Category: Indiana Writers Group

by Leo Morris In the spirit of Paul Harvey’s “The Rest of the Story” radio segments. Let’s call this the bestseller that never was, adapted from author J. Mark Powell’s version of the incident. “Shep” (that’s how he referred to himself) was born and raised in Indiana but after serving in World War II had…

EDITOR’S NOTE — For the serious political observer, regardless of stripe, it was an extraordinary outcome. A first-term Republican, a quiet former banker who nonetheless stood up to the local Chamber of Commerce and a phalanx of economic-development interests, was reelected while being outspent three-to-one in both the primary and the general. And this was done in a gale of…

THE TABLE TURNED SUDDENLY a decade ago. One day Indiana state government served us, the next day we served it. It happened during a state Senate Appropriations Committee hearing when the chairman took a moment to explain to a young legislator how things were going to work. The issue was repeal of the onerous and…

by Mark Franke When I was nine years old, my career goal was to play center field for the New York Yankees after Mickey Mantle retired. Then I got bifocals and couldn’t figure out which ball coming toward me to swing at. No problem. Moving up to fifth grade the next year made me eligible…

by Andrea Neal It is a given that American Christians will gather in churches this Advent season to celebrate the miracle of Christmas. We will hear the familiar passage from Isaiah 9:6: “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us,” words that foretold a messiah’s birth. We will sing “Silent…

by Leo Morris When I was in high school, we all knew who the smart kids were. They were the ones who had the most answers, solved problems the quickest, scored the highest on tests. I suspect nothing’s changed. Go into any high school today, pick out any student at random to ask, and you’ll…

by John Gaski, Ph.D. Several years ago, the South Bend Tribune printed a speculative, futuristic rendering of a potential South Bend skyline, along with an article featuring the titular question, “Can We Dream Big?” Most readers likely had my same natural reaction, to wit: The dream hardly matters and speculation is idle as long as…

by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. Economists Robert Lawson and Benjamin Powell have written “Socialism Sucks: Two Economists Drink Their Way Through the Unfree World” — a breezy book on a stale and lousy economic system. Its casual tone is rooted in their use of beer as a metaphor and a key prop to describe socialism in…

by Leo Morris “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.” – Gideon J. Tucker, 1866 I just visited my brother in Texas. Let me tell you a little about that state. It is so big that it could encompass Indiana and 12 other states with plenty of room…

SOME YEARS AGO two officers of this foundation sat down with a powerful GOP committee chairman. We were there to discuss a year-long study that explained why teachers were concerned about Indiana education and how the Statehouse could make teachers’ lives better and their classrooms more effective places to learn. The committee chairman read the…