This is an old article but it shows exactly where Blackburn's loyalties lie:

Last week, U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn(R - Brentwood) introduced legislation that would bar the Federal Communications Commission from using its powers to help community-owned Internet service providers compete against private companies. The measure passed on a mostly party-line vote.

The move seems to have come in response to Chattanooga, Tenn.-based utility and Internet service provider EPB's attempt to seek permission from the FCC to expand its ISP services statewide.

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"In a two-party system,...the Democrats as the lone hope to prevent an ultimate unraveling of democratic norms. 'The Democratic Party is called to be the sentinel of American democracy and liberty,' he said. 'It is beyond bone-chilling to consider what happens if that party fails in that task, in that duty.'"

Steve Schmidt, John McCain campaign manager

If I were Bill Lee I wouldn't want to be compared side by side with Karl Dean, either. Dean has cut Lee's lead nearly in half. Lee has now backed out of two events where he would be seen and compared to Karl Dean. Lee's extremist views are beginning to surface as well.

Bill Lee is a busy guy, what with all the meeting and greeting and welding he has to do these days. Still, the Republican gubernatorial candidate's scheduling challenges are starting to seem like a trend.

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As sure as Barack Obama was born in Hawaii! (via KnoxViews.com)

The Russian operation also boosted Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate who had dined with Mr. Putin in Moscow, to draw votes from Mrs. Clinton. It encouraged supporters of Mr. Sanders to withhold their votes from Mrs. Clinton even after he endorsed her.

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A vote for a Republican is now "a vote for egregious obstruction of justice, rampant conflicts of interest, the demonization of minorities, the debasement of political discourse, the alienation of America's allies, the end of free trade and the appeasement of dictators."

Yes, friends...I got this from FOX News!

Harvard followed 800 people over the course of multiple decades and found 6 things that make people live longer, happier lives

Avoid smoking and alcohol: Duh.

Years of education = good: Education seems to increase good habits (and being surrounded by smart, ambitious people never hurts).

Have a happy childhood: It's huge. And surrounding yourself later in life with people who love you can help repair a difficult youth.

Relationships are everything: "Happiness is love. Full stop."

Mature coping skills: Stop projecting and stop being passive-aggressive. Use mature defenses like humor when life gets hard. (Yes, immature humor is still mature coping. You're welcome.)

Generativity: Build a good life, a well-rounded self and then give back.

Here's the full article:
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Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen's claim that Republican rival Marsha Blackburn passed legislation "at the behest of the pharmaceutical industry" to weaken the DEA opioid enforcement has been rated "mostly true" by Politifact.

Links over on the right. I hope you folks check those things.

My sources claim that right at HALF of the money in Tennessee campaigns is coming from out of state dark sources. This is how republicans win with their horrible platform and record and it is just not right.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday insisted that many donations to predominantly conservative political nonprofit groups — what's often called dark money — be disclosed, seven weeks ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

The ruling closes, at least for now, a loophole that has allowed wealthy donors to finance aggressive ads while staying anonymous.

The top four spenders identified by Issue One are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the mainstream conservative Crossroads GPS, the Koch network's Americans for Prosperity and the National Rifle Association.

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You would think they would want to know more about why Kavanaugh was in possession of hacked stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee or why he is being accused of perjury in his testimony but here we go with this instead:

CNN is reporting that Corker appears to have joined Flake in calling for the Judiciary Committee to hear from Kavanaugh’s accuser — Ford — before having any vote on Kavanaugh...

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Phil Bredesen says the Senate race will be a long distance haul, with millions of dollars pouting into the Blackburn campaign from outside of Tennessee. To date the Koch Brothers have put in over $2 million and Mitch McConnell is reported to have committed over $6 million to Marsha.

Candidates running "nearer my Trump to thee" campaigns have not fared well in special elections. 538 rates Democrats chances at taking over the House of Representatives at between 73% and 84%.

