The Developers' Friends

The Mayor of my hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, the Metro Council, and the Zoning Appeals Board are all handmaidens to those who come in with deep pockets and intentions to build expensive projects that completely alter the character of neighborhoods and that almost all the residents already living there oppose. The Mayor and most Council members talk a class envy game that they are all for the "little man", then in the event, they turn multimillionaire developers, almost exclusively from places far distant from Music City, into billionaires while ignoring the will of the voters who elected them. 

Some Great Pageantry

I think the ownership of the Tennessee Titans is more concerned with a great national anthem singer, attractive cheerleaders, and a spectacular halftime show than giving fans a competitive football team in Nashville. Of course, there will be a talented performer to sing the Star Spangled Banner because this is Music City USA. Certainly the halftime performance will be among the best in the League, but people buy tickets to enjoy a winner in the actual game, not the contest-adjacent activities that fill the time on the field where everyone gets up to use a restroom or buy concessions. 

Titans Need Coach

When Brian Callahan was brought to Nashville to lead our professional football team, we were told he was a brilliant offensive mind and that we would have the bonus of getting a package deal with his father, who was said to be the best offensive line coach in the game. The Titans offense is terrible. The offensive line is pitiful. I do not know why ownership has not fired the head coach, who is a LOSER. In sports as in life, you may have stasis, which is okay if things are going well, an upward trajectory, which is what normal folks want, or a downward slide, that is all team Callahan has delivered. The Tennessee Titans will become a perennial doormat, if they do not find a better head coach. 

A New Powerhouse

I naturally assumed based on history that the University of South Carolina football team would clobber my hometown Vanderbilt Commodores in Columbia. The Gamecocks were supposed to be pretty good and with their rabid fans, great. USC at home I thought was virtually unbeatable. Vandy smacked them down like the proverbial redheaded stepchild with a final score of 31 to 7. The Dores are really tough this season, maybe even better than they were when now Penn State coach James Franklin had them at that recent peak. 

Superficial Security Arrangements

Charlie Kirk had faced death threats, but I really think his protection detail was more concerned with someone coming and attempting a punch or making an effort to stab the protectee than having a sniper taking a shot at Charlie. Were the roofs swept before the event? Were guards assigned to the base and roof of buildings that overlooked the event? Was a camera-equipped drone in the air monitoring the gathering? It looked to be that a few bodyguards were around Kirk more to dissuade an assault than deployed to properly prevent a sniper. With rigorous security arrangements, Charlie might not have been shot. This horror demonstrates the illusion of security over the reality of threat. His team was haphazard, and it cost him his life and us his inspiration and brilliance. 

Essence of Evil

Charlie Kirk came to campus for an open exchange of ideas, which should be what the college experience is about, not to scold or mock or curse or shout down people who perceive the world differently. He did not silence his critics but brought them to the front of the line so that they could speak. Kirk did not reproach them but greeted them with the love and light of Jesus Christ. The murderer did not want that persuasive conversation to take place, so he did what those devoid of both decency and a compelling argument do and lashed out in the worst way possible, and slaughtered a devoted husband and father and the greatest patriot of his generation. 

Laden With Tragedy

A day of darkness, September 11, has turned into a day of light with service done in the name of those lost.  This continues even after yesterday's horrific and senseless act of murder in Utah, inflicted on a man of peace and goodwill. I believe that Charlie Kirk too would want us all to use his loss and the legacy of logic, reason, and common sense always so well-stated for good. He did not come on campus to intimidate but to inform, and he did that with greater eloquence than anyone ever. Charlie Kirk will surely be missed, but for the good of America and the world, we must advance his ideas.