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Showing posts with label Eric Holcomb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eric Holcomb. Show all posts

Thursday, July 15, 2021

Hoosier Supermom Jennifer Glynn’s Facebook Page helps Hoosiers resolve their Unemployment Issues



Jasmine Minor’s report on Hoosier Heroine Jennifer Glynn 

As you all probably know by now, the Hoosier state is dropping the ball Bigly when it comes to paying Hoosiers their unemployment benefits. On Tuesday we wrote about the complete silence of the Department of Workforce Development in addressing these issues. However there is some hope in all of the darkness that is surrounding the cesspool that is our state’s unemployment system. In addition to WISH-TV’s Richard Essex and WTHR’s Bob Segall, Jasmine Minor is joining the fight for government transparency and accountability!


Here’s Jasmine Minor reporting:

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Jennifer Glynn, a mom of two, started an unemployment help group on Facebook to assist people in securing unemployment benefits.

Her only experience was going through the unemployment filing process before, but her free advice has been priceless for nearly 7,000 Hoosiers struggling to get the benefits they deserve. 

“These people shouldn’t be losing their homes, they shouldn’t be losing everything that they own,” Glynn said. “I’ve had people tell me that they were on the brink of depression until I helped them, that they were on the verge of giving up until I gave them hope.”

Glynn says while the group feels like a full-time job, often answering calls and messages at 3 a.m., she believes it’s necessary work because people are growing desperate. 

“Who else is going to help them?” Glynn asked. “I’m trying to help everybody that I can. And there have been times that I have not been able to help somebody. And that’s disappointing.”


She says the most common issue she sees is when people receive a letter for making an error on their filing or their appeal form. That error that can be costly. 

“I specifically know one woman, she had to wait over a year just for one error,” Glynn said. “That’s the longest that I’ve seen.”

However, she says it’s been nearly impossible to get someone from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development to answer a phone call or email, making it difficult to figure out what the exact error was. 

Glynn says if a claim has an issue, it can’t be fixed until a claims representative or an investigator. 

“The Indiana Department of Workforce Development currently has 16 issues listed on their COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions worksheet,” Glynn said. “The list that I have, I currently have a list of 47 that could cause issues and keep somebody from getting paid. Big difference, right?”

Glynn says, after doing extensive research, she was able to create templates others can fill out to make sure the right information is getting to claim representatives so that errors are not made. She then helps to make sure those forms are sent to the right place.

We here at Indy Republican salute Jennifer Glynn! It is men and women like her that will help us all to achieve more of our goals of good government! Gary Welsh is smiling down from heaven on this awesome lady!

If anyone needs help with their unemployment claim please click here to go to Jennifer Glynn’s Facebook Group. She needs all the help she can get! 




Tuesday, July 13, 2021

The Deafening Silence of the Department of Workforce Development w/Update

As we, the late great Gary Welsh and Paul Ogden have written about previously. The Hoosier state’s unemployment insurance program as managed by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) continues to hurt everyday Hoosiers, be a dumping ground for every two bit political hack where they use taxpayer money and funnel it to them and their cronies. Click herehere and here for more information on the corrupt possibly illegal conduct performed by members of the DWD leadership. And they refuse to be open and transparent notwithstanding that this agency is supposed to safeguard the state’s unemployment insurance funds. 

Back in 2012 Gary Welsh and Paul Ogden both reported on Whistleblower’s at DWD who revealed that mismanagement at the agency was to blame for the bankrupting of Indiana’s Unemployment Insurance Fund. From the end of 2008 to 2015 the state was forced to borrow money from the federal government to cover the shortfall caused by the incompetence and corruption by the agency heads at DWD. WISH-TV’s Deanna Dewberry did a wonderful report on DWD back in 2012 which can be read by clicking here. Unfortunately the agency has not noticeably improved at all over the years. The agency has especially been dropping the ball when it comes to preventing and go after unemployment insurance fraud.

On December 30th, 2020 Indystar posted Nick Penzenstadler’s USA Today article “How scammers siphoned $36B in fraudulent unemployment payments from US”. The article reveals how since are least May of 2020, online scammers have been responsible for at least $36 Billion of fraudulent unemployment claims. Pezenstadler interviewed one of the people who has engaged in this massive cyber fraud and explains how it had been done. We wrote about unemployed Hoosiers having to fight the very state agency that is supposed to help them deal with unemployment fraud back in March

Now a sensible administration after all of this negative publicity, we would think would want to at least attempt to appear to clean up there act. If only to try and stem the continuing bad public relations. But as WISH-TV’s Richard Essex reported last Wednesday July 7th, 2021 DWD is just doubling down on avoiding public scrutiny. In a wonderful story entitled “How the Department of Workforce Development stonewalls Hoosiers”, Essex had this to say about his attempts to speak with DWD:

For months, News 8 has asked the Indiana Department of Workforce Development for a sit-down interview with its leader, Commissioner Fred Payne; News 8’s request have been repeatedly denied. 

