Vocem Libertatis’s Ed Adams Leaves the GOP

Ed Adams: Blogger and Patriot

It is with great sorrow that we report our fellow agitator Ed Adams. The proprietor of the Vocem Libertatis blog has decided to leave the Republican Party and become an independent. Although we at INDY REPUBLICAN will not leave the GOP and will fight to preserve the legacy or Reagan and Goldwater till all the RINO’s leave the GOP or quit. Despite our differences with Ed, such as disagreeing on Eric Holcomb, we have nothing but sympathy and admiration for Ed Adams. And we understand and share his frustrations with politics in general and the Republican Party in particular. 

We will let Mister Adams tell you in his own words why he has left the GOP. Here is a statement he made on Facebook today and on his blog:

I can't do it anymore. Today, I submitted my resignation as a Republican party precinct committeeman and join the ranks of Independents:

January 30, 2020

Cindy Kirchofer

Chairman

Marion County Republican Central Committee

Madam Chairman,

It is great sorrow that I must tender my resignation as the elected Republican Precinct Committeeman of precinct 18-02.  I will not be in attendance at the Convention on February 1st, nor will I seek re-election for the position and wish for my resignation to be effective immediately. 

I have been a Republican all of my life. At age 5, I had my own electoral map enthusiastically watching the election of Richard Nixon. In 1980, though I could not vote, I campaigned for Ronald Reagan for President and Dan Quayle for Senate. Ronald Reagan was proudly my first Presidential vote in 1984.  Since that time I have proudly assisted Republicans candidates and campaigns in a variety of capacities.  I remain committed to the historic conservative principles that have been at the very core of what Republicans have stood for since the founding of the party – limited government, fiscal responsibility, local control, individual freedom, free markets and strong defense. Sadly, this no longer represents the Republican party.

In 2016, I severed ties with the Republican National Committee after the disgraceful conduct at the Republican National Convention and permitting the party to be highjacked by a populist nationalist who does not represent Republican values. I remained in the party with the hope that surely sanity would prevail at some point, even after Trump’s election.

Since that time, I have watched the Indiana GOP refuse to take action against an Attorney General credibly accused of sexual assault and to become a propaganda shill for Donald Trump – despite having an amazing Governor in Eric Holcomb that they should be better supporting.  They also essentially wrote off Indianapolis in the last election and crowed of other wins while ignoring the utter massacre in Marion County, which was caused in large part by revulsion of Donald Trump, whom they embrace with the devotion of a cult.

After watching the impeachment process transpire, it has become patently obvious that nothing remains of the party I knew and faithfully served. It has become the party of Donald Trump with cultish enthusiasm. I can no longer lend my name and reputation to be identified with it.

This is not a reflection on you or your leadership. I have the utmost respect for you and my Township Chairman, Councilman Mike Hart. I have made no secret of my views, but I have never been treated by either of you with anything but the utmost respect and I am most grateful for that.  This is also not a reflection on Marion County Republicans who I believe are committed to core Republican principles.

 

I am not becoming a Democrat and will always be available to genuine conservatives to assist them in any way in which I am able to help and they are willing to accept my help. However, I cannot be associated in any way with the party of Donald Trump and those who have repeatedly enabled his illegal, unconstitutional and immoral conduct. My prayer is that someday the party is restored to sanity and this stain be removed. If that occurs, I will happily return.

With warm regard,

Ed Adams

GOP Precinct Committeeman

Marion County

Precinct 18-02

Blue Indy is No More

Good evening boys and girls. Hope you all had the happiest holidays imaginable, and we all wish you a Happy 2020. A little before Christmas the Indianapolis Business Journal ran a piece by Susan Orr detailing how the death trap electric car service Blue Indy is leaving Indianapolis.

In her December 20th, 2019 article Miss Orr has this to say: 

Blue Indy, the electric-car-sharing service that launched in September 2015, is pulling the plug on its Indianapolis fleet.

“We regret to announce that Blue Indy will end its collaboration with the City of Indianapolis, effective May 21st, 2020,” the company said in a letter sent to customers Friday morning. “This difficult decision to end the service has been made because we did not reach the level of activity required to be economically viable.”

As of August, Blue Indy had 3,000 active members—a fifth of the total it had projected that it needed for profitability. It had 92 stations and 200 cars—80 fewer cars circulating than two years ago.

When the Paris-based company backed by French logistics company Bollore and billionaire Vincent Bollore launched in Indianapolis, it predicted that it would be operating profitably by 2020, with at least 15,000 members, 200 stations and 500 cars.

This isn’t the only place Bollore has struggled with car-sharing.

Autolib, which Bollore launched in Paris in 2011, closed seven years later after city officials refused to contribute money to offset a revenue shortfall.

