by Judge Stanley Levine First of all, let me say that I do not think that the whole world hates America. I also do not think that the most ardent Anti-American beliefs are focused on us as individual citizens of America. Rather, they are focused on the size of America, the fact that it may now be the only global superpower, on its military history and the enviable success of its economy and its culture.…

For release March 20 and thereafter (676 words) by Andrea Neal  When right- and left-wing activists find themselves on the same side of a controversy, it’s worth probing why. Such is the case with the Common Core academic standards being implemented in Indiana and 45 other states. Conservatives and progressives alike see problems with them. The right is concerned about imposition of a “federal curriculum” and the loss of local control. The left fears “one…

by Craig Ladwig Dr. Stephen M. King of Taylor University, a political scientist, offers Hoosiers a template to measure the quality of their political leadership between elections. Just in time, it turns out. The Indianapolis Star over the weekend delivered a lecture to its readers on the difficulty of leadership these days and the need to lower expectations. To summarize the editorial, the Star trusts Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley and House Speaker Brian Bosma…

by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. Who remembers carbon paper? For those of you under 35, carbon paper is a sheet of black paper with carbon embedded on one side. Place it between two sheets of white typing paper, correctly insert in a typewriter and the typed document automatically generates a carbon copy. In the days before Xerox machines, this was the most cost-effective way of generating duplicate copies. Carbon paper was messy and awkward, but useful…

by STEPHEN M. KING, Ph.D. The “Power 50” ranking published by Howey Politics Indiana this year lists Gov. Mike Pence at the top. Governor Pence enters office with solid political credentials — serving 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, holding the No. 3 Republican conference chair in 2008, and being a strong and outspoken conservative voice against the vagaries of deficit spending, both in the Bush and Obama administrations. The editor of the…

For release March 6 and thereafter (670 words) by Andrea Neal  Popular perception to the contrary, Indiana is not a low-tax state. When you add up all the different taxes – property, sales and income assessed by federal, state or local government – we rank right in the middle. Twenty-three states have lower overall tax loads than Indiana’s. A few more may join them if they follow through with plans to reform their tax systems.…

by PHIL TROYER “I’m afraid there are too many pigs for the teats.” This was Abraham Lincoln’s retort when confronted with the constant demands of citizens seeking federal patronage jobs. That same quote could be attached to lawmakers today who clamor for long-since-spoken-for tax revenues to fund their latest Utopian schemes, or, to continue the swine theme, outright pork-barrel projects such as certain retirement systems. Lawmakers at all levels of government are continually searching for…

by MARYANN O. KEATING, Ph.D. “Can I take a federal tax deduction for mortgage interest?” (Yes.) “For state income and local property taxes?” (Yes.)  “How about municipal bond interest?” (That, too.) “On earned income from wages?”  (That’s a tax credit, and it depends.) “What about employer-provided health insurance?” (Sure.) “Charitable deductions?” (Yup.) “Dinner out and a show?” (Sorry, no.) Tax deductions are subtracted from adjusted gross income, lowering the base on which taxes are calculated.…

“Albert Einstein lived to see moral relativism, to him a disease, become a social pandemic, just as he lived to see his fatal equation bring into existence nuclear warfare. There were times, he said at the end of his life, when he wished he had been a simple watchmaker.” — Paul Johnson in “Modern Times,” 1991, HarperCollins. Look, political idiocy is my friend. I am an editorial writer. I have depended on its existence in…

by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. Apple stockholders have had a hard time in the last few months. The price of a share of Apple stock has declined from $700 in September to around $450 today. This is a 36 percent hit. It is not that Apple has become unprofitable — in fact, Apple’s profits are strong. It is just that the meteoric growth in Apple’s sales and profits are slowing down. In 2010, Indiana collected more…