George Orwell’s fame is derived from two books: Animal Farm and 1984. From the latter came the linguistic Newspeak, the language promoted by the State. Today, when one speaks of something as "Orwellian," usually it is in the context of a "good" label applied to something most would consider bad.

   Presently before the Indiana General Assembly are two bills in the House of Representatives (HB 1028 and 1043) and one in the Senate (SB 0395) that are considered "right to…

   During yesterday's Show, I referred to W.A. Clark, a Montana business tycoon/minerals baron of the turns of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, as C.W. Morgan. I got the name wrong, but all the other matters about the man that I cited were correct. I had the name right in my blog from a couple of days ago---and a print-out of the blog in a 3-ring binder right in front of me. So mea culpa.   

"Civil Discourse Now" welcomes back panelist Jeff Cox. Also wwelcome goes to Nicolas Martin, in his first apearance on the Show. Nicolas is a long-time libertarian, a faithful serf to his nine-year-old daughter, and a funeral photographer whose website link is at the end of yesterday's blog & will be repeated on the Show today. Those interested in watching live, we shoot at 11 a.m. at Big Hat Books, 6510 Cornell in Broad Ripple. We will be on-line no later than 11 am Sunday.

   Odds are very good that Western Partnership will be taken up on a petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court. Whether the Montana Supreme Court’s holding will survive there is a bit like speculating whether, once in the NCAA tournament, Indiana University will fare well.

   The justices of the Montana Supreme Court are aware of the possibilities of course. Chief Justice McGrath wrote for the Montana Court fully aware of the possibilities. That is why…

  So, let’s pick up from yesterday. The Montana Supreme Court, on December 30, handed down a decision in Western Tradition Partnership, Inc. Attorney General, 2011 WL 6888567, ("WTP" for short) that, seemingly in the face of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 130 S.Ct. 876 (2011),  has upheld Montana’s ban on corporate donations to a "a candidate or a political committee that supports or opposes a candidate or a political…

   A decision handed down on December 30, 2011, the Supreme Court of Montana, in Western Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Attorney General of State, 2011 WL 6888567, ("WTP") might rock the foundation of the Super PACs created by the Citizens United case.   

   Generally the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, Art. III, §2,  means a decision of the United States Supreme Court trumps the highest court of one of the 50 states (or 46 states and four…

  I, this weird dream last night, I ran into Socrates. As my dreams go, we were on the concourse of a ballpark. I knew it had to be a dream, and not death. After all, as an atheist, I do not believe in an after-life. If I did, this was not heaven, as it was a weird compilation of ballparks related to the Reds. I am a Cubs fan. On the other hand, it wasn’t hell, because I saw no indication I was in the Bronx.

   But I had a beer in my hand (not Hudepohl, or else I would have had second…

   The City of Indianapolis, through its Department of Code Enforcement,  has been kind enough to post an information for "Super Celebration Sites" for the time leading up to, and following, the Super Bowl.

   Contexts of Orwellian twists on the English language are interesting. To see these phenomena in regard to a sports event staged by a mono(lith)poly would add an element of amusement, were it not for a couple of factors. First, we—taxpayers and citizens of Indianapolis and…

   Last night I thought about a deposition I took this week.

   Folks met up yesterday at the Broad Ripple Tavern (BRT) at 2:00—p.m., not a.m.—to do what has become ritual New Year’s Eve: talk, have a few laughs, discuss political and social issues, and drink. My beverage of choice is beer. Joe, a fraternity brother from DePauw days, does not imbibe. Bright-line rules have their merits. Mine: do not drink if one knows one has to get behind the wheel of a car and do not drive if one…