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.

Remember to keep “Staying Inside”

Like all of you out there we are hunkered down, in our secure undisclosed location. We found a little something to perk our spirits up while we ride out the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. Please enjoy the music song stylings of the great Bret McCullough and remember to keep “Staying Inside”!

Neil Diamond offers Comfort in these trying Times w/Update

Good evening everyone. It goes without saying that right now these are trying times. True to form, that great singer-songwriter Neil Diamond has done a slight change to his indelible ditty “Sweet Caroline”. The song is still the same except for a slight change to the lyrics to encourage washing of hands. Two days ago Neil posted this video to Twitter to help lift up our spirits. The video is classic Neil Diamond and is well worth watching. Enjoy!

Stay safe out there! “Hands... washing hands..” 🎶 pic.twitter.com/QaRB1qZshp

— Neil Diamond (@NeilDiamond) March 22, 2020

UPDATE: An alert reader sent us this link to the full version of Neil’s new rendition of “Sweet Caroline”, Enjoy!

Senator Rand Paul Test Positive for Coronavirus

Senator Rand Paul (RINO-KY)

Words has just broken that Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for Coronavirus. According to The Hill:

“Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19. He is feeling fine and is in quarantine. He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events,” Sergio Gor, Paul’s spokesman said. 

Gor added that Paul “was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person.”

While it is no secret that INDY REPUBLICAN’s previously staunch support for Senator Paul has long since disappeared, and is now replaced with loathing and disgust at his betrayal of conservatives and libertarians. We do not wish the Coronavirus on anyone and we all sincerely hope and pray that Senator Paul recovers. Good Luck Rand, may you regain your health and grow some balls.

Checkout Great YouTubers Pastor George, Reckless Ben, Chris Shelton and Ron Miscavige as they take on Scientology

Hope you are all having a blessed sabbath today. We wanted to tell you all about a couple of great YouTubers you probably have not heard of and are worth checking out. These are people who are helping to fight the evil, destructive cult of Scientology. Which has a lot of eerie parallels to the political cults and cliques that have way too much influence here in Indiana. By understanding the cult mindset we can all better understand and fight back against the insanity that exists around us. We would first like to introduce you to “Pastor George”,  George has some interesting content from a Christian view, he doesn’t take himself too seriously and is an absolute gem to listen to. You can click here to go to his YouTube channel or follow him on Twitter @PastorGeorgeyt. 

We came across Pastor George’s video about “Reckless Ben” Schneider’s “Infiltrating Scientology” series. Reckless Ben and his friend Michael Forten went undercover into the Church of Scientology and helped show just how creepy and evil that organization is. Ben and Mike are only in their early twenties and are already doing a YUGE amount of good works. Checkout Reckless Ben’s Channel here. We will be embedding some of Pastor George’s, Reckless Ben, and others YouTube videos later in this post. Other great content creators we want to give a shout out to are former Scientologist Chris Shelton’s YouTube channel and Patreon page. Chris’s channel has some amazing content, he pulls down the curtain around Scientology and other destructive cults. His “Sensibly Speaking Podcast” is one of the greatest podcast ever made and deserves your backing. His work is highly recommended. We disagree on somethings with Chris. But he is a great guy, and a great american so consider watching and supporting his work. Last but not least is the great Ron Miscavige. Ron hosts the YouTube series “Life After Scientology”, he is the father of the current leader of the Church of Scientology David Miscavige. Ron is also an outstanding musician as well as show host. You can help Ron by supporting him on Patreon. We ask that if any of you do wind up going to any of these channels and liking there content, please leave them a comment with a link to this blog. As promised we will put some of these fine men’s videos here for you to enjoy:

Pastor George on “Reckless Ben” and Scientology:

Reckless Ben and Mike Infiltrating Scientology:

Chris Shelton’s Interview with Reckless Ben & Mike:

Ron Miscavige Interview’s Reckless Ben & Mike:

Country Singer Kenny Rogers Has Passed On w/Update

Kenny Rogers Country-Western Legend

We have all just heard about the passing of one of our gangs greatest singers. After a life of singing and songwriting the great Kenny Rogers has passed away at age 81. The IR Crew are not necessarily big country music fans. But we have always loved Kenny Rogers. His indelible ditty “The Gambler” is always one of our all time favorites. That little number even helped save our collective asses once. What happened was is we were in a tough situation, and buy remembering the lyrics to “The Gambler” we were able to escape. Just ask yourself is it time to hold em, is it time to fold em, should you walk away or should you run. That being said we also love Mister Rogers rendition of “Islands in the Stream” also holds a special place in our hearts. One of us in fact successfully used Kenny’s “Island’s in the Stream” to woo a lovely, classy woman. Who shall remain nameless to protect us all from lawsuits. Rest In Peace Kenny! We leave you with two of Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits. Enjoy and God Bless!