Trump Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh lied to Congress during his nomination hearing. Five times his falsehoods appear to have risen to the level of perjury. Two Republican Senators will be needed to stop his nomination.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's approval rating for handling the Russia investigation is 20 percentage points higher than Trumps approval rating. Paul Manafort appears to be asking for a plea deal in return for implicating Trump in international money laundering.

In the Florida Governor' race a poll last week showed Democrat Andrew Gillum with a seven point lead, a second poll released yesterday showed the Tallahassee mayor with a four point lead.

Half of all Americans now say Trump should be impeached. The increase in margin comes almost entirely from voters who identify as "independent", which is increasing as fewer voters now identify as Republican.

Willie Nelson will headline a fundraiser event for Beto O'Rourke (D) who is looking to replace Ted Cruz(R) from Texas in the Senate. Trump is now supporting Cruz, who originated the "tiny hands" meme for Trump. This one is extremely interesting and more unbelievable than a West Wing plot.

Register and Vote!

Tennessee offers free football tickets to Hurricane Florence evacuees

It's a decent thing to do, regardless.

"A person encounters approximately 10,000 injuries during a normal lifespan, ranging from small cuts to traumatic injuries and surgery."

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Not exactly but I'm going with it. Unfortunately the bear was euthanized.

The "scavenged" body of a man who went missing in Great Smoky Mountains National Park was found Wednesday afternoon near a since-euthanized bear that had human DNA on it, the National Park Service said.

Rangers found the body of William Lee Hill, Jr., 30, of Louisville, Tennessee Wednesday afternoon off Rich Mountain Road, about two miles north of Cades Cove.

Hill and a companion, Joshua Morgan, reportedly came to the park on Friday to hunt for ginseng, the National Park Service said. Harvesting ginseng is illegal in the park.

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Why Marsha is losing in the polls:

In a blatant campaign event in her run for the United States Senate, Blackburn stood there with a straight face and talked about how great it is that ORNL received an increase in funding for fiscal year 2019 and promised that she would continue to fight to keep the research center fully funded.

To be blunt, that is D.C. double-speak at its worst because Blackburn actually voted against ORNL funding when she voted against the Omnibus Spending Bill, which contained the funding for all federal programs, in March. She even shot out a press release touting her vote and she proudly tweeted that she voted against funding.

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Poll: Dem Leads In Tennessee Senate Race

The poll found that 61 percent of voters viewed Bredesen positively, with only 22 percent viewing him negatively. Blackburn’s splits were much closer: 46 percent positive, 36 percent negative. President Trump has retained a slight net positive rating in the poll, with a plurality of voters supporting him.

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It's time to register to vote for the November 6, 2018, election.

October 9, 2018, is the last day to register to vote for the November 6 election.

For young people, you must be 18 years old or older on the next election date, November 6, 2018, to register to vote. Thus, if you are 17 now and will be 18 or older by November 6, 2018, register to vote now.

In Tennessee, you can use online voter registration to conveniently register to vote.

To register to vote there are certain requirements, must have a Tennessee driver's license or Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security ID, must be a U.S. citizen, must be a resident of Tennessee, you must be at least 18 years old on/or before the next election, you must not have been convicted of a felony, or if you have, your voting rights must have been restored. You will also have to provide your social security number during the online voter registration process.

Via Bizgrrl and Knoxviews.com

"Finally you come before us nominated by a president named in open court as directing criminal activity and a subject of ongoing criminal investigation. You displayed expansive views on executive immunity from the law. If you are in that seat, sir, because the White House has big expectations that you will protect the president from the due process of law, that should give every senator pause.”

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D, RI

Nearly a decade after the spill, more than 30 cleanup workers are dead and at least 200 are sick or dying — all with common ailments known to be caused by long-term exposure to arsenic, radium and the host of other toxins and metals found in the ash. The workers are suing Jacobs Engineering — the firm TVA tapped to protect them — in state and federal court.

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Among the many needy areas Stan's organization brought medical care to is Roane County. A great man!

Stan Brock, the founder of Remote Area Medical, a major non-profit organization that provides mobile medical clinics, has passed away.

