Fri
Feb 7 2025
04:51 pm
By: bizgrrl

The president will attend the gladiatorial contests on Sunday. The first U.S. president to interfere in the Super Bowl. Eleven presidents have held office since the first Super Bowl, none have attended the game.

Hail, Caesar! There's a new dictator in town.

Fri
Feb 7 2025
11:39 am

Sandra Clark said a year and a half ago,
"So why has East Tennessee elected a man who holds hearings on Bigfoot and UFOs, wears barnyard clothes to stand out and hangs with the loony fringe?"

It's gets better...
In a now deleted Facebook post,
"Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett has inquired with University of Tennessee System President Randy Boyd about a “Furry Club” at the university’s Knoxville Campus."
...
“The fact that ⁦the University of Tennessee even has a furry club is alarming. This isn’t the University of Tennessee that I know. Let’s leave that for the University of Texas,” Burchett wrote in the post."

However, he's not concerned that...

...the U.S. Military Academy at West Point ordering a dozen extracurricular and social clubs centered on gender, race and ethnicity to immediately
cease all activities.” Some of the clubs affected included the Society of Women Engineers and the National Society of Black Engineers Club.

February 5, 2025, updated 2:14 PM.
"The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip," Trump said in a White House press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "We'll own it ... We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal ... the Riviera of the Middle East."

February 5, 2025, updated 10:20PM
Trump aides defend Gaza takeover proposal but walk back some elements.
"At a White House briefing on Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt hailed his Gaza proposal as historic "outside of the box" thinking but stressed that the president had not committed to putting "boots on the ground" in the territory. She declined, however, to rule out the use of U.S. troops there.
At the same time, Leavitt walked back Trump's earlier assertion that Gazans needed to be permanently resettled in neighboring countries, saying instead that they should be "temporarily relocated" for the rebuilding process."

February 6, 2025, 5:32AM
Gaza_20240206.jpg

Where all of those college student protesters now? Are they not concerned about the Palestinians getting kicked out of their country? They hurt Harris in the 2024 election. Are they afraid of Trump? Were they organized just to hurt Harris?

Fri
Feb 7 2025
06:51 am

The Treasury Department has given Elon Musk and representatives of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team access to the vast federal payment system responsible for handling trillions of dollars in government expenditures...

Now...

Thirteen attorneys general, including New York’s Letitia James, said in a statement that they were taking action “in defense of our Constitution, our right to privacy, and the essential funding that individuals and communities nationwide are counting on.”

“As the richest man in the world, Elon Musk is not used to being told ‘no,’ but in our country, no one is above the law,” the statement said. “The President does not have the power to give away our private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress.”

Joining [Letitia] James [New York attorney general] in the statement were the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Thankfully there are some areas in this country with a belief in our constitution and our rights.

Thu
Feb 6 2025
06:56 am

“Speaking of Greenland, there’s a question for you that I want to pose. What is the difference between Greenland and Donald Trump? Greenland is not for sale,” joked Sen. Amy Klobuchar
(D-Minn)
...

Thu
Feb 6 2025
06:43 am

The City of Sevierville is threatening legal action against an RV rental company, [Camping World], in Kodak for an American flag they say is too tall for its zoning area.
...
“I’ve had this flag in my family, since I was a little child. I was born in a foreign country, I had the blessing of being here in the United States where I can have a business and have employees,” said Lemonis. “This is my way to pay respect, not only the veterans of this country, but current and active military, and everybody else who just loves the country.”

He could pay respect by being a part of the community. What if everyone decided they should do whatever they want because they say they are "respecting" whatever?

Tue
Feb 4 2025
09:35 am

The Constitution, not that it seems to matter much these days, could not be clearer. Congress possesses the power of the purse. It alone controls how much of taxpayers’ money to spend, and on what. Spending is paramount among its enumerated powers: “No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law.”

