The death penalty is an archaic means by which fewer societies attempt to address crime.

   There are several reasons advanced “for” the death penalty. I addressed several this week in two of my posts on this blog. Scott Tibbs, who blogs at ConservaTibbs, had posted his view that we, as a society through our government, should ban lethal injection as a method of execution. He advocates firing squad, hanging and electrocution. I stated my view that we should abolish all means of…

   “The disparity in wealth began around 1980" ... “We began to experience these problems in the early 1980s"... “Regulations were eased in the 1980s”...

   I noticed a constant in recent stories about our economic, domestic and foreign woes. The year 1980 is used vaguely as a bench mark. There is an actual, specific date when those woes began. The date was January 20, 1981, when the worst president of the Twentieth Century—Ronald Reagan—was sworn into office.

   Barely two months in…

   Yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Judicial Circuit halted the planned execution of Robert James Campbell.  Prosecutors had failed to provide Campbell’s attorneys with the results of two intelligence (IQ) tests that indicated Campbell’s IQ was under 70. The United States Supreme Court has held a person who is mentally retarded cannot be executed. Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002). Also, the Court long ago held that the State is under an obligation to…

   In his “ConservaTibbs” blog yesterday, Scott Tibbs wrote that governments here should abolish lethal injection as a means of capital punishment. We, as a people, should employ firing squads, hanging, or electrocution as means by which people “who deserve to die” are killed.

   Mr. Tibbs perhaps has missed the past couple of hundred years of legal evolution.

   At the time the Framers met in Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention, there were about 60 crimes, in the…

   "Hoosier School Heist," is a scathing analysis of the privatization of education in the United States, with a special focus on Indiana, written by Doug Martin. Mr.  Martin will be a guest on Civil Discourse Now today, streamed live from The Foundry at 236 East 16th Street, from 11 am to 1 pm.

   "Hoosier School Heist" portrays corporate greed and political corruption in a bipartisan light: the two "major" political parties have participated equally in the effort to dismantle this…

   Civil Discourse Now will stream live from The Foundry at 236 East 16th Street, Saturday, May 10, from 11 am to 1 pm. 

   On this week’s Show we shall discuss education with Doug Martin, author of “Hoosier School Heist.” Justin Oakley, host of “Just Let Me Teach” and former candidate for Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction also will join us. We may have one more guest panelist, but again, at this writing, I do not have confirmation.   

   The system of public education…

   The dust has settled from the May 6 primaries. Yard signs now can be taken down and recycled. We all can take a big, deep breath and look ahead.

   There are two races for United States House of Representatives in Indiana that might prove interesting. In the Second District, incumbent and Republican Jackie Walorski might have her hands full.  The Second was reconfigured (i.e., gerrymandered) to be more secure to Republicans. However, Walorski is seen by some as weak. She is extremely…

   Congratulations are extended to Shawn Denney for his victory in the Democratic primary election for the 5th Congressional District. He will run against incumbent Representative Susan Brooks in the general election in November. I also would like to say “good job” to Allen Ray Davidson who gave it his all, but came up short in the Democratic primary for the same position. Finally, I would say a similar “good job” to David Stockdale, who lost in the GOP primary for the 5th.

   If you want to know where to vote, one place at which you can find that information is the Voter Information Portal - Indianapolis on the internet. Another is the website of the Office of the Marion County Clerk.

   Last week I received a post card from the Office of the Marion County Clerk. The card was quite helpful, as it was notice of where our precinct polling site is located.  If I had not shuffled through the junk mail, found, and read the card, I would have driven to…

   Tomorrow, May 6, are the Democratic and Republican primary elections. A lot of candidates are unopposed. One race, about which I have blogged extensively over the past week-and-a-half is for the Democratic Party nomination for 5th Congressional District. Three candidates will be on the ballot. Shawn Denney and Allen Ray Davidson are well-qualified. I would be honored if either of them was elected as my Congressperson. I will vote in the Democratic Party primary, as I have since I first…

   Gary Welsh's "Advance Indiana" and Paul Ogden's "Ogden on Politics" are blogs I read. I disagree with them on a wide variety of issues, but respect them for the views they hold.

