I'm not a Calfee fan but this takes guts!

Casada's message to a group of rural lawmakers: vote for Gov. Bill Lee's school vouchers bill - or else.

"If we didn't vote for the education savings account, we would have a primary opponent," Calfee recounted.

NewsChannel 5 asked, "So you had a Republican threatening to find an opponent for you in the Republican primary."

"For everybody in the room," he answered.

We followed up, "There's no doubt in your mind that that was a threat."

"Yes, it was a threat."

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Things you might want to remember about Robert Mueller as he testifies before Congress this week: First of all, contrary to Trump's claims, Mueller is a life long Republican. I suspect House GOP will attempt to assassinate the character of this great and principled man.

"Robert Swan Mueller III (/ˈmʌlər/; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer and government official who served as the sixth Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 2001 to 2013.

A graduate of Princeton University and New York University, Mueller served as a Marine Corps officer during the Vietnam War, receiving a Bronze Star for heroism and a Purple Heart. He subsequently attended the University of Virginia School of Law. Mueller is a registered Republican in Washington, D.C., and was appointed and reappointed to Senate-confirmed positions by presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Mueller has served both in government and private practice. He was an assistant United States attorney; a United States attorney; United States assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division; a homicide prosecutor in Washington, D.C.; acting United States deputy attorney general; and director of the FBI."

Everyone who met Lee will be saddened by her passing. Proud to have known her.

Russell was also a conservationist working for protection of wilderness and national lands and rivers. In 1966 she helped to organize the Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning (TCWP). In 1976 TCWP helped to obtain protection of the 125,000-acre Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area and obtain National Wild and Scenic River designation for the Obed River.[7][8] In 1992 Russell received the National Parks Conservation Association's (NPCA's) Marjory Stoneman Douglas award.

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From 2006 to 2012, nearly 40 million prescription pain pills went to Roane County: 105 pills per person per year.

Washington Post article

5.8 million pills from a single pharmacy in Harriman. 4.3 million pills from a single pharmacy in Kingston.

I personally feel this to a great extent. I even regularly talk with friends who know it's true and yet will still vote Republican. What has happened to us?

...climate scientists often resemble Sarah Connor of the Terminator franchise, who knows of a looming catastrophe but must struggle to function in a world that does not comprehend what is coming and, worse, largely ignores the warnings of those who do. “An accurate representation” of the Connor comparison, one scientist darkly notes, “would have more crying and wine.”

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Tennessee bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman developed Mountain Dew as a mixer in the 1940s.[10] Soft drinks were sold regionally in the 1930s, and the Hartmans had difficulty in Knoxville obtaining their preferred soda to mix with liquor, preferably whiskey, so the two developed their own.[11] Originally a 19th-century slang term for whiskey, especially Highland Scotch whiskey,[12] the Mountain Dew name was trademarked for the soft drink in 1948.[10]

Wikipedia

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Legal Experts Note Uproar Over Epstein Scandal May Lead To Legislators Outlawing Pedophilia

OK, it's from the ONION but remember, this one is real:

Former Rep. Barry Doss Defends Byrd, Says “A Lot” of People Molest People...Is that any reason to expel someone from the Tennessee House or Senate?

A few get all the attention, but here's an interactive list of what we have here, what they look like and what they sound like. For instance there's this little guy who comes out every year:

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This is too freakin' weird!

Former Rep. Barry Doss Defends Byrd, Says “A Lot” of People Molest People...Is that any reason to expel someone from the Tennessee House or Senate?

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Now go suscribe to (and support) the whole thing!

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Uh oh!

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This is pretty strong stuff.

COMPLAINT FOR RAPE, SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, CRIMINAL SEXUAL ACTS, SEXUAL ABUSE, FORCIBLE TOUCHING, ASSAULT, BATTERY, INTENTIONAL AND RECKLESS INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, DURESS, FALSE IMPRISONMENT, AND DEFAMATION

Plaintiff was subject to acts of rape, sexual misconduct, criminal sexual acts, sexual abuse, forcible touching, assault, battery, intentional and reckless infliction of emotional distress, duress, false imprisonment, and threats of death and/or serious bodily injury by the Defendants that took place at several parties during the summer months of 1994. The parties were held by Defendant Epstein at a New York City residence that was being used by Defendant Epstein at 9 E. 71st St. in Manhattan. During this period, Plaintiff was a minor of age 13 and was legally incapable under New York law of consenting to sexual intercourse and the other sexual contacts detailed herein. NY Penal L § 130.05(3)(a).

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TVA Continues to block solar power!

It’s baffling that as a “public power” entity, TVA is not investing more in solar. TVA’s own analysis showed that building more solar would save money for the public it claims to serve. Investing in more solar would also avoid putting ratepayers on the hook for risky, long-term continued investments in non-renewable resources that adversely impact public health and customer pocketbooks. How can Tennessee be so far behind states like Florida, who installed more solar in one quarter this year (860 MW) than TVA claims it is capable of building in any single year between now and 2038 (500 MW)? When TVA removed arbitrary constraints from solar in their IRP analysis, solar additions increased as much as 50%. Clearly there is even more room for economic solar in TVA’s resource mix and it’s unclear why TVA isn’t taking advantage of this economic technology.

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Trump EPA orders rollback of Obama mercury regulations

TDEC issues advisories after smallmouth bass in Abrams Creek, Little River exceed mercury trigger points...
Smallmouth bass in Abrams Creek and Little River exceeded mercury trigger points recommended by both the EPA and FDA.

TDEC has said it considers the source of mercury within Great Smoky Mountains National Park to be atmospheric deposition. According to the EPA, atmospheric deposition due to the global burning of coal is the most frequent reason for elevated levels of mercury in fish. TDEC will post warning signs at public access points and will work with the National Park Service and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to communicate this information to the public.

