Faith, Lies & Statistics

When someone lies about you in a public forum it hurts. I've come up with a theory however that political lies force candidates to become both tougher and at the same time suprisingly more religious people. The truth is found only with a power much greater than that which people use when speaking to serve their own purposes.

In my case I'm still hurt that my reputation as a hardworking legal professional was damaged when my political foes published false statistics about my performance as Circuit Court Judge. I have worked hard, tried the hard cases and pushed the docket forward yet my opponents say the opposite. The official Administrative Office of the Courts statistics as of March 31, 2008 say that during my term, 1,189 matters were disposed of in the Criminal Division of Circuit Court while only 1,076 were filed. A net positive to all who can count.

Still the lie has forced me look at more accurately accounting for each case that I've heard since becoming Judge. As a result there will be new numbers and greater proof that I have succeeded in getting the job done. I'm just going to have to take it on faith that the truth really matters and that the voters will look at my performance on the job as a key issue in voting to keep me as their Circuit Judge.

Memorial Day Weekend

This past weekend I escaped to the Great Smoky Mountains and the headwaters of the West Prong of the Little River. If you hike up Bote Mountain trail just past the intersection of Lead Cove trail you can hike off trail down the east side of the mountain to the river and find yourself in a wilderness which seems a million miles from all civilization. Following the stream past the lower and upper Chestnut Falls you eventually reach the spot where people must have lived in the 1930s when this section of the Smokies was last logged. The only signs of people which remain are a few broken pieces of an old cast iron stove. There is no trail, no foundation, no campsite, no people, no plastic. There is only a relatively flat spot in a narrow valley filled with eighty year tall Tulip Poplars and marked by three branches tied with bright orange surveyor's tape. An hour further wading through the rhodedendron, the stream and the bramble you arrive just a half mile further upstream and the wilderness is then pristine. The creek cuts a narrow straight path through the deep forest running down a steady hill among green moss covered stones.

Monkey Business

People with serious jobs don't have time to belittle others because of their political affiliations. The mayor's recent derogatory remarks about democrats on the County Commission have us all thinking he doesn't belong in a leadership position. For me his most revealing remark, however, was his unintended slip in referring to the position in which I serve as "my circuit court judge". No, Jerry, Judges don't belong to you! This County is not your private party. We have over a hundred thousand people with a variety of serious problems and we can't move into the future with a government for a few good ole boys who'll laugh at your jokes.

Robinson Chapel on Howe Street

Last Friday night I found myself walking door to door on Howe Street in Alcoa. If you know anything about law enforcement in Blount County, you know that the Howe Street Park has been the setting for more than one crime story, but do you know about Robinson Chapel Cumberland Presbyterian Church less than a block away? I had visited there before but truly had no idea when my friends pulled me inside the church what the fifth day of a Revival with a dynamite preacher was really like. I cannot accurately capture the rhythm, the music and the Word but let me say that I am further convinced that whatever plans we may think we have God's plans are seldom the same as ours.

Kindness to Children

I met a lady in her seventies at a chinese restraunt who told me a wonderful story about a kind act of my mother while she was teaching 3rd grade in Rockford over sixty years ago. She remembered the class and the times and explained how poor people were then in the 1940s and how one little girl had come to school without shoes eventhough the weather had begun to turn cold. My mom brought in an eigth grade teacher to read to the class and explained to the class that she was going to town and would be back. She took the little girl to town and they returned with shoes and new clothes and the lady telling me the story pointed to me and said: "You see people never forget a kindness to children" and then hesitated for a second and said: "they never forget a meanness either."

That's a true story and some great advice for all of us. We are often better remembered for the little things we do or don't do than those "big" things which weigh so heavily on our minds.

Prayer & Breakfast

I went out to join the brethren at Forest Hill Baptist Church this past weekend for their Saturday early morning breakfast and was awakened with some coffee and a wonderful little prayer. Their minister reminded us of the "unseen guest" at every meal or meeting or gathering of any type. The biscuits and gravy and fellowship were extra good but I for one have kept coming back all week to visualize that unseen guest who watches over us as we meet each other: knowing each of us, loving us in spite of our failings, and smiling at our preoccupation with the things of this world.

Blount County Education Initiative

The Hilton hosted a gathering tonight for a combination of educators, business professionals and community leaders who were present to learn about the Blount County Education Initiative. Two things really sunk in for me. First, this group is dedicated to a forward thinking vision of the educational needs of the children of this community. Let's make sure we do whatever it takes to help our children become productive citizens in tomorrow's global economy. Second, the statistics we have been using to assure ourselves that our children are doing well in school may not be accurate. In fact, some of the statistics offered were down right scary. If over one third of high schoolers are dropping out, not only won't they have decent jobs but quite a few of them will end up in our criminal justice system.