Category: Indiana Writers Group

by Andrea Neal “The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and all to lose, especially their lives.” With those words — and a few more…

“Aristocracy is society’s default position. For those who stand at America’s commanding heights, social and income mobility is precisely what must be opposed, and a broken educational system wonderfully serves the purpose.” ― F.H. Buckley in “The Way Back: Restoring the Promise of America” The late Dr. Charlie Rice, a Notre Dame law professor and…

by Craig Ladwig The mayor of my city is an average fellow. That is said in a good way. He can relate to the regulars of any neighborhood tavern. And except for the occasional Republican challenger, he has a nice word for everyone. He is a man who clearly means well. Our mayor’s previous jobs…

IN OCTOBER OF 1980 conservatives gathered in Washington for a dinner commemorating the 20th anniversary of the founding of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF). Following the dinner, a few of the old-timers retreated to Bill Buckley’s suite for drinks and conversation. Bill, stretched out on the floor, was the center of attention and the moderator…

by Martina Webster In my county we have an issue with tax increment financing (TIF). As of 2014, almost 20 percent of our property taxes go into multiple TIF funds instead of the appropriate taxing units. Our school districts, libraries and general funds lose millions every year to the specially carved out TIF districts, which…

IT IS COMMENCEMENT TIME and I want to share the single most profound piece of advice ever offered a college student. It wasn’t a graduation ceremony, actually. It was at the other end of the process. The speaker — he was the provost, I think — was addressing my daughter’s incoming freshman class. He seemed tired,…

by Andrea Neal Although few Hoosiers know his name, James Bethel Gresham of Evansville earned a place in the history books for his role in World War I. Corporal Gresham, of the 1st Division’s 16th Infantry, was reportedly first to die in the service of the American Expeditionary Forces. A factory worker at the time…

POLITICIANS LOVE those architectural conceptual images — the brightly colored prints showing various official improvements in the Proletkult manner. They project civic tranquility and well-being but there also is the hint of the power in collective action. You will see a lot of them this election cycle. There was one published in my hometown newspaper the other day.…

by Fred McCarthy I have written about the report that the new mayor of Indianapolis wants to jump into downtown development by taking over the disposal of the old Coke bottling plant. We were raising the question of the “tradition” of mayors showing more interest in downtown development than the wants and needs of the…

I made my guesstimate of the results of the Indiana primary before the first polling was done in the state. My guess was Trump would carry the state and at least six out of nine congressional districts. I thought Trump would be strongest in Lake County and south of U.S. 40 and weakest in the…