Barack Obama’s powerful pen is now at work in the penal system — seeking to grant clemency to a number of federal prisoners imprisoned for low-level drug offenses. Why? Because they received prison terms based on mandatory sentencing. With the proposed Smarter Sentencing Act, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah also seek to restore discretion in non-violent and non-gang-related low-quantity drug crimes. Some will see drugs as always violent; others…

by Andrea Neal Three states claim Abraham Lincoln as a favorite son, but only Indiana can take credit for his formative years. As he moved through adolescence to adulthood, Lincoln worked, studied and dealt with adversity on the Indiana frontier. During this period, Lincoln handled an ax “almost constantly,” as he himself recalled. He read voraciously. He practiced carpentry, even helping his father build a coffin for his mother. He took a ferry to New…

The effort is now under way in the Indiana Legislature to further restrict the sale of products containing ephedrine/pseudoephedrine (PSE). That is a key meth ingredient found in the most effective over-the-counter decongestants that afford relief to Hoosiers who suffer from asthma, sinus and other nasal disorders. Meth is a growing problem in Indiana and a major source of concern to local governments. Mayors and their police chiefs are frustrated by the manpower and dollars…

Generally, the hype and extravagance of a modern Super Bowl is approaching levels that only an Albert Speer could fully appreciate. The game, the sport, is decidedly secondary, if that. Two specific takeaways from the Feb. 2 spectacle: First, the super promises of mass transportation were shown to be super false. The ride to and from the game, billed as the first “Mass Transit” Super Bowl, were by all accounts miserable and dangerous ordeals. The…

by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. My father was actively involved in two congressional campaigns. He supported the Republican candidates for Congress in the 2nd Congressional district in Oklahoma in 1964 and 1966. He’d give me a dime for every bumper sticker I could persuade a neighbor to put on their car for the GOP standard bearer. I recall the 1964 candidate George Lange being in our home when I came home from school for lunch. My…

The Indianapolis Star editorial board has dismissed as a “misplaced legislative priority” Sen. Jean Leising’s effort to require cursive writing instruction in Indiana schools. The Star wondered why time would be spent on such a trivial matter “in a state where the workforce ranks 42nd in the nation in educational attainment.” Perhaps if the Star were more familiar with the latest neuroscience, it would endorse Sen. Leising’s initiative instead of ridicule it. Cursive writing makes…

Here are some ways to separate people by motive, knowledge and creativity on the issue of the minimum wage: Offer to reduce or eliminate the 15.3 percent FICA taxes on every dollar of income earned by the working poor (no exemptions/no deductions like the “income tax” gets); Offer wage subsidies for low-paid heads of household instead; Offer to raise the Earned Income Tax Credit instead; Offer to raise the minimum wage for those who aren’t…

The American War of Independence was fought “by British Americans against a German King for British ideals.” — Lady Astor Other than the fact that the first American settlements wouldn’t have survived had they not abandoned that picture-perfect “sharing” Thanksgiving for a less dramatic year-round market-based economy, America’s defining historical moment may be Paul Revere’s Ride. Yes, it was actually a ride, but he wasn’t shouting “The British are coming!” Dan Hannan argues in his…

The State Board of Education is knee-deep in a strategic-planning process intended to better define the state’s vision for Indiana schools. It should come as no surprise that board members disagree on the most basic of questions: What is the purpose of K-12 education? It is an essential question that must be answered before, not after, we make decisions on standards, curriculum, assessment and accountability. Why? If you believe the purpose of education is to…

by Andrea Neal For one shining moment in the early 19th century, a group called the Harmonists achieved utopia on the Wabash River. Two hundred years later, their experiment continues to inspire visitors to New Harmony, Indiana. Founded in 1814 by 800 German Pietists and carefully ordered by their leader George Rapp, the town of New Harmony was an exercise in both religious freedom and economic innovation. Residents believed they were God’s chosen people and…