Society has a right to defend itself when children become weapons of ignorance. The defense is knowledge. The attack crystallized on 1/20/1981. Reagan demeaned knowledge. As California’s governor he gutted the State’s system of public universities.

Reagan was far from original: “Government isn’t the solution. It’s the problem.” He cribbed that from Eldridge Cleaver, one of the founders of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. Reagan was pro-2nd Amendment for others, but wanted the…

‘War” did not end for the U.S. in Afghanistan. “Congress shall have Power ... To declare War ...” U.S. Const. Art. I, § 8. The last day the U.S. was in a war was September 2, 1945. After 9/11, a lot of the rest of the World supported the initial responses of the U.S.

U.S. forces hit camps in Afghanistan where terrorists (remember the reasons?) trained for 9/11 & U.S. forces required materiel. Lots (LOT$) of money (pallet$ of bundle$ of C-note$) was lost on mountainsides & in…

5 Enjoying the preseason? This is what happened in a preseason past, after the reporter slipped a “Mickey” into things. But you know what? That gave me a “reasonable and even” view of a game I only ever had watched. 1/8

The night-long conversation was bizarre. The orange bear, @ 1st, made more sense, her/his/its voice quite mellow. The bear’s pal, no more than 3 feet tall, was swaddled in brown rags and only grumbled. The TV was tuned to a traveling team of acrobats from China.…

When people discuss public education, some things are lost. Several of the best teachers from whom I learned were right-wing as could be. In 8th grade Lance Alter was our teacher for Reading. He also taught English, later on in the academic sojourn. 1/5

Sophomore year we had to write a book report (one of several). He asked if I had a book in mind. After a pause, he said I might like “this” book. Until then I’d read sci-fi (e.g., The Foundation trilogy) or political novels (e.g.,…

4 “This way?” I asked Debi and gestured toward a door marked “President” beside a chair w/a very large, motionless man. Firing the club “President” was easy. I opened the door & yelled: “That’s disgusting and a violation of team morals policies! You’re fired!” 1/9

Guys with hand trucks materialized. “I figured you’d need them to move stuff,” Debbie said & added: “This franchise has a vibrant history w/moving companies.” They had that office cleared in 5 minutes. They left a…

Umtell: a cheat, bully, coward, spoiled as hell, not the sharpest knife (or spoon) in the drawer but felt entitled to > everything; i.e., a classic American “businessman.” He grabbed & guzzled his 3rd (by my count) bottle of single malt. His BAC had to be fast approaching his IQ. 1/10

Things moved fast. A woman (had to be Debi), early 20s, entered. The leather of a satchel in her hand matched her bodice (w/plunging neckline) and boots. Umtell grabbed the satchel and tossed it…

2: He shuffled, didnt offer a cut & dealt off the bottom of the deck badly. He caught my stare. I asked “Why bother stacking the deck when you’re using marked cards?” His voice came from behind me: “Because I can.” I turned around. His face filled the TV screen. 1/10

A voice-over explained how Bill Umtell was the first pro sports owner to realize American cities will whore themselves out to get an NFL® team. His realization meant his team might have the worst record, but it…

A hot, Hoosier 105% humidity day had glued the polyester suit I’d worn for the nonexistent job interview to my skin via sweat, but at least I looked presentable. A mask dangled from an ear. The bartender kept track of beers vs money on the classmate’s tab. 1/9

Mid-afternoons on weekdays are “down” time in most bars, even more so in a club. The 2 other habitues were playing gin as the TV played sports. One gin player, in his 60s, looked familiar. He bitched for another round. Bartender…

For your amusement ... c. 2021 by mark small. a novel: "Sideline$" CH 1. Liberal arts degrees land one in odd places. In high school I was skinny and short, so sports were not my “thing.” I was president of the Latin Club. Yes, a real “chick magnet.” In college I was only slightly heavier, plus I was a hippie. 1/5

At least I was creative. I could figure out how to solve things, in general, just not how to end my unemployment after they made me receive my degree. I didn’t want to leave…

Ignorance has driven the COVID outbreak. Many who question viability of vaccines and cite “variants” as support also scoff at evolution as “only a theory.” But theory is “carefully thought-out explanation for observations of the natural world that has been constructed using the scientific method, and which brings together many facts and hypotheses.” The Field Museum. Where possible it is subject to testing. Stanford Encyc of Philosophy.

