Civility in social media is full frontal tonight on “Mouthwash,”(Tues, 8/8, 9 pm, Facebook) John Schmitz’s podcast. Conversation will focus on Ham East Public Library, & a policy 4 of the 7 trustees adopted moving books from a teen to an adult section & that controversy. 1/10

Ham County preacher Micah Beckwith (the Lloyd Ruby of local politics) will be on a panel with Jocelyn Vare (Fishers City Council) and Alexandria librarian Brad Sowinski. Compare/contrast Beckwith in The…

A flick, “The Sound of Freedom,” inspired at least one member of the 4-3 majority of the Ham East Public Library board to move books out of a teen section for review & possible placement in the adult section of the Fishers Library. This costs $$$, although HEPL board member 1/13

Tiffanie Ditlevson said an earlier review of children’s books didn’t cost an add’l penny. Either the section was extremely small or the review sought was more narrow than the current project. A quote fr a…

As kids there were books, plays & movies we were told not to read or view.. History is not kind to people who censor writings & other forms of art. One person thought Shakespeare went too far. (Look up “bowdlerize”) Our laws are based on notice that a thing is illegal. “Ignorance 1/5

of the law is no excuse,” but whether something violates the law is different. People can try to define “pornography.” The closest: “I know it when I see it.” Jacobellis v Ohio, 378 U.S. 184, 197…

Tony Kinnett (The Daily Caller 5/23/23) was angry “[l]ocal media began writing about the [Ham East Library] board’s ordering ‘shelves emptied’ in a project ‘expected to cost $300,000'” due to the GOP gaining “seats on the public library’s board of trustees.” An Indy Star reporter’s 1/6

description of the “review” by the library as “book banning” was wrong. Kinnett says “None of those claims is true.” In an April mtg the libr director said $300K “was a ‘misquote’” & included costs…

Ham County preacher/GOP IN Lt Gov candidate Micah Beckwith said in an FB post on 8/2, “Our rights are not products of man-made law, but are considered to be God-given.” The people who wrote The Constitution would have been surprised to here that. First, no “god” was invoked

to attend the 1787 Convention. Second, Franklin’s suggestion each session begin w/prayer was ignored. Third, there is no mention of any “god” or of Jesus Christ in The Constitution. Fourth, Madison makes no mention…

Ham County preacher/political wannabe Micah Beckwith wished everybody Happy Natl Choc Chip Cookie Day & referred to principles we hold dear as “Christians [&] Const’l conservatives.” Here’s a time line. 2020: he lost the GOP primary INCD5. 2023: Beckwith “won” w/o notice 1/6

on the agenda, a seat on Ham East Library Board. Books he hasn’t read, but objected to, were moved (est cost: $300K) to the library’s adult section.. 2024: he’s running 4 IN Lt Gov & has a chance since…

"Why can’t we have civil discourse!?” Discourse consists of talking and listening. Key elements: 1) Format allows each person the same amount of time to speak; 2) No one interrupts the speaker w/o the speaker’s consent; & 3) A person to moderate. Over the past few days discussion 1/5

of a live broadcast shifted to the social platform formerly known as Twitter. The lively discussion concerned the Hamilton East Library Board, censorship & what many see as efforts by the far…

John Schmitz started his podcast “Mouthwash” over 2 yrs ago on Facebook (Tuesdays at 9 p.m.) As director/host, each week he has to line up guests, research topic(s), confirm regular panelists, and publicize it all. John wanted people of any political views could talk in civil fashion.1/5

I’ve been a guest & have a weekly spot, smalltalk, on Mouthwash. John and I disagree on most issues. Mouthwashtalkshow is John’s handle on Twitter & yesterday he had a series of exchanges…

In the mid-70s, a billboard at I-465 and I-70 on the west side greeted east-bound traffic: “God, guns & guts made America great/Let’s keep all 3!” This is an example of falsehoods repeated so often as to deter question of their validity. 1) “God” is not in The Constitution. At the 1787 1/5

Constitutional Convention, Franklin’s motion to start each day w/prayer did not come to a vote. To say “Freedom of & from religion made this country different” is more accurate, but bogs…

To say views espoused by Hamilton County preacher/wannabe politician Micah Beckwith are silly is kind. We use comedy to ridicule bigotry, ignorance, misogyny & racism, but usually at a distance. Mel Brooks did not shoot “The Producers,” w/its fictional musical “Springtime for 1/6

Hitler,” until more than 20 years had passed since the end of the “Thousand Year Reich” after a run of 12 years & 4 months. 100 years ago this month, D.C. Stephenson was formally inducted as head of…

trump says if he regains the Oval Office, he wants more power. Some observers are too quick to compare trump to a genocidal former corporal who led Germany from 1933-1945. Years of home schoolin’ & vouchers have left many Americans ignorant of civics & history. Differences 1/4

between trump and Hitler are stark. 1) Hitler actually wrote (Hess typed) the best seller published under his name, but tfg had ghost writers; 2) Hitler was financially solvent (mostly from book sales)…

