How new technologies and techniques pioneered by dictators will shape the 2020 election

Tony Willnow, a 34-year-old maintenance worker who had an American flag wrapped around his head, observed that Trump had won because he said things no other politician would say. When I asked him if it mattered whether those things were true, he thought for a moment before answering. “He tells you what you want to hear,” Willnow said. “And I don’t know if it’s true or not—but it sounds good, so **** it.”

The Billion-Dollar Disinformation Campaign to Reelect the President

(link...)

It was the 44th consecutive January, and the 421st consecutive month, with temperatures above the 20th century average, according to NOAA.

Earth just had its hottest January in recorded history

Message to canvassers...

Compass has a comprehensive overview of local candidates. (Not paywalled.)

The Republican National Committee is mailing a survey/fundraising package disguised as a "2020 Congressional District Census" to Tennessee residents. They also demand a $15 fee for "processing" the "census document." The Maryville Daily Times reports...

Literally.

If you feel like you have to crossover vote, who do you recommend?

Keeping my fingers crossed for Amy in New Hampshire tonight. I long ago narrowed my top two candidates to Klobuchar and Michael Bennet and have been sending both small but regular donations. I’ve considered other candidates along the way, but keep coming back to these two. I think Bennet is out of the running, but Amy is rising.

Early voting starts tomorrow. I was going to check the schedule and the sample ballot, but the election office website is down. It appears that all of knoxcounty.org is down.

Update: Appears to be working now.

Washington Post: The budget would cut Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program and also wring savings from Medicare despite Trump’s repeated promises to safeguard Medicare and Social Security.

I'm out of snarky analysis so you'll have to make up your own.

The developers want to host large wedding and other events with overnight accommodations in a rural storybook setting

Ancient Lore Village now proposed as a wedding & event venue

Cities that say they are renegotiating their sewage agreements with the agency include Cleveland; Seattle; Kansas City, Mo.; South Bend, Ind.; and Chattanooga, Tenn. Other cities, including Pittsburgh and St. Louis, have already concluded talks for new terms.

E.P.A. Is Letting Cities Dump More Raw Sewage Into Rivers for Years to Come

Sad news to report. Michael Silence has passed away at the age of 62. During his 30 years at the News Sentinel he was an early pioneer of blogging and engagement with readers. He also supported and helped promote bloggers and "citizen journalism" around the state, including this site. Moreover, he was a truly decent man of the highest ethical standards. Obituary...

Heh. Just getting started. One of the first forms made me laugh out loud.

11. Subtract line 10 from line 9
12. Enter the smaller of line 9 or line 10
13. Enter one-half of line 12
14. Enter the smaller of line 2 or line 13
15. Multiply line 11 by 85% (0.85). If line 11 is zero, enter -0-
16. Add lines 14 and 15
17. Multiply line 1 by 85% (0.85)

They work really hard to make this ridiculous.

...is a state tool.

The budget deficit is projected to top $1 trillion in 2020

The US government is set to spend at least a trillion dollars more than it takes in for the next decade.

Don't look now, but the US deficit is skyrocketing

CBO: The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2020 to 2030

Trump and the GOP are fueling the explosion of our national debt

TACIR Report...

Tennessee needs at least $54.8 billion worth of public infrastructure improvements. The report provides two types of information: (1) infrastructure improvements needed between July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2023 and (2) the condition of existing elementary and secondary (K-12) public school buildings. Current infrastructure needs fall into six general categories:

• Transportation and Utilities: $29.6 billion
• Education: $14.2 billion
• Health, Safety, and Welfare: $7.6 billion
• Recreation and Culture: $2.1 billion
• General Government: $894 million
• Economic Development: $300 million

Details, including county by county needs...

The CMS Federal Medicaid block grant program focuses on non-disabled adults under the age of 65.

The Tennessee Medicaid block grant proposal "would cover core medical services for the disabled and blind, children, pregnant women, adults and elderly."

"Tennessee designed its proposal to allow Tennessee to keep 50% of any unspent block grant funds." "In 2018, Tennessee came in $2 billion lower than projected. Under the block grant, Tennessee would have been able to pocket $1 billion,..."

It just keeps getting better. Such a Trump state.

Shameful, Shameful, Shameful...

Will we ever be able to vote these people out? As has been the case for many years, Tennessee and Tennesseeans have been reliant on other states for survival.