This story appears in the November issue of The Atlantic

The Election That Could Break America

KCDP Secretary Kellie May hosts the KCDP 2020 Field Organizers Uriah Richey and Jack Vaughn as they describe their activities to enhance the campaigns for local Democratic campaigns for the Tennessee General Assembly. This program will air on Community TV on Friday, October 29th at 9:30 PM.

This program can be seen at the following
DTV streams live on the Community TV web site or on cable/satellite at:
Comcast Channel 12
Charter Channel 193
Wow! Channel 6
ATT U-verse Channel 99

CTV Streams Live at 9:30 : here!

Y'all know what to do...

@joebiden
@bradshaw2020
@rvhoyos
@VoteGloriaJ
@VoteVirginiaC
@VoteJaneGeorge1
@justindavis4tn
@VoteElizabeth16
@JayClark4TN
@VoteSusanSneed

Via TPM, Vanderbilt has studied hospitalization numbers and other COVID trends in Tennessee. The study is here (note: PDF). However the nut graf is below:

Hospitals that predominantly serve patients from areas without masking requirements (the <25% group) continue to see the highest rate of growth in hospitalizations. As the percentage of patients residing in mask-requirement counties increases, the growth curve “flattens,” indicating much lower growth in hospitalizations.

The graph is pretty striking. Here's a direct link since it seems pretty large to try to include:

https://cdn.talkingpointsmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screen-Shot-2020-10-27-at-4.31.37-PM-804x1256.png

From the Knox Co. Election Commission...

Absentee Ballots must be returned to Election Commission by USPS, FedEx, or UPS by Close of Polls on Tuesday, November 3

Knox County Election Commission reminds voters that absentee ballots cannot be hand-delivered to polling place or KCEC office

Knoxville – Knox County voters that have received their absentee ballot in the mail and haven’t yet mailed it back (or that will receive it in the next few days) can - with a first-class stamp for postage - drop it off at:

Downtown Knoxville Post Office
501 W. Main Street
Knoxville, TN 37902

by 3 pm on Tuesday, November 3 to help ensure that those ballots will be delivered to the Election Commission by the close of polls on Election Day.

###

According to the TNDP, USPS has designated one post office in each of Tennessee's 95 counties for this accommodation.

UPDATE: From the Secretary of State...

The deadline to request a by-mail ballot has passed. To facilitate timely receipt of voted absentee by-mail ballots on Election Day, the U. S. Postal Service has designated a post office in each of the 95 counties for voters to expedite the mailing of their completed absentee by-mail ballot. Voters are requested to mail their ballot by 3:00 p.m. local time November 3 at the post office designated for the county. County election officials will pick up the ballots after 3 pm on Election Day. Tennessee law does not allow for third party political operatives to collect ballots on behalf of voters. Click here for a list of designated post offices.

WVLT reports that votes sent via FedEx may not be counted! Seems to be some controversy.

Link...

I'm not convinced that the impact would be substantial because there probably won't be enough voters using FedEx.

Does anyone know the definitive answer to this query?

EDIT: According to the article, the Secretary of State and the Knox Co. Administrator of Elections say that it is permissable to send ballots via FedEx.

Adding more bureaucracy seems like a questionable approach in general.

Doesn't the current health board already get input from the types of folks listed as comprising the new committee?

Taking an existing apolitical process and making it political. Are there proven instances in history where that has improved things?

Knox Co. Commission votes to form public health committee separate from Board of Health

I thought I might share this.

I am asking our Knox County leaders to answer the following questions before tonight’s meeting. It would be a tremendous public service if they could do so when they vote.

FREEDOM
• Who is protecting the freedoms of those who must work and interface with the public to support themselves and their families from needless, careless exposure to the virus?

LEADERSHIP
• If it is not the role of our political leaders to lead in this crisis, who should we be looking to for leadership?

