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Opinion
256 results total, viewing 1 - 20
Operation Tennessee Waltz was a sting operation set up by federal and state law enforcement agents, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The operation led to the arrest of seven Tennessee state lawmakers and two men identified as “bagmen” in the indictment on the morning of May 26, 2005, on bribery charges. more
My father grew up the son of a sharecropper working a farm with mules during the Great Depression. That experience greatly influenced how he raised me and my siblings. One thing we were taught was to always “turn out that light!” when leaving a room. It didn’t matter if we were just going to the bathroom and would be right back, we were still supposed to turn out the light. more
10 Years Ago — McKenzie United Neighbors hosted Second Harvest Mobile Pantry at First Baptist Church and served over 250 needy families. more
10 YEARS AGO — Mitchell Lunn broke his leg when stealing third in a game against Clarksburg. *Gleason Bulldog Chase Ezell got a two-run homer against Central. more
Politics is a dirty business and at times it resembles a soap opera. Naturally, there are scandals of various natures that present themselves at every level. I’m always interested in a good political scandal which is one reason I wrote about Ray Blanton last year. more
The year was 1979. My young wife and I decided we would recapture a memory from our dating years in the early 70’s and return to the bowling alley we’d frequented back then. more
$144 Million, that’s how much money could/will leave Tennessee public schools and flow into the pockets of private (for-profit) schools within the first year of the school voucher program, the money will “follow the student.” According to Governor Bill Lee’s proposal, the state will pay up to $7,000 annually per student that has the means and desire to attend a private school instead of the public school in their area. more
An often quoted phrase related to open government is one by Louis Brandeis, an attorney and associate justice on the Supreme Court whose work and writings spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries. more
Under the expanded multi-million dollar program, students that already attend private schools could receive $7,000 of tax-payer dollars towards their tuition. That only makes sense to the parents of private schooled students. It will do nothing but hurt public schools. more
You can call it luck. Or blessed. Or God’s divine intervention. I’m not smart enough to understand half of the stuff that makes up life as we know it. Maybe I owe it all to the Domestic Egg Company. more
As baseball gears for another season. I just happened to come across an article saying Tennessee had a professional baseball team. My curiosity got the best of me, and I naturally clicked on the link expecting to be thoroughly disappointed. Well, I was wrong, what a shock. more
Recently, The Banner has received feedback that the point size of the text in the newspaper is too small and too hard to read. So, how’s this? I increased the point size and changed the typeface to one seemingly more readable, but that may be up for debate. Truthfully, it has been on my list of things to do this year, to update the look of the newspaper and upsize the text at least one point for those struggling to read it at its former size. more
William Shakespeare’s line from King Henry IV, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” sums up the first five months as co-owner of Tri-County Publishing. Now, I’m not calling myself the king or stating we have an empire, that is far from the truth. But when you own a business, you have to beware of a constant barrage of possible threats and shortfalls. more
People have been so kind to me about these little stories over the years. And I certainly appreciate that. I have said from the beginning that I am not a writer. You think about Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, Will Rogers, Jon Meacham...those guys could turn a blank page into a moving picture show... more
I’m teaching a class at Gulf Coast State entitled, “Will You Know Where You Are When You Get Where You’re Going.” I did not think up that moniker. I “borrowed” it from a guy taller, smarter, and funnier than I am. He explained his version to a laughing “Grand Ole Opry” crowd. more
My brothers and sisters in the Middle East are suffering. Therefore, I am advocating for the following six actions. more
W.E.B. Du Bois was a towering figure in American history, renowned for his intellectual prowess, tireless activism. From his early life in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, to his pioneering work in sociology, his time at Fisk University in Tennessee, his prolific publications, and his pivotal role in the founding of the NAACP, Du Bois left an indelible mark on the struggle for racial equality and social justice in the United States. more
One of the things I appreciated as a kid growing up in a small town in the 1950s was, I could understand the rules. Don’t lie, cheat, or steal, respect your elders, close the gate, and be home by supper. more
With all the local celebration of Patrick Willis being selected to the NFL Hall of Fame, I wanted take a little print space to rerun a feature on Carroll County’s other NFL Hall of Famer, Gene Hickerson. more
McKenzie was all abuzz in May of 1975 with the anticipated arrival of Hollywood Legend Bob Hope. The film icon was scheduled for a stage performance at Bethel College on Sunday, May 31 in order to raise much needed funds for the financially distressed McKenzie institution. Hope’s presence left the school with over $100,000 and the community with a life time of memories. more
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