By John J. Duncan Jr. Many years ago, when my son John was in the fourth grade at Sunnyview Elementary School in East Knox county, I had lunch with him and some of his fellow students and was then supposed to speak to his class. At lunch, I got two of his friends to agree […]
By John J. Duncan Jr. Donald Trump lost the presidential election because of the extreme bias of the national news media. This bias was the main cause of the extreme hatred that millions developed for the president. The hatred was so strong that one analyst said that most who voted for Joe Biden would have […]
By John J. Duncan Jr. The day before the second presidential debate – the one in Nashville – I got a call from the White House. The caller said his name was Brian Jack and that he was the political director at the White House. He said, “Of all the former members of Congress, the […]
By John J. Duncan Jr. Bob Harvis and I were in the same grades all the way through Chilhowee, Holston, and UT and we both grew up in Eastminster Presbyterian Church. He has lived in the Atlanta area for most of his life and sends me text messages several times a day with quotes, columns […]
By John J. Duncan Jr. I saw Jane Fonda on television saying “COVID was a gift to the Left.” Coronavirus should never have been used in a political, partisan way, but it certainly has been. The Democrats tried for about three years to bring Donald Trump down with the hoax of Russian interference in the […]
By John J Duncan Jr. As almost all readers of The Focus know, I grew up in a political family. I went to the Knoxville airport for a rally for the Nixon-Lodge ticket a week before the 1960 Presidential election and followed that campaign closely. In 1963, when I was 16, I worked in my […]
By John Duncan Jr. Several years ago, I attended a meeting in a small but ornate room on the first floor of the Capitol just below the House floor. This room was called the “Board of Education” by Sam Rayburn, the longest serving speaker of the House. He used the room to have drinks with […]
By John J. Duncan Jr. Even some of the best sports fans in this area do not know that Earl Weaver started his Hall of Fame career as a baseball manager for the Knoxville Smokies. And the agreement that started it took place on the patio of Holston Hills Club in a meeting between my […]
By John J. Duncan Jr. My wife has told me more than once “No more books,” because my offices and our homes have always been filled with books. But I love to read. She has told me more than once that I am the “most boring person” with whom to take a vacation. She is […]
By John J. Duncan Jr. A little over 43 years ago, I met a young and beautiful woman at Regas Restaurant who a few months later became my wife, Lynn. Several of the most important events in my life took place at that great restaurant. Lynn was one of the best waitresses Regas ever had, […]
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