So on Wednesday, News 8 went to the state government’s office building to make a request in person.

The Department of Workforce Development main office appears to be right next to the public entrance of the Government Center South building.

“Hi, I’m Richard Essex of WISH-TV. We are trying to make an appointment to see the commissioner, Fred Payne,” News 8’s Richard Essex said. “Is this the office?”

Upon News 8’s arrival at the office, a security guard hired by the state said she wasn’t sure where Payne’s office was located.

“Well, you can go down there to the other office and get a hold of him,” she said. 

The security guard escorted News 8 to another office that she called the intake office. Once inside that office, News 8 made the same request; a woman lady behind the desk at the intake office said she was new to the job and wasn’t sure who we needed to speak with. 

After waiting an hour, News 8 was told someone was coming to talk.

Next thing that happened, the office door was closed and locked.

News 8 waited in a hallway after being promised someone would come to talk. No one ever appeared, so News 8 went back the first office.

As it turns out, News 8 were not the only ones in the building trying to get answers.

Kathi Dean told News 8 the Department of Workforce Development claims she was overpaid. Dean had grown tired of waiting for callbacks and unanswered emails, so she came to downtown Indianapolis for answers.

“What about people that worked for years and put time into this and have to work and wait and wait on this money?” Dean asked. “So if you want to stop our PUA (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance), just go right ahead on and give us our money from unemployment back pay all at one time so we can go ahead on and live.”

A security guard told Dean to make an appointment.

News 8 continued to wait for someone from Workforce Development to come out and talk, or at least make an appointment.

Several people were in the office; none of them came to the door.


Here’s the video from WISH-TV’s website featuring the comically inept conduct displayed by DWD:







We are most pleased that Mister Essex is not alone in his quest to get answers out of DWD. Bob Segall over at WTHR has also done his own championship work on the problems plaguing DWD.




We cannot recommend enough that you all check out Mister’s Segall’s and Essex’s great work, it’s YUGE!

Looking into all of this craziness at DWD reminds us all of a story that Paul Ogden mentioned on his blog back in 2011. Itwas a report about a possibly non existent state agency, Kara Kenney as always did an incredible job reporting on it at the time.

Many questions remain, and much digging needs to be done. One of the biggest concerns is how do Hoosiers navigate the labyrinth, that stands in the way of them receiving their benefits? To be honest we are not sure quite yet how. Perhaps a few little birdies might clue us in. Gary Welsh is gone physically from this world but his work had barely begun. Hang tight fellow ruffians! Things are going to get interesting!

P.S. Note to all of you, according to what we hear through the grapevine the Leadership Team at DWD, including the Commissioner have offices on the third floor of DWD in the government center south. Word of caution, should you get to the third floor our sources tell us that the atmosphere is a bit thinner than elsewhere in the building. Just FYI.

UPDATE: An alert reader just sent us this awesome tweet from Rob Kendall giving his take on the whole situation:


UPDATE: If anyone is having trouble with an unemployment issue please click here to go to  WISH-TV’s website and fill out the form on the page. 

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

A Quick Word About the 2020 Election

We meant to write more sooner, but Thanksgiving was a hectic time for all of us here at the blog. It appears our prediction that Joe Biden would defeat Donald Trump was accurate, we were wrong in thinking Biden would take North Carolina and all of Maine’s electoral votes but otherwise our prediction for the Presidential race was spot on. Unfortunately we were correct in predicting Eric Holcomb’s re-election as Governor. Despite our predictions the Democrats lost ground in the House of Representatives but have picked up seats in the Senate and might gain control of the Senate after next month’s runoff elections in Georgia. 

In the state legislature republicans gained 4 seats to increase their numbers to 71-29, they lost one state senate seat and are down to 39-11 in the senate. So overall the Republicans did better than we thought they would although they still lost the Presidency. From what we can gather there obviously were many voters who wanted Trump tossed out (The IR Gang can be counted among them). But at the same time didn’t want to give the Democrats free reign over everything. As for the Senate races in Georgia although we would like to keep the Congress divided to keep more extreme Democrats in check. Given Senators Perdue and Loeffler’s insane pandering to Trump we won’t be too upset if they lose. There are already indications that Trump may have spread the idea that the election was rigged in Georgia so well that many Trump supporters are thinking of boycotting the Georgia Senate runoff election. Which if that does happen and the Democrats win both seats that would be quite a rebuke to the Orange Pussy Grabber-In-Chief. 

