Ralph Waldo Emerson often is misquoted [FN1]: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” [FN 2] Without consistency, math (e.g., numerical values are constant), language (words have specific meanings) would be impossible. Today, inconsistency impairs civil discourse.1/7

On 11/25 I re-posted meme of pics of Hitler & trump w/caption “Evil doesn’t die It reinvents itself.” One person posted replies: 1) a pic of former Senator Hillary Clinton w/”Evil” as a caption.…

I shall take your post as directed to me, Sean. I am flattered. I shall be careful to use simple words so that you do not get lost, and shall try to answer your question, but that is at the end.

I) You suggest there “should be some kind of word for denial of what one’s political religion is doing.”

A) Your concept of “religion” probably is limited to a belief built around rhe existence of a “god.” Religion can be such a belief. Some use the word to describe a group of beliefs or…

Micah Beckwith [FN1], in a FB video shot shortly after 1/6/21, says “God” told him: “I sent those riots to Washington.” Any claim that the insurrection was staged to discredit trump flies in the face of “God.” Tucker Carlson can’t say it was an FBI “false flag” [FN2] [FN3] 1/6

Evangelicals must be held to a premise. “God” [F4] would neither lie nor joke about such things. 1) I’m unaware of any passage of either testament in which the supreme deity says it’s all a prank or practical…

We near 2024’s election for POTUS [FN1] Racism is an issue and is a significant part of other issues. [FN2] Slavery began here in 1619 [FN3], was protected by The Constitution [FN4] and ended , only because secession of the Southern States forced the issue. [FN5] [FN6] 1/9

A century earlier, in Indiana, D.C. Stephenson used racism as part of his sales pitch for Hoosiers to join the KKK, but racism “was part of daily life.” [FN7]. He also used xenophobia [FN8] and hundreds of thousands…

As the dust settles after the latest meeting of the board of directors of HEPL [FN1], we see a lot of money was wasted & nothing was gained. In May w/o public notice or listing on the agenda, the Hamilton County Council placed Micah Beckwith [FN2] on the HEPL board. 1/7

During the summer Beckwith was joined by three other board members of the far right for a 4-3 temporary [FN3] majority that instituted a new policy. Books were pulled from the teen section to be reviewed for, well,…

The U.S. is not very “free.” That can be traced back to the early days. [FN1] The Constitution protected slavery until 1865. [FN2] Punishment of speech critical of war has been allowed during times of war. [FN3] On “total freedom” we are as low as 58th [FN4] & as high as 15th. [FN5] 1/7

Rankings aside, we can’t seriously be “Land of the Free,” w/5% of the World’s population but 20% of people in prison. [FN6] We rank 56th for rates of violent crime. [FN7] Not even mentioned as…

78 years is the longest the U.S. has not been at war. The Constitution states: “The Congress shall have Power [] To declare War.” [FN1] Our last war ended on 9/2/45. [FN2] Wars and non-wars are bloody messes, but wars are cumbersome, as the Framers intended. 1/7

On 6/29/1787, James Madison said at The Constitutional Convention: “A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty.” [FN3] Leaders of our gov’t & our military like…

After “stinging losses” in 2022's midterms, GOP [FN1] said they needed “to refine their message on abortion.” More losses this week & a veteran GOP consultant said this should “be a major wake-up call on the abortion issue for us.” [FN2] The GOP seeks power & trains followers 1/5

to shut their minds at mention of catch-phrases so that followers will not think for themselves. Women’s reproductive rights was a prime target. The GOP lied to make the issue simple. But Roe v Wade…

Nat’l headlines are rarely kind to Indiana politics. An 1897 bill to set the value of Pi was comic. [FN1] Indiana’s dominance by the KKK after WWI was horrendous. [FN2] Even when it comes to “vice,” as in Vice Presidents, we are no better than a #2. [FN3] Yesterday, 11/7/23: 1/10

Nat’l media (again) reported on Hamilton County’s “Moms for Liberty.” [FN4] In June the group quoted der Fuehrer on its “newly launched newsletter, ‘The Parent Brigade’” & drew harsh reactions. [FN5]…

A lie repeated 100 times is a lie. Tomorrow (11/07/23) Indy voters, who’ve not voted early, cast ballots for two offices, Mayor and City-County counselor. Jefferson Shreve, GOP candidate for mayor, says incumbent Mayor Joe Hogsett failed to respond to the 2020 BLM “riots.” 1/10

1 A “riot”: an “assemblage of three or more persons in a public place taking concerted action in a turbulent and disorderly manner for a common purpose...” [FN1] 2 The persons assembled “create a breach of the…

