Think About It with Michael Leppert

The purpose of this podcast is to convince you to think about it. What exactly is "it?" "It" will be something that is happening today in our cultural, community, or political space. And “It” will also be how we communicate with, relate to, or exist around each other. All in just FIVE MINUTES. That’s right, every episode is just FIVE MINUTES.

Why the new lie about the old lie is rattling the loyal believers of lies 07/16/2025

Why the new lie about the old lie is rattling the loyal believers of lies Last week, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced there will be no release of the “Jeffrey Epstein files.” It’s hard to predict when people will have finally had enough. The tolerance level of undesirable traits and behaviors from other humans will vary from person to person of course. And in today’s world of unexplainable group think, a rational understanding of group tolerance is often fleeting. This is not a column that will provide some new theories about what’s in the elusive Epstein files. No, I will never have confidence that the entire truth of that monster’s life will be known. I didn’t before he died, and with each passing moment since his death, the whole truth has drifted further and further from us. But we did know enough about him, and his disgusting existence, long ago, to know who not to trust with giving us the facts. Epstein had been friends with Donald Trump. They socialized together. They traveled together. They womanized together. Anyone paying attention already knew all of this. Trump and his minions were never going to be the truth tellers in this or any other saga. But particularly this one. So, I never understood why Trump’s supporters sought “transparency” regarding the U.S. Department of Justice’s infamous “Epstein Files.” Did they seek confirmation of what was already widely known? It can’t be that. No, there was seemingly some menu of conspiracy theories floating around in their ecosystem that would cause the stench of Epstein and his sex trafficking operation to stick to others. It always seemed like an elaborate fantasy of MAGA world that if someone from the other side was as dirty and as guilty as Trump, it would make all of his badness tolerable somehow. But again, what is it that causes that kind of devotion, that kind of naivete? Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/37421725

Teaching fewer things leads to a population that thinks less 07/09/2025

People will feel the one big, beautiful bill, and it will be ugly 07/02/2025

People will feel the one big, beautiful bill, and it will be ugly Every semester, the students in my business writing class are divided up into teams and are assigned a real-life challenge from a company looking to elevate its performance in any number of ways. It’s an opportunity to research the complexities of a market, to create an entrepreneurial solution and to effectively communicate all of it to the company looking to grow. And it’s an opportunity for me. I get to teach them the value of feedback. The worst ideas I’ve seen in my career come from organizations that spend too much time only talking to each other. The habit skews logic and rationality and creates blind spots allowing for fantastical outcomes that ultimately prevent actual success. So, let’s talk about this lesson plan in the context of “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” or “OBBBA.” First, the name itself. What likely started as a spasm straight from the mouth of President Donald Trump has become the dumbest title of landmark legislation in history. It communicates nothing of what the legislation actually does, good or bad, and sounds unserious, sarcastic and irritating in its vagueness. On Tuesday while researching the latest in the U.S. Senate, I spotted the first commercials for Trump’s new men’s cologne and women’s perfume on social media. I, of course, thought it was a hoax at first, but confirmed it’s reality. , called “Fight, Fight, Fight” and “Victory 45-47” must feature a refreshing aroma; sweet, soothing and subtle with a sort of locker room-esque approachability. After that brief rancid distraction, I went back to looking for the talking points from those who support Trump’s legislation. I came across the promotion of “OBBBA,” on the . This document is truly stunning in its silliness. Please look at it. It honestly looks like an ad for the smelly cologne, or possibly an ad for a pride-swallowing memoir about the smelly cologne. But I’m a professional, so I scrolled past that embarrassing half page to get to the words part of this debate. There are endorsements rolling by on a ticker under an oversized header, “Backed by American Industry.” This list is actually pretty short: Verizon, Comcast, Dell, 3M, Delta and Uber. Hmm. Uber? The company that finally turned its first annual profit in 2023 is supporting OBBBA because of the bill’s elimination of taxes on tips. But that elimination doesn’t appear to apply to Uber drivers in its current form. This endeavor is so gimmicky, even those who support the idea in theory often overlook its limited impact. is a valuable source on the issue. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/37248535

Maybe sexual harassment by elected officials shouldn’t end happily for them 06/25/2025

Maybe sexual harassment by elected officials shouldn’t end happily for them I spent last weekend in New York, as I try to do once a year, for the primary purpose of seeing the latest hot show or two on Broadway. I’d love to say I am expert at picking the best shows, but the truth is, if a show has gotten my attention in the heartland, it’s a safe bet. “Maybe Happy Ending” first caught my eye with its list of Tony nominations, so I bought the tickets. After my purchase, , including Best Musical. While I was in the city, the political ads were relentless on TV and on many of the digital billboards in Times Square. Tuesday was the Democratic primary election for mayor of the city—a contest that lately has, if nothing else, been a source of entertainment for the rest of the country. This time around, however, the contest is enraging. Former New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, to win. Victory will bring him a new job, and as some suggest, redemption. , during his third term as governor. The state legislature was preparing to impeach him at the time. New York’s attorney general had released the results of an investigation that found Cuomo had sexually harassed at least 11 women. He had created a work environment “rife with fear and intimidation.” Where are these women now? Our culture doesn’t ask this question or consider the answer deeply enough. The public is being asked to forgive or forget how the politician’s abhorrent behavior forever changed their victim’s life trajectories. If we collectively put this question up front, where it belongs, we would be less susceptible to reenlisting for the ridiculous: That these perpetrators are worthy of their victims’ trust or ours ever again. Cuomo’s career in public service should have ended permanently four years ago. His resignation was the end of his defense and likely provided some level of closure to those he harmed. I doubt the ending was happy for the victims, but that “Maybe Happy Ending” was better than the fantasy that the abhorrent behavior never occurred. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/37138525

