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Today's Opinions

  • GUEST OPINION: Satirical tweets may be fake, but they’re protected

    By KEN PAULSON
    First Amendment Center
    The queen of England had a rough weekend recently. It rained relentlessly and her youngest son, Edward, was stuck in the garden wearing an Easter Bunny suit.

    I know this because I follow “Elizabeth Windsor,” a Twitter account that shares Elizabeth’s personal musings. It’s informative, amusing – and totally fabricated.

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  • A VIEW from LICK SKILLET: Property committee has its work cut out to do

    Gentle reader, according to Damon Lawrence’s usual comprehensive report of the recent County Commission meeting and their action on the “In God We Trust” matter, it seems that the resolution has become embroiled in acrimonious controversy such that either approval or rejection will be the source of ill will and dissension, so that the wiser and better course of action would be to lay the resolution on the table for the time being.

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  • Brush with phone scam has man issuing warning

    I received a call recently that sounded exactly like the normal recorded message that I always get from my mail order drug provider.

    At first everything seemed normal, same great recorded female voice, informing me of a prescription that was ready to refill.

    Did I want them to go ahead and refill it?

    I said, “Yes.”

    Then the next recorded words were “Say the name of your credit card, then either punch into the phone or say aloud the 16-digit numbers of your credit card.”

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  • Ousted Mioduski complains against Rockwood officials

    Please allow this letter as my official complaint against city of Rockwood officials, Jason Jolly, Pete Wright, James Nuchols, and Mayor Watts. These individuals voted to dismiss me of my duties without reason or justification.

    When all four officials were asked why, they all said “no comment” and quickly left Rockwood City Hall building.

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  • A VIEW from LICK SKILLET: High Sheriff still ignoring Old Curmudgeon

    Gentle reader, as you may recall, we have patiently endeavoured for some time to get the High Sheriff to respond to a few simple questions concerning the management of his, or our, jail. We didn’t realize just how long he has stubbornly resisted giving any response to these inquiries until we looked back in our files. It has, in fact been approximately seven months of silence on his part inasmuch as we first posed these questions in the issue of 25 October, 2013.

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  • GUEST OPINION: From the Supreme Court: prayer rules that won’t work

    By CHARLES C. HAYNES
    First Amendment Center
    Mixing prayer and state has always been a messy, contentious business — but last week it got even messier and more contentious.

    In a close 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of prayers at legislative meetings, even when most prayers are prayed in the name of Jesus (Town of Greece v. Galloway).

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  • Middle College is really investment in all of Roane

    One of the primary responsibilities of The Roane Alliance is to serve as Roane County’s economic development organization.  The primary driver in industrial recruitment in today’s marketplace is the preparedness of the existing workforce and the ability of the community to develop students into highly skilled and professional employees, according to officials with the state of Tennessee, TVA and site selection consultant firms.  

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  • GUEST OPINION: Donald Sterling and more lessons in free speech

     

    What’s left to say about the ugly, racist views of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and the vocal reactions to his comments?

    Well, from a First Amendment free expression perspective, several things — some of which may well resonate even longer than Sterling’s repugnant remarks and the lifetime ban imposed on him by Adam Silver, commissioner of the National Basketball Association.

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