For release noon Tuesday March 2 and thereafter (680 words)It is the public policy of Indiana “to regulate and limit the manufacture, sale, possession and use of alcohol and alcoholic beverages.” The words sound old-fashioned but there’s more than Prohibition-era thinking behind them. We limit access to alcohol to protect children and to reduce side effects such as drunk driving, alcoholism and domestic violence, to name a few.            So why is booze almost as easy…

For the use of the membership only (572 words)Pictures of Haiti’s earthquake devastation reminded me of a National Geographic aerial photograph along Haiti’s border with the Dominican Republic (the two nations share a Caribbean island). The photograph shows a heavily forested Dominican Republic but a barren Haiti, which once had been heavily forested.*         I bet some are thinking, “Oh no, here comes another academic, probably a tenured geology professor, telling us that tree-cutting causes…

For release Wednesday Feb. 17 and thereafter (678 words) With Evan Bayh’s stunning decision not to seek reelection, Dan Coats has become the “incumbent” in the Senate race. And that’s why Republicans should avoid him like the plague. 2010 is looking to be the year of the non-incumbent. A February report by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found widespread dissatisfaction with Congress and noted that anti-incumbent sentiment was “as extensive…

For release noon Tuesday Feb. 9 and thereafter (754 words) Each time Indiana promises future payments to a state employee, it creates a liability for taxpayers. If total monies in state pension funds, accumulated each year by employer and employee contributions, are insufficient to meet promised benefits, state constitutions generally provide explicit guarantees that public pension commitments will be paid in full. Also, state employees could make it difficult for politicians if promised benefits are…

For release noon Tuesday Feb. 2 and thereafter (690 words)A legislative proposal to hold back third graders who can’t read well is too little and way too late. If we want to avoid reading woes with our third graders, we have to address the root of the problem: Our kindergartners, first graders and second graders aren’t being taught right. If you thought the phonics-whole language debate was settled 10 years ago with the National Reading…

For release noon Tuesday Jan. 26 and thereafter (665 words) “Tyger, tiger, burning bright, In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?” — William Blake In anticipation of Mr. Woods’ expected return to public life for this year’s Masters, and with apologies to the poet Blake, it is important to know there is no symmetry in this story — not, at least, in regard to the gender…

For release noon Jan. 19 and thereafter (891 words with optional trim to 670) Ohio, the last state to mark a bicentennial, spent a decade on planning and poured $16 million of taxpayer money into an elaborate year-long celebration in 2003. Among the highlights: painting bicentennial logos on barns in all 88 counties, a Tall Stacks riverboat party on the Ohio River and publication of a series of books on Ohio history. Politicians, schools and…

For release noon Jan. 12 and thereafter (695 words) “The cynical view — Republicans can sit back and wait — is naive. The idealistic view — we must stand for things and move on them now — is shrewder.” — Peggy Noonan, columnist and former speech writer for President Ronald Reagan As the political class resumes rolling the dice for our future, now is the time to calculate the odds and place our bets. The…

For release noon Tuesday Jan. 5 and thereafter (665 words) Considering there’s no money in the bank and only 30 days to do business, the 2010 legislature can’t do a lot. Yet this could be one of the most meaningful sessions on record if lawmakers pass three measures to enhance the citizens’ role in the political process.            For starters, Indiana lawmakers need to put a constitutional property tax cap question on the ballot for Hoosiers…

For release noon Tuesday Dec. 29 (691words) How would you like a new tax hidden in the price you pay for goods? Or one determined more by politics than actual market cost? Or that exempts tourists? These are features of a Value Added Tax (VAT), an option that some in government argue is commanded by our economic troubles. Before taking up the issue, the full brace of Indiana taxes should be considered. The Tax Foundation…