Purdue and Party Politics, Part V

It is within the general "mileu" outlined in "Purdue and Party Politics, The Interlude" that the following set of events take place. (If you can believe it, there were even more disturbing events beginning to unravel in August/September 2006 but I'll save that for a separate blog -- so much information -- where is one to start). 

On November 6, 2006, Tom McDermott Jr. (aka Mayor of Hammond) and adjunct instructor at PUC, taking exception to one of my blog entries, decided to write me a little note (printed below in its entirety but it can also be viewed here). 

I think it's funny that you post such crap on your website Maurice.  If you only put forth such effort into your teachings at PUC, you would be a much better teacher.  That's why your students hate you, and your class, you put forth no effort and are lazy.

I am sure that's why you are so intimidated that I now teach in your department.  The students, who are used to hearing only your point-of-view, now hear the truth from the Mayor of Hammond.  Instead of hearing from one who could never get elected, they hear from one that got elected.

One of my greatest enjoyments in teaching Lake County Politics occurs when your former students realize what a crappy instructor you really are.  It usually takes only a week or two for them to realize that they were ripped-off when they paid good money for your "course." Your [sic] a joke Maurice, and an embarassment to Purdue University, even your 19 year old students think you're a joke!

However, if you insist on lying and dragging my families name through the mud, I will sue you for defamation.  Although I am sure you are judgment proof, I will not tolerate such lies to ever be said about me or my family.  You really have no shame.

Tom McDermott
Mayor, City of Hammond

In response, I decided to email him back and ask Mayor McDermott Jr. if he wanted to come with me to the next meeting of the Indiana Commission of Higher Education to support equitable State funding for PUC's students as compared to the rest of the state.  In response, Mayor "hair-trigger" McDermott Jr. left me the following voice mail: "Professor Eisenstein, I would not be seen anywhere in public with you.  Therefore, I will not go with you to the Commisssion of Higher Education or anywhere else.  Why don't you have a good day and go out there and throw some more bombs." (You can listen to actual voice mail if you click here; (McDermott's Rant) sort of brings up memories of the more recent voice mail he left at the home of Councilman Markovich -- don't you think?)

And, this is where things get really interesting.  Following this blog comment and phone message, Mayor McDermott decided to falsely identify himself as a former student of mine and on November 8, 2006, posted a false, contrived, criminal allegation of sexual harassment against me both on my blog and with The Times newspaper.  Falsely posting as a student named "Patricia L.," McDermott Jr. wrote (printed below in its entirety; it can also be viewed here):

I took a class with Professor Eisenstein in 2003.  Not only did he inappropriately touch me, and make lewd gestures at me away from class, Professor Eisenstien [sic] made it quite clear that, if I were inclined, he would like to see me "away" from Purdue University.

I filed a complaint with the Dean and the Chancellor over this harassment, and Maurice was disciplined accordingly (although he kept all the classes he taught before this incident, after all, Maurice has tunure [sic]).

Knowing what I know about that pervert, I would never believe anything he says about anyone else.  And if your [sic] an attractive female student, stay away from this class. Maurice is a pervert who takes advantage of his students!

The identical false allegation then turned up on Northwest Indiana's The Times newspaper discussion board on November 8, 2006 as well.  Word for word, this same allegation was posted by someone calling themselves "concerned4us" (concerned4us.mht). I have attempted to get the name of "concerned4us" from The Times (my letter.mht -- be patient, the link may take a while to come up) but without further legal action on my part, The Times was unwilling to identify who "concerned4us" is (times_lawyers.mht); although, my personal belief is that Nangle is too close to McDermott Sr. for me to have prevailed on this request. Their weekly meetings I am sure are solely focused on reminiscing about the days when Big Mac destroyed The Times circulation union.  The libelous and slanderous attacks against me became so outrageous that The Times had to shut down their newspaper discussion board to avoid further legal exposure (wouldn't it have been easier -- and better -- to just show Nangle the door and release my requested information?). 

How do I, and The Times newspaper, know that McDermott Jr. sent both the message of November 6 identifying himself as the Mayor of Hammond and the "Patricia L" posting of 11/08/07?  They both came from the same IP address.  The IP address was 67.38.221.102.  This means that both messages were sent from the same computer.  In fact, there were a number of comments that came from that particular IP address, and it is interesting to note that each time the same person pretends to be someone else.  For inquiring minds, here is a list of those comments (comments_from_same_ip_address.mht), while the comments in their entirety can be viewed here, here, here, here, and here (if, for some reason, you do not go directly to the comment, you will be at the blog entry to which the comment is attached). 

