Opinion Moves to Page One by Leo Morris I just came across a statement so indefensibly foolish that it is hard to fathom how it showed up in print.  “Readers don’t want us to tell them what to think. They don’t believe we have the expertise to tell anyone what to think on most issues. They perceive us as having a biased agenda.” That was a statement from a committee of editors at Gannett Co., publisher…

A Bollix of Good Intentions The millionaire virtue-signaler in our city — every city has one — has a plan to save those stuck in the poorer part of town. He is going to do this, as close as the uninitiated can tell, by making it look pretty much like the better part of town. I hope it works — I just have questions, that’s all. To evaluate the $15-million project — a virtual campus of…

This is a plea for money — a heartfelt one, the first such plea in our more than three decades as a tax-exempt Indiana nonprofit corporation. The foundation has a historic disadvantage in fundraising. That is, it has no fundraisers. The minimalist staff is fully engaged in publishing and distributing the work of an intrepid group of scholars and essayists. It is not possible to launch expensive, broad-based campaigns. This month and next we are asking…

The New Boondoggles THE NEW riverfront park with the landscaped hiking trails, the downtown renovation, the convention center, the sports stadium with the attached garages and a mixed-use apartment complex — has it ever crossed your mind that they are all boondoggles? Of course it has. Economists have a nicer term for it. They speak of “rent extractions,” referring to the ability of officials to squeeze payments (seek “rents”) for favorable legislation. We call it press-release economics. Whatever you…

by Leo Morris I did not go to college because I wanted to. I went first of all because it was expected of me. I had good grades in high school, and that meant, according to the prevailing custom, you were supposed to continue your studies, especially if you would be the first one in your family to attempt postsecondary education. And I went second of all because I thought I had to. Journalism at…

Please click HERE to donate. Your support makes possible the quarterly journal, policy seminars and our weekly backgrounders and columns. The summer journal (cover and index below) will begin distribution June 21. Changing Patterns in K-12 Education THE CENTRALIZATION of K-12 operating expenses has standardized per-student spending, with the downside that curriculum and disciplinary standards in Indiana’s district schools may be less in line with local preferences. Hoosier state lawmakers are responding to interest groups’ pressure in allocating funds based…

More Gun-Control Sanctimony “Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good.” — Thomas Sowell THERE IS a rationale for gun control that says private ownership of firearms is unnecessary because the police will be there to protect you. That sounds good but some of us have lived long enough to offer sad testimony to the contrary. As a police reporter, I covered dozens of…

by Mark Franke People consider me old fashioned, even medieval, in my thinking and outlook. I plead guilty. As I observe what is happening in our society, my fears for the future only intensify. That’s why I look continually to the past for a useful insight into the future. How would you describe our political system? According to the Constitution, we are a republic or representative democracy. Democracy is the ideal form of government yet…

by Leo Morris Vietnam was the first war brought to our living rooms by television, so I always thought it interesting that the movie about the war moving me most was a made-for-TV film. “Friendly Fire” stars Carol Burnett and Ned Beatty in the true story of Iowa farm couple Peg and Gene Mullen trying to cope with their son’s death in the war. With the help of journalist C.D.B. Bryan, on whose book the…

GOV. ERIC HOLCOMB reached a career pinnacle this week in being asked to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It marked him as among the brightest of the bright, the most powerful of the powerful, one of the men and women who make the world go around. OK, let’s grant him that. Such recognition seems important to him. Back here on the ground in Indiana, though, we have some questions — mundane, perhaps, but sincere.…