Baby it's cold outside.

These pictures are from Alabama. There are many fields like this in Georgia and Mississippi.

Raw cotton goes for about $0.80 a pound. These bales weight around 5,000 pounds. That's about $4,000 per bale. A single truck can carry 3-4 bales. That's $12,000 to $16,000 per truck.

I love driving through the country side looking at the different types of crops. We drove a little over 400 miles in three days with no interstate. It's a beautiful thing.

Thanks to all who read KnoxViews. Thanks to all who contribute to KnoxViews. Thank for caring. Thanks for doing.

Thanks to President Biden. Thanks to the Democratic Party.

Thanks to those who work so hard every day to make our lives better and/or easier. Thanks to our healthcare workers. They don't get enough appreciation. Thanks to our first responders, EMTs, fire, police, sheriff’s office. Thanks to our military. Thanks to the unions. Thanks to volunteers and non-profits.

To all those that I give thanks and others who do good works, please don't give up.

FDA warns consumers not to purchase or use certain eye drops from several major brands due to risk of eye infection

Recalled eye drop brands include:
CVS, Rite Aid, Target, Leader, Rugby, Velocity and Walmart (Equate)

From CBS News, "Bloomberg News reported that Kilitch produced the eye drops in an unsanitary factory in India where some workers went barefoot and others made up test results that purported to show the products were sterile."

From the New York Times, "Two brands of eyedrops were pulled from shelves in January and February after they were linked to a drug-resistant bacteria strain that has been found to have caused at least four deaths and serious health issues in several others. Weeks later, two other types of eyedrops were recalled because they posed a different kind of contamination risk."

It seems a little scary to buy store brands of medicines. I used to think the name brand manufacturers provided the store brand products. Apparently not so.

From CNBC and the American Farm Bureau Federation,

"A Thanksgiving dinner this year will gobble up less of your wallet, thanks in large part to lower turkey prices. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the average cost of a dinner for 10 people will be $61.17, down 4.5% from last year’s record of $64.05."

In the South the cost is $59.10. Yay!

"...a 16-pound turkey is averaging $27.35, down 5.6% from a year ago."
"... prices for cranberries have dropped 18%."

“Labor is up, no two ways about it,” New Jersey Turkey farmer Ronnie Lee said. Employees at his farm make at least $20 an hour. Even so, he added, “finding people to do it can be difficult.”

Such a gracious lady. She will be remembered.

From NPR,

"Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished," the former president said in a statement. "She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me."
...
"She also revolutionized and professionalized the first lady role by expanding the office beyond hostess duties."

According to a report from Forbes, Tennessee is ranked 11th highest in retail theft.

In Tennessee,
Total value of goods stolen in 2021, per resident = $246.85
Larceny/theft incidents per 100,000 residents in 2021 = 1,653

Highest in the Southeast U.S., unless you count D.C.

SpaceX's uncrewed spacecraft Starship, developed to carry astronauts to the moon and beyond, failed in space shortly after lifting off on Saturday, cutting short its second test but making it further than an earlier attempt that ended in an explosion.

The Starship system made it much farther into flight than the first attempt in April.

We Meant To Do That
Every time SpaceX has some sort of fuckup, everyone involved pretends that it was supposed to happen and they got great data and shut up. Journalists often shift their stories very quickly.

The Atlantic has an article alluding to "SpaceX is Holding up America's Lunar Ambitions."

The RCS (Rich Communication Services) texting option popped up on my Android phone the other day. I'm wondering what new hell are they now introducing. A couple of features included are where it will send a message back to let the sender know you read the message and typing indicators to let recipients know when you're typing. Another rumored feature allows users to share their location. I don't see that feature on my phone, but who knows.

The big news is,

After a long holdout, Apple will finally adopt the RCS messaging standard for iPhones through a software update next year, the company told multiple news outlets, bringing a wider range of texting features to conversations between iPhone and Android users...

I didn't know there were issues when texting between Apple and Android. I text regularly using my Android phone with an Apple user. Haven't heard any complaints.

I've turned off the RCS chat texting feature. I don't want people to know when I've read their message. I certainly don't care when they are typing. I could leave RCS on and turn off these features. However, I haven't done all the research to know what else is behind the scenes I don't want.

..."in Claremont, New Hampshire, on Saturday, Trump, who is seeking a second term in the White House, said: "We will put America first and today, especially in honor of our great veterans on Veterans Day, we pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country."

He accused these groups of doing anything "to destroy America and to destroy the American dream" and he went on to repeat his baseless claims of election fraud.
...
"Trump's comments are remarkably evocative particularly of Hitler's rants against Marxists and socialists -- Hitler also decried pro-democratic forces as Marxist," Yale University professor Jason Stanley, author of "How Fascism Works, told ABC News."

