We've been getting a lot of fake scam phone calls. They are really good. The bot sounds real. They even insert a little throat clearing.

Some of the calls say they're updating Medicare data, some say you are due a Medicare benefit, the last one said we haven't used a Medicare coupon.

They ask, "Do you have Part A and Part B?"

It's all lies. Don't respond to any prompts. If you do, it will give them a lead to use your data. If you say Yes, they'll use the Yes to say you agreed to whatever they arecselliny.

Be careful out there.

In 2018, registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans by about 250,000 voters. Today, Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than 1.5 million voters.

In that time frame, the Florida population has increased by approximately 2 million people, with a net migration to the state of approximately 1.5 million in the 8 years.

Is Florida now only a Republican paradise?

Saw these at the Ladies of Charity Thrift Store. They are so cute. One bike has heart shaped pedals with a doll seat on the back. You have to wonder what is the backstory. They all look dirty like they were dug up out of the ground or the garbage dump.

Prescription drug prices record sharpest drop in more than 60 years.

While overall medical costs continued to rise, prescription drug prices fell by 3.1 percent in the year ending in July, the steepest annual decline since 1963.
...
The White House took credit for the good news, saying President Donald Trump’s efforts to slash drug prices were working. Some experts said a Biden-era policy that requires Medicare to negotiate prices for some popular prescription drugs is more likely to be driving down costs.

Headlines?

The President "earlier Thursday directed the Navy to return to steam-powered catapults and hydraulic systems on its Ford-class aircraft carriers, ditching the newer electromagnetic technology."

Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona responds, "I've launched off the front of aircraft carriers hundreds of times, have a Master's degree in aeronautical engineering, and am a test pilot and even I wouldn't suggest to the Navy how to engineer specific systems on its ships."

The President "should stick to what he knows best — ballrooms, bankruptcy, and bulls---."

The President wants to put golden seals on White House ballroom.

The President shrugs off concerns about dismal conditions on USS Abraham Lincoln.

Am I biased? Probably. I cannot understand those who continue to support this administration.

Nearly 20 million eggs were recalled in July over salmonella concerns. The new classification signals a “reasonable probability” of “serious adverse health consequences or death.”

The eggs were sold in bulk and retail sizes of 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, and 60 eggs with sell by or best by dates between July 20, 2026 and August 17, 2026. Recalled eggs were sold under Country Morning, Cal-Maine Sunups, Brookshire’s, Simple Truth, and Kroger brand names.

Product Distribution*: AR, LA, MS, NM, OK, and TX
*Distribution of recalled products has been confirmed for states listed, but product could have been distributed further, reaching additional states.

...for the first time, the money coming from the lottery has not kept up with the cost of the scholarship programs it helps fund
...
"inflation-adjusted net lottery proceeds fell about 22% over the last three years... whereas "the number of students receiving scholarships grew."

Officials said part of the shift may come down to changing gambling habits, including the rise of sports betting.

"Last year, sports betting taxes filled a lot of the funding gap, even leaving behind a surplus.

Starting July 1, state lawmakers have redirected most of that money to K-12 school maintenance and construction costs."

On August 12th, in South Knoxville, a woman was found dead in her car at Suttree Landing Park along the river.

On August 12th, North of Knoxville, a woman was found dead along the 1600 block of Wilson Road.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest data, the U.S. economy lost 23,000 jobs in July, and while the unemployment rate inched lower, to 4.1%, even this was discouraging: The “improved” rate was the result of the labor force participation rate dropping, as opposed to additional hiring.
...
On Friday, shortly after the job numbers were released, Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council and the top economist in the White House, told Fox News that if we exclude the part of the economy that lost jobs, “you actually had a number that was about plus 100,000.”

Huh?

334,029 - 6/2026 - Knox County Voter Registration (69,551 considered Inactive)
Number of registered voters increased by 4.1% over 2024.

85,351 - Knox County votes cast in August 6, 2026, Primary and Local General

25.5% of Knox County registered voters voted in the August 6, 2026, election

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320,933 - 6/2024 - Knox County Voter Registration (18,700 considered Inactive?)

54,848 - Knox County votes cast in August 1, 2024, Primary and Local General

17.1% of Knox County registered voters voted in the August 1, 2024, election

Interesting how the Republicans did not bother putting up a candidate for the Tennessee House of Representatives District 15. The Democrats and Sam McKenzie seem to have that wrapped up.

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100,818 - 6/2026 - Blount County Voter Registration (12,923 considered Inactive)
Number of registered voters increased by 5% over 2024.