Indianapolis spent $6 million to help launch Blue Indy and wasn’t expected to recoup the investment until the service turned profitable.

The controversial deal came at the end of former Republican Mayor Greg Ballard’s administration, and spurred a lawsuitfrom the Marion County auditor, a Democrat, that was eventually dismissed.

In return for the $6 million, Blue Indy promised to share profits with the city—once its own investment was recouped and Indianapolis Power & Light recovered 125% of the more than $3 million in ratepayer hikes that made the charging stations possible. IPL initially filed a $12.3 million cost-recovery request to pay for installations but the request was denied by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

Blue Indy, which has said it invested more than $40 million of its own money to launch the service, did not disclose its annual revenue or what performance it would need to achieve to turn a profit.

The company said it would remain in operation locally until May 21 but gradually reduce the number of cars it has operating over that time. It said it would stop charging monthly membership fees on March 21 and terminate the memberships.

The company did not say what would happen to the charging stations, which can be found all over Indianapolis and are heavily clustered in and around downtown.

All we can say is it’s about damn time Blue Indy left the Circle City. This boondoggle was never going to turn a profit. But former Mayor Ballard and company just couldn’t resist flushing more taxpayer money down the drain. Never mind the fact that Blue Indy’s cars and charging stations weren’t very safe. Paul Ogden of Ogden on Politics and the late great Gary Welsh of Advance Indiana fame have both written Bigly about Blue Indy. Click here and here to read the massive amount of material these two geniuses have written about Blue Indy. As disgusted as we are by the sheer waste of taxpayer money on this disaster. We are relieved to see it coming to an end. Gary Welsh is smiling down from heaven over this. Fear not my friends, the stone is being rolled off the tomb door, the resurrection of Indiana and the spirit of Gary Welsh is at hand! Sing songs of rejoicing and praise! As to the powers that be we have but one message to give to you: Be afraid, be VERY afraid! 

A little message to the power that be from Vincent Price:

INDY REPUBLICAN’s Tribute to Advance Indiana’s Gary Welsh

Gary Welsh Blogger and Friend to all Good Americans 

We wanted to say something to all of our friends and readers. IR has enjoyed writing for the last three years and we intend to blog until we leave this world. It has just dawned on us now. That in all the time we have been blogging, we have never taken the time to express how much we appreciated, honored and loved our dear friend the late great Gary Welsh. The talented, charming, much beloved genius who authored the irreplaceable blog Advance Indiana. We did mention briefly now and then we missed him. And this blog is dedicated to carrying on his crusade for freedom and good government. However we all were so determined to write this blog, and to help our brothers-in-arms Paul Ogden, and Jon Easter. We never paid a proper tribute to Gary. Well that changes now. Gary Welsh was in the highest and greatest sense a man. He fought for the rights of all, and inspite of the odds he won more often than he knew. His writing style and prose were of the quality that all should aspire to. He was willing to stand alone if need be. We miss him to an extent, that our sorrow cannot be adequately expressed by the limitations of human speech. 

His blog is still read by all of us to this day. We can never bring ourselves to remove the link to his blog. To do so would make us guilty of impoverishing all who visit this blog. We are proud to have been his friends for over a decade. He helped many of us survive times that almost destroyed us. Though we miss him like we miss a father, teacher and friend. All of us are blessed to have known him. We have no doubt that regardless of whatever differences he might have had with IR and Paul Ogden. Gary Welsh was a true men, and a patriot without equal. He was and would have been proud to continue working beside us. We beseech you our readers to remember that inspite of our differences as Lincoln put it: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

Yes the tensions along political, religious and partisan lines are immense today. We have faced far darker moments than we find ourselves in. We will survive this. Don’t let yourself become discouraged. Even if it seems the whole world is against you. Hold fast to your principles, your values. Make them matter to YOUR lives. Develop within yourself the satisfaction that although thanks and approval from others are not inherently bad. And you will sometimes receive them. It will not always come right away or every time you do right. As long as you hold to the knowledge and firm conviction that what you are doing is right. Your actions, your life will and does matter. The seeds you plant will eventually bear fruit. Rome was not built in a day. Our task, our calling will be lifelong. 

Our ultimate goal as expressed once again by that great republican Abe Lincoln is this: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

Farewell Gary Welsh! You will never be forgotten. Your detractors as some have already will wither away. Your life, your work will forever stand resolute against the powers that be. Exactly as the 300 at Thermopylae held firm. As we close this tribute to the master himself. We issue a call to arms to any and all to aid us, Paul Ogden and our allies in pursuing the holy cause of freedom.

