Interesting Frontline tonight on PBS about corruption in Venezuela.

Might be interesting viewing if you get chance to watch.

Have Republicans gone bat s#!# crazy? They want to return to the horse and buggy age. They have a problem with energy efficiency. They don't think there has been a change to our environment since we started using electricity and gas fueled vehicles.

The House on Tuesday passed a bill aimed at making it more difficult for the Energy Department to enact energy efficiency rules for household appliances...

Republican House member have also introduced additional appliance-related acts such as the “Liberty in Laundry Act” (H.R. 7673), the “Clothes Dryers Reliability Act (H.R. 7645), the “Refrigerator Freedom Act” (H.R. 7637), the “Affordable Air Conditioning Act” (H.R. 7626), and the “Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act” (H.R. 7700)...

On this topic, Paul Krugman, New York Times, writes, "Give Me Laundry Liberty or Give Me Death!"

Do they want to destroy the planet while selling horse manure to their constituents?

Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower proposed the legislation to expedite the property reappraisal schedule statewide... from "once every four, five or six years... to every two, three or four years.

Meaning your property taxes could easily rise higher and faster.

Many homeowner residents in the state are already hurting from the 2023 property reappraisal. In Blount County, TN, "it's been reported in the mainstream media and social media that property values have been reappraised up by 60% and in some cases doubled."

A property tax cap had been proposed, e.g. cap property tax increases at 2%. However, "Tennessee’s county mayors fought the measure, arguing it would hamstring their ability to deal with growth."

House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons of Nashville said he believes the proposed bill stemmed from tax cuts for corporations and the state’s wealthiest 1% over the last decade... In addition to a large business tax break in 2023, the Legislature passed a $1.9 billion franchise tax cut and rebate this year...

We have a great governor/snark. It would appear he wants more guns in the hands of the crazies. Maybe? It would appear he wants more money in the hands of business and the rich and powerful. Maybe?

Pretty soon Tennesseans won't be able to afford to live here.

Tornadoes kill more people per year in the U.S. than hurricanes and earthquakes combined. However, for years, American building codes lacked requirements for tornado-resistant design and construction, leading to unnecessary property damage and fatalities.  

Today those codes exist, thanks to Long Phan and Marc Levitan, two structural engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology who led a decade-long effort to create the world’s first tornado design standards. These historic standards will enable builders to construct the nation’s critical facilities, including hospitals and schools, to withstand 97% of the roughly 1,200 tornadoes that occur in the U.S. each year.   

Long Phan and Marc Levitan are finalists for the Service to America medals in Science, Technology, and Environment.

May 5-11 is Public Service Recognition Week, a period when public employees at all governmental levels — federal, state, county, local and tribal — are acknowledged for their work.

For all the good work our government employees do, there are threats to our government workforce from Trump and various Republican officials .

Support the future. Vote for Democrats.

In March, "Kansas man sues Tim Burchett for defamation over false tweets put out following Chiefs Super Bowl parade."

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.

Lawyers for the Republican Burchett this week filed the motion in Kansas federal court, where Kansan and Kansas City Chiefs fan Denton Loudermill sued Burchett.

The defense attorneys argue the federal court in Kansas doesn't have jurisdiction and so shouldn't bothered with the complaint. What if anything Burchett did has nothing to do with the state of Kansas, under which the court there could take up the case, they argue in their motion.
...
Burchett,reposted a photo of Loudermill and wrote the message, "One of the Kansas City Chiefs victory parade shooters has been identified as an illegal alien."

Loudermill was neither a shooter nor an "illegal alien."

Two well-known Knoxvillians revived a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging two sections of state voter law, including one that now requires signs to be posted at polling places telling voters they need to be "bona fide" party members

Victor Ashe, others revive and revise lawsuit challenging polling place signs and 'bona fide' party membership in Tennessee

An investigation is underway after a woman was shot in the foot at McFee Park Farragut on Sunday around 11:30 a.m. The Knox County Sheriff’s Office shared that the incident is believed to be accidental at this time.

The sheriff’s office said that it is unknown where the bullet came from as the park is near a wooded area.

Negligent not accidental? It's not like the park is in the middle of the boonies. There is a soccer field at the park along with a splash pad and tennis courts. There are neighborhoods next to the park on the north, south and east sides. Should this be taken more seriously?

