by Mark Franke Immigration may be a difficult problem but that does not preclude a solution — that is, assuming there is the political will to affect such a solution. The political morass is beyond my comprehension or ability to navigate. That frees me to think unencumbered for possible solutions. Fortunately, I hang out with a group of friends who like to focus on what can be done rather than what can’t. Several weeks ago…

by Richard McGowan, Ph.D. People who are homeless have recently been the focal point of attention, especially in Los Angeles. Los Angeles City Council voted 11-3 to ban homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and day care centers. Of course, being in California means the action drew a protesting mob that brought city council business to a halt. Other encampments, like the one near the L.A. freeway, were simply cleared out — despite the…

by Mark Frank This is a sad tale but with a happy ending. It is also a fairy tale subsumed in the gothic horror novel that is our immigration mess. It’s about one immigrant who did everything he could legally to become a permanent resident of the United States and was thwarted time and time again until this summer when he finally was granted legal reentry to the United States and reunion with his wife…

Don’t Just Stand There, Join Something HOOSIERS TAKE FOR GRANTED what economists call “social capital.” We have been aswim in it throughout our state’s history, beginning with our pioneers and settlers and continuing into our period of industrialization and innovation. You might assume, then, that social capital is something we can draw upon without additional effort. You would assume wrong. The supply is dwindling. Still, those who come to Indiana from other parts of the country…

by Dennis Ganahl, Ph.D. The first time I heard the phrase “Winning by losing” was a couple of weeks ago. A Republican county commissioner enlightened me with a conspiratorial wink. Our group had just lost a vote to freeze seniors’ property taxes. The “winker” had introduced our bill to the county council. I should mention here, the “winker” is planning to run for state senator during the next election cycle. State senator is a status…

County Overall County SCI Family Unity  Community Health  Institutional Health Collective Efficacy  Adams County, Indiana 79 94 63 63 -1 Allen County, Indiana 46 43 31 69 32 Bartholomew County, IN 65 67 44 65 62 Benton County, Indiana 73 51 81 69 -1 Blackford County, IN 64 41 57 57 91 Boone County, Indiana 89 94 42 89 93 Brown County, Indiana 71 28 54 82 97 Carroll County, Indiana 74 68 56 66…

by Mark Frank I have finally figured out the root cause of all our woes — air conditioning. I am deadly serious about this. Consider just two travesties wreaking havoc across our landscape: First, school start dates. My teacher neighbor started the first full week of August and her school was not alone. The school where I volunteer won’t start until Aug. 16 but they are an outlier, not that even a mid-August start date is…

by Richard Moss, M.D. The entire month, each June, is a low point for the country. The unrestrained debauchery, the flaunting of pathologic deviancy and the celebration of perversion — does it get any worse than “Pride Month?” Our ruling elites in all sectors are positively swept away by it, consumed as they are with promoting it,  and virtue signaling their fealty and allegiance to it. It has become our most important holiday season. Compare it with other…

by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. I teach an on-line Principles of Microeconomics course every summer. It is “asynchronous”: students work at their own pace (within my deadlines), using the text, a course-management system, short videos from me, and outside resources they find. In such courses, I interact with the students through “forums” to discuss articles; I give them feedback on assignments and tests; and they’re free to schedule Zoom appointments with me (although few do). So,…

by Richard McGowan, Ph.D. When I taught ethics, I had several challenges. For one thing, unlike students in France, American students took no philosophy courses in high school. Students leave high school with reasoning skills that do not align well with the critical analysis philosophy courses demand. Students, even bright students, rely too much on memory for knowledge acquisition and cognitive growth. I should know. After a stellar high school G.P.A. that got me admitted…