Here’s a little civil war song to get you all motivated to fight the good fight! Praise be to God! AMEN!

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"!

IBM Ordered to Pay $78 Million to the State Ending Decade Long Lawsuit

Good afternoon friends! Well it appears that the decade long shit show IBM-FSSA lawsuit has come to an end. IBM has been ordered by the Indiana Supreme Court to pay $78 Million to the state over the bungled welfare privatization performed during Mitch Daniels “reign of error” as Governor. Olivia Covington over at The Indiana Lawyer gives the lowdown on this case:

In its second opinion issued in the years-long dispute between Indiana and IBM Corp. over the failed contract to create a new Hoosier welfare system, the Indiana Supreme Court has allowed IBM to collect post-judgment interest on its $49.5 million damages award. However, that interest will date back only to a 2017 judgment on remand, not the original judgment entered in the company’s favor in 2012, and only serves as an offset to the greater sum IBM owes the state.

Justice Steven David wrote for the court in the Wednesday opinion in International Business Machines Corporation v. State of Indiana, acting on behalf of the Indiana Family & Social Services Administration, 19S-PL-19. The justices, excluding Justice Mark Massa, heard their second round of arguments in the case in February.

At issue in the litigation is a contract between IBM and the state requiring IBM to develop a new welfare system that utilized a centralized call center to handle customer requests. The new system, colloquially known as “modernization,” was meant to be a shift away from the prior welfare system that emphasized face-to-face contact with customers.

But the state terminated the IBM contract in 2009 after modernization began experiencing problems. Instead, the state created its own welfare system, known as “hybrid,” that combined the call center with the former face-to-face model.

Both parties filed breach complaints, and the Marion Superior Court initially determined modernization’s failure was not a breach of IBM’s contract. Instead, the state was ordered in 2012 to pay IBM $49.5 million for the costs of equipment and assignment fees.

Barnes & Thornburg attorneys John Maley and Peter Rusthoven, counsel for the state in the IBM litigation, released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying they are pleased with the court’s ruling.

“Hoosiers will finally benefit from IBM’s multi-million-dollar payment of this judgment,” the statement said, referring to the $78 million owed to the state.

The article does mention the ruiling was 3-1 in favor of the state. Justice Mark Massa did not participate in the ruling since he worked as General Counsel for Governor Mitch Daniels who had ordered the IBM contract canceled. We have blogged previously on this issue once or twice before. Personally we feel that IBM was royally shafted by the state and should have not been forced to pay the state anything. On the other hand though IBM should have realized that doing business with the state was a bad idea. Especially since after IBM was given the heave ho, Affiliated Computer Systems (ACS) was put in to do the work. This was a big problem because then FSSA Secretary Mitch Roob had previously worked for ACS. Why this matter was never investigated by the US Attorneys Office in Indianapolis is a mystery to this day. Barnes and Thornburg’s role in representing the state is particularly troubling because as Paul Ogden pointed out back in 2012 that Barnes and Thornburg had lobbied the state to get ACS put in charge of the states welfare privatization project. Paul Ogden said at the time:

According to Judge Dreyer, the services provided by ACS were the major source of the complaints, Nonetheless, IBM ended up being discharged from the while ACS remained on as part of a "hybrid system."  Conveniently for ACS, a former executive theirs, Mitch Roob, headed FSSA, when IBM-ACS won the original privatization contract and yet another ACS executive, Mike Gargano, headed FSSA during the litigation over IBM's discharge.

The State, i.e. FSSA, ended up suing IBM to recover under the contract.  IBM countersued, claiming that the State breached the contact through its termination.  But who does the Daniels' administration insist the State hire to represent the State?  None other than Barnes & Thornburg the very law firm that represented ACS in lobbying to get the contract and still represents ACS to this day.  

Let me summarize what appears to have happened. ACS lobbies state officials to oust IBM so ACS can have the lucrative Medicaid privatization contract to itself.  ACS eventually succeeds.  The State sues IBM, perhaps to counter the inevitable breach of suit IBM was about to file.  After, IBM sues, the State hires Barnes & Thornburg, ACS's attorney to represent the state.

The State appears to be nothing more than a proxy for ACS. This case is essentially ACS v. IBM, yet we taxpayers are on the hook to pay Barnes & Thornburg, ACS' attorneys, $9.6 million.  That is uttterly outrageous.

Given that federal money here is involved, I too wonder why there has not been a federal investigation opened up by the FBI into this matter.  There certainly should be now that the facts here expose troubling, if not illegal, conduct by government officials and private lobbyists.

