Civil Discourse Now

Where the far left and far right overlap for fun and enlightenment

All Blog Posts (1,682)

Syria: Questions to which the American public is entitled to answers, and why the rush to fire missiles?

   In the lead-up to the United States invasion of Iraq, the George W. Bush administration gave reasons for "regime change" that resulted in tens of thousands dead, billions in national debt and significant loss of international goodwill---difficult to quantify,but from all signs after 9/11 many nations and people in the World expressed sympathy for this country. Questions about evidence of "weapons of mass destruction"---our purported reason for the invasion---should have been asked more…

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Added by Mark Small on September 9, 2013 at 6:13am — No Comments

Three "busts" of Ballard.

   Busts of four former mayors of Indianapolis---all elected since Unigov was enacted (the "whys" of Unigov are for a later blog)---stand on simple posts on the South side of the East wing hallway of the first floor of the City-County Building, not far from the elevators for the Circuit and Superior Courts. The heads of Richard Lugar, William Hudnut, Stephen Goldsmith and Bart Peterson are arrayed in chronological order, left-to-right, as they harmoniously face the same direction. The busts…

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Added by Mark Small on September 7, 2013 at 7:13am — No Comments

Drew Young, my first vote for a Republican, and the GOP in the House might vote "no" on Syria.

   More years ago than I care to count, Drew Young was the Republican Party candidate for Marion County Prosecutor. Jeff Modisett was the candidate for the Democratic Party. I knew members of the Young family. My roommate at the time (2nd-3rd years in law school) was a former fraternity brother of mine from DePauw and was a cousin of the Youngs. That was not the reason I voted for Drew in the election. I thought he was the better candidate. As is usually the case, the candidate for whom I…

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Added by Mark Small on September 6, 2013 at 6:07am — No Comments

War is more likely as each hour passes---tell your reps "no," unless quantum computers already rule the World.

   In "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," William Shirer relates events for which he was present at Godesburg September 22-23, 1938, crucial days when the fate of Czechoslovakia was determined. Shirer related what a German companion told him:  "And he explained that Hitler had been in such a maniacal mood over the Czechs the last few days that on more than one occasion he had lost control of himself completely, hurling himself to the floor and chewing the edge of the carpet. Hence the…

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Added by Mark Small on September 5, 2013 at 6:17am — 1 Comment

Syria: Americans who will do the dying do not poll well on the idea of this military conflict.

   Four major polls released in the past few days show the American people do not favor military action in Syria. (Pew: 29% favor/48% oppose/23% undecided; Washington Post/ABC, 36/59/5; NBC 42/50/8; Huffington Post 25/41/34.) One would think the opinion of the American people to be important when the country's political leaders consider important issues. Yes, that would be in a fantasy world.

   On the other hand, the House and Senate leadership of both parties support military action…

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Added by Mark Small on September 4, 2013 at 6:24am — No Comments

Why do "we" want to bomb Syria?

   In "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues," author Tom Robbins occasionally notes the International situation was desperate, as usual." The situation in Syria brought that observation to mind as I read Senator McCain's judgment. We must bomb Syria or lose credibility.

   From what I have read of international views of United States foreign policy over the last 50 years, "we" have little credibility, give or take bombs dropped on Syria. One who is "credible" is "worthy of belief or…

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Added by Mark Small on September 3, 2013 at 5:44am — No Comments

Sheila's right: so far "The Onion" has the best take on Syria.

   In her blog this weekend, Sheila Kennedy pointed out that "The Onion" might have the best commentary in regard to the current crisis in Syria. "The Onion" ran a fictional letter to the United States from Assad of Syria, basically saying the United States is screwed any way we go when it comes to Syria, a nation created by those same geniuses at the end of World War I whose efforts, in part, brought us World War II.

   A fundamental question we should consider is: are we morally…

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Added by Mark Small on September 2, 2013 at 7:02am — No Comments

Syria: a "war" we should avoid, but one we probably will not avoid because corporations jones for a war.

   In "The Guns of August," Barbara Tuchman depicts the ways in which European powers blundered into what became World War I. A plot to kill Archduke Ferdinand while he visited Sarajevo, first botched, succeeded by the weird luck of one of the assassins rounding a corner at the same time as the Archduke's open-air car. Germany wanted an opportunity to use its military to gain hegemony in Europe. Various members of royalty wanted their countries to fight, as if war were a simple game for…

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Added by Mark Small on September 1, 2013 at 5:57am — 1 Comment

What are the arguments against marriage equality?

   Our Show today will focus on the efforts by some in the Indiana General Assembly to amend the Indiana Constitution to define marriage as between "one man" and "one woman." This week I have advanced arguments against the amendment, also opposed, amongst others, by major corporations (e.g., Eli Lilly, Cummins) that do business here. Earlier in the week, I invited several proponents of the measure to be guests today. Unfortunately, those folks ether are out of town on vacation, out of town…

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Added by Mark Small on August 31, 2013 at 6:31am — No Comments

After IRS announcement, marriage equality makes even more economic sense: Saturday's Show about LGBT rights and Indiana's proposed constitutional amendment.

   The IRS has announced that same-sex married couples will be treated as married for income tax purposes even if the State in which a couple resides does not recognize marriage equality. As our friend Gary Welsh points out at "Advance Indiana," this presents a problem for Governor Pence and the General Assembly. Indiana generally follows Federal income tax procedures. If the "marriage is only between one man and one woman" is adopted by the Indiana General Assembly, filing of income tax…

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Added by Mark Small on August 30, 2013 at 7:40am — No Comments

Marriage equality makes economic sense: Saturday's Show about LGBT rights and Indiana's proposed constitutional amendment.

