by Leo Morris The president of the United States – the leader of the free world, arguably the most powerful person on the planet – has contracted a dangerous virus, and I’m not sure how I should act. Oh, I know very well what I’m supposed to do. I must choose a side and root for my team from the sidelines. But how boisterous or subdued should I be, how enthusiastic or fretful? The problem,…

by Margaret Menge If you haven’t yet heard his name, you’ll probably be hearing it soon. The Libertarian candidate for governor, Donald Rainwater, has suddenly become a contender, thanks to an online poll of likely voters in early September showing him with 24 percent support, and he’s now running radio ads on stations up and down the state after raising almost $160,000 from supporters in just seven days. The Republican establishment scoffs, of course, at…

by Mark Franke I enjoy the intellectual stimulation I get from conversing with those with different perspectives and experiences from my own. One such group is a half dozen or so Roman Catholics who tolerate my Lutheran heresy once each month at our regular breakfast meetings. It must be their concept of affirmative action while I view it as mission work. The discussion is wide ranging, usually involving a theological issue or two. I guess…

by Leo Morris I’m thinking of doing something different in the gubernatorial election. Some will say I would be wasting my vote. The same temptation teased me in the 2016 presidential election. Disgusted that our political process delivered the two worst candidates imaginable in Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, I flirted with the idea of going third party or simply staying home and not voting at all. In the end, I resisted the urge. It…

by Jason Arp What does it mean to be a community leader or a business leader in your town? In the city where I serve on the council it can mean something different than what the casual observer might think. Sadly, it can mean someone who uses the power of government to further their business interests by either extracting cash or tax subsidies or by having the state impose regulations that impede competition and consumer choice. Often both definitions…

CARMEL IS A MODERN real estate phenomenon with a per capita income twice the national average. This was largely the result of middle-class families in the 1960s fleeing crime and the Indianapolis School District. Indeed, its population growth exemplifies “white flight,” going from about 1,500 in 1960 to 18,000 two decades later. In recent years, though, it also has become a diorama for a new ruling elite, complete with creepy, lifelike statues of “citizens” scattered about the city in demographically ideal…

by Mark Franke Having spent Constitution Day on Sept. 17 talking about it to anyone who would listen, I realized that it (the Constitution) bears more reflection on my part. But first, a digression. I was in the dean of students office at a local seminary when a Nigerian student came in and asked if he could have a copy of the U.S. Constitution. The dean’s assistant pointed to a display in the office. He then asked if…

by Leo Morris Complacent, entitled establishment’s hair on fire, Part 1: “We must replace Thurgood Marshall with another African American justice.” “Agreed. Meet Clarence Thomas.” “Aiiiii!” Complacent, entitled establishment’s hair on fire, Part 2: “We must replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg with another female justice.” “Agreed. Meet Amy Comey Barrett.” “Aiiiii!” I’m probably jumping the gun a little here. As I write, Barrett is said to be the front-runner on President Trump’s short list of Supreme…

IS ERIC HOLCOMB IN TROUBLE? No, not in danger of losing re-election in what is expected to be a presidential-year GOP romp in Indiana. Rather, in trouble as in falling so far behind the ticket that his political clout and that of his senior staff is suspect. There is an opinion survey that shows Holcomb dropping 16 points since April. We haven’t put much stock in political polls since the invention of the hard-to-profile cell phone. Moreover, in an age of identity politics,…

“WE ARE TOLD that riots are a result of black poverty and white racism. But in fact — for those who still have some respect for facts — black poverty was far worse, and white racism was far worse, prior to 1960, but violent crime within black ghettos was far less,” says Dr. Thomas Sowell. What if the man is right? What if the driving social force of our time, the increasingly violent struggle against “systemic” racism, turns…