College experience takes new shape
April 26, 2012
As a graduate student in history, I had to take a class called “Introduction to Graduate Studies.” At least, in my haphazard, caffeine-addled push toward the semester’s end, I sort of remember it having a name something like that. Anyway, the purposes of that class were manifold, but the ...
America needs nonpartisan president
April 19, 2012
Someday — I promise it will happen, save for an apocalyptic event, military invasion, or the final crash of the economy — the country will elect a president who will say, “Uh, don’t we have to cut spending and raise taxes to eliminate the debt?” This will probably wait, though, until ...
Justice differs for Petrino, Zimmerman
April 12, 2012
If you’ve been following college football recently, you’ve probably noticed that Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino made a pretty terrible decision to hire Jessica Dorrell — a former volleyball player and, we now know, someone with whom Petrino had entered into an illicit relationship — then get on a motorcycle ...
Racial tension not solved by tragedy
April 05, 2012
Sometimes, I think, people tend to put all sorts of ideological weight on precisely the wrong sorts of events. Often, at the occurrence of an event — like, say, 9/11 — people’s initial reaction is understandably a bit from the hip. Of course, eventually major events usually lead to some ...
Stage set for presidential election
March 29, 2012
Soon, after the Republicans have finally rid themselves of Newt Gingrich and have chosen their candidate (my money is on Romney … as is just about everyone else’s at this point) and his running mate we will finally have the playbill for the fight of the century. The smart money ...
Popular policies not most effective
March 15, 2012
In response to being, as he put it, “basically attacked” by an Barack Obama spokesman for saying that he (and he alone!) will lower gas prices to $2.50/gal, Newt Gingrich replied, “I have suggested that if we developed our energy capacity to the degree we could, that that ...
Take some time away from criticism
March 08, 2012
Sometimes, it’s really hard to be critical.
Oh, sure, I could use this space to tell you about the “Super” Tuesday “drama” where we will either see a Republican Party give a lead either to someone they don’t like or someone nobody likes. Heck, at this point, I ...
Republican disarray now entertaining
March 01, 2012
Oh, shut up would you?
I’m pretty sure that’s what just about everyone — Republicans, Libertarians and a even a few annoyed Democrats — wants to tell Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney in their current battle which many are referring to as “the battle in which Barack Obama wins the ...
Branding goals not all bad for UT
February 23, 2012
One step back, two steps forward.
Jeff Sellingo, the former editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education, wrote an interesting blog entry where he imagines planting a “college of the future.” In his dream scenario, he is given $100 million, a hunk of land (the size of which he doesn ...
Social conservatives resist Romney
February 16, 2012
I have a question for all you Republicans out there. Have you ever actually gained anything from a “socially” conservative president being in office?
Let me explain my question — it seems to me that the problem with Mitt Romney to the Republicans is that he doesn’t seem to have ...
TV sports journalism poorly executed
February 09, 2012
For some reason, ESPN feels obligated to decide things like “Eli Manning is an elite quarterback” based primarily upon the last few games that some analyst watched. Probably because arbitrary nomenclature is just vague enough to mean anything, but sounds like decisive “analysis.” Of course, this is the same company ...
Internet use heightens fanaticism
February 02, 2012
As I write this, MLBTradeRumors.com has this earth-shattering headline: “Orioles and Robert Andino avoid arbitration.” Please note that I am not pointing this out because I think MLBTR is especially inane or anything — it is in fact the first place I go to for baseball news, and I refresh ...
Catching up with Peyton Manning
January 26, 2012
Life cannot be very good for UT’s own Peyton Manning right now.
For those of you who don’t follow the NFL very closely, here is a recap of the last year in the life of Manning.
Last summer: There are rumors that Manning and his wife Ashley are ...
Football to resurge next season
January 19, 2012
Roughly a year ago, I remember having a conversation with my father-in-law about Tennessee football. I remember him being only slightly on the optimistic side; we were predicting seven wins, with an outside shot at eight. As for myself (despite being a Northern interloper who roots for Michigan), I was ...
SEC culture sweeps over football
January 12, 2012
For those of you who follow college football, you know just how big of a deal it was for the Southeastern Conference to have both teams in the national championship. For the SEC, it was the final argument in its case to be known as the best conference in college ...
