Category: Indiana Writers Group

For immediate release (678 words with optional cuts) “The truth? You can’t handle the truth.” — Jack Nicholson as Marine Col. Nathan Jessup on the witness stand in “A Few Good Men.” Perhaps politicians believe we can’t “handle the truth” about the costs of building and public works projects. They rarely put all the facts…

We have been looking for something on the front page of our morning newspaper. It is a headline, a story, that is journalism’s equivalent of the archaeology’s “Cambrian explosion” — a point of view that accounts for all points of view. We have dug deep but have come up empty even though our search has…

For release Jan. 18 and thereafter (670 words) Purdue University’s decision to convert to a year-round trimester system is good for students, good for parents and long-run will be good for taxpayers. The only downside is that it may take 10 years to fully implement. Other state universities should take note. Few taxpayer resources are…

State Rep. Jeff Espich Chairman, Appropriations Committee The Indiana Statehouse Dear Chairman Espich: Ellen DeGeneres had a funny bit ready for her acceptance speech at last night’s People’s Choice Awards. She read from a list of “peoples” that she expressly wanted to “un-thank” — a nasty letter-writer from Topeka, Kan., a fourth-grade detractor on her…

For immediate release (659 words). Goldberg, Rube (1883–1970) U.S. cartoonist; creator of the comic strip character Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts (an inventor of complex mechanical devices to achieve simple tasks). It wasn’t mentioned in his State of the State message, but Gov. Daniels will leave for his successor a frustratingly complex and under-performing pension-management system.…

For immediate release (792 words) As want-to-be hippies of the Baby Boom now leaning toward a classical liberal persuasion, my generation has its weak moments. There are times we look to government for an answer. On hurried grocery trips, for instance, I have found useful the federally mandated “total carbohydrates” line item on food labels.…

“Hoosiers might never see an automatic taxpayer refund that is unexpectedly near its trigger under a bill filed by the Senate’s fiscal leader (Republican Luke Kenley).” — Jan. 6, 2012, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette I fight it, but more and more I think of my public officials, elected or not, as mandarins. The comparison has…

For immediate release (579 words) As the 2012 Indiana Legislative Assembly convenes, January will represent a tipping point for all Hoosiers’ individual freedoms as politicians and big-labor bosses draw battle lines to determine if Indiana will become the 23rd right-to-work state. Common sense should make the outcome of such a battle obvious, as right-to-work ensures…

For release Jan. 4 and thereafter (670 words) A mile down the street from my home, construction is set to begin on a $15-million parking garage and retail center. Its purpose is to relieve congestion in a trendy Indianapolis bar district called Broad Ripple. Citizens are subsidizing the 350-space garage with $6.3 million in parking-meter…

For immediate release (679 words). When I teach the economic elements of competitiveness, I use the case of a professional athlete like Albert Pujols, long-time slugging first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals who will be playing for the Los Angeles Angels next year. The skills that make Pujols such a tremendous baseball player —…