You will be hearing more from us in the near future on state, local and national politics. Until then you have been tuned into IR on your FM dial and we wish you all well and God Bless.

Friday, July 10, 2020

Donors to Mike Pence’s Legal Defense Fund Revealed. Also, Where Does Mike Pence Live?

Finally after three years of nail biting suspense, we finally know the identities of some of the people who helped pay Vice President Pence’s legal fees. Veteran readers of this blog might recall we wrote about Pence’s legal defense fund back in 2017. Thanks to USA Today writer Maureen Groppe we now have some answers. Needless to say there are some interesting characters to say the least backing old Mickey.

Maureen Groppe wrote on June 30, 2020 in an article going into more detail about Pence’s legal donors:

Vice President Mike Pence received nearly $500,000 from a dozen contributors to pay his legal bills from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, according to his annual financial disclosure report that was released Tuesday (June 29, 2020).

The biggest backers were Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon and the California couple Michael Hayde and Laura Khouri who develop and manage apartment complexes. They each gave $100,000.

Other contributors include Pence's political adviser Marty Obst; national GOP fundraiser Ronald Weiser of Michigan; Florida real estate investor Leo Wells; Indiana businessmen Lawrence “Sonny” Beck, Paul Thrift and Tony Moravec; and Georgia businessman Brian McPheely, head of the country’s fifth largest corrugated packaging company.

The legal defense fund was created in December 2018 by Jim Atterholt, who served as Pence's chief of staff when he was Indiana's governor.

Pence hired an attorney, former U.S. Attorney Richard Cullen, after Mueller was appointed in 2017. But he was not billed until the end of Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election.

Expenses were paid last June and the fund was terminated in August, according to the disclosure report.

Atterholt previously told USA TODAY that he volunteered to start the fund because he doesn't believe legal bills should be the cost of public service.

Some of the names of Pence’s backers certainly have our interest peaked. A point of interest about Richard Cullen, Pence’s attorney. Is that Cullen is an old friend, coworker and godfather to one of former FBI Director James Comey’s daughters. And McGuire Woods the law firm Cullen works for is also where former Indiana Governor and Senator Evan Bayh works. For whatever reason Pence wanted a heavy hitter to represent him.

Back to some of the donors. We find it interesting that former State Representative, Indiana Department of Insurance (IDOI) Commissioner, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission Director, and Chief of Staff to Governor Pence Jim Atterholt created Pence’s legal defense fund. Atterholt is quoted as saying he created the fund for Pence “because he doesn't believe legal bills should be the cost of public service.” That’s a side splitter Jim! You sure as hell were not concerned with legal bills when you forced out Paul Ogden at the Department of Insurance back in 2006. 

Readers of INDY REPUBLICAN, Ogden on Politics, and the late Gary Welsh’s Advance Indiana blog, know that Atterholt is not the most ethical guy in politics. Gary Welsh and Paul Ogden have documented here and here Atterholt’s dubious conduct as head of the Department of Insurance, the head of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, and as Governor Pence’s Chief of Staff. There is an especially good post Paul Ogden did on Atterholt detailing Atterholt’s too cozy relationships with lobbyists and his willingness to commit perjury. When Pence named Atterholt to be his Chief of Staff that was an indication to all of us as to how useless he is as a public servant. 

Although Pence has never been charged with any criminal conduct to our knowledge, he does act as if he is hiding something. We cannot think of any other reason he would hire such a high powered lawyer to represent him. Also even though Pence has been Vice President since 2017, he still has cast ballots using the address of the Governor’s Mansion, where even he admitted he moved out of in 2017  He even tweeted his moving pictures: 

A recent article by Elizabeth Dye for “Above the Law” had this to say about the Pence’s use of the Governor’s mansion for voting:

“Does Governor Holcomb forward the Second Lady her Taste of Home and Good Housekeepingmagazines? Will Vice President and Mother Pence be bedding down in the governor’s mansion if voters see fit to evict them from Number One Observatory Circle in November? Will the Pences ever again pay their own electric bill, as they dutifully strive to cut the safety net out from under poor Americans?

