Subject of TIME story "a terrorist"

On Sunday, Fort Wayne Observed wrote of a TIME Magazine story about Brett Kimberlin and his blogging effort to raise alarms about electronic voting. From that post:

TIME is giving space to a man who served time after conviction in federal court in Indianapolis for a bombing in Speedway, Indiana, that horribly maimed a man.

Mr. Kimberlin's earlier notoriety came during the 1988 presidential campaign when, while incarcerated in the federal pen for the bombing conviction, he claimed to have sold marijuana to Dan Quayle while Mr. Quayle was in law school. 

The fevered 'reporting' at the time by the national press corps over this revelation was, to state it mildly, over the top.  The well-respected Joe Gelarden of the Indianapolis Star, who covered state and local politics before covering the federal court beat, was disgusted with the coverage.  Mr. Gelarden, who was not known as a conservative defender, wrote at the time that giving credibility to someone as despicable an actor as Brett Kimberlin lowered public regard for the national press.

Fort Wayne Observed subsequently contacted Mr. Gelarden to ask him his thoughts on the resurfacing of Kimberlin.

He didn't mince words.

"Brett Kimberlin is a terrorist. While I firmly believe in the doctrine of redemption and conversion, I remember a few things about Brett that give me great pause.

First, he was convicted of perjury - in federal court - before he got out of high school. Think about that for a moment.

Second, he was not convicted of smoking a couple of joints when he was in high school. He was a major drug dealer who officials believe got into terrorism to throw officials off the trail of a murder.

Third, he planted a series of bombs in Speedway, Indiana that not only endangered a lot of lives, but, when a guy bent over to pick up a gym bag in a school parking lot - Carl DeLong just wanted to turn in the bag to the school because he thought it contained a pair of $50 sneakers - it exploded.

The blast shattered DeLong's body and that of his lovely wife Sandra.

These assertions are not just words on some blog, they are in the record of the state and federal courts.

By the way, I wonder if Brett ever paid the huge judgment that Sandra won in a civil case charging him with wrongful death?

As you know, Mitch, we live in a wonderful society that prides itself on freedom of speech. When ever you have freedom of speech, sooner or later, some knucklehead is likely to say something you don't like."