Having trouble with AT&T landline all day. Called out OK, but no one could call in. Just now got a human on the line. Their story was that the bombing of their building in Nashville took down phones from all across southeastern US.
(link...)
My theory - terrorists were testing to see how many bombs it would take to disable the entire US. Why Christmas day? I think that the major terrorist groups DO NOT like Christians. OK, let's hit 'em when it hurts the most - Christmas! Stay tuned - more later...

Just moments ago: CNN - "Supreme Court rejects Texas' and Trump's bid to overturn election" - AGAIN! This seems to be the end of the road for 45 with the court. Another victory for justice. One more hurtle: Congress looks at it on JAN 6, so we will get to see more of the Donald's infantile temper-tantrums until then.

(link...)

WBIR reports that "regional hospitals are at 97% ICU capacity with only 8 ICU beds left across all 16 counties in the East TN region".

(link...)

We MUST practice social distancing, wearing masks, hand washing, & sanitizing stuff you bring home from the grocery store or elsewhere. I'm trying to convince some Trumpers that I know, to follow the science & consider the lives of others. Some are listening - some not. I feel responsible to do what I can. Hopefully my efforts will snowball. Does someone you know need convincing? OK then - let's git 'er done!

Knox News reports that evidence points to planned Amazon distribution centers in Knoxville & Alcoa.

Alcoa site alone could mean 750 new jobs.

(link...)

"Here's how long states have to count votes, according to federal law."
(and CNN)

(link...)

They say that in a series of unlikely events, that the "...president would likely be Nancy Pelosi if she resigned from Congress."

Admittedly that was taken out of context, so to be clear, one would have to read the whole article.

In light of the claim by CNN that 45 “called on his supporters to go, en masse, to polling places to make sure there's no fraud with in-person voting”, you should be alert to these potential obstructionists & know when & what to do if you see something.
(link...)

“You can call (866) OUR-VOTE, which is a nonpartisan election protection hotline, and report that the incident is occurring.”

The Tennessee Division of Elections is at:
312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue
7th Floor, Snodgrass Tower
Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0309
(615) 741-7956 (link...)

Austin, Texas NBC affiliate KXAN reports that “Kyle police confirm responding to reports of ‘vehicle contact’ related to Trump supporters surrounding Biden bus on I-35.” (link...)

See uncensored videos at (link...) (I had to unmute)

Health concerns for in-person voters in TN are here - (link...)

Be watchful & Stay Safe.

WVLT reports that votes sent via FedEx may not be counted! Seems to be some controversy.

Link...

I'm not convinced that the impact would be substantial because there probably won't be enough voters using FedEx.

Does anyone know the definitive answer to this query?

EDIT: According to the article, the Secretary of State and the Knox Co. Administrator of Elections say that it is permissable to send ballots via FedEx.

"The electoral college is so out of whack that it is theoretically possible that a candidate could be an electoral winner with only 17.56% of the popular vote", according to an analysis conducted by Charles Wessell, a mathematician at Gettysburg College." This is from Naples FloridaWeekly (scroll down to just below Key Dates schedule graphic).

Also see Math Horizons

You can download a .pdf at Gettysburg College

Hungarian mathematician George Pólya arrived at the same conclusion in 1961. The Polya online voting system is named for him.

BTW: DON'T do the math - your head may spontaneously combust!

Trump steps off Marine One on the front lawn after having said earlier "Don't be afraid of Coronavirus - don't let it rule your life". Donald: tell that to the families, friends, and associates of the 210,000+ people in the US (& the 1 MILLION+ people around the world) who have succumbed to the deadliest disease of our time. THEN, he walks up the WH steps, takes off his mask in defiance, & thumbs his nose to America. Deplorable.

Speaking on CNN, Jonathan S. Reiner, MD (professor of medicine at The George Washington University Medical Center) said that he "...expected him to hold up a Bible".

Typical Trump grandstanding.

There oughta be a law... but, if there were, 45 would just have the Supreme Court "fix it"

He just makes me so damn MAD!

CNN announced at about 1AM that Trump & FLOTUS have tested positive for COVID19. Their testing ensued after his close contact with his aide Hope Hicks who tested positive & is said to be quarantined at home with noticeable symptoms.

For the sake of continuity of concerns of national interest, I surely hope that he will not have serious effects of the deadly disease.

Some reporters on CNN say that this could be a perilous (my word - not theirs) national security concern. Trump has stated that he & Melania will quarantine.

No word yet as to where Pence is, whether he's been tested, or if he is even aware of any potential contingency plans for the distinct possibility that 45 may not be able to run the affairs of his office. One thing you can bet on is that Pence is WORRIED!

Things are getting increasingly complicated - may heaven help us all.

CNBC reports that Republican pollster Frank Luntz lauded Mr.Biden's DNC acceptance speech noting that it was "very strong on unity" and that he's in a "strong position compared to Trump". Frank also posits that "I do believe that Joe Biden is ahead with a 7.6 percentage point lead over Trump". The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Luntz’s interview. Duh - wonder why!

You go Joe!

I desperately hope that Luntz gave a veracious evaluation of the situation. Otherwise, if Trump manages to be reelected, it could possibly be the final days of the "UNITED" States. It would surely be good for this country to once again, be respected by other nations. Across the 10 European countries, views of the U.S. tilt toward the negative (a median of 43% favorable vs. 52% unfavorable) as reported by the Pew Research Center.

As many people want to force our current state of affairs into their mold of everything is OK now & we can return to normalcy, the covid deaths increase each day.

Here's a metric that maybe they should consider:

As of today, the U.S. death toll is already 50% higher than the number of people who perished in the Vietnam War! With much sadness, I say that normalcy is in the somewhat distant future - not now.

What do smartwatches have to do with covid19?

Here's the scoop-
Doctors use body temperature & blood oxygen levels as major indicators in diagnosing coronavirus. Guess what - many smartwatches (including Garmin, Apple, & Fitbit) can measure BOTH! Some can also do electrocardiograms, sleep apnea (directly related to blood oxygen), as well as what we usually expect - activity monitoring, pulse, etc.. My source of this info is Mayo Clinic. To be fair, these things are not 100% accurate but in many cases the instantaneous measurement is not as helpful as increases or decreases. I predict that once the media makes this more widely known, that by Christmas (or before) these devices will be selling like hotcakes! It's also helpful to know the time of day & date or maybe even the moon phase. Get 'em before they sell out.

An article in the Tennessean criticizes Gov. Lee & Trump for being too slow to respond to coronavirus & says that Lee "should have listened to front-line health experts and taken aggressive measures weeks before".

All about the Benjamins? What do you think?

There are many theories as to where Covid-19 started. There seems to be evidence that it originated in BATS. LINK

Yes, those creepy nocturnal rabies ridden flying mammals that may have wing spans of over 5 feet. To be fair, they do help to control the insect population, but if they're around I always have a crucifix in case they morph into vampires. Once again, CREEPY!
BATLINK

CNN reports that "Lee said Monday that he was not issuing a mandated shelter in place order because it is "deeply important to me" to protect personal liberties."

LINK

What good is liberty without life!

To Lee: wake up & smell the coffee!

Kincannon has already appropriated $100,000 & says there's more to come. I applaud this effort.

LINK

LINK

Happy New Year to you bizgrrl!

the ridiculist

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