Jay GreesonWe are short on a lot of things.
Short on time. Short on patience. Short on faith.
We're also short on suffixes.
Sure, the first three are infinitely more important, but we are desperately short of appropriate endings to words.
Don't think so? OK, every social event is a -palooza and every controversy is a -gate. Every disaster is -ageddon
From Bug-a-palooza to Deflate-gate to snowmageddon, these appear to be the only options.
Lord help us if there's a big misunderstanding this weekend at the VW Bug convention, because that could be a PaloozaGate, and we believe that is somewhere between the Ghostbusters crossing the streams and a herd of locusts on the signs of Armageddon.
Nice manners, Ma'am
ESPN personality Britt McHenry was caught on video dressing down a woman at a towing company. She insulted the worker's weight, appearance and education.
McHenry, who has a masters from Northwestern, was suspended for a week from ESPN and likely will have to work years to fix the PR damage done.
Two points here: One, how good is that Northwestern education if you can't follow posted signs and then blame someone else for getting your vehicle towed? Second, in today's society, that the act was caught on video means it's way worse to the social media morality mob.
Sprinting to the end
Our state legislature is coming close to the finish line of this session.
There are no shortage of talking points with the end in sight.
Among them are the foolish and demeaning attempt to make the Bible the state book that failed in the Senate, a clear BEP shot across the bow of the school boards in Southeast Tennessee and the looming vote on school vouchers.
Consider this a tip of the visor for the gesture of not allowing school boards to sue the state with state funds.
Still, the song-and-dance of the lawsuits against the next level of funding seems a little bit like political cover for each side. The school systems get to look tough, and the state-level leaders can say, "Well, they forced us."
The political win-win, and right in the nick of time, too.
Vanishing act
There was a suspicious package left at a SunTrust branch this week.
Glad it was handled safely and no one was hurt as the package was detonated and the contents disposed of quickly.
In a mild upset, this did not include anyone's retirement portfolio.
Sure honey, here's a dollar
So the school board OKs a budget that is an increase of $34 million without any ability to increase funds?
That feels like your grandparents saying, "Sure, honey, you can have $10. Go get it from your mother."
The schools need more money, and I doubt anyone doubts that.
But, as the two dissenting members of the Board of Education this week voiced, has the board done everything in its power to curb expenses? Have they revisited consolidation, goodness forbid?
As a Hamilton County homeowner with kids in public school, I'm all for the increased budget and would be willing to pay the higher tax.
Of course the school board wants more. That's the easy part.
Asking for more -- or demanding it actually -- is the tough part.
Here's believing the County Commission -- and the general public for that matter -- would have an easier time getting behind these requests if the school board has shown it has exhausted every avenue it can.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6343. Follow him on Twitter at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com. His "Right to the Point" column appears on A2 on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, and his sports columns run Tuesday and Friday. Read his online column "The 5-at-10" weekdays starting at 10 a.m. at timesfreepress.com.