Tennessee Department of Education and Tennessee Board of Education members would be in violation of both state and federal law, had they given such assurances. If they could issue such a directive without an enabling law to do so, Hensley’s bill with its predictable adverse global publicity would have been unnecessary. If Hensley really wanted to get this law on the books he wouldn’t withdraw it.

Journalism standards require that reporters ask some member of an allegedly quoted official government body whether the conversations ever took place, and what was said. While I grant that standards have changed since I attended journalism classes or worked in the profession, Tom Humphrey is old enough to remember those rules. Perhaps he has just grown tired and careless; at 70, I can relate to that.

You, Jim, founded BTB to fight against this very sort of thing and have done a superb job at your mission. This site should win all sorts of awards for the Uganda series, to name just one of your significant accomplishments. Please at least call up the state agencies in question and report on their response to you before you simply repeat a statement from Hensley as if it were established fact.