"The Democrat Party's main constituency is made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals."

The White House press secretary's self-styled analysis of the Democratic Party’s “main constituency” doesn’t square with reality.

In the 2024 House elections, about 70 million Americans voted for Democrats, compared to 74 million who voted for Republicans. In the presidential race, Kamala Harris received 75 million votes to Donald Trump’s 77 million.

She's off the rails. She's unraveled. She's the president's voice.

CR tested 23 of the most popular protein powders and ready-to-drink shakes sold in the U.S. The results were unsettling: more than two-thirds of the products contained more lead in a single serving than CR’s food safety experts say is safe to consume in a day. Some had 10 times that amount. One powder—Naked Nutrition’s Vegan Mass Gainer—contained 7.7 micrograms of lead per serving, which is 1,572% of CR’s level of concern. Another top seller, Huel Black Edition – a favorite among tech bros – registered 6.3 micrograms of lead, or 1,288% of CR’s limit.

The Consumer Reports test results include a list of protein supplements and the level of lead detected.

Three products also exceeded our level of concern for cadmium and inorganic arsenic, toxic heavy metals that have been classified as a probable human carcinogen and known human carcinogen, respectively, by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Cadmium and lead can be found in jewelry. There have been warnings on jewelry labels indicating children should not be wearing the jewelry item. When I saw those labels it made me not want the jewelry.

A federal appeals court panel said Thursday that it would not let Trump send troops anywhere in Illinois for now, leaving in place a lower-court ruling blocking his administration from dispatching the National Guard there.

“The spirited, sustained, and occasionally violent actions of demonstrators in protest of the federal government’s immigration policies and actions, without more, does not give rise to a danger of rebellion against the government’s authority,” the panel wrote.

Early Voting: October 15 to October 30, 2025

The ballot includes the City of Knoxville tax referendum to increase the local sales tax rate by 0.50%, from 2.25 % to 2.75 %.

This generally obscure topic [electricity costs] has become critical in New Jersey because electricity rates this summer climbed 22 percent from a year earlier — faster than all but one state: Maine.

Electricity prices are rising, not only in New Jersey but across PJM and throughout the rest of the United States, because demand is outpacing supply...

The cost for long-overdue improvements to power systems and upgrades needed to support energy-hungry data centers are also driving up household electric bills.

"Terrible things are happening outside.
At any time of night and day, poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. They’re allowed to take only a knapsack and a little cash with them, and even then, they’re robbed of these possessions on the way. Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared. Women return from shopping to find their houses sealed, their families gone."

Anne Frank

ICE’s use of full-body restraints during deportations raises concerns over inhumane treatment.

Chicago schools and churches on alert amid growing ICE raid reports.

U.S. Citizen Detained And Held At ICE Building In Portland For Hours Before Release, Lawyer Says.

WGN-TV producer violently detained during Chicago ICE enforcement action.

Etc.

According to Tennessee Dept of Transportation.

Alcoa Highway impacts from Woodson Drive to UT Hospital/Cherokee Trail interchange, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025 to Friday, Oct. 17, 2025.

* rolling roadblocks will take place in short intervals (approximately 20 minutes each) and will be spaced out to allow traffic to return to normal flow between operations. These rolling roadblocks will be intermittent each day between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

* flagging operations on the ramp from northbound Alcoa Highway (US 129/State Route 115) at the traffic signal at Cherokee Trail and along Cherokee Trail, intermittent each day between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

* beginning on Wednesday, October 15, and continuing through Friday, October 17, the right northbound lane of Alcoa Highway (US 129/State Route 115) will be closed between Woodson Drive and Cherokee Trail each night between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m

Note, these rolling roadblocks and lane closures can affect traffic past John Sevier Hwy. And further into Blount County.

Democrats fight for those in need, Republicans. They get no thanks. Southern Republicans appear to be the neediest. But, alas, they vote against those willing to help. Huh.

Most Americans Who Rely on Obamacare Live in Republican Areas.

Owners of some Jeep Wrangler 4xe hybrids have been left stranded after installing an over-the-air software update this weekend. The automaker pushed out a telematics update for the Uconnect infotainment system that evidently wasn't ready, resulting in cars losing power while driving and then becoming stranded.

I have worried about this happening as more and more of automotive functionality comes from software. It seems software providers don't test their software like we used to.

No Kings across the country. On October 18, millions of us are rising again to show the world: America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people.

Because this country does not belong to kings, dictators, or tyrants. It belongs to We the People - the people who care, who show up, and the ones who fight for dignity, a life we can afford, and real opportunity. No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings.

