The DJT impeachment trial begins today at 1pm.

As of now, each party will have 24 hours in two days for opening arguments. Long days. There may be efforts to change the times/days.

I heard the House doesn't think Pat Cipollone should be on the defense team. There are thoughts he may be too involved in DJT's activities (material witness) of which are impeachable.

A new year, a new decade!

Best wishes to all!

In the Northern Hemisphere we will have the shortest day and the longest night, in terms of daylight.

Winter is here. We may slowly get more daylight, but it will keep getting colder, until it doesn't.

The Vols will face off against Indiana in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. on January 2 at 7 pm.

First bowl game since 2016.

Tennessee is 7-5 for the season.
Indiana is 8-4 for the season.

Go Vols!

If you haven't been following the news even a little bit, the president is facing impeachment. From what I have watched and read they have lots of evidence. But, those that defend the president say it is okay or all lies. How have so many given up on the constitution and the responsibilities of the president? Lamar Alexander is one who should be standing up for our country and the people. We'll see how many U.S. Senators stand up for the constitution and the people. It cannot be right for a president to take actions to his benefit instead of the country.

Lee said he prays that Tennessee does not experience a school shooting, that the state’s opioid epidemic will diminish and that Tennessee’s educational outcomes improve. If thousands of people offer similar prayers, he believes God will impart his favor on Tennessee.

So much for separation of church and state.

I have no problem with praying. I do have a problem with people expecting positive results without taking any action.

TennCare II - Amendment 42: Block Grant
We encourage the public to submit their comments on Medicaid.gov as they relate to demonstrations open for public comments. In support of transparency and open government, all public comments received are immediately posted and are in the public domain. Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services staff will review all public comments posted and we reserve the discretion to delete comments that are generally understood as any of the following: obscene, profane, threatening, or or otherwise inappropriate.

Open for Public Comment – 11/27/19 – 12/27/19

More from the Tennessean.

...give state officials more authority to decide who is covered, what services are provided and how much the state will pay for them.

TANF funds (block grants) go unused, in Tennessee and elsewhere

State withholding even more funds for needy families

A little Thanksgiving humor.

Then there is the "crash course to help everyone get along at the table this holiday season."

• Stick to the things you have in common.
• Focus on yourself and the things you can control.
• Take the opportunity to learn.
• Don’t take things personally.
• Step away from the table.
• Focus on having fun.

My book donation has been rejected by the Little Library users.

About 6 months ago they setup a Little Library at Springbrook Park in Alcoa, TN. When the books looked low, I decided to pick out some of our books for donating to the cause. All of the books we donated have been taken, except for A God in Ruins by Leon Uris.

From a 1999 Los Angeles Times book review, "A Diatribe Against Politics, Guns, Money".

It doesn't appear this is one of his best books, but hey it's Leon Uris. I'm thinking it is the title that is scaring readers away. Maybe it is just too old and no one knows Leon Uris anymore. Or, is it the anti-Semitism? Oh, well.

Based on new information, CDC is advising that consumers not eat and retailers not sell any romaine lettuce harvested from the Salinas, California growing region.

They are taking this very seriously.

A total of 40 people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 have been reported from 16 states.
A total of 28 hospitalizations have been reported. Five people have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. No deaths have been reported.

I was impressed with all of the people that testified for the impeachment inquiry. They spoke well and I'm comfortable with how they represent our country.

They Toil Gladly Offstage.

Tennessee’s education commissioner says the state’s new school vouchers for private education will be considered federally taxable income for parents.
...
The pro-voucher Tennessee Federation for Children disputes the tax interpretation.

The law says the vouchers “do not constitute income of a parent of a participating student” under Tennessee law. That doesn’t affect federal taxes.

This may be a surprise for parents come tax time.

It begins.

Live on C-SPAN

Our first snow is 3 weeks earlier than last year. Looks like about an inch. Will it be gone by noon?

Voice prompted phone systems are driving me crazy. It's bad enough when you call a company that you have to go through the automated systems to get the help you need. But, now, instead of pressing a number for what services you need, the phone systems want you to speak your response. Not a number but a word or sentence. I'm pretty sure they don't have the nuances of different dialects. Thus you have to repeat yourself often to get the desired result.

Also, I love it when they start out saying the options have changed. Then they go into options for their address, directions, or website information. This takes up my time to actually get to the service person I need.

My call is very important to them? Really?

Ghost is developing a kit that will allow privately owned passenger vehicles to drive autonomously on highways. And the company says it will deliver in 2020. A price has not been set, but the company says it will be less than what Tesla charges for its Autopilot package that includes “full self-driving” or FSD. FSD currently costs $7,000.
...
The kit will let human drivers hand control of their vehicle over to a computer, allowing them to do other activities such as look at their phone or even doze off.
...
While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration could potentially step in, Ghost’s approach, like Tesla, hits a sweet spot of non-regulation. It’s a space, that Hayes notes, where the government has not yet chosen to regulate.

What could possibly go wrong? Heh.

Marsha, Marsha, Marsha... Do you hate us so much you have to lie and take away needed services?

... the Social Security Administration also announced that the amount of income subject to SSA taxes will be increased to $137,700. This is a 3.6% increase from the $132,900 of income... in 2019."

The cost of living adjustment for Social Security will be 1.6% in 2020. This is 43% percent less than the cost-of-living increase of 2.8% that was received this year, 2019.

However, the cost of living adjustment has been even less in the near past.

Historical cost of living adjustments: 2.0 in 2017, 0.3 in 2016, 0.0 in 2015.

"The average retiree will receive a bump of $24 to their average monthly Social Security benefits."
...

... the trustees for Medicare projected the standard monthly premium in 2020 for Medicare Part B, which would increase by $8.80 per month from $135.50 to $144.30 per person. This alone would eat more than a third of the 2020 Social Security cost of living increase."