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Why Isn't the Publication of Political Propaganda "Something of Value" to a Campaign?

Calling any Trump speech "electrifying, patriotic,and unifying" is a stretch by any rational standard but this one was full of obvious lies. Of course any column by Ms Charles is usually full of distortions and flat out lies as well, so perhaps she either can't discern fact from fiction or doesn't care. Her claim that 10,000 people were camped out in the rain for "45-plus hours" is a flat out lie. Here's the fact check from CNN:

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Earth and Sky is a great resource for the interested. Today is the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest day in the southern one. It's not the hottest day because of the thermal flywheel effect. It just takes time to warm up the ground after winter. The Sun heats us up and the Earth radiates heat back into space, with the maximum temperature typically reached in Late July or early August. For temperatures to remain in the "life zone" heat energy received from the Sun must be balanced by the heat energy the Earth radiates back into space. If the Earth can't radiate all of the heat it receives from the Sun, things warm up forever.

Lots of things affect this balance. Right now in Earth's history, the atmospheric content of carbon dioxide is a growing hindrance to the Earth maintaining the appropriate temperature for life as we know it. By every metric known to science, the Earth is heating up. This is global warming and it is our fault. By burning fossil fuels we have raised the CO2 content of the atmosphere to a point that the Earth cannot radiate an equal amount of heat into space and it is heating up. The fix is easy. Stop doing the thing that is destroying our climate.

We have no where else to go.

I hope you enjoyed Spring 2019. The storms of Summer are upon us.

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Another rare plant in Roane County!

More

“All of us know, if you were to ever be contacted by a foreign entity, your first call is the FBI,” Blackburn had said to reporters hours before blocking the bill. “I don’t care if it’s Russia, Norway, China, whomever.”

Except not Trump:

In a new interview released this afternoon by ABC News, President Trump tells George Stephanopoulos that he’d take information from a foreign government if one offered dirt on his 2020 opponent. “I think you might want to listen, there isn’t anything wrong with listening.”

FEC Chair: Didn’t Think I’d Need To Clarify, But Taking Foreign Dirt Is 100% Illegal

Here's good run down on the whole sordid Marsha mess:

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In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. As a reminder to some of my neighbors here in the South, THIS is the flag of the United States of America.

Republican blocks bill requiring campaigns to alert FBI to foreign assistance

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) blocked an effort by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) to pass a bill via unanimous consent requiring campaigns to report any offers of foreign assistance to the FBI.

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The drowning death of 2-year-old Steven Pierce has caused state officials to close off access to Cummins Falls. The boy was among dozens of people caught off guard by flooding at the park. Thirteen had to be rescued from teh waters.

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Update: I 40 is open!

Officials closed all westbound lanes of I-40 at mile marker 7.5 in Haywood County, North Carolina, after a rockslide on Monday. Crews reported finding several boulders in a ditch near the roadway and two others on the mountainside that "needed to be pushed up the mountain before they fell," Uchiyama said.

One westbound lane is expected to reopen by 7 p.m. Monday, Uchiyama said. He didn't have an estimate as to when all westbound lanes may reopen.

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CUMMINS FALLS, Tenn. (WTVF) — Authorities have identified the toddler who was swept away by rising water at Cummins Falls State Park as a 2-year-old Kentucky boy.

Jackson County Emergency Management Agency PIO Derek Woolbright said the body of Steven Pierce, of Eddyville, was found around 7:15 a.m. Monday.

Jackson County and Putnam County emergency crews responded to the state park near Cookeville on Sunday after swift water prompted rescues.

Over an 18-hour period, 64 people had to be rescued after a sudden rush of water made conditions dangerous near the gorge. Fourteen of those were evacuated using a rope.

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Assuming we ever again have a clear night, the planet Jupiter is as bright as it gets right now. Good binoculars will show you the 4 big moons but even a small telescope or spotting scope will give you an amazing sight. Show it to a child and be a hero forever to them.

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I'm curious as to how many can name the places in this Trappers journal from the early 1800's? This book was on the shelf in the house we stayed at for our family get away in upper South Carolina. It's a free eBook as it turns out. Quite the picture of the white European insurgence into western North America where people already lived. It's depressing how little some attitudes have changed. Fascinating none the less...

July 4th — I caught about twenty very fine silver trout, which, together with fat mutton, buffalo beef and coffee, and the manner in which it was ground up, constituted a dinner that ought to be considered independent, even by Britons.

Ethics is non existent to these folks.

Attorney Judson Phillips, the founder of Tea Party Nation, has been disbarred again, WSMV-TV reports.

“Mr. Phillips consented to disbarment because he could not successfully defend himself on charges alleged in forty-one pending disciplinary complaints,” according to the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Responsibility.

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Russia elected him and that should scare every American!

The 448-page Mueller report contains copious detail about how Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, both by using social media to influence American voters with misinformation and by hacking into the Clinton campaign’s computers. Russian operatives also connected with WikiLeaks to release the stolen material.

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This is a lot of trouble to go to in order to play golf in Japan on Memorial Day...

The White House wanted the U.S. Navy to keep a warship named for the late Sen. John McCain out of President Donald Trump's view during his trip to Japan, three U.S. officials said Wednesday.

As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, a U.S. Indo-Pacific Command official wrote an email to Navy and Air Force officials about Trump's arrival in Japan over Memorial Day weekend. It included instructions for the proper landing areas for helicopters and preparations for the USS Wasp, the ship on which the president was to speak.

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Saw these folks last weekend at Hippie Jack's Festival...Americana?

Oh yeah! We talked about having them swing by Roane Song at some point.