Join Clarence Vaughn, III, for a discussion of The Black and the Blue: A Cop Reveals the Crimes, Racism, and Injustice in America's Law Enforcement by Matthew Horace, Wednesday, February 27, noon–1:00 in the East Tennessee History Center auditorium at 601 South Gay Street.

The Black and the Blue is described by reviewers as a brilliantly researched examination of policing. Authors Matthew Horace and Ron Harris posit that many of today's police tactics are built upon decades of toxic internal policies and the post-civil rights era War on Drugs. The author started his career in local policing and eventually ascended to the Department of Justice’s Senior Executive Service. After a personal encounter with racial profiling by a white officer, Horace sought to understand the very system he represented.

"Horace provides a riveting and portentous view from differing perspectives regarding community engagement with law enforcement," Vaughn said. "The Black and the Blue sheds light on the importance of maintaining certain key principles of the civil rights movement and transitioning those principles into a human rights movement, with a concentrated emphasis for all humankind to be treated equally and fairly."

Vaughn is Executive Director of the Police Advisory and Review Committee for the City of Knoxville, where he ensures that citizens have a voice in police matters. He is also a member of the National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement focused on improving relationships between law enforcement and citizens. Recognized by Knoxville Business Journal as a “40 under 40” honoree, Vaughn’s passion for service and philanthropic activities motivate him to serve in leadership roles in citizen academies at the federal and local level.

Books Sandwiched In is made possible by the generous support of the Friends of Knox County Public Library. Bring a sandwich or pick up something at a downtown restaurant. Drinks will be available for 50 cents.

A new survey of 41,000 Americans conducted by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation demonstrates why a greater emphasis on American history learning is essential to the nation. The Foundation found that in the highest-performing state (Vermont), only 53 percent of the people were able to earn a passing grade for U.S. history. People in every other state failed; in the lowest-performing state (Louisiana), only 27 percent were able to pass.

Results of new 50-state survey finds only four in 10 can demonstrate basic history understanding. Vermont only state in which a majority passed.

Tennessee had a 38% pass rate.

At the link is a 20 question survey to see how well you would do on a citizenship exam.

Did y'all see this? What are your thoughts? I know there seems to be a disconnect between the legislators and the TNDP but this seems counter-productive.

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“You want to talk about a national emergency?” [House Speaker] Pelosi (D-CA) said. “Let’s talk about today, the one-year anniversary of another manifestation of the epidemic of gun violence in America. That’s a national emergency.”

Join DTV Host Renee Hoyos as she hosts a panel of Knox Couty Democratic Party leaders in a discussion about the upcoming Knox County Democratic Party reorganization convention. This discussion includes current KCDP Chair Emily Gregg, Tennessee Democratic Party Executive Committee member Sylvia Woods and LaKenya Middlebrook who has declared her candidacy for the next KCDP Chair. This program airs live on Friday, February 15th at 7:30 PM on our local Community TV Channel.

DTV streams live (here!) or on cable/satellite at:
Comcast Channel 12
Charter Channel 193
Wow! Channel 6
ATT U-verse Channel 99

According to the IRS, tax refunds are down 8 percent from the same time last year. But of course the GOP claims it has nothing to do with the tax bill they passed that promised larger refunds for the middle income. The GOP keeps shoveling it out, and the conservative voters keep consuming it and never seem to be bothered by the flies in their teeth.

NPR Article

Divided board decides to shutter coal plants despite appeals by Trump, Senate Majority leader for delay

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NASA: One of the most successful and enduring feats of interplanetary exploration, NASA's Opportunity rover mission is at an end after almost 15 years exploring the surface of Mars and helping lay the groundwork for NASA's return to the Red Planet.

Designed to last just 90 Martian days and travel 1,100 yards (1,000 meters), Opportunity vastly surpassed all expectations in its endurance, scientific value and longevity. In addition to exceeding its life expectancy by 60 times, the rover traveled more than 28 miles (45 kilometers) by the time it reached its most appropriate final resting spot on Mars - Perseverance Valley.

About Opportunity...

In 2017, there were 41 thousand visits to the 30 treatment rooms in the emergency department at Physicians Regional (St. Mary's Hospital). Now that it has closed the other hospitals in the area have to accept possibly 41,000 more ER visits a year. That is a lot to absorb.

Tennova North Knoxville, Fort Sanders, and UT Medical Center appear to be feeling the most affects.

The shutdown has reportedly affected ambulance services as well.

AMR has been dealing with ambulance shortages, in part because ambulances are tied up with lengthy off-load delays in overcrowded hospital emergency rooms, the ambulance service told the News Sentinel last month.

In an attempt to get more ambulances on the road, Knox County is temporarily changing its contract with ambulance provider AMR (Rural/Metro). County Mayor Glenn Jacobs' office announced Monday a 90-day agreement will allow Basic Life Support ambulances to respond to all but the most severe calls. Normally, the contract requires AMR respond to calls with Advanced Life Support ambulances, which carry more equipment, but of which there are fewer.