Between attorneys fees and the cost of the original contract with IBM. We estimate that the state has easily put us taxpayers on the hook for well over $500 Million. This whole mess could have been avoided if the Daniels administration had just listened to what some of his own people told him and given FSSA caseworkers new computers. Instead “Little Man” Mitch was determined to privatize food stamp delivery no matter what. Daniels and his bagman Governor “High Tax” Holcomb seem content knowing they slit the wrists of us taxpayers to feed the vampire looters and moochers who have helped through their demonic means to advance their political careers. 

Some of INDY REPUBLICANS allies in the cultural war against President Trump. Have tried to assuage our concerns about Holcomb by saying he is not on the side of Trumpian tribalism and authoritarianism. Don’t be fooled. Former Governor Mitch Daniels his boss whose legacy Holcomb carries out. Mitch Daniels created the tribalism, authoritarianism, and waste and theft of taxpayers money that would have been an embarrassment even in Tsarist Russia. We the men and women of truth, the guardians of freedom and justice for all will continue to fight until the Daniels-Holcomb Syndicate is a distant memory. 

A Contrarian’s View of Senator Dick Lugar

Senator Richard Lugar

We are writing this post in the full knowledge that by doing so we may well come under extreme criticism and will be undoubtedly chastised for speaking ill of the dead. But the truth about who Dick Lugar was is true whether we say so or not. So we might as well say so. Notwithstanding we originally all of us here at IR had decided to say nothing regarding the now deceased Senator Richard Lugar. Given the degree to which the IR gang helped to defeat Lugar in the 2010 Primary. At first we all thought that we had said all we had to say on the man. Upon further reflection especially considering the uncritical and unwarranted adulation that has been bestowed upon the Senator. As well as the damage to our state, and our nation Lugar helped to inflict. We took the advice of George Orwell who said: “telling the truth is a revolutionary act”.  As well as John 8:32 states: “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” Also to do justice to the memory of the late great Gary Welsh, who like Paul Ogden helped to end Lugar’s 36 year reign in the Senate. And for the fact that Lugar was allowed to escape punishment for potentially 24 felonies, while Charlie White was crucified and convicted falsely on the bogus charge of one count of voter fraud. These facts notwithstanding the death of Senator Lugar MUST be aired. Paul Ogden has penned a good piece today on the Senator’s passing. Paul as always is candid, and honest. Paul has long been a valued friend and ally of all of us here. Paul Ogden and us are usually in agreement on the issues. In regards to Lugar we agree on many points. But we cannot offer nearly as much praise of Lugar as Paul can. 

Gary Welsh has throughly documented Lugar’s falsely claiming to have been an inhabitant of the state for 35 years while he was in the Senate. It is true that Lugar as we, Paul Ogden, grant Lugar did some good work on foreign policy. We strongly disagree that Lugar was a non tribal figure. Especially given his role in launching the political career of “Godfather” Governor Mitch Daniels who is the most tribalistic and cult like person to ever inhabit the Governors Office. Also no amount of good deeds will ever make up for Lugar’s corrupt conduct as Mayor of Indianapolis. Of particular interest is this account from the 1970’s of Mitch Daniels engaging in some questionable actions to shake down city employees to give money to Mayor Lugar’s campaign coffers. 

As lifelong conservatives and republicans we believe in the rule of law. Which has for too long been neglected by the bipartisan cabal that has control of much of the Hoosier state. And the fact that Dick Lugar escaped punishment for his misdeeds is a fact that will have to be acknowledged sooner or later. Seriously Lugar was allowed to cast votes from a house that he had not owned for 35 years, Mitch Daniels cast ballots using the address of the Governors mansion that he admitted he did not reside at. Mike Pence filed tax returns when he was running for Governor in 2012 stating that he lived in Virginia. Even though according to state law to run for Governor he had to have resided in Indiana for the five years preceding the 2012 election. Most laughable is Pence’s having voted from the Governor’s mansion in last years election even though he doesn’t live there. Sorry folks to bring up unpleasant facts. But until the Indiana press and federal prosecutors do their jobs and go after these creeps we are forced to air unpleasant facts.

Indiana Department of Insurance Continues to Mistreat Their Employees

In a sign that "High Tax" Holcomb is determined to continue the denigration of Indiana’s state employees started by his master "Godfather Governor" Mitch Daniels.
Kara Kenney over at RTV 6 reports the case of a former state employee who alleged sexual harassment she experienced and how nothing was done about her complaints.
Click here to watch Kenney’s report:

Kenney reported the following on January 31st, 2019:

Former state employees say workplace harassment is widespread in Indiana state government, and that the state does not follow its own written policy regarding misconduct.
Shandi Donald, a former clerical assistant at the Indiana Department of Insurance, said the problem got so bad she resigned, while her accused harasser kept his job.

