Opinion | Sparta Live

I hope you all enjoyed the recent Labor Day weekend. And I hope you saw the meme that goes around this time of year: “If you enjoyed having Labor Day off, thank a union.” In fact, … more

Troy Smith | 9/5/24

Weird how the tide is turning

I am going to say something that might shock you. I don’t care much for Donald Trump. I think he is a self-centered authoritarian who cares nothing for the country, the Constitution, … more

Troy Smith | 8/15/24

For many years, big tech put profit over children’s safety

Since 1998—the last year Congress passed a major law to reform the tech industry and protect children in the virtual space—a lot has changed. In the last 26 years, more than 100 … more

Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Senator (R) | 8/8/24

Why I could never stand J.D. Vance

Like the rest of the world, I had never heard of J.D. Vance until his book came out, in 2016. Everyone was talking about it and saying it “explained Appalachia,” so, as both a native and … more

Troy Smith | 8/1/24

What a couple of weeks it has been

At this rate, it is going to take me longer to talk about the Palestinian conflict than it’s taken them to have it. But it can’t be helped - there are too many significant events going on … more

Troy Smith | 7/26/24

With human trafficking on the rise, Congress must act to end this modern-day slave trade

(July 22, 2024) - For years, we have heard troubling reports about migrant children in our country who are trafficked into sexual exploitation, forced labor, and criminal gangs. This ongoing … more

Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Senator (R) | 7/26/24 | 1 comment

A brief history of Israel and Palestine-Part 6

So much is going on, I debated with myself whether to return to my ongoing series about the history of Palestine this week. I decided to do so, for two reasons. One, whether we’re looking at … more

Troy Smith | 7/18/24

Supreme Court declares Trump king

At this rate, I may never get that historical overview of Palestine finished. Three or four weeks ago, I interrupted it to comment on Trump’s 34 guilty verdicts (and how richly deserved … more

Troy Smith | 7/11/24

What it means to be an American

For 248 years, our experiment in constitutional democracy has persevered with two simple yet powerful ideas: that government exists to secure our God-given freedoms, and that We the People—not … more

Marsha Blackburn, United States Senator (R) | 7/11/24

With his amnesty order, President Biden is making illegal immigration legal

550,000 - That is the estimated number of illegal aliens who will receive amnesty under President Biden’s latest executive action, which will make many of the migrants eligible for green cards, … more

Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Senator (R) | 6/27/24 | 1 comment

A history of Israel and Palestine, Part 4

After taking a week off from this space to finish producing my lecture videos for my summer class on the American West, I am now back in the saddle (see what I did there?) to resume our … more

Troy Smith | 6/27/24

A history of Israel and Palestine, Part 3

Two weeks ago, we had reached the 10th century BCE and established the kingdoms of Israel and Judah and the cities of Philistia. That was the southern Levant. After the Bronze Age Collapse of around … more

Troy Smith | 6/14/24

While Biden tries-and fails-to spin inflation, Tennesseans suffer

(June 5, 2024) - After more than three years of President Biden’s failed “Bidenomics” agenda—which pushed inflation to four-decade highs—a simple trip to the grocery … more

Marsha Blackburn, United States Senator (R) | 6/14/24 | 1 comment

With his border crisis, Biden is putting illegals ahead of Americans - including our veterans

Last week marked one year since House Republicans passed H.R. 2, a comprehensive border security bill that would end President Biden’s disastrous catch-and-release policy, restart border … more

Marsha Blackburn, United States Senator (R) | 5/23/24 | 1 comment

A history of Israel and Palestine, Part 1

A history of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, with sufficient context to give you a good idea of the full picture… I don’t even know where to begin. The other day I saw a … more

Troy Smith | 5/23/24

A nation divided over a nation divided

An interesting thing happened to me the other day. I was on YouTube, looking for the most recent clip from John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight. The first thing that popped up was a bit showing … more

Troy Smith | 5/15/24

When anti-Israel activists shut down American streets, there must be consequences

America is a nation of law and order. Yet, more and more, we are seeing U.S. cities overrun with lawless behavior—especially by Hamas sympathizers. Just last week, anti-Israel … more

Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Senator (R) | 4/26/24

Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump - by the numbers

Each week for the last month, I’ve had progressive friends in White County tell me, “You need to respond to what Marsha Blackburn said last month, it’s outrageous.” So far, I … more

Troy Smith | 4/26/24

The border walls will work

In just his first 100 days in office, President Biden issued 94 executive actions to reverse President Trump’s successful border policies and weaken our nation. Among them, few have been as … more

Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Senator (R) | 4/12/24

Stop the death march of education

This weekend, I spoke with Matthew Hawn (for reasons I will explain below). When comparing notes, we realized we both graduated from Tennessee Tech 20 years ago next month, and that we had many of … more

Troy Smith | 4/12/24