Between 2007 and 2021, the percent of U.S. fresh fruit and vegetable availability supplied by imports grew from 50 to 60 percent for fresh fruit and from 20 to 38 percent for fresh vegetables (excluding potatoes, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms).

In 2022, Mexico and Canada supplied 51 percent and 2 percent, respectively, of U.S. fresh fruit imports, and 69 percent and 20 percent, respectively, of U.S. fresh vegetable imports in terms of value.

I have noticed the Canadian tomatoes at the grocer and they actually taste good. Why is it we have to get fresh tomatoes from Canada?

Wait until the new president's 25% tariffs are applied to all goods from Canada and Mexico.

Whatever.

Be safe. Install smoke alarms this cold weather season.

Your local government may provide a free smoke alarm and may even install the smoke alarm.

State of Tennessee Fire Marshall (615-741-2241), Request a FREE Smoke Alarm. Smoke alarms are not guaranteed. Your local fire department must be a participant in the Get Alarmed program.

The Knox County Fire Prevention Bureau (865-215-4660) in conjunction with Rural Metro Fire Department, can provide and install (free of charge) one smoke detector per residence for those persons unable to purchase one.

Knox County Community Action Committee Office on Aging Smoke Alarm Program (865-215-4667) smoke alarm provided and installed free to Knox County homeowners who are elderly, disabled, or low income. Will replace battery yearly if called.

You can contact your local governments and fire departments and Senior Centers to find out what is available in your area.

Thanksgiving dinner is historically affordable this year.
Farm data shows holiday meal staples are collectively at their cheapest, after adjusting for inflation, in nearly 40 years — not including the Covid-hit year of 2020.

The costs of this year’s holiday feast — estimated at $58.08 for a 10-person gathering, or $5.81 a head — dropped 5% since last year, the lowest level since 2021... But the picture improves further when adjusted for inflation.

Oh, well. The lies carried the election.

"As 53% of renters continue to have to put between 30-50% of their income towards housing there is less to be spent in the greater economy. Not only can this impact the local economy, but can also impact the future wealth building for renters," the report said.

More than half of all renters in Knoxville metropolitan area are cost-burdened, report say

I am curious what will happen with Trump's DOJ regarding this lawsuit?

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that it is suing the real estate company RealPage, saying it engaged in a price-fixing scheme to drive up rents.

Something that has been extensive in Knoxville.

DOJ accuses real estate software company of helping landlords collude to raise rents

These matters once were limited to awkward moments at Tennessee Thanksgiving tables, but the explosion of social media (and lies perpetuated via those platforms) means that every day is Thanksgiving in terms of encountering a distant right-wing family member at your Tennessee table spouting Donald Trump cultist nonsense. The ubiquity of the form also means we can have awkward and possible tense exchanges with complete strangers. This problem only has been exacerbated recently as Trump devotees take to all forms of media to bloviate about his recent win, securing the greater share of popular votes for the first time and a second term in the presidency.

I generally fall into the camp relying on the advice attributed to George Bernard Shaw, “Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.” I understand the impulse, however, to not let inaccurate (verging on insane) comments go unanswered. So let me offer some descriptive advice about how these exchanges typically proceed. Remember that fact-driven messages have little appeal to Trump-oriented relatives who gleefully voted for Tennessee’s senior U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn. Some likely believe that the moon landing was faked, but televised wrestling extravaganzas are real.

Skills you may have acquired as you progressed through life that have little use at this time.

...how to kill a chicken, pluck it, take the insides out of it, and cut it into pieces before I fry it.

...balance a checkbook to the penny

That last one really irks me. I will say, though, that many people I know never balanced their checkbooks even 30 years ago.

A few that I will add include,
Using a mechanical pencil.
Using a calculator, not on the smart phone.
Using a pen and paper, writing notes on a paper calendar, writing and mailing a greeting card, writing on post-it notes.

The other day we went to the drive through at a major chain fast food establishment. The total was $24.95. I gave the attendant $30.00 in cash. My change was supposed to be $5.05. The attendant gave me a $5 bill. I asked where the rest of the change was. The attendant asked me, "you want the nickel?" I said yes. The attendant got huffy and gave me my 5 cents.

What's up with that? Is that something new? Do we now give up our rights to exact change?

