Women tip off at 5:30, men at 7:30.

I have always wondered why folks don't support Roane State B Ball more? It's really good ball to watch.

As for the inaugural “Pack the Gym!” event, Nesbit said it’s his brainchild. “I’m the only one dumb enough to try it, but if I didn’t think we had a strong men’s team this year, I wouldn’t be doing this,” he said.

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The TVA and Harriman Utility Board have scheduled a power outage that will take place on Saturday, Nov. 9, starting at 11:30 p.m. until 6 a.m. or sooner on Sunday morning, Nov. 10.

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Interesting article in Quartz on "clean" coal . . .

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In early October, the five largest paddling clubs in Tennessee, the Appalachian Paddling Enthusiasts, the Bluff City Canoe Club, the Chota Canoe Club, the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association, and the Tennessee Valley Canoe Club came together on the banks of the Nolichucky River, hosted by Matt Moses and USA Raft, for a historic meeting to better align on key policy issues that affect paddlers in the state of Tennessee. Under the leadership and guidance of ACA Tennessee State Director, Andrea White, and with the participation of ACA Public Policy Chief, Brett Mayer, and American Whitewater National Stewardship Director, Kevin Colburn, the five clubs discussed a variety of issues. This letter highlights key points of the discussion.

Overall, net benefits from these three durational effects of crime, recreation and energy use – that is, impacts that last for the duration of the time change – are murky.

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Tennessee's $732M in welfare reserves the biggest in nation

Gov. Bill Lee this week defended the decision to stockpile $732 million in federal anti-poverty funds reserved for families with children, saying the money would be put to use "when the needs are there."

Other states have used the funds to combat opioid addiction and to support children's healthcare. One out of every four Tennessee children is in poverty. Governor Lee doesn't see a need?

Knox News Sentinel

This is disgusting...

The number of uninsured children in Tennessee increased by 43% in just a two-year period, according to a report released today by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families that found that 25,000 children lost health coverage between 2016 and 2018

In addition to leading the nation in children losing coverage, Tennessee is also a national leader in medical debt and the number of rural hospital closures.

Via Juanita...

More Toons

The Knox County Sheriff's Office says it is working to get more people accused of low-level crimes released while awaiting trial. The Knox County Public Defender says there are still too many people sitting in jail just because they can't afford bail.

The caseload for the sheriff's Pretrial Services program has more than doubled this year, to about 1,140 cases earlier this month.

“We assess approximately a thousand people a month now at the magistrate level,” said Todd Cook, who directs the program for the Sheriff’s Office. “Last month, in September, 210 people were released to pretrial.”

But Public Defender Mark Stephens said, "I think we are grossly underutilizing pretrial (release), because we create a program for who should be released and when they should be released, and then they create 15 exceptions to that.”

At the link (for subscribers): a look at the program, its potential impact on jail overcrowding, and the experience of a similar but more robust program in Nashville.

I apologize for posting the main part of the article. It's important and so is the journalism by our alternative news publishers. Thank you, Compass! Check them out here:

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Wonder how much Trump gets paid to screw around with the stock market? He's not stupid enough to think his tariff vacillations won't have any effect. Somebody if whispering in his ear. Check this:

But these wins were peanuts compared to the money made by a trader, or group of traders, who bought 420,000 September e-minis in the last 30 minutes of trading on June 28. That was some 40% of the day’s trading volume in September e-minis—making it a trade that could not easily be ignored. By then, President Trump was already in Osaka, Japan—14 hours ahead of Chicago—and on his way to a roughly hour-long meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping as part of the G20 summit. On Saturday in Osaka, after the market had closed in Chicago, Trump emerged from his meeting with Xi and announced that the intermittent trade talks were “back on track.” The following week was a good one in the stock market, thanks to the Trump announcement. On Thursday, June 27, the S&P 500 index stood at about 2915; a week or so later, it was just below 3000, a gain of 84 points, or $4,200 per e-mini contract. Whoever bought the 420,000 e-minis on June 28 had made a handsome profit of nearly $1.8 billion.

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More toons: (link...)

The House just passed a resolution condemning Trump's withdrawal from Syria. The vote was 354 to 60. Rep. Burchett voted against it. So did DesJarlais and Rose. 129 other Republicans voted for it.

Via KnowViews.com

...researchers found that a diet comprising of plenty of fruits and vegetables and fresh products as opposed to processed foods could help people with depression. Following a Mediterranean style diet for just three weeks was associated with a decline in the depression score in a group of young adults. These participants with moderate depression came down to normal range with no depression and lower levels of stress and anxiety.

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McGhee Tyson Airport named third most expensive airport in the country

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It appears that Trump sold out our Kurd allies to enhance his own personal holdings in Turkey. That seems to have gotten a rise from his sycophants as opposed to his outright high crimes such as this one:

The indictment of two Soviet-born clients of Rudy Giuliani’s reveals intriguing ties between the campaign finance scheme that the duo was allegedly running and President Trump’s scheme to pressure the Ukrainian government into becoming a factory for political dirt.

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Statewide, there is one primary care doctor per 1,390 people, according to 2019 County Health Rankings. In Morgan County in East Tennessee, the lowest ranked county in the state, there is one primary care physician for every 21,550 citizens

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This is an outrage!