How is it possible that such a man gets so much attention? How is it this person gets away with so much? How is it the Republican Party stands aside to let this man destroy our country?

Honda Motor said on Friday it would give production workers at its U.S. facilities an 11% pay hike starting in January, a decision announced a couple of weeks after the United Auto Workers (UAW) union and the Detroit Three automakers agreed to new contracts.

Toyota Motor said on Wednesday it is raising the wages of nonunion U.S. factory workers just days after the United Auto Workers union won major pay and benefit hikes from the Detroit Three automakers.

Hyundai Motor said on Monday it will hike wages for nonunion production workers at its Alabama factory by 25% by 2028, weeks after the United Auto Workers won new contracts with the Detroit Three automakers.

It's like those workers that benefited from the UAW workers going without pay while on strike should donate to the UAW.

From WBIR,

"Knoxville is experimenting with making a part of Gay Street more pedestrian-friendly, shutting down a popular part of the road to cars and effectively making it a walkable area similar to Market Square.

A section of Gay Street from Wall Avenue to Union Avenue will be closed from 7 p.m. through 4 a.m. during four weekends in November and December."

A party zone several times a month. What a great idea!

Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment on Tuesday that ensures access to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care.

Virginia Democrats keep control of state Senate
Democrats also won control of the state’s House of Delegates from Republicans.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear reelected to second term in Kentucky

Superior Court Judge Daniel McCaffery, a Democrat, defeated Republican Judge Carolyn Carluccio in a closely watched race to fill a vacant Pennsylvania Supreme Court seat...

It was a pretty good day for the Democratic Party. It helps that the Democratic Party cares about the people.

From KnoxTNToday

Sandra says:

We send people to Washington to suit up and compete – cooperate when possible, fight when necessary, match wits with the smartest people in American and win our share of the games.

So why has East Tennessee elected a man who holds hearings on Bigfoot and UFOs, wears barnyard clothes to stand out and hangs with the loony fringe?

Participating states turn their clocks back in the fall when Daylight Saving Time ends on the first Sunday of November each year.
...
Clocks officially fall back at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023.
...
Hawaii and Arizona do not observe Daylight Savings Time, thus don't have to change their clocks twice a year.

While delivering his speech at the Florida Freedom Summit, Florida's Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis, suggested setting up a legal defense fund for any Florida Presidential candidate "for when they are targeted by politically motivated prosecutors." Patronis said that it wouldn't hurt to take some of Florida's budget surplus and set it aside. Patronis' comments came immediately after mentioning Donald Trump and what he described as "the double standard of justice."

Gloria Johnson is running for U.S. Senate. She is making a campaign stop in Maryville, TN.

The Bird and Book
1505 E. Broadway, Maryville, TN

Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023
2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Bring your campaign donations to help get Gloria elected and rid us of Marsha.

Inspired by his birthplace and his father’s stories about TVA, [Walt] Simonson later used those initials to name an organization that became an iconic entity in Marvel’s hit show, Loki.

"The Time Variance Authority."

“My dad liked the TVA because they brought cheap electricity to the areas they served,” Simonson said. “He also liked the idea that the surrounding electric companies couldn’t raise their rates as much, because they were in direct competition with TVA."
...
Loki season two premiered Oct. 5 on Disney+
...
As Loki’s season unfolds, so do the connections between the Time Variance Authority – keepers of time – and Tennessee Valley Authority.

“So, the saying was that Tennessee Valley Authority controlled time.”

From the Knox County Election Commission.

Early voting ends Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.

Election Day: Tuesday, November 7, 2023.

There are 6 early voting locations with 2,908 votes as of Thursday, 10/26/2023.

There are 3 races on the ballot with more than one candidate, one judge and two City Council at Large seats.

The U.S. Rep. from Louisiana, Republican, is now the Speaker of the House. He appears to be the soft spoken version of U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan from Ohio, Republican.

We're lucky we have a Democrat in the White House and a Democratic majority in the Senate. Otherwise, we might be in big trouble. Can we win the White House and Senate in 2024? We can only hope. Can we win the House in 2024? Who know, but it would be great.

Some of Johnson's reported positions I have gathered around the web.

* Has a 92% vote smart from the NRA?
* Blamed school shooting on abortion and teaching evolution?
* Supports a national abortion ban?
* Suggested abortion takes away able bodied workers?
* Supports a nationwide don't say gay bill?
* Spoken out on banning marriage equality?
* Key architect to keep Trump in power after Trump lost the 2020 election?
* Wants to reduce benefits in the Affordable Care Act, if can't make it go away?
* Wants to reduce Medicaid Expansion and eventually make it go away?