Guess who's coming to dinner ....

Intel chief's shocked reaction to Putin invite

33 Tennessee 24.12%

50 Knoxville, TN 25.2%

Stats reveal how many Americans volunteer and where

Democratic TV host Lisa Plawchan interviews Tennessee House District 89 Democratic Primary Candidates Keifel Agostini and Coleen Martinez on the Friday evening DTV show that airs on Community TV at 7:30 PM on Friday, July 20.

CTV airs on cable channels

Comcast Channel 12
Charter Channel 193
Wow! Channel 6
ATT Uverse Channel 99

and it streams live at (here!)

Early voting continues until July 28th. Find your early voting location (here!)

Do-it-yourself firearms like The Liberator have been nicknamed "Ghost Guns" because they don't have serial numbers and are untraceable.

Wilson has built a website where people will be able to download The Liberator and digital files for an AR-15 lower receiver, a complete Baretta M9 handgun and other firearms. Users will also be able to share their own designs for guns, magazines and other accessories.

He says the files will be a good resource for builders, even though it's not yet practical for most people to 3-D print most of the guns.

Americans can legally download 3-D printed guns starting next month

TNJ On the Hill: Republican gubernatorial candidate Beth Harwell’s campaign has sent out an advisory to political reporters to alert them to a “major announcement” at a news conference at the state Capitol on Friday.

If she drops out, will she throw her support to Lee?

The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it is relaxing rules for the disposal of spent coal used to fuel hundreds of power plants nationwide.

Trump's EPA rolls back Obama-era coal ash regulations

The Commercial Appeal came to "feel like we had a Nashville publication in town," according to the paper's former columnist (and probably most well-known face) Geoff Calkins.

"That job changed, and I found instead of focusing on journalism, I was focusing on clicks," Calkins said of the web strategies of the paper's new owners, Gannett Co. "I was writing for bosses in Nashville for a publication that was produced, laid out, printed, directed all outside the city of Memphis."

Huh. That sounds familiar. Anyway, the Memphis Flyer reports that an online-only startup, The Daily Memphian, will provide an antidote to the generic Commercial Appeal McPaper. They apparently have a wealthy benefactor and a staff in place, and plan to launch in the fall.

Read more at the Memphis Flyer...

Picked just now, 10", 1lb 9oz. Not biggest we've had, but pretty big.

Thus, all is well in the garden.

Although, from George Will,

This sad, embarrassing wreck of a man

America’s child president had a play date with a KGB alumnus, who surely enjoyed providing day care.

Like many of you, I’m terribly disturbed by what’s happening to Latin American refugees at our southern border. In doing a little research, I was shocked to find out that there are numerous companies that have sprung up, and which are each making many tens of millions of dollars a year based on a business model that literally requires immigrant family breakups. These companies are being given massive incentives by the Trump administration to delay and deny immigrant parents’ reunification with their children. I have a new blog post up about what I found HERE.

Also, FYI, I’m back on Twitter after a prolonged absence and would love to connect there with any and all other KnoxViews-ers. You’ll find me @thekatieallison

Amazon's Prime Day sale starts at 3PM today for a day and a half of deals. If you are not a Prime member, you can get a free 30-day trial to take advantage of the sale. Keep checking the Prime Day page for new deals as they pop up.

More info:

• Prime Day guide
• Prime free 30-day trial
• Prime Day deals

Some sample deals:

• Amazon Echo Dot, $30
• Fire TV Stick, $20
• Kindle Paperwhite, $80
• Fire 7 Tablet, $30
• Fire HD 8 Tablet, $50

Regarding Putin from the NY Times in 2007;

The world needs a “new architecture of international economic relations based on trust and mutually beneficial integration,” he said. “Today protectionism, which the W.T.O. is meant to fight, often comes from developed economies.”

He said that more than 60 percent of the world’s output was produced outside the G-7 countries: the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada.

(link...)

With Russia marginalized globally, it'd be tough for the Russian president to disrupt NATO, the EU, the IMF, the G7 and the WTO to get the new economic relations he's sought for over a decade.

If only he had somebody to do the disrupting for him.

According to the Tennessee Dept. of State Election Division, more than twice as many Republicans (30,262) have voted as of 7/14/2018 than Democrats (12,205).

Blount County
Democrats 225
Republicans 619

Knox County
Democrats 956
Republicans 1,986

Only a few counties have recorded more Democratic voters than Republicans.