I sent all relevant documentation and information to Advanced Technology Solutions in South Bend, Indiana, so that independent documentation was available.  According to the report from Advanced Technology Solutions, "An IP Address is a unique address that devices use in order to identify and communicate with each other on a computer network using the Internet Protocol standard (IP). . . . An IP address can also be thought of as the equivalent of a street address or a phone number for a computer or other network device on the Internet.  Just as each street address and phone number uniquely identifies a building or telephone, an IP address can uniquely identify a specific computer or other network device on a network."  (See report here --Report.mht-- please be patient, it might take a minute to load.)

Because the report indicated that the IP address in question belonged to the School City of Hammond, I sent a freedom of information request to the SCH (sch_letter.mht). Guess what?  The SCH was not convinced that the IP address belonged to them and "believes the IP address in question belongs to the civil city and not the School City of Hammond" (sch_response.mht). Gee, I'm shocked.  Of course, that IP address is no longer working (I'm no computer technician so I am not sure how that is done, but, to the best of my knowledge, it no longer works).  Gee, another shocker.  For those who may remember, former Mayor Dedelow paid for the fiber optic network for the school district from gaming money, including the internet network, the Civil City was included in this upgrade.  This is why I firmly believe the Civil City's IP addresses show up as registered to the School City.

Thinking that the University might find the conduct of a Mayor -- whom it chooses to employ (along with, his wife, his campaign events coordinator Lisa Berdine, and the Hammond City Judge), who serves on its LASS board, and with whom Cohen wants Purdue to "get in bed with" through an urban academy -- problematic, I turned over all my documentation to the University.  Of course, I am not surprised, the University could not substantiate any problem, and this was communicated to me on August 20, 2007.  So I was quite intrigued when, on August 22, 2007, I received the following comment on my blog: "Nice try Maurice . . .better luck next time....maybe West lafayette  [sic] would have been a better venue for you.  Have a nice semester, and don't forget to check the IP address."  (View here on blog.)

As I informed the University (in West Lafayette), it seemed to me to be too much of a coincidence.  So, once again, I checked the new IP address (12.37.22.34), and -- shocker! -- once again it tracked back to the School City of Hammond (newIPcomment.mht).  Now, I have not asked the School City of Hammond to verify whether or not this latest IP address belongs to them, but I'm guessing if it was checked by them that I would get the same answer I got last time (it doesn't belong to us -- but it seems to belong to the Civil City).

My guess is: this comment came from none other than Mayor Tom "hair-trigger" McDermott Jr.  And, he has since -- consistent with past behavior -- added several comments to my blog attributing each comment to someone different.  Baby Mac thinks that by changing his name no one will be able to trace him.  No one has ever claimed that there was much light in that bulb.  It makes for quite humorous reading really; here is a list of his comments list.mht and you can view the actual comments in their entirety here, here, here, and here (if, for some reason, you do not go directly to the comment, you will be at the blog entry to which the comment is attached).

There are so many problems with the actions and behavior of Mayor McDermott Jr., it is hard to decide exactly where to begin to express dismay.  So, I will wrap up Part V with just this thought:  Is Mayor McDermott Jr. the type of elected official that Purdue wants to 1) employ; 2) have on its LASS board; and 3) partner with on a lab school?  I don't think so, but then......I'm not Cohen, or Cordova the new Purdue President (both of whom should be hauled in by the State Legislature for a little chat).

Now, I can hear the shrieks and cries of all those who sing love odes to the Mayor (Steve Fowler comes to mind on this one), blathering and foaming at the mouth as to how I say all kind of controversial things about McDermott.  But -- and they don't like to hear this -- our two positions are uniquely different.  They are different because 1) Unlike McDermott, I am not an elected official, I have no public fiduciary duty; and 2) Unlike Cohen, I am not a spokesperson for the State of Indiana.  I do not have any administrative responsibilities or authority at Purdue Calumet and hence, I am free, and expected, to do what many professors do across our great country and that is publically comment on issues, sometimes controversially so.  McDermott's responsibilities and obligations are different than mine, as are Cohen's.  This is why, as I explained at the end of Part I in this series, university chancellor's don't run around writing editorial columns, but tenured non-administrative professors do. 

