Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right Here I am, stuck in the middle with you   The chorus from the 1972 Stealers Wheel hit, co-written by Joe Egan and the late Gerry Rafferty, keeps echoing in my head as I’ve observed the frightening, politically divisive landscape which has erupted in Washington and Nashville, eroding the long-established

“Give me a Big O,” the team of energetic fifth-grade cheerleaders shouted out. “O” was the resounding answer from more than 1,000 first, second and third-graders at a Tennessee elementary school recently. The cheerleaders and their enthusiastic responders continued to spell out: “O-L-L-I-E,” until they reached the finale: “What have you got?” “OLLIE, OLLIE!” the kids shouted back, as the

More than 35,000 low-income Tennesseans are “On Hold” today with baited breath and fingers crossed in hopes that state government will empathize with their plight and permit their wireless phone service to continue uninterrupted. The countdown is on and the minutes are ticking by. As early as today, the Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) is scheduled to hear a case involving

During the current session of the state legislature, I have found it embarrassing to watch the asinine attempts of a dozen lawmakers as they have worked, once more, to sully the reputation of the Volunteer State. I am referring to the proposed driver’s license tests in English-only legislation (SB0063/HB0262). This bill is not only insulting, but is a slap in

The proverbial statement from the Book of Ecclesiastes,” To everything there is a season,” always circles back to remind us of its wisdom. Such is the case with the recent action taken by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR). Last month, the TBR tapped John Morgan, the state’s current deputy governor, as chancellor of the nation’s sixth largest system of

Just when I thought it was safe to dip my toes into the turbulent waters of admiring a baseball hero, the “steroids” shark emerged and tried to rip them off once again. Last winter, just after the San Francisco Chronicle printed grand jury testimony about the Balco steroids case, I wrote an article that lamented, after four generations in my

Thousands of 15-, 16- and 17-year-old athletic girls in Middle Tennessee will be devoting countless hours to sharpening their basketball skills over the next few years. Out of the millions of shots, dribbles and rebounds, a few will emerge with skills that will allow them to play college basketball at the highest levels.  A few of them may even have

When almost 30 Nashvillians  gathered at our house last month, we had at least three things in common: +We were all supporters of President-elect Barack Obama, +Not one of us was a Davidson County native, +We each hoped for an inclusive administration seeking bi-partisan solutions to the monumental challenges now facing America. As one of the more than 4,500 “Obama

When does enough finally become too much? Tennessee may be reaching that point in one significantly critical area as the state budget belt tightens in response to an economic downturn.  That area: Higher education. As one who has been privileged to work in higher education (University of Tennessee) and to consult with the nation’s sixth largest system of higher education

Completely compelling! That sums up my reaction to the summer Olympics in China so far.  I wasn’t sure whether or not the actual games themselves could possibly live up to the spectacle of the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing, but then, the human drama began unfolding on the international stage. I was particularly taken by the vast difference in population between