   When local mega-businesses like Eli Lilly and Cummins support a progressive position on an issue, one tends to take notice. This is not an ALEC pose on a matter of social issues. 

   The word "progress" and derivations of that word have been given pejorative connotations in recent years. As a noun, "progress" means "a proceeding to a further or higher stage, or through such stages progressively."  American College Dictionary, 1962 ed., p. 967.

   Why would large corporations…

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Added by Mark Small on August 29, 2013 at 6:34am — No Comments

Saturday's Show: Amending the Indiana Constitution to define "marriage" as between "one man" and "one woman."

   The existence of an Indiana State constitution was mentioned vaguely in my high school Indiana History class. The United States Supreme Court was in the headlines a lot back then, in the 1960s. Of course, the Court is in the headlines (or blogosphere or other appropriate parallel to "headlines") today. In the 1960s, and early 1970s, the headlines usually seemed to indicate a Court that advanced rights. I knew when "Dragnet" aired any given week, Jack Webb would highlight a new criminal…

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Added by Mark Small on August 27, 2013 at 6:02am — No Comments

Indiana's proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage: next week's topic.

   A panel show that aired Friday night took an interesting twist near the end of the broadcast. The host mentioned, in passing, that all three members of the panel were gay. In years past---maybe only as recently as five---an entire panel of lesbian and gay guests would at least have received some promo. There might have been commentary in a few newspapers or on some blogs. This occurred with little fanfare.

   This is an example of how members of the LGBT community have been…

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Added by Mark Small on August 26, 2013 at 6:30am — No Comments

Too many people and too much money in too few hands.

   January 20, 1981, was a pretty lousy day in American history. Since that Inauguration Day, the American economy has seen a redistribution of wealth---the middle class nearly has been eliminated and wages held in check to enable the one or two percent richest to grab more and more. There only are so many marbles on the table. The amount of wealth under United States control was phenomenal at the time. We controlled a lot of the marbles in the world. With only five percent (5%) of the…

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Added by Mark Small on August 25, 2013 at 6:14am — 2 Comments

Main dynamic of Obamacare: Why the Constitution was written---not outside the powers of the Fed.

   "By late 1785, Madison recognized that individual states would never regulate commerce fairly.  States with active ports could not resist taxing goods from nearby states, while their neighbors retaliated in any way they could.  When three New England states tried to win concessions from the British by restricting their trade, Connecticut undermined them by aggressively promoting its own trade with Britain." Stewart, "The Summer of 1787," 2007, p. 8.

   The Articles of Confederation…

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Added by Mark Small on August 24, 2013 at 6:09am — No Comments

Fear of Obamacare: it might just work.

   In the lead-up the passage of Medicare in 1965, some warned of the imminent Apocalypse. Ronnie Raygun always viewed "socialized medicine" as the harbinger of Marxist-Leninism. Those warnings were strident and loud. The bill passed. Earlier these year, when the far right rumbled about replacing Medicare with a voucher program in which a person would have a credit voucher for several thousand dollars to take anywhere she or he pleased---Gee, I wonder how many clinics would fashion their…

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Added by Mark Small on August 23, 2013 at 5:58am — No Comments

GOP's greatest fear about Obamacare: it will work. Saturday's Show we debate the Affordable Care Act.

   Yesterday I addressed two areas of argument Ryan Ripley---libertarian, Libertarian, host of "The Shill Report" on Indiana Talks and my opponent in a debate on the constitutionality of Obama care we shall wage on Saturday's Show from 11 am to 1 pm---has offered opinion.

   One quick comment about yesterday's blog. Colleague and friend Paul Ogden pointed out the Supreme Court's decision on ACA held the Commerce Clause does not provide the basis for the Federal Government's ability to…

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Added by Mark Small on August 22, 2013 at 6:32am — No Comments

Objections to "Obamacare": Saturday's Show.

   On Saturday, August 24, from 11 am to 1 pm, Ryan Ripley, a libertarian (or is that Libertarian?) who hosts "The Shill Report" on Indiana Talks, will debate me on whether the Affordable Care Act is constitutional. Ryan debated in high school. We agreed upon a format in which each of us will give an opening argument, then proceed to polite interaction on several areas of focus. Ryan e-mailed to me areas he wants to address. (We agreed to make the discussion one of principles with focus on…

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Added by Mark Small on August 21, 2013 at 6:13am — 1 Comment

Mitch Daniels, the 38 percent of all people are a**holes theory and its corolary.

   A theory I have developed is that 38% of all people are assholes. A corollary to this theory is that all people have the tendency to be assholes. (Since Justice Alito announced two years ago that broadcast TV is dead and implied the rule against the "seven words" no longer holds, I shall continue on this topic.) By "asshole," I mean someone who is self-centered to the point that she or he would ruin someone else simply out of spite, at the very least verbally abusive to most people whom…

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Added by Mark Small on August 20, 2013 at 6:30am — No Comments

Bread and circuses in the Circle City: where did "hope" go amidst so much corruption?

   We have pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into "sports" in Indianapolis over the past 30 years. The largesse has seemed most prolific in the past five years. One can point to the now-famed Pan Am Games in 1987 as some sort of hallmark. The flow of greenbacks began before that.

   Years before the disembodied voice spoke to Kevin Costner's "Ray" in 1989's "Field of Dreams---"Build it and he will come!"---the City of Indianapolis erected an edifice to professional football,…

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Added by Mark Small on August 19, 2013 at 6:38am — No Comments

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