by Leo Morris Pierre the cat was a once-in-a-lifetime pet, and some of you will know exactly what I mean. He is the one you tell the same stories about over and over to friends more tolerant than they should be. He is the one you compare all other pets to. He is the one that makes you realize each animal might show common species characteristics but also has a unique personality. He is the…

WATCHING A NATIONAL PRESS CONFERENCE in the pandemic era is a painful experience for the aged journalist. It reminds us of the wallow that our profession has become — an abandonment of historical purpose that even without the Internet explains the low esteem in which we are now held. It is sad that this essay must start with the obvious. Polling shows approval percentages for large media so low they correspond to the number of…

by Richard Moss, M.D. My state folded. The people didn’t fail; our government did. Specifically, our governor. Indiana is a red Republican state with two Republican U.S. Senators, seven (out of nine) Republican Congressman, a Republican Statehouse and Senate, and, ostensibly, a Republican governor. Gov. Eric Holcomb is his name. With Republicans like him who needs Democrats.  Holcomb won the governor’s seat in a series of unlikely events. He had never before won elected office. A state…

by Leo Morris I like being asked. It means I have a choice. I can say no. Not that I always do. They’ve been asking me, over and over during this stay-at-home pandemic, to support our local restaurants. If I don’t help them stay afloat by using their carryout and delivery services, their dining rooms may be closed forever once the crisis has passed. It’s been a pleasure to honor that request, even for a…

WE OWE TO NOBEL PHYSICIST Niels Bohr our definition of an expert. He is someone, preferably from out of town, who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field. I am an expert — in bluebirdology. More narrowly, I am an expert on how to get the ugly, bad-mannered chirpy house sparrows to leave the beautiful, indigenous bluebirds alone so they can build a nest in your backyard and…

OUR ADJUNCT, MARGARET MENGE, hit on an interesting story this week. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development, the people responsible for making insurance payments from the money collected by force from Hoosier paychecks on the rationale that it would be available in an emergency, seem unable to fulfill that promise. “The thing about unemployment compensation that a lot of people sort of know, but sort of forget, is that it’s not welfare. It’s insurance, with…

by Margaret Menge What if a pandemic hit and hundreds of thousands of people were suddenly unemployed, and when they turned to the people responsible for making insurance payments from the big pot of money — money collected from society by force over many years — those people aren’t there? Don’t pick up the phones. Don’t answer emails. The building where they normally work is locked. And even if you could go there and get…

By Richard Moss, MD My neighbors hunt.  They can survive in the forest, hills, lakes, and rivers, here in Indiana.  They understand the world of nature, its vicissitudes and barbarism.  Appreciating its transcendent beauty and cadences, they also accept its fierce cruelties.  They do not worship nature.  They seek reconciliation with it that they may endure and protect their loved ones.  They admire the natural world, its towering majesty and microscopic complexity, but they do…

by Leo Morris I was going to write a wry but pointed column about Indiana’s coming search for a new tourism slogan, something along the lines of, “Wave on your way to Michigan” or, “Thanks for not stopping by.” Our past attempts to snare visitors with a catchy phrase have always come up embarrassingly short. “Honest to Goodness Indiana” conjured up an aw-shucks image of Andy and Gomer whittling on the front porch. “Restart Your…

by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. If you’re into C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, or the impact of the World Wars on society, religion and culture, I’d recommend Joe Loconte’s book, “A Hobbit, A Wardrobe and a Great War.” Loconte describes Lewis’ faith journey in detail. Well before “Chronicles of Narnia,” he embraced atheism after being raised in the Anglican church with its “ugly architecture, ugly music and bad poetry” and sermons that seemed “vapid and irrelevant.” Lewis’…