by ERIC SCHANSBERG, Ph.D. The recent statewide elections in Virginia have brought K-12 education back to the front burner. A former Democrat governor lost — in a state handily won by President Biden a year ago. The chief causes: declining popularity of Democrats on the national stage (compared with 2020) and trouble with K-12 on the campaign trail in Virginia.  But, really, outside of a war on our soil, what public policy topic is more important…

Let iGen’ers Rewrite the Constitution? by Mark Franke A government professor at Skidmore College, a liberal arts institution in upstate New York, recently wrote an op-ed that was carried in my local newspaper. My wife, who reads this newspaper faithfully, recommended the column to me since it was about one of my favorite subjects — the United States Constitution.   This professor, Beau Breslin, argues that our Constitution is outdated and doesn’t reflect opinions prevalent…

Children in Masks: A Doctor Writes his School Board by Richard Moss, M.D. “Fifteen days to flatten the curve,” the first of many Covid lies, has become 19 months to flatten the country. Indeed, the collateral damage from the lockdowns and other devastation visited upon us by the regime have far exceeded the costs of the Covid virus itself. But in a largely secular nation, many of our countrymen have found a new religion, the religion…

Voilà! — Democrat Violence Reduction THE OBSERVATION is made that Democrats have a much better strategic approach than Republicans. For them, winning office by hook or crook and staying there no matter what is the simple goal.  Republicans — sometimes but not always — tie themselves in knots trying to define issues, encourage moral decisions and illustrate constitutional principles. Thus Democrats are more free to make promises to donors and the electorate that they know cannot be kept, that are…

In Error There Is Encouragement by Leo Morris I bow to no one in my disdain for Governor Holcomb. After all, it is my duty as a political columnist to be a government watchdog, and as the state’s chief executive, the governor should be prepared to take his share of criticism. I can’t be certain of how many negative columns I’ve written about him, but it must be north of half a dozen by now. I…

Article I, Section 5, Clause 2 “Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.” —Article I, Section 5, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution SOMETIMES WE have to say it if only because nobody else will say it: Indiana’s Andre Carson, as a member of the House Intelligence Committee, played a miscreant role in what is becoming the largest and longest-running…

A Self-Destructive Representation “Wrath is cruel, and anger outrageous, but who is able to stand before envy? — Proverbs 27:4. OBSERVERS OF LOCAL city councils are puzzled by the ineffectiveness of new voting blocs elected in recent years. They rode in on a clear mandate to improve the lives of constituencies in economically distressed quarters of their cities, that and ensure something they called “equity.”  The question is raised, though, whether these blocs aren’t more interested in chastising the prosperous districts than improving their own — to be…

Reflections on Veterans Day by Mark Franke As I reflected on Veterans Day this year, several different emotions were evoked. So in no particular order, here they are. But first a disclaimer. My father was a veteran of D-Day and that qualifies me to be a Son of the American Legion, an organization I have proudly served at the local, regional, state and national levels. The American Legion exists to support veterans just as one…

Indiana’s Constitution Matters by Leo Morris In this short-attention-span era, we’ll read the headline and, perhaps, if we’re not too busy, the first two or three paragraphs. Or we’ll catch the 10-second radio bulletin and, occasionally, see the 30-second follow-up on TV. Our partisan instincts nudged, we will then shout at each other across the great Red State-Blue State divide on Facebook and Twitter without ever learning the substance of the issue. We’re like two…

Indy Crime: It’s Decision Time WHEN DID CRIME become a plot device? It happened somewhere along the way to approving Mayor Joe Hogsett’s $1.3-billion Indianapolis city budget, the richest in history. It sailed through all the committees untouched on the promise that it was necessary to properly fund crime “control.” Crime, you see, does pay. Democrats now have a wealth of dollars to hand out to their civic action groups (whose swollen staffs might be useful as election-day…