Cause and effect, chain of eventsAll of the chaos makes perfect senseWhen you’re spinnin’ roundThings come undoneWelcome to Earth, third rock from the Sun — Joe Difie THINKING ABOUT the political repercussions of an Indianapolis crime wave, a friend reminded me of a quite different catastrophe — the Chicago blizzard of 1978. My friend’s point was that such events contain absolutes that are resistant to even the most practiced political spin. With the local weather stations having predicted…

by Leo Morris I was leaving the gym last Wednesday when Tony told me they would be closed on Friday and Monday. “Why?” I asked. “What’s going on?” “Oh, you know, just adding another day off and making it an extra-long holiday weekend.” “What holiday?” Oh, that one. Of all the ones to let sneak up on me, it had to be the one specifically designed to make us remember, to ensure that we never…

(May 26) — Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita today issued an opinion in support of an IU Board of Trustee candidate who challenged the university’s decision that all faculty and staff be required to get the Covid-19 vaccine. Margaret Menge, an adjunct scholar of the Indiana Policy Review, argued that the school will be in violation of state law if it “requires” that anyone get the Covid-19 vaccine. “House Bill 1405, passed by an overwhelming majority of Indiana legislators and…

by Mark Franke “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.” These haunting words of poet William Butler Yeats were written in 1919. His poem “The Second Coming” was a reflection on a world in chaos, spiraling ever downward. Think of what confronted him then: a world war that caused 14 million deaths; a bloody revolution in his Irish homeland and an even bloodier one in Bolshevik Russia; a map of Europe being redrawn in a…

As I write, our governor is winging his way to the Middle East on a visit that he believes will somehow advance the interests of Hoosiers.  Eric Holcomb’s press release announcing the trip to Israel “at the invitation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu” included the customary disclaimer that no taxpayer funds will be used.  That may only mean that the trip cannot withstand taxpayer scrutiny. But let us assume that the governor is honest in his intent if only wishful in his promise.…

by Leo Morris When I was just a child, I roamed all over the hills of Eastern Kentucky, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone, recklessly climbing trees, exploring abandoned mines and generally tempting fate to the point of taunting it. Our family moved to Fort Wayne when I was 12, and I regularly walked the mile from our house to Packard Park and covered even more territory on my bike. My younger brother had similar freedom…

(May 23) — A candidate for the Indiana University Board of Trustees is challenging last week’s announcement by the university that all faculty and staff will be required to get the Covid-19 vaccine. Margaret Menge, an adjunct scholar of the Indiana Policy Review, argues that the school will be in violation of state law if it “requires” that anyone get the vaccine. “House Bill 1405, passed by an overwhelming majority of Indiana legislators and signed into…

by Steve Keltner, PA t’s peculiar how a misconception can dramatically alter the way facts are perceived.  Virtually every child growing up in America believes, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue” and discovered America.  The fact is, Norse explorers set foot on the continent approximately 500 years earlier with help of explorer Leif Erikson.     Recently, America has fallen prey to a similar misconception.  The first “official” case of CoVID-19 in the United…

“We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP’s bureau and other news organizations in Gaza.” — AP President Gary Pruitt, May 16, 2021 by Richard Moss, M.D. On May 14 2018, the 70thanniversary of the birth of the state of Israel, a modern day miracle, the U.S. under President Donald Trump, fulfilled a promise made by Congress in the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, passed by a 95-3 vote…

by Leo Morris Who’s in charge here? In a constitutional republic, the answer should be obvious. The people are. We have inalienable rights merely by our existence as human beings, and to protect them we create a limited government, and those who inhabit its hallowed halls are there to represent us, not dictate to us. But that is the civics answer, which is barely even taught in schools anymore, let alone used as a touchstone…