The Outstater
A Movie not for our Times I ASK THAT YOU FORGIVE my ancien cinéma phase. Last evening was spent rewatching Peter Weir’s film, “Master and Commander,” an acclaimed and authentic glimpse into early 19th century naval warfare. But halfway through I was struck by a disturbing thought: Nobody below the age of 40 is going to have any idea what this movie is about. Read the full article…
Morris: Politics, Slow and Steady Does It
by Leo Morris Today, let’ s pay tribute to one of history’s little known but highly influential figures: Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, a Roman statesman and military commander of the third century BC. His nickname was Cunctator, roughly translated as “the delayer,” earned for the tactics he employed against the invading Carthaginian forces of Hannibal Read the full article…
The Outstater
A Mayor Sells ‘Sustainability’ — His Own IF YOU CAN STEP BACK for a moment, the absurdity of modern electioneering becomes clearer — not acceptable, but clearer. My mayor, running for his fifth term, is pushing the council to approve a quarter million-dollar plan that promises to “sustain” the city through climate change. What? Can the mayor somehow Read the full article…
The Outstater
The Persistence of Despotism HOOSIERS ARE FORTUNATE to have a legislature in supermajority. We can witness a real-life, real-time experiment in whether partisanship or just government in and of itself is the problem. Spoiler alert: It is government in and of itself. As my colleague Leo Morris has observed, the majority Republicans (the party of fiscal responsibility, Read the full article…
Morris: When Will the State Quit Taxing?
by Leo Morris Today’s entry for the “juxtaposition is everything” file: Indiana lawmakers working on the new state budget have learned that they will have $1.5 billion more to spend than previous revenue forecasts predicted. The state ended fiscal year 2022 with about a $6.1 billion surplus, the so-called “rainy day” fund. Both the Indiana Read the full article…
The Outstater
Don’t Give Up on the Democratic Process Just Yet THE APPROVAL RATING of Congress is 10 percent. The incumbency rating is 90 percent. What does democracy mean in that context? There have been nagging doubts for 300 years that something is wrong with the system. It is clearly vulnerable to manipulation by scalawags and the self-serving. “Remember, democracy Read the full article…
