by Mark Franke The Apocalypse is at hand. And it was Covid which brought it about. No, I’m not speaking of the endless riots and protests in the major cities. Neither am I speaking of the lust for power exhibited by governmental officials at every level as they shut down businesses, schools and everything but their favorite resort spots. I’m not even referring to the cultural war that has sprung from the grassroots to demand…

by Leo Morris Everyone will have a favorite piece of legislation to root for or against this session of the Indiana General Assembly, so there is a chance some of the lesser bills will escape attention. Here are three I’ll be monitoring. House Bill 1013, which would designate the mastodon as the state fossil. Senate Bill 81, which would require the teaching of cursive writing in Indiana schools. S.B. 124, which would change the rules…

Surviving Sotomayorism  “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” — Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution SONIA SOTOMAYOR’S PATH to the Supreme Court of the United States has been marked by plenty of firsts. Sotomayor, of Puerto Rican heritage, was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to a seat on a U.S. District Court (the youngest nominee…

by Jeff Abbott, Ph.D., J.D. In September 2020, President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting federal agencies and federal contractors from requiring employees to undergo diversity, equity and inclusion training. The order barred training that had divisive concepts such as race or sex stereotyping and scapegoating.  Immediately, the radical left (aka the Democrat Party) went ballistic.  Among the content considered divisive is Critical Race Theory (CRT). Reports indicate that over 300 diversity, equity and inclusion training sessions…

Juvenile Crime: Getting Back to the Basics THE DIRECTOR of “the Bail Project” makes a convincing case that his group is not responsible for the revolving door that is returning violent criminals to the streets of Indianapolis. His self-description in a letter last week to the Indianapolis Star, however, is of the fox-in-the-hen-house variety: “After all, we are only a charity that helps the poor, and our larger objective is to ensure the presumption of innocence applies equally to…

by Leo Morris Indiana Republican lawmakers are considering several issues related to public schools for debate during their next legislative session, begins the story in Newsweek, “including potentially adding the choice to be identified on the ballot with a particular political party when running for a school board seat.” The reaction has been entirely predictable. Adding politics into the races is “a really bad idea,” said trans-partisan former state schools Superintendent Jennifer McCormick, who was elected in…

by Mark Franke Last year I was a casualty of hubris, the ancient Greek term for incredible egotism leading to stupidity. Maybe that’s not the technical definition as a classical scholar would tell you but it describes my year perfectly. At least it is an accurate description for that aspect of 2021 relating to my fidelity in keeping my New Year’s resolutions. I had nine, taken from St. Paul’s delineation of the fruit of the…

Paring to Basics in 2022 by Leo Morris My sister Judy made our mother’s famous – within our circle – yeast rolls for Christmas dinner this year. They were a little heavier than the ones we remembered, but tasty nonetheless. She vowed to keep trying until she got it right. That was exactly the reaction I had the last time I tried to make them. Tasty but not quite light enough and, if truth be…

Hard Times and Cracked Pots “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” — Romans 5:3-4 IS IT POSSIBLE to experience life’s problems and crises without expecting the help of government? I am not being flip; human-interest stories are rare that do not involve some sort of centralized, institutional or statist assistance, where instead someone overcomes pretty much on their own. I know, I know, it doesn’t fit the media’s victim narrative. But…

Our friend and adjunct has written this year’s Christmas Letter as if by Adam Smith. He notes that Smith was an ethicist first and an economists only second, writing “Theory of Moral Sentiments” in 1759 (without a revision) and “Wealth of Nations” sevens years later (with five revisions before his death in 1796). by Richard McGowan, Ph.D. Glad Tydings, May your day be well met. I write in the spirit of the times, that you would…