So many questions! But apparently using their old taxpayer-funded digs, to which the Pences have no intention of returning, as their Indiana residence is perfectly legal.“

This raises some interesting questions especially since former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White was convicted of voter fraud, all because he allegedly voted in the wrong precinct one time in his whole life. Pence and his wife apparently are allowed to vote using an address they no longer live at. Even if one buys the claim that Pence is allowed to vote from the Governor’s mansion due to his serving as Vice President, how does that extend to his wife Karen, who is not in elected office? Somebody should ask Governor Eric Holcomb if he knowingly allows the Pence’s to vote from his residence? And if so why, and also why should the Pence’s get away with blatantly flouting election law when Charlie White was shafted by Holcomb and Mitch Daniels? Do you have something to say Eric? Mike? Karen? Trump would be well advised to drop kick Pence’s ass off the ticket, otherwise the Democrats WILL go after Pence with a vengeance and help to sink Donald even further. 

Let’s all just pray that for the devils bargain that Pence has made, that he is dropped from the ticket and must pay for his sins!

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Repost about Governor Eric Holcomb’s Corporatism and Dictatorial Ways

    Yesterday a group of citizen activists gathered outside Furher Governor Eric “Mad King” Holcomb to protest what they saw as unlawful executive overreach by the overrated flunky of former “Godfather Governor” Mitch Daniels. Now although it is no secret that the IR Gang are ardent and avowed Never Trump Conservative Republicans, and despite our disagreements with the protesters on some issues, on balance the protesters are absolutely right in asserting that Holcomb is guilty of abusing his office as Governor. Our readers may recall back in December we published a post about how Holcomb decided to try and infringe on two media outlets freedom of speech, merely because they published a story that he disagreed with. The stories involved allegations that the Holcomb administration waived safety fines against Amazon that had been levied due to a 2017 incident involving the death of an Amazon employee. These fines were lifted it is alleged because Holcomb was hoping to lure a new Amazon facility to Indiana. Amazon declined to move the facility to Indiana. In light of the recent protests against Governor Holcomb, we felt that revisiting our earlier post about him was in order. We have reprinted our December 12th, 2019 post below and hope you would all find it enlightening:


Thursday, December 12, 2019

Did Governor Eric Holcomb’s Administration Improperly Waive Safety Fines for Amazon?


Governor “Mad” Eric Holcomb 


Lindsey Erdody of the Indianapolis Business Journal wrote an article about the 2017 death of 59 year old Phillip Lee Terry at the Plainfield, Indiana Amazon warehouse.  Terry’s death by itself might just sound like a tragic accident on the job. But as Erdody reports there appears to be much more to this than an unfortunate accident.

Erdody writes:

An article, published Monday by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, details the death of 59-year-old Phillip Lee Terry and the state’s investigation into whether Amazon was liable. Terry died on the job at the Amazon warehouse in Plainfield in late September 2017 after a 1,200-pound piece of equipment dropped and crushed him.

The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration was sent to investigate the death, and safety inspector John Stallone concluded a forklift had not been propped up as it should have been when Terry was working under it, according to the Reveal article.

Stallone asked Amazon for proof that Terry had been trained on how to properly work on the equipment, but the company did not provide adequate proof, so Stallone issued four safety citations for a total fine of $28,000, according to the story.

That same month, Holcomb directed state officials to try to lure Amazon into locating its second headquarters in the state. The Seattle-based company announced it was in the market for another location and had promised a $5 billion investment and 50,000 new jobs to the winning region.

In November 2017, while the public bidding war for Amazon’s HQ2 was still playing out, Stallone and his boss, Indiana OSHA Director Julie Alexander, called Amazon officials to talk about the citations and fine related to Terry’s death, according to the article. Stallone recorded the call, and Alexander can be heard telling Amazon officials how to reduce the fines and shift the blame to “employee misconduct,” according to Reveal.

In a podcast posted by Reveal that included some of the audio from that conversation, Alexander is heard telling Stallone “I hope you don’t take it personally if we have to manipulate your citations.”

Stallone told Reveal that a few days after that call, he was called into a meeting with Indiana Labor Commissioner Rick Ruble and Holcomb, who allegedly brought up the Amazon deal and said it would mean a lot to the state to land the headquarters.

Ruble then told Stallone to either back off the Amazon case or resign, according to the story. Stallone told Reveal that he quit soon afterward.

Holcomb’s office denied that meeting ever happened.

“The claim against the governor is absolutely untrue,” Holcomb spokeswoman Rachel Hoffmeyer said.


Ms. Erdody points out that the Indiana Department of Labor on September 14, 2018 waived all proposed fines against Amazon. Click here to read the IDOL’s settlement with Amazon. Click here for the story by Reveal News which sparked interest in this case. Also check out Reveal’s podcast “Amazon: Behind The Smiles”. 