"I believe this is a very big problem," Donald said.
Much like other workplaces, Indiana state government has a workplace harassment prevention policy in place to protect workers.
"The State will not tolerate workplace harassment, whether engaged in by fellow employees, supervisors, officers, or by outside clients or other non-employees who conduct business with the State," read the state’s policy. "The State encourages reporting of all incidences of alleged harassment, regardless of who the offender may be or the offender’s status."
The state’s policy also prohibits retaliating against employees who report harassment.

Kenney however says she has spoken to many state workers who say that the state does not enforce it’s policy against harassment. She goes on to cite a particular former state employees story:

Shandi Donald, of Indianapolis, is married with a young daughter, which is one of the main reasons she decided to speak out about workplace harassment.
"People will continue to experience this, and I for one don’t want my child to experience this as she gets into the workforce," Donald said.
Donald resigned from the Indiana Department of Insurance in June 2018 after what she called repeated sexual harassment from then-Chief of Staff Doug Webber.

Donald said the issues started in December 2017, a few months after she started working in the licensing division.
Donald provided several examples of what she called inappropriate comments made by Webber.
"He said ‘it’s really cold outside, let me put my hands on your butt’ and reached for my hind end," Donald said. "I backed away and I said ‘excuse me?’"
Donald said Webber made another remark among a group of employees.

"We were talking about sports in high school, and he came down and chimed into the conversation and I had talked about being a cheerleader and he asked if I did cartwheels in skirts," said Donald. "I looked at everyone else. They all had the same face like ‘did he really just say that’?

Donald described another example that she said also happened in a group setting.
"He was referencing a Christmas party at his home for the Department of Insurance and asked if people were going to be wearing an ugly sweater," Donald said. "He made the comment that he was going to get one that says #MeToo. At that point, a couple people walked away."

Donald said at the time, employees did not feel comfortable speaking out against Webber.
"You can’t say anything to the Chief of Staff," Donald said. "You’ll lose your job."
Donald said she and her co-workers trusted and looked up to Webber.

Kenney reports that Donald reported Webber’s conduct to State Personnel in January of 2018. As if Webber’s alleged misconduct was not bad enough what Kara Kenney reports next is perhaps more disturbing:
Donald provided copies of the emails sent to state personnel to Call 6 Investigates.
"I told (state personnel) I fear for retaliation," Donald said. "It's not a very good work environment as far as the people who are in charge, and I’m afraid my life is going to be made hell."

Donald said state personnel assured her the state does not tolerate retaliation.
But Donald said when she went on vacation, several co-workers told her another supervisor went through her desk and recycling bins.
"I believe they were looking for anything they possibly could," Donald said.
Webber denied any involvement in the desk incident.

Following Donald’s workplace harassment complaint in January 2018, Webber remained in his role as Chief of Staff at the Indiana Department of Insurance for 11 months until he retired on Dec. 1.
State personnel did investigate Donald’s workplace harassment complaint, however, the findings of that investigation are not public record.
"INSPD investigates all workplace harassment complaints we receive," Carlo Bertollini, spokesperson for state personnel, said.
According to personnel records obtained by Call 6 Investigates, Webber did not face disciplinary suspension, demotion or termination.
He earned $123,231 at the Department of Insurance as Chief of Staff, overseeing the regulation of insurance in Indiana, records show.

A licensed attorney, Webber also served as general counsel for the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and IDOI, as well as numerous roles at the Indiana Attorney General’s office dating back to 1976.
Donald provided emails to RTV6 that showed state personnel encouraged her to apply for different jobs within state government.
The fact that state personnel encouraged Mrs. Donald to file for other jobs with the state makes us inclined to believe that SPD as is there SOP simply wants to cover up wrong doing by the states political appointees. The fact that Webber used to work with Jim Atterholt at the IURC leads us to believe that the allegations against Webber are credible. Our readers may remember that then IDOI Commissioner Jim Atterholt fired Paul Ogden back in 2007 for whistleblowing. So needless to say that IDOI doesn’t exactly have a great reputation as far as treating their employees goes. As for what our correspondents at the state tell us. Sexual and other harassment is far too widespread at state agencies.

For further information on Paul Ogden’s time at the IDOI please checkout the following:

Paul Ogden's time at the Department of Insurance:
http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2008/12/part-i-my-days-at-department-of.html

http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2008/12/art-ii-my-days-at-department-of.html

http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2008/12/part-iii-my-days-at-department-of.html

Court of Appeals boneheaded decision on Ogden's lawsuit against the DOI:

http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/02211201par.pdf

Of further interest is Kara Kenney’s November 2018 report about the termination of former DCS spokesmen James Wide. Wide had alleged retaliation, racial discrimination and other issues at DCS. Mr. Wide has since reached a confidential settlement with the state. Kudos to Kara Kenney for her diligent reporting on the harassment of state employees. Keep up the good work Kara!

