FROEHLE: Ritz’s, Pence’s bickering hurts education
emocratic Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz and Gov. Mike Pence are spending more time arguing than doing anything worthwhile for Indiana’s education system.
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MEREDITH: Voters spoke clearly; now give democracy a chance
Despite being an underdog in her first run for public office, Glenda Ritz defeated incumbent Tony Bennett to become Indiana’s superintendent of public instruction in November.
HARRIS: Allow the governor to lead completely on education
For decades, the nation’s governors have been the driving force for changing—and improving—education policy.
COLLINS: A Ted Cruz on every corner in Texas
Have you noticed how many lawmakers from Texas were doing crazy things during the government shutdown debacle?
SOWELL: Does Yellen portend a return to Keynes?
The nomination of Janet Yellen to become head of the Federal Reserve System has set off a flurry of media stories. The Federal Reserve has become such a major player in the American economy that it needs far more scrutiny and criticism than it has received, regardless of who heads it.
RASMUSSEN: Health care, shutdown merely symptoms
Many reporters caught up in the bizarre world of official Washington have written extensively on political tactics and implications of the so-called government shutdown and disastrous launch of HealthCare.gov. Typical was a New York Times headline that blared “Republicans, Sensing Weakness in Health Law Rollout, Switch Tactics.”
BLOW: Billionaires and welfare lines lengthening
The stock market is hitting record highs. Bank profits are their highest in years. The market for luxury goods is rebounding.
DOUTHAT: But what if Obamacare actually works?
It’s likely that HealthCare.gov will be fixed by Thanksgiving and millions of Americans will (finally) be able to get a real look at what Obamacare is selling them.
GARRISON: We’re on a slippery slope to socialism
Central governments are really good at just a few things. Waging war, funding interstate highways (maybe), and protecting our borders (well, sort of) come to mind.
KETZENBERGER: Thoughtful notions from the Vlogbrothers
John and Hank Green, also known as the Vlogbrothers, exchange videos with each other twice a week. Sometimes the videos are funny and sometimes they’re serious, but they’re usually thought-provoking.
MASSON: Juries carry out noble, weighty duty
We ask juries to do a lot in Indiana. In simple terms, juries are a body empaneled to be fact finders as part of the judicial process for resolving criminal charges or civil disputes.
WESTERHAUS-RENFROW: Return to sender: Get a clue about email
If I had a dollar for every time I read a news article or post about a public official getting busted for sending or exchanging inappropriate emails and texts to fellow officials, colleagues and subordinates, I’d be well on my way to financial freedom.
SOUDER: Little common about Common Core
While I have been a bookaholic since elementary school, few books made as much of an impression on me as E.D. Hirsch’s “Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know.” It was released in book form in 1987, rising to second on the New York Times Best Sellers List behind Allan Bloom’s less-readable but also influential and important “Closing of the American Mind.”
BOEHM: Attack gerrymandering through the courts
Legislatures in Iowa and California have seen the wisdom of eliminating partisan gerrymandering and the polarized bodies it generates. The call for redistricting reform is growing now that the federal government has been shut down and the nation’s credit and the world’s economy threatened.
LANOSGA: Education board desecrated meetings law
In the state law that requires government meetings to be open to the public, there’s a wonderful preamble expressing the philosophy behind the statute. The intent of the Open Door Law, it declares, is “that the official action of public agencies be conducted and taken openly … in order that the people may be fully informed.”
DAVIS: Public sphere needs Hoosier hospitality
We have a disconnect in Indiana that we need to fix.
TAFT: How to meld Christian, secular values
The next legislative session is likely to feature several bills affecting “social” issues like same-sex marriage, curriculum controversies and religious activities in public schools, abortion and public prayer.
PELATH: Push the marriage amendment at the economy’s peril
For those who can still bear to look, Indiana’s unemployment rate remains stuck above 8 percent.
BOHANON: Businesses tend to reflect social values
The Indy Chamber is opposing the proposed state constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriages and civil unions. Fifty years ago—even 10 years ago—such a position would have been unthinkable. This is a remarkable change.
SHELLA: Youth vote might negate marriage polls
Twenty-fourteen will be a year of love and politics in Indiana.