A man dressed up in a chicken suit has been showing up at a lot of places where Mayor Bart Peterson (D) appears lately. The man in the chicken suit's message is that Mayor Peterson is to blame for the city's rising crime problem. It did happen on his watch. Do I care who the man is wearing the suit? Do you?Well, the man in the chicken suit has really been getting under the skin of Mayor Peterson and local Democrats. The mere presence of a man dressed in the chicken suit standing in a room holding a sign reading "Bart Lies" is a bit unsettling when you're trying to deliver a speech. Over at IndyUndercover, people have been complaining that the Mayor's folks resorted to using law enforcement to follow the man in the chicken suit after he left appearances in an effort to learn his identity. I guess there's not enough crime in the city to keep these law enforcement officials busy. The mystery has been solved at long last. It turns out the man in the chicken suit is Ernest Shearer. And the Star's political reporters are taking credit for learning his identity. We open up today's newspaper and find this item in the "Behind Closed Doors" column:
While his identity remains under cluck, er, cloak, political observers believe the man in the chicken suit is an Eastside resident who owns an estate liquidation business.
A 6-foot-2-inch man in a chicken suit has taken to showing up at city meetings to protest against Peterson, hatching an endless string of chicken jokes from city politicos.
An old hearse with a chicken decoration on top was spotted at the City-County Building after one meeting this past week. The hearse also has been spotted regularly along the 8400 block of East Washington Street.
Putting the chicken and egg together, Your Favorite Column tracked down the business owner, Ernest Shearer.
"I don't admit it or deny it," Shearer said, "but I do agree with the message the chicken is putting out."
Fliers that the chicken passed out say that government leaders haven't done enough to slow the city's rising crime problem.
Employees of the Democratic Party, who didn't think the chicken was so amusing, took it a step further last week.
Suspecting Shearer, they researched his background and found a 1998 arrest.
Shearer, 52, confirmed that he was arrested for failure to pay taxes and related charges. Court records, however, show the charges were dismissed.
Shearer said he never owed the money prosecutors alleged that he owed.
Now, it's one thing to unmask the identity of the man in the chicken suit. It is quite another to dig up an old arrest record and report it as news when court records show the charges were dismissed. Sadly, the Star has become the enabler of Democratic Party operatives in smearing anyone who challenges the Marion County Democrats. There are far more important matters the Star is failing to report on its news pages. We could do without this crap. Why does the Star feel compelled to report to its readers about an unproven charge against this man other than to aid and abet local Democrats' efforts to personally destroy him?
Observant AI readers will not be surpised by this latest development. This is not the first time the person outed by the Star today has been the victim of the local Democrats' bag of dirty tricks. "You Know Who" posted a comment to this blog falsely identifying this same man as another Indianapolis man who has a penchant for posting sexually explicit solicitations on the Internet in an effort to destroy him because of his vocal support of Republican congressional candidate Eric Dickerson. This same commenter has also posted numerous comments about supporters of Dickerson on this blog which, at a minimum can be described as unflattering, and at worst can be considered downright defamatory. Here's a taste of one of his most recent comments:
Thank you . . . . Whatshername for the above anonymous comment. Of course, folk should know deadbeat . . . . is a renter who moves frequently - she doesnt pay rent and gets sued but doesnt pay. She has quite a few unpaid judgments against her (isnt CivicNet great?). Most people know poor . . . . . as the perennial candidate who always comes in last...While there may be a temptation for the victims to stoop to their level, I would discourage it. One such person has already crossed the line by posting a bounty on his blog for anyone with "verifiable dirt on one Jennifer Wagner." Wagner, of course, is the communications director for the Indiana Democratic Party and blogs at Taking Down Words. I have a pretty good idea who dug up this information on the man in the chicken suit, and I strongly suspect it was someone other than Wagner. She, in fact, denies being the source of the arrest record, but she does unnecessarily fan the flames in my opinion by reporting even more details about the unproven charges. Besides, Sir Hailstone's post was just in poor taste to say the least.
UPDATE: The Indy Chicken has posted a response to today's reports at IndyUndercover, which you can view by clicking here.
41 comments:
You do the crime, you do the time. He should be holding his jail photo number. Much more appropriate. I'm glad he is with them.
Damn. Tough crowd.
1998...dismissed...what do you not get, Arnie?
I'm no fan of the Chicken, but damn it, it's a free country. He's not hurting anyone.
