Dear Mr. Schaper, I was surprised to see your blog post regarding our intern Marc Rod.
You, of course, have every right to publish this on your own site but I found
it curious that you assumed we were doing a “hit piece.” Nothing
could be further from the truth. The assignment was for Marc to look into a wide variety of local
political action groups and think tanks​ for our upcoming magazine The Almanac.
If you look at a copy of last year’s magazine, you will find short descriptions
of local organizations on a variety of topics—animals, elder care, youth
activities, the arts and politics. Our hope was to provide accurate contact information and a short
synopsis of the groups’ activities so that residents could easily find ways to
participate in national politics on a local level, regardless of party
affiliation. Some organizations we have talked with include the League of Women
Voters, the ACLU, Active Claremont, the Mountain View Republican Club and The
Democratic Club of Claremont. I will respect your request, however, and we will certainly omit We The
People Rising from our list of organizations. Kathryn DunnEditor, Claremont COURIER114 Olive StreetClaremont, CA 91711
(909) 621-4761
Notice that she wants to defend poor, little Marc Rod.
But wait–what was my blog post about?
Not just Marc Rod, but the Claremont Courier’s insipid attempt to write a hit piece about We the People Rising. Check out some of the remarks which I wrote
:Look out for a hit piece against We the People Rising some time in the near future, folks. As anyone can imagine, the media are so desperate to smear anyone who supports Donald Trump and opposes illegal immigration. Or is a Republican. I believe that for some reasons The Southern Poverty Law Center has listed We the People Rising as a nativist, extremist group. I bet that the Claremont Courier will try to play the same card. What a crock. I called their bluff, and they fell for it, apparently. There’s more to take issue with, of course.
Here are Dunn’s remarks:The assignment was for Marc to look into a wide variety of local political action groups and think tanks​ for our upcoming magazine The Almanac. If you look at a copy of last year’s magazine, you will find short descriptions of local organizations on a variety of topics—animals, elder care, youth activities, the arts and politics.
Something about “The Almanac”, you say?
That’s not what Marc told me! My name is Marc Rod. I do whatever Kathryn Dunn tells me to do.
Here is his first email to me:From: Marc Rod Sent: Friday, June 30, 2017 12:29 PMTo: arthurschaper@hotmail. comSubject: Claremont Courier Newspaper Article About We The People RisingDear Mr. Schaper, My name is Marc Rod, and I am contacting you on behalf of the Claremont
Courier newspaper in Claremont, CA. I am currently working an article about We
The People Rising, of which you said you are a part during a public comment at
the Claremont City Council Meeting on January 24 of this year. Since you have
been a prominent and vocal supporter/member of We The People Rising, I was
wondering if you would be willing to answer a few questions about the
organization and your involvement with it. If you are interested, feel free to
send me an email or give me a call at (909) 621-47561. Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Marc RodReporting Intern, Claremont COURIER114 Olive StreetClaremont, CA 91711
(909) 621-4761
Let me pull out the most pertinent part of the email above:
“I am contacting you on behalf of the Claremont Courier newspaper in Claremont, CA. I Am currently working on an article about We the People Rising.”
Marc mentioned nothing about “The Almanac.”
Notice that he wanted to write “an article”, not a snippet for a magazine or an almanac describing We the People Rising.
Next, notice how Marc wanted to ask me the following about this activist group:
“Since you have been a prominent and vocal supporter/member of We the People Rising, I was wondering if you would be willing to answer a few questions about the organization and your involvement with it.”
OK.
Notice his second email to me:
On Jul 7, 2017, at 10:27 AM, Marc Rod
Notice again that Marc is looking for a specific slant and point of view for his intended article.
And there’s more. Check out his third email to me:I apologize for bothering you again. I would once again like to give you the opportunity to comment on this article. I do plan to address some comments you have made on your The State of the Union blog in my article, and would like to give you the opportunity to further clarify some of the statements you have made, so that there is no misrepresentation. Thank you. Sincerely, Marc RodReporting Intern, Claremont COURIER114 Olive StreetClaremont, CA 91711(909) 621-4761
Notice this part: “I do plan to address some comments you have made on your The State of the Union blog in my article.”I want to point out how offensive I found it that this intern continued to ask me for my point of view, as though I was the leader or director for We the People Rising. Robin Hvidston, Executive DirectorWe the People RisingWhat is it with the media? Do they have a hard time accepting that a strong, conservative woman can lead groups, or that women as well as men oppose illegal immigration? I submit that Mrs. Hvidston, in person, word, and deed does not the liberal media narrative about protesters and activists who oppose illegal immigration. Then it gets worse.
Claremont Courier editor Kathryn Dunn above wrote that the whole reason for Marc Rod’s reaching out to me was:
“[T]o look into a wide variety of local political action groups and think tanks​ for our upcoming magazine The Almanac. If you look at a copy of last year’s magazine, you will find short descriptions of local organizations on a variety of topics—animals, elder care, youth activities, the arts and politics.”
Why ask for specifics about me and my involvement with We the People Rising if the article was only to focus on a general description of the group?
Why ask for my points of view working within the group?
And why would he want to quote something I had written about Claremont or We the People Rising in my blog?
So many inconsistencies! What is going on?!
Answer: Marc and Kathryn were writing a hit piece intended to smear the group, and Marc was lying–probably following the direction of supervising liar/editor Kathryn Dunn.
What a lie!
What a crock!
This is the most deceptive and despicable set of maneuvering from a newspaper that I have ever seen!
I am confirmed in my suspicions about what the Claremont Courier was trying to accomplish. They wanted to do a hit piece of some perverse kind against We the People Rising.
I exposed this corrupt practice, and now they are trying to backtrack from their heinous plan.
Shameful!
Why not give the editor a call and let them know your displeasure with their perverse attempt to push more Fake News!
Email addresses:
Kathryn Dunn:editor@claremont-courier. com
Peter Weinberger: pweinberger@claremont-courier. com
Marc Rod: marc. rod12@gmail. com
Phone Number: (909) 621-4761
Contact these advertisers, too, and tell them that you will boycott their products and services until they stop supporting the Claremont Courier!