Russ McBee

On the drive home from work today, I saw a church sign that read simply, ''Proverbs 29:2.'' That was it. There was no expository text beyond the bare citation. When I got home, I looked it up: When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. Appearing just one week after the election ...

John McCain is desperately trying to avoid a debate with Barack Obama (and is even more terrified of the prospect of his incompetent running mate debating her opponent), so he is using the current financial crisis to justify suspending his campaign. He proposes going back to DC to grandstand for the cameras and pretend like his deregulatory past ...

Today's Feel Good Friday is a triple feature. First, let's start off with Fats Domino singing ''Ain't That A Shame'': During that same era, the performer known as Little Willie John was an enormous influence on his peers; he was a pioneer of soul, R & B, and rock-and-roll whose impact on other artists was substantial, yet he is relatively ...

One of my favorite Knoxville bloggers, Katie Allison Granju, recently left WBIR for Scripps. Fortunately, her new employer has seen fit to set her a-blogging. Katie's new blog is called ''Because I Said So,'' and it's located here. Bookmark her site, and add her to your feed reader (RSS or Atom).

Here's something I don't say very often: a story in today's Knoxville News Sentinel is such a masterful example of beautiful storytelling, it brought a tear to my eye. This piece by Scott Barker describes the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's Music And Wellness Program, in which musicians visit hospital wards to serenade the patients with the ...

Given yesterday's election results, I think this week's Feel Good Friday post should somehow reflect the relationship between Knox County voters and many of our local elected officials. Aretha Franklin's ''Chain of Fools'' describes that relationship pretty accurately: Most of us are just links in their chain.

The Knox County primary election in February seemed to send a message that voters in this county were still angry over Black Wednesday and intended to exert their control over elected officials run amok; today's county general election proved that assumption wrong. With today's election of Sisk, Ballard, Witt, and especially Jones, the people ...

David Neiwert, who has written extensively about eliminationist rhetoric from the right wing against liberals, had this to say about Sunday's tragedy in Knoxville: In reality, of course, rhetoric like this has historically played a critical role in some of the ugliest episodes in American history, as well as thousands of little acts of ...

Yesterday, a senseless act of non-random violence struck this city. A man, mad at the world and blaming liberals for his personal ills, targeted the innocent congregants of a progressive church in Knoxville, killing two and wounding seven. Like everyone else in Knoxville, I've spent the last couple of days in a state of shock over this. Described ...

As I mentioned recently, the Northshore Brasserie is one of two authentic French restaurants in Knoxville. Tonight, I joined four friends for another evening of exquisitely prepared classic French dishes. Just like the last time the five of us dined there together, the food, the wine, the atmosphere, the service, and the presentation were all ...