Comments on Advance Indiana™: Joe Hogsett Wants To Be Marion County Prosecutor, Or Mayor, Or Something Like That

Some years ago, well more than a decade after firs...

2011-03-26T11:21:40.310-05:00

Some years ago, well more than a decade after first speaking out about priest sexual abuse, I met with a celebrity priest who was central in bringing to light that story. And though I had been the only victim to go on the record (and the only person likely not paid off by the Catholic Church), I was told I was a bit player. Essentially the powers that be in that corner of the world latched onto a willing mouthpiece (me) and I assisted in taking down a noted conservative priest. I thirsted for some moral certainty in a world with little of it and I thought every secret an indication of guilt. As a much older adult, I believe that the best one can do is aim for good; we are, after all, each of us, human; the priest I worked to destroy is now lost to Alzheimer’s. Someone wrote to me asking if this seemed fitting: I was aghast. I was not his judge, but a witness to his abuse of power. Alzheimer’s is not a judicial sentence, but a neurological degeneration.

Politicians and others who serve Indiana who may have secrets, but serve the greater good. I’m not sure what more we can ask. In Indiana, as reporting in this blog shows, a system of blackmail has existed since the 70’s which would make L.A. Confidential look like it could have taken place here, in reality, instead of James Ellroy’s home. No matter which side of the political spectrum one anchors oneself to, this is reality. No matter who one “takes down,” there will be others who advance who, too, have made mistakes--or have lives their constituencies would find distasteful or abhorrent: some heinous, like the late Mr. Miller, or the financial devilry of the to-be-tried Mr. Durham.

Should we demand perfection, or even (our projected) approximations of it, from those who serve Indiana, from the elected officials to those on the front lines of crime, or even reporters on the scene? I think not. At best, and in all fairness, we must watch and see whether or not the “arch” of the individual story is towards something better for all of us. It’s not pretty, it’s dicey, full of the chance for error and “betting on the wrong horse.” Messy, like life. Politics reflects the lives we live: It’s not about who can be ruined, embarrassed or have a reputation destroyed--it is about who serves, who makes Indiana a better place to live for all of us. “Warts and all,” those who try to serve, even in their failing, should be given some slack for at least showing up to do work few of us would.

I am not, in the end, cynical. We either believe in the system, or do not. And if we didn’t believe in it, we wouldn’t be sharing thoughts, here.

Unfortunately, there are many people who should kn...

2011-03-25T19:02:36.972-05:00

Unfortunately, there are many people who should know better who think there really isn't much systematic corruption - just a few bad apples. Without those, who should know better, waking up to the obvious corruption and throwing off their party blinders and demanding investigations within their own parties, nothing will change.

Having investigated sexual predators for over two ...

2011-03-25T15:43:17.727-05:00

Having investigated sexual predators for over two decades (with well over a half-dozen confirmed predators named and turned over to authorities), drug networks since 2003, and the ways in which they feed on one another since 2005, I'll make these 2 comments: (1) Bravo for writing what those who investigates drug networks know: a great deal of drug trafficking goes on because of pay-offs. There indeed are "approved" drug traffickers, and their competitors, and the latter get busted. This remains the core of many so-called “zero tolerance“ policies. (2) While Mr. Welsh lists various ways in which one may come across pornography which may appear underage, motive always matters. I could never have investigated sexual predators without understanding the world in which they live. I've said for years, if someone put their hand in the streams of my investigations before their completion, they wouldn‘t like what they saw: it‘s a heinous world. But one does one do: stand by and let kids get abused by rich pedophiles? One does not bring down protected, politically-favored sexual predators without crossing lines. One may not be proud by the tactics one adopts in going after such folks, but nevertheless, some situations require one exit one’s comfort zone. But it's one thing to pass through digital terra incognita, and another entirely to go after kids. While both sexual predators and those who prey on them (to bring them to justice) sometimes share similar mental spaces, they are not the same kind of beast. Hoosier politics may try to erase such distinctions, of course, as it often does. (See pt. 1.)-jmv

No, the person who exploited the child by taking t...

2011-03-25T15:03:20.079-05:00

No, the person who exploited the child by taking the photographs or the videos or engaging in inappropriate relations with them are the responsible culprits. There is so much in the way of pornographic imagery passed around the Internet it is very easy for someone to come into possession of something that depicts a minor without knowing the age of the person. You also have the epidemic of teen-agers snapping naked pictures of themselves and distributing them all over the Internet without thinking twice. Hell, they're having sex in the classroom at school, videotaping it and passing it around the Internet. MTV is exploiting sex among minors for TV ratings. Focus on the root cause, not the symptom.

I saw in the video a former (sheriff) Anderson dep...

2011-03-25T14:55:26.309-05:00

I saw in the video a former (sheriff) Anderson deputy chief who got sucked into the IMPD CONsolidation.
She must have quit IMPD because she is back in sheriff uniform, probably a deputy chief again, and probably in charge of some made up position.
That's how democrats do it, you know.

I've been waiting for someone to ask: "...

2011-03-25T14:37:38.075-05:00

I've been waiting for someone to ask:

"losers who collect child pornography (usually in a victimless manner)"

How can anything to do with child pornography be "victimless", for pete's sake? A child was exploited and harmed psychologically, at the least, and possibly more will be so in the future if the behavior is not stopped.

Please, be careful with your characterizations.

Paige, In Indiana, prosecutors who say silly thing...

2011-03-25T12:41:56.561-05:00

Paige, In Indiana, prosecutors who say silly things in e-mails on their own time lose their jobs. Pal around with a renowned drug dealer and pedophile and they'll make you the top federal prosecutor in the state. The media will condemn the former and laud the latter. It's an effed up world.

How about some of that white collar crime that per...

2011-03-25T12:32:48.461-05:00

How about some of that white collar crime that pervades Indiana that has ruined the lives of multiple neighborhoods throughout the Amish and Mennonite small towns of Ohio, Joe and Terry? Let's start with busting the gang of mooches who helped themselves to Fair Finance money. A lot more than the three indicted are involved and you know it. How about if we start with Mitch and Carl returning the hundreds of thousands of stolen dollars in campaign contributions? How about if you do something about Elkhart? HELLO?