In the lead-up the passage of Medicare in 1965, some warned of the imminent Apocalypse. Ronnie Raygun always viewed "socialized medicine" as the harbinger of Marxist-Leninism. Those warnings were strident and loud. The bill passed. Earlier these year, when the far right rumbled about replacing Medicare with a voucher program in which a person would have a credit voucher for several thousand dollars to take anywhere she or he pleased---Gee, I wonder how many clinics would fashion their…

   Yesterday I addressed two areas of argument Ryan Ripley---libertarian, Libertarian, host of "The Shill Report" on Indiana Talks and my opponent in a debate on the constitutionality of Obama care we shall wage on Saturday's Show from 11 am to 1 pm---has offered opinion.

   One quick comment about yesterday's blog. Colleague and friend Paul Ogden pointed out the Supreme Court's decision on ACA held the Commerce Clause does not provide the basis for the Federal Government's ability to…

   On Saturday, August 24, from 11 am to 1 pm, Ryan Ripley, a libertarian (or is that Libertarian?) who hosts "The Shill Report" on Indiana Talks, will debate me on whether the Affordable Care Act is constitutional. Ryan debated in high school. We agreed upon a format in which each of us will give an opening argument, then proceed to polite interaction on several areas of focus. Ryan e-mailed to me areas he wants to address. (We agreed to make the discussion one of principles with focus on…

   Next week's Show features a debate between Ryan Ripley, co-host of The Shill Report on Indiana Talks, and me. We shall debate whether the Affordable Care Act---a/k/a Obamacare---is constitutional. 

   October 1, 2013, is a date on which I shall rejoice. As many of you know from my past blogs, I have Multiple Sclerosis. That means I cannot obtain regular health insurance. I have to go through Indiana's high-risk pool. That ran me one grand per month---even though I have not had an…

   Guest: Libertarian Party candidate for Vice-President of the United States, Judge Jim Gray.

   Today’s (November 3, 2012) Show: 

   Place: Rupert for Governor HQ at 129 East Market Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America, Planet Earth. (That we are shooting at Rupert’s (Libertarian Party) HQ does not mean The Show endorses any Libertarian Party candidates. However, the Libertarian Party was gracious and courteous enough to allow us to shoot there.)

  …

   Paul Ogden has written a blog demeaning the month of Autumn. He told me, yesterday, he was then writing such a piece. I feel compelled to defend what is my, and other people’s, favorite season, although other people (notably members of tribes indigenous to this continent when Europeans arrived) would wonder how anyone could hold as a "favorite" one of the natural phases of our calendar.

   First, Mr Ogden mischaracterizes autumn as a season of death, marked by cold, overcast,…

   The majority of American pay income taxes. Choice of words gives rise to a claim that many Americans do not pay income taxes. Those Americans pay "withholding" taxes.

   "Taxable income" is defined as "[g]ross income minus all allowable deductions and exemptions; taxable income is multiplied by the applicable tax rate to compute one’s tax liability."  Black’s Law Dictionary, pocket ed., 1996.

   26 U.S.C. (United States Code) § 1 generally requires everyone to pay…

   I went on a rant at the start of yesterday’s fifth segment.

   Usually we do four, 14-minute segments of "Civil Discourse Now" on Saturday mornings. If we are having fun with a particular topic, or it is proving too difficult to cover in only four segments, we will go five segments.

   Yesterday, our guests were Jeff Cox and Kurt Lorey. We discussed whether the United States is biased toward Israel. Co-host Paul Ogden, between segments, commented that the discussion of…

   Two weeks in a row on the same topic?

   Yes, we are doing that—but look at the topic: efficacy of third parties in American politics.

   Today our guests will be Chris Spangle of the Libertarian Party and Timothy Platt, Executive Director of the Socialist Central Committee, Ltd.

   Other local shows do not cover alternative parties. Most voters—look at the numbers in the elections—do not give alternative parties the benefit of thought enough to vote for a candidate…

   In the United States, health care costs twice as much per capita as in the second-most expensive country for health care, according to the National Center for Health Studies. Yet we rank 37^th in the World in health care quality and 42^nd in adult mortality rates.

   The people who profit from this system are the major shareholders in health insurance companies. In the meantime, the rest of us die sooner than we should. I pay nearly $1,000 per month for health…

   At the time of the Constitutional Convention, the issue of whether to continue the institution of slavery was critical. The States of Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and, in particular, South Carolina, were greatly reliant for slave labor on their plantations. It was feared the delegates of those States would walk out of the convention were slavery to be abolished. At least 20 of the 53 delegates who attended the convention claimed ownership in other human beings as…

   United States troops are all around the World---and why? The Cold War is over, so why do we have over 50,000 military personnel in Germany? It is not like those personnel can run over to Amsterdam and have fun. The military has urine tests for drugs. We have 40,000 in Japan and nearly 30,000 in South Korea. The Japanese are not in imminent danger from anyone. And South Korea? Their forces would wipe the North's off the map if the platform shoe-wearing, pompadour hair-styled goofy dictator…

   What did we learn from Prohibition? That if we outlaw a substance that itself is not intrinsically bad but that some people choose to consume, we create an illicit market. From this market, organized crime grows. In the 1920s that crime grew to great proportions. People still drank. What they drank could contain impurities that could harm them, to the point of death. Did H.L. Mencken write, drinking was a national sport during that time? We wasted money on law enforcement. We lost money…

   For Saturday, December 3, our "Civil Discourse Now" will focus on the question of whether all drugs should be legalized. Let me clear about what we mean by "legalization." This does not mean "decriminalization," an approach that lessens penalties but keeps the illegal marketers. This does not mean street vendors could peddle, supplied by any cartels or someone's brother-in-law with a basement (or, these days, roadside) laboratory. There would not be ads on TV for the latest, best designer…

Today, at the Broad Ripple Tavern, 745 Broad Ripple Avenue, Indianapolis, Mark Small, DePauw '78, and Carlos May, a Wabash alum and former Republican candidate for Congress will discuss/debate whether there are merits to single-gender post-secondary education. Paul Ogden will moderate. We start at 11:30 a.m. Kick-off for the Monon Bell game is a little after 1 pm. All, over  age 21, are welcome.

   I was born in Kokomo. My parents’ farm was a mile from West Middleton, where civilization existed in the form of Chapman’s gas station and its soda pop (can’t write "coke" without the ®) machine and Spike Crail’s garage with an ancient soda pop dispenser that consisted of a well of cold water from which the necks of bottles of soft drinks stuck up. We paid with money we had made baling hay, our arms still on the mend from scratches and punctures. The ride on my three-speed Murray (read:…