Category: Indiana Writers Group

by Leo Morris One day last week, an 82-year-old woman named Wilma Ball was stabbed to death in her home at Lake James. According to a sheriff’s deputy, it was the first homicide in Steuben County since 2016. About the same time, a man was shot to death on the east side of Indianapolis. It…

WE DO NOT KNOW who advised then Vice-President Mike Pence to immediately certify the 2020 presidential election results. We can be sure that the decision was made on the spot and under the most intense political pressure imaginable. We somehow doubt that the deliberation was as simplistic as, “What would be the ‘American’ thing to do?” That, however, is…

“The feeling that the government should ‘do something’ has seldom been based on a comparison of what actually happens when government does and when it does not ‘do something.’” — Thomas Sowell HERE’S A QUESTION for those of us living in the post-factual world: Is anyone checking to see if the laws — any of the…

by Mark Franke A high school senior who attends the same church as I do qualified for the state golf championship as an individual. This is a big deal for him and for all of us who know him. A big enough deal, apparently, that Huntertown, the small Hoosier town where he lives, put on…

by Mark Franke There is something about German father-son relationships that confuse and astound those of different heritages. That relationship appears irretrievably broken to most. Think of the historical examples of King George II and his rebellious son Frederick (George III’s father). Or of Ludwig van Beethoven, who could never please his musical father. Or…

“We see, in too many instances, conflict resolution being meted out by the use of guns. And we are working with community organizations and neighborhood groups to try to stem the tide. And I am cautiously optimistic that the commitment we are making will pay dividends.” — Mayor Joe Hogsett THE LEADERSHIP of Indianapolis is paralyzed.…

by Leo Morris When I was in my late 20s – at an age when I knew Utopia was just around the corner if only we could complete the task of perfecting the human race – I discovered Robert Pirsig’s “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.” It was the perfect bible for those of…

The Indiana Policy Review is joining in a partnership with the Mercatus Center of George Mason University to provide Indiana city councils with expert testimony on public policy issues.  Josh Ferdelman of the center will coordinate requests from our membership and local office-holders for briefings with Mercatus scholars. The staff and adjuncts of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation…

THE SAVVY CONSERVATIVES in my city had taken a step back from local politics. That was understandable. It didn’t make sense handing money to office-holders, watching them ignore campaign promises and then not hear from them until the next campaign. On top of that, incumbents and party favorites were thought to be sure things. You either punched their ticket,…

by Leo Morris The Indianapolis Star now has itself a team dedicated to “racial equity,” which includes, thanks to a grant from a nonprofit called Report for America, a reporter who will be tasked with covering “inequity in social services, immigration, cultural institutions, the legal system, education and access to health care – particularly as it…