Our story doesn’t end here though. Governor Eric Holcomb and has responded in a most interesting way to media inquiries into their alleged conduct surrounding Amazon and the death of Phillip Lee Terry. In a follow up article on December 4th, 2019 Lindsey Erdody wrote:


Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and the Indiana Department of Labor insist that the investigation into an Amazon employee’s death in 2017 was handled appropriately, even though the safety violations that were initially issued were eventually dismissed.

Reveal, part of the not-for-profit Center for Investigative Reporting, recently highlighted the investigation as part of a report on working conditions in Amazon facilities across the country. The Indianapolis Star also published the Indiana-specific section of the Reveal article, which alleges Holcomb was involved in getting Amazon’s fines eliminated after the September 2017 death of a maintenance employee in Plainfield as part of a strategy to win Amazon’s coveted HQ2 project.

Holcomb has repeatedly denied the allegations, even taking the unusual step of issuing cease-and-desist letters to Reveal and the IndyStar. On Tuesday, he said he believes the Department of Labor and the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration handled the case correctly.

Let’s stop and think for just a minute here. The Indianapolis Star and Reveal publish a story alleging that Governor Eric Holcomb and the Indiana Labor Commissioner sought to avoid making Amazon pay a fine in the death of one of it’s employees. All so that the state could hope to lure Amazon into placing a distribution center in Indiana. But rather than logically refute the story. Mad King Eric AKA High Tax Holcomb decides to do his best  imitation of a Soviet apparatchik and send cease and desist letters to Reveal and The Indianapolis Star merely for exercising their free speech rights, and for upsetting Governor Cry Baby. Such behavior from former Governor Mitch Daniels personal slave is not surprising. Indiana deserves better than Eric Holcomb. This is clearly the age of the second rater as far as Indiana government goes. 

Click here to read the text of Governor Holcomb’s childish cease and desist demand letters.


Fortunately several Indiana journalists have decided they are not going to bend over and let Holcomb slap them into submission. Neither Reveal or The Indianapolis Star have backed down or retracted there stories regarding Holcomb and Amazon. 

The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel published an editorial denouncing Holcomb’s antics. The Indiana Society of Professional Journalists also wrote an open letter to Eric Holcomb criticizing his attempts to quell free speech. We will end this post by reproducing the SPJ’s letter in full:

Dec. 3, 2019

Honorable Eric J. Holcomb
Governor of Indiana
200 W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Dear Gov. Holcomb:

The Indiana Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists takes exception to your call for the Indianapolis Star and Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting to cease and desist reporting stories about your administration’s handling of worker safety investigations at Amazon facilities in Indiana.

Our organization, which represents professional journalists throughout Indiana, feels this move is a threat to press freedom.

According to Article I, section 9 of the Indiana Constitution: “No law shall be passed restraining the free interchange of thought and opinion, or restricting the right to speak, write, or print, freely, on any subject whatever: but for the abuse of that right, every person shall be responsible.”

In our view, your cease-and-desist letters, issued on Nov. 29, are designed to intimidate reporters and journalists looking into your administration. The letters also add to the overall climate in the nation that looks to undermine the credibility of journalists and media outlets.

Although you might not agree with the contents or conclusions of the report in Reveal and the Indianapolis Star, an unusual call by your office for a cease-and-desist order against the media could chill efforts to report an ongoing story.

Indiana Pro SPJ stands behind the efforts of local and national journalism outlets to report issues of public importance and hold leaders accountable. If there are disputes over accuracy, there are ways to address those concerns without issuing a cease-and-desist order.

Indiana should set an example for the rest of the nation to follow when it comes to press freedom. Our officers would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and discuss this issue further.

Sincerely,

The Board of Directors
Indiana Professional Chapter
Society of Professional Journalists

For more information, please contact:

John Russell, chapter president
(317) 250-6261

Michael Puente, chapter vice president
(312) 342-0056

UPDATE: An alert reader directed us to an op-ed and a report over at IndyStar you should all see about Holcomb’s dirty deeds. Click here and here for more information.


Thursday, December 12, 2019

Did Governor Eric Holcomb’s Administration Improperly Waive Safety Fines for Amazon?


Governor “Mad” Eric Holcomb 


Lindsey Erdody of the Indianapolis Business Journal wrote an article about the 2017 death of 59 year old Phillip Lee Terry at the Plainfield, Indiana Amazon warehouse.  Terry’s death by itself might just sound like a tragic accident on the job. But as Erdody reports there appears to be much more to this than an unfortunate accident.