The president’s job is to “take care” that these laws are “faithfully executed.” That means overseeing the spending of the money that lawmakers have appropriated.
...
Trump’s nominee to take the helm at OMB permanently, Russell Vought, ... believes the Impoundment Control Act, the 1974 federal law outlining how the president and Congress should handle spending disputes, is an unconstitutional encroachment on presidential power.
...
Trump, during the campaign, pledged to “do everything I can to challenge the Impoundment Control Act in court, and if necessary, get Congress to overturn it.”

The Impoundment Control Act was the outgrowth of a series of spending disputes between President Richard M. Nixon and Congress. Among other things, Nixon refused to spend merely half the money allocated to sewage treatment after Congress overrode his veto of the Clean Water Act — how quaintly targeted, in light of Trump’s broad order.

Nixon was forced to resign as President. We can hope the same happens to Trump

Tue
Feb 4 2025
08:48 am

Maryville Police officers ended January with a literal bang, responding to an accidental shooting at Gunny’s, 2208 East Broadway Avenue, on Friday.

According to the police report, officers arrived at the local gun range at 12:39 p.m. and found a 67-year-old [man], holding pressure to a small entry wound near his right upper thigh. [The man] reportedly told officers that the weapon had discharged into his leg when he went to holster it.

This isn't the first time someone shot themselves at Gunny’s gun store in Maryville. It also happened on March 22, 2023.

Hmmmm... What does this say about the kinds of people that like to carry guns?

Topics:

“This is a five alarm fire,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on social media.

“The people elected Donald Trump to be President ― not Elon Musk,” she continued. “Having an unelected billionaire, with his own foreign debts and motives, raiding US classified information is a grave threat to national security.”

Democratic members of Congress were denied entry Monday to the U.S. Agency for International Development, after billionaire Elon Musk, empowered by President Donald Trump, worked to close the nation’s humanitarian arm.
...
“We are not going to let this injustice happen. Congress created this agency with the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and if you want to change it, you got to change that law,” Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia...

Say what!!!!

Mon
Feb 3 2025
07:23 am

USTreas_DataBeach20250203.jpg

SKBubba Bluesky

The Treasury Department has given Elon Musk and representatives of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team access to the vast federal payment system responsible for handling trillions of dollars in government expenditures, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

The payment system -- which is essentially a checkbook for the entire federal government -- is a closely held operation run by career officials, with a limited number of people authorized to access the information given it contains sensitive information about hundreds of millions of Americans.
...
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said that any "politically-motivated meddling" in the payment systems "risks severe damage to our country and the economy."

Mon
Feb 3 2025
06:50 am

Buffalo Springfield, For What It's Worth
There's something happening here
But what it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
A-telling me I got to beware

I think it's time we stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down

Mon
Feb 3 2025
06:45 am
By: bizgrrl

Import tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. The American people will pay more for products imported from these countries.

Economists across the political spectrum expect tariffs to increase what consumers pay for a range of goods, including vehicles, electronics, produce and lumber.

The president "said Sunday that Americans could feel “some pain” from the emerging trade war triggered by his tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China, and claimed that Canada would “cease to exist” without its trade surplus with the United States."
...
“WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!),” Trump said in a social media post. “BUT WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID.”

Sun
Feb 2 2025
11:39 am


Parkland, Florida, high school shooting survivor David Hogg
won his bid to become one of three vice chairs during the Democratic National Committee election on Saturday.

“David Hogg represents exactly the kind of bold, dynamic and courageous leadership our party needs right now,” [Tim] Walz wrote on social media earlier this month. “He has a unique ability to connect with the American people and to speak to the strengths of our party. I couldn’t be happier to support him for DNC vice chair.

“I’m proud to endorse David Hogg for DNC vice chair because he has proven himself as one of the most fearless and effective organizers of his generations,” Eric Swalwell wrote online Friday.

Leaders from the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers also threw their support behind Hogg.

Someone to admire. I hope he does well.

Sat
Feb 1 2025
07:03 am

Candace Parker and Peyton Manning, country crooners Tim and Faith McGraw and former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and First Lady Chrissy Haslam are pitching to bring a WNBA team to Nashville. The team will be the Tennessee Summitt.