Three days of shock and awe illustrate an American culture in turmoil 06/18/2025

Three days of shock and awe illustrate an American culture in turmoil A quarter century ago, as a young bureaucrat, I had a disagreement with my bosses. Energy commodities markets were going through an historic price spike, and my agency set the final rates customers would pay. I wanted rates to mirror the market to send “price signals” to consumers and provoke a reduction in consumption. The bosses wanted to spread costs over a long period to mitigate “rate shock.” They feared the infinitely possible responses that could come from an angry public. The bosses won, as bosses usually do, and we kept rates flat, and the public remained calm. Governing has changed since then. Last Thursday, June 12th, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, was forcibly removed from a news conference being conducted by the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem. He was ultimately tackled and handcuffed before being released. Why? He wanted to ask Noem some questions, and there were no questions to ask her that she would have been able to easily answer, so her security detail overreacted early. Where? In Los Angeles, where Padilla is arguably far more important than Noem. This wasn’t a mistake on Noem’s part or on her security detail’s part. It was purposeful theater. While Padilla was being restrained unnecessarily, Noem was saying this : "We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country," referring to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats. The Trump Administration is declaring war on state and local government in California. Or was Noem just trying to see what the reaction to that possibility would be? On Friday, June 13th, Israel began firing missiles into Iran. , “The air war between Iran and Israel - which began on Friday when Israel attacked Iran with air strikes - has raised alarms in a region that had already been on edge since the start of Israel's military assault on in October 2023.” Israel claims the bombing was necessary to preempt Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Yes, this issue had been addressed during the Obama Administration when the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was signed, specifically to prevent it. President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement during his first term and failed to craft a new nuclear deal with Iran to replace it. Now we have a replacement: war. The U.S. has been working to avoid this conflict since the Reagan Administration. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/37047990

Purdue’s breakup with its student paper feels like a gun shot 06/11/2025

Purdue’s breakup with its student paper feels like a gun shot I am working on publishing a new book this year. So, I’m spending time with other writers, readers, editors and consultants to make sure the finished product is as good as it can be. While online the other day, an editor wrote: “The purpose of fiction is to ask the audience questions to consider; the purpose of non-fiction, is to give them answers.” I assumed that was a famous quote, because it’s so wonderful, but I can’t find its originator for attribution. “Who said that?” is a question in need of an answer. I don’t ever seem to run out of questions, and neither does humanity. Answers, on the other hand, are scarce and precious. We should treat them that way. , “Purdue University announced it will no longer help distribute its student newspaper on campus — one of a handful (of) decisions distancing itself from the independent student publication.” The Purdue Exponent has been a vital news publication during my 30-year career in the Indiana media space. The student newspaper is 135-years-old and has been invaluable to students, the Purdue community and to the state for the entirety of that time. This decision by Purdue follows in 2024 directed toward its student newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student. A particularly curious part of the Purdue announcement is the instruction that the newspaper “should” omit the use of “Purdue” in its name moving forward, even though the publication has the name trademarked until 2029. Expansive explanations for this kind of hostility toward the paper have not been provided yet, but questions about that specifically are things we all should ponder. On June 8th, Lauren Tomasi, a correspondent for 9News of Australia was shot by a rubber bullet while covering the Los Angeles protests. The video of the incident . On the same day in LA, British photojournalist, Nick Stern was also struck by “non-lethal” rounds fired by law enforcement. , “I’m walking around taking photos…walking across the road when I felt a mighty pain in my leg. I put my hand down and felt a lump kind of sticking out the back of my leg.” He is currently recovering from surgery that was necessary to treat his injury. Questions abound. Here, in the once shiny city on the hill known as America, our institutions of authority are turning on our nation’s “Fourth Estate.” Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/36946475

Lt. Gov. Beckwith’s nasty warnings about Pride Month are exactly why Pride is needed 06/04/2025

Lt. Gov. Beckwith’s nasty warnings about Pride Month are exactly why Pride is needed I love June in Indianapolis. School’s out for me. The gardens, flowers and lawns around town are blooming and greening with optimism. And the city is quiet as it recovers from its traditionally hectic month of May. As my favorite performer, David Ryan Harris, sang in concert many years ago, this time of year transforms “slow like the breezes of springtime melt into summer’s grace.” As a dad, I am treated well in June. As a golfer, Indiana’s greens rarely run smoother. As a proud downtown dweller, my neighbors never love each other better. And that last one is all because of . Indy Pride is celebrating thirty years as an organization in 2025. Its founding preceded President Bill Clinton’s declaration of June as Pride Month in 1999. Yes, there are organizations all over America holding events during this wonderful month. I’ve had comparative conversations with people from other cities countless times. They usually go like this: “Our Pride is the best because…” An opening that often leads to an interruption of, “No, ours is better because…” The truth is all of them are special, and while I love mine the most, Indiana is not all that different from the rest of America. Cities and towns all over the state also have events of their own. From Fort Wayne to Spencer, from Greenwood to River City Pride in Warrick County, Hoosiers celebrate the LGBTQ community, and importantly, our collective love of it this month. That is why it so truly evil that Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith hates it so much. I recognize Beckwith’s hatefulness. It grows from ignorance, and his relentless commitment to it. On May 30th, he posted on his Micah Beckwith for Indiana Facebook page. The kooky post is largely lifted from the story posted on an equally kooky website called It’s difficult to editorialize on the lunatic rantings of, again, the sitting lieutenant governor of the State of Indiana. It’s akin to arguing with an idiot; there’s not much to be gained in the exercise. But as humanity begins the loving and celebratory month of June, it is important to bring attention to a primary reason why Pride exists. It is the ignorance, the lunacy, and the hatefulness from the smallest of people, like Beckwith, that should motivate those of us who love Pride’s celebrations to stay focused on its absolute necessity. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/36842000

