School Outrage, Indiana Crime #’s Increase – American Family Association of Indiana
School Outrage, Indiana Crime #’s Increase
A Shameful Display
There is a shocking and sad story about an incident in a Fishers, Indiana high school.
As you probably know, a young police officer was tragically killed in Elwood on July 31st. Officer Noah Shahnavaz was brutally ambushed by a convicted felon who should never have been back out breathing fresh air. He had bragged about wanting to kill a police officer during his time in jail and some say he wrote a rap song about killing police before his parole. He had been arrested in 2006 following a car chase during which he repeatedly shot at police.
Noah’s family has been through an unimaginable ordeal. Before Noah’s brother returned to high school his parents had met with high school officials. An email was sent to his teachers to communicate the need to be sensitive to their son after the loss of his brother and the trauma the family has experienced. All of Indiana seemed to feel the loss of Officer Shahnavaz . . . or so we assumed.
Unfortunately, one of the classrooms that Noah’s brother had to attend had a “Defund the Police” poster, despite the email that went out. The 26-year-old teacher who displayed the sign teaches a literature class and is a sponsor of the high school’s mental health club. (You read that right.)
In her defense, she hung that poster in her classroom over a year ago. I’m sure she just forgot about it. Maybe it was blocked by the gay pride flag she also hung in her classroom. (Is such radical, political liberalism and sloganeering so common in the Fishers high school that such displays are nearly invisible to its staff?)
She reportedly has received awards for her “political awareness” in the classroom. It is unknown if she has received any awards for teaching literature.
This highlights one of the biggest problems with so many of our public schools today. The legislature failed to address this kind of radical political activism with legislation in the Spring, maybe they will next year.
You can read much more about this here.
November Takes Shape
Northern Indiana Hoosiers will have a new face for the 2nd Congressional district after just under 400 Republican Precinct Committee members met Saturday. They chose Rudy Yakym to fill the seat left by the passing of Jackie Walorski. Rudy was propelled to the win by the endorsement of Jackie’s husband and her mother. Rudy was the head of Congresswoman’s finance team in 2012, and he was part of Governor Holcomb’s transition team in 2016.
Rudy will face Democrat Paul Steury, a high school science teacher who previously taught at Goshen College in the November election. Most expect Rudy to win the Republican-leaning district this fall unless the Democrats pour a lot of money into the race. This seems unlikely, as they may have to put resources to the west, in Indiana District 1, where Democrat Congressman Frank Mrvan is expected to face a strong challenge from Republican Jennifer-Ruth Green. That race is now rated as a “toss-up” this fall.
Incidentally, last week I included a photo of the candidates running in the Republican caucus. I should have credited that picture to a mainstream news site you may want to visit called the Indiana Capitol Chronicle.
A Startling Statistic
“Reading proficiency among Indiana schoolchildren has declined steadily for 10 years to the point where nearly 1 in 5 Hoosier children completing third grade cannot read.”
You can read more about this here.
Does It Seem Like Crime is Getting Worse?
A new study of FBI data finds that homicide has increased in 44 states over the last decade, including Indiana.
In 2011 there were 306 homicides in Indiana. By 2020 that number had increased to 505. This 65% increase sounds like a lot, but we are only somewhat above the middle. Indiana ranked 19th highest among the increases found in all but six states. Still, the murder rate in Indiana is higher than the national average. There were 7.5 murders for every 100,000 people in the state in 2020, compared to the national homicide rate of 6.5 per 100,000.
Over the last 10 years, the number of murders reported in the U.S. has climbed by 47%.
Job Numbers Up, But For How Long?
Job numbers are the one thing the Biden Administration can point to in order to counter the argument that America is in an economic recession. It is true that unemployment numbers are low and job numbers look good the farther we get away from the Covid shutdowns.
However, job numbers may not look good for long. A new PWC PULSE survey of larger employers finds that 50% of executives surveyed say they expect to make job cuts in the next 6 to 12 months. A little over half, 52%, of employers said they will likely institute a hiring freeze and 44% will rescind job offers.
The survey of 772 executives measures expectations. It is possible that these cuts will not occur early next year, but there is obviously a lot of concern among large employers over inflation, supply-chain issues, and global conditions.
In Their Own Words:
“Without a firm moral foundation, freedom degenerates quickly … into anarchy. Then there will be freedom only for those who are stronger and more unscrupulous than the rank and file of the people.” – Pres. Harry Truman, April 3, 1951
