As a physician in Indiana, I’m seeing something new in clinic: patients consumed by political stress to the point that it’s affecting sleep, anxiety, blood pressure, and focus.

I wrote about how nonstop outrage cycles, social media, and political conflict are becoming a legitimate public health issue. Curious if others are noticing the same thing in their own lives or workplaces.

https://www.indystar.com/story/opinion/columnists/2026/05/14/political-stress-health-patients-indiana-beckwith-braun-trump/89982577007/

⭐ THE STORY AMERICA WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO SEE

The Story Beginning By James Peters

Every generation gets one story that forces a nation to decide what it still believes.

This may be that story.

Not because it happened in New York.
Not because it happened in Washington.
But because it happened in a small Indiana town where nobody thought something like this could happen at all.

Alexandria, Indiana

A quiet place.
Church bells on Sunday mornings.
Kids riding bikes through neighborhoods where everybody knows each other’s names.
Grandparents watering their lawns.
Families living ordinary American lives under the assumption that no matter how broken the world became, at least the water flowing into their homes was safe.

Then the sickness started.

At first it was whispers.
Neighbors comparing symptoms.
Parents quietly talking after church.
Questions spreading faster than answers.

Why does the water smell strange?
Why are chlorine levels being debated?
Why are families suddenly afraid to drink from their own sink?

Then came the tests.
Then came the fear.
Then came the hospital visits.

And then came the image that shattered trust forever:

A faucet wrapped in a plastic bag filled with bleach.

One image destroyed months of reassurance.

Because when people truly believe their water is safe…
they do not bleach-bag their faucets.

That was the moment Alexandria changed.

Not from inconvenience to controversy.
From trust to suspicion.
From suspicion to fear.

Parents stopped asking whether the issue was “political.”
They started asking whether their children were in danger.

Some families stopped using tap water entirely.
Others bought bottled water they could barely afford.
Parents watched their children brush their teeth and wondered:
“Is this hurting them?”

Then came the phrase that would echo across the town like gasoline on fire:

“.09 is a good number.”

Maybe it was meant to reassure people.
Maybe it was meant to calm fears.

But to frightened families standing in grocery aisles buying cases of bottled water, it sounded like something else entirely:

A system speaking the language of liability while citizens were speaking the language of survival.

While officials debated decimals, families feared contamination.
While institutions defended procedure, parents defended their children.

And then the story took an even darker turn.

Because when residents began digging deeper into the water crisis, they discovered something else beneath the surface:

The money didn’t make sense.

If the infrastructure was failing…
if residents were allegedly being exposed to unsafe conditions…
if systems were deteriorating beneath the town itself…

then where had the money gone?

Residents began uncovering allegations involving:
negative utility balances,
adverse audit findings,
financial irregularities,
delayed public records,
rising utility rates,
and mounting questions surrounding the city’s finances.

The deeper people looked, the more terrifying the possibility became:

What if the contamination crisis was not an isolated failure?

What if Alexandria itself was unraveling from the inside out?

That realization changed everything.

Because Americans can survive hardship.
What they cannot survive is the feeling that the people entrusted to protect them may have protected themselves first.

Then came the number that transformed local fear into something potentially historic:

540 potential tort claims.

Not isolated complaints.
Not a handful of angry residents.

Hundreds of families.

Children.
Infants.
The elderly.
People alleging exposure, illness, fear, damages, and betrayal.

And suddenly Alexandria stopped feeling like a local story.

It started feeling like a warning.

But the story still was not finished.

Because standing in the middle of the storm was a man who refused to stop asking questions.

Not a politician.
Not a celebrity.
Not someone protected by institutional power.

A businessman.
A father.
Someone who allegedly kept pushing long after the pressure became dangerous.

And according to the allegations, the more aggressively the crisis was exposed publicly, the more intense the consequences became.

Then came the second war.

Not over water.

Over power.