Officials with the organization said that Brock passed away on Wednesday afternoon at RAM headquarters in Rockford at the age of 82.

His office released the following statement, "It is with great sadness that Remote Area Medical announces the passing of our Founder and President, Stan Brock. Without Mr. Brock, RAM would not have been able to prevent pain and alleviate suffering for so many people."

Brock was a television star, who began hosting Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom in 1968. In 1985 he founded Remote Area Medical to provide health care to those who need it. The organization holds clinics across the U.S., treating thousands for free. He served, without compensation, as RAM’s Founder and President.

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Among the states calling on the Supreme Court to rule that it's legal to fire people for being transgender are Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. Some governors are also part of the suit, including Kentucky's Matt Bevin and Mississippi's Phil Bryant.

Just when I think we can move on to serious issues this piece of crap rears its ugly head:

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I am a high school English teacher, so word choice is very important to me. When the governor announced his TNReady “listening tour” earlier this week, I envisioned Tennessee teachers and parents finally having a real opportunity to share their experiences and frustrations with TNReady failures. I envisioned Gov. Haslam and department officials listening to teachers and parents – the real experts on this topic – about how the state could improve assessments in the best interest of all students.

What I did not envision was a closed-door, invitation-only, inconveniently scheduled, no-parents-allowed event that only created more frustration and distrust among teachers and parents. What happened in Knoxville today tells teachers and parents this administration doesn’t really want to listen at all. Instead, this event just shut down a school library and provided another example of TNReady creating more work and inconvenience for students and educators. Meaningful change in the best interest of our students will never happen if the state sticks with this dog-and-pony show model.

The good news is the governor has five more opportunities to get this right and provide a forum to truly listen to teachers and parents. Our students need those in positions of power to swallow their pride and have the tough conversations. Our students deserve better.

TEA President Beth Brown

As it currently stands, the legislation would grant every state’s top election official security clearance to receive threat information. It would also formalize the practice of information-sharing between the federal government—in particular, the Department of Homeland Security—and states regarding threats to electoral infrastructure. A technical advisory board would establish best practices related to election cybersecurity. Perhaps most significantly, the law would mandate that every state conduct a statistically significant audit following a federal election. It would also incentivize the purchase of voting machines that leave a paper record of votes cast, as opposed to some all-electronic models that do not.

Roane County elections do NOT have a paper trail. TN Republicans blocked the bills that would require this...Wonder why?

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We were in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National parks.

More photos here

'Happy High School Reunion?' is this coming Saturday (August 25th) and the Lions of Harriman still have some tickets left!
I know --- I don't understand it either!!!

But the good news is - you can still get in on the fun. Now, this amazing evening includes:
Dinner buffet
Adult beverages
Non-alcoholic beverages
Dessert buffet
A live, interactive murder mystery show
and silent auction

And while all of that is really amazing, that's not even the best part!! The best part is that it benefits the Harriman Lions Club. Yep, that's right - the money that you spend on this super entertaining night out stays right here in Roane County working to make this county even better

Tickets are $40.00 per person and are all-inclusive.
Tickets sites include:
Roane Street Grill in Harriman
and
Roane Alliance in Kingston

or message me and we will get them to before they're all gone!

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Note that I did NOT use the term "organized" in regards to crime family. Powerful, arrogant, and stupid, yes.

Their words, not mine:

1. Paul Manafort, the man who spent five critical months leading Trump's campaign in 2016, was found guilty of eight financial crimes. On the 10 other charges brought against Manafort, the jury couldn't reach a unanimous conclusion and the presiding judge declared a mistrial on those counts.

2. Longtime Trump personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen agreed to a plea deal with the Southern District of New York in which he admitted guilt on eight charges and acknowledged that he had discussed or made hush payments to two women alleging affairs with Trump in order to keep damaging information from becoming public, at the direction of and in coordination with a candidate for federal office. That candidate, although Cohen didn't name him, is obviously Donald Trump.

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Congressman Duncan Hunter indicted on campaign finance charges...
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