Warfleigh Politics

Comment by Joe Boda on July 10, 2008 at 7:28pm

I'm feeling too feisty for the main forums!

Comment by Joe Boda on July 11, 2008 at 1:18am

The guy in the picture is not me. I found it by doing a Google Image Search for "Talking Politics". Seems like fair use here.

Comment by Carol Isaacson on November 17, 2008 at 2:58pm

How long can you keep your yard sign out before it is in bad taste? I have taken down my yard signs in respoect for those who didn't share my view, but I still smile whenever I drive past one. And the house, car and my bike are still adorned. No desire to remove.

Comment by Alex on November 17, 2008 at 11:13pm

I took my signs that were by the street down on Nov. 6th. The one by my door is still up. It should come down before x-mas decorations go up. The sticker on the car will be there for years probably.

Comment by Victoria Pardue-Edwards on November 20, 2008 at 12:31am

I'm a community organizer (please no Obama jokes - I would NEVER run for Prez.) for Mid North Public Safety Committee - I live in the MKNA, and play in the BRVA - would love to attend one of your neighborhood meetings - can you let me know how often and when the next meeting is?
Thanks for being part of the solution! -Working Together Works -

~V

Comment by Heather Lusk on November 20, 2008 at 7:49am

Victoria - sending you a message

Comment by Carol Isaacson on November 24, 2008 at 8:38pm

I went to the BRVA meeting last week. Sharon said there wouldbe meeting minutes available. The subject of the flood wall did not come up with the Mayor's discussion. I went into the meeting with a somewhat positive image of the mayor considering the new sustainability focus and the addition of bike lanes. However, his lack of people skills really put me off. Thought the neighborhood group had been polite in expressing their concerns, and I found him abrupt and rude. Just my too cents.

Comment by Victoria Pardue-Edwards on November 24, 2008 at 10:48pm

Thanks.
Here is a little more about MPSC;
MPSC is a supporting organization, whereas we provide research, support and contact resources in hopes of helping any organization within our area in resolving a given issue. MPSC works behind the scenes in helping neighborhood associations, crime watch and block clubs resolve issues that effect their neighborhood’s quality of life.

· Who are the members of the committee? Our committee is composed of the various neighborhood presidents, executive directors and neighborhood public safety chairpersons in the mid-north area, e.g. Meridian Kessler, Butler Tarkington, Broad Ripple, Crown Hill, Forrest Hills, Meridian Street Foundation, CANDO, Indianapolis Public Library, CDD, with representatives from IMPD, Marion County Sheriff Dept., Marion County Prosecutor,Marion Co. Health & Hospital and various city departments.

We advise and when asked, we will try to resolve the issue on behalf of neighborhoods. We also work hard in removing roadblocks that a given organization might run into when in trying to resolve a given neighborhood issue.

We hold monthly public forums the first Friday of every monthn (with the exception of Dec.) at the College Ave. Library (42nd & College Ave.) @ 10am, with the above mentioned representatives.

Comment by Victoria Pardue-Edwards on December 10, 2008 at 2:30pm

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT IN OUR MARION COUNTY CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM?

My fellow citizens and neighborhood leaders, I’m not often given to writing a narrative regarding a given concern, due to my limited ability to convey my personal and emotional concerns effectively within a written context. In reference to any errors that I might commit, I ask that you, in kindness overlook them and consider the intent of the message.

In light of the current wave of criminal activity that is currently griping our county, I have become very concerned, not just with the crimes but the seemingly lack of our criminal justice system and some of our neighborhood leaders willingness to effectively address the issues.

It is apparent (based upon the data) that IMPD is working intensely in an effort to lower our current crime rate, however this is not to say there is no room for improvement because the criminal environment changes from day to day.
What is the purpose of the court system? I would suggest there four major civic purposes of our court system.

(1) Doing Justice.
(2) Promoting secure communities.
(3) Restoring crime victims and
(4) Promoting noncriminal options.

Doing justice includes four things: hold offenders fully accountable for their offenses, protect offenders’ constitutional and legal rights, treat like offenses alike, and take into account relevant differences among offenders and offenses.
Promoting secure communities is not just a reduction in crime rates. Securing the community also means, providing the security to life, liberty and property that is necessary for communities to flourish. It also means enabling citizens to pursue their collective life as they see fit without undue fear of having that life disrupted or destroyed. Further, it means securing our communities against criminals who assault, rape, rob, burglarize, deal drugs and murder. It also means securing our communities from other disorders related to crime and fear of crime: petty crime, aggressive panhandling and loitering.


Restoring victims’ means, the community must honor the obligation to make victims of crime and disorder whole again. Each victim of crime has a claim upon our criminal justice system’s human and financial resources. Any system that dishonors a victim’s claim can not be considered legit, thereby, reducing confidence in the justice system.
Promoting noncriminal options means that punishment for criminal behavior should interfere as little as possible with the pursuit of noncriminal behavior.
At this time I will not bore you with overall view of the police in the community at this time because we have discussed IMPD in prior documents. Further, as a matter of additional information, IMPD and the Marion County Sheriff departments are the only criminal justice department in Marion County currently sharing information with the community on a regular basis. We do not receive regular information from Marion County Superior Courts or the Marion County Prosecutors Office, although we have asked many, many times to no avail. Further, we at one time received regular input from the Arresting Processing Center that flow of information to the community has stopped.
I will now move on to what I consider the most important segment, as it relates to our Marion County Criminal Justice System and that is, We the people, citizens, residents are the ultimate stakeholders when it comes to criminal justice.
Rather than rewrite what I consider one of the better documents that best describes our responsibilities as citizens, I offer to you, part of an article written by John Dilulio, Jr., entitled “Democratic vision: Citizens as co-producers of justice.”
In light of criminal justice history, a moderating, democratic vision of the justice system’s public purpose and limitations is both necessary and desirable. Such a vision emerges from the realization that ALL CITIZENS have the right and the responsibility to participate in the system. CITIZENS ARE CO-PRODUCERS OF JUSTICE. The ability of justice practitioners to do their daily work depends on the cooperation and support of citizens who are formally “outside” the system – a citizen willing to testify against a violent drug dealer; a community group that trusts and assists the police, relatives, friends, and employers who help to keep a community – based offender on the straight-and-narrow. CITIZENS, not judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers are primarily responsible for the quality of life in their communities, including the prevalence and severity of crime within them. Citizens in a democracy must hold themselves, their neighbors and justice officials accountable for the crime and disorder that happens within their communities.
Citizens who expect judges, police, and other justice officials to solve Marion County’s crime problems are unrealistic, we as citizens should not expect to hold the criminal justice officials accountable or expect the system to succeed without the active participation and support of the community. Of course, this means that the criminal justice officials must participate in a community partnership and support the community as well. (End)
So I submit this question to each of you; what are we going to do about our current criminal justice system?
Fellow community leaders, I assure you that if our system does not become more productive and we as citizens don’t shoulder our responsibility, our crime rate will constantly expand.
Each of us should look upon 2009 as the year in which we will actively address the criminal incidents all of the problems it generates within our community.
In essence, this is a CALL TO ACTION for each of us. I hope each of you will commit yourself and your organization to addressing our current crime problem. Please remember, the crime data is not just numbers, they represent incidents that happen to PEOPLE and each one of us can be a VICTIM!
I submit this for your review, consideration and more importantly, your commitment to action.
Your Fellow Citizen
Ed Potts

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