by MARK FRANKE Many of the things I read in the national media don’t resonate as true for where I live in northeast Indiana. And that is usually a good thing. Take, for example, a recent CNN report on attitudes children have about playing with other children. Children have been playing with each other since time immemorial with the usual mix of sheer fun and the occasional contretemps that is quickly settled, mostly without the involvement of…

An Unconscious Indiana GOP IF YOU ARE ONLY slightly concerned about the efficacy of Indiana’s Republican officeholders, attend one of their fundraisers. You will be deeply concerned  I’m not talking about their policy proposals, the usual fare of quasi-reforms and adjustments to what would soon return to a status quo ante. What is concerning, existentially concerning, is their unawareness of how desperate the rest of us feel about the direction of our state and nation. For everything is hunky-dory in Indianapolis. The super-majority, bolstered with new conservative voters activated by the…

by James O’Donnell, M.B.A. I’m one of many who will find himself this election season having to hold his nose as I vote for my presidential choice. I think a fair number of Americans may be in the same camp. I’m also one of those who probably thinks too much. Thinks too much about what is important versus, say, what’s urgent or hot or cute. One of the questions I keep asking myself is, how…

Get Ready, Here Comes Oct. 7 LET’S PUT GOV. ERIC HOLCOMB and Indiana’s ruling GOP establishment on notice: It will be on their heads if there are violent incidents on any of the state’s campuses this Monday as the culturally insane among us celebrate the first anniversary of the Hamas slaughter of Israeli families. It will be up to the effete Governor Holcomb — God help us — to bolster the university presidents in the understanding that campus…

Don’t Give Up on the Young I’VE FOUND THE YOUNG OVERRATED. They don’t have much money, they’re always moving around and they invariably lean socialists or worse. Nonetheless, people I respect tell me they are important  — “the future,” don’t you know — so I try to stay open-minded. Now comes news from Canada that young people there are discovering that the world of Justin Trudeau (and by association Kamala Harris) doesn’t work. Michael Bonner, a Canadian writer, makes…

MARK FRANKE When I was taking driver’s training in high school, the teacher in my car always played the local rock ‘n’ roll station on the car’s radio. One song that was popular then was “Silence is Golden” by The Tremeloes. I used to have nightmares about the song, perhaps due to the fact it was playing when the teacher had to hit his special brake to prevent me from gunning it through a red…

by Dennis Ganahl, Ph.D. According to the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank, the United States ranked last among 46 countries in media credibility in 2021. They reported only 29 percent of Americans trusted the media. Why don’t Americans trust the media? As a journalist who was taught the First Amendment is the 11th Commandment and the Fourth Estate, I’m appalled at the number of politicians and many so-called journalists, who are calling for the end…

by Maryann O. Keating, Ph.D. Adam Smith believed that Britain’s defense of offshore colonies was an unfit project benefitting a subset of society at the expense of the whole (“Of Colonies,” The Wealth of Nations, Vol. II, Chapter VII, Liberty Fund Edition, 1981). In his chapter on defense, Smith does not address affluent nations seeking hegemony or a balance of power. Rather, he limits his warnings to advanced civilized nations defending liberty and prosperity from those…

Politics Corrupts Crime Data MOST EVERYONE CAN AGREE that protecting citizens and property is the justification for any legitimate government. So how is ours doing? Well, you don’t know, and you can’t find out. The FBI says crime is falling. The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) sponsored by the Census Bureau says it isn’t. Your local police chief, with his eye on the politics of the matter, will be of no help either way. The Wall Street Journal takes the pessimistic view.…

by Richard McGowan, Ph.D. The media in 2024, including newspapers, were quieter than in previous years regarding the horrible events of Sept. 11, 2001. Prior to this year, the media had consistently presented newscasts and provided articles on the fraught nature of Muslim existence in America. The typical article had pictures of Muslim families followed by a sympathetic analysis of Muslim experiences. What changed? I suspect the events of Oct. 7 quieted editors and media voices on the difficulties Muslims…