Erdody writes:

An article, published Monday by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, details the death of 59-year-old Phillip Lee Terry and the state’s investigation into whether Amazon was liable. Terry died on the job at the Amazon warehouse in Plainfield in late September 2017 after a 1,200-pound piece of equipment dropped and crushed him.

The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration was sent to investigate the death, and safety inspector John Stallone concluded a forklift had not been propped up as it should have been when Terry was working under it, according to the Reveal article.

Stallone asked Amazon for proof that Terry had been trained on how to properly work on the equipment, but the company did not provide adequate proof, so Stallone issued four safety citations for a total fine of $28,000, according to the story.

That same month, Holcomb directed state officials to try to lure Amazon into locating its second headquarters in the state. The Seattle-based company announced it was in the market for another location and had promised a $5 billion investment and 50,000 new jobs to the winning region.

In November 2017, while the public bidding war for Amazon’s HQ2 was still playing out, Stallone and his boss, Indiana OSHA Director Julie Alexander, called Amazon officials to talk about the citations and fine related to Terry’s death, according to the article. Stallone recorded the call, and Alexander can be heard telling Amazon officials how to reduce the fines and shift the blame to “employee misconduct,” according to Reveal.

In a podcast posted by Reveal that included some of the audio from that conversation, Alexander is heard telling Stallone “I hope you don’t take it personally if we have to manipulate your citations.”

Stallone told Reveal that a few days after that call, he was called into a meeting with Indiana Labor Commissioner Rick Ruble and Holcomb, who allegedly brought up the Amazon deal and said it would mean a lot to the state to land the headquarters.

Ruble then told Stallone to either back off the Amazon case or resign, according to the story. Stallone told Reveal that he quit soon afterward.

Holcomb’s office denied that meeting ever happened.

“The claim against the governor is absolutely untrue,” Holcomb spokeswoman Rachel Hoffmeyer said.


Ms. Erdody points out that the Indiana Department of Labor on September 14, 2018 waived all proposed fines against Amazon. Click here to read the IDOL’s settlement with Amazon. Click here for the story by Reveal News which sparked interest in this case. Also check out Reveal’s podcast “Amazon: Behind The Smiles”. 

Our story doesn’t end here though. Governor Eric Holcomb and has responded in a most interesting way to media inquiries into their alleged conduct surrounding Amazon and the death of Phillip Lee Terry. In a follow up article on December 4th, 2019 Lindsey Erdody wrote:


Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and the Indiana Department of Labor insist that the investigation into an Amazon employee’s death in 2017 was handled appropriately, even though the safety violations that were initially issued were eventually dismissed.

Reveal, part of the not-for-profit Center for Investigative Reporting, recently highlighted the investigation as part of a report on working conditions in Amazon facilities across the country. The Indianapolis Star also published the Indiana-specific section of the Reveal article, which alleges Holcomb was involved in getting Amazon’s fines eliminated after the September 2017 death of a maintenance employee in Plainfield as part of a strategy to win Amazon’s coveted HQ2 project.

Holcomb has repeatedly denied the allegations, even taking the unusual step of issuing cease-and-desist letters to Reveal and the IndyStar. On Tuesday, he said he believes the Department of Labor and the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration handled the case correctly.

Let’s stop and think for just a minute here. The Indianapolis Star and Reveal publish a story alleging that Governor Eric Holcomb and the Indiana Labor Commissioner sought to avoid making Amazon pay a fine in the death of one of it’s employees. All so that the state could hope to lure Amazon into placing a distribution center in Indiana. But rather than logically refute the story. Mad King Eric AKA High Tax Holcomb decides to do his best  imitation of a Soviet apparatchik and send cease and desist letters to Reveal and The Indianapolis Star merely for exercising their free speech rights, and for upsetting Governor Cry Baby. Such behavior from former Governor Mitch Daniels personal slave is not surprising. Indiana deserves better than Eric Holcomb. This is clearly the age of the second rater as far as Indiana government goes. 

Click here to read the text of Governor Holcomb’s childish cease and desist demand letters.


Fortunately several Indiana journalists have decided they are not going to bend over and let Holcomb slap them into submission. Neither Reveal or The Indianapolis Star have backed down or retracted there stories regarding Holcomb and Amazon. 

