Let’s Fire Them for Cause GOOD JUDGMENT like common sense is a trait considered too banal for this generation of human resource managers. Rather, decisions such as firing someone for justifying the assassination of a man for his opinion must involve an exercise in pearl-clutching and legalese. Thus, Ball State University’s carefully worded response to a posting by its Director of Health, Promotion and Advocacy is a pluterperfect example of the art: “The administration at Ball…

by Mark Franke Sept. 19 is Constitution Day by act of Congress in 2004. It supplanted Citizenship Day which had been set for Sept. 19 but I can’t recall ever hearing about that growing up. Upon reflection it is a natural progression from citizenship to the Constitution, which reduces the duties and rights of citizens to writing. A really good explanation for commemorating our Constitution on a day already dedicated to citizenship can be found on the…

by Richard McGowan, Ph.D. When I taught ethics at Butler, there were with ethical issues that did not exist when I previously taught at the now-defunct St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer.   In the late 1980s and early 1990s, technological innovation was not nearly so developed as it was a mere ten years later. For instance, I-phones were not invented until 2007. Another example of technological change involved surrogate parents. I posed this question to my…

by J.D. Wong Since 1978, a federal subsidy program (49 U.S.C. 5311) has funneled taxpayer money into intercity bus routes. Fast forward to today and this initiative has failed. Instead of attracting riders, politicians have often crafted routes to win votes. As a result, subsidized buses have been squandering taxpayer money for 46 years. Meanwhile, unsubsidized bus companies have faced unfair competition from subsidized routes. Since the invention of air conditioning, travelers have favored north-south routes. For instance,…

‘Chicago Is Indiana’s Fault’ iT CAN BE HOPED that Mayor Brandon Johnson, who this week blamed Indiana for Chicago crime, will be thrown from office the next election cycle. I have my doubts, though, realizing that his message of envy and resentment is a powerful one with a large constituency. Envy, please know, is a constant in human nature. It fuels the drive to a base denominator where everyone is equally miserable. Communism and Islamism…

The Party that Doesn’t Pray MARK AUG. 27, 2025, as the day the Democrat Party, or at least its prominent spokesmen, dismissed the prayers of children shot to death in their pews. That is the partisan interpretation. A more charitable one would be that Democrats believe that such an act, shooting children at prayer, deserves action (gun control) and not just religious sympathy. Both miss the point. The children were praying not to protect themselves from bullets fired through stained-glass…

Crime Is a Root Cause MY CITY is addressing public policy in the starkest terms. Youth violence and encampments of derelicts are problems without easy answers. Yet, answers, however imperfect, can be sought, social order can be attempted. Nobody likes to send a young man to jail or to order a troubled mind for treatment. In every case there are dozens of reasons, beginning with dysfunctional homes and economic hardships, that beg mercy and compassion. Government…

A $100,000 Audience with the Guv “That government is the strongest of which every man feels himself a part.” — Thomas Jefferson FINANCING POLITICS should be a simple matter, or so we argue in “Indiana Mandate: A Return to Founding Principles”: Just ensure that anyone funding a political effort use his own name and money or face certain prosecution. Some distance from that ideal is a “policy summit” next week to raise what the Capital…

by Nathanael Snow, Ph.D. Over the White River on the east side of Muncie a bridge spans connecting the Kitselman Trail to the Cardinal Greenway. The Canada geese below responded with some interest to the first bits of stale bread I tossed down. As I manifested as the source of manna by throwing more morsels to the combative flock, other birds joined the fray. The more crumbs the greater the combat. When the crusts were gone…

Cracking Down on Crime “Your race card has been denied, do you have another form of argument?” — anonymous. WE CAN HOPE that our city is learning something from the crime crackdown in Washington, D.C. It turns out that if you arrest people for breaking the law, other people, regardless of their background or upbringing, decide to abide by the law, which is a good thing.  The D.C. Police Union reports that in just one week…