Bob Graham, former Florida governor and U.S. senator with a common touch, dies at 87.

Bob Graham, Former Florida Governor and Senator, Dies at 87.

We lived in Florida when Bob Graham was governor and U.S. Senator. It was a great time to be a Florida resident.

Tennessee could soon become the latest state to require public school students to watch a three-minute AI-generated video on fetal development created by an anti-abortion group.

Tennessee lawmakers pass bill requiring public schools to show AI video on fetus development

Tennessee in national news....

Josh Horton, a senior fellow who studies solar geoengineering policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, said that as far as he is aware, Tennessee is the first state to pass such a bill through both chambers of its legislature.

Tennessee lawmakers vote to ban geoengineering, with allusions to 'chemtrails' conspiracy theory

Rob Anderson, sports information director at Creighton University, told CNN that their team landed at the airport on Wednesday afternoon, had buses waiting and received a police escort as well.

“I was on one of those buses,” Anderson said

Looks like Vols will be playing the "Illegal Invaders" Friday in NCAA tournament

Go Vols!

Fact check: Michigan GOP legislator posted about ‘illegal invaders’ at Detroit airport. It was Gonzaga’s March Madness team

Newfound Press is out with my multimedia book about the 2022 campaign. It features text, photos, and lots of cool videos. Here's where you can get the free download.

Link to Trace @UT

Denton E. Loudermill lives in Olathe, Kan. Burchett tweeted out a photo of him last month near the downtown Kansas City shooting scene with a false accusation.

Kansas man sues Tim Burchett for defamation over false tweets put out following Chiefs Super Bowl parade

“the most insane thing someone has said during an interview.”

the Biden-Harris HQ account replied with a clip of Trump from the summer of 2020, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic and before vaccines were available, in which the then-president dismissed the 1,000 Americans dying each day of COVID-19.

Four years ago today, as Americans sought federal guidance during a raging pandemic, Trump went on TV to tout the unapproved hydroxychloroquine: It may work, it may not work. It's just a feeling. You know, I'm a smart guy. I feel good about it

Tennessee Freedom Riders – Tennessee Rise

Lyrics
(link...)

Interesting program on Trump, 2020 election, Jan 6 capital riot and subsequent Jan 6 committee proceedings.

Democracy on Trial (full documentary) | FRONTLINE

I watched the SOTU Thursday night. As I mentioned in a previous post, Wow. It was great.

I watched it on C-SPAN, from the moment Biden walked into the chamber until they stopped airing.

It was a little concerning at the beginning when seeing Biden walk by the seats of Repub. Reps. Burchett, Boebert and Gaetz.

Burchett proceeds to stalk Biden. The video shows Biden walking down the aisle. Burchett is hanging over the seats to get Biden's attention. They talk for 10 seconds. Biden moves on. Burchett crawls over some seats to get in Biden's face again. UPDATE: new video. Burchett crawls over more seats, tries to bother Biden a third time. WTF!

Burchett was acting like an adolescent.

And, it appears Burchett did it on a dare. According to this video, Rep. Gaetz dared Burchett to talk to Biden and delay his trip to the podium:

No excuse for this type of harassement. Is Burchett cognitively impaired?

Burchett didn't mention Gaetz's dare in an interview with the Knoxville News Sentinel, or maybe it wasn't reported by them. He did suggest that Biden's "cognitive level is slipping'. I feel sorry for Burchett. Bless his heart.

Wow. Four more years!

We want to know what you would ask Senators Marsha Blackburn or Bill Hagerty if given the chance, as well as learn what issues brought before Congress matter to you most.
You can begin the survey below...

WBIR Survey: What would you ask Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty?

From Rolling Stone,

Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for North Carolina’s gubernatorial election, said he wanted to go back to a time “where women couldn’t vote” in a video that resurfaced in the wake of his Super Tuesday victory.

The video, recorded at a Republican Women of Pitt County event in March 2020, shows Robinson when he was a candidate for North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, which he later won.
...
before his foray into politics in 2019, he had a habit of posting on his personal Facebook screeds against Muslim invaders, calling Michelle Obama a man and quoting Hitler. Even after his election to state office in 2020, he continued to make hateful remarks about LGBTQ+ people.

And he still got 64% of the Republican vote. Say what?!?!?

Although Mark Cuban voted for Nikki Haley as a "protest vote against Trump", Cuban told Bloomberg News, “If they were having his last wake, and it was him versus Trump, and he was being given last rites, I would still vote for Joe Biden."

What Happened to Tennessee? The Battle of Blue and Red” premieres on “The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper” on Sunday, March 3 at 8pm ET/PT on CNN.

Trump owes because of criminal financial business. In addition to $5 million for a rape. He can't do business in New York for three years. Hell of a candidate y'all got Republicans.

2024 Presidential Preference Primary & Knox County Primary Election

Last Day to Request an Absentee Ballot: Tuesday, February 27, 2024

EARLY VOTING: Wednesday, February 14 to Tuesday, February 27, 2024 (excluding Sundays)

Election Day: Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Democratic Sample Ballot
(I'm certainly glad that Democrats don't have to vote for Presidential Delegates. What a waste of time.)

Knox County Election Commission

New voting machines, I think. Maybe Knox County had these last year. Hart Intercivic, Verity electronic machines with printed ballot. Blount County is using these same machines for the first time. There are youtube videos at each of the Election Commission sites showing how the machines can be used. The videos are different for the two counties.

The latest campaign finance reporting period covers July 1, 2023, to January 15, 2024 and the following covers donations to lawmakers of both political parties.

Tennessee Realtors: $220,500
Wine Spirits and Wholesalers of Tennessee: $217,000
HCA Healthcare: $192,000
Build Tennessee PAC: $186,000
Tennessee Highway Contractors PAC: $150,000
Tennessee Banks Association: $149,300
Tennessee Hospital Association: $147,740
Advance Financial: $136,500
BlueCross BlueShield: $130,000
Amazon: $125,500

Jones, Sexton hold $1M+ in cash, Save Nashville donors, plus more notes from campaign filings

Two pieces of proposed legislation aim to prevent that from happening again. One GOP legislator has filed a bill that would prohibit legislators expelled from the General Assembly from holding their seat for four years, while another’s would prevent a county legislative body from nominating the expelled member to fill their former seat.

The Tennessee legislature couldn’t keep out Rep. Justin Jones. But it’s still trying