by Tom Charles Huston Teddy White, reporting on the 1968 Democratic primary, noted that Indiana’s political party organizations belonged “in a Yellowstone National Park of primeval political fauna.” Over the past 48 years, Hoosier Democrats have made concessions to modernity, but the Indiana Republican party has chosen to move in the opposite direction. Its method of selecting delegates to the GOP national convention is an embarrassment which should be embalmed and buried in the shadows…

by Patrick Oetting (April 6) — Historically, the less fortunate in the United States have depended on their neighbors, local churches and civic institutions for the extra care needed to make ends meet. This approach embodies the notion of “subsidiarity,” which the Cambridge English Dictionary defines as, “the principle that decisions should always be taken at the lowest possible level or closest to where they will have their effect, for example in a local area…

by John Kerr It’s bad enough that police and prosecutors in Indianapolis pad their budgets with the proceeds generated by the cars, cash and other property they seize, often from people who are never charged with any crime. It’s even worse that they do so in defiance of Indiana law. The wording is clear. Article 8, Section 2 of the Indiana Constitution requires that money from “all forfeitures which may accrue” belongs to the state’s…

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,”…