by Leo Morris What makes a city great? That was one of the main topics explored at a two-day seminar in Wabash I recently attended put on by the conservative think tank Indiana Policy Review. Many things add to a community’s quality of life, the attendees concluded, one of the principal being that government takes care of its proper business. Government should, first and foremost, fulfill its primary mission of protecting people’s lives and property.…

This morning’s newspaper ran almost 20 paragraphs on our city council’s decision to give a downtown section special tax consideration. The story included testimonial after testimonial to the brilliance of this action, including a picture of smiling beneficiaries in a congratulatory pose. The degree of acclamation was such that the reader was surprised when in the 13th paragraph he learned that two councilmen actually voted against this civic boon. Had they dozed off? Were they…

by Leo Morris “Indiana must rid itself of the electoral cancer of gerrymandering so it can have more competitive legislative districts.” That’s one of those political truisms – like “Not enough people vote, so we must make the process easier” – so unquestioned that hardly anyone ever looks at the other side. And voting rights advocates, public interest groups and editorial pages are building up such pressure for a change that we’re likely to see…

Leo Morris, columnist for The Indiana Policy Review, was named Best Editorial Writer yesterday by the Hoosier State Press Association for work done as the editorial page editor of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. “There were many good entries in this category,” the judge wrote. “(Morris) led the pack with a good package that spoke to transparency and fairness, and closed with a fun piece about that inexplicable desire to be called a Hoosier. Well done.” In October, Morris began writing…

READING THE NEWSPAPER ARTICLE, the first reaction was a warm fuzzy feeling of agreement, an odd sensation these days. “Education Policy Priorities Listed,” the headline read. It quoted the Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction as saying that her top priority this year would be “student learning.” But wait, what else would it be? What have the public schools been doing all these years that makes a new, hard-charging superintendent feel it necessary to say that…

Yuval Levin is a serious guy who has written widely and intelligently on subjects of interest to conservatives. He is also a Never Trumper who plumbs the depths of his imagination to come up with new reasons why Donald Trump is a disaster for the country and an affront to right-thinking conservatives. Writing in the latest issue of National Review, whose audience now consists primarily of Never Trump diehards and nostalgic seniors who have yet…

by Dick McGowan, Ph.D. Years ago, I argued for a double standard for men and women with regard to domestic violence. I’d become familiar with a 25-year study by Gelles and Strauss, presented in “Violence in American Families,” which showed that “women assault their partners at about the same rate as men assault their partners. This applies to major and minor assault.” (162)  I also read Claire Renzetti’s “Violent Betrayal,” which said lesbians showed the same…

by Jason Arp to the American Principles Project, Nov. 29 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. Thank you all for having me. I can’t tell you what a thrill it is to be here today. I blather on about free enterprise and the importance of private property rights all the time back in Fort Wayne. It is so nice to have an audience (besides my dear wife) that is in agreement with me that FREE…

by Leo Morris We apparently have a housing shortage in Indiana that is about to become a crisis. The representatives and senators we elect to serve our interests in Washington seem to be on the verge of homelessness. Consider the sad case of Luke Messer, now serving as a representative and desperately seeking a senatorship. The man is 48 years old and earns $174,000 a year and yet is forced to live with his mother…

For the use of the membership only (428 words). by Craig Ladwig Despite promises during the recent Organization Day at the Indiana Legislature, those hoping for a smaller government from a GOP governor and supermajority are likely to be disappointed in the upcoming session. That is according to the findings of a research project categorizing the more than 1,000 bills introduced into a typical General Assembly. Nor did Gov. Eric Holcomb’s list of goals released…