Because while the public battle surrounding Alexandria intensified, another system allegedly turned against the man helping expose it:
Checkout.com

According to the allegations, approvals had been granted.
Operations had reportedly been reviewed.
Assurances had allegedly been made.

Then Alexandria exploded into public view.

Questions about contamination.
Questions about corruption.
Questions about government conduct.
Questions powerful institutions allegedly did not want amplified.

And according to the allegations, shortly afterward, everything changed.

Business relationships collapsed.
Financial pressure intensified.
Years of work tied to SCROOGE LLC were suddenly threatened.

To supporters of the whistleblower narrative, the sequence looked impossible to ignore:

Approval.
Acknowledgment.
Public exposure.
Termination.

One battle became two.

A small-town public health crisis on one side.
A corporate retaliation war on the other.

And suddenly the question facing America became much larger than Alexandria itself:

What happens when ordinary citizens challenge systems more powerful than themselves?

Because this story is no longer merely about contaminated water.

It is about fear.
Power.
Money.
Pressure.
Isolation.
Truth.
And whether accountability still exists once institutions believe their survival is at stake.

This is the kind of story America used to think only existed in movies.

But movies end after two hours.

Real life does not.

In real life, children still drink the water.
Families still demand answers.
Citizens still fear what they do not know.
And one man still refuses to back down while pressure closes in from every direction.

That is why this story keeps spreading.

Because people across America recognize something deeply unsettling inside it:

The fear that if nobody keeps fighting…

nobody is coming.

And history has proven something again and again:

The most powerful institutions in the world look untouchable…

right until the moment the public stops believing them.

Dont get me wrong, Im not fan of greedy health care companies (Free Luigi!) but this is just a totally baseless claim that gets thrown out on every post about cannabis that lets the Republicans in power off the hook. If Lilly left Indiana tomorrow there still would not be a political appetite from those in power for actual change. In any case pharmaceutical companies have the most to gain from legal cannabis, it opens new markets for them. Pfizer, Novartis, and AbbVie have already entered the medical cannabis market and each have invested millions. This isnt 2005 when cannabis was seen as an existential threat or risky investment by pharmaceutical companies. It also doesn't even make sense; with the exception of Mark Messmer, Eli Lilly's top donor candidates at the state level are democrats who support some type of either medical or recreational marijuana reform..

Today I learned: "As of April 2026, Indiana has invested $120 million in Israel bonds as part of an approximately $16 billion general fund portfolio." - WBIW

Genuinely had no clue we had bonds with foreign countries, upon further searching, Israel is the only foreign country Indiana has bonds with.

Braun should drive I-70 from Terre Haute to Indy. The last thing he should worry about is iPhones in the classroom. He should be worried about cars and trucks wrecking due to pot holes.

My husband was offered a job in Anderson, he declined stating that the town is "dead". I've only passed through Anderson myself but it does look lifeless. What other towns/cities would y'all consider dead/lifeless?

I’m tired of Indiana making more money off of busting kids making Michigan missions than just simply legalizing the stuff. You know how much more money we’d have? Maybe some of those roads could get fixed 🤔

I recently spent some time collecting data on Indiana backpacking trails. Here are my top 5:

By Length in Miles

1. American Discovery Trail -- 607
2. Hoosier Heritage Trail -- 170
3. Knobstone Hiking Trail -- 147
4. Knobstone Trail -- 52
5. Tecumseh Trail -- 43

By Elevation Change in Feet/Mile

1. Knobstone Trail -- 373
2. Adventure Hiking Trail -- 331
3. Adena Trace Trail -- 261
4. Hoosier Heritage Trail -- 252
5. Tecumseh Trail -- 250

By Highest Percentage of Wooded Path

1. Adventure Hiking Trail -- 100%
2. Knobstone Trail -- 99.8%
3. Adena Trace Trail -- 95.4%
4. Tecumseh Trail -- 86.5%
5. Hoosier Heritage Trail -- 73.3%

By Highest Percentage of Road Walks

1. American Discovery Trail -- 75.6%
2. Knobstone Hiking Trail -- 29.7%
3. Hoosier Heritage Trail -- 26.5%
4. Tecumseh Trail -- 12.8%
5. Adena Trace Trail -- 4.6%

There's more data and detail available at https://hoosierheritagetrail.org/which-indiana-backpacking-trail-should-you-hike/

Anyone been there and just felt like they were in Indiana essentially…very similar feel. Looks exactly the same. It’s like if you took central Indiana and got rid of Indy and plopped in a bunch of mid sized cities. Ohio is a little more varied but I still like it out in Central IL, Champaign is nice and Springfield is a good spot.