When knowledge is the enemy, greatness is impossible 05/28/2025

When knowledge is the enemy, greatness is impossible In the 1983 classic film, “Trading Places,” Louis Winthorpe III and Billy Ray Valentine are victims of a scientific experiment that is thrust upon them by the elite bosses of a Philadelphia commodities brokerage. Winthorpe is a young, snobby broker at the firm, with all the right credentials and upbringing. He is comprehensively replaced by Valentine, a streetwise but uneducated nobody. The amateur sociological experiment aimed to prove that environment is more predictive than genetics in determining personal success or failure. After the switch, Winthorpe spots Valentine wearing the clothes he once owned, specifically his Harvard tie. Only the cream of the crop, the elites among the elite are worthy of wearing the school’s crest. An enraged Winthorpe exclaims, “Like oh sure, he went to Harvard!” I used to repeat the line out loud anytime I saw Harvard gear being worn by anyone, anywhere--especially to friends who actually did go to school there. It used to be fun. In 2025, Donald Trump is trying to destroy arguably our most reputable institution of higher education based on his “claims that Harvard has failed to stamp out antisemitism on campus,” , in the Morning Edition on Tuesday. It’s nonsense of course. Pretend for a moment that a specific ground zero of all American antisemitism actually existed. Where would that place be? I might look at the places flying Nazi or Confederate flags. I might look at the places where historic hostilities toward minorities of any kind thrive. I might look where hate crimes are being committed and civil rights are under threat. Trump has chosen to look at Harvard, a university with a Jewish population among undergraduates of approximately 26%, . That’s where the MAGA crowd believes antisemitism needs thwarted. More importantly, they believe the make-believe crisis is worthy of annihilating one of the world’s most respected institutions to solve it. Again, it’s all nonsense. No one actually believes any of this. However, Trump’s supporters love destroying things. The destruction of our global reputation, the U.S. Capitol, the rule of law, etc. are proof of that. Damn the consequences, they primarily enjoy burning stuff down. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/36738845

Braun fails Indiana’s hungry, and the buck stops somewhere else 05/21/2025

Braun fails Indiana’s hungry, and the buck stops somewhere else Bureaucracy is a word that is often used as an excuse. It is the bogeyman that serves as the source of mysterious and insurmountable odds preventing government from delivering the obvious good and right things to its people. Why are the streets in Indianapolis so horrible? Why is school funding seemingly always distributed unfairly? Eventually, the answers to those questions lead to the faceless phantom, known as bureaucracy. However, sometimes that phantom is identified, making accountability possible for whatever ails us. That’s when we point at an actual person, the sinister “bureaucrat.” On May 7th, Whitney Downard reported for the Indiana Capital Chronicle, She reported that in 2024, Hoosier families who qualify for food benefits and reduced-price school meals got a summertime boost: $120 per child monthly for food while schools were closed. It provided that assistance to 669,000 children. What made it news earlier this month is that Indiana’s participation last year, won’t be repeated this year. The reason? You guessed it, bureaucracy. Downard asked “three state entities” about the withdrawal from the SUN Bucks program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including the important question: why? At that time, no reasoning was provided. I was hopeful more reporting would follow, and on May 16th, it did. Rachel Fradette that in a statement from Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration, that “clear direction” was needed from state leadership last year for the program to be rolled out in a timely manner. “Upon taking office, this administration quickly submitted a waiver application to the Food and Nutrition Service to explore all possible avenues for launching the program this summer…However, our review revealed that the gaps in prior preparations prevented implementation in time for Summer 2025.” That’s the classic blaming of bureaucracy. But there’s a face here, and that face is Governor Mike Braun. Could this Trump loyalist have made a phone call to the White House? Yes. Did he? Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/36650975

‘The Talk’ won’t get us through the evil of ICE’s mask-wearing 05/14/2025

‘The Talk’ won’t get us through the evil of ICE’s mask-wearing In of the film, “The Hate U Give,” a father is having The Talk with his two young children. It is a common discussion Black families have in America to prepare for the inevitable contact with law enforcement they will face, and how to stay safe in those situations. It is a sad necessity, but a necessity all the same. The movie was based on the 2017 . It was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, though plenty of important things have happened in real life since then. In The Talk, the father is instructing his kids how to be submissive when confronted by an armed aggressor with governmental authority. That submissiveness communicates to the authority the intent to be compliant and peaceful and is designed to lower the temperature of the moment. The goal is to survive the moment and then worry about justice through due process later. It’s good advice. At least it used to be. Before 2025, the advice from The Talk made some assumptions. Primarily, that those claiming to be the police were exactly that. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has apparently made mask-wearing part of the standard attire when detaining people. Sometimes they are in military style clothing, and sometimes they are in plain clothes, an inconsistency that makes them even less trustworthy. The agents are often armed with semi-automatic rifles adding to the fear factor of the costumes being worn when capturing their targets. When I first noticed it earlier this year, I was surprised and curious. With each passing video, my initial concern has evolved into outrage. It is disturbing how this approach to law enforcement has quickly become the norm at the Department of Homeland Security, the governing department of ICE. We cannot stand for this practice to spread to other law enforcement agencies, or for it to continue with DHS. And The Talk won’t work for this. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/36548810

Graduation comes so fast we don’t have time for pretending 05/07/2025

Graduation comes so fast we don’t have time for pretending In “Mother Night,” Kurt Vonnegut wrote: “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” I might add: “And for how long.” I was invited to join a small group of students last week to celebrate the completion of their undergraduate degrees. We first met four years ago, and I remember the moment vividly. It was my first day as a full-time instructor at an elite business school and they were freshmen in their first week of classes. Heading into the fourth lecture of that first day, I wasn’t convinced I had made the right decision to leave a lucrative private sector career to teach. I didn’t know how the technology in the classroom worked. I didn’t know I could move the furniture around any way I wanted. I was so consumed with my own ignorance that I hadn’t even considered the far more unsettled condition of these young people. They expected me to be brilliant, to be a source of stability in the middle of the chaos of their first week of college. I wasn’t brilliant. I was pretending. And I wasn’t pretending very well. The first three classes that day were filled with students who were nervously silent. My own nervousness didn’t help. But when I entered that last class of the day, the students were talking and laughing with each other like they were old friends, hardly noticing that the evil professor had arrived. One of them made eye contact with me and I asked, “What, did all of you go to high school together?” She looked at me curiously, seemingly wondering if I had forgotten that it was the first day of school, and said, “uh, we just met.” That moment changed everything for me. Four years later, the first days of my semesters are wildly different. I am a little evil, but not accidentally. I am a little anxious, but only because I know the fun that lies ahead. I’m more than a little curious about my new students. I’m truly fascinated by them. And that curiosity is everything. I teach speech and writing to students who didn’t go to college to learn either. They can all follow instruction on rhetoric and persuasiveness, and they all know what a complete sentence is. Teaching that stuff has become the easy part. The real challenge is helping them find their voice. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/36462260

