Fatass Democrat scumbag pushing overpriced cupcakes with his overpriced icecream

File this under, "There are no consequences for Lake County Democrats"...

Convicted Felon and former Indiana State Democrat Party Chairman Peter Manous, owner of Gayeti's Ice Cream in Schererville, in on the front page of the business section in the Times today.

Peter Manous kept his mouth shut.  He did his time.  Democrats are rewarding him for this, not unlike how the mob rewards its members when they leave the pokey having not ratted out their "friends".

Once again, I note the similarities between the mob and Lake County Democrats.  The Feds need to RICO the Dems like they RICO the mob.

Anyway... stop eating the product, fatass.

Was Drainage Board Contractor R.A. Oros responsible for spill in Cady Marsh Ditch?

Remember the "sheen" on the Cady Marsh Ditch?  We never found out what business was responsible for the leak that caused the sheen.  I thought that that was fishy, and it must be some business with connections to Van Til.

Well, according to a source, I was right.  This guy looked through property records and found that Drainage Board contractor and big Van Til contributor R.A. Oros owns land right where the sheen was reported to have started.  That would explain why the source was never named.

I asked about the source during the Drainage Board meeting, and Van Til told me that I had to talk to the EPA to get that information.

I will, and I will report the name when I get it.

Buzzcut riles up Lake County Drainage Board meeting

I went to the Lake County Drainage Board meeting today.  This is generally a dog and pony show by disgraced, indicted Democrat Lake County Surveyor George Van Til, and today was no different.

I mean, do you care that the county's MS4 coordinator went to a state convention of MS4 coordinators and got a "major award"?  Me neither.

Anyway, Georgie got through his agenda and made no mention of the spectacular failure of the brand new retaining wall on the Plum Creek ditch in Dyer.  I got up and asked about it, catching him and his people totally off guard.

I asked if the slop of the basket cage wall was per the specifications, which his engineer could not answer.  They brought up a bunch of irrelevant issues, and promised the board that they would present more in the failure at the next meeting.  I asked that the slope be looking into and made a part of the report.

This is big.  I think that what goes on at the Drainage Board is that Van Til manages the contractors, allowing them to low bid and then granting them exemptions from the specs to make the job cheaper, thus allowing his chosen contractors to make money and keep coming back (and to generously donate to his candidacy).  I think that in this case, the waiver that was granted came back to bite them in the ass when it caused the retaining wall to fail.

Building the wall at a higher slope allowed the contractor to do much less digging, and they didn't have to tear into Plum Creek Church's parking lot.  But it also made the water move much faster during the rain event, which probably caused the wall to fail.

Anyway, tune in next month, this should be fun.  If Van Til is still Surveyor, of course.

Gerry Scheub goes after Buzzcut, says FBI investigating e911

Not in the Ed Soliday-poking-me-in-the-chest go after, but getting A LITTLE too close for my comfort.  He saw me at the Lake County Drainage Board meeting and came on over to give me an earfull.

He didn't like my letter to the editor regarding Rich James, where I blamed Scheub for the e911 fiasco and called him incompetent.

What was Scheub's defense?  "Hey, Buncich is responsible for that fiasco, not me".

He also said that he quit e911 because the FBI was looking into its dealings, and that he didn't want to go to jail.

That's a new piece of information.  Maybe my prediction that Buncich will be the next Lake County Democrat to go down is coming true faster than even I thought it would.

Lake County Democrats are both corrupt AND incompetent, and they argue amongst themselves as to who is more corrupt and incompetent.

Rick James thinks that TIF money grows on trees

Rich James seems to be hitting new Lake County Democrat apologist lows with each subsequent column.

Today he goes after Schererville Republicans because they oppose and continue to oppose the "Community Center" built by the Democrats.

First of all, James says that the center was built for "free", using TIF funds.  Where does he think TIF funds come from?

TIFs are a huge problem.  They freeze property taxes, using increases in property tax revenue to pay back bonds used for construction, under the theory that the development will increase taxes.  However, development doesn't often result in increased taxes, and the property tax freeze often negatively impacts other taxing entities besides the one who controls the TIF.  In this case, Lake Central Schools lose money because of this community center.

