Familiar name in there ....

Here are the 14 House Republicans who voted against a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday

The Knox County, Tennessee native had been living in the Oliver Springs area of Anderson County, Tennessee for the past several months, but kept in contact with his mother and his sister nearly every day.

"Family continues search for Tennessee man Chadwick Carr six weeks after he disappeared"

Officials from the Knox County Regional Forensic Center on Monday released the 2020 Drug-Related Death Report, highlighting the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the reason both Knox and Anderson counties saw significant increases in overdose deaths. In fact, a release states the number of overdose deaths in Knox County increased 41% compared to a 9.8% decrease in 2019; in Anderson County, drug overdose deaths increased 82% in 2020 compared to the 11.6% drop in 2019.

Report: Fentanyl, opioids most abused drugs as Knox, Anderson counties see increase in overdose deaths for 2020

"KPD Chief Eve Thomas’s implements a plan to reduce and stop the murders and shootings. Thirteen officers are on the CERT unit – the Community Engagement Response Team. Walking beats ensures face-to-face engagement with community members – long-time residents, families, kids and the young people, and maybe some gang members."

The hope is to "make the neighborhoods of East Knoxville safer and more secure."

Blackburn wants to fire Fauci.

In addition, it appears she thinks climate change is extremist, there should be no gun controls, union activism is a bad thing, and Biden’s infrastructure plan has too much beauracracy.

The majority of voters in the State of Tennessee actually elected her. Good grief.

UT Philosophy Department professors Dr. Jon Garthoff and Dr. Jordan Baker discuss the question, "Aren't all Democrats Socialists" on DTV on Friday night. DTV airs on Community TV on Fridays at 9:30 PM on the following cable channels:

AT&T Uverse: Channel 99
Comcast NBC Universal: Channel 12
WOW! Channel 6
Charter: Channel 193

DTV also live streams on Fridays @ 9:30 PM (here)

"Approximately 31 million people now get coverage through “Obamacare,” according to a report that the Department of Health and Human Services issued Saturday."

"That figure is the highest ever and reflects a nearly 4 million-person increase in enrollment between 2020 and 2021, following four years when combined enrollment in the Affordable Care Act’s programs was basically flat."

Now there is still a concern regarding the "imminent Supreme Court ruling in the case California v. Texas. It alleges that a fatal constitutional flaw requires the justices to strike down the statute in its entirety.

The lawsuit is part of an ongoing Republican effort to get rid of the Affordable Care Act that traces back, literally, to the day Obama signed it. "

Is it safe to resume normal activity? Without a mask? Without distancing? If you've been vaccinated?

I've been trying to figure out a metric or set of metrics that I can put in a formula.

Testing positivity rate isn't much help any more. Not many people are getting tested. The rate is about 2% to 4% in Knox and Blount Co. That's a lot better than before, but still concerning.

What about new reported cases? They are very low. That's encouraging. But the CDC (and states) only seem to be counting hospitalizations and deaths, which are way down. It appears that people recovering at home aren't being counted, even if they've been diagnosed? Don't think you can go by this statistic any more. But on the other hand, if you get it and don't go to the hospital or die then...? Personally, I don't want to be a rounding error.

But, hospitilazions (and deaths) are hard, real, probably reliable numbers. So how low do they need to be before we can say it's over?

Then there's the vaccination rate. Still around 40%. Not enough. And the 60% unvaccinated are probably the ones going about their business without masks. Not sure how we convince people to get vaccinated, but this is troubling.

The most hopeful metric is R (the reproduction number, or rate of transmission from one infected person to others). Latest reports estimate that it is less than 1 (.91 in Knox Co., .85 in Blount), which means the spread is slowing. This is potentially good news.

So I don't know. It's probably 90%+ safe. Except for those who are older, immunocompromised, or in other some higher risk category. I'm still not ready to be a rounding error. Especially with weird outbreaks involving variants.

I'm getting more comfortable, though, especially around others who I know have been vaccinated. But how do you know who is vaccinated? If you see strangers without masks in public places, it's probably a good bet they haven't been vaccinated and have no intention of doing so.

Not sure what the magic numbers are that will make me comfortable going back to "normal." I guess some combination of hospitalizations, deaths, R, and vaccination rates, which are the only things being tracked, and R appears to be only an estimate.

But it also appears that we can't trust information or policy from our dysfunctional state and local county governments. Guess we are all on our own to figure it out. This is probably a reliable source of information.