Variants have emerged because COVID has been…

If we are the “land of the free,” we should not have 25% of the World’s prison inmate population with only 5% of the World’s total population. The notion of providing incentives to corporations to warehouse more people in prisons is bizarre.



Tonight, July 27, at 7 p.m. Indiana time (about 1958 on others’ calendars), Indianapolis attorney Andrew Maternowski will join me on Civil Discourse Now civildiscoursenow.com to discuss privatized prisons. So many people talk about crime, maybe…

Texas has demonstrated the racism is alive. In June its governor signed into law a prohibition against Critical Race Theory (“CRT”), a view that racism “is embedded in our society and legal systems to uphold supremacy of white persons.”

Of course our Nation’s history is steeped in racism. Slavery was protected by The Constitution. Only in 1954 did the Supreme Court rule that “separate” was inherently “unequal.” The Texas Senate has passed S.B. 3 that drops some requirements for school…

Abdul Latif Nasser was released from captivity after 19 years. He never was charged with a crime. He never was given the basic right of a trial. The “Great Writ” is habeas corpus, Latin for “you have the body.” Black’s, 10th ed., and means the government has to justify detention.

Even former (temporary) Hoosier Chuck Manson was given due process after the 1969 murders for which Manson was infamous. To hold a person without charges indefinitely is unconscionable. We neither won “hearts…

Democratic members of Texas’s legislature have absented themselves for votes on voting rights to deprive the body of a quorum (“smallest number of people who must be present at a meeting so that official decisions can be made.” Black’s Law Dictionary, 10th ed., 2014, p. 1446).

Texas GOP politicians were just as miffed as Democratic members of Oregon’s legislature when GOP members there walked out earlier this year. The GOP was angry in 2011 in Indiana when Democratic members... There…

Tonight at 9 p.m., on “Mouthwash,” John Schmitz’s FB podcast, the topic: Critical Race Theory (“CRT”). Florida’s education regs say it is a view that racism “is embedded in our society and legal systems to uphold supremacy of white persons.”

After the Civil War, the Party that pushed for equality was the Republican. The Democratic Party came to rely upon the “Solid South” for votes of electors and Congress. When President Truman ordered the military be integrated, the Democratic Party…

On Tues, July 13, 9 p.m., on “Mouthwash,” John Schmitz’s FB podcast, the topic: Critical Race Theory (“CRT”), i.e., a view that racism “is embedded in our society and legal systems to uphold supremacy of white persons.” From 1789 to 1865 the racism in our system was clear.

A second period of institutionalized racism began in 1865 and ran to 1954. Amendment XIII, §1, ratified on 12/18/1865, abolished slavery, but it did not abolish “racism embedded in our society and legal systems to…

Racism: our schools should teach kids about it. Tues, July 13, 9 p.m., on “Mouthwash,” John Schmitz’s FB podcast, the topic: Critical Race Theory (“CRT”), i.e., a view that racism “is embedded in our society and legal systems to uphold supremacy of white persons.”

Three periods reflect ways our “legal systems uphold supremacy of white persons.” From 1789 to 1865, racism was built into the Constitution (“three fifths of all other persons” (Art. I, § 2); “Importation of such Persons”…

Next Tuesday at 9 p.m. the topic for “Mouthwash,” the FB podcast hosted by John Scmitz, will be Critical Race Theory (“CRT”). Florida says CRT teaches racism is not a product of prejudice, but “is embedded in our society and legal systems to uphold supremacy of white persons.”

If not accurate as a description of CRT, it is accurate as a description of the USA’s history. Only euphemisms describe slavery in The Constitution (“three fifths of all other persons” (Art. I, § 2);…

A “Medical Liberty Parade” is being staged this Sunday in Indianapolis. People who oppose vaccinations place a greater value on the right of an individual to make a decision regarding the individual’s health care than on others’ safety and lives.

There are few things more invasive than people, acting under color and title of law, reaching into the bodies to decide for those others what is best for them. The notice, on Facebook, for the parade has red-white-and blue piping, of…

“God and Country” is the title of gatherings staged by Micah Beckwith, a right-wing minister who believes no separation of church and State exists under The Constitution. (Hint: many of The Framers were deists who believed in a natural “god.”)

If a person chooses to believe one entity created everything, even galaxies billions of light years away, it is absurd to yolk that belief to control of a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” i.e., bootstrap to power…