Stories endangering women and civil rights are like ships passing in the night 04/30/2025

Stories endangering women and civil rights are like ships passing in the night Since the measure was first coined by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, the “First 100 Days” is the standard we exclusively give new presidents “as a symbolic window to set the tone” of their administration. “It represents a kind of political version of a first impression,” . In 2025 though, the new president isn’t really new, the first impression isn’t actually the first one, and the symbolic window is less about the tone and more about the zone. That zone is being flooded right now, a strategic mantra of President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again, ex-con adviser, Steve Bannon. Monday, April 28th, was a classic day from this playbook. Two national stories detailed an attack on the Civil Rights Act from two different federal agencies and on two different targets. The stories were written as if the perpetrators of them were independent of one another, operating without a hint of knowledge that both were attacking the same iconic American standard: equal rights. On April 23rd, Trump signed an Executive Order titled, As : “It calls for an evaluation of all pending proceedings under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), which was first passed in 1974 and amended in 1976 to prevent lenders from discriminating against women based on marital status.” The obvious, rational question this EO provokes is a simple one: why? The EO is attacking the principle of “disparate-impact liability,” or “the idea that racism, sexism, or some other form of discrimination can occur without explicit intent.” Bluntly, the Trump administration is concerned that the protections against discrimination created by ECOA half a century ago might be resulting in negative consequences for those clearly responsible for the original problem. Ben Olinsky, senior vice president of Structural Reform and Governance at the Center for American Progress explains that the Trump team’s justification of reviewing the laws this way: "Because that somehow might, in individual cases, cause a white young man to lose out because the criteria has been shifted." Yes, of course. The ridiculous notion of “reverse discrimination” is often described with terms like “meritocracy” by those known for ridiculous notions. And no, an EO cannot repeal a law. But it can direct federal agencies to behave differently, and in this case, the primary enforcement agency of ECOA is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Trump team apparently wants to take the “protection” out of that agency’s mission across the board. Specifically in this example, protecting women, any and all women, is being rolled back. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/36365570

Tariff madness is hanging Indiana, no matter how Braun spins it 04/23/2025

Tariff madness is hanging Indiana, no matter how Braun spins it I have often wondered where the phrase “spinning a yarn” came from, and what differentiates the descriptive from the blunter, “making stuff up.” This week’s absurd spin, courtesy of Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, finally inspired me to do a little search for it. that “it may be connected to the sailor's task of rope making,” because of the path of the term’s traceable usage through the maritime world. The tedious process of twisting fibers into yarns, yarns into strands, and then strands into rope by hand must have been torturous in the early 1800s, when the term first appeared in print. “It is likely that tales were told by the sailors while making rope, leading to the figurative use ‘spinning a yarn’ for storytelling.” Piles of rope were apparently made in the Indiana Statehouse last week in response to the updated and gloomy revenue forecast. Some mysterious set of circumstances turned the December forecast of $800 million in growth for the next biennium into more than $2 billion of expected losses. Hmm. What changed? , “The dismal forecast is driven by slower than expected growth in jobs and wages, stock market declines and the effects of federal policies around tariffs, immigration and spending cuts.” Uh, yea. That was as predictable as tomorrow’s sunrise. But while the forecast is truly dismal, it is still just a forecast. There is no reason to be certain in it because the source of its dismal nature is uncertainty itself. Reality could be worse. And here’s where the fibers-to-yarns process begins. Gov. Braun the day the forecast was released. He said: “Today’s forecast reflects what we are dealing with in the aftermath of disastrous Bidenflation. There will be some tough times ahead, but the America First economic policies we are pursuing here and in Washington will unleash an economic boom.” Wow. In those two prepared sentences, and I emphasize that they were prepared, the Indiana governor is blaming the former president for the problem, acknowledging tough times ahead, and topping it off with baseless economic optimism that the state’s own forecasters won’t predict. That’s an awful lot of rope. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/36269465

Nobody is safe in America, not from America, not anymore 04/16/2025

Nobody is safe in America, not from America, not anymore is a 2015 movie about an insurance attorney, James Donovan, who finds himself representing a Soviet spy, Rudolph Abel, in a highly publicized espionage trial in 1957. Yes, it’s directed by Steven Spielberg, and Tom Hanks stars in it, so, of course, there are Academy Awards involved. And yes, there were dramatic embellishments in the storytelling sprinkled throughout the film with one important exception: The government never betrayed its duty to the U.S. Constitution. Imagine 1950’s America. We were at war with the Soviet Union. No one could be more unanimously seen as evil than that ominous enemy and their soldiers. And Rudolph Abel was guilty. Not because J. Edgar Hoover said so, but because he was convicted in a court of law. I have immense pride in the things that make my home what it is. I have traveled abroad and met people where they live, and I have met an abundance of people here, who are not from here. The circumstances of our lives are what fascinates us with one another. And I have always preferred mine to theirs. Those circumstances changed on Monday. History will date it. , the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a decision by U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis instructing the government to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador where he was erroneously deported. SCOTUS specifically instructed the Trump administration to “facilitate and effectuate” the return of Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who had been living in Maryland and has had a work permit since 2019. The Department of Justice had been fighting the lawsuit filed by Garcia’s family in response to the deportation, even though it acknowledged it was done in error. The legal wrangling of the government to avoid righting its wrong in this case has been absurd for weeks. However, when the highest court in the land issued its decision last week, the American in me had a brief rush of hope that our constitution would hold. That hope is now gone. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/36180905