Davidson County (Nashville)
Democrats 764
Republicans 312

Hardeman County (East of Memphis)
Democrats 281
Republicans 182

Haywood County (West of Jackson)
Democrats 146
Republicans 125

Lauderdale County (North of Memphis)
Democrats 204
Republicans 178

Van Buren County (Between Chattanooga and Cookeville, near Fall Creek Falls State Park)
Democrats 31
Republicans 30

Knox County voting opportunities

From July 13-28, for 14 days, 106 hours, at 10 locations that tens of thousands? of people drive by
during those time periods. Maybe 5-6 days a week. How many people will spend 10 minutes, or less, to stop in and vote?

Or, on August 2, 2018 there are 89 locations to vote. Located close to peoples homes, open from morning until 8 pm.

How many will vote?

Knox County election

From the Tennessean/News Sentinel...

FYI, both Fitzhugh and Dean say they support federally funded Medicaid expansion. All the Republicans are opposed.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Also, Harwell appears to be the most rational Republican candidate. And probably the most qualified among that bunch. I guess that, and the fact that she isn't kissing Trump's butt, is why she doesn't seem to be getting much traction.

Anyway, Democrats have two great candidates.

Democratic TV will feature interviews of Justin Davis and Alex Dunn, Democratic Candidates for Tennessee House District 14 on the DTV show at 7:30 PM tonight, July 13th.

Early voting has begun. Ask for a Democratic Ballot as you go to cast your votes in the Federal and State Primary Election.

DTV can be seen on your computer, tablet, or phone (here!)
Or on your local cable channel

Comcast NBCUNIVERSAL Channel 12
Charter Chanel 193
Wow! Channel 6
AT&T Unverse Channel 199

He has said at least twice in the past couple of days that "Germany gives vast sums of money to Russia in exchange for 70 percent of its energy and therefore, they are a "captive of Russia" and are the ones betraying the NATO charter." I heard him say it today while speaking in the United Kingdom.

He was wrong on the facts. Germany gets about 9 percent of its energy from natural gas, which is the energy in question, and about 70 percent of that comes from Russia. Big difference between 70 percent and 9 percent don't you think? It would even be less than 9 percent since they only get 70 percent of the 9 percent from Russia.

He said , "The United States has been paying a tremendous amount - probably 90 percent of the cost of NATO"

Wrong again, "The United States, which spends more than twice as much on defense as the second biggest-spending country in the world (China), currently covers about 22 percent of the cost of NATO."

Then, he does an interview with a reporter from The Sun, a UK publication, slamming British Prime Minister Theresa May’s handling of the Brexit deal.

A couple of hours later in a public speaking opportunity with May, he denies what he said to the Sun reporter and called it fake news, even though there is an audio recording of his remarks!

We could go on and on. It never ends. We need to get out and vote his supporters out of office. Please!

Filings with state regulators on Wednesday state BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee plans to reduce its average rate by 10.9 percent next year, while Cigna plans to reduce its rates by an average 4.8 percent.
...
BlueCross spokeswoman Mary Danielson says the rate reduction would have been larger if the federal government hadn't suspended certain Obamacare payments.

Ah, yes...

The Trump administration took another major swipe at the Affordable Care Act, halting billions of dollars in annual payments required under the law to even out the cost to insurers whose customers need expensive medical services.

In a rare Saturday afternoon announcement, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it will stop collecting and paying out money under the ACA’s “risk adjustment” program, drawing swift protest from the health insurance industry.

Many of us are barely able to hold on to our health insurance. The Trump administration is taking us back to the bad old days. Very sad.

I'm giving Deezer HiFi a spin. Until recently, it was only available in the U.S. on certain devices such as Sonos and selected receivers. I saw they now support Chromecast and there's also a beta desktop app so I thought I'd sign up for the 30 day free trial.

In 1788, Alexander Hamilton wrote:

"It was desirable that the sense of the people should operate in the choice of the person to whom so important a trust was to be confided. This end will be answered by committing the right of making it, not to any preestablished body, but to men chosen by the people for the special purpose, and at the particular conjuncture.

It was equally desirable, that the immediate election should be made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice. A small number of persons, selected by their fellow-citizens from the general mass, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated investigations.

...It was also peculiarly desirable to afford as little opportunity as possible to tumult and disorder.

...Nothing was more to be desired than that every practicable obstacle should be opposed to cabal, intrigue, and corruption. These most deadly adversaries of republican government might naturally have been expected to make their approaches from more than one quarter, but chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this, than by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union? But the convention have guarded against all danger of this sort, with the most provident and judicious attention. They have not made the appointment of the President to depend on any preexisting bodies of men, who might be tampered with beforehand to prostitute their votes; but they have referred it in the first instance to an immediate act of the people of America, to be exerted in the choice of persons for the temporary and sole purpose of making the appointment."

It appears the Electoral College has failed its purpose. Time to eliminate the Electoral College.