The Outstater
Garbage In, Garbage Out IT’S HUMP DAY but the mood is dampened by an Indianapolis Star story saying Indiana will be a humid, overheated dystopia in a few years. The state’s largest if not most respected newspaper predicts increases in heatstroke and cardiovascular collapse as well as longterm organ and cell damage. The warning is clear: If we don’t reduce greenhouse Read the full article…
Franke: Americans Are Foreign-Language Illiterates
by Mark Franke Americans have a reputation, well deserved, of being language agnostics. Maybe that is the wrong characterization but I can’t think of a better term. In our defense English has become the lingua franca of the world, most everyone’s first or second language. Note the irony in my choice of words, resorting to Italian to Read the full article…
Morris: Indiana, the Home of Good, Eclectic Music
by Leo Morris When I was a newbie reporter at the Wabash Plain Dealer, I started hearing about a young woman named Brenda Webb, just a few years out of high school and beginning to make a name for herself as a country singer. Since she was the younger sister of superstar Loretta Lynn, it Read the full article…
Backgrounder: The Bread-and-Circus Returns
by Jason Arp Sometime between the reign of Nero and Marcus Aurelius, the Roman poet Juvenal coined the phrase panem et circenses, or bread-and-circuses. This was the practice of appeasing the masses with a powerful combination of entertainment and free food. By the Pax Romana, the practice was over 300 years old as the trappings of democracy Read the full article…
The Outstater
A Million Here, a Million There I AM IN THE HABIT of “attending” local council meetings on my Mackintosh via our municipal television channel. The magical intersection of technology and democracy? Not really, more like malfeasance up close and personal on your laptop. This week’s meeting, however, saw a member of our foundation, Jason Arp, successfully challenge Read the full article…
Franke: A 12-Year-Old Tackles Inflation
by Mark Franke “I hate inflation.” I could have heard this from my wife when she returned from the grocery. I could have said it myself at the gas pump. It could have been the topic of conversation at one of several monthly get-togethers with groups of retired friends. Instead, it was my granddaughter who Read the full article…
