There is a difference between an individual relying on a particular belief as a basis for her or his morality, and believers of a particular sect of a religion imposing their religion on others in the form of a theocracy. In the latter instance, advocates must prove their deity’s existence.

For example: a person has the right to believe in Zeus and the other Greek gods. Few people today believe those deities exist or existed. If someone seeks to dictate to us based on tenets of a…

There are basic truths about abortion. If you believe there should be fewer abortions, you favor free and ready availability of contraceptives and sex education, as studies show that is the best approach to avoid unwanted pregnancies. After all, people will have sex.

If leaders of your specific sect of religion say (1) contraceptives & sex education violate laws of the god you worship and (2) our government must obey that god’s laws, then you must prove: (a) our government is a…

Titled “Stark Contrasts,” Indiana GOP chair Kyle Hupfer’s weekly email says President Biden’s speech was “another stark reminder of the differences between Indiana and Washington DC.” He did not mean that Hoosiers have full representation in Congress unlike citizens in D.C.

First absurdity: economics. Mr Hupfer is alarmed by “reckless spending” by President Biden and “his handlers.” A person who supported the immediate past administration and its absurd economic “policies” is not in a…

The State is the State. Becker v State, 992 N.E.2d 697, 701-02 (Ind. 2013). Whether the police,

Department of Correction (DOC), a county prosecutor or Department of Child Services (DCS). If you have children, you should be scared for them.

There’s one letter difference between “DOC”, the arm of Indiana government in charge of prisons, and DCS, the arm that terminates parents’ rights to, and relations with, their children. Our State and Federal Constitutions protect us in criminal…

The “elephant in the room,” a major problem everyone chooses to ignore, is not the GOP. The far- far-right elements of the GOP have been raucous (and made the far-right elements of the party look sane). The military is the pachyderm in our parlor.

Members of Congress, “D” or “R,” lack the guts to question the “defense budget.” In years past, Congress has dumped more cash on the Pentagon than the bottom-line number on its wish list. A common line of “conservatives” is that money…

This past Tuesday, during my debate with Micah Beckwith, a minister of churches north of Indy, on the topic “separation of church and State, Mr Beckwith insisted the “founders” of this country were (1) Christian and (2) intended there be no “wall” between church and state.

Mr Beckwith was vehement that Washington was not “just,” but a devout Christian. That point is important because: (1) Washington chaired The Constitutional Convention and was first President and (2) It illustrates…

Tonight at 8 p.m. on “Mouthwash,” a FB podcast: “Separation of Church and state.” Micah Beckwith and I shall debate. There are reasons religion and government have been kept separate in this country. The Reformation was on the Framers’ minds in 1787. Let’s address today.

If religion is to be a part of our government, since a majority of adults (Pew Research, January, 2021) profess to be Christians, one may infer that god would be in charge. (Mr Beckwith, et al, would insist.) Problems…

Tuesday at 8 p.m. on “Mouthwash,” a FB podcast, minister Micah Beckwith and I shall debate separation of church and State. Mr Beckwith claims to be a “constitutionalist” and seems to believe the original intent of the founders of this country was this country be Christian.

1) If we discuss The Constitution, the people who wrote it are called The Framers. This is not mere word play. The National Archives calls the 55 delegates “Framers,” as delegates referred to themselves as building…

Yesterday a friend suggested I change the topic, guns, I planned to discuss. She said everyone is discussing the impeachment trial. I agree: trump’s trial is important. One issue that needs to be discussed, especially in light of January 6, is private ownership of guns.

One reason people own a gun is self-defense: to defend against a burglar. However, statistics, compiled by Jacksonville State University, show only 27.6% of burglaries occur when someone’s home. If you are not there to…

Random bits as this primary election day begins: protesters and cops joined together in Indy to march. Other places in USA police took a knee to express support for the protests. In D.C., trump used a bible as a prop and a church as back-drop to foment hatred.

Evidence that those who carried out violence acted to discredit the protests: no trump properties were attacked. And hey - they’re easily recognized, what with his name in big letters on each building he erects.