The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel published an editorial denouncing Holcomb’s antics. The Indiana Society of Professional Journalists also wrote an open letter to Eric Holcomb criticizing his attempts to quell free speech. We will end this post by reproducing the SPJ’s letter in full:

Dec. 3, 2019

Honorable Eric J. Holcomb
Governor of Indiana
200 W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Dear Gov. Holcomb:

The Indiana Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists takes exception to your call for the Indianapolis Star and Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting to cease and desist reporting stories about your administration’s handling of worker safety investigations at Amazon facilities in Indiana.

Our organization, which represents professional journalists throughout Indiana, feels this move is a threat to press freedom.

According to Article I, section 9 of the Indiana Constitution: “No law shall be passed restraining the free interchange of thought and opinion, or restricting the right to speak, write, or print, freely, on any subject whatever: but for the abuse of that right, every person shall be responsible.”

In our view, your cease-and-desist letters, issued on Nov. 29, are designed to intimidate reporters and journalists looking into your administration. The letters also add to the overall climate in the nation that looks to undermine the credibility of journalists and media outlets.

Although you might not agree with the contents or conclusions of the report in Reveal and the Indianapolis Star, an unusual call by your office for a cease-and-desist order against the media could chill efforts to report an ongoing story.

Indiana Pro SPJ stands behind the efforts of local and national journalism outlets to report issues of public importance and hold leaders accountable. If there are disputes over accuracy, there are ways to address those concerns without issuing a cease-and-desist order.

Indiana should set an example for the rest of the nation to follow when it comes to press freedom. Our officers would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and discuss this issue further.

Sincerely,

The Board of Directors
Indiana Professional Chapter
Society of Professional Journalists

For more information, please contact:

John Russell, chapter president
(317) 250-6261

Michael Puente, chapter vice president
(312) 342-0056

UPDATE: An alert reader directed us to an op-ed and a report over at IndyStar you should all see about Holcomb’s dirty deeds. Click here and here for more information.

Monday, September 30, 2019

Carmel Businessman to Primary Governor Holcomb


Brian Roth Republican Challenger to Eric Holcomb 

The IR posse has been deluged with work and article requests this past month. We came across an article written on September 10th, 2017 by Lindsey Erdody for the Indianapolis Business Journal  in which Ms. Erdody wrote about Brian Roth. Erdody writes that Brian Roth is:

a Carmel resident and president of a consulting and leadership development firm called Employment 2 Deployment LLC, has filed paperwork to create a committee to run for governor.

According to Roth’s LinkedIn profile, he graduated from Taylor University in 1988 with a degree in physics and served in the U.S. Navy for 24 years.

Lindsey Erdody says that there has not been a contested Republican gubernatorial primary in Indiana since 2004.

As our readers are aware neither INDY REPUBLICAN, Paul Ogden or the late Gary Welsh care at all for Eric Holcomb and would glad see the worthless fool thrown out of office on his ass. We say that a contested GOP primary for governor is long overdue. We wish Mister Roth well. And if we get more information on Roth we will blog about it. 

Friday, July 12, 2019

Indiana's Inspector General Continues to Cover Up Crime

Something that INDY REPUBLICAN and all right thinking Hoosiers figured out long ago is, that in this state the powers that be enforce the laws only when they wish to. Since 2005 when "Godfather Governor" Mitch Daniels created the office of Inspector General to cover up investigate and ferret out wrongdoers. The amount of criminal activity and corruption has exploded a thousand fold in this state. Earlier this week one of IR's favorite Indiana journalists Kara Kenney had an outstanding story about a Department of Corrections Supervisor accused of running a business on state time:

The Inspector General’s office launched an investigation in October 2018 following a complaint about a Department of Correction supervisor selling essential oils during work hours.

According to the complaint, an IDOC employee told investigators the supervisor approached her about selling products during an IDOC meeting and gave her a product sample.

“Employee also indicated that she saw another DOC employee give the supervisor money during state time for what she assumed was payment for the purchase of essential oils,” read the OIG report. “Employee alleged that the supervisor recruited at least three other DOC employees to sell the products.”

In an interview with an OIG investigator, the supervisor said she began offering and promoting products through a private company during the fall of 2017, but stopped when IDOC launched an internal investigation.

The supervisor also said three of her Department of Correction subordinates joined the company and engaged in the business outside of work.

The OIG investigation found the IDOC supervisor received a percentage of the application fee for the three IDOC employees who obtained company memberships through her.

IDOC investigators found an email the supervisor sent from her state email related to the essential oils business.

“Although the investigation revealed the supervisor engaged in limited misuse of state property and a violation of DOC policy, her misuse of state property was low in volume and spread over a time frame of several months,” read the report.