The Gambler:

Island’s In The Stream:

UPDATE: Another alert reader has sent us this great duet of Kenny Rogers & Lionel Richie singing “The Gambler”

Lionel Richie & Kenny Rogers Duet of “The Gambler”

Do Not Use Cocaine or Drink Bleach to Fight the Coronavirus!

As much as we all wanted to steer clear of the Coronavirus, we found something out there about it that we felt vital to share with you all. According to CBS News reporter Christina Capatides there are some dangerous quack remedies being peddled to combat the Coronavirus. Miss Capatides had this to say:

A quick glance at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or TikTok will provide a slew of these fake cures(for the Coronavirus): garlic, masturbation, bleach, even cocaine.

Prominent QAnon YouTuber Jordan Sather, for example, tweeted to his more than 121,000 followers that a "miracle mineral solution," which effectively involves drinking bleach, can wipe out COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

"Not only is chlorine dioxide (aka 'MMS') an effective cancer cell killer, it can wipe out coronavirus too," he wrote. "Big Pharma wants you ignorant."

Sadly, drinking bleach isn't the only dangerous "cure" that bad actors are peddling online to a population increasingly anxious about the current outbreak. The most recent rumor spreading at a rapid pace is that cocaine will counteract COVID-19.

On Sunday, in an effort to combat such viral disinformation, the French Ministry of Health tweeted a firm rebuttal: "No, cocaine does not protect against COVID-19. Cocaine is an addictive stimulant drug. Using it can seriously harm people's health and create undesirable effects."

If this misinformation was not so sad, it would actually be funny. We strongly encourage our readers to read Capatides entire story and to share it online. We are all very grateful for Christina Capatides report. If we hadn’t come across this we seriously were getting ready to chug down some Clorox and start riding the white pony! Thankfully due to this new story we are not going to engage in stupid and potentially fatal conduct. Please don’t drink bleach and don’t do cocaine it will only hurt you. Have a good and drug free evening everyone. 

Towering Cinema Giant Max Von Sydow Dies at Age 90

One of the INDY REPUBLICAN crews all time favorite actors Max Von Sydow just passed away at age 90. Von Sydow has been a favorite of all of ours since we all first saw him portray Jesus Christ in “The Greatest Story Ever Told”. He also turned in amazing performances in “The Exorcist” and David Lynch’s “Dune”. Here is a link to more information about Mister Von Sydow’s passing.

We all thought it would only be fitting to show an example of Von Sydow’s work. Here’s his rendition of Jesus giving the Sermon on the Mount:

Vermont Governor Phil Scott and Indy Republican Endorse Trump Primary Challenger Bill Weld

Governor Bill Weld Republican Challenger to President Trump 

Hope you all had a good President’s Day Friends! IR heard over the weekend that Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R), has endorsed Trump primary challenger former Massachusetts Governor and 2016 Libertarian Vice Presidential nominee Bill Weld for President ahead of Vermont’s GOP Presidential Primary.

Tal Axelrod over at The Hill reported the story on February 15th, 2020. Axelrod reported the following:

"I've met with him (Bill Weld) before. I think a lot of him and his platform, so I would be supporting him," Scott said of Weld, a long-shot Republican presidential candidate, at a press conference Saturday.

The endorsement comes less than three weeks before the March 3 primary in Vermont, where 16 pledged delegates will be at stake.

Scott, a vocal moderate who has expressed concerns with Trump's rhetoric and conduct in office, signaled last year that he could endorse someone other than Trump.

Governor Scott’s endorsement did not go unnoticed by Governor Weld. Weld had this message for Scott on Twitter:

I’m a great admirer of @GovPhilScott of Vermont, and am delighted to have his endorsement in the Republican presidential primary on Super Tuesday. VT has been well served in the past by Republican governors, and Gov. Scott admirably extends that tradition.https://t.co/gTsjMN3UKj

— Gov. Bill Weld (@GovBillWeld) February 15, 2020

We earlier endorsed former Congressman Joe Walsh for President. We are proud of the effort that Congressman Walsh put forward and we are sad that he dropped out after Iowa. That being said yes we disagree with Weld on abortion. But on most of the important issues Weld is right on target. He is far better a choice than Trump or any other socialist democrat running for president. Weld is a long shot, but he is a shot worth taking. History will think highly of Weld, Bill Kristol, Charlie Sykes, Joe Walsh, Paul Ogden, Gary Welsh, Charlie White and hopefully the Indy Republican posse will get some recognition as well. We encourage all our readers to donate to, support and vote for Bill Weld for President. Here’s his website for more information: https://weld2020.org/

Also here’s a little something to show you what Weld is all about: 

Vote for a Real Republican! Vote for Bill Weld and reject the false gospel of Trumpism!