From the New York Times,

“The 2024 election’s in full swing and yes, age is an issue,” Mr. Biden said in a roughly 10-minute speech. “I’m a grown man running against a 6-year-old.”

“Donald has had a few tough days lately. You might call it ‘stormy’ weather,”
...
“The New York Times issued a statement blasting me for ‘actively and effectively avoiding independent journalists,’” Mr. Biden said. “Hey, if that’s what it takes to get The New York Times to say I’m active and effective, I’m for it.”
...
“Did you hear what Donald said about the major Civil War battle?” Mr. Biden said. “Gettysburg. Wow. Trump’s speech was so embarrassing, the statue of Robert E. Lee surrendered again.”
...
“Age is the only thing we have in common,” Mr. Biden, 81, said of Mr. Trump, 77. “My vice president actually endorses me,”

On. A serious note,

“Focus on what’s actually at stake,” Mr. Biden said. “The stakes couldn’t be higher.”

The new rule raises the salary threshold under which salaried employees are eligible for overtime in two stages. The threshold will increase to the equivalent of an annual salary of $43,888, or $844 a week, starting July 1, and then to $58,656, or $1,128 a week, on January 1, 2025.

Millions more salaried workers will be eligible for overtime pay under final Biden administration rule

Waiting on the governor's signature

Under the legislation, the identities of school staffers who sign up to carry guns is known only to those who approve participants. That means parents would not be told whether their school opted into the program, whether anyone at their child’s campus is armed or whether their own child’s teacher has a gun in the classroom, lawmakers said. Parents also would not know whether their child’s teacher might leave the classroom to respond to a shooting during an attack.

“I cannot believe this is the first major piece of legislation that we’ve addressed since the Covenant tragedy,” said state Rep. Bo Mitchell (D). “This is our reaction to students and teachers being murdered in a school? Our reaction is to throw more guns at it. What’s wrong with us?”

Is it time to call in the National Guard or the Marshall's Service to put a stop to the authoritarian government in Tennessee?

By Lee Muller:

After spending $2,000,000 on consultants to gather input from 40,000 citizens of Knox County, Mayor Jacobs sent an angry letter to the County Commission on Wednesday, threatening to veto any amendments to his version of Advance Knox changes to the Growth Plan and General Plan. In other words, the public process was just window dressing and democracy faking. The proposed amendments are advisory; they have no legal force to guide development.

Mayor Jacobs pays lip service to the free market, and rights of (some) property owners to do as they wish, to promote "affordable housing".

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is investigating after a group of people were caught on video pulling two bear cubs from a tree to take a selfie at Berrington Village Apartments in Asheville on April 16.

In a video obtained by the Citizen Times, four people are trying to grab the black bear cubs, which are perched on a tree branch extending over a short fence to the apartment property. One woman successfully snatches a cub and holds it under the belly, screaming in excitement.

After apparently taking pictures holding the cub, an animal shrieking noise is heard, and the bear is seen dropping to the ground. The cub then runs along the inside of the fence and tries to climb the fence a couple of times while the woman chases after it.

It's so hard to watch people act in this manner. Do they not understand real life? Life isn't a tiktok video.

When Blount County and others bid to get a gun manufacturer to move to the pastoral community near Louisville, TN, they apparently promised better roads. However, they did not include the City of Louisville Mayor and Aldermen in the plans. Now that the plans are being made open to Louisville residents and administration, they are not finding the plans acceptable.

A resolution condemning the project, passed unanimously by the Louisville Board of Mayor and Aldermen April 9, claims the road work would negatively impact neighboring residential areas and eliminate access to businesses and the Louisville Post Office.
...
Jeff Muir, director of communications for the Blount Partnership [chamber of commerce?], said the proposed work came from planning for trucks from Smith & Wesson to safely share the road with other traffic, and to accommodate the additional stream of employees.
...
The problem, [Mayor Pugh] said, is Louisville has less than 5,000 residents. That means it doesn’t qualify for its own representation when planning transportation projects like this.

