Jay GreesonWe all know about the basketball trip that became an assault that toppled the good-old boy regime atop the school system.
Apparently, Collegedale police Tasered a cleaning woman at Ooltewah Middle School. Yes, a language barrier added to the confusion, but mistaking a cleaning lady for a burglar seems strange.
Maybe next time, they could have screamed for the alleged perpetrator to "Stop, Mop and Roll" before breaking out the electrical shock devices.
It's a ruff world
The Chattanooga City Council is trying to decide how many dogs is too many.
Great. We have a mountain of issues and problems from crime to potholes to, well, you name it (the city has nothing to do with schools).
All of these things may not fall directly under the umbrella of the council, but here's believing that if you polled 100 Chattanoogans, maybe one would name downtown limits on dog ownership as a real issue.
Regardless of the outcome of the council's view on canines, we're betting the town's dog population believes we have too much government, too.
Upscale listening
This paper's Barry Courter had an amazingly interesting story about NPR listening parties and the self-admitted - and in a lot of cases self-admired - pretentiousness that comes with the idea.
Cool.
There's even a checklist for must-have items for an NPR listening-palooza, which we have to admit sounds a lot like the big-city version of watching paint dry.
The local folks - who gave Courter great answers and insight, including this gem that nothing says pretentious like kale - sounded like they had a blast.
And hey, eight days from Super Bowl Sunday - the ultimate of gathering around with food and beverage to worship the glow of electronic wizardry - the NPR wingding is a clear reminder that people will get together for anything if alcohol is involved.
(Even if it's served in a tea cup with your pinkie properly extended.)
Debate thoughts
Thursday night's Republican debate was as much about who was not there as what was said there. (Pssttt, the best question may have been about the "elephant not in the room.") Here's a checklist of the good and bad.
Winners
Jeb Bush. It likely had little to do with it, but without Donald Trump there to heckle him, Bush looked better Thursday night than he did in the previous six debates combined. It was a night-and-day difference, and this was the Bush that a lot of folks thought was the front-runner when this whole song-and-dance started.
Megyn Kelly. Whether by accident or on purpose, she found herself in violation of one of my personal media rules: Don't become part of the story. She was already there long before Thursday night, but how she handled herself and the moment - with knowledge and a sense of humor - was impressive.
Donald Trump. Without being there, Trump illustrated how much more fun this thing is with him involved. Rightly or wrongly, his presence makes this more enjoyable. And more scary and more a lot of things. He also got to sidestep being the bull's eye of everyone's focus right before Iowa.
(Honorable mention to Rand Paul, who handled himself very well, and Marco Rubio, who we still believe to be the best candidate on the GOP stage.)
Losers
Ted Cruz. What was that? I have officially moved to the point that I am more scared of Ted Cruz, POTUS, than I am of Donald Trump, POTUS. So there's that.
Ben Carson. We'll say it again, "What was that?" Remember the time when Carson was a contender? Now he looks like the lost, confused fellow just starting his job as the museum guide who gets easily confused when someone asks where the dinosaur exhibit is.
FOX News. Kelly was very good in the moment, but this mess should have been handled better on the front end. This would have been a huge ratings generator, and while it was not entirely the network's fault Trump was not on stage, the network generated roughly half the viewers Thursday than the record 25 million that watched Fox for the first Trump-featured debate last August.
Saturday's star
Here's a tip of the visor to Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Jeffery T. Muckle, the leading petty officer of the medical department at Navy Operational Support Center Atlanta.
Muckle, a Chattanooga native who enlisted in 2008, was named the reserve center's full-time Sailor of the Year.
More than 1,300 reservists in nearly 30 units in the Atlanta center come to Muckle and his co-workers who handle their medical and dental needs, maintain records and make sure they are ready when called to mobilize.
Until next time.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com. His "Right to the Point" column runs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays on A2.