Excellent!

Fri
Jan 31 2025
03:56 pm

The Tennessee Legislature has approved school vouchers. I suppose it will go to the governor for his signature.

In preparation, "According to the bill’s fiscal note, Student First Technologies has been awarded a contract worth more than $16 million over the next five years to develop an online platform and oversee the distribution of taxpayer dollars to private schools. The company currently administers Tennessee’s existing Education Savings Account (ESA) program, but its track record in other states is raising red flags.

Student First Technologies was previously contracted by the state of Arkansas to manage a similar school voucher program. However, Arkansas terminated the contract in October, citing repeated missed deadlines and issues with the company’s online platform.

Despite these failures, Tennessee has still included Student First Technologies in its budget, raising concerns from education advocates."

Tennessee is failing and the citizenry have no clue.

Thu
Jan 30 2025
07:24 am

Meta Platforms has agreed to pay roughly $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit that President Trump brought against the company and its CEO after the social-media platform suspended his accounts following the attack on the U.S. Capitol that year, according to people familiar with the agreement.
...
“It looks like a bribe and a signal to every company that corruption is the name of the game,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) said in a statement. “After Meta pays to play, what does Mark Zuckerberg expect as a return on this investment?”

Zuckerberg met with the new president in November, 2024. Subsequently, he "donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund." According to the Wall Street Journal article, "Last year, Trump warned that Zuckerberg could go to prison if he tried to rig the election against him."
...
"...in early January, 2025, Zuckerberg returned to Mar-a-Lago for a full day of mediation."
...
The Meta lawsuit was one of a series of legal actions that Trump, freshly voted out of office, brought in July 2021 against social-media companies that had suspended his accounts. He also sued Twitter, now renamed X, and YouTube, along with their corporate leaders. A federal judge dismissed the Twitter suit, and the Google suit was administratively closed in 2023 but could be reopened.

ABC settled a lawsuit by paying $15 million.

Will he sue Sen. Elizabeth Warren next for accusing him of bribery?

Topics:
Thu
Jan 30 2025
06:56 am

An American Airlines plane on track to land at Reagan National Airport, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter traveling south with at least three soldiers aboard collided on Wednesday evening and crashed into the Potomac River.

Topics:

The Maryville man "was convicted via bench trial in November for eleven charges: three felony charges of civil disorder, destruction of government property and assaulting an officer, and eight assorted misdemeanor offenses related to his actions on Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021."
...
Then pardoned by Trump.

The January 6 felon, from Maryville, was convicted by a federal jury in late Nov., 2024 in the Eastern District of Tennessee on charges of “conspiracy to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, and influencing a federal official by threat.” His sentencing is set for May 7.

Mon
Jan 27 2025
08:07 am

The Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990 encourages fire safety in places that offer lodging to the public. Use the Hotel-Motel National Master List to find hotels and motels that:

* Have at least 1 hard-wired, single station smoke alarm in each guest room.

* Have an automatic fire sprinkler system in each guest room for buildings that are 4 or more stories tall.

This is a function of FEMA. The new administration is considering getting rid of FEMA or limiting its functionality. Thus, this feature may dissappear.

Financial Advice on Social Media Is Growing. And Risky.

In Britain and the United States, most people who dispense financial advice or sell investment products professionally must be licensed. [Until the new president changes the law. ]
...
Regulators in Britain and the United States are warning consumers that financial advice on social media often comes with ulterior motives. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has pursued celebrities like Kim Kardashian and firms that hire them for failing to properly disclose compensation. (Ms. Kardashian paid $1.26 million in 2022 to settle the case but did not admit wrongdoing.)

“Making investment decisions based solely on information from finfluencers, social media and celebrities may not be a great idea,” an S.E.C. official wrote in a brief.

If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Do a little research on the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. In the East Tennessee region, there was a S&L/Thrift financial institution giving 15% interest rates, not FDIC insured. Many local citizens lost everything when the S&L failed and shutdown.

First edition of Don’t get scammed.

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