A University of Illinois professor recently his ranking of this Country’s most corrupt cities. Without surprise, he rated Chicago as The Most Corrupt.

   I have several problems with his assessment: 1) He’s a University of Illinois prof and therefore one should presume bias on his behalf; call it a "homer" advantage; 2) More importantly, his criteria were skewed.

   Professor Dick Simpson based his rankings on officials convicted for the period 1976-2010. 

   1) Let…

   Billion Dollar Ball$ is my tenth novel, third that I will have published. It is an e-novel and will be available for $2.99. E-publishing means less overhead and greater ease of publication. Self-publishing means I have joined the great numbers of writers who have abandoned conventional publishing in which large corporations pass on the risk of previously unpublished writers.

   We will have a launch party on Thursday, January 31 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Broad Ripple Tavern.…

   On Today’s Show we will discuss several topics. Our guest panelists will be:

    -John Strinka of the Socialist Party who ran for the Indiana House of Representatives this past election.

    -Jeff Cox, Indianapolis attorney and author of "Rising Sun, Falling Skies," a history of the disastrous Java Sea campaign of World War II.

    -Miah Ankston, Indianapolis LGBT rights activist.

    Today we shall not be confined to a single topic. Amongst the topics to be…

   Why would I self-publish my e-novel, Billion Dollar Ball$?

   I started undergrad at DePauw with plans to become a lawyer. Along the course to my bachelor of arts degree in political science—aren’t those two terms contradictory?—the liberal arts aspect of my education kicked in and I learned about being a human being. I no longer wanted to be a lawyer.

   I took two courses in English at DePauw, but always had read and decided I wanted to write. My last year at DPU I…

   LAUNCH PARTY FOR MY e-NOVEL: January 31, 5-7 p.m. at the Broad Ripple Tavern.

   The Mob, a crazy college hoops coach, a would-be international super model, an obscure cult, former high school hoops stars sprung from various departments of correction, rare books "borrowed" for use as collateral to bet on the annual college basketball tournament, and a Chicago-area law school library clerical assistant with a knack for picking winners in the tournament are elements of Billion…

   I was born a fan of the Chicago Bears. I grew up watching Lindsey Nelson and CBS's broadcasts from Wrigley Field and its seemingly (perhaps actually) too-short end zones. The Bears did not win any championships during those years. Individual players were fun to watch. Gayle Sayers was awesome. The Chicago Tribune ran a front page photograph Dick Butkus as the middle linebacker sacked a quarterback and, fingers inserted through the guy's face mask, attempted to gouge at least one…

   Whatever your view about guns, firearms, the Second Amendment, gun control, may be, one aspect of the public discussion its one-sided nature. I have heard/seen programs on which one side---choose by network---prominently is featured. I have watched people yell or scream at each other, but I have yet to see/hear intelligent, civil discourse on the topic.

   That is why "Civil Discourse Now" was started. I got tired of the "rah rah our side" nature of many shows and the…

   At Grady's Championship Deli, located at 44th and Keystone (east side of Keystone Avenue, just north of Fall Creek Parkway) at 11 a.m. we will stream "live" a discussion about gun rights. My position is what some (many?) in this country would view as extreme. I believe there should be no private ownership of guns. Our guest panelists will be Andrew Kirch, well-known amongst those of the Indy blogosphere as a conservative advocate, and a very passionate advocate of gun "rights." Also,…

   LATEST ON SATURDAY'S SHOW: ON SECOND AMENDMENT. We will air at 11 a.m. sharp. Andrew Kirch will join our panel. We should be able to announce, later today, where we will have The Show.

   President Obama announced his plans to address gun violence. Senator Rand Paul characterized the President as monarchical (as did Sean Hannity, but at least Paul does not have to rely upon staff writers to spell "monarchical" correctly). Others mentioned impeachment of the President because he had…

   There were several responses to my blog yesterday about Adolf Hitler's policies toward gun control.

   I should clarify what Hitler did about guns. In 1938, the Third Reich enacted new gun laws. They superseded  a restrictive 1928 enactment by the Weimar Republic. The Third Reich's new laws prohibited Jews and enemies of the state from possession of firearms. So Paul Ogden's reference to Hitler's comments about keeping guns from certain segments of society is correct. The ability…

   Saturday's Show will address the Second Amendment and arguments for control or repeal of the Second Amendment. We stream "live" at 11 a.m.

