Local Opinion

In the 2011 session of the General Assembly, the legislature passed (and I supported) HEA 1074 that effectively changed the state’s school board elections date from the May primary to the November general election. Indiana law also says that school board races are nonpartisan. After what transpired this past general election in multiple counties, nonpartisanship is not present at this time. It is an understatement to report to you that I regret that vote.

Anderson Herald Bulletin

My Christmas wish is pretty simple: I would like lawmakers to listen to what Hoosiers want. All Hoosiers, not just the loudest slice of their Republican constituents.

Bloomberg Opinion

You realize that it’s not a proper Christmas season unless the realist killjoys among us start whining about “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

In 1897, an 8-year-old girl from Manhattan, Virginia O’Hanlon, wrote a letter to the editor of the New York Sun. The reply, written by Francis P. Church, the editor of the newspaper, was titled, “Is there is a Santa Claus?” The editorial took on a life of its own over time and is reportedly one of the most widely reprinted editorials in history. It also has been memorialized in books, movies and songs.

This year is the 100th anniversary of the term “stereotype” in its modern sense. The term was coined in the late-19th century to describe printing plates and the setting of “type” to produce printed materials. Back in the day, paper and ink were pressed against a plate to produce sheets for newspaper, books, fliers, etc.

Most people probably think of the ideological spectrum as a straight line, running left to right or right to left depending on one’s perspective. This places the extremes at the edges, furthest from each other. The middle holds the moderates, those who are considered the most reasonable and open-minded, if one identifies with them, or as the just plain mushy and unprincipled when one views them from either extreme.

To understand Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch’s governing philosophy, one only needs to look south of the Ford Center to the beautiful Stone Family Center for Health Sciences that houses the Indiana University School of Medicine’s southernmost regional campus in Evansville.

Now that the election is over and we have divided government nationwide and Republicans control state government in Indiana, I’ve been thinking about a couple of changes to Indiana’s voting system. Eliminate straight-ticket voting and implement ranked-choice voting. Both would be a significant improvement over what we have now.