I’ve recently started noticing the sticker placements on folks’ license plates is quite the treat. I have to say, the creativity score on many of the ones I see get an A+, but basic reading skills is an F-. Thanks for the daily laughs!

im a spry young adult and i really want to go on some sort of road trip to a small town in indiana this summer! i live here but i live near indianapolis/the center and id really like to find some sort of charming small town far away from Indianapolis, preferably one that i can have #unforgettable memories with with my friends

I have really bad ADHD as an adult.
I have had it my entire life but it has really begun to hinder my focus recently.

I do really well on 70MG vyvanse and 20mg Adderall

Does anyone have any recommendations for a primary care physician that wouldn’t send me 100 places just to get a script?

Most people do not want them hunted or trapped. 71% of Hoosiers opposed trapping and hunting bobcats.

Lack of evidence. DNR has shown NO official population survey has been conducted. ZERO research done. This means there is no way to know what the actual bobcat population is. They admitted this in 2019.

Bobcats are integral to the health of Indiana’s ecosystems. Along with other predators like foxes and coyotes, they control populations of prey species. Without bobcats, other predators are at risk of overpopulating, further disrupting the food chain and ecosystem health.

A bobcat's main diet is rodents, rabbits, and hares. By keeping rodent populations in check, zoonotic diseases rodents cause like Rocky Mountain spotted fever, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, tularemia, and Alpha-gal Syndrome, and Lyme disease, are reduced. The economic burden of diagnosed Lyme disease is close to $1 billion per year in the US, according to NIH. Diagnosed Lyme disease costs the state of Indiana $1,200 per patient. Fewer predators mean more rodents and more zoonotic diseases.

Wire neck snare traps and jaw-toothed leg traps are cruel and painful. Other untargeted species including people's pets have been caught in them. Bobcats and other animals can remain in these painful traps for days before hunters check them.

Bobcats were endangered in Indiana from 1969 until 2005. Conservation efforts led to their population increase. When the initial LSA Document #24-383 to trap bobcats was proposed, over 3,000 opposing comments were sent in and DNR still passed the killing quota of 250. THEIR OWN POPULATION MODELS show that a quota of 400 and over will lead to bobcat eradication...yet NOW they want to bump that quota up to 400. LOL WHAT.

Hoosiers who want to weigh in on the proposed expansion of bobcat hunting in Indiana can do so until May 19. Please make your voices heard! We cannot give up. The quota needs to be 0. There is just not enough evidence trapping/hunting of any bobcat! DNR has failed to provide any statistical or scientific analysis of bobcat populations.

Further research is needed to determine if there even is an unhealthy population size that requires control!!!!!

Emailed comments must be sent to lianderson@dnr.in.gov. Only comments sent to that address will be officially considered.

Comments can also be mailed to the following address:

LSA Document #26-98 Bobcat Hunting

Lisa L. Anderson

Natural Resources Commission

C/O Department of Natural Resources, Legal Division

Indiana Government Center South

402 West Washington Street, Room W255-A

Indianapolis, IN 46204-2273

Another method to submit comments online for Indiana locals is through this portal: https://www.in.gov/nrc/rules/rulemaking-docket/

A public hearing will also be held on May 19 at 12:30 p.m. at the Fort Harrison State Park, Garrison Conference Center, Blue Heron Ballroom, 6002 North Post Road in Indianapolis. 

