The Outstater
A Journal of Not-So-Precious Moments WITHOUT GETTING maudlin, we all know there are moments when . . . well, moments when things change and will never be the same. As boys fishing on a favorite stream, a moment would come when a soft breeze would pick up, the Cottonwoods would rustle and we knew that summer was over. Soon we were going to be Read the full article…
The Outstater
A City Named After a Boot FOR REASONS THAT his detractors will gladly list, a friend is not big on winning awards. His agonizing bit of self-appraisal occurred on seeing a picture of a dozen or so members of a local tv news department. They were holding armfuls of “best in journalism” plaques. Award-giving must be a good sized subdivision of Read the full article…
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…