He's wrong, of course. Bart did not "lie."
What concerns me most is that this type of activity, from the Chicken and from those who dug up the "dirt" on him, is that it really only encourages more pranks.
And anything that revs up those nutcases over at IndyU is not good for the city.
The paranoid win-at-all-costs take-no-prisoners are of the O'Connor school, and now he's the Dem chairman. So, tit for tat, and this crap will escalate, I'm afraid.
Can't we all just get along?
"You do the crime, you do the time."
The charges were dismissed. So much for innocent until proven guilty.
Is it true ... Indy Chicken and AI frequent commentator 'indyernie' are one and the same?!
Run Chicken Run!! for Mayor!!!
The only reason Bart and his boyz were chasing the chicken to find out who was behind the mask was because is was driving him crazy and pointing out his shortcomings when it deals with the city. So they used their POSITION to track him down and I find that frightening.
Obviously free speech does not exist in Indianpolis and innocent until proven guilty is only OK for certain CCC members.
Good for the chicken. He is driving the mayor crazy and I say great!
We all know who the dumpster diver is and not only is he not worth mentioning by name, but I skip all his posts with a few other of the nut jobs out there.
I do agree that digging up dirt is stooping to a level I don't want to go. There time will come when people of the city wake up.
Wow, the Star did some investigating - give them a cold star. Why don't they investigate, research and analyze the corrupt privatization and contracting practices if state and local government. Oh, yeah, that would entail real work.
This is small time stuff, AI. Carson's goons cut the break lines on the car of the man who ran against her in the primary, Kris Kiser, and a car belonging to his campaign manager. Nothing like attempting to murder your political opponents. Does that get reported in the Star. Of course not. It's newsworthy.
AI: please delete this totally unfounded slander. It would also be interesting for you to post the IP address of such obvious liars. They certainly are getting desperate, aren't they?
If such heinous crimes happened to Kris and Rick, please post the dates so the police reports can be ascertained and verified. Otherwise, it's just another Julia-slander from the usual haters-crowd ...
Attempted murder? Has it really come to this AI? Quite a acccusaton.
With Democrats like these, who needs Republicans? This is the sleaziest mudslinging I've seen in 30 years of political activism in this city. Makes me want to vote Green or Libertarian.
"Attempted murder? Has it really come to this AI? Quite a accusation."
Wilson has close contacts with some in the Democrat Party who have been suspect in these crimes.
Wilson himself on AL, informed me that he knows where I live. I take that as a threat.
Wilson hasn't the balls to do anything himself, but he knows those who do.
Ernie: your address is freely available several places on the Internet - no big deal - no particular sleuthing necessary. Why all the fear? Some folk must have an awful lot to hide if they are so paranoid about anybody knowing their address. Dont vote, dont own property, dont get arrested and nobody would know where you live! With citizenship comes responsibilties - IndyErnie was hollering so loudly about the virtues of government-issued ID cards - why the sudden need for anonymity and concealment?
"IndyErnie was hollering so loudly about the virtues of government-issued ID cards -"
Another Wilson Allen lie.
I've never commented in Government issued ID's.
And don't fluff it off Wilson, I'm not going to be intimated by you or anyone else.
Wow! Whatever happened to respect for 1st Amendment?
I must say Taking Down Words and the Democrats do seem rather disturbed by this guy in a chicken suit. Why? If he's such a nutcase and bad citizen, then how could he possibly be a threat to their almighty power?
Personally, right or wrong, I admire the Chicken's courage.
A couple thoughts on this:
1. This type of personal attack is very damaging to the First Amendment. Indyernie (and the Chicken if they are different people) has the right to dissent with the Indianapolis/Marion County government in any legal manner that he chooses. There is only one requirement that he must meet to have the protections of our bill of Rights- being a citizen. There is no additional requirement of being a "good" citizen. If Indyernie had been convicted that would still not be relevant to his right to dissent. While I know some would argue that this is not a first amendment issue and that they are simply providing "context" to the Chicken's statements. I completely reject that argument. The motivation here is not to provide relevant context, but rather to intimidate him into not speaking and protesting. This type of behavior leads to a situation where the de jure first amendment rights cover all citizens, when the de facto right to expression is limited to those who are "perfect" (as far as character assassins can uncover). I completely disagree with Indyernie on pretty much everything, but I welcome his opinion as a fellow citizen.