Two posts this weekend showed Indiana’s far right’s core values. Number 1 is “Don’t Know,” embodied by a man [FN1] who would have fit in w/the 19th Century Know Nothings: Micah Beckwith. [FN2] Example: as he hyped his lectures on The Constitution he warned: 1/8

“stay away from higher education and [its] secular progressive bias.” He gives neither examples of bias nor reasons people should stay away from higher education. That betrays his own bias. A meme he re-posted on 10/28 goes…

A mass shooting occurred this week. People can shake their heads, say “thoughts & prayers” or other bullshit, and go back to bragging about the imitation phalluses they brandish. After all, they remind us: “Guns made this country free!” That, too, is bullshit. 1/6

Factors in the victory over the British: colonies’ alliance w/France, debt the British had incurred in the years prior to and during the revolution, distance between England and the colonies, and the colonists’…

Micah Beckwith [FN1] posted a photo of Aldous Huxley w/3 paragraphs and a mention of “Tyler Durden.” Beckwith asserts “the left deliberately spreads false information based on feelings.” Beckwith’s posts have an emetic [FN2] effect, so grab a bucket. The post is classic “Becky.” 1/6

1: He asserts w/o specific citation to authorities. He can disavow parts when convenient or claim the whole thing as his.

2: He lies w/o concern for facts. He does this in a post about facts as “the…

Latest from Lewiston, Maine: 20 people died when one of those “lone gunmen” went nuts w/an assault style weapon. We all should be thankful for the NRA bribing public officials on a scale sufficient to ensure at least two other shooters did not cut loose in other places. 1/7

In post-Citizens United America, the NRA does not have to waste its valuable resources & stuff cash into public officials’ pockets. SCOTUS Associate Justice Clarence Thomas sets a great example of efficient…

Gosh golly! Micah Beckwith [FN1] on FB posted a photo of U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who presides over trump’s prosecution on charges related to his attempt to subvert the 2020 election [FN2] and said trump “‘does not have the right to say what he pleases.’” 1/11

CNN reports Her Honor’s limited gag order bars trump from making public statements “about witnesses who might testify against him, as well as prosecutors and court staff.” trump still can campaign. Beckwith says “we…

I erred in my 10/15 blog. I wrote Hamilton County preacher Micah Beckwith [FN1] posted “a photo & article, purportedly from a right wing website w/a headline: ‘Leftists Want the Same Massacre Here,’ i.e., Hamas & Israel.” A 10/12/23 op-ed used the photo &the headline 1/10

cited by Beckwith. It was written by Kurt Schlicther [FN2] a Townhall.com Senior columnist, as well as an L.A. trial lawyer, and retired army infantry colonel. [FN3] The op-ed is sick: “our foreign and…

On 8/8/23, Micah Beckwith [FN1] discussed civility in social media on John Schmitz’s FB podcast “Mouthwash.” John played my 2-minute clip “smalltalk,” about HEPL’s policy (now suspended) to review books in the young adult section, passed by a temporary 4-3 majority 1/11

of far-right wing people on HEPL’s board, one of whom was Beckwith. [FN2] On 10/14/23, Beckwith posted a photo & article, purportedly from a right wing website w/a headline: “Leftists Want the Same Massacre Here,”…

Tonight, October 3 at 7 pm, is the debut of Civil Discourse Now, available on FB & YouTube. Without civil discourse, we have no society. We are honored to have Pastor Chris Duckworth, of New Joy Lutheran Church, Westfield, as a premier guest. As Jane Reed, CDN’s producer 1/2

noted in her post about tonight’s show, Pastor Chris embodies inclusive mind thought and spirituality and will discuss the issues involving the LGBTQ. Also, activist Cassie Jackson shot a video that we’Il…

Absurd juxtaposition isn’t the name of a musical (pick your genre) group, but how 2 statements in Indiana’s political environment relate. First: via email, Gov Holcomb said Indiana’s support for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is being expanded “to give more Hoosier children 1/8

access 2 free, high-quality, age-appropriate books every month, regardless of income.” Only in IN in 2023, where censoring [FN1] books almost is a right-wing sport [FN2], is expanding kids’ access to books…

Western High School is a mile away from Russiaville, in Howard County. The class of 1973 had 168 members. A lot of us attended grades 1 to 12 w/in Western School Corporation About 25% attended Saturday’s reunion dinner in Kokomo. I’d seen few of my classmates since ‘73. 1/7

In 1961 we were little kids and started first grade at one of three elementary schools. In the years that followed, our experiences were little different from experiences of other kids our age in the USA, but two…