THERE IS A SCARY SOUND to the reported debate within the Center for Disease Control as to whether blacks as a group should receive the COVID vaccine ahead of the elderly. It would be a matter of social justice, the argument goes. Congressmen and government employees, as always, have their own rationale for special treatment. But it all resembles the plot of a dystopian novel, not reasoned policy. American medicine’s characteristic has been its humanity. Even in the heat of battle,…

WITH INAUGURATION ceremonies in the works, many are reaching for historical analogies for the 2020 U.S. presidential election. They range wildly from the reign of Commodus to the Council of Trent to the Civil War to the 1960 defeat of Richard Nixon. There is one, however, that best reflects the challenges facing our nation. It is the Battle of Hastings, in which William, the Duke of Normandy, narrowly defeated the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson. And yes, he used trickery to win the day.…

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR has declared itself a charity of sorts. The executive editor in the midst of the pandemic sent an appeal for readers to give her money because . . . well, because she needs it. “Our company and IndyStar staff are facing the same economic realities that many of you are living,” explained Katrice Hardy in an extraordinary message. “Even as we provide you with invaluable information so you can make good decisions for yourself and your family, we have had…

by Mark Franke I have avoided writing about COVID so far and intend to continue onward along this path . . . except for today. This column isn’t so much about COVID per se but about the effect it is having on our daily lives. First, I should admit that I neither understand nor care about the science behind it. I have lived my three score and nine years on this mortal coil without knowing…

HELP US BRING TOGETHER Hoosier councilmen committed to limited government. The foundation again this year will be linking local officeholders throughout the state.*  You supply the contact information, the foundation does the rest. Foothold meetings (free food and drink) are being scheduled now. The good that can come from sharing issues, contacts and strategies cannot be overestimated. Please send your nominee to director@inpolicy.org or call 260/417-4094. * Past and prospective candidates are welcome as well.

LAST SUMMER the Indiana Policy Review released a series of papers reporting on the 3,000 students from China enrolled at Indiana University and why they were more of a national-security concern than typical foreign students. This Friday, a congressman-elect, a former member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, described such students as acting “like a spy network.” First, some background on why students from China deserve a careful look. Charles Lee is a Chinese dissident who came to…

by Richard Moss, M.D. JASPER, Ind. — Chanukah, the festival of lights, is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the victory of the Maccabees (or Hasmoneans) over the powerful armies of the Seleucid (Greek) Empire under King Antiochus IV. King Antiochus, in 167 BC, in a show of force, forbade important Jewish observances such as keeping the Sabbath and circumcision and dedicated the ancient temple in Jerusalem to Zeus.  In the town of Modi’in, Antiochus’ soldiers forced a…

by Mark Franke I used to find English class one of the most boring of all the subjects I suffered through in elementary and high school. I wanted nothing to do with it, even more so than those hated math classes.   It wasn’t the teachers; it was the subject matter. The only part I liked was diagramming sentences, definitely the exercise all my classmates detested most. I was, and still am, a contrarian at heart.   As…

“The single most exciting thing you encounter in government is competence, because it is so rare.”  — Daniel Patrick Moynihan ERIC HOLCOMB’S JOB seems to be to make the imagined world of his ruling political class palatable to us common zeks. As such, he is making a mess of it — particularly in the intractable matter of race relations. A couple of weeks ago he named the state’s first-ever Chief Equity, Inclusion and Opportunity Officer, a guilt…

by Maryann O. Keating, Ph.D. The significant contributions of the American political scientist Robert Putnam, author of “Bowling Alone” and  ”Our Kids” are widely recognized. His new book, “The Upswing,” co-authored with Shaylyn Romney Garrett, similarly consists of careful analysis of societal trends but is somewhat troubling given the authors’ conclusions and prescriptions. Many share the authors’ concerns with the decline in American income equality and overall social well-being along with increased political polarization. The difficulty lies…