2. To Indyernie- I would like to apologize to you for the unfair intimidation you have been subjected to. As a democrat, I am very saddened to see my party resort to this type of behavior.
3. I have read Jen's explanation of why she thinks this information is relevant and I don't agree. As I mentioned to you previously, AI, the Harshman post made me uneasy. There is a fine line between relevant/irrelevant. I think you came pretty close, but, even with my misgivings, I accept your explanation of why in that specific case Harshman's personal life was relevant. On the issue of Indyernie, I think it clearly crosses the line.
ERIN: The First Amendment applies solely to the government not restricting the right of individuals to free speech. Individuals citizens also have the right of free speech to expose and legitimately discredit other citizens (subject to slander and libel laws). Therein ls the interplay of ideas and speech external to government.
IndyErnie threatened to assault me and my camera this summer - perhaps I should have reported the online speech incident for prosecution. At the time, Ernest Shearer was hiding behind a pseudonym. Now the mask is ripped away - Ernie Shearer wont be so intimidating and threatening to other citizens.
Hubert Humphrey put it well: We have the right of free speech but it does not compel anybody to take you seriously!
I believe Erin's First Amendment concern is that a current officeholder may be using public resources to target a private citizen. Complaints were made by several people that law enforcement was being used to tail the automobile in which the Indy Chicken was riding in an effort to learn his identity. Is it not fair to ask if this bit of information was dug up at the direction of our mayor or his staff?
IndyErnie was quite the Dickerson supporter - there's only one contributor listed named Ernie - he gave $100 at Darla's fundraiser for Eric on 9/7/06. Ernie Shearer. With Google and CivicNet, all spilled out rapidly. Hizzoner had nothing to do with it.
Okay, who ran the license plate check on the car and gave the owner's name to you, Wilson? You and other Democratic operatives had no reason to believe Shearer was the man in the chicken suit. Having law enforcement officers follow a man in a chicken suit and run plate checks to learn his identity so dirt can be dug up on him is an abuse of power.
"You and other Democratic operatives had no reason to believe Shearer was the man in the chicken suit."
I found out because Shearer admitted to more than few folks that he was the chicken. The story spread, and a couple people tipped me off, so I posted it.
There really isn't anything sordid about all this. The guy just couldn't keep his mouth shut.
I don't know anything about license plates or officers tailing him. None of that would have been necessary. He's not a very bright man.
I have no knowledge of license plates or owners thereof. Nobody fed me info. Somebody speculated online that The Chicken might be IndyErnie. That was an intriguing idea. The FEC listing was the key - I felt stupid for not thinking of it earlier...
Use WHOIS and you'll find who owns www.TheIndyChicken.com - revealing - verifiable! Chicken tracks everywhere...
Jen, I'm going by various comments over at IndyUndercover as soon as the chicken started getting attention, indicating that he was being tailed and a license plate check was run. Wilson acts like it was a big secret that IndyErnie and Shearer were synonomous. I assumed they knew each other since they were always commenting about being at campaign events last year at the same time. I only know Shearer to converse with him on the blog as IndyErnie.
Dickerson was usually surrounded by non-cute anonymous white men who were non-memorable. I had more important things to do at campaign events than to chat up any of that coterie ... with my big camera and interesting hair, I do kinda stand out in a crowd...
COLTS & BART WINS>>>>F8888 the chicken.
While numerous Ds may not appreciate this- I am not going to agree on this issue. Indyernie's tax records are NOT relevant to his problems with the Mayor. He is a citizen period and should be able to protest in a chicken suit or however he wants without having his personal records all over the place. I have been appalled by the use of these types of tactics by Karl Rove and co. (O'Neill, Wilson, Clark ) and, you know what, if I objected then, I'm going to object now.
Simply naming Shearer is one thing, but, the posting and distribution of his tax history is quite another. This type of behavior does have a very chilling effect on peoples ability to protest. I have yet to hear anyone actually offer an explanation as to how this information is relevant to Mr. Shearer's protest of the level of violent crime in Indianapolis as a citizen of Indianapolis.
"IndyErnie threatened to assault me and my camera this summer"
Wilson that's a bold face lie. I'm sure the statue of limitation hasn't expired. I will be glad to defend myself against any charge that you can bring against me.