“The proposal exempts most projects involving the placement of toxic coal ash on any land from any regulation whatsoever,” says Senior Attorney Frank Holleman. In most cases, regardless of how much ash is dumped, there are no requirements to provide notice to communities, to test the ash for heavy metals, to determine radioactivity or leaching potential, to control hazardous fugitive dust, or to prevent toxins from leaking into groundwater.

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(WREG) — Tennessee residents may now be able to get away with smoking marijuana thanks to a new Tennessee Bureau of Investigation policy.

A memo sent to police departments last month said the TBI will no longer test amounts of marijuana less than half an ounce, or about 14 grams.

“I think it’s going to help a lot of people out for those simple possession cases, for sure,” criminal defense attorney Brandon Hall said.

Hall said the new policy would make it virtually impossible for prosecutors to build a strong enough case against people caught possessing small amounts of marijuana.

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People do need to know whether their president is a crook. Fortunately for us today, we already know the answer. President Donald Trump is a crook, and obviously so.

We have known this for a long time. We know, for instance, that his Trump University was a scam. We know that he is notorious for ripping off the sort of working-class Americans he claims to champion. Thanks to Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting from The Washington Post's David Fahrenthold, we know that his frequent talk of big charitable donations was rarely matched by actual charitable donations, and that he misused his own charity's money to make legal fights go away. This crooked behavior has not abated since Trump became president. Since his inauguration, he has spent taxpayer money to make 362 visits to his own Trump-branded properties. In a development that was loudly predicted by many before his election, Trump hotels and other properties have become go-to destinations for foreign officials looking to put money in Trump's pocket in the hopes of some positive attention from the Dear Leader.

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This is fascinating: “I’m the real whistleblower,” declared Giuliani, who claimed to possess more damaging information and insisted that he, too, should be entitled to whistleblower protections. “If I get killed now,” he warned, “You won’t get the rest of the story.”

We know that Giuliani has secreted what he calls "texts" of State Department conversations in order to "protect himself". Oh please, tell us more!

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More Toons

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — State officials are telling Tennessee residents that all open-air outdoor fires will require a burn permit starting Monday (TODAY).

Burn permits are usually required statewide from Oct. 15 through May 15. Tennessee's Division of Forestry said Friday that burn permit requirements are being put in place early as a precaution against hot and dry weather leading into the fall fire season.

Burning without a permit can lead to up to 30 days in jail. Wildfires caused by arson are punishable by 3 to 15 years in prison. Both violations can carry fines.

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If true, Trump should immediately be removed from the Presidency!

By Greg Miller ,
Ellen Nakashima and
Shane HarrisSeptember 18 at 8:56 PM

The whistleblower complaint that has triggered a tense showdown between the U.S. intelligence community and Congress involves President Trump’s communications with a foreign leader, according to two former U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Trump’s interaction with the foreign leader included a “promise” that was regarded as so troubling that it prompted an official in the U.S. intelligence community to file a formal whistleblower complaint with the inspector general for the intelligence community, said the former officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

It was not immediately clear which foreign leader Trump was speaking with or what he pledged to deliver, but his direct involvement in the matter has not been previously disclosed. It raises new questions about the president’s handling of sensitive information and may further strain his relationship with U.S. spy agencies. One former official said the communication was a phone call.

[Gap continues to widen between Trump and intelligence community on key issues]

The White House declined to comment late Wednesday night. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and a lawyer representing the whistleblower declined to comment.

Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson determined that the complaint was credible and troubling enough to be considered a matter of “urgent concern,” a legal threshold that requires notification of congressional oversight committees.

But acting director of national intelligence Joseph Maguire has refused to share details about Trump’s alleged transgression with lawmakers, touching off a legal and political dispute that has spilled into public view and prompted speculation that the spy chief is improperly protecting the president.

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This bothers me. I don;t care if the defendants in this case are bad guys. This affects all of us in one form or another. We need to be able to trust prosecutors to pursue justice according to the law. It seems that My Overby wants to be able to withhold evidence detrimental to his case and favorable to defendants. This can result in innocent people languishing in jail:

The American Bar Association in 2009 said that prosecutors should be ethically bound to turn over evidence favorable to a defendant — either to exonerate the accused or mitigate punishment — as soon as possible. The ABA cited studies showing Brady violations are the leading cause of wrongful convictions across the nation.

"The standard at issue impacts when prosecutors — both state and federal — should turn over evidence that could help the accused. The Board of Professional Responsibility, which polices all attorneys, said prosecutors are ethically bound to turn over any information that might help the accused as soon as they get it.

The state Supreme Court disagreed. The court said prosecutors must only adhere to an appellate standard known as a Brady violation. Under that standard, prosecutors get to choose what to turn over and when, depending on whether the prosecution believes the evidence is legally significant enough that a jury might exonerate a defendant because of it."

KNS (paywall) Jamie Satterfield story

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October 11, 2019 - 07:00 PM

Live theatre! AND THE MOON STAYED by Jennifer L. Wallace, a reworking of Shakespeare’s “A Winter’s Tale.” It is set in the Great Smoky Mountains and tells the bittersweet tale of jealousy, love and redemption.

Come see local Corey Jones at "Brother Leon"!

More details at PRINCESS BLOG.