Indianapolis needs a new building for its courts, jail, and police.

   The Ballard administration has floated an idea. The City pays for construction, then hands over the keys to a foreign conglomerate and pays rent to that new landlord.

   Wait—why would be build a structure, give the structure away (i.e., “sell” it for an absurdly low price), and pay rent to the entity to which it was given?

   Here are possible reasons:

   1) The entity that will charge rent and make…

   On “Property Lines” at the IBJ, a blog by Scott Olson announced: “A local developer plans to build a five-story office building on the site of a closed American Legion post in Broad Ripple.  At 85 feet, the ambitious project would be the tallest in the village, even topping by 10 feet Browning Investment, Inc.’s proposed retail-and-apartment development on College Avenue near the Central Canal.”  

   Olson continues: “The Broad Ripple Village Association’s [BRVA] land-use and…

   Republican candidate for the United States Senate in Iowa, Joni Ernst—who has run a TV ad in which she fires a handgun in a practice range, a metaphor on how “tough” she would be if elected—has been the subject of a story on The Daily Beast.  There the candidate was shown speaing on September 13, 2013, at “a forum held by the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition” in which Ernst said, among other things, Congress should not pass laws “that the states would consider nullifying” and “we’ve…

   Matthew Tully’s column in the Sunday edition of the shell of the former Indianapolis Star depressed me.

   I was not depressed about his recitation of aspects of crime in Broad Ripple. I have been depressed about crime here for a while.  His reference to a person’s smartphone app showing red over the Broad Ripple area—“indicating [Broad Ripple’]s depressing crime statistics.  That, he said, is what potential home buyers will see”—did not surprise me.  Crime has been on the uprise…

   Today’s Show will stream from Perk Up, 6536 Cornell Avenue, in Broad Ripple. We shall discuss whether there should be a constitutional convention, and the impact were such a convention to be held. Fellow host Matt Stone and I welcome three guest panelists for this conversation.

   Paul Mannweiler is former speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives.  He received his bachelor’s degree from IU and his JD from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis. He has written a couple of…

  People want simple solutions to complex problems. Simple solutions reassure. If solutions are too complex, people lost interest.

   Ignorance tends to instill fear.  Fear can lead to violence.

   People speak of the “Founders” of this country, and oftentimes use “Founders” to refer to the delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia.  I disagree with application of “Founders” to the convention delegates.  A “founder” is one who “founds or establishes.”  The…

   On Saturday, July 23, we shall, from 11 am to 1 pm, discuss the idea advanced by some today to hold a constitutional convention, under Article V of the Constitution.

   What type of document would such a convention today produce, as compared to the document produced by the Framers in 1787.

   For a document that established the structure of our government, the Constitution is short, even with the Bill of Rights, adopted after the Convention, are added.

   Could today’s…

   A gentleman knocked on the side door this evening. He had a padded sort of clipboard in one hand, wore a shirt with a patch of a logo for "Protection One." He said "we" are following up on Broad Ripple residents, like me, who had attended a meeting last spring and who expressed satisfaction with our home security systems. He asked if my name is Mark, if our home security system was the same as the decals in our windows, and if we are satisfied with our home system. I told him our security…

   In 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson made a strong case that the Soviet Union had placed intermediate-range ballistic missiles—with ranges sufficient to hit targets, such as New York City and Washington, D.C.—in Cuba. The Ambassador used photographs taken from U-2 spy planes to show what was on an island only 90 miles or so from the tip of Florida. In regard to a response from the Soviet Union’s ambassador, Stevenson…

   In 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson made a strong case that the Soviet Union had placed intermediate-range ballistic missiles—with ranges sufficient to hit targets, such as New York City and Washington, D.C.—in Cuba. The Ambassador used photographs taken from U-2 spy planes to show what was on an island only 90 miles or so from the tip of Florida. In regard to a response from the Soviet Union’s ambassador, Stevenson…

   Big studio movies—films that play in cineplexes and were produced with big budgets—are the primary fare for moviegoers. Four of the top five films at the box office last week make on shudder at the level of intellectual content of such works.  First was “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”  The first part of the original string of “Planet of the Apes” films, with Charlton (“Get your hands off me, you damn dirty ape—and you can take away my gun when you pry off the fingers of my cold dead…

   The Indianapolis International Film Festival starts Thursday. Do yourself a favor: go to indyfilmfest.org and read the descriptions of the films, then check the schedules. If you find a description or two interest you, you should try to attend.

   The films shown at the Indianapolis International Film Festival do not feature car chases or shootouts. The films have off-beat storylines and a lot of talent. You might not like some of the films you see there.

   How many films have…

   The Zionsville school board has tabled, for now, a proposal to randomly test students for drugs.  Those not familiar with such tests should realize they can consist of tests of blood, saliva, urine, or hair.  Results can indicate “false positives,” and so a positive test usually is followed by another test to confirm presence of whatever the illicit substance might have been revealed in the first test.

   One parent was quoted: “If you want to test my child, test my child!”

  …

   One’s cynicism increases with age, and as one lives each day in a City whose Mayor is Greg Ballard.

   When the town hall-type meetings were held last year to discuss the proposed Whole Foods development on College Avenue, the “Envision” plan for Broad Ripple was discussed. The people who “Envision” change in Broad Ripple wanted to convert more areas to be pedestrian-friendly. There was talk of conversion of parts of Broad Ripple Avenue to a pedestrians-only mall. Pedestrians would…

   There have been calls for the States to convene to make changes to the United States Constitution. Article V of the Constitution provides:

   “The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this…

   The States of Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana. Tax revenues and sales of Girl Scout® cookies went up. I am not sure what effect legalization has had on funds law enforcement has collected from forfeiture actions, but one would surmise those funds are down.

   Hoosiers who want to travel to Colorado or Washington or both should give serious consideration as to whether to indulge in cannabis sativa. “Weed” might be legal in Denver and Spokane, but the effects of consumption…

   The numbers and rates of unplanned teen pregnancies and teen abortions have dropped over the past several years.  Colorado’s numbers and rates have fallen at a quicker pace than other States. In 2008, Colorado was ranked as having the 29th lowest teen birth rate.  By 2012, Colorado was 19th.

   Part of Colorado’s success has been provision of free birth control, without necessity of parental consent, to teenagers. The Colorado Family Planning Initiative “has provided more than 30,000…

   Value for the entertainment dollar is a matter much sought after. The admission price of a feature film at an area theater plus popcorn plus a beverage can easily top twenty bucks per person. If the movie sucks, one has experienced rolling the dice of seeing only “snake eyes.”      There are a few entertainment bets that produce “wins” for less of an investment.  

   The Indianapolis International Film Festival starts Thursday, July 17 and runs until Saturday, July 26. This will be…

   Music!
   Steven Hayes, bassist for The Common, will be our guest as Matt Stone and I discuss music.
   We stream from 11 am to 1 pm on Live365. You also can hit the icon on this website or go to Civil Discourse Now on Face Book.

   States do not have “rights.” States have powers.  Human beings have “rights.”

   This is an important distinction. When some people argue that the Federal government overreaches, often they do so in the context of an issue in which a violation of the rights of “States’ rights” is claimed.  “States rights” often was raised in regard to Federal legislation in the 1960s aimed at racial discrimination. More recently advocates of greater restrictions on reproductive rights and greater…