This was WhitesCreek's very first post:

August 19, 2007

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WhitesCreek

The white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, showed us that homegrown terrorists are emboldened by the wink and nudge tactics of some legislators. James Alex Fields, 21, drove his car into a crowd of counter-demonstrators — killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others. Remember this:

In Tennessee, State Sen. Bill Ketron and State Rep. Matthew Hill backed legislation to shield drivers who plow into protesters from civil suits. That was shortly after a driver did just that in Nashville during a Black Lives Matter protest.

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Thank You!

Roane County Schools will be closed on August 21 for the eclipse. Students will be given viewing glasses, courtesy of the Roane County Highway Department, on Friday the 18th for use at home during the event. Students are encouraged to bring five empty aluminum cans to school on Friday to donate to the recycling project between the school system and highway department.

I don;t know what the clouds are going to do but this is awesome, every time I see it!

Time: Fri Aug 11 9:31 PM, Visible: 3 min, Max Height: 53°, Appears: 23° above NNW, Disappears: 24° above ESE

Here it is 9 AM on Wednesday and the current RCN has not been posted online. It's been available since yesterday at the news stands.

Come on, RCN! Get with it.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory could face massive layoffs under Trump budget request...

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THOMAS (TOM) EDWARD HUMPHREY, III-Retired Nashville Bureau-Chief, Knoxville, Sentinel and contributing editor for the Tennessee Journal. Currently edits a popular blog and writes a weekly column for the News Sentinel. Covered Capitol Hill politics for almost 40 years. Originally from United Press International. Graduate Nashville School of Law.

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I really don't like the characterization of the fight against invasive plants in our waterways being "Bubba versus Science" but that's the way it's looking. If you want to give the science a fair shake this is a good chance right in Rockwood...

The Watts Bar Ecology and Fishery Council (WBEFC) will be meeting again at the Rockwood Community Center, 710 N Chamberlain Ave, on Wednesday, August 16th, at 7 pm. Dr. Timothy Joseph, Chairman, will update the Council, Stakeholders, and the public, on recent WBEFC activities. Work-Group chairs will provide a summary/discussion of their independent Work-Group activities, accomplishments and plans. This meeting is open to the public. Upon completion of Council business, public comment will be welcomed and will be addressed by the WBEFC based on facts and sound ecological principles.

Their very informative web site is here:

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I have posted the link to Muirs Journal several times and will do so again. But for now, I thought I would try to paint a picture of those times for you. What was the popular music then?

Try this!

Muir Fest is a celebration of Muir's walk through Roane County and the night he spent in Kingston in 1867. The Father of our National Parks thought the Emory River was the most beautiful he had ever seen. I am continually astounded at how beautiful Roane County and the lands around it are. Put Sept 9 on your calendar and be at Fort Southwest Point for the first ever Muir Fest. I promise you the music will be worth it all by itself.

I had a doctor tell me his recommendation on healthcare legislation, "Figure out what the insurance companies want and don't do it!" Turns out Chuck Flieschmann is heavily invested in health insurance and pharmaceutical corporations. I don't think he will ever do what's best for you and me. He will just continue to enrich himself at our expense if he stays in office.

Democrats always give us super qualified, smart, talented, and accomplished candidates but they have trouble delivering a message that can cut through the heavily funded campaign sloganeering and outright lies that our voters are bombarded with.

Dr. Danielle Mitchell is a tough, super smart, super qualified candidate who has a good message. Can she get it out to the Tennessee voter? We'll see. She certainly has a very different approach to posting photos of herself on her campaign web site...

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A couple of hundred thousand years of drip and condensation in a cave get you this...

Chuck Sutherland photo:

Here's the high res version. Well worth viewing!

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You can call back to any legit calls.

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Roane County is a GRRRRRREAT! place to retire.

You know...This could be a wonderful perk for Roane County.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Red Unit, one of the now-closed show’s two traveling groups, performed for the last time May 7 in Rhode Island. An emotional peak of that performance, the Providence Journal reported, came when the big-cat trainer tearfully thanked each one of the tigers in his act.

Within days, 15 of those Ringling tigers had arrived at their new home: a Tennessee sanctuary called Tiger Haven, where they are now living out their years on a wooded, 45-acre refuge alongside more than 250 other big cats retired from performing groups, relinquished by zoos or rescued from private owners.

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It will be interesting to see how Corker plays this...

After pushing through—on a narrow, party-line vote—a motion to proceed to debating various plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act on Tuesday afternoon, Republicans brought their first plan up for a vote late Tuesday night, only to watch it fail 43 to 57 in a procedural vote.

Nine Republicans joined with Democrats to kill the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA): Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Rand Paul (R-KY), Bob Corker (R-TN), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Dean Heller (R-NV).

Read!

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Randy Hegepath is honored as the face of a new craft beer in support of Tennessee State Parks...

Tennessee Brew Works has partnered with the Tennessee State Parks by creating a new Tennessee State Parks Beer, “State Park Blonde Ale,” with a portion of sales benefiting the mission of Tennessee State Parks...

The State Park Blonde Ale features the image of State Naturalist, Randy Hedgepath. Randy has served the park service for more than 30 years, working as a Ranger Naturalist at South Cumberland and Radnor Lake State Parks.