21,819 - Blount County votes cast in August 6, 2026, Primary and Local General

21.6% of Blount County registered voters voted in the August 6, 2026, election
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95,917 - 6/2024 - Blount County Voter Registration (4,393 considered Inactive)

15,462 - Blount County votes cast in August 1, 2024, Primary and Local General

16.1% of Blount County registered voters voted in the August 1, 2024, election

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Numbers of Registered Voters provided by the State of TN Secretary of State

According to the TN Secretary of State, Div. of Elections, "Voters may be made inactive if the county election commission receives notice that the voter may no longer reside at the address of their voter registration.  A notice is sent to the voter requesting that they update their address." "Since a voter may update their address on Election Day, an inactive voter would be considered eligible to vote on Election Day.  If the county election commission does not hear from the voter in the inactive status before two (2) Federal November General elections have passed, the voter will automatically be purged from the voter files when the county election commission completes its annual maintenance of voter files."

The Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced they weren't able to do their job resulting in huge recalls of beef and bacon.

Nearly 30,000 pounds of raw beef products imported from Argentina have been recalled in two states because they entered the United States without undergoing a required inspection.

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) sent out a recall notice for over 22,000 pounds of Maple Leaf Foods bacon product from Canada that made its way onto store shelves without going through required U.S. inspection.

Is it a message to punish Canada and Argentina? Is it the USDA FSIS can't/won't do their job?

Knox County Commissioner Andy Fox, a Republican who represents Fort Sanders, South Knoxville and South Knox County, wants to punish any person or organization that sounds an Islamic call to prayer "in public by means of any amplification whether electronic or otherwise "with a fine of $1,000 per violation.

UPDATE: Knox County Commissioner Andy Fox withdrew his proposal Aug. 11 for an ordinance that would ban public Islamic calls to prayer...

I am surprised this person got elected. Part of his campaign rhetoric was/is "I will fight against liberal Democrat attempts to turn Knox County into a place of high taxes, rampant homeless population defecating and urinating in public, and Soros-backed social justice District Attorneys, who let criminals go but will prosecute citizens who try to defend themselves."

I thought SoKno had lots of progressive young newcomers.

Trump Administration to Pay German Firm $1.2 Billion to Cancel Wind Leases.

Including Thursday’s announcement, the government has so far spent roughly $3.9 billion to get companies to terminate 12 offshore wind leases.

“New Yorkers are suffering from sky-high energy costs, and Trump’s answer is to spend almost $4 billion of taxpayer money killing twelve offshore wind power leases that would have provided unlimited clean energy once online,” Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, said.

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Pentagon to lift its freeze on reviewing offshore wind energy projects for national security concerns, one of several tools the Trump administration has used to undercut the renewables industry.

Taylor Farms -- the massive food producer linked to the record cyclosporiasis outbreak -- is now pulling more than a dozen products with jalapeños from grocery stores across the United States.

It’s the latest recall as part of the salmonella outbreak that has made 345 people sick in 27 states. Restaurant chains Chipotle and QDOBA pulled jalapeños last week. The USDA said this weekend grocery stores (Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Kroger) are also removing meat products that include jalapeños.

I was at a small, local market the other day looking for fresh Cilantro . They had some but it was packaged like what you might buy at a major grocery store. Since Parsley and Cilantro have been identified as Potential Sources of Cyclospora Outbreak in North Carolina, I asked them where they got the Cilantro. Their answer was Knoxville, with a laugh. They had no clue as to where they purchased the Cilantro. It's sad you can't even rely on a neighborhood market.

Knox County Democrats are celebrating gains they made on election night, picking up a county commission seat, coming within five points of the mayor’s office, and securing a 5-4 majority on the Knox County School Board.

Cyclosporiasis outbreak has expanded to six more states.

The CDC’s planned update marks a significant expansion in the outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms.
...

Plug-in solar panels are coming.

Plug-in or so-called balcony-solar systems have become popular in Germany in recent years. Ten American states have passed legislation making them legal, and many others are considering measures that would allow consumers to buy and install them.
...
Plug-in systems can be as cheap as a few hundred dollars and typically top out at roughly $2,000.
...
You want to look for products that carry the “UL 3700” certification. It indicates that the product has been tested and meets the safety criteria set by UL Solutions.

Contact your utility company before taking steps to implement plug-in solar panels.

To win we must vote.
To have healthcare we must vote.
To have Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid we must vote.
To have public education we must vote.

I know several people that claim to be Democrats that are not voting. One said, I don't vote in primaries. I mentioned this is a general election for local offices to no avail. One said the Democrats never win. I said Obama won, Biden won, Gloria Johnson won, to no avail. One said they haven't voted since they moved here 9 years ago. Whatta ya gonna do.

A modification of the poem First They Came by Pastor Martin Niemoller.
First they came for the Immigrants
And I did not speak out
Because I was not an Immigrant
Then they came for the African Americans
And I did not speak out
Because I was not African American
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me

And there was no one left
To speak out for me

In May, Blackburn nearly emptied her federal U.S. Senate campaign account, donating $4.8 million to the Club for Growth PAC.
...
Tennessee Freedom Fund, one of several PACs with close ties to Club for Growth, has been purchasing TV advertisements praising Blackburn [for Governor] and attacking her opponent, U.S. Rep. John Rose, since June.