Indiana Has a Historian Gap IF THERE IS ANYONE in Indiana with credentials to talk about a key battle in our Revolutionary War we would like to hear from them. We are looking for a speaker on the topic but a survey of the faculty directories of Indiana University and Purdue University came up dry. Indeed, the listing of history faculty did not reflect a particular interest in America. There were plenty of experts in the history of sex, digital communication,…

by Leo Morris It is time to announce the winner of the prestigious and soon-to-be coveted Reno Prize, which, starting this year, will be awarded to honor the most creative theft from citizens by their government. It should have been an easy choice, since the Indiana General Assembly is in full swing. As the saying goes, “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session.” But lawmakers have let us…

by Tanner Bouchie Earlier this week, the foundation’s columnist Leo Morris provided a thoughtful piece, “Be Careful What You Consider Your ‘Right’.” The consideration of commercial services as rights reminded me of the 1821 case of Mary Clark, “a Woman of Colour, “ in which Clark, a formerly enslaved woman petitioned for release from a 20-year indenture she had signed to provide personal services to Gen. W. Johnston. Ordinarily, then as today, a court will not…

The Death of the Newspaper Biz “Any of us who has ever been at a zoning meeting with our own property at stake is aware of the urge to cut through all the pernicious bullshit and go straight to firearms.” — David Mamet NEWSMEN OF MY AGE benefited greatly from the shift to corporate ownership of newspapers. Our salaries tripled overnight if only because we were being paid so pitifully before. Here is the great A.J. Liebling…

by Mark Franke Here we go again. Indiana and most other states in our More Perfect Union have doubled down on dumb once more in pursuit of ever-elusive increased interstate commerce revenues, reduced energy consumption, improved driving safety and higher SAT scores. Why ending world hunger and achieving lasting Middle East peace aren’t on this utopian dream list must be due to simple oversight. Every spring we suffer through mankind’s annual quest to put both…

by Leo Morris I hope to make lots of new friends today by reminding Hoosiers of something: You do not have a right to food, shelter or health care. Before I am accused of being selfish and heartless, which I assuredly will be, let’s try to make a distinction. Yes, you do need those things if you are to have any chance of a meaningful existence. And maybe, as a fellow human being, I should…

by Richard Moss, M.D. The rhetoric and uproar over the beating death this January of Trye Nichols by five black police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, demonstrates how badly the “conversation” over race has deteriorated. One would think that a crime involving blacks killing another black would lack a racial angle to exploit. Alas, in today’s race-obsessed universe that is never the case. Unable to help themselves, our nation’s top racialists, beginning with President Joe Biden,…

by Mark Franke “To uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.” These words represent the first purpose for the existence of the American Legion and holds this place of honor in the preamble to its constitution. I recently attended the American Legion’s National Legislative Conference and was reminded once again of its priority. This lofty principle sounds fine when recited, and we do recite the preamble at every meeting, but what…

by Maryann O. Keating, Ph.D. Those on the Right warn of the expansion and inefficiency of government. It is unsettling, however, to hear young adults dismiss any government assistance in protecting their personal retirement savings. Many young adults say they cannot count on future Social Security benefits. A generation ago, crowds assembled around the country to hear President George Bush’s proposals to keep Social Security solvent. His reforms were never implemented. Voters have learned to…

by Leo Morris As someone with libertarian instincts, I’ve always considered traffic regulations to be the quintessence of the law’s potential. The rules are uncomplicated and well-known. They do not judge why we take our trips or whence we came and where we are going. They exist solely to keep us as safe on the road as possible, especially to protect the innocent from the mistakes of the careless and the indifference of the arrogant.…