Not only is Donald Trump bungling the national response to COVID, he also seems to be at odds with the Roman poet Ovid. Here are some relevant Ovid quotes/translations:

"Fair peace becomes men; ferocious anger belongs to beasts."

"Thou seest how sloth wastes the sluggish body, as water is corrupted unless it moves."

"If you want to be loved, be lovable."

"No man can purchase his virtue too dear, for it is the only thing whose value must ever increase with the price it has cost us. Our integrity is never worth so much as when we have parted with all to keep it."

Governor Bill Lee’s controversial “school voucher” program suffered another blow Tuesday when the Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision that the Education Savings Account Act is unconstitutional.

The ESA program, also known as “school vouchers," would give more than $7,000 in state money to qualifying parents in Shelby and Davidson counties to help send students to private schools.
...
Both counties sued over the program, saying it violated “Home Rule” protections because it only applies to the two counties.

A Trump-appointed Nashville federal judge on Tuesday prevented a new law requiring abortion providers to offer medically questionable information to women seeking abortions from going into effect.
...
“violates the First Amendment by requiring abortion providers to convey a mandated message that is misleading.”

We have a Trumpian government in Tennessee. Would someone please stop the clownish TN legislature from wasting time and money.

Hey y'all good people in East Tennessee. It's time. You know what to do: @joebiden @bradshaw2020 @rvhoyos @VoteGloriaJ @VoteVirginiaC @VoteJaneGeorge1 @justindavis4tn @VoteElizabeth16 @JayClark4TN @VoteSusanSneed

— knoxviews (@knoxviews) September 30, 2020

Here's the deal...

Joe Biden for President!

Nine months into 2020, Knox County is already seeing more suspected opioid deaths compared to all of last year. Just in September 2020, 26 people died of suspected overdoses in the county.

That brings the total so far this year to 260 people. In 2019, there were 259 suspected overdose deaths and 2020 still has three months left.

More people have died of suspected drug overdoses this year in Knox County than all of 2019 combined

I sent the following message to Senator Marsha Blackburn and Rep. Tim Burchett regarding mail service at the South Knoxville branch post office. I received a confirmation from Blackburn, and nothing from Burchett.

The post office at 137 E Young High Pike, Knoxville, TN 37920, used to have two outdoor mailboxes and now has only one. Today, Sunday, September 27, at 4 pm, I went to mail two letters, but couldn't insert them into the one remaining mailbox because it was full, with letters falling out the opening. It's time to restore full mail service in Knoxville, including full counter hours on Saturdays. The post office serves, and is appreciated by, our community, and for it to be undermined by the current administration is insulting and outrageous.

Ashley Capps at the Knox County Commission meeting last night,

We hear a lot about freedom these days … but not so much about the personal responsibility, the self-discipline and sacrifice that this freedom requires in order to preserve it and protect it.

We hear about the individual rights enshrined in our Constitution, but not so much about its commitments to provide for the common welfare, for the protection of the American people as whole.

Well said. So many, including the Knox County Mayor, don't appear to understand the concept.

U.S. businesses with COVID-19 outbreaks are facing an emerging legal threat from claims that workers brought coronavirus home and infected relatives, which one risk analysis firm said could cost employers billions of dollars.

The cases borrow elements from “take home” asbestos litigation and avoid caps on liability for workplace injuries, exposing business to costly pain and suffering damages, even though the plaintiff never set foot on their premises.

'Take home' lawsuits over COVID infections could be costly for U.S. employers

The county has reported 81 total coronavirus-related deaths, 76 of which have come since July 2.
The county reported 19 deaths in the month of August and 23 so far in September.

The Knox County Health Department reports
9,590 coronavirus cases and 415 probable cases.

That's 542 new cases in the past week,

That's a 6% increase over a week ago.

There are 39 Knox County COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized.
Ten more than a week ago.

There have been 81 total deaths in Knox County from COVID-19.
Eight deaths due to COVID-19 in the past week.

That's a 11% increase in deaths in the past week (73 as of September 19).

5 in the 18-44 age group (6%)
19 in the 45-64 age group (23%)
20 in the 65-74 age group (25%)
37 in the 75+ age group (46%)

Tests conducted on Knox County residents are dropping again,
3,709 week of Sept 13, 4,241 week of Sept. 6, 4,388 week of August 30, 3,660 week of August 23, 4,139 week of August 16, 4,150 week of August 9, 4,567 week of August 2, 4,412 week of July 19, 4,219 week of July 26
as compared to the higher number of tests done at the end of June and the first two weeks of July,
4,425 week of June 28, 5,401 week of July 5, 5,994 week of July 12.

As of September 22, 2020, ICU Bed availability is at 18.0%. (278 ICU beds total with 50 beds available) .
(Note, the week of 9/1/2020, ICU bed capacity was 278, then the week of 9/8/2020, ICU bed capacity was raised to 374, then the week of Sept. 22 ICU bed capacity has been reduced back down to 278.)
(Note, prior to the 8/4/2020 report, ICU bed capacity was 272. It would appear that Knox County hospitals have increased ICU bed capacity by 6 beds.)

