Betty Bean is recovering from knee replacement surgery and could not write her usual Thursday column. Don’t ask her what a bum knee has to do with writing a column. Just trust me on that.
Bean’s columns are lyrical, organized and quote sources. Mine aren’t and don’t.
Why are Republicans scared?
In my mailbox July 13 was a postcard from the Knox County Republican Party. You can read it for yourself and decide what various clerks and the county mayor have to do with any of these issues.
Of the 50 candidates in the Aug. 4 county general election, 33 are Republican, 12 are Democratic and 5 are independents. Not one of the Democrats is named Biden, Pelosi or Schumer.
The good news is the card has everyone’s name spelled right and got out before the start of early voting (July 15). So the GOP leadership is two steps ahead of last year’s city election. (Find early voting sites and schedules here.)
Back of the card with disclaimer that none of these candidates had anything to do with this mailer.
Alcoa Highway shuffle
Excellent work by TDOT to produce this animation on upcoming Blount County improvements to Alcoa Highway. Sadly, the animation moves more quickly than the actual roadwork.
Some jobs easier than others
A friend once said I was working too hard. “Just go up in the woods and grow marijuana.”
I think he was kidding. But another friend spoke up. Seems she actually tried growing pot (we’re talking the 1970s here) and almost got nabbed. She sprinkled some marijuana seeds or sprouts or whatever amongst the tomatoes in her garden. And then went on vacation. Two weeks later, the weed had outgrown the tomatoes and dominated her garden. And when she harvested the crop, her dog, Fuzz, carried the stalks around the yard until he passed out.
DiedInHouse.com
One entrepreneur has launched a website called DiedInHouse.com. For a mere $12 you can buy a report that tells you who has died in your house and when. Next someone will create ConceivedInHouse.com and provide a report on …
Reducing time to talk
Can the next school board (to be seated in September) be worse than the current one? Hard to know, but the BOE tried a strange move on July 13.
During the Covid mask-wearing controversy, the board was overwhelmed with public forum speakers. In reaction, the BOE reduced the time for speakers from 5 to 3 minutes. On Wednesday, the board tried to slip through another time change – from 3 minutes to 90 seconds. The effort failed on a 4-3 vote (it needed 5 votes to pass; two members, including board chair Kristi Kristy were absent).
Here’s a suggestion: Just eliminate speaking at public forum and require citizens with opinions to line up with an emoji on a poster. When it’s your turn, simply flash your sign and sit back down.
An example is this link to a Fox Biz story: When Twitter sued Elon Musk to force him to purchase the company for $44 billion (which he had apparently signed a contract to do), Musk responded with a pile of poop emoji.
Sandra Clark is editor/CEO of Knox TN Today.