You go girl!

President Trump’s Unpopularity Sinking The Republican Party

Three weeks have now passed since the congressional midterms were held. We are going to give it to you straight we Republicans are in big trouble! It’s YUGE! We have lost 7 governorships, 393 state legislative seats and 7 state legislative chambers since 2017. Not to mention 40 U.S. House seats. Orange County, California once the bedrock of Republicanism on the West Coast is now trending Democratic. The GOP went from having all 4 congressional seats that were part of Orange County to having none after this election. Orange County voted for the Democratic Presidential Candidate in 2016. The first time in 80 years the GOP’s Presidential nominee lost Orange County. Here in Indiana we lost our first state senate seat in 20 years as well as 3 state house seats. Our friend Paul Ogden has more on the results here in Indiana over at his blog today. 

Gallup has President Trump’s disapproval rating at 60%. The President has yet to have his approval rating climb into the 50 percentage range or higher even once in his almost two years in office. All over the country the GOP has lost ground in the suburbs. Not just in the suburbs of Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. But we lost seats in Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Kansas and we even lost a congressional seats in Oklahoma and Mia Love’s seat in Utah. Utah by the way is so hostile to Democrats that Hillary Clinton almost came in third to Evan McMullin in 2016. To assert as many of our fellow Republicans do that Trump was not a factor in this is at best willful blindness and at worst being delusional. 

The President did nothing to discourage misconceptions about why so many House Republicans lost. 

Morning after the midterms Trump proceeded to chide by name republicans who lost by saying they didn’t embrace him enough.  Basically Trump was in essence saying: “Those idiots, If only they had listened to ME! They didn’t build the wall fast enough!” This should lay to rest any doubts as to whether or not Trump can learn from his mistakes. If there is to be any chance of us avoiding a long stay in the political wilderness the party must run someone other than Donald Trump in 2020. There is no chance at all that Trump will become more Presidential or that Mike Pence will get a spine. Trump and Pence cannot and are not worthy of being saved. The only thing to be down is to go tell Donald Trump and his toady Mike Pence to go f__k themselves. It’s time to return to the ideals of the greatest republicans past and present, current and former, living and dead, Pro and Anti-Trump. Men and women like: Abe Lincoln, Chester Arthur, Teddy Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Dwight Eisenhower, Barry Goldwater, Margret Chase Smith, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, Charles Percy, Susan B. Anthony, Mia Love, Gary Welsh, Paul Ogden, Charlie White, Rex Early, Christine Scales, Susan Wright, Fredrick Douglas, Charlie Sykes, Sarah Rumpf, Nikki Haley and many others.

For a more in depth look at Donald Trump’s approval rating and the impact on republicans checkout the video below:

UPDATE: Just found this discussion on the midterms and the 2020 elections:

Indy Republicans 2018 Election Prediction’s

As promised yesterday we will share our predictions such as they are for the midterm elections taking place tomorrow.We have been continuously amazed and at times exasperated over the past two years. The first race that we are predicting is a race that has received little media attention so far the attorney generals race in Minnesota. The contest is between Republican Doug Wardlow and Democratic Congressman and DNC Vice Chair Keith Ellison. Polls have gone back and forth in this race one poll from two weeks ago showed Doug Wardlow ahead of Ellison 43-36. Another poll taken a week ago shows Ellison ahead by four points. The race has been a rollercoaster with Ellison’s ties to Louis Farrakhan, his anti-semitism, and allegations that he abused a former girlfriend in 2016. With polling swinging back and forth in this race so much we will go out on a limb and say pure guess is unfortunately Keith Ellison will win his bid to be Minnesota’s next Attorney General. We hope we are wrong on this one. But it is possible given Donald Trumps unpopularity in Minnesota that Ellison will win despite his many shortcomings.

We mostly agree with the following from our good friend Paul Ogden’s post from this afternoon in which he stated:

What has not gotten the coverage this year, but which, going into redistricting following the 2020 census, is more important than control of the U.S. Congress, are the Governor races.  The Democrats are poised to wrest seize control of Governor mansions in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Florida.  They also have a shot at winning Georgia.  Although those states have Republican legislatures, having a Democrat governor would even the field when it comes to redistricting.

We unlike Paul don’t see the Democrats winning any state senate seats tomorrow and we believe Mike Delph will hold on against J.D. Ford. Look for the Democrats to pickup 1 to 5 seats in the State House. Donnelly we believe will pull out a narrow win over Mike Braun. If Donnelly wins it maybe due in part to the Indiana Democratic Party’s having sent out the below shown mailers encouraging people to vote for the Libertarian Party Candidate Lucy Brenton as reported recently. 

