Publisher’s Positions
Do As I Say, Not As I Do
Joe Biden routinely has threatened to go after “tax cheats” and has called on the better-off to pay their fair share. Evidently, that doesn’t apply to First Son Hunter. Just about every member of the Biden family has had tax problems including brothers Jim and Frank and now daughter Ashley Biden. Special Counsel David Weiss in his indictment charged Hunter Biden of having “engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019. . .” Weiss also charges Hunter Biden “to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false tax returns in or about February 2020,” which was while the “Big Guy” was running for president. Weiss stated Hunter Biden allegedly “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills.” Of course Hunter did apparently spend freely on prostitutes and illegal drugs.
Teachers’ Unions Oppose Any Competition
Randi Weingarten, the Broomhilda of the largest teacher’s union in the country, has caused a viral sensation by squealing that school choice “undermines democracy.” One of the queens of DEI, which supposedly stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion, but a more realistic definition is that coined by Robin Vos: “division, exclusion, and indoctrination.” School choice allows parents to send their children to schools that may be located outside their particular neighborhood or simply not go the school for which they are zoned. Teachers’ unions oppose school choice and vouchers, claiming they take away taxpayer dollars, which could be better used to raise teacher salaries, build more schools and fund the bureaucracy in the educational industrial complex.
Like virtually every other member of the Left, Randi Weingarten must not know what democracy actually means or is; it was Weingarten who fought to keep schools closed as long as she possibly could. The Left has worn out the word “democracy” recently, just as they have calling those who disagree with them “Nazis.” The latter has calmed down a bit while much of the Left indulges itself in antisemitism which would have won the personal approval of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. None of the college or university presidents gathered before the House of Representatives’ committee could even condemn overtly antisemitic acts on their campuses or anywhere else.
University Prejudice
Harvard University just got caught with its pants down – – – again. According to Ground News, Harvard has removed web pages involving diversity and inclusion, which pertain to graduation celebrations for various identity groups. Harvard has sat down on a buzzsaw of criticism because the university apparently has failed to recognize Jewish students as an identity group, as well as one not worth protecting. All of the “affinity” celebrations included everyone but White people and Jewish folks. Among the affinity groups included were LGBTQ grads, Arab grads, “Indigenous” grads, graduates with disabilities, Latin X grads, Black grads, and of course Asian, Asian-American, Pacific Islander, and Desi-American grads. The once proud university, Christopher Rufo noted, was providing racially segregated celebrations at its commencement earlier this year. Harvard described the celebrations as a recognition and celebration of the achievements of “graduates from marginalized and underrepresented communities.” Now the webpage is gone, gone, gone.
Internal Combustion Engines Under Assault
Another threat to our global well-being has just been stamped out by the action of the Ann Arbor, Michigan City Council, which has just voted unanimously to ban gas-powered leaf blowers. The ban will follow a four-year phase out but is not intended to cause anyone any economic hardship, but well, if it does, too bad. They are saving the planet and democracy. Just ask them.
Get A Room
A 24-year-old staffer for Democratic U. S. Senator Ben Cardin seems to be hinting that “homophobia” is to blame for the outcry about his leaked sex tape. That tape was apparently filmed in a Senate committee hearing room. Senator Cardin fired the staffer, who has stated he is experiencing “a difficult time” because he had “been attacked for who I love for a political agenda.” NO. Not at all. Some things are just wrong for anyone to do, straight or gay, and having sex in a governmental hearing room is one of them. The staffer wrote on his social media that he “would never disrespect my workplace.” That’s exactly what he did and it’s astonishing he doesn’t realize it.
Dr. Clarence Sexton
A True Blessing
Knox County has lost a giant of an individual. Dr. Clarence Sexton, pastor of the Temple Baptist Church in Powell, passed away on December 12, 2023. Dr. Sexton had a definite impact on our community and when he accepted the call to helm the Temple Baptist Church, he made it quite clear that he intended to build a school as well. That was the beginning of Crown College. Dr. Sexton helped to launch Bible clubs in schools across the county and eventually his life and ministry helped to create more than 500 churches to be started on every continent across the globe.
Dr. Sexton was a man of rare vision and remarkable ability. Clarence Sexton was a force for good and one to be reckoned with. Dr. Sexton was a family man in every sense of the word, still in love with his sweetheart, Mary Evelyn, and the father of two sons, Shannon and Matt. Evelyn and Clarence Sexton have 6 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. Yet Clarence Sexton’s sense of family was much broader than his wife and children and grandchildren. Dr. Sexton’s life touched countless others throughout his time on this Earth. Clarence Sexton knew what it was to have another life touch his own and for the great majority of his life, he gave all of himself to his Lord and Savior and his community. A leader in every sense of the word, Clarence Sexton was not too proud to follow the lead of the Lord.
The Knoxville Focus family sends our deepest sympathies to Mary Evelyn Sexton and the Sexton family, as well as the folks at Temple Baptist Church. The Focus joins in saluting and honoring the life of an amazing man who not only made his life count for the Lord, but also for his fellow man. Clarence Sexton’s was a life well lived.
