Essays


  • Morris: The Intangibility of the News

    by Leo Morris I have wholeheartedly embraced the Kindle experience. It’s been years since I read an actual bound-between-two covers, ink-on-paper book. I like everything about e-reading, not the least of which is the sheer volume of material. I have downloaded more than 1,000 titles, and millions of others are but a click away. No more devoting an entire vacation suitcase to a few volumes of reading pleasure. I carry a library in my hip…

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  • Election Talking Points for Conservative Teens

    With Election Day approaching, political conversations are heating up in high school classrooms and on college campuses. Conservative students may feel uncomfortable sharing their views, fearing repercussions from liberal instructors, especially if they support the re-election of Donald Trump. A recent Cato Institute survey found that 77 percent of Republicans feel less free to say what they think; nearly half of Republican college students report hearing professors go on anti-Trump rants in class, according to…

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  • Op-Ed: A George Floyd Postmortem

    by Richard Moss, M.D. George Floyd met his fate, as the entire world knows, on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis when police were called because they say he attempted to pass a counterfeit bill. The initial disturbing video of the encounter with law enforcement showed officer Derek Chauvin holding his knee against the back of Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. He was face down on the ground and handcuffed as he said that he could not breathe. Floyd, indeed,…

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  • White Paper: Trump’s Only Chance to Win

    John F. Gaski, Ph.D. A common impression has it that Donald Trump’s political handlers wage a non-stop battle to save the inept re-election candidate from himself.  In view of the weak messaging performance of the Trump campaign’s professional marketers, it becomes plausible that the primary fault may not lie with Mr. Trump.  What weakness?  Following is a prescriptive selection of absolute knockout punches the flat-footed Trump campaign could be launching but, curiously, does not use. …

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  • Franke: The Virtue of Moderation

    by Mark Franke I never know whether to laugh or cry after reading a summary of news headlines from my Internet feed. Take one from last week as an example. The mayor of Washington D.C. decided that 78 city streets must be renamed because their historical namesakes were “persons of concern.” She doubled down by suggesting that the Washington and Jefferson memorials be torn down or repurposed. Is there some kind of extremist contest under way that gives a prize…

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  • Arp: Trump, Holcomb Step on Mom-and-Pop Property

    by Jason Arp Private property, a foundation block of western civilization, is under attack on many fronts in today’s America. It’s not surprising that the radical left-wing rioters have been calling for further progress on the road to implement Marx’s plan for a socialist utopia.  Signs calling for abolition of rent and destruction of property are standard fair at a Black Lives Matter rally. But perhaps the greatest blow against our right to own private property…

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  • Morris: Zoeller and GOP Duality

    by LEO MORRIS Hoosiers are, unfortunately, used to politicians who say one thing here and then become someone quite different out of town. They leave their three-piece suits in the condo when they visit home, donning jeans and plaid shirts while chatting with the common folk from the cabs of their shiny pickup trucks. Still, we have to marvel at the boldness of former Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, who not only takes such political…

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  • Protected: Black Lives Need to Matter

    There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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  • Franke: Ballot Harvesting

    by Mark Franke One needs a sense of irony to read the news headlines these days. Or maybe a suspension of disbelief. I have been trying, unsuccessfully, to follow the debate over voting issues in the upcoming election. Here’s my take: The Democrats are convinced Donald Trump will order the Post Office to slow down delivery of mailed-in ballots, but apparently only in Democrat strongholds and thereby stealing the election. The Republicans are equally convinced the Democrats…

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  • Morris: COVID and a Timid Future

    by LEO MORRIS Growing up, I had two things that shaped not only my childhood but much of my adult life as well: asthma and a protective mother. I almost wrote “overprotective,” because that’s the attitude a restrained child adopts. But that would have been unfair to my mother and counter to the way the world works. It is the job of the parents to set limits and of the child to test them. So…

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