In the Spring Journal

March 3, 2020

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“AS A NEWLY ELECTED MAYOR you raised your right hand and likely swore on a family Bible (this is the Midwest, after all). It was a ceremonial event, one verifying to the public that you are formally taking office, an opportunity for your friends, family and any interested citizen to celebrate the political victory. What is legally required is that you sign an oath of office to be filed with the county clerk in the county in which your city resides. That oath, which is State Form 49157, per the Indiana Election Commission, states:  “I, the undersigned, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Indiana and that I will faithfully, impartially and diligently discharge the duties of the office of Mayor of the City of (         ), Indiana, according to law and the best of my ability.” Do you know what you just swore? Let’s be honest. Did you read the Indiana or U.S. Constitution before signing the Oath of Office? If you did, kudos to you. Your community is already more blessed electing you as their leader than they realize. If you didn’t, you have to ask yourself, would you swear an oath in any other circumstance and not know what you were swearing?” 

— Sharon McShurley in the spring journal

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Wednesday Whist | Indiana’s Nascent Political Machines (Ladwig)

Cover Essay | So, You Wanted to Be a Mayor? (McShurley)

Schansberg | Who Are You and What Have You Done with Elizabeth Warren / Wither or Whether Democracy?

Special Reports | The ERA, Sexual Equality and Gender Issues (McGowan); Useful Idiots on the Right — the Never-Trumpers (Moss); Kuyper’s Sphere Sovereignty (Eichenberger)

Morris | Goodbye Buttigieg, Hello Milwaukee / Indiana’s History with the Flu / The Insult of Not Being a So-and-So / The ‘In-Betweeners’ / A Life Well Done / Rights and Privileges / The Supermajority / Awash in Regulations / What’s Ahead in 2020 / A Police Encounter / Advice for a New Superintendent / A Top-10 Hoax / The ‘Smartest’ State / Texas Has it Right / Waiting for the Pothole Rebellion

Backgrounders | A Better Primary System (Bingham); Student Loans; Doing Well by Doing Good (Van Cott); We’re Rebar Rich (Arp); Meet the Young Men Who Will Save Us) (Moss); Simple Cooperation; Tariffs and Their Exemptions; Indiana Tax Rates (Keating); Preserving the Indy 500 (Williams); The ‘Blue Indy’ Autopsy; Christian Persecution (Neal); The Grateful Santa; Socialism (Schansberg); Library Modernization; Not Your Grandfather’s Party; A Beer Away From the NBA (Franke); A City Afraid of its Shadow (Gaski); 

The Franke Bookshelf | Socialism Sucks / The Great Reversal / Forged Through Fire / Alexander the Great / Dividing the Spoils / The League / Sam Huston and the Alamo / Frederick the Wise and John Frederick the Magnanimous

The Outstater | Your Supermajority at Work / True Crime / Feeding the Stakeholders / ‘Music Man’ Economics / Fairness, Properly Understood / Mayor Pete at War / The Holcomb Mandate / The Eco-Devo Game / The Cost of Barratry

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