Comments on Advance Indiana™: Budget Hearing Tales

Well, Hunter was chairing the meeting, he was the ...

2009-08-24T13:22:56.546-05:00

Well, Hunter was chairing the meeting, he was the one in a hurry to wrap up the meeting when it came to public comments and he admits he attended the Colts' game. Can he truly vouch for the fact that none of the other councilors attended the game? I wouldn't expect someone to ask to leave early to attend a ballgame. I don't think your comments were much off the mark, if any.

Gary -- I need to insert a change on the Colts gam...

2009-08-24T12:42:51.244-05:00

Gary -- I need to insert a change on the Colts game connection with a comment Ben Hunter made during the public comment part of the Committee hearing. I did leap to the assumption that all the Councillors to which Hunter referred were actually going to the game. In a personal email to me, he clarified that to his knowledge he was the only Councillor to actually attend the game. I took my assumption too far and I apologize to you for not getting it corrected before you quoted me. As for rushing through the meeting, that isn't how I'd describe the 2 hour meeting. He was abrupt, but at that point I was actually done with my comments and questions and I was the last member of the public wanting to have time. My mention of it was because it reinforced the 8:00 comment he made.

A commission is being paid to the commissary fund ...

2009-08-23T13:19:31.062-05:00

A commission is being paid to the commissary fund by the contractor on an outrageous telephone contract. The commissary fund has often been considered the sheriff's slush fund. The State Board of Accounts has complained for years about how sheriffs across the state use these funds for questionable purposes. Again, Paul's use of the work "kickback" may not have been the best term to describe what is happening, but he didn't accuse the sheriff of committing a criminal act.

Ogden accused Sheriff Anderson of taking kickbacks...

2009-08-23T12:19:13.592-05:00

Ogden accused Sheriff Anderson of taking kickbacks. Is that not a felony? [if it were true]

Paul used the word "kickback" in describ...

2009-08-23T06:17:15.313-05:00

Paul used the word "kickback" in describing payments from the jail's telephone contractor being paid into the commissary fund. Payments into that fund are not appopriated by the council and are not calculated into the budget approved annually by the council.The sheriff has wide discretion over these funds. As I understand it, Anderson has spent millions out of that fund to pay legal bills racked up by Kevin Murray and his law firm. It is unclear to me why the sheriff is not utilizing the services of the corporation's counsel instead of pouring all of that money into outside legal fees, which would allow that money to be spent on more pressing needs. Ogden may have been guilty of poor word usage, but he did not accuse Anderson of commiting a felony.

I saw the hearing on Channel 16 where Paul Ogden a...

2009-08-22T22:48:47.067-05:00

I saw the hearing on Channel 16 where Paul Ogden accused Sheriff Anderson of committing a felony. At that point, Ogden should have been ruled out of order and made to sit down. Ogden was the one who behaved boorishly and should be embarrassed about his behavior. I doubt that he is.

"I see no hope for the Republican party to re...

2009-08-22T22:19:03.720-05:00

"I see no hope for the Republican party to rescue America. Absolutely none."

Our only hope is the GOP.
The current democrat administration will break America's back and banks and I hope you aren't putting your money on the live and let live libertarians...by the time they get a candidate elected America WILL be bankrupt and speaking Chinese.

AI, I agree. I love my political party. I don&#...

2009-08-22T19:36:38.989-05:00

AI,

I agree. I love my political party. I don't like some of the people who claim to be Republicans and what they are doing.

With all due respect to my Libertarian friends, the Republican establishment worries a lot more about Republicans who fight to take their party back as opposed to those who leave the party to become Libertarian. There is nothing a Tom John and the other establishment Republicans would like more than to see people like Gary and I leave the party and become Libertarians.

I understand it when Republicans go the Libertarian route because of frustration as well as those who are Libertarian because they deeply believe in the party's positions on the issues. And I think the Republicans would be smart to try to attract Libertarians given the fact that the Libertarian vote, while small, could be the deciding factor in various races. But as far as encouraging reform-minded Republicans to leave the GOP and become Libertarians, that's exactly what the establishment GOP wants. They don't care whether they win the election. They care about control. Getting reformers out of the party gives them more control, not less.

Ernie, we have no contractual responsibility to pr...

2009-08-22T18:39:52.611-05:00

Ernie, we have no contractual responsibility to provide police escorts for football players. We don't need an ordinance to make that change and I doubt the savings is as much as you suggest.

Melyssa, A political party isn't a spouse. I don't have to be in love with its leadership to belong to it.

Gary? I'd love to know why you remain a Republ...

2009-08-22T18:20:56.167-05:00

Gary? I'd love to know why you remain a Republican.

If you are a battered wife, aren't you supposed to leave your husband and take yourself away from the abuse?

I see no hope for the Republican party to rescue America. Absolutely none.

Ben Hunter has a proposal pending that will cost I...

2009-08-22T17:57:48.436-05:00

Ben Hunter has a proposal pending that will cost Irsay hundreds of thousands of dollars over the next few years.
Somehow I don't see Hunter being rewarded for his vote on the CIB with Colts tickets. That said if I had tickets to a Colts game I would be tempted to get my business over in time to attend...why should we expect less of another?

How about those motorcycles that Sheriff Frank And...

2009-08-22T16:31:45.658-05:00

How about those motorcycles that Sheriff Frank Anderson requested? Just how does he explain them? Will he be serving civil process on them? What use will he make for them???

Remember Frank Anderson is not performing any police function, so the purchase of police motorcycles can only be described as abuse of authority, giving motorcycles paid for by TAXpayers to cronys! It's just wrong!