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

“In its wisdom, the General Assembly….”  Is a sentiment that could be an oxymoron to some. However, over the long haul it usually applies. The discussions of changing Tennessee’s constitution to address the transfer of powers should a governor become unable to perform his/her duties has led, in my mind, to a “rush to elect” a lieutenant governor.  Let’s slow

It’s not exactly true that “every Tom, Dick and Harry” is running for president, but it seems like it.  There are, so far, at least two Toms, two Johns, a Sam, a Joe and a Mike.  They are joined by Dennis, Duncan, Barack, Rudy, Mitt and Hillary.  Who knows who else might surface (a Newt? an  Al?). Now if you,

It’s easy to get “furiouser and furiouser” watching educated people kicking, not just looking, a gift horse in the mouth. I don’t know who volunteered to anonymously donate $400,000 for incentives to help in producing better results in some of Metro’s most troubled schools, I know that they must be a generous and dedicated citizen.  However the “who” is not

I left the early-voting location with trepidation. Surprisingly, lightening didn’t strike. I thought immediately of my deceased mother, hopeful that she wasn’t watching from above.  My just-completed, totally unprecedented action would really disturb her:  I had just voted in a Republican primary! As a life-long Democrat, I confess to voting on rare occasions for a Republican candidate  in a General

Like me, I’m sure that you have often heard the ubiquitous phrase: “They said.”   Quite often the person citing “they” is hard pressed to name the actual source that said something, anything or, even nothing. As the effort to educate Middle Tennesseans about  the benefits of the proposed Music City Center moves forward, we might lapse into the “they said”

As an astutely brilliant former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives once told me: “Neither party has a monopoly on ignorance;” his statement framed one of my earliest, most significant political lessons. The current furor over the nation’s health care reform is an excellent demonstration of that Speaker’s insightful adage.  The idiocy of the right, railing about death panels

A friend of mine figured prominently in two recent stories of great significance to our community. It was no coincidence that Butch Spyridon was quoted in both front page articles in the Tennessean: One announced plans for a world-class Music City Music Festival, and the other presented the report for the Music City Center, Nashville’s hoped-for new convention center. In

Pride and pain. These words resonated again after a recent Nashville Tennessean article on the mounting casualties in Iraq for the 101st Airborne, headquartered in neighboring Clarksville. As a veteran, I am filled with pride by living near the historic 101st, and feel, if only tangentially, the pain suffered by the parents, spouses and children of those who, no doubt,