Every election, even a primary, is important. This iteration of the GOP seems to want to limit the ability to vote. That makes Indiana’s primary election a chance to flip the bird at those who seek to bastardize the Hoosier election system. When & where to vote? 1/4

Website vote.indy.gov/early-voting/ gives early voting info in Marion County: Indy, Speedway, Beech Grove & Lawrence). Website says ppl can vote at City-County Building, April 5 to May 2. Times vary. April 23-May 1…

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…

   Whatever office you seek in Indiana and whatever party---or none---of which you are a member, you are invited to be on "Civil Discourse Now." Please contact me at marksmall2001 at yahoo dot com.

   Tune in from 11 am to 1 pm as we will have Congressional candidate Allen Davidson, Marion County judicial candidate David Hennessy, Lawyer Bill Groth who argued the Indiana Voter ID law to the United States Supreme Court, Kimann Schultz with "Fashion and Style," and---the inaugural episode of the satirical radio satire "Tale of the City"! Streamed from the Cabin Fever Weekend at Clarion Convention Center, just west of I-465 and just off Crawfordsville Road!

  Clarion Waterfront Hotel is on the west side of Indianapolis on Crawfordsville Road, just west of I-465 at 2930 West Waterfront Parkway. We stream live from 11 am to 1 pm on Indiana Talks dot com. A focal topic for The Show  will be legislative efforts to restrict voting rights.

   Our guest panelists include: Bill Groth, who litigated the Indiana "Voter ID" law before the United States Supreme Court; and a representative from the Marion County Clerk's Office, the office responsible…

   The primary elections of the two major political parties, as "major" political parties are defined by Indiana Code, will occur on Tuesday, May 6, 2014. Civil Discourse Now was started in the interest of fun and enlightenment. With primary elections---plural because more than one office is in play and more than one party is holding a primary---a few weeks away, it is important for voters to know the candidates from whom they can choose. If you are a candidate for an office in the May 6…

   Here are my own, somewhat different predictions for today’s primary elections:

   1) The race for the Republican Party nomination for United States Senate will not be very close. Senator Richard Lugar has distanced himself from this State and its people. State Treasurer Richard Mourdock. (as I prefer to pronounce it "Mor-dock" as in "Mordor; if you do not catch the allusion, read The Hobbit then the trilogy.) This will cause the Democratic National Committee to sit up and…

   People purport to hate negative political ads on TV.  By "negative ads" I mean ads aimed mainly at trashing one candidate.  Polls that I have read consistently indicate over 60 percent (60%) of respondents do not like negative ads. Yet research and personal observation indicate negative political ads "work." They motivate some people to move, not so much "for" one candidate, but "against" the candidate at whom the ad is aimed (thereby helping the candidate in whose interest the ad was…

   Jack Lugar is a candidate for Indiana’s 5^th Congressional District in the May 8 Republican primary. He is one of seven candidates listed who seeks the party’s nomination for the November election to replace long-time Congressman Dan Burton.

   On his website, one of the issues he lists is "Crime and punishment," in which he begins with:

"As a former attorney with the Appeals Division of the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, Jack made sure that violent criminals…

   Saturday’s Show was a pleasure in which to participate. I hope that those who view it feel that it was informative.

   The May 8 primary election is only three weeks and two days from today. If any candidates for office are interested in appearing on The Show, I would encourage them to contact us.

   Indiana provides for secret ballots, outlaws the buying of votes, and makes no reference by name (the proverbial elephant, and in this case his/her pal donkey, in the room) to either of the two "major" parties 

   Tomorrow will appear on this site an essay on the unconstitutional nature and illegality of the Indiana primary election system. The statutory scheme is farcical. So stay tuned---or on-line or whatever the appropriate term would be in the early 21st Century.