THE GOVERNMENT
• If it is not the government’s role to help protect the health of its citizens, whose role is it? What IS the proper role of government, in your opinion?

FREEDOM & RESPONSIBILITY
• In a society where we all seek to live together in “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” where do your rights end and mine begin?

FACTUAL INFORMATION
• What sources do you, as a community leader, use to provide factual information to guide your decision making? How do you research conflicting information to determine the most reliable sources?

BEHAVIOR AND ACCOUNTABILITY
• Why are citizens and other leaders in our community be subjected to such childish bullying tactics? Why the rudeness and disrespect? What is accomplished by this behavior?

• Why is our County Mayor communicating on hidden social media forums and making incendiary videos demonizing local citizens that weren’t supposed to be public? Why is there a need to operate under cover (behind a mask, one might say)? Who is he communicating with? Should we know more about those who are influencing him? Is he beholden to someone? Shouldn’t we know who? What is there to hide and why?

Yours,

Ashley Capps

This voting line in Philly!!!! pic.twitter.com/sC6e3a4Ljv

— Jerry Saltz (@jerrysaltz) October 25, 2020

If 95% of Americans wore masks in public, more than 100,000 lives could be saved from Covid-19 through February, a new modeling study suggests.

The study -- from the Covid-19 forecasting team at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation -- notes that, in September, only about 49% of US residents reported that they "always" wear a mask in public.

Wearing masks could save more than 100,000 US lives through February, new study suggests

I was surprised at the rent on these new apartments off Sevier Avenue. I thought it was a typo.

Though that area is evolving in a nice way

Foggy Bottom Flats

I'm thinking this is not what is on people's minds right now.

"Amid the general collapse of the service economy during the pandemic — think retail or restaurants — appliance repair technicians are seeing explosive demand for their services as families adjust to living at home 24/7, sometimes with adult children, elderly parents or in-laws expanding households and putting more wear and tear on refrigerators and dishwashers.
...
The strain of relentless domesticity is showing up in overworked or, in some cases, previously untouched appliances. America’s stay-at-home workers have had to deploy ovens used to store shoes to actually cook meals. Fridges are constantly mined for snacks, and dry-cleaned suits have been replaced with day pajamas that double as napkins. The machines can take only so much.
...

Though not ordinarily this dramatic, there has always been more demand than supply for appliance repair technicians, business owners and industry associations say. It’s a career that can offer good pay, job security and mobility — yet there are never enough takers. The pandemic has just exacerbated the underlying factors, finally putting the spotlight on a previously overlooked essential worker, they argue."

You can make good money, have some freedoms away from an office or store, and provide a service that could be in demand for years.

Join DTV and the Suffrage Coalition collaboration on a conversation between TN Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee and Attorney Wanda Sobieski on Friday evening October 24th @ 9:30 pM on the Community Television Channel.

DTV streams live on the Community TV web site or on cable/satellite at:
Comcast Channel 12
Charter Channel 193
Wow! Channel 6
ATT U-verse Channel 99

DTV streams live @ (link...)

Best Buy has a deal on a one-year Tidal Hi-Fi subscription for $99 for new users. After the first year it renews for $119. Regular price thru Tidal is $20/month.

A Virginia woman could face up to six months in jail after being charged for intentionally feeding a black bear while on vacation in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

A woman posted video of herself feeding a black bear. Now she could face up to 6 months in jail

When a Michigan 94-year-old didn't receive her absentee ballot, she took her civic duty to the next level.

Mildred Madison insisted that she had to vote early and in person instead, but to make that happen, her son had to drive her more than 600 miles round trip.

This 94-year-old traveled more than 300 miles each way just so she could vote

Coronavirus cases up 6.5%.
Coronavirus hospitalizations up again this week, 8.2% , up 53.5% from two weeks ago.
Spike in coronavirus deaths, 7 deaths in the past week.

** Positivity rate = 8.6% *** 7-day average is 9.76%.
Positivity rate preferred to be below 5%.

The Knox County Health Department reports

11,479 coronavirus cases and 495 probable cases.

