Franke: Compromise Is Hard
by Mark Franke Well, another Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives is in trouble with the most extreme of his own party. The bipartisan budget deal reached by Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, presumably with White House blessing, is too repugnant for these true believers to swallow. In the interest Read the full article…
The Outstater
More ‘Press-Release’ Eco-Devo HOW DID INDIANA and its largest cities come to believe that prosperity could be achieved by simply leveraging government money to bribe investors? They call it economic development (eco-devo) but no economist we respect recommends it. They say it defies the laws of economics. Investigative journalists now suspect malfeasance if not fraud. So Read the full article…
McGowan: Domestic Abuse Revisited
by Richard McGowan, Ph.D. Periodically, the Indianapolis Star has an article about domestic abuse. Consequently, I periodically research the data on domestic abuse. In mid December, Danyette Smith was featured in a Star news article, “Sunglasses to Survival: Indy woman wants to help stop hiding abuse.” (Dec. 13) The article was timely. Domestic abuse occurs more frequently on major holidays, Read the full article…
Franke: After Modernity, What?
by Mark Franke The history of western civilization is generally divided into three epochs, if memory serves from my junior high world history class. This classification scheme was retroactively applied by historians trying to make sense of why things changed so dramatically at certain points in time. The first epoch, antiquity, covered the thousands of Read the full article…
The Outstater
Crime Numbers Deciphered INDIANAPOLIS MEDIA tells us that crime has suddenly taken a downward turn there. This is announced just as crime is recognized as the top local election issue of 2024. The media doesn’t see a link between the two bits of information but we don’t believe in coincidences here, or at least not political ones. Two causes come Read the full article…
Franke: Holiday Post Office Woes
by Mark Franke Since Christmas is always a busy time of year for our mail system, I spent some time reflecting on the changes that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has undergone during my lifetime. Forever stamps has to be the best idea the Post Office has implemented, although one wonders why it took so Read the full article…
