from WBIR.com ...

In a message on the Knox County Sheriff's Office's Facebook page, Sheriff Jones said he is dropping out to because he is spending more time to help a family member with health problems.

Knox County Sheriff Jimmy Jones drops out of mayoral race

NWS Hazardous Weather Outlook

Strong to severe thunderstorms possible late this afternoon and evening... Windy conditions developing today, especially across the higher elevations. Tornado watch in effect until 9PM.

from Kaiser Family Foundation ...

What’s at Stake with ACA Repeal?

CNN comparing the three ...

Comparing the Senate health care bill to Obamacare and the House proposal

By way of the KNS, local artist Paris Woodhull has created a hand lettered and illustrated map of South Knoxville featuring past and present landmarks. Looks pretty cool. I will probably get one. Anxious to check the historical accuracy.

Paris Woodhull Illustrations

South Knoxville Map

A few in the list from Opensecrets.org ...

Looks like from 2011-2016 but not clear

Rank Contributor Total Indivs PACs
1 Blackstone Group $220,200 $203,700 $16,500
2 Kindred Healthcare $143,150 $113,150 $30,000
3 Humana Inc $133,300 $93,300 $40,000
4 Blue Cross/Blue Shield $122,050 $52,050 $70,000
5 Goldman Sachs $120,925 $105,925 $15,000
6 JPMorgan Chase & Co $117,075 $87,075 $30,000
7 Altria Group $113,958 $83,958 $30,000
8 DaVita HealthCare Partners $112,375 $83,375 $29,000

Opensecrests.org - Mitch McConnell

Contributions by Industry

The Smoky Mountain Blues Society has their Third of the year Blues Cruises this Sunday afternoon, June 25th on the Star of Knoxville Riverboat. We had a tremendous turnout for last years cruises and this year should be a banner year also. Join us for three hours of Mighty Blue. They are dedicated to playing "modern era" blues, circa 1950-1980, alongside some soul and funk classics! A local favorite from Knoxville, TN.
(link...)

Tickets are $16 in advance and $20 day of show. Smoky Mtn. Blues Members receive a $3 discount. Boarding at 3 PM, cruise from 4 to 7 pm. Hope to see you there. Call the Riverboat Company Mon-Fri from 10-4 and some Sat.(hrs vary)at 865-525-7827 | 800-509-2628 for tickets.
Check out the SMBS website for more info
(link...)

Hope to see you there.

Knoxville Democrat and clinical psychologist Joshua Williams is running against U.S. Rep. John J. "Jimmy" Duncan Jr. in 2018.

Knoxville Democrat announces run against Rep. Duncan

Joshua Williams for Congress

From WhitesCreek at RoaneViews, who knew and worked with Jim Fyke...

The Senate negotiations are shrouded in secrecy. Lawmakers have yet to release any concrete details. But we do know that, like the House, they are planning to effectively end Medicaid expansion for low-income adults by cutting off enhanced funding for the program, albeit over a slightly longer time line.

Switching the growth rate would cost states twice as much than if Congress turns Medicaid into a block grant or per capita cap, according to Manatt's calculations. That could mean hundreds of billions of dollars of deeper cuts for some states, though it's hard to put a precise figure on it because the Senate hasn't detailed how the conversion would work.

Senate wants to make health care bill even meaner

Ford to import Focus small car from China in 2019

Ford said Tuesday it plans to move production of its Ford Focus small car from the U.S. to China, where it already makes the Focus for Chinese buyers.

...

Wary of the response from President Donald Trump, who has criticized Ford for making vehicles outside the U.S., Ford said the move won't cost U.S. jobs. The suburban Detroit plant that currently makes the Focus will be converted late next year to produce the Ford Ranger pickup and Ford Bronco SUV.

KnoxTNToday watches the local Sunday talk shows so you don't have to...

According to the Washington Post, rumors keep swirling about a shakeup in Trump's communications shop. The latest is that Sean Spicer will take a behind-the-scenes role, and that Trump has been shopping around for new talent that could include Laura Ingraham.

Anyway, here's the money quote from the article: "...the president had been frustrated with his communications team, which he felt was not always defending him as forcefully as he would have liked, or offering a clear, powerful message."

I guess it's hard to offer a "clear, powerful message" on behalf of someone so ineffective and unfocused. Who would want that job?

We're not shipping coal out of here anymore; we're shipping code. The broadband's our highway, our shipping lanes, our trains.

From Coal To Code: A New Path For Laid-Off Miners In Kentucky

bitsource

The Kentucky Startup That Is Teaching Coal Miners to Code

Coal: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Looks like Knoxville has a couple stops on the 25 stop tour.. Knox Whiskey and Post Modern Spirits.

Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller Jeff Arnett hopes the first-of-its-kind Tennessee Whiskey Trail, which officially goes live Monday after more than a year of development, will be a game changer for state tourism and will draw travelers to Tennessee for the sole purpose of experiencing more than two dozen unique distilleries on the trail.

Tennessee officially has its own whiskey trail

Tennessee Whiskey Trail

Knox County Public Library invites the public to join Dr. Todd Freeberg for a discussion of Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina, Wednesday, June 28, noon to 1:00 in the East Tennessee History Center auditorium. Books Sandwiched In is sponsored by the Friends of Knox County Public Library. Attendees may bring lunch. Drinks are available to purchase.

"How intelligent are non-human animals? Do they have self-awareness? Do they have deep relationships with one another in ways that echo our own relationships? These kinds of questions have been asked by humans for centuries," Freeberg says. "A number of recent books attempt to answer these questions, including The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman, Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal, and Other Minds by Peter Godfrey-Smith. One of the best of this recent flurry of books is Beyond Words by Carl Safina. As described by The New York Times, 'Dr. Safina is a terrific writer, majestic and puckish in equal measure, with a contagious enthusiasm.… Dr. Safina draws out haunting resonances between animal lives and our own.'"

Samantha Bee had a bit about minors getting married ("Fucked up but still legal") on her Full Frontal show last week.

After watching this segment, I thought I would check out the age of consent to marry in the 50 states. I was surprised to see that the majority of states (30) still have sixteen as the age of consent to marry. According to this web site, in Kansas and Massachusetts, with parental consent and/or the consent of a judge, males can marry at age fourteen and females at age twelve. Twelve? That's just creepy. Besides, why do they allow females to marry at an earlier age than males?

In most states a person can marry at an earlier age "by reason of pregnancy". Isn't that sweet? No.

Age of consent to marry

Eighteen - 11 states
--------------------------
Arizona
California
Delaware
Florida
Idaho
North Dakota
Oregon
Tennessee
Utah
Virginia
Wisconsin

Happy Father's Day to Dads everywhere.

Two students in the College of Architecture and Design recently earned national recognition for their sustainable design of an urban farming project, a self-sustaining structure in the heart of Knoxville that seamlessly integrates natural systems and environmental technology into the built environment. The community hub includes a culinary research lab, farm-to-table restaurants, affordable housing and farming technologies. The project was chosen by AIA and ACSA as one of the Top 10 in the country.

CNet asked around their office for some click-bait material. The question: what's your favorite performance in a science fiction movie. Here's the first thing that pops up:

(Click image for bigger)

See for yourself here...

I guess it's possible there are millennials who don't know that these events actually occurred. Then there are all the conspiracy nuts who believe the moon landings were faked. Not sure which is dumber.