by Mark Franke The first Advent candle is called the candle of hope, the hope of the faithful that God will fulfill His promises. Hope is also a theme for the new year, at least for those who make a list of New Year’s resolutions with the expectation (read: hope) that they will conform to them for 366 days.  Maybe hope is what America needs now more than ever. Thirty minutes or less of watching…

by Richard Moss, M.D. The medical staff at our community hospital in Jasper, Indiana, a small, generally conservative berg in the middle of fields of corn and soy, received an email from hospital administration indicating that they would begin implementing Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) training. I responded with the following letter, sent this to the entire medical staff and hospital administrators including the CEO. I also sent it to members of the hospital board. I have heard nothing…

by Mark Franke I have noticed two differences this December compared with last year. First is how fast it is passing. Perhaps it is the unusually warm December here in Indiana, fooling us into thinking it is still November. The climatologists blame it on El Nino but that is too complicated for my non-scientific mind to comprehend. For me as a Christian, the season of Advent is a special time for slowing down for reflection and…

A Crossroads for IU INDIANA UNIVERSITY will miss the turn. Indeed, Eric Holcomb and his appointed trustees won’t even see it — the turn away from being a hedge fund with a university attached and back toward being a learning and research institution. And if body language is indicative, IU will be one of the last to abandon the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) insanity that cheapens degrees and faculty standing. Too bad, the students and alumni deserve…

More Sheriff, Less DOJ A QUESTION OCURRED this morning as I sipped my Hyson green tea (what was thrown into Boston Harbor) and admired the American flags and Christmas decorations along the cul-de-sac. The question — alarming in itself — was whether the neighborhood association could defend any of that should a radical muslim, antifascist, Black Lives Matter or MS-13 mob jump from the pages of my morning paper and march on the subdivision. The short answer was no.…

by Mark Franke Conversation, that lost art of genteel people discussing whatever in an enjoyable context, should be on the endangered species list. It’s a rare day when I find a group and topic appealing enough to claim my sustained attention. That sounds snobbish, I know, but I don’t mean it to be. The fault is mine as I refuse to change with the times. We’ve become a society of 24-hour news, social media, memes…

by Barry Keating, Ph.D. Edinburgh isa town in Bartholomew County. It is part of the Columbus, Indiana, metropolitan statistical area. An astounding event took place in Edinburgh this past month: A firm engaged in building a new plant failed to ask for a tax abatement! Such behavior is unusual; new businesses of every variety routinely request tax abatements as day follows night. These requests are almost always granted, often with even larger abatements than requested. The firm…

(George Caleb Bingham) Before you begin your campaign’s Gantt chart, you will need to sit down and think long and hard about what you’re up to — what you stand for, what you intend to accomplish and how you are going to accomplish it. Yes, your ideas will maker. Dennis Ganahl has run dozens of campaigns from neighborhood micro-campaigns to statewide legislative races and referendums. Below are the intellectual hoops that you will have to…

Democracy at any level is complex. Not everyone can handle the details. If you want to try, you will have to get organized right now. A good way to do that is to begin a Gantt chart (example above) in which a series of horizontal lines shows the amount of work done in certain periods of time in relation to the time planned. Download a Gantt template or just pencil one in on an envelope,…

Media Metrics: Extra! Extra! Read All About It I QUIT COMPLAINING about the mass media a few years ago when it became clear that nobody was interested in differentiating between newsmen and broadcasters let alone in understanding the distortion of corporate ownership. I still notice things, though. A trained eye can see the malefic impact of Internet metrics. Headlines and stories are written today to gain inscrutable “clicks,” “reaches” and “reactions.” That, directly or indirectly, is how the…