We predict that the Democrats will win a net gain of 25-30 seats in the U.S. House. We predict probably no changes in Indiana’s Congressional Delegation. Trey Hollingsworth and/or Jackie Walorski might lose if the Democrats have a really good night. Otherwise no change in Indiana. Unfortunately many of Indy Republican’s favorite Republican Congressmen will probably be among the first casualties tomorrow night. Barbara Comstock in Virginia looks like they will lose, Congresswoman Mia Love of Utah might lose tomorrow according to some polling out of Utah.

In the U.S. Senate unlike Paul Ogden we think the GOP will net 1 to 3 seats instead of 1 to 2. We haven’t completely ruled out a possible upset in Texas by Beto O’Rourke against Ted Cruz. We also believe there is an outside chance that Bob Hugin will upset incumbent New Jersey Senator Bob Menedez. We wouldn’t be surprised if either race produced an upset. But we wouldn’t be surprised by much of anything tomorrow. If we Republicans lose control of either or both Houses of Congress tomorrow we predict that Trump will simply blame the congressional republicans for the loss. We can picture Donald saying: “Well I tried to save them. They didn’t build the wall fast enough. If they had just went out and grabbed as much p$!^y as I have!” And Trump will revert to being a grievance candidate running against both parties and he will become an angrier more unstable Trump. Well here’s to our predictions being more accurate than our 2016 predictions were. 

UPDATE: It looks like their might be a possible runoff for the U.S. Senate in Mississippi according to a recent poll. We have that and some commentary on the poll here:

MS Senate (n=1003)

Mike Espy 40
Chris McDaniel 28
Cindy Hyde-Smith 27
Tobey Bernard Bartee 1

Mike Espy will almost certainly advance to a runoff election. It's not clear who his opponent will be.

— Change Research (@ChangePolls) November 5, 2018

I don't think any other poll has McDaniel ahead of Hyde-Smith, but if McDaniel runs second, then Espy would probably be favored in the runoff. It would be very 2018 if the Democrats end up controlling the Senate thanks to having Democratic senators from Alabama and Mississippi... https://t.co/BAmQaTMVBw

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) November 5, 2018

When Will The IBM-FSSA Debacle Ever End?

As many of our readers are undoubtedly aware. For the better part of the last decade now. We Hoosiers have been on the hook for well over a half billion dollar debacle because “Godfather” Governor Mitch Daniels and his stooge Mitch Roob had to enter into a boneheaded contract with IBM/ACS to privatize Indiana’s welfare system. We blogged about this last year and about a month became aware of some new developments in this case.

Rick Callahan writing for the Associated Press reported that Indiana’s Court of Appeals had upheld a previous ruling from August 2017 that IBM owed the state $78 Million. 

Callahan also reported:

The three-judge court also found that IBM is entitled to interest on nearly $50 million in state fees that Welch ruled Indiana owes the company. 

Judge Heather Welch had rejected IBM’s request for interest on those fees, but the appellate court reversed the decision and sent the matter back to Welch to determine the amount of interest IBM is owed. The court specified that the interest be calculated for the more than six years that have elapsed since another Marion County judge found in 2012 that Indiana owed IBM $49.5 million in state fees.

John Maley, one of the private attorneys representing Indiana in the case, called Friday’s ruling “a significant victory for Hoosier taxpayers.” He said the state’s attorneys believe Welch ruled correctly on the interest issue and that they will be conferring with state officials “regarding that narrow legal issue and possible further review.”

IBM spokesman Doug Shelton said the New York-based company is disappointed by the ruling and plans to appeal.

“IBM invested significant resources in its partnership with the state to help turn around a welfare system described at the time by Indiana’s governor as one of the worst in the nation,” he said in a statement.

Indiana and IBM sued each other in 2010 after then-Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican, cancelled the $1.3 billion contract that his administration reached with the company to privatize and automate the processing of Indiana’s welfare applications.

Under that deal, an IBM-led team of vendors worked to process applications for food stamps, Medicaid and other benefits. Residents could apply for the benefits through call centers, the internet and fax machines. But the contract was pulled in late 2009, less than three years into the 10-year deal, following complaints about long wait times, lost documents and improper rejections.

Not mentioned in the article is that former Assistant State House Assistant Leader Eric Turner had owned a building which was then leased by ACS to be used as a welfare call center. IR and the late great Gary Welsh have blogged about Turners legal and ethical issues.

