by design | Nov 9, 2020 | Columnist, Duncan
By John J. Duncan Jr. The day before the second presidential debate – the one in Nashville – I got a call from the White House. The caller said his name was Brian Jack and that he was the political director at the White House. He said, “Of all the former members of...
by design | Nov 2, 2020 | Columnist, Duncan
By John J. Duncan Jr. Bob Harvis and I were in the same grades all the way through Chilhowee, Holston, and UT and we both grew up in Eastminster Presbyterian Church. He has lived in the Atlanta area for most of his life and sends me text messages several times a day...
by design | Oct 26, 2020 | Columnist, Duncan
By John J. Duncan Jr. I saw Jane Fonda on television saying “COVID was a gift to the Left.” Coronavirus should never have been used in a political, partisan way, but it certainly has been. The Democrats tried for about three years to bring Donald Trump down with the...
by design | Oct 19, 2020 | Columnist, Duncan
By John J Duncan Jr. As almost all readers of The Focus know, I grew up in a political family. I went to the Knoxville airport for a rally for the Nixon-Lodge ticket a week before the 1960 Presidential election and followed that campaign closely. In 1963, when I was...
by design | Oct 12, 2020 | Columnist, Duncan
By John Duncan Jr. Several years ago, I attended a meeting in a small but ornate room on the first floor of the Capitol just below the House floor. This room was called the “Board of Education” by Sam Rayburn, the longest serving speaker of the House. He used the room...
by design | Oct 5, 2020 | Columnist, Duncan
By John J. Duncan Jr. Even some of the best sports fans in this area do not know that Earl Weaver started his Hall of Fame career as a baseball manager for the Knoxville Smokies. And the agreement that started it took place on the patio of Holston Hills Club in a...
