The Apology
Never confuse education with intelligence; you can have a PhD and still be an idiot.
Richard Feynman (theoretical physicist)
I may owe my readers an apology if this week’s column is not perfect. I use that superlative whimsically because my stories are never perfect. They are homemade – written at home. I’m not a professional writer because my writing is an avocation rather than a vocation. Arguably, a profession is a driving force in someone’s life and often defines them. An example might be a doctor, lawyer, professor, athlete, etc. So, perhaps my late-in-life craft might someday rise to the level of “writer.”
My apology is offered because my editress is out of town to clean up my prose. Becky has been my wife and life partner for forty-nine years this September. And she has been my editress for the last decade or so. She graciously accepted the responsibility of policing incorrect verb tenses, misplaced modifiers, etc. in her husband’s musings. She is certainly a better grammarian than me. However, she also eschews the professional moniker of editress. Like I said, our stories are homemade.
Becky is out of town for a few days with her “Hiker Chicks.” No, not biker chicks on Harleys! This is an annual pilgrimage of women to the Smoky Mountains focused more on fellowship, food and wine than hiking. So, if grammarian readers find more than the usual typos, I apologize, but childishly proclaim, it’s not my fault – although it is.
Failure to take responsibility is a characteristic sign of immaturity. A recent example is the anti-Israel protesters who are now demanding amnesty, reparations and gluten-free snacks. They demand forgiveness for seizing college campuses, hate speech, racism and the destruction of the reputations of the schools they attend which will result in the loss of millions of dollars in endowments to those schools.
University of Tennessee Law Professor Glenn H. Reynolds recently wrote a wonderful piece in the Gateway Pundit about the problems of higher education. The piece was also carried in the New York Post. True adults understand and accept the consequences of their actions. Apparently, the radical college kids do not. But they are learning as job offers are revoked, and that breaking the law will follow them for years. Understandably, who would hire radicals and idiots?
Certainly not Penn-sylvania Senator John Fetterman. I’ve never read of a specific area of the brain responsible for progressive, liberal lunacy. However, since his stroke (which destroys areas of the brain) Fetterman gets it. He wouldn’t hire Rep. Ilhan Omar’s pro-Hamas daughter who whined when she was suspended and shut out of her Barnard dorm and cafeteria for protesting at Columbia. However, you won’t see real push-back from Brandon (Biden) whose “two-state solution” is appeasing Muslims so he can win Minnesota and Michigan. And there will be no closing of the border because Ol’ Joe needs voters, and Democrats need more constituents (replacement theory) which translates into power, money and careers in Washington.
But apparently there are a lot of other Americans who still don’t understand the consequences of voting for Biden. I wrote about delusional thinking in last week’s essay. If you missed it go to The Knoxville Focus archives online and consider what Biden’s planned massive tax hikes will do to you if he’s reelected. Bidonomics has already made everything more expensive. However, his “wealth tax” proposals will ruin your 401K and the Stock Market, tax the equity in your home and collapse the Housing market and complete the country’s destruction. Look up the wealth tax consequences if you doubt me.
And have you read Biden’s Title IX revisions? The 1972 Federal regulations were written to protect women’s sports and made The Lady Vols possible. Now, my granddaughters may be forced to compete with and share locker rooms with larger, muscular, gender-confused men. Biden and his progressive handlers are actually endangering girl athletes and are destroying women’s sports to appease trans activists. Only a person or parent with delusional thinking would believe otherwise. But then I believe taking a child to a drag queen performance sexualizes children and child welfare should be involved.
I’ve also wondered how any Jewish person or a Catholic could vote for Biden. After the Hamas massacre of Jews, I wrote an essay (November 20, 2023) summarizing the salient points of Dennis Prager’s book, “The Chosen,” explaining why his fellow Jews overwhelmingly vote Democrat. It’s complicated, but the single best answer is the Jewish label of “chosen people,” and their somewhat insular community.
I’m a Protestant and believe President Trump’s proposals for abortion (April 24, 2024 Focus essay) are pragmatic. I’m not Catholic, but that Christian denomination is opposed to all abortion. Biden considers himself a Catholic, but he “crossed” himself at an abortion rally which I found profane. The sure sign of cognitive impairment (dementia) is the lack of awareness of inappropriate behavior. We can only hope his handlers keep him away from the nuclear “football.”
As if things couldn’t get worse, it is apparent our clueless leaders don’t understand economics 101. I’m not an economic wizard like Harold Black, but while in pre-med at UT, I was able to take an economics course pass-fail. Fortunately, I passed and was able to move on to UT Medical School. I do understand that we use dollars in trade for goods and services instead of bartering. And if you flood the market with dollars, the ability to purchase goods and services will be lessened because each dollar is less valuable amidst the flood. Our elite geniuses don’t comprehend this concept and our debt is now 34 trillion dollars. When the World Trade Organization says the US debt is a crisis for the world, you know we’re in trouble. Someone should explain Economics 101 to Ol’ Joe and his handlers, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, RINOs, Dems and the media.
No fair-minded or reasoned American should vote for Biden. And yet when I ask people why they would vote for Biden, they say it’s because they “hate” Trump. Jesus commanded us to love God and our neighbors as we love ourselves. I envision hatred as the opposite of love. I don’t hate anyone. So, my vote for president will be for practical reasons rather than being driven by the antithesis of love.
