“Thirty-one percent of likely U.S. voters say it’s likely that the United States will experience a second civil war sometime in the next five years, with 11 percent who say it’s very likely.” — Rasmussen Reports, June 27, 2018 by Mark Franke (April 12) — First it was sanctuary cities, primarily on the West Coast, that declared their police would not comply with requests from federal immigration officials in enforcement of actions directed toward illegal…

by Leo Morris “Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth Put out my hand, and touched the face of God“ Those are the first and last lines of “High Flight” by 19-year-old Canadian Air Force pilot John Gillespie Magee Jr., who wrote the 14-line sonnet after a solo run in his Spitfire in late August or early September of 1941. In December, just a few months after that inspirational flight, Magee perished during…

A FRIEND, trying to make sense of the then new government-subsidized economic development programs, came up with a word picture that seemed to work. It envisioned money falling from the sky at a certain time and place — a helicopter drop. Carrying the idea far as it would go, it could be imagined this would create local development not only from the value of the cash fluttering down from above but from increases in property values below. Among the immediate…

by Maryann O. Keating, Ph.D. The affluent generally have no need to second-guess themselves on spending. The rest of us do well to question practically every single expenditures in terms of our pocketbooks.  Is it appropriate to evaluate a national response to COVID-19 in terms of the dollar cost for testing of all Americans for COVID-19 paid either by individuals, corporations, Medicaid or Medicare? Facing such a serious crisis, is it unseemly to discuss cost…

WE NEED YOUR HELP to publish and distribute the quarterly journal. Please consider a tax-exempt donation HERE. An individual membership is $50 and a corporate membership is $120. The foundation accepts credit cards and PayPal (or personal checks to Indiana Policy Review, PO Box 5166, Fort Wayne, IN 46895). Coming in the summer journal . . . Wednesday Whist | Minding Chesterton’s Fence (Morris)Cover Essay | The Soul of Civil Disobedience (Franke)Schansberg | Hobbits Wardrobes and World WarsSpecial…

by Leo Morris The “Anvil Chorus” is the English name for the Coro di Zingari (Italian for “Gypsy chorus”) from act 2, scene 1 of Giuseppe Verdi’s 1853 opera “Il Trovatore.” It depicts Spanish Gypsies striking their anvils at dawn and singing the praises of hard work, good wine and Gypsy women. So, basically, a cacophonous babble from a bunch of good old boys shouting out about the things that matter to them most. Naturally,…

by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. Last week on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” moderator Chuck Todd played a clip from a recent CBS News interview with Attorney General William Barr. Unfortunately, the clip had been edited in a way that gave the opposite impression of what Barr was trying to say. NBC was publicly taken to task and has now apologized. The fiasco is one more example of general problems we’ve seen over time with the media:…

by Leo Morris Pierre the cat was a once-in-a-lifetime pet, and some of you will know exactly what I mean. He is the one you tell the same stories about over and over to friends more tolerant than they should be. He is the one you compare all other pets to. He is the one that makes you realize each animal might show common species characteristics but also has a unique personality. He is the…

WATCHING A NATIONAL PRESS CONFERENCE in the pandemic era is a painful experience for the aged journalist. It reminds us of the wallow that our profession has become — an abandonment of historical purpose that even without the Internet explains the low esteem in which we are now held. It is sad that this essay must start with the obvious. Polling shows approval percentages for large media so low they correspond to the number of…

by Richard Moss, M.D. My state folded. The people didn’t fail; our government did. Specifically, our governor. Indiana is a red Republican state with two Republican U.S. Senators, seven (out of nine) Republican Congressman, a Republican Statehouse and Senate, and, ostensibly, a Republican governor. Gov. Eric Holcomb is his name. With Republicans like him who needs Democrats.  Holcomb won the governor’s seat in a series of unlikely events. He had never before won elected office. A state…