Backgrounder: Indy vs. Oklahoma City
by Craig Ladwig The fellow at the next desk loved to tell about his first assignment in a little river town founded as the disembarkation point for prostitutes, gamblers and pickpockets kicked off the steamboats. The town still had an edge, he said. Some of us prefer cities founded along ports and rivers, cities with Read the full article…
The Outstater: Pigs in a Poke
BACK WHEN WE BABY BOOMERS came of credit-card age, the trigger word was “new.” It was everywhere in advertising promotions carried by the then-novel medium of television. It came to signal products that were overpriced or of lower quality — pigs in pokes, products that couldn’t withstand close inspection. So it is today with “must” Read the full article…
Volmerding: Render Unto God and Care for the Poor
By Donna Volmerding “For the poor you have with you always, but you do not always have Me.” — Jesus Christ In a letter to a local newspaper, a pastor wrote that “if we are authentic Christians, we are always on the side of the poor, the marginalized, the least, the last and the lost.” Read the full article…
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor: At risk of dampening the boosterism generated by the multi-million dollar Regional Cities hoopla, we offer this counter proposal written by our adjunct scholar Fred McCarthy in 1989 and published in the fall 2011 issue of The Indiana Policy Review: “The State of Indiana announces a new policy for business development. In the Read the full article…
The Outstater: What the #&*%@ Happened to the Star?
THE CONCERN that a shift in the form of media ownership would change the nature of Indiana’s public discussion is realized in the Indianapolis Star. The newspaper, since its purchase by a widely held national corporation, has gone from a trusted statewide arbiter of that discussion to a myopic collection of digital headlines lecturing Hoosiers Read the full article…
Pickerill: Electoral College for Dummies
by John Pickerill Some claim that the Constitutional system (the Electoral College) for selecting the President. It was never the intent of the Constitution, however, for the President to be elected by direct popular vote — and for good reason. Part of their confusion is due to today’s state law code and how it circumvents Read the full article…