Mayor…

People of this country are not to be “run over” - and in their protests do not seek to “run over” anyone, regardless of the opinion of the current occupant of the Oval Office. Our People should be able peacefully to exercise their First Amendment rights without fear of reprisal by anyone.

Our Governor and the Mayor in each of our cities need to:

1) meet immediately with leaders of communities that most frequently suffer the effects of police violence;

2) address - and…

Yesterday the news reported how many people have mailed in their ballots for tomorrow’s (June 2) primary election. If you have not voted, please do not be dissuaded from going to the polls to cast your vote.

I shop for food and other essentials at a store that also sells books. The past few times I’ve gone there, one book amongst “best sellers” has been turned so as to hide the cover. The first time I thought it was a mistake and turned the book back around.

Convincing people…

I listened to a total of 15 minutes of Rob Kendall’s radio show, on Fox affiliate WIBC, this afternoon. To hear him, the City of Indianapolis is under siege by radical left wing radicals and a wimp Governor and wimp Mayor are AWOL.

Rob seems not to understand that acts of terrorism in this country are perpetrated largely by the right wing. There are left wing “eco-terrorists” - but they target things, not people. If you want old-fashioned terror against people, those on the right do…

As people die across the country due to the incompetence of the current occupant of the Oval Office, I believe we need to focus on what candidates in Tuesday's primary for Indiana's 5th Congressional District can do to help - with healing, not with stoking fires of hatred.

Mark Small for Congress

Indiana’s 5th Congressional District

GOP primary June 2, 2020

For release: May 31, 2020 Contact information:

Email: small4incd5.org

Only anti-trump candidate in…

MONEY MONEY MONEY: laments Carlo, a Russian artist in the 1936 classic “My Man Godfrey,” who (ironically) freeloads on Carole Lombard’s fictional family, the Bullocks.

Today I received an e-mail from Nurse Beth Henderson, one of my opponents in the June 2 primary for the GOP nomination for U.S. House in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District. She bemoans other candidates spending $$$$$.

Nurse Beth has some pretty slick ads. She also has some pretty slick, monied interest groups…

After mass shootings, NRA says we aren’t supposed to talk gun control. The pandemic is not related to guns. The Dickey and Tiahr amendments prohibit the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) from being involved in studies of gun violence as a health problem.

NRA wants us to be ignorant, same as Big Tobacco hid cancer risks from main stream cigs pre-1964. For those who believe we should promote the “Progress of Science” U.S. Const. Art. I, sec. 8, here are a few questions (perhaps…

My opponents in the June 2 primary for Indiana’s 5th Congressional District (INCD5) GOP spot are fixated on the 2nd Amendment. A lot of money is awash in this primary. Some of it might go back to the NRA. (Ninety percent (90%) of large bills would have traces of cocaine.)

Three questions about guns: (1) Can a person have too many guns? (2) Are there people who should not be allowed to have guns? (3) Are there types of guns that people should not be allowed to own?

(1) If…

My opponents in the June 2 GOP primary for Indiana’s 5th Congressional District (INCD5) seem to like simple things, and that includes how our courts should construe The Constitution. They want to adhere to “original intent.”

Original intent” is a legal philosophy under which judges and justices would look only to the “plain wording” of The Constitution and the “original intent” of the delegates to the 1787 Convention to determine what The Constitution means.

Previously I’ve…

The past couple of evenings I have streamed videos in which I address issues in the 2020 race for Indiana’s Fifth Congressional District (INCD5). I invite folks to watch The Show. Here is one aspect of why people should vote for me in the June 2 primary. 

Money in politics is bad. The Citizens United case appears, each day, to be to Chief Justice Roberts what Dred Scott was to Chief Justice Roger Taney. In the GOP primary for INCD5 the GOP field has several candidates with big…

Disbanding the structure in the Federal government meant to address pandemics was the same as getting rid of the fire department in a town, except the former has (so far) resulted in the need deaths of tens of thousands.

Here are things that have to be done by the next U.S. Rep for INCD5: reverse the damage done. When an agency is headed by a person who long has advocated for its elimination, the results cannot be good.

My opponents Abernathy, Bales, Beckwith, Brizzi, Dietzen,…