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A former field safety coordinator at the TVA Kingston Fossil Plant Fly Ash Superfund site testified that managers intentionally botched air monitor readings. These readings were supposed to be part of safety protocol for cleaning up more than 5 million tons of coal ash spilled in Roane County in 2008.

I personally had first hand knowledge of the water quality fabrications and most of us suspected the air quality measurements were horridly bad. Know we have testimony from the people who were actually performing the testing.

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Bredesen and Haslam are on different takes of getting something done. Marsha repeats tired old "government takeover" of internet line. Folks, this problem has been solved over and over in the past...by government! Rural Electric co-ops, Rural phone service, the United States Postal Service, and so on. We form governments to get the things done that private corporations won't do well or safely. Blackburn says we need to give corporations more of our tax money. Bredesen says keep the tax money where it is and let's do it ourselves.

Fun fact: The Trump tax cut for corporations that Marsha voted for gave the telecommunications industry 5 times more money in profits than it would take to give every home in America 50 megabyte internet service. What a stupid deal that was.

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I thought better of Anda than this.

A former TVA spokeswoman who assured a national television audience in the wake of the nation’s largest environmental disaster that coal ash was safe – even as the EPA was warning Roane County residents it was toxic – is refusing to testify on behalf of workers who are now sick, dying or dead after cleaning it up without protection.

Anda Ray says she will not voluntarily testify on behalf of the hundreds of blue collar laborers who worked – unprotected – to clean up the massive coal ash spill at the TVA Kingston Fossil Fuel Power Plant.

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Anybody who pays into Social Security or Medicare and still votes for a Republican needs their head examined!

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called on Congress to rein in major government programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in order to slow America’s spiraling national debt on Tuesday, ignoring the fact the tax plan he recently passed has further grown that number.

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The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected that the GOP tax cuts would add $1.9 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. The loss of government revenue from the cuts has been a larger proportional loss than what was caused by the Great Recession, according to the New York Times.

Please Join Us!

More info at RoaneSong.org

In an honorable world that patrolman would be dismissed from the Tennessee Highway Patrol. But since he was violating the law for the Republican candidate's campaign, I guess it's OK. The patrolman claimed Dean was at a Muslim religious event, and, while I have myself had a religious experience eating wonderful food, a falafel restaurant is hardly a mosque. How low will Bill Lee's campaign stoop?

Yassin's Falafel House in Knoxville was named the nicest place in America on Good Morning America on Thursday as a part of a contest sponsored by the show and Reader's Digest.

Yassin was live on the show to accept the title with Robin Roberts, who had made a visit to Knoxville earlier this year and spoke with Mayor Madeline Rogero for the show.

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I would think the Trooper should be fired. Will Bill Lee's campaign portray Karl Dean eating a falafel as Muslim? Probably. Idiots!

After learning about a Dean stop the Lee campaign understood to be part of a “Muslim event,” according to Tennessee Highway Patrol memos obtained by the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee, the Lee campaign reportedly asked another trooper whether his staff could obtain a photo of Dean in a mosque.

The Sept. 7 event in question was a meet and greet at a falafel restaurant in Knoxville, and not a religious gathering.

"Thanks to Yassin's Falafel House and our supporters in Knoxville for a great meet and greet last night!"...Karl Dean

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Do it! You can also check to be sure you are still registered properly at the same site.

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Trump administration lawyers are demanding private FaceBook account information of citizens who have "liked" certain FB pages.

"The warrants specifically target the accounts of three Facebook users who are described by their attorneys as "anti-administration activists who have spoken out at organized events, and who are generally very critical of this administration's policies.""

Emmelia Talarico, operated the disruptj20 page where Inauguration Day protests were organized and discussed; the page was visited by an estimated 6,000 users whose identities the government would have access to if Facebook hands over the information sought in the search warrants. In court filings, Talarico says if her account information was given to the government, officials would have access to her "personal passwords, security questions and answers, and credit card information," plus "the private lists of invitees and attendees to multiple political events sponsored by the page."

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So far Bill lee hasn't answered a single question.

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Question: Should news media be covering Trump on a Marsha Blackburn campaign event without also covering Bredesen?

Ask yourself the same question if Obama had come to Tennessee to campaign for Danielle Mitchell for instance?

As I understand it, coverage of a partisan campaign event constitutes a media donation that has a monetary value. Marsha hasn't worried too much about campaign finance law up until now, though. She has had numerous campaign finance irregularities.

Trump will be in Johnson City today. In the words of a school teacher friend:

"The fact that the Republicans are having to bring in Trump to try to get out the vote in an area that hasn't voted Democrat in over a century is telling.

They are running scared."

The schools are shut down but they are only public schools so it's no big deal.

In a strongly worded letter obtained by CNN Thursday, the organization said it is making the extraordinary request "because of the ABA's respect for the rule of law and due process under law," siding with concerns voiced by Senate Democrats since Christine Blasey Ford's decades-old allegations became public.

"The basic principles that underscore the Senate's constitutional duty of advice and consent on federal judicial nominees require nothing less than a careful examination of the accusations and facts by the FBI,"

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Josh Marshall...

Quick thoughts on Brett Kavanaugh’s opening statement. To me he seemed more unhinged than forceful. It had been telegraphed that he wanted to show more emotion than he had in earlier testimony. He certainly managed that. He testimony seemed openly partisan, showing his roots as more of a political operative than a jurist. His testimony was almost the definition of someone who lacks a judicial temperament.

The women sitting with him appear to agree...

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The freshwater ecosystems of Middle and East Tennessee are home to some of the most diverse and rare flora and fauna on the planet.

These waterways are environmentally unique and must be preserved. They also need to be preserved because of the economic opportunities they offer to the region

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This man is totally unhinged!

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It seems worth noting, at least, that Blackburn is among the strongest supporters of — and has been personally endorsed by — the president, a man who has been personally accused of sexual assault or harassment by more than 20 women.

A More and Better Read on Last Night's Debate

We are in our 6th year of bringing great live music to Roane County. The social time with friends is almost worth the donation but we get to experience some of the best artists and their songs anywhere around without leaving home. I have heard it referred to as "music for grown ups". We have concert seating and a bunch of tables and chairs for folks who want to bring food and beverage. There's a lot of sharing. There's a lot of danged good music, too. This Friday it's Cody Brooks and his Band of Friends.

The Roane Song web page has a lot more including Cody's hour long appearance on PBS "Live From Muscle Shoals". Here you go!

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Hope we see you this Friday night at the Rockwood Visitor Center and Museum. It's the coolest stage in Roane County!

7 PM $15 at the door...BYOB

Wanna' know which Congresspersons voted AGAINST the "Violence against Women" act?

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Yep...Marsha Blackburn!

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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