Wow, who knew local residents were not being informed of changes to their community? Hah, TDOT knew. Blount County administrators, City of Alcoa administrators, the county chamber of commerce all probably knew. They all seemed to not care how changes affect local citizens and the smaller communities.

There’s further confusion over who requested the improvements.

So far, nobody's admitting to requesting the changes. The Mayor of Louisville has to request a copy of the TDOT project application.

Jeff Muir, director of communications for the Blount Partnership [chamber of commerce?] Said, "TDOT has ownership of Louisville Road and the department can modify the road as it wishes", which is "part of the deal brokered to bring the firearm manufacturer to Blount County." "No one filed an application for the work, he said."

The previous Louisville Mayor apparently knew about some of these road changes.

The current Louisville Mayor, Ms. Pugh, would "like TDOT to conduct a noise pollution study and wants to know if an environmental impact study has taken place. She’d also like to see estimated traffic counts for the road."

Seems reasonable.

Does it seem like the local governments and chamber of commerce ran right over the small town of Louisville and its residents? I guess they really wanted a gun manufacturer in our midst.

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.

You know the basics: follow the speed limit, adjust your mirrors and buckle up. However, there are some traffic laws in Tennessee that you may not be aware of.

Before you put it in drive, here are some rules of the road you should know prior to traveling in the Volunteer State.

Tennessee driving laws: Lesser-known rules every driver should know

What's going on in Tennessee? Is it possible State of Tennessee is biased against the black communities?

State of Tennessee takes over the City of Mason, near the upcoming Blue Oval Ford plant.

"Mason is 60% Black and includes descendants of men, women and children enslaved in the area before Emancipation. For more than a century the town was led by White elected officials.

"In my opinion, it’s time for Mason to relinquish its charter,” Comptroller Jason Mumpower wrote in a letter mailed to each one of Mason’s 1,337 property owners.

State legislature overrides new Memphis police rules for traffice stops.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed a bill into law this week that nullified ordinances enacted by Memphis leaders following the 2023 police killing of Tyre Nichols, enabling the Republican-led legislature to undo the work of the Democratic-leaning city.

State legislature mislead family of Tyre Nichols as to when the vote to undo new police reforms in Memphis would come up in the State House.

Tyre Nichols’ parents attended a session of the State House on Monday, March 4, when the bill was initially on the itinerary, but it was pushed back...

Republicans held the vote on Thursday, March 7, as Democrats accused Memphis Republican Rep. John Gillespie of being misleading about when the bill would come up again, resulting in Nichols’ parents not coming to the Capitol in Nashville on Thursday.

State fires Tennessee State University board of trustees. Bill Lee, in an unprecedented move, signed into law legislation that dismantled the storied historically Black college’s board of trustees.

Back in September, 2023, "U.S. Education and Agriculture secretaries tell Gov. Bill Lee Black land grant university has been dramatically underfunded ($2.1 billion) compared to predominantly white schools."

...a new Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) has been approved in South Knoxville.

"The new treatment center will be located in the Chapman Square Shopping Center across the Henley Street Bridge in South Knoxville."

I like that, "across the Henley Street Bridge". The proposed site is nearly 2 miles from the bridge.

Also, the proposed site is in the only decent shopping center in South Knoxville. It includes the only decent grocery store in South Knoxville.

"...the location for the OTP was chosen after consulting with community leaders and those who currently work to help people struggling with addiction. They discovered that there was a significant need in South Knoxville across the bridge,..."

Again with the, "across the bridge." What's that about?

If you look at all the other 6 treatment locations of this company, none are in a popular shopping center with a major grocery store.

From the Washington Post, "Bad tax advice is multiplying on TikTok."

No, you can't write-off your vacation as a business trip. Yes, you must file federal income taxes, it’s the law. Be very cautious if trying to expense a vehicle, your home office, or your kids as employees.

Having run a small business for 25 years, i can say an accountant is a great resource. Plus, they will be there to answer questions if you get audited.

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

...A lot of people and policymakers genuinely believe that expanding highways and roads will ease frustrating congestion issues in their area.

But that’s not necessarily the case, Zipper said, citing the theory of induced demand, which explains why adding more car lanes tends to increase, rather than decrease, traffic by incentivizing more people to drive.

As some countries spurn cars, the U.S. continues to embrace highways

Highway Boondoggles