by Andrea Neal Making sense of Mike Pence. That was the task I faced over the past year in writing “Pence – The Path to Power,” the first comprehensive biography of the Hoosier vice president. He is a man of both predictability and paradox. Since first running for Congress in 1988, he has never wavered in his public policy views favoring limited government, free markets and social conservatism. He is predictably loyal to family and…

(For the use of the membership only, not for publication, distribution or quotation.) THE TWO FOUNDING INTELLECTUAL MODELS for this foundation happen to be “persons of color,” as it is now phrased, Dr. Thomas Sowell and Dinesh D’Souza. The latter we have brought to Indiana many times for seminars, talks and research projects. The former we would have happily done so had we been able to afford his fee. What is important there are the…

by Leo Morris Reading up on my journalistic hero Ernie Pyle, I came across this startling paragraph near the end of a mostly laudatory article about him in American Heritage magazine: “Ernie Pyle had some off days in his wartime columns. Sometimes he laid on the Hoosier folksiness a bit too heavily. Sometimes the GI’s came off just a little too good to be true, not only rugged and brave but also unfailingly good-humored in…

by Mark Franke I am a child of the 1950’s; I freely and proudly admit that. My entire outlook on life was formed by my upbringing during that decade in the home, the church and the school. One concept we learned about our nation was its potential for everyone to make himself better through hard work, education and moral living. The goal parents set for their children was simple: achieve a better standard of living…

by Leo Morris All I want to do today is tell you where I was born, but be patient. It will take a while. The following is mostly accurate, based on a real occurrence. While some parts of the conversation quoted might have taken place largely in my head, there is a greater truth involved, and I have been faithful to the essential spirit of the exchange. I believe that meets what passes for ethical…

“Nearly a third of property taxes now collected by City Hall go into 143 special taxing districts controlled by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and aldermen, according to a new report by Cook County Clerk David Orr” — Chicago Tribune, July 24, 2018 by Craig Ladwig “I don’t care who does the electing, so long as I do the nominating,” said William M. Tweed, “boss” of New York City’s Tammany Hall. Few in Indiana know what it’s…

by Mitch Harper A few years ago, my city council considered a personal property tax abatement for a specific business. There was a lengthy discussion of the particulars of that request — quite lengthy. After the other council members had spoken, I raised my hand. I noted we had used up a lot of time talking about a specific business personal property tax abatement of a single business. I said that the view from 18,000…

by Leo Morris In 1657 the mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote a letter in which he included the following apology (translated from the French): “I have made this longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter.” I suspect that the Indiana Policy Review’s Craig Ladwig has that quote framed and hanging on a wall somewhere. When he recruited me to write these pieces, he said one of the cruelest…

(For the use of the membership only.) “I have never worked with a more honorable man than Dan Coats. He oozes integrity out of every pore. He is motivated by a sense of patriotism and duty to the security and the safety of this nation. I would tell anyone to heed his advice and his counsel.” — Gov. Eric Holcomb COULD IT BE POSSIBLE that the president knows something strategically important about Russia that hasn’t…

by Mark Franke I am conflicted. I love history. One of my historical heroes is Alexander Hamilton. I wrote what was the equivalent of my senior thesis as an undergraduate major in economics on Hamilton’s plan to put the new nation on a sound financial footing. Needless to say, I have looked up to Alexander Hamilton my entire adult life. But I hate musicals. Especially musicals that purport to be on historical topics but turn…