   One common argument against any restrictions on gun ownership relies upon what is set forth as an historical "fact"---that one of Adolf Hitler's first actions as Chancellor of Germany was to require registration of ownership of guns by private citizens. To authenticate this claim, gun advocates even have a "quote" from Hitler:

      …

   On Today’s Show we will discuss THE TENTH AMENDMENT at 11 a.m. at Big Hat Books, 6510 Cornell Avenue, in Broad Ripple. "Civil Discourse Now" is part of the "Indiana Talks" internet network. If you cannot attend, you can Tweet in questions. I will post "how" on that later today. Our Twitter address is @civildiscoursenow.com

   Our confirmed guests for Saturday will be:

   Mike Maharrey of the Tenth Amendment Center. Their website (tenthamendmentcenter dot com) is…

   Coincidence has brought two bills to the Indiana State Senate that implicate the topic we will discuss—THE TENTH AMENDMENT—this Saturday, January 12, at 11 a.m. at Big Hat Books, 6510 Cornell Avenue, in Broad Ripple. "Civil Discourse Now" is part of the "Indiana Talks" internet network. If you cannot attend, you can Tweet in questions. I will post "how" on that later today.

   Senator Phil Boots, a Republican from Crawfordsville, is sponsor of Senate Bill 230 that (1) authorizes…

Civil Discourse Now will stream (how'd I dodge the obvious verb?) from the Indiana State Fairgrounds on January 19 at 11 a.m. to discuss ramifications of the Second Amendment. So far one panelist we have confirmed is Andrew Kirch. Co-host Mark Small (me) will advocate that the Second Amendment should be repealed. There's no need to talk about slippery slopes with me on this topic. Andrew will argue (vehemently I am sure) against the position I favor. Paul Ogden probably also will favor…

   Once again I want to announce THE TENTH AMENDMENT will be the focus of our discussion this Saturday, January 12, at 11 a.m. at Big Hat Books, 6510 Cornell Avenue, in Broad Ripple. "Civil Discourse Now" is part of the "Indiana Talks" internet network. If you cannot attend, you can Tweet in questions. I will post "how" on that tomorrow.

   Our guests will be:

   Mike Maharrey of the Tenth Amendment Center. Their website (tenthamendmentcenter dot com) is well-constructed and…

  THE TENTH AMENDMENT will be the focus of our discussion this Saturday, January 12, at 11 a.m. at Big Hat Books, 6510 Cornell Avenue, in Broad Ripple. "Civil Discourse Now" is part of the "Indiana Talks" internet network.

   Our guests will be:

   Mike Maharrey of the Tenth Amendment Center. Their website (tenthamendmentcenter dot com) is well-constructed and informative about the organization. He is the organization’s communications director. He is a native of the…

   I purchased a new computer in the name of efficiency. Now, three days later, I have yet to figure out how to install some things. At least I can post what next week's Show will be.

   Our guests will be Mike Meharry of the Tenth Amendment Center, and Karen Celestino-Horseman, Indianapolis attorney and for Democratic Party City-County Councilor. We shall discuss the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. and interpretations of it: nullification of Federal laws by States,…

   Bobby Seale will be the featured speaker at the Martin Luther King Day dinner this year. At Advance Indiana, Gary Welsh—friend and a past panelist on "Civil Discourse Now"—takes issue with the choice of Seale for the MLK dinner. I want to address several points Gary makes in his blog. As a preface, I probably am one of the few people who has read the entire 20,000-some page transcript of Dellinger, et al v. United States—the trial the defendants of which were dubbed, first, the…

   Again:

   CHARTER SCHOOLS will be the topic of discussion this Saturday, January 5, at 11 a.m. in our inaugural Show on "Indiana Talks." We shall shoot at a familiar place—Big Hat Books, 6510 Cornell Avenue, in Broad Ripple.

   Russ Simnick, president of the Indiana Public Schools Charter Association was considerate enough to respond to he blog I posted yesterday and disagreed on several points I made. I will respond to his points as follows:

   1) The first charter…

   CHARTER SCHOOLS will be the topic of discussion this Saturday, January 5, at 11 a.m. in our inaugural Show on "Indiana Talks." We shall shoot at a familiar place—Big Hat Books, 6510 Cornell Avenue, in Broad Ripple.

   Education is one of the most important aspects of our society. The United States would not have been able to advance, as it did, between the mid-1800s and the 1970s without a system of public education that aimed at (but missed but not by a lot) universal literacy. In…