We have a newspaper that acts as a cheerleader for a Mayor who openly showers campaign backers with neat gifts. We use Tax Increment Finance ("TIF") districts---now banned by statute, as a local government funding mechanism in the State where they first were developed because they destroyed local economies---to create slush funds for a Mayor who seems to care only for the wealthy. There is no check on corruption---a plague that does not necessarily involve illegal conduct.

  On…

   Even in the hey days of "Boom Baby!" and the rise from mediocrity of "your" Pacers, the Simon family, who own the franchise, claimed never to show a profit on operations of the team. When the team joined the NBA from the old American Basketball Association, there was a price to be paid. Specifically $3.2 million---by today's standards, a relatively modest sum, even for non-billionaire sports franchise owners (if there are any)---and denial, for several years, of a share of the NBA's TV…

   The noted political philosopher Andy Warhol---seriously, the pop-culture artist who made money when he painted a picture of a Campbell's Soup can on canvas and proved, as Marshall McLuhan once wrote, "Art is anything you can get away with"---once observed something to the effect that everyone should have 15 minutes of fame. Americans apparently have taken this notion to heart, as political issues are fed, one at a time, into a media pressure-cooker and occupy the public's limited…

   People posted comments yesterday and the day before to the effect nothing has changed for them since the Federal government shutdown. The phenomenon is reminiscent of people in the 1800s scoffed at the notion little organisms they could not see with the naked eye (viruses) or practices in which their people had engaged for centuries (obtaining water downstream from where people deposited human waste) could cause disease. Tuesday seemed like any other day. 

   I would like to point…

   Our Show today will focus on the efforts by some in the Indiana General Assembly to amend the Indiana Constitution to define marriage as between "one man" and "one woman." This week I have advanced arguments against the amendment, also opposed, amongst others, by major corporations (e.g., Eli Lilly, Cummins) that do business here. Earlier in the week, I invited several proponents of the measure to be guests today. Unfortunately, those folks ether are out of town on vacation, out of town…

   The IRS has announced that same-sex married couples will be treated as married for income tax purposes even if the State in which a couple resides does not recognize marriage equality. As our friend Gary Welsh points out at "Advance Indiana," this presents a problem for Governor Pence and the General Assembly. Indiana generally follows Federal income tax procedures. If the "marriage is only between one man and one woman" is adopted by the Indiana General Assembly, filing of income tax…

   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…

   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…

   Candidates ran for office. They promised a certain approach to govern, amongst the most important  that the government would not be a theocracy and everyone would be considered equal. 2012 elections were won by a candidate for president whom people trusted to keep his word. Immediately he backtracked. He assumed "near-dictatorial power to enact a hastily written constitution---one that, Islamists crowed, lacked many basic right."  TribLive, 6/29/13. People, angry over this turn of events…

   John Adams wrote that July 2 would go down in history as the day this country declared its independence from England. A different date appears on the formal document that memorializes the "birth" of this country. Of course, there are other minor errors in modern knowledge about the initial events that gave start to what became the United States of America. Our country was born in irony or paradox, but perhaps hypocrisy would be as good an adjective.

   All men are created equal and…

   Taxpayers should not pay for improvements to a sports facility to increase its "curb appeal" for buyers.

   I am opposed to governmental subsidies for sports. I am a fan of several sports. I love Major League Baseball(r) (Chicago Cubs) and college basketball. Given recent reports of brain trauma to players, I have to reconsider my interest in football at the professional and college levels. As a native-born Hoosier, a part of my DNA predisposes me to follow hoops. At least I follow…

   A phrase can be used by political cheerleaders. We are "The Land of the Free"! Alternate that with a chant of "U--S--A!" and see how many people stand up to question the validity of the former.

   1) Prisons. We have 25% of the world's inmate population, but only five percent of the World's total population. The War on Drugs---a "war" that has cost tens of billions of dollars, ruined many lives with felony convictions, and resulted in a loss on that weird battlefield---has engorged…

   At 11 a.m Saturday: How free is America? Guest panelist and Indianapolis attorney Ginny Maxwell will join us.

   My answer to the question: not very. We have 25% of the World's prison inmate population, yet we have only five percent of the World's population. That's one statistic with which I will support my position.

   We can speak freely about our government. Of course, the government keeps lists of people to "watch"---on the basis of what people say, write, blog---hello…

   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…

   Today’s Show will be about "World Peace." Our guests will be the Reverend Dave and Bill Levin. We will go on at 11.

   Yesterday’s mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut does not make the country’s Number One mass shooting. That distinction remains with the incident at Virginia Tech. What seems most horrific is the 20 victims all of whom were young children.

   Polls indicate a majority of the people of this country favor gun control of various types.…

   "Lincoln" is overrated as a flick. One gauge by which I judge a movie is whether it is worth full-price, only matinee price, or nothing. I am glad I paid matinee.

   Paul Ogden has written a truncated view of the film. While he seems rather indignant over the experience (I think because he scrimped on popcorn and soda; really—is he an American? Anyone seen his birth certificate? Let me know), I think the movie was over-written and dragged. I thought the flick was good at times.…

   The Libertarian Party has seemed to be an also-ran in elections in Indiana, and other States. This year the Libertarians ran Rupert Boneham for Governor and Brad Klopfenstein for Lieutenant Governor. Rupert impressed me as intelligent, thoughtful, and caring. He is not fine-polished as a public speaker, but makes up for that in sincerity and smarts. (Brad’s smart, too, but the focus was on the lead on the ticket.) Still, Rupert garnered only some four percent (4%) of the vote.

  …

   Several times I saw the clip from the June, 2011, "debate" during which Mitt Romney was asked about what he would do, were he elected President, with FEMA. He said anytime funds go from the Fed to the States, that is good, but what would be best would be to privatize.

   Romney characterized 47% of people in this country, essentially, as leeches. What would a man like Romney do in a crisis such as Hurricane Sandy?

   The former Massachusetts Governor held a storm relief…

   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…

  As I wrote yesterday, "Civil Discourse Now" will cover the Indianapolis International Film Festival. The festival opened Thursday night and runs through Sunday, July 29^th.

  Today our guest will be Indianapolis native and director Adam Newell, whose film "Video Stop" will be shown Monday night. We shall be shooting "Civil Discourse Now" from the Indianapolis Museum of Art, from the Nourish Case just inside the entrance (to the right). We hope to shoot a couple of shows…