by Tom Charles Huston In this country, people who read the news on television are called “anchors.” In Great Britain, they are called “presenters.” The latter term strikes me as more honestly descriptive. An assortment of editors and producers put together what they have concluded constitutes today’s news, and key up the teleprompter. Dan Rather, Katie Couric or another in the long line of attractive personages reads the text, smiles broadly and, on cue, nods…

by Andrea Neal Ask historians to name Indiana’s greatest governor, and most will answer Oliver P. Morton. He was the first governor born on Hoosier soil. He played a critical role during the Civil War — he backed the policies of President Abraham Lincoln and supplied troops for the Union Army. He was driven more by principle than political considerations and because of that was not always popular. “Morton was a polarizing figure who many…

By Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. Government is supposed to help individuals with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Using this metric, let’s see how our government often struggles and how people are damaged as a result, especially the most vulnerable in society. We’ll look at a host of economic and social policies, chronologically — from before the cradle to beyond the grave. Before the cradle, we start with abortion, where life is snuffed out before…

Editors: An Indiana businesswoman, a member of this foundation, addresses cultural and political viewpoints on immigration from the perspective of an employer for a quarter century of both native-born and foreign-born workers. She writes under a pen name. by Jo March One often hears that we are “a nation of immigrants built upon the rule of law.” This is reasonably followed by a call for border security and enforcement of existing immigration laws. Homage may also…

by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. A friend of mine at church brought me a Muncie Star newspaper dated August 21, 1958, that she found when cleaning at home. She pointed to a front-page headline: “New Outburst of Terrorism in Lebanon;” my last column was about Middle East terrorism. Then as now the region is politically unstable and violent. As I perused the rest of the newspaper, it was uncanny how many stories echoed today’s headlines. Then…

by Craig Ladwig The news this last week was that we don’t know what news is. There were some in the Pence administration who thought news might be the pronouncements of their own bureaucracy. And the Indianapolis Star thought it might be boosterish speculation about deflated footballs. Both were wrong; the Pence administration at least admitted it by week’s end. Indeed, if the overly enthusiastic creators of the now defunct government newspaper JustIN could have…

by Andrea Neal The infirm frequented French Lick for its miraculous Pluto Water. The rich and famous came to golf — and gamble. Since the 1830s, the rolling hills and springs around the small town of French Lick have drawn tourists to remote southern Indiana. They still do, thanks to a mammoth restoration of its two historic resorts completed in 2006-07 by the late philanthropist Bill Cook. “The mineral springs were the original magnet,” notes…

by Tom Charles Huston Indiana is, I believe, one of only two states that prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday. This prohibition offends a number of people: poor planners who have trouble remembering to buy beer on Saturday for their Sunday football parties; national retailers who seek to increase their gross sales and, as an ancillary benefit, drive out of business their locally owned competitors; and libertarians who are offended at government determining…

by Ryan Cummins “I know, up on the top you are seeing great sights, but down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights.” — Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss Two articles that came across my desk recently illustrated such poor understanding of what government is — what it actually does and the consequences — that I must speak out. The first is by a former Indiana congressman turned academic, Lee Hamilton, generally…

(For the use of the membership only.) THOSE WHO MAKE THEIR LIVING at the politics’ edge must guard against resentment and despair. Yet it is difficult to hide dislike for a man who, finding indoor work representing the democratic interests of his neighbors, cashes in his pension, unused campaign contributions and whatever else he has been able to grab from a hapless constituency to flee the state for the company of a better sort of…