Jim Banks’ mad handing is no coincidence; it’s a modern, political aspiration 04/09/2025

Jim Banks’ mad handing is no coincidence; it’s a modern, political aspiration The term “glad handing” appeared in the American vernacular at the beginning of the 20th century, through the phrase, “to give the glad hand,” or extend a welcome. But that type of welcome has generally come with a twist, an intention, or an agenda. Merriam-Webster as “a warm welcome or greeting often prompted by ulterior reasons.” It makes sense that the practice is most often attributed to politicians who are working a room. Even with ulterior motives, the practice would feature a pleasantness and happy charisma to audiences, much like an effective Instagram account would today. Not all politicians are great at it, even though most used to at least try to be. Not Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana though. No, no. His communication strategy flips glad handing on its head. He doesn’t want people, voters, you know, Hoosiers, to see him being insincerely polite or jovial. Not even in a moment of weakness. He’s proudest of his public displays of meanness, or what should now be labeled, “mad handing.” I’m in the words business, so I’m taking my shot at coining a phrase in hopes of making it into a credible dictionary someday. about the now infamous and viral video of Banks telling a man on Capitol Hill who identified himself as a recently fired Health and Human Services employee that he "probably deserved it" because "you seem like a clown." The freshman senator is proudly refusing to apologize and is even promoting the video himself as some sort of achievement. Why? I went on a search to try to identify the phenomenon and there actually is some science out there that is helpful. Dr. Mark Travers wrote for Psychology Today in 2022. The article reviewed a study published in the medical journal, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. The sports-based study found that low competitive status is linked with higher aggression. Dr. Macià Buades-Rotger of the University of Barcelona and co-author of the research said, “Put bluntly, losers are more aggressive than winners on average, and that makes sense: If your rival outperforms you, you must resort to aggression to try and stop them.” Yes, it makes perfect sense and in so many ways. Not just on the playing field of sports, but in the constant jockeying for fame and favor in right-wing politics. In the Banks example from last week, he didn’t have the confidence or courage to defend the haphazard and mass firings that have decimated many vital federal institutions, so he defaulted to aggression. Not by mistake, but by design. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/36060620

Liberals’ ‘abundance agenda’ takes time to absorb, but it’s worth it 04/02/2025

Liberals’ ‘abundance agenda’ takes time to absorb, but it’s worth it A friend sent me a link to an episode of “Pod Save America” on Sunday with the short message, “This is worth your time.” The podcast is a favorite among the left, hosted by a small group of former Obama advisers who describe the show as being for people “who are not ready to give up or go insane.” I have occasionally listened to it, but frankly, I didn’t want to give it an entire, torturous hour of my precious weekend. A few hours later, I find myself in the middle of a project: learning about the “abundance agenda.” featuring authors Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson and a discussion of their new book, The blurb describes it as “a once-in-a-generation, paradigm-shifting call to renew a politics of plenty, face up to the failures of liberal governance, and abandon the chosen scarcities that have deformed American life.” The challenge in that description is obvious. Liberals have to face up to their failures? Oh no, anything but that! Commentary and polling data of late is showing a frustration toward what appears to be a void of leadership on the left. It’s a predictable cycle following an election like the one that happened five months ago. The other side won. Electoral minorities don’t get inaugurated. They don’t have black-tie galas to celebrate their defeat and anoint the poohbah of the resistance either. In the spring following an election like 2024, it is customary for the losing team to still be searching for its recovery plan. However, this moment is clearly different than that typical spring-after. American institutions are being decimated by a Trump administration not because of some ideology or consensus-based ambition of the GOP, but simply for the joy of the decimation itself. Resisting, effective resisting is what the Democrat faithful seem to be demanding more than anything. Democrats, and mathematically, the majority of Americans, can vividly see what it doesn’t like happening in Washington. What is less clear to both leaders and followers of progressive politics is what the proactive alternative should be. Abundance, as an agenda, could become that alternative. Basically, the agenda is that blue cites and blue states need to govern better, but not just for the sake of governing. Klein explains on the podcast that abundance, as an agenda, attempts to answer this simple but important question: “what don’t we have enough of and how do we get it?” Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/35967175

John Green’s ‘Everything is Tuberculosis’ is a tragic story of injustice 03/26/2025

John Green’s ‘Everything is Tuberculosis’ is a tragic story of injustice Henry Reider is a young man from Sierra Leone who recently and miraculously survived tuberculosis. Using the words “recently” and “miraculously” to describe his recovery from a disease that has had a preventive vaccine since 1921 and a cure since 1943 is reason enough to become obsessed with the question: why? “Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection” is not a book I would choose to read under normal circumstances. Outside of the medical community or those afflicted with it, who would? I am hopeful that, for starters, it will be read by the same people who put other John Green books on the bestseller lists. And then growing from that unusual initial gathering of readers, it reaches the souls of every individual who needs to read it. Green met Reider and his mother several years ago on a trip to the west African nation, and the families have become friends. Green’s son, not to mention his famous brother, is also named Henry, which has led Reider to refer to both as the “namesakes,” in their regular calls since his recovery. All of the components of that recovery serve as the primary human story and the vehicle for the latest great book in Green’s library of greats. Reider’s story is fascinating, especially when told by one of the great storytellers of our time. But the history and the evolution of responses to the infection is the real star here. From the now ridiculous sounding strategies and treatments of it, to the way cities and even states, like New Mexico, were developed in large part to combat the infection, are all expertly detailed. Even fashion trends would evolve and modify based on what can only today be seen as irrational theories on how infections function. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/35862350

With America at war with itself, Democrats should revisit the art of it 03/19/2025

