(Editor’s Note: Betty Bean wrote this interview with then-UT Professor Brian Barber in 2017 as he retired and moved to Washington, D.C.)
It’s going to take Brian Barber a while to …
In Gaza, humans connect and work goes on
Outside money tips state primary
Editor’s Note: It was just 10 years ago, August 2014, but it was a turning point election in many ways. Incumbent Republican Sen. Stacey Campbell was ousted by current state …
Booker sings a new song
(Editor’s Note: Betty Bean wrote this circa 2017, on the occasion of Bob Booker’s CD release.)
The new album in the jukebox at Marie’s Old Town Tavern is a little bit …
Keeping the memories and moving on
Alex Haley left us an uncountable number of pithy quotes, but nothing he ever said rang truer than this: “Every time an old person dies, it’s like a library burning …
Why do Republicans hate democracy?
A couple of weeks ago, state Rep. Jason Zachary slapped a quote from Plato onto the digital newsletter he periodically blasts out to keep his West Knox constituents inspired:
“Dictatorship naturally …
Public schools build community; let’s keep ’em
I spent my first 12 years counting the days until I could be a Bobcat. My father and his siblings were all Central High School graduates, and Central was the …
Republicans just aren’t funny anymore
I had a notion to write my first 2024 column asking why Republicans are so mean.
Having taken most of December off, this seemed like a natural way to ease my …
Betty Bean gets a break
Thursday opinion columnist Betty Bean will return in the New Year. She’s celebrating Christmas with family and friends.