USI Approves Plans for Doctor of Education Program

The University of Southern Indiana Board of Trustees approves a Doctor of Education or Ed.D. program. The degree would be offered through the Pott College of Science, Engineering and Education. The program now has to receive approval from the…

CHANNELING DONALD TRUMP

Making Sense by Michael Reagan

Maybe I’m channeling Donald Trump. Or maybe he’s been reading my columns – or my mind.

All I know for sure is that when he gave his great speech to Congress Tuesday night he did exactly what I suggested he should do that morning in my column in The Hill – stop being Donald Trump.

Quoting my father, I wrote that there comes a time when the president-elect has to become the president – and then start acting like one who represents the whole country, even his enemies.

I said the president should be a conservative, make conservative appointments and run a conservative government.

But I also suggested that he immediately stop catering only to his base and tell us in his speech where he wants to take the country and how he plans to take us there.

President Trump did all that and much more in his widely applauded speech Tuesday night, which was a great turning point for his administration to move forward on his agenda.  By spelling out his core goals, and asking the House and Senate to create the legislation to put them into place, Trump proved to Congress he wants to lead.

On Tuesday night he set the cornerstone for his administration’s agenda.  Like Trump Tower, he now has to begin rebuilding and rehabilitating America from the infrastructure up.  Many of our bridges and roads are in shambles. We take off and land at airports that would shame a Third World country.

In Studio City, Ca., not far from my house, a 90-year-old pipe burst and caused a sinkhole that swallowed cars but thankfully no people.

President Trump is absolutely right to want to throw a trillion public and private dollars at the crumbling infrastructure of the country – the more private the funding, the better.

He is also absolutely right to want to rebuild and build-up our military after eight years of neglect by the Obama administration.

As my father used to say, we fought four wars during his lifetime – none of which were fought because America was too strong.

President Trump understands that. So does Secretary of Defense James Mattis.  So does his disgruntled fellow Republican, Senator John McCain, who’ll someday applaud the president if he stays on course to rejuvenate the Army, Air Force and Navy.

The president’s signature campaign issue, enforcing and reforming our awful immigration policy, will face a huge political fight and a lot of compromising.

He’ll need to find the area where we can all come together. Nobody is going to get 100 percent of what they want, so everyone – including the president’s base — has to be willing to give a little.

President Trump’s other aims – lowering taxes on people and corporations, cutting regulations on businesses and repealing and replacing ObamaCare – are goals conservatives have been dreaming about for years.
He has a real chance of accomplishing many of his goals and the goals of conservatives in the next 200 days, but he can’t do it alone.

He’s going to need the advice and help of thousands of people.

So if I could give one more bit of advice to President Trump, which comes from a placard that was on my father’s desk, it is, “There’s no telling what a man can accomplish or where he could go if he doesn’t worry about who gets the credit.”

My father knew it’s never about taking credit, Mr. Trump, it’s all about getting things done.
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Experienced Applicants File For Supreme Court Vacancy

Dave Stafford for www.theindianalawyer.com

Sixteen men and five women applied to succeed Indiana Supreme Court Justice Robert Rucker, the Judicial Nominating Commission announced Friday.

More than half the candidates have been interviewed by the commission for past appellate court vacancies, and several have been finalists or semifinalists to serve on the Indiana Supreme Court or the Indiana Court of Appeals. The applicants include eight judges, six law firm partners, four solo practitioners, a lawmaker, a state attorney, and a recently suspended lawyer who’s suing the Indiana Supreme Court.

The applicants are:

• Dale W. Arnett, solo practitioner, Winchester
• Clark Circuit 4 Judge Vicki L. Carmichael, Jeffersonville
• Deputy attorney general Stephen R. Creason, Indianapolis
• Ralph E. Dowling, solo practitioner, Muncie
• Morgan Superior 1 Judge Peter R. Foley, Martinsville
• Wabash Superior Judge Christopher M. Goff, Wabash
• Marion Superior Criminal Division 7 Judge Clayton A. Graham
• Floyd Superior Judge Maria D. Granger, New Albany
• Elizabeth C. Green, partner, Riley Bennett Egloff, Indianapolis
• Lyle R. Hardman, partner, Hunt Suedhoff Kalamaros LLP, South Bend
• Leslie C. Henderzahs, partner, Church Church Hittle & Antrim, Fishers
• St. Joseph Superior Judge Steven L. Hostetler, South Bend
• Boone Superior 1 Judge Matthew C. Kincaid, Lebanon
• Washington Circuit Judge Larry W. Medlock, Salem
• Jaime M. Oss, partner, Huelat Mack & Kreppein PC, LaPorte
• Bryce D. Owens, solo practitioner, Pendleton
• William N. Riley, partner, Riley Williams & Piatt, LLC, Indianapolis
• Peter J. Rusthoven, partner, Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Indianapolis
• Andrew U. D. Straw, suspended Indiana attorney, Schaumburg, Illinois
• Rep. Thomas M. Washburne, general counsel, Old National Bankcorp., Evansville
• Leanna K. Weissmann, solo practitioner, Lawrenceburg

Rucker will retire this spring after 26 years on the bench. Initial candidate interviews will take place March 20-22 with semifinalists interviewed April 17-19. Gov. Eric Holcomb will select the next justice from three finalists chosen by the commission.

Hostetler and Kincaid were two of the three names the commission forwarded to Gov. Mike Pence last year, when he chose Geoffrey Slaughter as the state’s 109th justice, replacing Brent Dickson. Carmichael, Rusthoven and Washburne were semifinalists last year for the position.

Likewise, Granger was a semifinalist for appointment to the state’s high court in 2012, when Justice Mark Massa was appointed to the bench to replace former Chief Justice Randall Shepard. Goff, meanwhile, was one of three finalists nominated for a seat on the Indiana Court of Appeals that ultimately was filled by Judge Robert Altice.

Hardman, Medlock, Oss, Owens and Weissmann also have been interviewed for past Supreme Court vacancies, and Creason has been a candidate for a past Court of Appeals vacancy.

Meanwhile, the commission has an application from an attorney the Supreme Court suspended last month for filing lawsuits the court deemed frivolous. Andrew U.D. Straw, an Illinois attorney who formerly worked for the court, has sued the court claiming discrimination on the basis of disability.

Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathryn Dolan said the commission planned to meet Monday in executive session to determine eligibility of candidates, after which an interview schedule will be determined. According to the court, when the March interview schedule is made public, applications and photographs will be available online here. Attachments, including writing samples and transcripts, will be available in the Supreme Court Law Library.