by Jason Arp The 2022 legislative ratings have been released at IndianaScorecard.org, an independent measure of votes on bills affecting private property and personal liberty. Although the results can be read as encouraging, the political control of the establishment remains terrifying. The overall scores in the house shifted upwards from an average of 38.0 to 50.6, the Republicans improving 13.1 points to 56.4 as the Democrats moved up from 10.7 points to 35.0.  Again, while the scores improved, the control…

Primary Day Ruminations WITH INDIANA’S PRIMARIES set for tomorrow it is a good time to remind ourselves that, theoretically at least, we do not live in a democracy but rather a constitutional republic. That means that when we vote it is not to determine how we are governed (the Constitution’s job) but merely to determine succession — and that in a way only arguably better than the guillotine. And we say theoretically because since the invention…

by Leo Morris My heartfelt congratulations to President Biden. He is proposing an idea so bad that it replaces the No. 1 choice of worst federal government scheme of my lifetime. My guideline in judging federal programs is whether they honor the fundamental relationship between the government and the governed – that of government as a servant of the people – or attempt to flip that relationship by making people the servants of government. Using…

Give Rokita Some Credit CONSIDERING THE SMARM that is the Holcomb administration, this may be grasping at straws. Nonetheless, we witnessed this week a sign of actual political courage. The Indiana Attorney General is suing for documents that prove or disprove how Black Lives Matter (BLM) here says it used $90 million in charitable donations. “The Civil Investigative Demand seeks information and documents held by the entity (Black Lives Matter) relevant to the ongoing investigation to ensure…

Defund the Regulators COULD IT BE that the resentment and envy that is Black Lives Matter, Defund the Police and Racial Reckoning have run their course? If so, there are solid options from which community leaders could choose, options that open up neighborhoods to commercial opportunity. But somebody will have to fight for them. The experts in urban renewal will stand in the way, telling us it won’t work. And yes, that is encouraging, for these are the same experts who have been managing our…

Preparing for the Primaries by Leo Morris Res ipsa loquitur. That’s a useful Latin phrase meaning, “The thing speaks for itself.” It’s a legal tactic commonly used in negligence cases. It claims that the guilt of the defendant is so patently obvious that little evidence need accompany the charge. In a case of medical malpractice, for example, who else but the surgeon could have taken out the wrong body part or left behind a sponge…

Against Modern Day Pharaohs by Richard Moss, M.D. With spring on its way and the world moving on from COVID, I was looking forward to attending the Passover Seder at the temple my family and I have attended for some 30 years. We have been less involved as the children have gotten older, but I wanted to reunite with old friends and celebrate our Festival of Freedom together. Before committing, however, I inquired if the temple required…

Purdue’s Ethics Expert WE AREN’T EXPERTS here on the ethics of politics, although we grant that there may be such a thing. Politics and ethics seem too juxtaposed in the journalistic firmament for us to manage the intellectual span. Andy Downs, however, is such an expert. He is the director of the Center for Indiana Politics at Purdue University Fort Wayne. The bright and affable Downs is routinely — reflexively, even — quoted by the mainstream…

Baseball Is Back (for Better or Worse) by Mark Franke Baseball is back, finally. It seems the winters here in northeast Indiana get longer and longer, or maybe it’s just that I am getting older and older. I watched several major league baseball (MLB) games on opening weekend and last week attended my first game of the Fort Wayne TinCaps. I should be exhilarated with the start of the new season, but I am beginning…

Beware ‘The Next Big Thing’ by Leo Morris I’m so old that I remember when the Establishment set the rules and rebels tried to break them. Now, we seem to be embarked on a great experiment in which the former rebels are in charge and determined to get rid of all the rules. Sometimes, I think the experiment is to see how outrageous the elimination of norms can get before the public stops going along…