Senator an Attack Dog?
I was greatly irritated by state Sen. Tim Burchett's call for John Shumaker to resign his position as president of UT. Even before the results of an audit had been reported, and even though Dr. Shumaker had guaranteed the implementation of recommended reforms, Burchett and a few other lawmakers hoping to enhance their political profiles assailed the president over unproven allegations or incidents that occurred before John Shumaker came to the university. What the fallen president did before getting the job was the responsibility of the UT Board of Trustees, not legislators bent on destroying Shumaker's credibility.
And Burchett's claim that he was alarmed and offended because he graduated from UT and has donated money to the institution would be amusing if it were not repugnant. Even though the university is at the center of his district, Burchett has been an uncompromising adversary of UT during his entire time in office. His feigned concern is yet another insult to those who have worked hard to improve the image of the university after years of neglect by the state Legislature. (Is it any wonder that the leadership of the university has to find creative ways to raise money?) What the senator has always failed to grasp is the difference between being a watchdog and an attack dog.�
It is doubtful that UT will be helped by the departure of John Shumaker, but the institution would certainly benefit if Tim Burchett would decide to leave state government.
Jack Slade
Knoxville
Proof at Last!
While perusing Joe Tarr's article on WMDs in the Aug. 7 issue of Metro Pulse, I was alarmed to discover that the Y-12 plant in Oak Ridge is "currently refurbishing the county's 6,000 nuclear warheads."
The Ragsdale Regime will of course deny that the county has a nuclear weapons program, much less 6,000 combat-ready warheads. The large number of nuclear scientists living in west Knox County would suggest otherwise, and we've all seen this kind of denial elsewhere.
Although no weapons have turned up yet, I'm confident they will be found. In the meantime, I suggest that everyone avoid the City-County building and any other command-and-control targets for the next few weeks as the inevitable preemptive strike will come. It's been done before on less proof. Maybe that's why they call it "proof reading."
Don Bickers
Knoxville
Stupid Pills for Knoxville?
I have just read Jack Neely's [Aug. 7] piece in which he wonders why there's so much more happening in Pittsburgh than in Knoxville. It's not because the former is bigger or more northern. The reason is because Pittsburgh doesn't have UT football.
Imagine an airplane dropping brightly-colored stupid pills all over Knoxville. Most people would pick them up and eat them. A few, such as the staff and readers of The Metro Pulse, would not. Just look at UT—it's mainly a sports farm and party school headed by a Shumaker who's turned out to be a heel. UT Athletics has poisoned the well here, and by now the stupidity is inbred and irreversible. And, except for Oak Ridge, the surrounding area is also stupid in various ways. E.g., Sevier County, whose motto is "The Tourists Are Dumber Than We Are, But We're Catching Up Fast."
It takes real effort to exist here if you have half a brain, but then nothing worthwhile is easy. I live in Fort Sanders and gird my loins for battle on the six "Moron Days" each fall. The strongest tree is the one that survives the fire.
John Snyder
Knoxville
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