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The Lions Club is celebrating its centennial in 2017! And to commemorate this milestone, the Harriman Lions Club is hosting a tailgate party to die for!

The Harriman Chapter is hosting ‘Murder in the End Zone’ dinner theatre- an entertaining evening of good friends, great food, and murder. The night’s entertainment will include a full tailgate dinner buffet, dessert bar, and an interactive murder mystery that gets the audience out of their seats and into the hunt for a killer. There will also be a Silent Auction offering great gifts and getaways to the highest bidder.

The details are:
What: ‘Murder in the End Zone’ dinner theatre
When: Saturday, August 26, 2017
7:00pm
Where: American Legion Hall
624 Morgan Street (behind HUB)
Harriman, TN
Tickets: $40.00 pp (includes: dinner, dessert, beverages, and
show)
Tickets are available at the:
Roane County Chamber office
N. Kentucky Street
Kingston, TN

Have questions? Visit the Harriman Lions Club Facebook page.

So remember back when Bill Clinton and Al Gore balanced the budget? Then W and his cronies on the Supreme Court stole the 2000 election and immediately spent more money on defense, cut taxes on rich people, deregulated Wall Street, and started a war that could never be stopped by attacking several nations who had never ever attacked us. Wall street immediately raped the housing market, crashed the American economy, while the managers who did this gave themselves huge bonuses when Congress bailed them out. W then handed President Obama a massive budget deficit leading to a massive increase in the National Debt.

Republicans then blamed Obama for every evil thing Republicans had done and continue to this day, even though Obama isn't President any more.

Republicans continue to cut taxes on rich people and spend more on defense, and try to cut every program that actually makes America a better place to live.

Diane Black is a shining example of the GOP ideal as it exists right this minute. She has issued a budget that cuts taxes on rich people and corporations, both of which are awash in cash at the moment and obviously need much more money to get by on.

Social Services Block Grant, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income or Disability Insurance all get whacked. The Energy, Education, Agriculture committees get huge whacks. Rural hospitals? See ya! Diane Black is going to give a helping hand to the Military Industrial Complex and the stinking rich. Eveybody else be damned!

Read it and weep...for America!

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The Douglas Henry State Museum Commission’s efforts to block Victor Ashe, or any other board member, from making negative comments about museum operations have generated a round of negative comments about museum operations.

You can't help but think the good State of Tennessee just isn;t being run for the benefit of the good people of Tennessee, when the actions of those in power are intentionally hidden from the light of day.

Read

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Frankly, I think the enforcement people do not have the resorces they need to adequately stop this but here you go:

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I have long observed the Scopes trial in Dayton with a mixture of amusement, consternation and borderline terror. Conceived as a publicity stunt by the equivalent of the local chamber of commerce, it degenerated into fanaticism and farce, achieving the goal of publicity in a manner that has spiraled at times into absurdity.
When a religious group raised money to place a statue of Bryan on municipal property the Freedom from Religion Society thought some balance was required and financed a comparable statue of Clarence Darrow. Predictable outrage full of bombast and froth resulted from some very loud sources...sources that turned out to be rather small in number. The statue was installed last Friday with about 75 supporters on hand and protesters completely absent.

I hear the statues are on opposite sides of the courthouse from which vantage points they cannot see each other. I suppose that is a metaphor for our ability to have open minded discussions regarding religion.

Saint Thomas has the story: (link...)

Yes! I am a science nerd and Yes, this is beautiful:

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"Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee is unhappy with the media’s coverage of the unfolding Russia scandal, saying the press is distracted by the “shiny object of the day” and should instead focus on “what Congress and the administration is doing to create jobs and provide health care.”

Okay, we’ll bite. Here’s our coverage of what D.C. Republicans have done to create jobs and provide health care:

(Crickets)

Back to the shiny object."

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The Knoxville Mercury has been a true community effort, from the individuals who pitched in $5 to the major donors like former Metro Pulse publisher Joe Sullivan who believe Knoxville truly needs a locally owned, independent media—especially when its dominant news organizations are guided by out-of-town corporations. We showed that thoughtfully reported stories—not just clickbait headlines—can make a difference in the place we live. People will pay attention, and they do want to be informed. Progress can be made when we know the facts.

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My good friend and very smart man, Earl Nall, just took a look into the future based on the Roane County School Board's current direction and came to this prophetic conclusion:

"If they’d had built two high schools and closed the Midway, Oliver Springs, Rockwood, Kingston and Harriman - Roane county would have become one of the premier counties in the state."
Every school board member I've talked with except one has said two schools is the obvious way to go but they can;t get the votes on the Commission.

Earl's piece is partly quoted in the RCN but the entire piece is here:

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I strongly suggest umbrellas and camp chairs and getting to Kingston Park a bit early. The Royal Hounds start their own brand of fireworks at 4:45 and then Johnny Neel goes off right after that. Temper Evans and Cereus Bright take us out to the big bang.

See you there.

Meet the artists and purchase CDs at the merch tent.

Johnny Neel rehearsing with the Allman Brothers Band way back in the last century... (link...)