   Yesterday Gary posted a question about my recent blogs in regard to David Ford, who appears to be a "tea party" candidate, but running in the Fifth Congressional District Democratic Party primary. On FaceBook yesterday, Gary asked why I obsessed over this guy, noting that even if David Ford wins the…

   Today I will participate in my 16th consecutive "Mini." Two years ago I slowed down just past mile 10 and took the bus to the finish live. Otherwise, I have made it all 13.1 miles on foot each year.

   I was gratified this week when David Barris, on Channel 8, did a piece about my participation in the Mini and my diagnosis with MS in 1994. When I was diagnosed, the MS had rendered my legs immobile. I began to walk as therapy, and later used the challenge of the Mini to walk the…

   The lines of our Congressional District have seemed to change every couple of years, even though our house has not moved since we bought it in 1995. Some of those years Dan Burton represented “our” District in Congress. Some years Andy Jacobs, jr., then Julia Carson, then Andre Carson was our U.S. Representative.

   No matter how much I disliked Dan Burton, I was unable to criticize him for the clarity of his positions on issues or his general political philosophy. The “political…

   David Ford, a candidate in the May 6 Democratic Party for 5th Congressional District, in which Rep. Susan Brooks (Republican) is the incumbent, has refused to answer specific questions about his political beliefs and philosophy.

   I use David Ford’s full name so as not to confuse anyone with JD Ford, a progressive Democratic Party candidate in the 29th State Senate District. That district overlaps the 5th Congressional District in an area that comprises roughly eighteen percent…

   Yesterday, in his widely-read “Ogden on Politics,” Paul Ogden wrote about my recent blogs about David Ford’s campaign for the Democratic Party nomination in the 5th Congressional District. As is often the case, Mr. Ogden has missed the point of my argument.

   Mr. Ogden initially alleges “Mark Small pens another article suggesting that David Ford ... is, gasp, a supporter of the Tea Party, and, therefore, not a real Democrat.” This is not an accurate summary of my argument. My…

   Everyone has a right to believe as she or he wishes to believe. There also is a concept of truth. In the context of elections, we should expect politicians to tell us what their stands are on issues. At the very least, when a candidate is asked if she or he embraces a particular philosophy or is for or against a stand on a specific issue, the candidate should answer, and answer truthfully.

   In 1960, JFK ran, in part, on the issue of a "missile gap" that did not exist. In 1968,…

   We stream Civil Discourse Now "live" from 11 am to 1 pm each Saturday. You can catch The Show through "Indiana Talks" or Face Book. Our regular features---Kimann Schultz provides her "Fashion News & Muse"; Brandon gives his take on sports, and in "Tail of the City," the ever-corrupt Mayor Mallard uses TIFs to bilk the citizens of the fictional Marionville, Indiana. We will stream from Claude & Annie's at 9251 East 141st Street in Fishers. One of our guests will be Greg Purvis,…

   Allen Ray Davidson and Shawn Denny are candidates in the May 6 primary to be the Democratic Party’s nominee to run against the incumbent, Susan Brooks, for the 5th Congressional District. Mr. Davidson and Mr. Denney accepted our invitation to debate this Saturday, April 26, at Claude & Annie’s, 9251 East 141st Street, Fishers. The debate will commence at noon. We stream from 11 am to 1 pm. During the first half of The Show, we will air our weekly segments from Kimann Schultz, “Fashion…

   Fox News seems to have launched a new reality TV show. Broadcast in Nevada, the central character is a rancher who wants to opt out of payment of fees other ranchers pay to graze their cattle on surrounding land. Cliven Bundy claims "ancestral rights" to the land. He owes over a million dollars in fines and penalties for his use of Federal lands. I am glad Fox News does not consider Cliven to be a welfare "deadbeat"!

   Cliven is an enlightened man, too. Here are his…

   On Saturday, April 26, we shall stream live from Claude & Annie's, just west of SR 37 on 141st Street in Fishers. Democratic Party candidates on the May 6 primary ballot will debate issues from noon to 1 pm. Allen Ray Davidson, Shawn Denney and David Ford---I did that in alphabetical order; I'll mix up the order so the three each will be the first, middle and last at various points in the asking of questions---will discuss issues and answer questions. I will moderate. Matt Stone will…