Even people acting in good faith can’t keep gains from criminal conduct. Example: some ppl cashed out their investments before Carlo Ponzi’s Securities Exchange Co was busted in Aug 1920 had to pay back profits. trump & ppl who gained fr his time in office can’t keep the 1/5

spoils obtained. I was counsel in 2 cases filed w/SCOTUS in 2017: Bailey, et al v. U.S., docket 16-1464, and Blumstein, et al v Pence, dkt 16-907, mandamus actions. In Shane, et al v U.S., et al, 17-857,…

The fraud that is the jurisprudence of the 6-justice Roberts Court hit depths, last term, not seen in over two centuries. Possibly the Worst Court Ever, the Taney Court (1836-64) in a 7-2 opinion, by the CJ himself, in Dred Scott v Sanford, 60 U.S. 393 (1856), solidified racism. 1/5

The issue: “Can a negro, whose ancestors were imported into this country” & “sold as slaves” be & be entitled to all the rights of a US citizen? Taney’s answer: no: fr 1789 Black ppl were…

Sen Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) tweeted an MSNBC story about ethics conflicts of SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas, & asked: “How many billionaire benefactors does one judge need?” The question is legitimate & implies specific limits should be imposed. As usual for, 1/7

us liberals, the Senator overlooked very important prelim info. Is the judge in it for the money? Or, so maga ppl better understand, is the judge a sl*t or a wh*r*? (Vowels are $50 each.) The former is in it for fun…

06/16/2023: U.S. District Court, Indiana’s southern district, blocked most provisions of Indiana’s statute limiting care for transgender people. Its Order Granted in Part a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction in K.C., et al. Medial Licensing Bd, et al, 1:23-cv-595. First, Indiana AG Rokita, 1/7

on 04/05/22, sd SB480 “protects our children from irreversible” damaging decisions & “banning these experimental procedures is critical” for future generations and that his office is “ready…

For 78 years USA has talked more “war” than’s been waged. LBJ (poverty) and Nixon (drugs & crime) had wars. Recent talk has been of a “second civil war.” “The Congress shall have Power [] To declare War.” (Const. Art. I, sec. 8.) USA only has fought in five (5) wars: 1/6

1) War of 1812: British troops sacked D.C. & we had a tie. (U.S.: 0-0-1.) 2) Mexican-American War: Pres Polk sd Mexico attacked U.S. troops on U.S. soil. Others disagreed. U.S. won. (U.S.: 1-0-1.) 3)…

DATELINE: Washington, D.C. “U.S. Secret Service agents found the [cocaine] during a routine White House sweep on Sunday, in a small, clear plastic bag on the ground in a heavily trafficked area.” Drugs in the WH are American culture. Willie Nelson got high on the WH roof. 1/5

The most uptight individuals to occupy the Oval Office were vehemently anti-pot. Nixon is on tape: “I want a [gd] strong statement on marijuana ... You know, it’s a funny thing, every one of the bastards that are…

OPERATOR: Good evening. White House switchboard.

JR: Hi. I want to talk with whoever is investigating

the “white powder” found in the West Wing.

O: May I have your name please?

JR: I know this number. That should narrow the field.

O: Sir, I...

JR: You don’t know who I am? I can spell it out,

if that helps.

O: I think I have your name, but it helps if you spell

the last part.

JR: Huh?

O: The first, middle & last names…

100 years ago on this date, D.C. Stephenson was formally inducted “as Indiana Grand Dragon” of Indiana’s KKK. Madison, “The Ku Klux Klan in the Heartland,” 2020, p. 129. In “My Indiana,” Irving Leibowitz, a reporter for The Indianapolis Times, wrote: Stephenson promoted 1/5

himself to Grand Dragon of the Klan in Indiana. [H]e arranged at Kokomo’s Malfalfa Park on July 4, 1923 the greatest gathering of the Klan ever held in the state” 200K kluxers assembled for the konklave...” (p.…

Dateline: Twitmo, 06/25/23] Tues, 06/19, Hamilton Co, IN, preacher Micah Beckwith, running in 2024 for IN Lt Gov from the GOP, was a guest on “Mouthwash,” John Schmitz’s FB podcast. (Beckwith doesn’t have to worry about swaying primary voters. GOP State Convention 1/8

delegates pick the Lt Gov.) Beckwith says he’s completed course work w/Hillsdale College & is a “constitutionalist.” Hillsdale’s downloads are free. Its SEO ppl are good because the only items that appear on the 1st…