Indiana at 200 (69): The First Mental Hospital
by Andrea Neal In 1848, the Indiana Hospital for the Insane opened on the west side of Indianapolis, launching a new era in health care that would witness the most progressive innovations and the most heinous abuses. Historians credit a great social reformer, Dorothea Dix, with persuading Hoosier lawmakers to fund a mental hospital in Read the full article…

Schansberg: An Intellectual Defense of Trump Fans
by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. It is common to support Trump — and among certain other people, it is common to have disdain for people who support Trump. A few thoughts from a two-time Libertarian congressional candidate who is more like Trump than you might have thought: First, recognize that your candidate is not all that Read the full article…

The Outstater: ‘Lost’ LGBT Business
by Craig Ladwig Imagine for a moment that you are not a baker of wedding cakes, a deliverer of pizzas, a lesbian, a gay, a bisexual or a transvestite. Imagine further that you don’t give a whit about restoring religious freedom or whatever, that your only concern is amorphous — just bringing more business to Read the full article…

McCarthy: The Enduring ‘Gift’ of TIF
by Fred McCarthy They say insanity is doing the same thing time after time and expecting different results. And citizen ignorance plus lethargy adds to the insanity by accepting rosy financial fantasies and outright lies. A recent front-page story in the Indianapolis Star, with artwork, is headed “A project expands.” It concerns, of course, another Read the full article…

Schansberg: A Look at Global Christianity
Every Tribe and Nation: A Historian’s Discovery of the Global Christian Story by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. Awhile back, I read a review of Mark Noll’s “Every Tribe and Nation” in First Things magazine. It looked good, so I picked it up and was not disappointed. I first came across Noll with his provocative book, “The Scandal of Read the full article…

The GOP Devisiveness Quiz
Whether you agree or disagree with these assertions, they tend to demarcate the Republican Party today: Current levels of immigration benefit the country. The U.S. should not restrict immigration by persons from predominately Muslim countries. Persons in the country illegally should be accorded a path to citizenship. The U.S. ought to commit thousands of ground Read the full article…

