The headline screamed some juicy words.
"Caught." "Lie." "Serious."
Whether it was click-bait or bait-and-switch is up to the reader.
News broke Friday that Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson apparently was not admitted to West Point, contrary to a story in his best-selling autobiography.
The news website Politico first reported the news.
It appears to be a political hiccup for Carson, who has zoomed to the front of the GOP pack on the strength of his brilliance and, among other qualities, the fact that he embraces not being a career politician.
Carson wrote that he was offered a scholarship to the military academy, but West Point denies he was ever admitted.
The story seems a little overblown, but OK. And rest easy, Republicans, because if this slip really becomes a deal-breaker to running for president, well, Hillary Clinton is cooked.
Jay GreesonThe news that one future doctor misremembered his college applications compared to the secretary of state erasing her emails seems like small potatoes.
Speaking of GOP hopefuls
Two interesting story lines have emerged among the folks hoping to be the Republican presidential candidate.
First, the next debate will have Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee shuffled off to the kiddie table/junior varsity.
It's a good move to start thinning the GOP herd, although the CNBC crew that hosted the last debate could have messed up a one-car funeral.
That said, I'll miss Christie and Huckabee, because truth be told, they're two of the better debaters among the Republican hopefuls.
The second item was the news from The New York Times this week that Jeb Bush, who continues to struggle for traction, is going to spice up his speeches with the occasional cuss word.
Yep, nothing screams desperation like the occasional four-letter word, Jeb.
No news is good news
Without burying the lead - an old newspaper expression about putting the most important information down deep in a story - no one was hurt Wednesday morning when our city's most tragic memory was rekindled.
There were reports of shots fired near the U.S. Naval and Marine Service Center on Amnicola Highway before lunch Wednesday.
It was a screaming reminder of that July day that none us will ever forget, when five servicemen were fatally shot there.
It started in a similar manner - rumors of shots that became news reports that bordered on hysteria. Thankfully, this time it turned out to be nothing.
But here's a tip of the cap to Chattanooga police Chief Fred Fletcher and his folks for their quick and impressive response.
Technology setbacks
There are a lot of great and wonderful advantages from the connectivity that technology provides us.
"Sexting" - the sending of sexually explicit texts - is certainly not one of them.
And for the files of extreme sexting comes news of a widespread scandal at a Colorado high school involving hundreds of students sending naked photos of themselves to each other last month.
The incident was so encompassing that the school administration had to get the police involved, and the school had to forfeit a football game because of the mass number of suspensions.
Nuts, right?
To my mind, among the many dangerous things about sexting would be the scenario where you hit send-all and then everyone from your boss to grandmother gets more than they bargained for.
Until next time, and double-check before you hit send.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6343. His Right to the Point column runs on A2 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.