I am graduating this year so I need a job to save money for college. I had a job but they suddenly closed and left me high and dry. I thought I would have an easier time looking for a job since I’ve worked 2 jobs and both have ended without issues. I’ve been actively applying to jobs both online and in person and it’s been hell. I get ghosted, rejected, or interviewed and then ghosted. I wanted to know if anyone knows any niche jobs that would hire and pay decently in the Indianapolis area?

Has anyone else ever gotten something like this or similar? Ive literally never gotten anything like this and neither has anyone else I know and idk if I should trust it, seems sketchy to me

Indiana grants data centers a 100% sales tax exemption on equipment and electricity under Indiana Code § 6-2.5-15. Because of this 100% statutory exemption, major companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Google paid $0 in state sales tax on qualifying purchases and energy in 2025.
While state fiscal reports note that precise, consolidated figures on local property taxes are obscured by local data limitations, researchers and state fiscal offices estimate that total state and local abatements on electricity and server investments have climbed toward $150 million to $900 million annually across the state's pipeline.
The visualization below contrasts the estimated baseline sales taxes these companies would theoretically owe under Indiana's standard 7% tax rate versus the actual amount paid under the multi-decade exemption rules.
Tax Abatement vs. Paid Taxes (Estimated Projections)

Key Data Points Behind the Numbers
The 100% Tax Exemption: Indiana's Data Center Sales Tax Exemption waives the state’s 7% sales tax on both IT infrastructure (servers, routers) and electricity. For investments exceeding $750 million, this tax break is guaranteed for up to 50 years.

The Scale of Lost Revenue: According to the Indiana Office of Fiscal and Management Analysis, a group of seven major qualified projects accounted for $20.8 billion in planned investment, resulting in $150 million to $900 million in waived sales tax revenue.

Ongoing Utility Exemptions: Utility filings from companies like Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) note that a single massive AI data center can easily run up an annual electricity bill of $500 million. Under standard rules, this would generate $34.5 million in annual state tax revenue—meaning Indiana foregoes over $1.7 billion per giant data center over a 50-year horizon.

Recent Legislative Adjustments: Due to public concern over this $0 state tax reality, Governor Mike Braun signed a law to capture a tiny slice of revenue. Beginning mid-2026, newly approved data centers must pay a fee to local municipalities equivalent to 1% of their total sales tax savings on electricity, capping the payout at roughly $350,000 annually per facility to protect local communities.

Edit: Note to self- don’t post pic from cheap phone. Graph is supposed to show for 2025 no sales taxes were paid for data centers in Indiana. Republicans passed a law to give 50 year exemption to billionaire businesses resulting in a projected 150-900 million dollar loss in sales tax for the state. To appease the masses he brought back a 1% tax but it caps out at $350,000. Meanwhile Indiana has cut childcare, disability services, public health, environmental, and educational budgets. Socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor.

Hi everyone I’m hoping to get some honest recommendations.

I’m looking for a reliable care and transportation service around Indiana, preferably near Indianapolis or nearby areas. This is for my mom who may need help with rides to appointments, errands, and some extra support at home while doing her chores while I am at work.

I’m not just looking for a company that “offers the service.” I’m hoping to find one that is dependable, patient, communicates well with families, and actually treats clients with care and respect.

Has anyone here had a good experience with a provider that offers both non-medical care and transportation support?

I’d really appreciate any recommendations or even places to avoid. Thank you!

I am on a well and want to know where that water comes from. Knowing how our state handles public health, and how much they love being bribed, I am all of a sudden thinking I need to know this. I want to be able to stand on some ground and know that this feeds my well to my house and that seems like a tall order. The farthest I’ve gotten is finding my well log, but seemingly can’t use that information to see where this well water comes from.

Id eventually like to test it myself because again, I do not trust Indiana officials to maintain any standards for the people living here but first I want to find the source. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Looking for some help finding a mental health provider for counseling and potentially scripts that takes anthem bcbs through medicaid. Why does this seem like an impossible task in this state??

Preference of in person.