Did someone throw a book at President Obama during his appearance at a campaign rally in Philadelphia on Sunday? And did one attendee attempt to streak at the event in an effort to win a supposed $1 million prize?
Apparently so, at least insofar as the book-throwing is concerned. CBS's Mark Knoller wrote on Twitter late Monday morning that the Secret Service "says this morning it was aware of the book thrown at Pres. Obama yesterday" but that, after interviewing the "overexuberant" book thrower, it "deemed there was no threat intended - he just wanted Obama to have a copy of his book." No arrest was made.
The Associated Press, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Washington Post made no mention of any such developments in their original reports. And the White House pool reporter saw no indication that they occurred either, Politics Daily's Alex Wagner reports. But video on Gawker.com shows an object -- gray and indistinct -- appearing airborne behind Obama after he concludes his speech. It appears at the 0:22 mark in this video.
Apparently so, at least insofar as the book-throwing is concerned. CBS's Mark Knoller wrote on Twitter late Monday morning that the Secret Service "says this morning it was aware of the book thrown at Pres. Obama yesterday" but that, after interviewing the "overexuberant" book thrower, it "deemed there was no threat intended - he just wanted Obama to have a copy of his book." No arrest was made.
The Associated Press, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Washington Post made no mention of any such developments in their original reports. And the White House pool reporter saw no indication that they occurred either, Politics Daily's Alex Wagner reports. But video on Gawker.com shows an object -- gray and indistinct -- appearing airborne behind Obama after he concludes his speech. It appears at the 0:22 mark in this video.
A photo appearing in the British tabloid the Daily Mail shows a book very clearly passing behind the president's head, though the clarity -- such a sharp image would require a very fast shutter speed -- is not the only reason to doubt its authenticity: the background behind the president is quite different from the background in the video, and the president's shirt appears to be different from the one he has on in other images -- his sleeves are rolled up to a different height.
Gawker also published a photo of the "streaker," though it's provenance also seems dubious. Gawker cites a Weekly Standard blogger saying the stunt "captured the attention of . . . an Associated Press photographer," but the photo is credited to Joey "Boots" Bassolino, whose name does not appear in connection to the AP in any other references sought in a Google search. Another blogger calls Bassolino a co-conspirator in the plot to win $1 million from Akli David, said to be the son of a Turkish Coca-Cola bottling company owner. David reportedly has offered the money to any prankster who appears naked within eyesight and earshot of the president, with "Battlecam.com" written on his chest while chanting the name of the website.
According to Wikipedia, David is himself a "self-confessed prankster . . . notable for his heavy usage of social media, such as his own site FilmOn," of which Battlecam is an arm.
Whom to believe in all this? Hard to say, as the incidents could be just another example of the hard-to-pin-down reality of the digital world, in which drawing attention to oneself is sometimes the highest order of business.
Simmons, who turns 84 next month, is doing his part by donating every single apple, pear, peach and cherry from his modest orchard atop Irons Mountain to the Salvation Army in Cumberland. Salvation Army volunteers distribute more than 30,000 pounds of fruit from the Simmons orchard each year.