President Biden’s 2022 budget includes $3.5 billion for national parks

President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Makes Significant Investments in the National Park Service

DTV's John Stewart and Doug Veum talk politics with Dr. Mark D. Harmon when he reveals his future political plans concerning the Tennessee Second District House Seat. Tune in to DTV on Friday evening June 4th at 9:30 PM to one of the CTV Network of cable stations:

AT&T Uverse: Channel 99
Comcast NBC Universal: Channel 12
WOW! Channel 6
Charter: Channel 193

DTV also live streams on Friday, Jun 4th @ 9:30 PM (here)

"If you have an Amazon device in your home, anything from an Alexa to an Echo, you have just seven days to opt out of an experiment that could put your privacy at risk."

"Amazon Sidewalk will be a shared network that is supposed to help customer devices work better, both in and around your home, like outside lighting that may be wi-fi enabled. If you lose connectivity your device would just switch to a neighbor’s signal so the service wouldn’t be disrupted. "

You can only opt out using the Amazon app. "You can’t opt out from your Amazon account online."

Amazon devices affected but not necessarily limited to include:
Ring Floodlight Cam (2019)
Ring Spotlight Cam Wired (2019)
Ring Spotlight Cam Mount (2019)
Echo (3rd gen and newer)
Echo Dot (3rd gen and newer)
Echo Dot for Kids (3rd gen and newer)
Echo Dot with Clock (3rd gen and newer)
Echo Plus (all generations)
Echo Show (all models and generations)
Echo Spot
Echo Studio
Echo Input
Echo Flex

To honor and remember those who died while serving in the U.S. military to preserve and protect the lives we lead now.

Concert tickets $18 if vaccinated, $1000 if not

Health Care Professionals members of the THCC discuss public health priorities for Tennessee on Democratic TV on Friday, May 28th at 9:30PM
This program is a continuation of DTV from last week when four healthcare professionals discussed the shortage of emergency care in rural Tennessee because Tennessee has not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. This panel includes Tracey Stansbury MSN APRN AOCN, Judy Roitman LMSW and Executive Director of the Tennessee Health Care Campaign, Clare Sulivan MSPH, RN, MSN and Barbara Clinton MSPH, RN MSN continue their discussion of the urgent need for health care access in Tennessee.

This discussion airs as Democratic TV on Friday evening, May 28 at 9:30 PM on the following cable channels:

AT&T Uverse: Channel 99
Comcast NBC Universal: Channel 12
WOW! Channel 6
Charter: Channel 193

DTV also streams live (here) at 9:30PM on Friday, May 28

Australia has just over 25 million people.
Florida has over 21 million people.

The State of Victoria in Australia has once again gone into a COVID-19 lockdown. Twelve new cases were reported, "contact tracers have identified more than 10,000 primary and secondary contacts who would need to quarantine, test and self isolate..."

Australia has reported just over 30,000 cases and 910 deaths.
Florida has reported over 2.3 million cases and over 36,000 deaths.

Hmmmm... Some U.S. citizens and government representatives just don't care?

A Greenback woman is facing charges after she allegedly drove recklessly through a COVID-19 vaccination site at Foothills Mall to protest vaccines.
...
The vehicle allegedly also went fast through a tent where several health and National Guard workers were present, then left the tent and continued to drive recklessly through the cones.
...
Another deputy working the site also saw Brown’s vehicle speed through the cones and not stop as it drove through the tent, which he estimated contained around 15 people, the report states. Witnesses told the deputy they believed Brown yelled, “No vaccine,” as she drove through, nearly hitting seven workers, the report states.

She was "charged with seven counts of felony reckless endangerment."

Cicadas 2021 have arrived in South Knoxville.

Deaths in Knox and Anderson counties increased by more than 11% in 2020 and homicides jumped by 72% according to the Knox County Regional Forensic Center’s 2020 annual report.

Medical examiner: Homicides in Knox, Anderson counties up by 72% in 2020

Sypherd said the funding model for EMS is fundamentally flawed, with most service providers reimbursed only if they take patients to a hospital or clinic. In rural areas like Washakie County, smaller populations mean fewer calls, and consequently, less money.

"You're reimbursed based on the number of patients that you transport to a hospital so you could get called 1,000 times a year and only transport 750 patients -- those other 250 calls you made no money on," Sypherd said.

Rural ambulance crews are running out of money and volunteers. In some places, the fallout could be nobody responding to a 911 call

At the beginning of the 21st century China had no high-speed railways.

No fewer than 37,900 kilometers (about 23,500 miles) of lines crisscross the country, linking all of its major mega-city clusters, and all have been completed since 2008.

Past, present and future: The evolution of China's incredible high-speed rail network