Did you know that for a Medicare recipient to get admitted to a skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation therapy they have to be admitted to a general hospital as an inpatient for 3 days? This means that if you are getting observation services, the day(s) under observation do not count towards inpatient status in a hospital. Sitting in the ER would not be included as an inpatient day. Thus, a woman referenced in this article that spent 24 hours in the ER waiting to be admitted would have lost a full day if there had been a need to go to a skilled nursing facility for rehab. It's possible there are clauses in many private health insurance contracts with this requirement.

About five years ago I had to meet an elderly person at the UT Medical Center ER after that person had been taken there by ambulance. When I arrived the elderly person was on a hospital stretcher in the hall near the ER criminal intake area. Not a pleasant experience for this person. Luckily actually being in the ER gets you close to the services you need if it becomes unbearable or life threatening.

I worked at UT Medical Center for about five years, many moons ago. To this day I admire all they do for their patients, employees, and the community. I just hope they can keep up with demand and changes in society.

Let's hope the remaining open hospitals in the area and the ambulance services can continue to provide excellent services as expected.

From NPR:

Severe mold, asbestos and electrical hazards are among the dangers in private military housing for thousands of service members' families, according to a new survey conducted by the Military Family Advisory Network.

Nearly 17,000 people responded to the survey across 46 states. And more than 55 percent of participants who lived in private housing said they were dissatisfied with how management companies oversaw their dwellings.

More than 7 million car loans were past due by at least 90 days in the fourth quarter, according to data released this week from the New York Federal Reserve.

Lenders are more frequently offering funds to people with low credit scores, contributing to the increase in the number of car loans.

More Americans behind on car loans ...

Employers and workers together are spending close to $20,000 for family health insurance coverage in 2018, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation report.

Although premiums have increased fairly modestly in recent years, the growth has far outpaced workers' raises over time. The average family premium has increased 55% since 2008, twice as fast as workers' wages and three times as fast as inflation, Kaiser's Employer Health Benefits Survey found.

Getting health insurance through work now costs nearly $20,000

Trump wants to keep failing TVA coal plant open so a donor can make money

Paradise #3 gets most of its coal from a subsidiary of the Murray Energy company, owned by Robert Murray. Murray also just happens to be a huge Trump supporter.

Texting while driving is illegal in Tennessee (TCA 55-8-199). Texting while a vehicle is not in motion is not illegal in Tennessee. Like at red lights?

It's ridiculous how often people text and drive. When you see someone driving erratically you can almost guarantee they are texting or using their cell phone in some manner. States are starting to track crashes and cell phone usage. Although, it would appear that texting and driving is not as important as shoplifting when it comes to police action.

Come on, people, put down your phones while driving. It's becoming the new drunk driving. Look up, there may be something or someone in your way.

Tennessee Code Annotated 55-8-199

(1) A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor, subject only to imposition of a fine not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) and court costs not to exceed ten dollars ($10.00), including, but not limited to, any statutory fees of officers. No state or local litigation taxes shall be applicable to a case prosecuted under this section.

(2) In addition to any fine imposed pursuant to subdivision (d)(1), a person who violates this section as a first offense shall be required to attend and complete a driver education course pursuant to § 55-10-301 ( A reasonable fee between fifty dollars ($50.00) and one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175) may be assessed for the driver education or driver improvement course; provided, that no one shall be refused admittance for inability to pay.).

When I bought my Big Ears tickets last year, I noted Regal Riviera as a venue. I now see that there doesn't seem to be a film component in this year's festival. Wonder what happened ...

I've noticed an ever growing amount of trash along the streets in South Knoxville and the majority appears to be from fast food restaurants. It would be nice to come up with some kind of a solution to stop it, but I keep coming up with mental roadblocks on how to rectify the situation.

Since 2007, Middle Tennessee State University alumni, faculty and former students have brought home 16 Grammy awards. The school has classes in everything from digital audio technology and commercial songwriting to copyright law.

Sound of success: Visit the Tennessee university shaping Grammy nominees

DTV's Black History Month program airs tonight at 7:30 PM on the CTV Channel and features Robert Booker talking about Knoxville History from his book Up From the Bottom. The Beck Center's Rev Renee Kessler hosts tonight's program.

DTV streams live (here!) or on cable/satellite at:
Comcast Channel 12
Charter Channel 193
Wow! Channel 6
ATT U-verse Channel 99

Bloomberg: The company will separate into one company focused on parts making and another on the production of aluminum sheets, Arconic said Friday in a statement as it reported fourth-quarter earnings. One of the units will be spun off, and Arconic will consider a sale of any operations that don’t fit into either of the businesses.

The company also cut their dividend by two-thirds. The rolled sheet business presumably includes the plant in Alcoa. And they only recently finished changing their iconic tower sign after splitting off from Alcoa.

Yet, in 2018, the Transportation Security Administration found a record-setting 4,239 firearms in carry-on bags at 249 airport checkpoints around the country.
...
Perhaps more alarming, of the 4,255 firearms found last year, more than 86 percent (3,656) were loaded (another record) and almost 34 percent (1,432) had a round chambered.

TSA found a record-setting number of guns at airports in 2018