy...

Plus, lets not forget.. in addition to the staff mentioned, there is also a doctor, a pathologist who actually comes in and does the work, the autopsy, along with his assistant. So the deputies and Lantz really never even work on a body, unlike what I was doing for years...

I have no idea how this has gotten by the county board?

I plan to lift the veil from this office, and tell our county board how it REALLY works.

Our tax payers have to rely upon their elected officers.

Ms. Lantz has stated she enjoys teaching and speaking at colleges? (See page 26 of The Town Crier's pre-primary voters' guide:

“I also enjoy teaching and have done several programs for Purdue University in LaFayette, as well as at St. Joseph College in Rensselaer, IN and at Concordia University in River Forest, IL. I assist in the field work at Dr. Neal Haskell’s yearly Entomology Workshop in Rensselaer and I also speak to the local high schools and colleges. About what? On the 24 continuing education hours required per year, what could she possibly be an expert on? Unless she has taken so many hours above and beyond the requirements of state law. The law says, "at least 24 hours.")

I bet that has really been stretched.. and the expenses that go with out of town seminars? I'd like the press to find out these numbers from the county Auditor. Although taking more than 24 hours is not illegal, it's "Resume Building" at tax payer expense. Then taking this resume out of county to give speeches at colleges?

People need to keep in mind, McHenry County is NOT under a Medical Examiners System. ANYBODY may run for coroner!

Where was Coroner Lantz when the nursing home in Woodstock had an "angel of death" working within? A spike in deaths of over 100 percent in 9 months from the previous 5 year totals? The nursing homes have to call the coroners office when any death occurs to verify a doctor will sign the death certificate. This should have been noticed by the coroners office.

MY friend is a 50 veteran of the funeral business in Coles County (where Eastern Illinois University is located). He asked his coroner, “How many hours of continuing ed have you taken?. He stated 400 hours last year.. PLUS all expenses... since I brought this up, he checked it out.

I've asked Illinois Coroners Association for a copy of its updated laws; they refuse to answer my request!

David J. Bachmann

Posted on McHenry County Blog first.

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