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I grew up in Tennessee, but since graduating from UT-Knoxpatch, I’ve only returned a few times for special occasions. So, help me make sense of this, Tennessee peeps. A recent poll says that  61% rate the state’s economy as “very” or “fairly good,” and 53% feel things in Tennessee are going in the “right direction.” Which direction is the right direction? “ According to the poll, there’s also concern about the ability to pay for medical emergencies, cover regular bills and save for retirement or education, has increased by double digits. “ “Even the ability to pay for typical monthly bills for housing, food and transportation are ‘very’ or ‘moderately’ concerning for 51 percent of Tennesseans,” the poll states.   “Those fears escalate when it comes to saving for the future. Seventy percent of respondents are ‘very’ or ‘moderately’ worried about having enough savings for things like retirement or education.” https://www.wsmv.com/2025/12/11/economic-anxiety-surging-tennessee-van...

My parents were both college grads by the time I was born. They believed strongly in the importance of a college education. In the event, they had five kids, all of whom graduated four-year colleges within four years. By the time I finished college, though, only about 25% of American adults had graduated a 4-year college or university. That number is now about 38%. College enrollment among 18-24-year-olds has been declining for over a decade. My reaction is ambivalent at best. College isn’t for everyone, and many people who graduate end up taking jobs that don’t require a college degree. On the other hand, I’d like my fellow voters to be educated. On the third hand, a bachelor’s degree doesn’t guarantee good judgement. What’s going on?   “ Most of the decline is due to fewer young men pursuing college. About 1 million fewer young men are in college but only 0.2 million fewer young women. As a result, men make up 44% of young college students today, down from 47% in 2011, according ...

The Trump Administration’s war on underrepresented minorities is targeting his base—young white men.  “For years universities and colleges have been trying to keep the number of men and women on campuses evened out at a time when growing numbers of men have been choosing not to go to college. Some schools have tried to attract more men by   adding football   and other sports,   promoting forestry and hunting programs   and launching entrepreneurship competitions.  “Nationwide, the number of women on campuses has   surpassed the number of men   for more than four decades, with nearly   40 percent more women than men  enrolled in higher education, federal data show. “Efforts to admit applicants at higher rates based on gender are legal under a loophole in federal anti-discrimination law, one that’s used to keep the genders balanced on campuses. “But the Trump administration has consistently included gender among the characteristics it says...

The Trump Administration is holding a gun to the heads of rural citizens in blue states. To get taxpayer dollars to care for   chronic illnesses and addiction and mitigate hours-long drives for basic services, states will need to change their laws: “ When the Trump administration begins distributing the money at the end of the year, it will divide half of the $50 billion among all states that apply evenly, regardless of population — giving smaller states vastly more money per capita. It will also dole out a quarter of the funds based on factors like the size of a state’s rural population, how much free health care its providers give to people who can’t afford to pay, and how large its land area is. “The rest is up to the discretion of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services based on how well states’ plans align with the Trump administration’s vision for the program. “And $3.75 billion of that, or 7.5 percent of the total, hinges on whether states pass a series of pol...

My university offers tenured faculty over the age of 60 two retirement options: (1) a buyout, where the faculty gets a full year’s worth of salary and benefits in exchange for immediate retirement and (2) phased retirement, where the faculty can choose reduced salary (70%, 50% or 30%) with reduced responsibilities for up to five years. I chose phased retirement because (a) I wasn’t ready to quit cold-turkey and (b) I wanted to max out my Social Security. I’m glad I did. There’s a third option that I didn’t take, but many Americans are taking: working for reduced salaries while taking Social Security benefits at the same time. “Claiming Social Security while still working isn’t an outlier these days. “It’s pretty common, according to a recent report by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, which found that 2 in 5 people combine work and benefits for at least some period of time.” https://finance.yahoo.com/news/working-while-collecting-social-security-the-slow-fade-to-ret...

Like Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump, I never had to serve in combat. But I’ve read enough history to understand why laws governing conduct of war have emerged. Secretary Hegseth thinks these laws are a sign of weakness and shouldn’t apply to the US military. I’m calling bullshit. But don’t take it from me, take it from someone with actual, you know, combat experience: “ The law of armed conflict isn’t humanitarian sentimentality imposed by lawyers who’ve never seen combat. It’s practical doctrine forged over centuries of warfare, codified in the Geneva Conventions by nations that understood a fundamental truth: How they fight determines whether peace is possible afterward, and whether their own troops come home alive.     “The International Committee of the Red Cross   states it plainly : The law of armed conflict exists “to provide protection for the victims of conflict and to lay down rules for the conduct of military operations.” But here’s what they also emphasize: “Th...