I insist that you contact the Marion County Prosecutor tomorrow and file the charges. Otherwise keep your lying mouth shut. Nothing would please me more than suing your dumb ass after I'm acquitted.
"I found out because Shearer admitted to more than few folks that he was the chicken."
Jen that's BS and you know it.
You gave your the info to the Star after leadership at the Democrat party got involved.
Wilson is a snake who sticks his nose in other peoples business, but he is a lightweight compared to you.
You make a snake look 6 ft tall.
And nothing printed here or anywhere else proves anything.
"To Indyernie- I would like to apologize to you for the unfair intimidation you have been subjected to. As a democrat, I am very saddened to see my party resort to this type of behavior."
Erin no apology necessary. I apologize to you for the insults I've issued regarding Democrats in general. Evidently some are exceptional. Thank you.
To exploit certain situations of any individual is one of the tactics used in the pollitical arena, harassment and intimidation. Numerous individuals have been setup or tainted by members of the Ghetto Mafian who oppose them and Wilson seems to support all of it without disclosing the perpetrators in his Party. Most were gangsters before getting elected to public office. They continued all of their bad habits in office. Sooner or later they will be exposed and when they are, don't be surprised. "What is good for the goose is good for the gander." Turnabout is fair play." Stay tune!
(sigh) evidently Jocelyn is still around, based on the above post.
Deadbeat Jocelyn is always making outrageous accusations but can never produce proof because she just makes stuff up and promises to deliver documentation in the future (which never arrives for her). She posts prolifically under fake names because she is so discredited herself. She is a hateful homophobe of the worst sort. She is an opportunistic loser through and through - a shriveled soul consumed by hate. A mendacious mess...
Response to Anon 6:32 and Insecure Wilson Allen
Yes, I am still involved and very active.
For 2 people who profess constitutional rights, you Democrats seem to discourage individual opinions different from your own. The big lie. You attempt to instill fear in weak-minded individuals and smear the strong ones. Ignorance prevails with you people until you are exposed. Fate has a way of exposing the true liars. As for you Wilson, your opinions have no bearing on factual events. You have not been privy to everything in this city. If you are, then you have been an active participant in thc crimes. You are out of touch with reality and present yourself to be less informed than most human beings on these blogs. Your comments never, never contribute anything worthwhile to the conversations. The mudslinger you have become is merely for you to have a presence on the political scene. The only people who can appreciate your participation at all, need a fall guy when the time comes, you have obviouly volunteered for the job. There is nothing you can do to keep me from being politically active, so give it up.
If and when I decide to seek a public office, I will confront you and any other flunky for the Democrat Party head on. Truth, a double-edged sword cuts two ways.
People feed pigeons...they shoot at Eagles!
Good Lord, Jocelyn, I never thought I'd take up Wilson's point, but...
For the record, I was the earlier anonymous post who regretted seeing your obvious writing style on this blog again. It's stilted and hard to read. That's the reason I was regretful, not because of your opinions.
You're entitled to your opinions. Wouldn't attempt to dissuade you from them.
Just wish I could understand about 3/4 of them. Try an English class. Shorter sentences, stick to the point.
Jocelyn, you've already run for (and lost) about every office in Marion County except for Dogcatcher - and they ruled you off the ballot for that as a conflict-of-interest! LOL
Anon 11:45 AM
It takes guts to be a candidate for public office these days. Only gutless people like you and Wilson sit on the sidelines and criticize the citizens who dare to seek a public office. You are the cowards. Why don't you run for an office? If you have a problem with my candidacy, vote for my opponent.
Computerized voting machines and voter ID will help to eliminate some of the other tactics used on election day against candidates you don't support.
Lost in the shuffle of all this (well, besides AI briefly touching on this) is the fact that police resources were used to follow the guy to his house and find out who he was. If he does this to a guy in a chicken suit, then what is he doing or has done to his political opponents? This is a terrible abuse of power and privacy rights. Who does he think he is, Richard Daley?
Go to theindychicken.blogspot.com and vote.........
Yes, russ, that IS the issue. Bart and his band of boyz are using their position to threaten and intimidate and that is WRONG!
Is I have seen written other places, welcome to Communist Indianapolis, where free speech is not free and innocent until proven guilty does not apply.
From the Chicken,
One last comment on this thread. The Indy Chicken isn't going away. Plans are being made and reinforcements have joined the cause. The Indy Chicken is just getting started. Everyone can say together, Thanks Jen.
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