That's 702 new cases in the past week,
That's a 6.5% increase over a week ago.

There are 66 Knox County COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized.
Five more than a week ago.

There have been 93 deaths in Knox County from COVID-19.
Seven deaths due to COVID-19 in the past week.
That's a 8.2% increase in deaths in the past week (86 as of October 10).

5 in the 18-44 age group (5%)
21 in the 45-64 age group (23%)
23 in the 65-74 age group (25%)
44 in the 75+ age group (47%)

** Change in data used for tests conducted on Knox County residents coincide with the new positivity rate added to the website,
Coronavirus test counts nearly double from all previous data.
Hard to imagine why the data is so different.

*From the Knox County, TN, website: "October 14, 2020: To better coincide with the new positivity rate added to the website, KCHD is now using Tennessee Department of Health data (PCR tests only) to calculate testing volume in Knox County. Lag times will still be calculated using a sample data set from Knox County. All values have been updated from April 1, 2020, when testing data became available."

Whereas last Sunday, 9/27/2020, Knox County Health Dept. was showing 3,880 coronavirus tests conducted, the number now is 7,545.
A week ago for the week of 9/20/2020, they showed 3,790 coronavirus test were conducted, the number now is 8,375, etc.

As of October 13, 2020, ICU Bed availability is at 13.7%. (278 ICU beds total with 38 beds available) .
ICU bed availability is up as compared to a week ago.
(Note, the week of 9/1/2020, ICU bed capacity was 278, then the week of 9/8/2020, ICU bed capacity was raised to 374, then the week of Sept. 22 ICU bed capacity has been reduced back down to 278.)
(Note, prior to the 8/4/2020 report, ICU bed capacity was 272. It would appear that Knox County hospitals have increased ICU bed capacity by 6 beds.)

The County Health Department has a map with the number of coronavirus cases per zip code.
On October 16, 2020, these zip codes were reported with the most cases:
(last reported on October 9)

37918 has the most cases with 983 cases (population 44,476) (15.6% increase)
37920 with 922 cases (population 39,000) (16.1% increase)
37916 with 860 cases (population 12,507) (1.8% increase)
37921 with 709 cases (population 28,000) (11.8% increase)
37922 with 653 cases (population 41,539) (18.1% increase)
37919 with 650 cases (population 28,000) (16.1% increase)
37923 with 581 cases (population 30,000) (21.3% increase)
37917 with 556 cases (population 27,000) (10.8% increase)

Be careful out there.

** Positivity rate = 8.62% ***

There has been a steady increase in coronavirus (covid-19) cases in Tennessee.

According to the TN Dept. of Health,

223,493 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in TN and
2,871 have died from it.

That is an additional 10,844 cases in one week and an additional 113 reported deaths.

3,294,056 tests have been given to Tennessee residents.
That is an additional 162,517 tests in the past week.

Hospitalizations appear to have increased. From October 10 to October 16 (6 days) the number of patients hospitalized for the coronavirus has increased by 12.3% (by 128 from 1,038 to 1,166).

6.8% of TN residents tested for the coronavirus have tested positive for the coronavirus.

47.8% of the 6.89 million people estimated to live in TN have been tested for the coronavirus.
However, that may not be true. it is not known how tests are counted when a single person gets tested multiple times. Certain people in certain fields of work (medical, education, sports) or physical ability (nursing home residents, hospital patients) may get tested multiple times.

Be careful out there.

How is that even possible? Can anyone collect ballots?

Casting the unofficial boxes as "wrong no matter who is doing it," Padilla had explained to CNN's Chris Cuomo on "Prime Time" Monday evening that the operation doesn't have a "chain of custody, and we don't have the requirements or regulations for these fake drop boxes as you do for the official drop boxes."

California Republican Party says it will not comply with state's cease and desist order on ballot drop boxes