Pew Research Center - Issues and the 2024 election

Alice Brock, Restaurant Owner Made Famous by a Song, Dies at 83.
Arlo Guthrie’s antiwar staple “Alice’s Restaurant” was inspired by a Thanksgiving Day visit to her diner in western Massachusetts.

Well, we don't really have Front Page Follies anymore, so I thought I'd share this old Frank Sinatra ditty updated for modern political fund raising.

In the wee small hours of the morning
While the whole wide world is fast asleep
You lie awake and think about the texts
And never, ever think of counting tweets
When a desperate campaign is calling
We can win if only you give
In the wee small hours of the morning
That's the time you hate these most of all

I do understand the traffic problem on Henley Street. It separates downtown from the fair site and UT.

Is removing interstate exits to downtown and diverting traffic to South Knoxville via the James White Parkway really a good idea? Is a higher speed limit through SoKno a good selling point? Do we really want to push all that traffic through the middle of South Knoxville? I mean, it's bad enough they built that 4 lane through SoKno.

There are neighborhoods and parks along the "James White Parkway boulevard." Whatever. It's on the other side of the tracks/river.

Maybe they should consider a raised road or something. Also, where are all those cars going to and coming from? Maybe there needs to be a better public transit system.

Just saying.

Why not?

Dr. Oz, a long-running television talk show, unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2022, has been nominated to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.

Oz has been accused of hawking dubious medical treatments and products on his defunct TV show. And during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he pressured government officials to make hydroxychloroquine widely available, despite unresolved questions about its safety and effectiveness.

Why not? Read up on him in Wikipedia.

The Social Security Fairness Act legislation would cut two provisions that curtail retirement (Social Security) payments for public workers (approximately 2 million employees) and their surviving spouses and family members (approximately 800,000), the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

Note, Reagan was president when the Social Security Amendments of 1983 with WEP and GPO were enacted.

What I don't understand is it sounds like the employees (and spouses) covered by these provisions did not pay Social Security on the wages affected by these provisions. Thus, why should they get Social Security for those wages?

"The biggest opposition to the bill is its cost. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it would cost upward of $190 billion over a decade... It would hasten the combined trust funds shortfall by six months to a year, when it's already in trouble... "

I'm not saying I'm against the act. I just wonder why these employees/employers weren't paying into Social Security. I'm guessing it was a "benefit" of being a public employee. I'm thinking the sponsors of this bill should have come up with a method to fund the additional Social Security payments. The Senate has until Dec. 31, 2024, to sign the bill and get it to the President to sign.

This funding is meant to expand river access, parks, trails and other outdoor amenities along the 652-mile Tennessee River. Brad Collett, executive director of the Tennessee RiverLine, said the project should enhance quality of life, promote outdoor recreation and drive economic growth for both rural and urban communities

Tennessee RiverLine secures $500,000 grant to enhance river access and connectivity

The Tennessee RiverLine

Trump beats Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris. Trump loses to Joe Biden. Hmmm....

In regards to the popular vote,

Trump currently has 49.9% of the counted votes compared to Harris’ 48.2%.

The case is that “Trump’s mandate isn’t all that,” argued Enten.

Maybe.

Why not?

Grimmway Farms has issued a recall of select organic whole carrots and organic baby carrots that should no longer be in grocery stores but may be in consumers' refrigerators or freezers.

The carrots were sold under many names including Trader Joe's and Wegmans.

The following recalled products were shipped directly to retail distribution centers nationwide in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada:

Organic whole carrots, which do not have a best-if-used-by date printed on the bag, but were available for purchase at retail stores from August 14 through October 23, 2024,
Organic baby carrots with best-if-used-by-dates ranging from September 11 through November 12, 2024. The recalled carrots should not be available for purchase in stores but may be in consumers' refrigerators or freezers.

The Senate, as set up by the U.S. Constitution, holds an important role in confirming — or rejecting — high-level officials like Cabinet positions, judges and ambassadors. It’s part of the government’s checks and balances that ensures the president does not get to unilaterally rule. However, there is a clause in the Constitution that allows presidents to fill out their administrations while the Senate is in recess.

What are recess appointments and how could Trump use them to fill his Cabinet?

He is also likely to share Trump's opposition to global cooperation on fighting climate change. Wright has called climate change activists alarmist and has likened efforts by Democrats to combat global warming to Soviet-style communism.

Trump picks oil industry CEO Chris Wright as Energy Secretary