The “Justice Center” that houses the court systems of Marion County/Indianapolis is a marvel of absolutely bad planning. First it guts part of downtown Indy by moving, a couple of miles south east, our courts. A lot of jobs went with the building. There is a vacuum on Market Street. 1/4

Second, the building is sterile. Apparently designed by the same architects as designed the Indy airport, one has the impression that flight information will be on the videos. Third, there is no common…

On Saturday the Marion County (Indianapolis) GOP will elect a new chair person. The County has grown more diverse. As a result its people have adopted views that are more progressive and have tended to cast votes more “blue.”

In 2020 Biden/Harris won Marion County with 63%. Joe Elsener is the candidate preferred by State GOP leaders. To reclaim Marion County elective offices, Mr Elsener said the County GOP has to recruit candidates for office and raise money.

In a letter Mr…

   Sorry, Mayor Gregory "I've Never Met a Tax Raise I Couldn't Okay or a Well-connected Donor I Couldn't Benefit" Ballard and his coterie of campaign contributors will not be on Civil Discourse Now. Instead, two guests today have studied the cronyism that is YOUR Indianapolis city political system for several years.

   Pat Andrews, who blogs at “Had Enough Indy?” and Gary Welsh, of “Advance Indiana” will be our guests when we stream live today from The Sinking Ship, 4923 North…

   I was wakened about 3 a.m. The voice came from the kitchen. I rose, closed the bedroom door quietly behind me, and started to reach for the wall switch. Simultaneously I noticed a strange glow of sufficient strength to find my way, and a voice hiss, “Lights stay out.”

   The latter annoyed me. “This is my house.”

   “Not while Hizzoner’s in it, it ain’t,” the voice hissed in a familiar accent.

   In May I wrote about a seance I had arranged. With corruption so rife in…

   A metaphor I learned at a young age was imparted by Wiley Coyote's purchase of the Acme Company's Rocket-propelled Darts. At the start of that cartoon, Coyote let loose a string of the rocket-propelled projectiles in his quest to dine on Road Runner. The darts missed their target. Throughout the rest of the cartoon, at some of the most inconvenient moments for Coyote, a dart would flutter down from the sky, its rocket fuel spent, jab Coyote in the butt and blow up. The metaphor was about…

   The first I heard of Black Sabbath was as the punch line for a couple of jokes by Cheech and Chong in 1973. A short time later I had 8-track tapes of "Master of Reality" and something else. Ozzy and the boys played definitive heavy-metal. The tape-deck in the 1962 (or was it a 1961?) Ford Econoline van I drove was hooked up to big speakers in the back, the walls of which were painted flat-black. The speakers were loud, albeit not as loud as the sound systems most teenagers or early-20s…

   I have written this week about writing. Then Lynn Swayze Wilson blogs yesterday about the subject ad sort of caught me flat-footed, or flat-handed, or something. What she wrote is really good. I will not try to one-up her, because I do not believe it would be possible. Go to the "blogs" on the Civil Discourse Now website and read her blog "On Being a Writer." It is very well done.

   We will stream "live" today from the Indiana Writers' Center, 812 East 67th Street, from 11 am to 1…

   The Indiana Writers Center is located at 812 East 67th Street in Broad Ripple. The building is located a short distance behind the Art Center. The lane to reach it is between the apartments on the corner of 67th and College and the Art Center. Guest panelist Barbara Shoup is the author of seven novels, including "Night Watch," "Wish You Were Here," "Stranded in Harmony," "Faithful Women," "Vermeer's Daughter," "Everything You Want," and "An American Tune. She co-authored "Novel Ideas:…

   Saturday's Show will stream live from the Indiana Writers Center, 812 East 67th Street, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Guest panelists will include Barbara Shoup of the Writers Center, who has published seven novels and has taught creative writing, and Lynn Swayze Wilson, who is involved in the process of getting a novel published.

   My first experience with publishing had a few "ups." What now is called a "launch party," but we called a "signing party," went well. I hired a local…

   We shall podcast/live-stream from the Indiana Writers Center on Saturday, April 13, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Our guest panelists will be Barbara Shoup of the Indiana Writers Center and Lynn Swayze Wilson, a local writer. Barbara has published seven novels and has taught creating writing. Lynn has written a great deal, but has yet to achieve publication.

    I understand how difficult it can be to get published. I will pick up where I left off yesterday.

   I had sent out 186…

   On Saturday, April 13, "Civil Discourse Now" will stream live from the Indiana Writers Center, 812 East 67^th Street. Our guest panelists will be Barbara Shoup of the Indiana Writers Center, and Lynn Swayze Wilson and writer and blogger.  The focal topic of The Show will be how the internet has affected writing and publishing.

   My major at DePauw ended up as political science. However, my last year of school I had decided I wanted to write. I began to write in a…

   On "Civil Discourse Now" we have discussed and explored issues and topics other than those related to politics. Last summer we were at the Indianapolis International Film Festival. Last fall we discussed Islam with Mikal Saahir, a local imam.

   This Saturday, March 2, at 11 a.m. we will stream "live" from the Isaacs' Center of Peace and our guest will be Marilene Isaacs. On her center's website, Marilene is described:

     "Marilene is a mystic, natural healer and intuitive…

  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…