With America at war with itself, Democrats should revisit the art of it Sun Tzu, the former Chinese general, military strategist and philosopher, is known for his treatise, “The Art of War.” It’s remarkable how valuable the writings, believed to have been written in the 5th century BC, continue to be today. Forget the arguments about whether he is the one who wrote it and when. It doesn’t matter. The lessons are simple, and they still work. I cannot recall a legislative decision as ridiculous as the one made Friday by New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democratic Caucus he leads. After weeks of articulating the awful things contained in the Republican version of the budget continuing resolution, or CR, he abandoned his position at crunch time and chose to give it enough votes to pass. Democrats gained, let me count, zero things in exchange for their acquiescence. Two days earlier, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, , “Democrats had nothing to do with this bill. And we want an opportunity to get an amendment vote or two. And so that’s what we are insisting on.” Apparently not for long. One of Sun Tzu’s principles of war is to seize opportunity. Democrats failed that one. They seized nothing by conceding to the Republicans here. Absolutely nothing. Schumer’s stated reasoning for caving was that a shutdown would create opportunity for the White House to do even more unconstitutional and damaging things. Donald Trump and Elon Musk weren’t asking congress for permission before Friday’s vote. Now that the shutdown has been averted, they still aren’t. I think the mere existence of the filibuster is dumb, and I always have. The 60-vote necessity to proceed, particularly on CRs, served Republicans well throughout Joe Biden’s presidency. Likewise, it should have been used last week by the Democrats to either block the CR or to gain concessions by using it as leverage. It’s the reason it exists. Neither happened. Worse yet, Schumer and the Democrats gave the Republican budget package ten votes, when all the concession required was seven. By giving the GOP three more votes than they needed, it gave Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, the freedom to vote no on the package for his personal, political reason that the package doesn’t reduce debt. That’s simply malpractice. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/35768650

Jason Isbell and Amanda Zurawski both declare ‘it’s time to be brave’ 03/12/2025

Jason Isbell and Amanda Zurawski both declare ‘it’s time to be brave’ I teach storytelling, though the official titles of the classes are things like presentations, writing or speech for business. But on the first day of school in all of my classes, I put a slide on the screen with this quote from the late Steve Jobs: “The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.” Then I ask my new students if they believe that or not Jason Isbell is one of America’s greatest storytellers, and yes, he’s on one of my first day of school slides too. His latest album, “Foxes in the Snow,” was released Friday morning, and in my opinion, it’s his best album yet. I was predisposed to loving this one because the production is stripped down to nothing but Isbell, his guitar and a microphone. I first became a fan because of the words he writes. Then I noticed he is an incredible guitarist. I love this album most because that’s all we get. The best songs are always at their best in their simplest of forms. On “Foxes,” : “There’s a lot of heavy stuff on the record, and it felt private…I didn’t really want anybody else in the room for that.” Listeners get to join him there. I’m not sure this stuff is any heavier than usual, but I get why it’s heavier for him. His recent divorce, his new love interest and his new part time residency in New York City are detailed throughout the song list. What seems to make it heavy is that this is a new world for Isbell, filled with disappointment and excitement, but most of all, newness. That’s what I hear in all of these songs, particularly in “Open and Close,” in which he sums up the description of his new life with the declaration, “it’s time to be brave.” What I am trying to get my students to achieve with their audiences is connection. That sounds like a vague, generic term when they hear me use it the first time. But as should be expected, there is a scientific term for it, known as “neural coupling.” This is “the literal synchrony in brain states between speaker and listener. When you’re the speaker, your goal is to replicate the same pattern of brain activity that you have in your head inside the head of your conversational partner,” . I don’t feel the specific pain of Isbell’s divorce or the specific excitement of his new love, but I mirror many of the components of his emotional state that come from facing a new world. Specifically, the pressure that is felt from the need to be brave. This is why storytelling is so powerful. Amanda Zurawski never had plans to describe a profoundly personal slice of her life on a big stage. Yet she was at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in Bloomington on Friday for a screening of the 2024 documentary about her battle for women’s reproductive rights. The film’s synopsis captures what has become a familiar modern story: “Women denied abortions under Texas’ ambiguous and unforgiving abortion bans band together with a fearless attorney to sue Texas.” The fearlessness is the thing that connected with me. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/35644400

Ending the public service ethic is an abhorrent part of the new GOP 03/05/2025

Ending the public service ethic is an abhorrent part of the new GOP I left public service in 2002. The experiences of the thirteen years I spent as an employee of the State of Indiana help define me. On paper, my career path wouldn’t make immediate sense to most people today. But it makes perfect sense to me. Why? Primarily because I enjoyed serving the public, and importantly, I was good at it. People thanked me for my service when I left. In less than two months since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, approximately 75,000 federal employees accepted a buyout package offered by the new administration and voluntarily left public service. Another 30,000 have been fired. , Delta Airlines employs 100,000 people, and United Airlines Holdings, Inc. employs 107,500. This will cause significant and widespread suffering in predictable and unpredictable ways. Americans will feel this, one way or another. Even in the post-trust era, this is one thing we can all count on. And Trump and Elon Musk are just getting started. Included in those breathtaking numbers are individual people who were doing important things, vital things, even life-saving things that are no longer being done. An excellent example is “Emily,” a recently terminated lab technician who worked at the National Institutes of Health. She worked in a cancer research lab, and she worries what these cuts will mean to people who need the treatments NIH is, or was, developing. “People will lose their lives,” she said . Also commenting was White House spokesperson Kush Desai. He said, “The Trump administration is committed to slashing waste, fraud, and abuse while increasing transparency of where limited taxpayer dollars from NIH are going and how exactly they’re advancing scientific research and development.” The “waste, fraud, and abuse” bit is the go-to storyline for the entire enterprise of this profoundly troubling cleansing of public servants. And while that spin is becoming the new Big Lie, adding the phrase “increasing transparency” makes it even more absurd. In Indiana, Luke Britt, the state’s longest serving public access counselor, stepped down last week after 12 years in the role following changes to his office by state lawmakers this time last year, . Prior to last year’s legislation, Britt’s office was designed to construe disputes about public access to government records in favor of government transparency. His office was created in 1999 in response to public outcry for exactly that, transparency. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/35537935

Read all about it: Imagine Indiana becoming less cool than it already is 02/26/2025

