We are going to move quickly today. In addition to other items on the honey-do list, we have to respond to a variety of emails, some calling me a commie liberal who, as one reader said, is full of bull manure. That's paraphrasing, of course.
The others think I'm an elitist right-wing Trump apologist.
The truth, of course, is found where you will never see a current-day politician: in the middle.
Speaking of truth
There was a lot to dissect from Thursday's Hamilton County Board of Education meeting.
Today, let's focus on some new questions being asked rather than a lot of the statements made Thursday night.
I believe there really are only two bad questions to ask if you do not know the answer: Will you marry me and when's the baby due? The first may lead to therapy; the second may lead to the emergency room.
Kudos, though, to the Hamilton County school system for putting out a survey for parents and guardians of the 11 schools that will be looking for a new principal https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HCSPrincipal Selection. As much feedback as possible is good, and, maybe more importantly, the connection that comes with being asked for input to the folks in those communities is good leadership.
Speaking of school leadership
Or maybe that should be the lack thereof.
Did everyone see that this was "Sex Week" at the University of Tennessee? Yep, you read that correctly.
To be fair, we'll go to the SEAT mission statement (and know that SEAT stands for "Sexual Empowerment and Awareness at Tennessee"): SEAT strives to foster a comprehensive and academically- informed conversation about sex, sexuality and relationships with the purpose of educating the University of Tennessee student body and the Knoxville community through innovative, collaborative, and entertaining programming and events.
Sounds like a noble goal on its face, right?
Now let's look back at that schedule the state of Tennessee is helping to fund: Monday was highlighted by Queer Theory 101; Tuesday featured Masturbation Nation; Wednesday was a full day with Your Penis and You, Black Liberation through Sexual Pleasure; and Thursday's options were too graphic to describe in a family newspaper.
Back to the SEAT website, the goals are open-mindedness and inclusivity.
Wonder if they are open-minded to me thinking this is a complete waste of time and money and a downright embarrassing use of taxpayer money.
Speaking of inclusion (or lack thereof)
Not sure you saw this column, but we wanted to make sure we shared this.
Dan Piepenbring is one of the writers who contributes to a column in The New Yorker called "Annals of Gastronomy" that talks about food in the nation's biggest city. We'll let his words about Chick-fil-A deliver the message.
He wrote: "One of the Manhattan locations estimates that it sells a sandwich every six seconds, and the company has announced plans to open as many as a dozen more storefronts in the city. And yet the brand's arrival here feels like an infiltration, in no small part because of its pervasive Christian traditionalism."
Wow. Just wow.
OK, let's just look at this on its face. Business succeeds. People enjoy the product. No one is being turned away.
But this still offends Piepenberg. Wonder what he would write if rather than devout Christianity, Chick-fil-A was a hard-core Muslim establishment?
Saturday stars
There are few annual events that are as consistently good as the Chattanooga Prayer Breakfast.
Those who host the event and those who regularly attend would certainly attest to that.
Gang, this year's event includes featured speaker Mart Green, the CEO of Hobby Lobby.
If you are interested in tickets for this year's event - it will be May 1 at the Chattanooga Convention Center - you can visit their website at https://chattanooga prayerbreakfast.org/www.
It will not disappoint.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com and 423-757-6343.