Northwest Indiana Discussion

Just another witch hunt. More far fetched then the others but still a witch hunt.

Hmmm when one deflects from the subject it is a tell your on target. Thanks Sparkie

Dixit, Orafecels, the less you write state volumes. Hmmm! Your right, there is nothing her but using city agencies for political means.

Woerpels
Markovich
Miller

How may others are there?

Almost 400 hits on this page in less than 12 hours.

What computers are they talking about?

I still can't find Kiesling's column where he explained how the Times message board was being censored by people using city computers.
However, I did find a copy of a public post made on the now-defunct Times message board by its then-online editor, Yuri Victor. Read it carefully: He wrote it two weeks before Kiesling's column was published.

Self-policing abuse
by yuri.victor on Tue Jun 17, 2008 12:46 pm
For four months, these message boards have been self policed by users. There were limited problems, until the past week when a team of people identifying themselves in private messages as part of a Hammond Mayor team used these boards to police dissent and free speech. The deleted posts have been moved back. This abuse will not be tolerated.
Yuri Victor
Online Editor
http://nwi.com
yuri.victor
Times Employee


So the mcthugs were arrogant enough to talk about their evil mission in private messages to each other, which Yuri had access to. I guess that's why he and Kiesling were so sure they were right about what was going on.

Yippee! It took all day, but I finally found it.
Here's Mark KIesling's column from June 29, 2008.
Read all about what you are paying Hammond city employees to do to you:


Does this mayor protest too much?

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Someone in Hammond City Hall has been using city computers on city time to destroy public comments critical of Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. and his administration.

When I called to let McDermott know, he went absolutely ballistic.

Not because of the waste of tax money, but because he was told about it. "It sort of (makes me angry) that you are even calling me," he said, which I thought was kind of strange until I realized he thought I was accusing him of something shady.

I wasn't. I just thought as the city's chief executive he'd care how his employees were using their day, but instead he said he doesn't believe it and that it is impossible to trace a computer.

The Times has message boards on its Web site, on which people may post electronic thoughts on things from the war in Iraq to memories of summer evenings at Dari-Belle.

Some of the recent topics have been critical of McDermott's relationship with convicted political operative Bob Cantrell, of problems with development of the River Park property and questions over his personal use of a city car he gets through the water department.

The Times allows board users to remove responses on a thread, and the anti-McDermott threads have been vanishing like an endangered species.

Our online guy, Yuri Victor, traced the computers used to delete the anti-McDermott threads to City Hall, and I called McDermott to let him know.

It's the computer age equivalent of pulling campaign signs out of yards, but as long as we allow this to be done we can't complain about people doing it.

But if your staff has time to do this on city time with city equipment, don't tell us we need a county income tax. Don't send your fire chief to Indianapolis to cry poor mouth and say he will have to cut public safety and people will die because of property tax caps.

Delete at home, on your own time. Have your flunkies do it at home, on their own time. It may be babyish, but I don't care.

But don't respond with unbelievable stuff like, "I think you're making this up. I think you're on a witch hunt."

I let him speak with Victor, who explained how he traced the complex web back to City Hall.

"It doesn't satisfy me. I think you guys are lying. On the record, I think you're making stuff up," the mayor said. "I don't think it's possible to triangulate. I think it's impossible."

Why is McDermott so defensive? If I didn't know better, I'd say he sounds like a man with something to hide.

**********

Thank you freetime,


Now a Team McDermott supporter, Sparks, who identifies himself as Mr. David Hein, a past Team McDermott sockpupet's makes a disturbing allegation. Sparks has come out of the closet, voluntarily came forward at great personal risk and levies serious allegations.

Sparks writes McDermott Political Operatives using technology available to the HPD traced an individual critical of the McDermott Administration’s ip address; used this information to identify and intimidate this critic from making other post in violation of the First Amendment.

For those of you who have followed Sparks postings, he has been a long term supporter of Team McDermott. Sparks disclosure on this subject can only be interpreted as his open frustration in a reoccurring theme with in this administration of using city departments and other resources to intimidate McDermott opponents.

Sparks’ disclosure adds credibility to Hammond Times columnist Mark K's published article City of Hammond computers in city hall had been used during work hours to promote Mayor Thomas McDermott, attack his opponents and delete negative post involving McDermott and his administration. McDermott indicated it was impossible to trace ip addresses. It would be difficult to believe that McDermott would ignore such flagrant miss use of city equipment on city time.

There have been other public outcries regarding abuses, the Markovich and Woerpel audio tapes; Wess Miller has openly stated McDermott has attempted to intimidate him with code enforcement. There are others including a posting from Victor Yuri, Hammond Times E Board Administrator:



There are many more cases out there regarding this abuse.

Those members of Team Slumlord, of which I have no affiliation, must thank Sparks for coming forward. We know it was at great personal risk and it openly shows his frustration in the tactics of this administration.

Now we need someone in law enforcement or in the legal profession to initiate legal action with personal monetary damages.

We thank you Sparkie!

Free,

It is just a matter of time. I had a long conversation with one of McDermott's Lt's over coffee and a piece of pie. No it was not Dim Wit.

This person said to me that McDermott is one of the least liked politicans in the history of lake county politics. That he has lots of enemies, not just a few, lots.

There are a number of things hanging over this guy's head, the most critical is Bobbie. Let this appeal fail and have his family go through some rough times... someone is gonna chirp.

I wonder if Bobbie is collecting a pension for his activities in LC?

This subject was discussed at length previously on these boards. At the time of Kiesling's column, the city's computers all went through a connection at school city. The only place to find out which computer had which IP assigned to school city would have been to see the logs at school city and see how the IPs were assigned. As a network admin, I can tell you there was no way Yuri could tell if the computer came from City Hall, PD, Morton HS or even 41 Williams without access to the school city logs.


BTW, if someone posted here and their info was given to Hammond PD without a warrent, then the only person to blame it the owner of this website. They would have to violate their own privacy statement that is listed when you sign up for this website.

So you're saying that either the Admin here committed a crime and violated our privacy or splorks is a lying bastard....?

I agree with you that the Admin here can be trusted.

Who is Frank and what does he have to do with a computer?