Historically Chancellors and Presidents have been fired for less.  Cohen is required by law to remain politically neutral (although he apparently has not yet received that memo) and McDermott cannot be expected to be politically neutral -- he's a publically elected Democrat in the most politically corrupt region of this great nation!

Comments

[Nick Zivanovic]

Fowler, you're an idiot. The IP address info that Maurice posted came from the access logs of his own blog, not the Times BBS. I have the same access on my own blog and can show that this is the MO of the Team because someone did the same thing to me. I have 11 comments in my moderation queue that came from the same (SBC owned) IP address within a one-hour period of time, all claiming to be from different people. The immaturity of this administration and the Team that supports it is beyond belief.

Incidentally, the IP address 12.37.22.34 mentioned in the blog post belongs to the City of Hammond (not SCH) according to ARIN. While it appears to be a NATted address making it impossible to tie to a specific computer, it can certainly be tied to a router at Hammond City Hall. That my taxes (you know Stevie, those of us that actually OWN houses in Hammond pay those) are paying some McDermott crony to post crap like this is disheartening. Not unexpected, just disheartening.

[Former PUC Student]

Unlike McJr, I do not need to create multiple identities to mask my posts. I am however bothered, to say the least, that McJr would waste the taxpayer money to spend time bashing a college professor. It is unfair for Hammond taxpayers for you to be on city time AND work at a University. It is also a shame that this man, if you can call him that, will NOT discuss: the issues, go to represent the city for better education or do ANYTHING to represent us, the taxpayers, when it comes to making life better. This city IS INDEED turning into a Gary and East Chicago-like city where corruption is rampant. The Hammond Health Department--while I do not personally utilize its' services--is vital to those who DO use it. While the Greeks [and all their rodents] continue to have problems in their substandard restaurants this dept. is essential to ensure that the patrons do not get ill while enjoying a meal. I can not say anything negative about Dr. Eisenstein as he has been a huge influence on my political ideals, but what I CAN say is that this man does ALL he can for his students insofar as helping us develop our own opinion politically. I can NOT stress enough how sad it is that Tommyboy spends much of his time trying to destroy a man with integrity--which Tommyboy does NOT possess. It is sad that a man without a full term under his belt is teaching Lake County Politics. What is he teaching: how to lie, embezzle, break up a newspaper union, how to be investigated by Federal Prosecutors, and how to screw the city out of MILLIONS of dollars? His job is to HELP make the CITY better--not make his daddy and his cronies more money. Moreover, I just want to know two things: who is blowing whom in the McJr/Cohen relationship and who is bitch and who is the butch in the McJr/Fowler relationship. Hey Monica...I mean Tommyboy, why don't you put your blue suit up and wipe your mouth; your TRUE colors are showing! Why don't you do what you were elected to do...oh I forgot your allegiance is NOT to the residents, it's to those who line your war chest with ill-gotten gains! Lastly, I LOVE how your programs EXCLUDE renters--ESPECIALLY those who are lifelong Hammond residents who are elderly, disabled or on a fixed income and can not afford to purchase a home, but can only afford to rent.

[steve fowler]

wrong again quackers lol. hammond native is a well known detractor of the current mayor. he has previously been identified by others on the message board but im not going to repeat his name here. but its easily findable information.

its my understanding that various computers on the same network will show the same ip address. so for instance if the ip were tied to an office at the schools...everyone in that office would show up under the same ip. so once again you are drawing conclusions from circumstantial information

but as hammond native to my knowledge has never worked for the schools or the city...this seems implausible as well.

so basically something in your info clearly isnt right. but that's not news to you is it?

besides that where did you get this information? its only accessable through the times with their explicit permission. so you have a guy on the inside of their web operations? did they violate the law and their workplace mandates in getting this supposedly confidential (as laid out in the times message board rules) information to you?

keep spouting the lies and making the false allegations. my only disappointment with the latest batch is that it isnt about me again.

and while im momentarilly talking to you...have you gotten any interesting letters voicing concern from you publishers lately? keep hanging around the mail box if they havent come in yet.