by Andrea Neal On May 30, 1911, 40 gentlemen started their engines for the inaugural Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Indiana has never been the same. No single event is as closely associated with Hoosiers as is the Indy 500, dubbed the Greatest Spectacle in Racing by a radio copywriter in 1955. When an automotive entrepreneur, Carl G. Fisher, first conceived of a speedway in the early 1900s, he had no idea what a spectacle it…

by Tom Charles Huston There has been a great deal of discussion among Republicans about Rule 40 of the temporary rules for the 2016 convention. Adopted in 2012 at the behest of the Romney people to keep the Ron Paul delegates from placing his name before the convention, paragraph (b) of Rule 40 provides that a candidate may not be placed in nomination without demonstrating support from a majority of delegates in eight delegations. At…

by Andrea Neal For the better part of Indiana’s history, high school basketball has been the glue that binds citizens together. Is there a Hoosier living who hasn’t played the game, cheered a sectional or seen the classic movie Hoosiers – multiple times? Or been inspired by the stories of the “mighty men of Milan” of ‘54 and the Crispus Attucks Tigers of 1955? “Early on I just couldn’t understand why people were so passionate…

by Norman Van Cott, Ph.D. Next time you’re shopping, eavesdrop on conversations between checkout clerks and the customers ahead of you. You’ll probably hear clerks say something like, “Thank you for shopping Acme,” as they give customers change and receipts. What about customers? More often than not, they’ll respond with another “thank you” — not “you’re welcome” or even “no problem,” but another “thank you.” To hear “you’re welcome” in a public setting, listen to…

by Andrea Neal A word of caution to Indiana K-12 students: Don’t get too excited about the repeal of the ISTEP exam. The “next iteration of assessment and accountability” is coming, according to Gov. Mike Pence. If our recent debate over academic standards is any indication, the new test could be just like the old one, or worse. As a former member of the State Board of Education, I’m skeptical every time the state pledges…

by Tom Charles Huston I have pointed out earlier that since 1856 there has never been a third-party challenge mounted by disaffected party elements against the regular party nominee except when that nominee was the incumbent president. There are several likely explanations for this pattern, but a plausible one is pretty straight-forward. Conventions of the party of an incumbent president have historically been tightly controlled by a patronage-dependent party apparatus loyal to the administration. This…

by Fred McCarthy Are we about to see just how gullible local taxpayers are? The morning paper tells us “Voters may get say on bus plan” in Indianapolis. The big spenders on the City-County Council there must put a tax referendum on the ballot this fall. As usual, the pitch will start with intentionally misleading referendum wording so the voters “can have their say.” After 56 words of blather about more taxes needed for “improving,”…

It is easy to slip into the mordant these days, but we are reminded that symbolism, especially the sop in which some politicians indulge, has limits when real heads are being lopped. It started with the “My Heart Breaks for New York” stickers that we stuck on our bumpers after Sept. 11, 2001. They assumed, naively, that: 1) the destruction of the heart of a great American city was a local concern; and 2) however…

by Andrea Neal It’s been called the Golden Age of Indiana literature. During the first half of the 20th century, Hoosier authors dominated the fiction bestseller list, rivaling states with far more established literary traditions. Meredith Nicholson penned “The House of a Thousand Candles” (1905). Theodore Dreiser wrote “An American Tragedy” (1925). Booth Tarkington won Pulitzer prizes for “The Magnificent Ambersons” (1918) and “Alice Adams” (1921). Other popular fiction writers of their day were Lew…

by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. I do not support Donald Trump. I will not vote for Donald Trump. He is a protectionist, I support free-trade. He is for strict restrictions on immigration, I am for more open immigration with the proviso that means-tested entitlements not be available to immigrants until they become citizens. Trump’s budget plans don’t add up and would inevitably add to the federal deficit — in this way he and Bernie Sanders are…