The Office of Inspector General found “insufficient evidence” to bring a formal complaint against the IDOC supervisor before the State Ethics Commission.

“The evidence did not clearly show how much state time the supervisor spent promoting or offering products because some of this activity occurred during the supervisor’s lunch hours and after state work hours,” read the OIG report, dated May 23.

But fear not fellow hoosiers! Because even though the IG has declined to bring a formal complaint against the IDOC employee who by their own admission engaged in a commercial venture on state time. An offense that could get an employee terminated by the state. The IG has agreed to take the following action so that they not be forced too often to pretend to investigate wrongdoing at the state:

The OIG recommends the Indiana Department of Correction distribute a written notice to all IDOC employees reminding them that if they engage in any outside business, they must do so on their own time without using state time or state property/resources.

The Inspector General also recommends IDOC and its supervisors use caution when talking to subordinates about outside businesses they’re involved in.

Yeah have IDOC actually explain to DOC employees that they aren't supposed to engage in outside business on state time. That'll teach people not to commit ghost employment! As for recommending that IDOC and the supervisors their us caution when discussing outside business at DOC. Why not just tell them NOT to talk to anybody at work about outside employment? You know due to something called common sense and professionalism.

Lastly the Inspector General's office had this final bit of Solomon-like wisdom to offer the DOC:

“The OIG encourages DOC to consider providing additional training or instruction for all DOC employees in supervisory or managerial roles on the ghost employment and use of state property rules,” read the report. “Employees in authoritative positions often have the ability to wield undue influence over their subordinates, even if unintentional.”

Our response to the IG is "No Shit"! There are single celled organisms that know that people in authority have the ability to wield undue influence over their employees. Kudos to Kara Kenney for this outstanding report. Feel free to read the IG's so called report here if you wish. This reminds us all here of a similar case of blatant ghost employment reported on by Kenney back in 2012. Both Gary Welsh and Paul Ogden blogged about the case at that time. Paul Ogden had this interesting observation of that case:

Let me get this straight.  I write a memo to the Commissioner of the Indiana Department that my supervisor was misappropriating money from the title insurance division that I ran and committing other legal violations.  Within minutes of getting that memo, I am immediately fired and left two years short of my pension.  I'm not alone.  Whistleblowers who are routinely fired by the state and I am not aware of a single one who has ever prevailed in court. Judges do not enforce the laws protecting state employee whistleblowers.  

If you are a state employee who dares to report ghost employment, the whistleblower can expect to be fired and have absolutely no recourse.  Meanwhile the state employee who commits the ghost employment gets a short suspension and continues on in state employment or gets his full pension should he choose to retire. 

In the interest of saving taxpayers money at this point the Indiana General Assembly should just abolish the Inspector General's office. After 14 plus years of existence it has only served to shield wrongdoers from being held accountable. And to punish those employees who have tried to uphold the laws and protect the taxpayers money. In the past the IG has used their office to cover up and protect former Indiana Secretary of State and Congressman Todd Rokita. The administration of former Governor Mike Pence further allowed the Inspector General's Office to cover up wrong doing by a former BMV official.

Inspector General Lori Torres

Given the track record so far of Governor Eric Holcomb we can expect more, not less of these incidents to occur. Seeing as Holcomb is a servant to his demonic master Mitch Daniels it is not surprising that he has appointed Daniels flunky Lori Torres to the post of Inspector General. Torres was Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Labor for part of Daniels time as Governor. So naturally she has continued to do the bidding of her masters in hoosier politics. What we suggest to our readers is that they write, call and email Ms. Torres and her office until she decides to actually do her job. Also contact Governor Eric Holcomb, as well as your state legislators about this. Tell them that Gary Welsh called and he wants to give them all an earful.

You can reach Miss Torres at:

Office of the Inspector General
315 West Ohio Street, Room 104
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202
Telephone: 317-232-3850
Toll free:  866-805-8498
Email: info@ig.in.gov
Twitter: @LoriTorres2013 

Governor Eric Holcomb when he exits his coffin can be contacted at:

By Phone: 317-232-4567

By Mail:
Office of the Governor
Statehouse
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2797
Or contact Eric Holcomb via twitter: @HolcombForIN, or @GovHolcomb
Click here to contact your state legislators and give them a piece of your mind. Come on everybody! Let's go out there and raise some hell for Gary Welsh! That's it friends! Troll the living daylights out of the political class! DEFY Eric Holcomb! Call and tweet like hell motherfuckers! Till next time this is your favorite midwestern brigands and rabble rousers saying "Keep up the good fight"!