Read all about it: Imagine Indiana becoming less cool than it already is There are so many stars and influencers surrounding us these days, it’s difficult for the uncool to keep up. I don’t know exactly when I crossed over into that territory, but I’m guessing it was shortly after my first son was born. He celebrated his 30th birthday this month. Back when I was cool, reading was not among the reasons. Now, it might be the coolest thing I do. In my youth, Dolly Parton wasn’t cool. She was originally a country and bluegrass musician, which in the world of my youth, was cool’s opposite. But after her singing voice slowly became embedded in the fabric of America, her cultural voice followed. That voice is cool as it gets. Parton started the in 1995 for the children within her home county in East Tennessee, not far from my childhood home. The program delivers one age-appropriate book per month to children five-years old and younger. To recipients, the books arrive via U.S. Mail, free of charge. Do the math. That’s as many as 60 books in a personal library of each participating child. There is no catch, no burden, no problem. But as the uncool know so well, nothing is truly free. Books cost money, and thirty years since the program started in one county, it is now available in five countries and gives millions of free books each month to children around the world. It’s an intricate operation, involving a long list of operational and funding partners to make it all happen. Indiana is one of 21 statewide partners in the U.S., though the partnership is now threatened by the Indiana House’s recently passed budget. In 2023, the legislature approved a $6 million expenditure in its budget for the program. That’s a budget item big enough to notice, and small enough that cutting it can’t possibly be celebrated. I am unaware of any public discussion about discontinuing the appropriation during the first half of this year’s legislative session. So, when the House passed its budget last week and the funding was surprisingly gone, the silence about it ended. I learned about it first from the national media. “We are hopeful that Gov. (Mike) Braun and the Indiana legislature will continue this vital investment by restoring the state’s funding match for local Imagination Library programs,” Jeff Conyers, president of the Dollywood foundation, . Conyers was not hysterical about it. He was cool. And while Braun responded quickly to the call out coming from an organization with a big name on it, I found the response to be less than cool, even cold. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/35431570

It’s been less of a transition and more of a turf war 02/19/2025

It’s been less of a transition and more of a turf war An abundance of adjectives can be used to describe the first 30 days of the second Trump administration. “Chaotic” would be my first choice. But Thesaurus.com provides a list of synonyms to consider in my search for the perfect word. The six strongest matches to my top choice also work. “Tumultuous” or “turbulent?” Yes. “Disorganized” or “helter-skelter?” Ditto. “Lawless” and “anarchic” are the others on that short list, and yes, they both sadly apply as well. This first month has not been about egg prices or healthcare. Nor has it been about education or justice. And though headlines are big about Ukraine and Gaza, those too are merely components of what today’s true battle is really all about: turf. America is in the midst of a turf war. It’s so old-school, most don’t even recognize it for what it is. But when Trump’s new leadership at the Department of Justice eviscerated the Republican team in its Southern District of New York to force the dismissal of the corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams, the White House was seizing the local government of the city. is, or was, about as open and shut as possible. Turkish nationals were pumping campaign funds and luxury travel to the mayor and were receiving favors in return in several easily traceable instances. The corrupt relationship began when Adams was the president of the New York borough of Brooklyn. It intensified during his mayoral campaign, and it continued after he took office. The SDNY has or had the goods on him. So, what is the motivation for Team Trump to dismiss a corruption case against a prominent Democrat? Again, with the word calisthenics, an oft used political descriptor would be “leverage.” But I think that word is a soft, understatement. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/35341610

Beckwith and Trump are crossing new lines in their quest for clicks and cultural validity 02/12/2025

Beckwith and Trump are crossing new lines in their quest for clicks and cultural validity February 12, 2025 I have been thinking about Winston Churchill since Donald Trump announced his planned seizure of the board of trustees of the Kennedy Center last Friday. , “The Prime Minister (Neville Chamberlain) …has reminded us of the old saying that it is by art man gets nearest to the angels and farthest from the animals.” On the floor of the Indiana Senate last Thursday, Minority Leader Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, made a point of order just before the vote on . The bill would create a series of prohibitions and requirements regarding diversity, equity and inclusion programs in Indiana. It’s a conglomeration of poorly developed ideas that chaotically attempt to send a message to Hoosiers that the undefined “woke” ideology is being put down in the state for good. It’s a bad-idea bill that is written poorly enough that even four Republicans voted against it. I am certain I will write about the awfulness of this bill in future columns. Today, I will just label it as a collection of pretzel-like twists of racist gestures designed to comfort a constituency who has demonized DEI programs before bothering to learn what they are. Stay tuned for more on the substance of it. In the midst of the on SB 289, Lt. Governor Micah Beckwith posted this to his campaign Facebook page: “Indiana just TORPEDOED Woke Indoctrination!” The post goes on about how the rebellion of equal rights has been put down, and how “the left is LOSING IT.” It’s the kind of post to more likely come from a MAGA-cult member standing in line to get into a Lee Greenwood concert. Except it wasn’t. It came from the President of the Indiana Senate, in reference to legislation that was being debated on the Senate floor at that very moment. And it was written in past tense, as if the vote and the outcome had already occurred. It was at least two hours early. In Indiana, the lieutenant governor is the nonvoting, presiding officer of the Senate. He or she manages the process and is assisted by a parliamentarian to assure the process is followed in accordance with the state’s constitution and the rules of the Senate. From 1989 through 2004, a Democrat presided over the Republican controlled body. Awkward, right? Nope. Not at all. Both of those former governors, Frank O’Bannon and Joe Kernan, in their roles as lieutenant governor, did their jobs with a commitment to statesmanship and respect for the body. It is not what either man will be remembered for, primarily because it didn’t take great restraint or character to simply do the damn job as our citizenry has come to expect. And by the way, every Republican LG, dating back to at least 1980, has done the same. Today, that is apparently too much to ask of Micah Beckwith. He would rather use the position to garner attention for himself, even if it means prejudging outcomes while he presides. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/35249415

