When local mega-businesses like Eli Lilly and Cummins support a progressive position on an issue, one tends to take notice. This is not an ALEC pose on a matter of social issues. 

   The word "progress" and derivations of that word have been given pejorative connotations in recent years. As a noun, "progress" means "a proceeding to a further or higher stage, or through such stages progressively."  American College Dictionary, 1962 ed., p. 967.

   Why would large corporations…

   The existence of an Indiana State constitution was mentioned vaguely in my high school Indiana History class. The United States Supreme Court was in the headlines a lot back then, in the 1960s. Of course, the Court is in the headlines (or blogosphere or other appropriate parallel to "headlines") today. In the 1960s, and early 1970s, the headlines usually seemed to indicate a Court that advanced rights. I knew when "Dragnet" aired any given week, Jack Webb would highlight a new criminal…

   A panel show that aired Friday night took an interesting twist near the end of the broadcast. The host mentioned, in passing, that all three members of the panel were gay. In years past---maybe only as recently as five---an entire panel of lesbian and gay guests would at least have received some promo. There might have been commentary in a few newspapers or on some blogs. This occurred with little fanfare.

   This is an example of how members of the LGBT community have been…

   Because much of my practice is focused in the areas of appeal and post-conviction relief, I frequently visit clients in correctional facilities in Indiana.

   One point to get out of the way is that if we had better systems of education and aid to the poor, provided jobs that paid meaningful wages to more people, and gave women of lower income more control over what are their reproductive rights, we probably would not need so many correctional facilities, a/k/a prisons. (I know…

   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…

   The "news" is awash with stories about the Indiana Lottery, Indiana's casino industry, and efforts by our State's lawmakers to enact measures  the only substantive effects of which would be to further the "war on drugs." 

   I guess our lawmakers did not watch "The Godfather" (or, as Tony Soprano and associates called it, "GF1). The "numbers racket"---i.e., lotteries---were low-capital/high profit endeavors run by Vito and his buddies. Once States started to legalize lotteries, the…

   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…

   According to The Indiana Law Blog, yesterday both Chief Justice Dickson of the Indiana Supreme Court and Chief Judge Margaret Robb of the Indiana Court of Appeals declared the State’s courts closed due to the snow emergency. For those of you who had appellate briefs due yesterday, that should mean your due date is moved back. (WARNING: This only is an interpretation of the rules. The official word comes from the Court in question.)

   App.R. 25(A) provides that a…

   I had the pleasure, yesterday, of being a guest on The Gary Snyder Show. Gary has organized a network on the internet called "Indiana Talks." As I understand his goal, "Indiana Talks" is an internet platform for pod casts, originating from Indiana, that span a wide range of viewpoints. Google "Indiana Talks" and you can pick up its shows that are on now. I would provide a "link," but I am not that advanced techno-wise.

   Yesterday Gary also extended, and we accepted, an invitation…

Dear Governor-Elect Pence:

   Your Eminence, Your Exaltedness, and Your whatever is appropriate for a person between jobs.

   In the couple of years before Hurricane Katrina, the political leaders of New Orleans and Louisiana gave insufficient thought to what many had seen as inevitable—a hell of a hurricane that could wash over a city below sea-level and cause mass havoc.

   Between Katrina and the latest hurricane on the East Coast, lessons were learned, and emergency…

   Ignorance breeds fear. Fear begets hatred. Hatred feeds war.

   The events in the Middle East this past week have been tragic. For years many people in this country have said hateful things about each other. One target group for anger has been the Islamic community. My use of the phrase "Islamic community" is inaccurate, as the Muslim religion is comprised of groups who view their faith in different ways. It is interesting that amongst the written materials in Osama bin Laden’s…

   Last night I was asleep by 9:00 and felt well-rested when I woke at 4 a.m. Various studies indicate that (1) a minimum of seven hours’ sleep per night provides one with optimum rest (2) sleep is best obtained on a regular basis so that the biological clock of one’s body runs on the same schedule and (3) if people comported their lives by these two factors, amongst other benefits, the national health would improve, people’s lives would be longer, and insurance rates would drop. I can cite…

   When I was a kid, we all (kids in the neighborhood) looked forward to the Howard County Fair. That was a must-see. A stop at the Lions Club tent for food came first. We would hit several other tents and be given various crap—amongst which always was a yard stick—for free. We had to walk through the farm implement area and sit on tractors and earth movers. The miscellaneous "big tent" seemed always to have a vacuum cleaner that kept a ping-pong ball suspended in air. The rides were the big…

   The name of Pepsi© no longer will adorn the roof of the Indiana State Fair Coliseum. A dispute arose over the amount to be paid for further "sponsorship" of the building. The State Fair Board wanted more money. The plan is to renovate the facility over the next two years.

   I do not like governmental entities to accept money to name structures, built with taxpayers’ money, for the function of billboards. I know: as a fan of the Cubs I realize my team plays at Wrigley Field. The…

   There is a concerted effort to block people, legally entitled to vote, from exercising that right. One manifestation of that effort has been Voter ID laws. Indiana took the first dubious steps in enacting such statutes. A challenge of the statutes to the United States Supreme Court was unsuccessful.

   How, then, do we defeat the effort to disenfranchise so many voters? Mine is a proposal that would fight, at least to some degree, this effort.

The Problems:

   1)…

   TODAY’S SHOW: THE ECONOMY, BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!

   This morning, May 26, our guests will be James Nease and, according to James in an e-mail from last night, Dan Forrestal. The topic will be the economy. Perhaps I should say The Economy.

   We also shall premiere a new segment of The Show: "What’s Goin’ On?" Paul Ogden and I will discuss—in quick-time—five or six current topics. The first topic up will be the possible new round of largesse the City of Indianapolis seems ready…