“NO KINGS” is more than just a slogan; it is the foundation our nation was built upon. Born in the streets, shouted by millions, carried on posters and chants, it echoes from city blocks to rural town squares, uniting people across this country to fight dictatorship together.

Thousands of U.S.-bound packages shipped by UPS are trapped at hubs across the country, unable to clear the maze of new customs requirements imposed by the Trump administration.

As packages flagged for customs issues pile up in UPS warehouses, the company told NBC News it has begun “disposing of” some shipments.

Just one of the many problems caused by the current administration.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday awarded its 2025 Peace Prize to María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader who has become a symbol of democratic resistance against an increasingly authoritarian regime, even as she has been forced into hiding and barred from holding public office.
...
The White House, which had been calling for Trump to win the prize, did not immediately congratulate Machado but a spokesman, Steven Cheung, questioned the committee’s motives. “President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives,” Cheung said, adding: “The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”

He is the authoritarian regime. How could anyone justify his receiving a Peace prize?

Or, the Graft, political corruption defined as the unscrupulous use of a politician's authority for personal gain.

"If you can do things like impose tariffs arbitrarily, that’s a tremendous power. It creates opportunities for corruption because the CEOs of tech companies are very incentivized to get into the Oval Office and cut deals.”
...
"What boggles me more is why MAGA adorers, and the American populace in general, seem to care so little about the raging kleptocracy that is business as usual in the Trump circle."
...
"Corruption is too complex a topic to capture the attention of a society addicted to the tabloid rhythms of TikTok dross (whose spoils are now divvied up among some of Trump’s biggest supporters, including Oracle’s Larry Ellison). The minutiae of balance sheets are not sexy enough to vault over the more seductive silos of digital hearsay or the suffocating national obsession with wealth porn. (Quiet luxury was a bore anyway.) The Instagram feeds of “power women,” who used to post their fashionable concerns about social causes, have turned into leggy displays of female pout clout by content creators, encased in body-hugging Lycra and staring at their own phones in dazed self-admiration."

Some of us are listening. We are listening. I hope therexwill be a gathering.

This president's administrations, 2017 to 2021 and 2025 to ?, have imposed tariffs on China resulting in China refusing to buy soybeans from American farmers.

In the first term, "The fallout was so painful that the administration delivered more than $20 billion in aid to farmers."

In the first year of this second and final term, "Republican lawmakers have estimated that, this time around, farmers could need as much as $50 billion in economic support."

"Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent even blamed the Biden administration for the predicament."

The president of the united states attended a celebration yesterday of the U.S. Navy's 250 years of service.

As part of his speech, while declaring the event a rally for him instead of a Navy celebration,

“We have to take care of this little gnat that’s on our shoulder called the Democrats. They want to give all of our money to illegal aliens that pour into the country,” said Trump, making a flicking gesture from his shoulder as he spoke.

The article has a link to a video where the president is saying these words. At the very beginning the sailors behind them are clapping exuberantly. After he says these words the sailors are quiet. Hmmm...

Full operations at Great Smoky Mountains National Park will resume this weekend as state and local governments have come together to fund normal services.

While some areas remained open after the shutdown began on Wednesday, the park will be fully operational beginning Saturday, October 4, through an agreement with the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, and Sevier County. Local and state partners will fund $61,703.18 each day to ensure full operations.
...

The "Sugarlands Visitor Center, Chimneys Picnic Area, and Cades Cove Loop Road, Visitor Center, and Picnic Area, will reopen, and the funding will ensure staff are on duty to respond to visitors, provide essential services to protect wildlife during peak visitor season, and service restrooms."

Thanks to local governments, Friends of the Smokys, and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Merriam-Webster is thrilled to announce that their NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

Republicans all voted against a Democratic spending bill that extended subsidies for people who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

The Hillshire Brands Company has announced a voluntary recall of 58 million pounds of corn dogs and breakfast-on-a-stick products due to potential extraneous material contamination [wood in the batter].
...
Tyson Foods, the parent company of Hillshire said in a statement Saturday that the recall specifically includes select State Fair Corn Dogs on a Stick and Jimmy Dean Pancakes & Sausage on a Stick products.

There is also an unbranded product included in the recall.

Here is a list of the recalled products.

I feel kind of sad about this recall. We used to eat the State Fair corn dogs fairly often. We have since given them up.

Just type in hud.gov and you'll get one of these screens.

Wow! More lies in our federal government?