“To be attached to the subdivision, to love the little platoon we belong to in society, is the first principle (the germ as it were) of public affections. It is the first link in the series by which we proceed towards a love to our country, and to mankind.” — Edmund Burke A FAVORITE HOOSIER, Kurt Vonnegut, wrote in a letter to a fan of his book, “Palm Sunday,” an autobiographic collage, that there is…

THE FORT WAYNE JOURNAL GAZETTE treats journalism as a magic show where key facts are hidden from subscribers trying to match reality with what they read at election time. It is to be expected, then, that the newspaper would keep its show on the road after Tuesday’s primary. Its May 9 editorial pulled this rabbit out of the hat: “ . . . but (Tim Smith) will have to alter his approach this fall as…

by Mark Franke I have been looking for something, anything, that I can find as common cause with the progressive neo-socialists, and I think I may have found it. A petition was recently circulated among Google employees to disband a professional advisory board focused on the ethics of artificial intelligence development and application. The board’s egregious sin? One of its members was Kay Cole James, president of the Heritage Foundation. Now the Heritage Foundation is…

by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. I’m not comparing government to dinner, but I could. Meatloaf the meal is a decent metaphor for government. It contains a mish-mash of ingredients. It can be pretty good, but only if it’s done just right. And like government, meatloaf is often mediocre and sometimes rough. Unlike government, meatloaf probably won’t kill you with a drone strike. It won’t take your money and give it to poor people or politically connected…

by Leo Morris I’m reluctant to make political prognoses because I’m so bad at them. But I’m going to ignore my misgivings and go way out on a limb, not with a prediction but a bit of whimsical speculation. I’m thinking of a potential Democratic presidential candidate – so far professing zero interest in the job, not on anybody’s radar – who could pretty much clear the field and have the nomination just by declaring.…

by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. Stephanie Zepelin of WISH-TV in Indianapolis just aired a report, “Changes Made After I-Team Examines Millions in Lost State Property,” based on a database of state government assets that have gone missing. Her efforts help shine a light on a common problem for all levels of government. Let’s start by acknowledging that this is also a problem for business. There are at least three key variables in play. First, with more…

by David Penticuff No, there is no escaping our political divides these days. Everyone is a villain or hero. No one is just a teacher, reporter, preacher or, in this case, just a vice president. We simply can’t tolerate people who don’t agree with us and so we set about to make one another’s lives more difficult, more argumentative and less peaceful. Vice President Mike Pence is coming to my county later this month to…

Do you support reparations for slavery? “I absolutely believe that we need to have some kind of accounting for the persistent racial inequities today there by design because of part and present racism.” — Pete Buttigieg on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” REPARATIONS ARE beginning to make sense to me, but perhaps not in the same way and in the same degree that fellow Hoosier and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg means it. A friend, making a stab…

by Leo Morris Clichés are the cicadas of language. They disappear for years at a time, then show up in force again when you least expect them, to buzz and click their way into your brain. This season’s returnee is “sweet spot” as a political goal. The Times of Northwest Indiana had a story in which Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray speculated that everybody being “a little bit agitated” over the hate crimes bill…

by Mark Franke We were recently treated to an exchange between U. S. Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Liz Cheney about the purpose of the 22st Amendment to the Constitution. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, who never fails to entertain and amaze, asserted it was passed by Republicans to prevent President Franklin D. Roosevelt from being elected for another term. Rep. Cheney, daughter of a U. S. vice president father and Ph. D. scholar mother, must have thought she…