Now, how does having a Community Center increase taxes?  It doesn't.  Rich James doesn't understand the TIF issue, and he doesn't know what the hell he is talking about (as usual).  Once again, aggressive ignorance rears its ugly head.

TIF money is not free, if nothing else there are "opportunity costs", as the economists say.

My biggest beef with the "Community Center" is that it is unnecessary.  Schererville already has a community center, it's called the Omni.  I have a real problem with government creating "amenities" that compete with non-governmental organizations and private businesses.

Finally, the big deal here is something no one wants to talk about: the bad people from East Chicago now live in Schererville, and Schererville Democrats are just old East Chicago Democrats (the worst kind) moved south.  This community center project stinks, it is very East Chicago-esque in how it was financed and built.  There very well could be law enforcement actions coming from it in the future.

Now, if that's the case, why would ANYONE want to be associated with it?

Since we all know that Rich James is the paid mouthpiece of the Lake County Democrat party, what I really think is going on here is he is angry that Republicans aren't giving Democrats cover by going along to get along.

Buzzcut was right: teacher colleges are crap

New study shows that Buzzcut is right, and teacher schools are crap.

Pedagogy is not a science, and teacher schools are not evidence based, they are just yet another institution captured by liberals, pushing a liberal agenda, to the detriment of children.  This is why we should all be skeptical of teacher licensing requirements, which are nothing more than laws that require graduation from these mediocre teacher schools.

Once again, Indiana is on the leading edge of educational reform, offering an alternative to teacher licensing, and thus, these mediocre teacher colleges.

Doug Ross say "Start Snitchin'!"

Doug Ross joins the long line of lumieres who agree with Buzzcut, that the answer to Black on Black gun murders in Gary is for folks to START SNITCHIN'.

Buzzcut 3- Anonymous Commenter 0.

Lake County Library has debt of $233 per every man, woman, and child in Lake County

Why does the Lake County library system have so much debt?

Honestly, the Munster branch renovation didn't do much.  It was typical municipal building, a lot of Taj Mahal-ism without being functionally any different than what was there before the renovation.

Once again, we learn that the Whiting Library has no debt, to go along with the Whiting Schools lack of debt.  We see that if you maintain your existing facilities well, you can save a lot of money in the long term.

Rich James is an idiot, 6/17/2013 edition

Did you know that the REAL problem with Lake County is folks who were opposed to the income tax?

Not corruption.  Not inefficiency.  Not poor educational attainment.  Not laziness.  No, the real problem with Lake County is not enough taxin' goin' on!

Rich James is what I call aggressively ignorant.  Like Mark Twain said, it's not what Rich James doesn't know that's the problem, it's what he THINKS he knows but ain't true that's really the issue.

The biggest problem with the income tax is that it gives the bastards breathing room.  They can continue to buy police cars without competitive bids, for example, or hire yet more incompetent consultants.  They can continue to mismanage Drainage Board projects, or keep their Cadillac health care plans.

The best thing about Lake County before the income tax is that the austerity was putting Lake County on the right course.  And now that is gone.

What is Rich James vision for Lake County?  He says that people who are against the tax should move, but where should they move to?

If Rich James wants a community where taxes are high and "services" and "amenities" are high, he has ample choices across the border in Illinois.  I suggest moving to Naperville or Highland Park, where he can be with other smug, aggressively ignorant Liberals like himself.

The Buzzcut vision for Lake County is a place where taxes are by far the lowest in Indiana, because there are no income taxes or wheel taxes or any of those other silly taxes that other counties in Indiana have.  Over time, we will work off our debts that cause our property taxes to be higher than the tax caps, and at that point Lake County WOULD have been a very low tax place to do business.

Combine that with GOOD GOVERNMENT, i.e. throw the Democrats out of office, and Lake County would start to grow strongly.

But now, with the Rich James vision of high taxes combined with corrupt, incompetent Democrat led government, what do we have?

Karen Freeloader-Wilson agrees with Buzzcut

Democrat Gary Mayor Karen Freeloader-Wilson agrees with Buzzcut that the answer to the Gary murder problem is to START SNITCHIN'!

Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said, "If those of us who know better remain silent, then the small minority of people who are committing crimes will take over," Freeman-Wilson said. "The overwhelming majority of our young people are law-abiding, God-fearing people. ... We could put 500 or 600 police officers on the street, and it still won't matter unless we come together as a community." 

She urged residents to break the "code of silence" when someone commits a crime to force criminals to "straighten up or go somewhere else."

Karen Freeloader-Wilson says EXACTLY what Buzzcut says.

Forget "Background Checks", here is how to end gun violence in Gary

At a "rally to end gun violence", we find out what is REALLY driving gun murders in Gary:

There have been 19 homicides in Gary since Jan. 1, compared with 16 in 2012, Wade said. Shootings are down 48 percent, from 73 last year to 38 so far in 2013, he said.

“These are mainly young men with high-risk lifestyles, including gangs and drugs,” Wade said. “Most of the victims are the intended targets. These are not just random victims, right or wrong. They are involved in some dispute, not hit by a stray bullet.”

Of the 19 homicides, only 10 have been solved, he said, “because witnesses are reluctant to come forward."

Aha!  Here, we have some real honesty about what the real problem is: Stop Snitchin'

I am of course referring to a criminal pathology in the black community, one that "activists" like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton fear to address.

Violence in Gary is caused by a small criminal element, one that COULD be purged if honest folks stood up to them.  Of course, that doesn't happen.

All it takes for evil to flourish is for good people to do nothing in the face of it.  Gary is exhibit A.

The bottom line?  "Background checks" will do nothing to solve this problem.

Your past can hurt your job prospects, unless you are a Lake County Democrat

Beware, employers are using background checks to weed out employees.

So that bankruptcy, or criminal case, can keep you from getting a job.

Unless, of course, you are a Lake County Democrat bigwig.

How is felon Peter Manous doing?  I see him often.  He appears prosperous.  Still lives in the big house on Winfield in Munster.  Still drives the silver Acura MDX luxury SUV.

The lesson is this: do what you're told, if you get in trouble keep your mouth shut, and you will be taken care of when you get out of the big house.

That's why the big fish like Old Man Pastrick never got indicted.  The little fish did not give him up.

It's just like "Goodfellas".  That's why I assert over and over that the Lake County Democrat party is a criminal organization.  It needs to be RICO'd.

Times Bankruptcy Watch, scoffing commenter edition

I got this e-mail message, asserting that the Times will go bankrupt before they change:

hee-hee-hee...you are so cute. They haven't been a NEWSpaper for AGES!  You really haven't seen the correlation between number of ads and whom they endorse? That should have been the dead giveaway for you.  And that is part of the reason they are in a death spiral.  They cut half their staff loose -- which means the rest have to accept a lot of stories that are handed in or created by interested parties, parties who can "help" the Times. Publish a story -- and sell ad space.

How much NEWS do you actually get from the Times any more?  I use the paper to keep up to date with Scouting trips, Phil Potempa's former friends, and whatever Tom McDermott wants us to know.  I get the actual NEWS, however, from a couple favorite web sites and some of it is pretty alarming. But you won't see any of it in the Times.

With their cutting the comments section, on line readership has plummeted - but they won't tell you that, either. They are failing to see that print journalism probably will not exist in a few years and that will be the final nail in their coffin since hardly anyone goes to the website any more. At that point, they will ALL be cut loose.

Other papers under the Lee umbrella have continued their on line comments and actually have more news, local and national, than the Times. How long do you think corporate's patience with the Times will last?  If you start a pool, I want in. 

Mr. Lutas and I will soon have an alternative to the Times up and running.  And we will SOLVE the lack of commenting problem.

Interesting that the Times online readership has plunged since the removal of comments.  I hardly go over there anymore.  I guess I'm not alone.

Doug Ross strikes back

He writes:

"I'm taking this part out, because Rich's wife no longer works for the county.

 

The Times won’t tell you this, but James’ wife is a grant writer for the Lake County Sheriff. The James household feeds at the trough of Lake County government, and the Lake County Democrats have the power over the James household purse. I would expect the Times’ ethics policy to require that disclosure."

