Opinion

In the aftermath of two momentous Supreme Court decisions last week on guns and abortion, emotions are running high and, indeed, starting to turn ugly.

In 2019, an Indianapolis physician colleague, Dr David Blank, and I co-authored a column on gun control. David is a conservative Republican and I am a fairly liberal Democrat. We are both gun owners and believe in the right to defend our homes and that the American public should not be disarmed. Gun ownership is also a necessary defense - if it should ever occur in America - to a tyrannical and demagogic government.

To the Editor:

To the Editor:

When I consider the glut of information clogging the 24/7 media world, I realize I could never pay attention to all the news even if I wanted to, which I don’t). I could spend all my waking hours immersed in minutiae about the ongoing, ever-changing dramas and disasters that befall our world, but this is not how I wish to spend my time. There are people who thrive on being up-to-the-moment, and I appreciate them for their service. It is good and necessary for our society that some are paying attention. I often go to them when I have questions about an issue.

The inflation rate in May was 8.6%, the highest since the bad old days of the Great Inflation 40 years ago. We’re all paying higher prices. So are our school districts.

In the past few months, I’ve had several folks ask if recent inflation is the worst it has ever been. To those sweet summer children, I say what should be obvious, inflation has been much worse. That is why economists at the Federal Reserve are burning the midnight oil trying to figure out how much monetary tightening will be needed to prevent it from worsening. A far better question is how does inflation affect the economy, and also, who benefits and who bears the cost?

Many elected officials and official wannabes may not know basic facts about the Hoosier state. This is a perfect time to step away from toxic news and partisan fermentation to scan reality.

More than any other time of year, summertime was made for music.

The July 4th weekend cookout is just around the corner and we are planning a barbeque with some friends at our house. That was not the original plan, but turns out we were not invited to the cookout around the corner.