It’s extremely frustrating to the IR crew and those of us on the front lines of fighting the most corrupt state government in the nation that this whole shit show over at FSSA is still going on. But as long as it is we and others like us will continue to report it. Don’t worry Gary. Your crusade will continue and intensify. Until our state is rebuilt. Good night and God Bless!

Indianapolis Star Continues It’s Slide Into Oblivion

In another sign of the inevitable demise of the Indianapolis Star. Yesterday the Star announced that they will no longer be publishing opinion pieces and editorials five days a week and will instead publish them on Thursday and Sunday only. Andrea Neal tweeted about this yesterday:

@indystar, once great metropolitan daily with two Pulitzers, announced with a whimper today it will no longer publish Op-Ed pages five days a week. Devastating news for those who love(d) newspapers. #deathbyathousandcuts pic.twitter.com/nyTpQw33QI

— AndreaNeal1 (@HoosierHoundDog) October 7, 2018

Gary Welsh, Paul Ogden and IR have for several years now been talking about the Star’s fall from it’s heyday under “Young Gene” Pulliam to it’s decline since being bought by the Gannet Corporation in 1999. Click here and here to read some of our previous columns on the Star’s sad state. One reader once commented on this blog that the Star even failed as trash can liner. Many people whom IR respects and admires have mentioned that the decline at the Star is due to the decrease in resources given to local newspapers in recent years and to the ever increasing use of the Internet as a news source. But the biggest factor for many of us who have canceled our subscriptions to the Star over the past two decades, is the decline in quality reporting being printed by the Star since 1999. There are still several high quality journalists at the Star such as Tony Cook and Fatima Hussein. But when most of the papers space is spent simply regurgitating the talking points of the Indiana political establishment. Why should people pay money to read the Star when they could just listen to politicians speak for free? And when you have useless shills like Tim Swarens as an opinion writer, or guest columnist like Carpetbagging Abdul Hakim-Shabazz writing for your Op-Ed page. It’s only natural that the Star’s readership would plummet.

Tim Swarens on his Facebook page was whining about  how the news business has gotten more complex over the years:

Maybe if Swarens had actually tried to be something other than a hack writer the Star would be in better shape today. We sympathize with Andrea Neal and Ruth Holladay’s sadness at what the Star has become. But unlike them we cannot bring ourselves to mourn the Star’s impending destruction. The Indianapolis Star died long ago. We, Paul Ogden and the late, great Gary Welsh long ago made our piece with that. Our best advice to what talent remains at the Star is: Keep your resumes updated, write high quality work like you never have before, and start applying for other jobs if you have not already. It is no longer possible to dig the Star out of the cosmos sized hole it has dug itself into. The only thing that you can do is keep the Star’s demise from damaging your own careers and let Tim Swarens and his ilk go down with the funeral pyre that is known as The Indianapolis Star.

Great Scott! New Polls in Wisconsin Show Governor Walker Losing Bid for Third Term in November

Governor Scott Walker RINO-Wisconsin

If recent polling coming out of the Badger State is reliable. Than Fake Conservative/Republican Governor Scott Walker maybe looking for another job after November. Yesterday over at The Hill Justin Wise reported on a new poll that put's Walker behind his probable Democratic opponent Tony Evers the Wisconsin State School Superintendent. Wise reported:

The survey, which was released on Monday, found that Evers leads Walker 48 percent to 41 percent, with 7 percent of voters still undecided. Emerson College notes that a deciding factor in this race could be Walker's waning approval among independents in the state. Walker has an approval rating of 34 percent among independents, according to the poll. 

Meanwhile, Evers, who is the state schools superintendent, has a 47 percent approval among independents. 

Wise mentions that this is the second poll in the last week to show Walker falling behind Evers: 

The Emerson poll is the second one in less than a week that has Walker trailing in his bid for a third term as governor. A NBC News/Marist poll last Thursday found that Walker was trailing his likely Democratic challenger by 13 points, or 54 percent to 41 percent. Earlier this year Walker warned that a “blue wave” could hit the state in the midterm elections. In his warning he claimed that “big government special interests” will “target me and work to undo our bold reforms.”

IR will of course be keeping an eye on Walker's race and we are interested to see if he will win another term. Like Paul Ogden and the late, great Gary Welsh our readers can count all of the IR posse among the group of conservative republicans who are not fans of Scott Walker's. Lest our readers were to remain unaware back in 2015 Governor Walker signed into law a $500 Million tax increase to subsidize the NBA Milwaukee Bucks so that the team could build a new sports arena. Paul Ogden and Gary Welsh wrote about Walker's fleecing of Wisconsin taxpayers and betrayal of conservative principles here, here, and here. Let's see if Scotty can weasel his way into another term so that he can live off the taxpayers for another four years.