Dougie just doesn't get it.  It is now irrelevant if she is working or not.  If she is not working, she is a retiree.  In either case, she is sucking at the teat of Lake County Government.  Why has this not been disclosed?

I have it on good authority that she still works there in some capacity, perhaps as a contractor.  Is it too much to ask a REPORTER to do a little investigation?

Time to take out Rich James

James column today was outrageous.  I think a coordinated campaign against him is in order.  As such, this is a letter to the editor in response:

Times Columnist Rich James has once again gone too far.  James, who has been the mouthpiece for the Lake County Democrat Party for 40 years, is blaming the e911 fiasco on a “lack of leadership”, when in fact it should be laid at the feet of incompetent Lake County Democrats like Commissioner Gerry Scheub.

This is almost as outrageous as James’ column defending disgraced, indicted Democrat Lake County Surveyor George Van Til.

Why is James such a Lake County Democrat apologist?  The Times won’t tell you this, but James’ wife is a grant writer for the Lake County Sheriff.  The James household feeds at the trough of Lake County government, and the Lake County Democrats have the power over the James household purse.  I would expect the Times’ ethics policy to require that disclosure.

Lake County has a “lack of leadership” because Lake County Democrats are incompetent, and Rich James is their excuse maker.

I think that James, and possibly the guy who hired him, Doug Ross, can be taken out.  James' lack of disclosure is what will do them both in.  Doug Ross WROTE the Times ethics policy, he should know better.

James is shameless in his shilling for Lake County Democrats.  This column is yet another example.  If "lack of leadership" is the cause of the e911 fiasco, who are the leaderless leaders?  Lake County Democrats, of course.  Remember what Tom McDermott says, Democrats hold 80% of the positions in Lake County.  They hold all 3 Commissioner seats, and the Commissioners drove e911 into the ditch.

James says that this isn't about Democrats, but it is.  He shouldn't get away with being the paid spokesman of the Lake County Democrat party on the pages of the Hammond Times.

Indiana leads education reform by holding unionized teachers accountable

Indiana is using testing to hold teachers accountable for student performance.  No longer will layoffs be done by seniority, which is a huge improvement.

Doing so reverses the trend in teacher union collective bargaining, which is to not hold teachers accountable, in fact to just give them tenure no matter how their students perform.

Indiana is on the leading edge of education reform.  Taking on the teacher unions is only one aspect, so is our embrace of charter schools, allowing the kids who want to learn to find schools that allow them to do so.

I like to kid people with the "Dirtbag Hoosier" label (which is of course redundant ;) ), and compared to other areas like the northern suburbs of Chicago, we have not historically valued education.  With these reforms, I think Indiana is moving towards a much better educated future, hopefully one where our kids are not taught by anyone in a union.

How much do new police cars cost?

Munster is spending $112k to "buy or lease" 6 new police cars.

Democrat Lake County Sheriff Dumbass Buncich wants to pay $66k PER CAR.

That has to be inaccurate reporting, right?  No way can Dumbass Buncich spend that much on a police car.  What, does the ugly ass brown color of the Lake County Sheriff have flecks of gold in it?

UPDATE: just by googling, you can find reviews of Dodge Charger Police packages that go for $46k, fully equipped.

This is with the Hemi, which begs the question, how is Sheriff Dumbass outfitting his cars?  I bet he's getting the Hemi, even though it adds $5k to the cost and kills the mileage.

I think Lake County Sheriff Deputies don't deserve Hemis, or even Dodge Chargers.  They should be driving Chevy Impalas like the Town of Highland does.  Those go for $28k, from what I can see, and they get pretty good mileage, too.

Hammond School Superintendent Highly Paid, Can't Drive

Despite making $150k and having a school district paid for SUV, he crashed his car in a Dunkin Donuts.

In my expert opinion (yes, I am an expert on automobiles), he got the gas and brake pedal mixed up.  It happens very often to old folks like the Superintendent.

Well, at least we learned that the Hammond Sup't has a take home car.  That little perk does not show up in the spreadsheet of Sup't salaries I posted previously.