Haggling over the price is not going to make us any healthier 02/05/2025

Haggling over the price is not going to make us any healthier February 5, 2024 It's an old joke, and though I made a reasonable effort to track down the original source, I failed. However, I did find that early versions of it, dating back to at least 1930, centered on indecent proposals for sex. Not surprisingly, and nearly a century later, the anecdote often is aptly applied to policy dealmaking negotiations in legislative bodies across America. Skipping the indecency of the set-up, this is a family friendly column after all, a version of the punchline goes like this: "We've already established what we are. Now, we're just haggling over the price." Healthcare debates in the Indiana Statehouse are primarily an exercise in "haggling over the price." But like the original version of the joke, the more important part of the debate really is the "establishing what we are" part. Whitney Downard, reporter for the Indiana Capital Chronicle, on a hearing of the Indiana Senate Committee on Health and Provider Services that featured five legislative proposals moving forward that were almost entirely about the price. The bills dealt with financial incentives for patient referrals, tracking the average negotiated charge between healthcare providers and insurers, non-compete agreements for physicians, prior authorization of care by insurers, and finally, two bills regarding pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. Whew. I read the story several times and still don't see the part about Hoosiers getting healthier. The most important part of the healthcare debate often doesn't even come up in the rooms where decisions are being made: What can we do to live healthier lives? Anyone who believes that either Indiana or America will magically become healthier by resolving all the debates about price first, should also be shopping for Jack's beanstalk beans. Establishing "the price" isn't the mission. Improving the public's overall health is. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization. /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/35154225

Braun puts others in their place, just by othering them 01/29/2025

America has a new president, even if it doesn’t know what that means 01/22/2025

The trouble with flags is that they often do what they’re meant to do 01/15/2025

The trouble with flags is that they often do what they’re meant to do January 15, 2025 At a beach in south Florida ten days ago, I was halfway through my daily walk, listening to an excellent book, and occasionally scanning the Gulf of Mexico for any passing dolphins. Public parking at this particular beach is located at both ends, so that’s where the beach camps, picnics, and sandcastle makers tend to gather. My down-and-back walks there are highlighted by the crowds at each end. On this day, a group of ten people had formed a circle around a large Trump flag flying on a pole at least ten feet high. The shrine was positioned right at the end of the sidewalk leading to the south end of the beach in the middle of a few hundred people who had planned on spending their Saturday free from politics. A thousand miles to the north in Indianapolis, State Rep. Kyle Miller (D-Ft. Wayne) was preparing to file HB 1259. The bill inserts two words, “a flag,” to Indiana’s statute governing campaign communications. Adding flags to this specific section of the Indiana Code would require that those pesky disclaimers be added to them. The “sponsored by” lingo on yard signs and billboards, and the “I approve this message” sound clips on video and radio ads are already required in Indiana, as they are in most places. Let’s pretend for a minute that a Democrat-led campaign regulatory initiative can become law in the era of supermajority control by Republicans. What would the impact of a law like this actually be? No, I don’t think it will bring the ridiculous and hostile flags down, but it will require the money making machine of the Trump campaign to at least pretend that the rule of law still applies to it. Flags have a fascinating history. I’ve researched and written about them before, because it is another unique feature in this political moment in America. They are more demonstrative than bumper stickers and yard signs. They are harder to ignore. They also take more of an effort to fly. For example, I watch people struggle to put umbrellas up on the beach almost every time I’m there. That ten-foot flagpole I saw ten days ago did take a little effort. I imagine the flags flying behind a Harley Davidson do occasionally get tangled or dragged whenever the bikers approach a speed trap or a stop light. But these symbols do have a history. As , “Flags originally were used mainly in warfare, and to some extent they have remained insignia of leadership, serving for the identification of friend or foe and as rallying points.” And that is still what flags mean to me. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/34858670

The trouble with extreme ideas is they often keep getting worse 01/06/2025

In 2025, we should learn that ‘no one gets out alive’ 12/31/2024

In 2025, we should learn that ‘no one gets out alive’ has landed her first Grammy nomination for her latest album, “No One Gets Out Alive.” It’s nominated for Best Americana Album, a fitting category, though on my first listen of it earlier in the year, I declared it to be the album of the year in every category. I walked away from cable news after the election two months ago. I just needed a break, I told myself. Now, I can’t imagine ever returning. In my brief time away, I have come to realize that those platforms aren’t all that meaningful to me. Their product is the argument, the disagreement, the conflict. That product wasn’t provoking thoughtfulness in me, it was preventing it. So, that break I needed has become a lifestyle change for which I’m grateful. There are far better sources for perspective, yes, even coming from this political columnist, than the pundit world. In 2025, I recommend we invest more of our time listening to those better voices. Rose has a beautiful and powerful voice, and her years of Nashville experience combine to make her a true professional at her craft. The metal-head inside of me was drawn to her hit’s title—I was expecting something dark and nihilistic—which was my mood at the time. Wrong. The title track is a guide on how to embrace life and living, because we only live once. It’s an Americana lesson, through a voice that sounds like a combination of Bonnie Raitt and Aretha Franklin. It’s perfect. The song is simple. “Call the boy. Ask the girl. Have no regrets when you leave this world. Cause you know no one gets out alive.” What else is an example of simple? The benefits of a fluoride-enriched public water supply. The to show how we are healthier as a result of fluoridation, and don’t confuse that term with the state. Collier County in southwest Florida, where I spend some of my wintertime, will remove fluoride from its water supply on January 1. There’s no evidence-based benefit of the move, just barbershop theories that likely came from the cable news playing on the shop’s tv. Turn it off. Read the data. Don’t trust the CDC? Pick any of the countless other scientific studies that reached the same conclusions. It will be five minutes well spent. Then go listen to some new music, watch a new movie, or read a new book. Connect with Michael Leppert Visit to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter Facebook at /episode/index/show/michaelleppert/id/34663565

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, if we keep it simple and kind 12/17/2024

Think About It with Michael Leppert

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