The County Health Department has a map with the number of coronavirus cases per zip code.
On September 24, 2020, these zip codes were reported with the most cases:
(last reported on September 10)

37916 has the most cases with 787 738 cases (population 12,507) (6.6% increase)
37918 with 764 cases (population 44,476) (13.5% increase)
37920 with 760 cases (population 39,000) (14.8% increase)
37921 with 703 cases (population 28,000) (11.0% increase)
37919 with 549 cases (population 28,000) (14.1% increase)
37922 with 532 cases (population 41,539) (14.9% decrease)
37917 with 477 cases (population 27,000) (11.2% increase)
37923 with 467 cases (population 30,000) (11.2% decrease)

Be careful out there.

Nearly 10,000 newly tested positives have been occuring each week.
Over 100 deaths have been occuring each week.

From reports dated as of September 26, 2020.

There has been a steady increase in coronavirus (covid-19) cases in Tennessee.

According to the TN Dept. of Health,

190,891 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in TN and
2,374 have died from it.

That is an additional 9,052 cases in one week and an additional 158 reported deaths.

2,782,844 tests have been given to Tennessee residents.
That is an additional 161,753 tests in the past week.

Hospitalizations appear to have increased. From September 19 to September 26 (7 days) the number of patients hospitalized for the coronavirus has decreased by 11.6% (by 77 from 662 to 739).

6.9% of TN residents tested for the coronavirus have tested positive for the coronavirus.

40.2% of the 6.89 million people estimated to live in TN have been tested for the coronavirus.
However, that may not be true. it is not known how tests are counted when a single person gets tested multiple times. Certain people in certain fields of work (medical, education, sports) or physical ability (nursing home residents, hospital patients) may get tested multiple times.

Be careful out there.

Looks like we've paid a lot more taxes than trump over the years. But we didn't have multiple fraudelent bankruptcies or casinos that somehow managed to lose money.

(link...)

The secret tapes that expose a mining company's true plans

There are signs that caught my attention while driving along Neyland Drive the other day.

No Parking Anytime - Including ball games

Have to take the explanation a step farther for sports fans?

DTV features Democratic Candidate for the 6th District seat in the Tennessee State Senate tonight on DTV at 9:30 PM.

Where to watch Democratic TV?

Live Stream @ (link...)
AT&T Uverse: Channel 99
Comcast NBC Universal: Channel 12
WOW! Channel 6
Charter: Channel 193
CTV Archives of all DTV Programs since Apr 2018 can be accessed at (link...)
DTV Shows are also archived on YouTube @ DTVKnox: (link...)
Facebook: DTV Knoxville (link...)

September 25 2020

The undersigned small business leaders firmly believe the Knox County Board of Health should continue to operate as an independent board, making decisions and mandates based on science and free from the influence of politics and politicians. The current Board members act based on data - measurables that they’ve learned over the course of the Pandemic - and in the best interest of all businesses (and residents) of Knox County.

Press release...

NEW MEMBERS SOUGHT FOR NEIGHBORHOOD ADVISORY COUNCIL

The Office of Neighborhoods seeks applications from staunch supporters of neighborhoods for Mayor Indya Kincannon to consider for appointment to the Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC). Seats open in December for three-year terms lasting from January 2021 to December 2023.

Pellissippi State Community College enrollment down 12.7%.

Across Tennessee’s community colleges, the head count this uemester is down 10.2% compared to 2019.

For Pellissippi State, the sharpest drop appears to be in adult students who apply for the Tennessee Reconnect program. The “last-dollar” grant is applied to tuition and mandatory fees after federal and state aid.

From the Washington Post,

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center on Thursday released its first look at fall enrollment... showing fewer students are pursuing undergraduate degrees this semester as the coronavirus continues to sow fears of infection and devastate the economy.

Community colleges reported the steepest declines at 8 percent, continuing a downward trend that the Clearinghouse took notice of over the summer.
...
Martha Parham, a senior vice president and spokeswoman for the American Association of Community Colleges, said the early data aligns with what the trade organization is hearing from member schools. Many of them serve students who have suffered job losses and no longer can afford to take classes or are struggling to juggle work while caring for children stuck at home. Another major hurdle, she said, is the lack of reliable broadband for students whose courses are virtual.
...
Public four-year institutions are faring better than their private counterparts at the undergraduate level, the data shows. State schools in urban areas witnessed a slight uptick in enrollment, although those in rural settings reported a slide.

A few days ago, a Facebook video narrated by Knox Co. Mayor Glenn Jacobs displayed images of Knox County Board of Health members and said we are "under attack" by "sinister forces from within." The video accuses health experts of lying to us about the coronavirus and includes violent imagery of riots and burning buildings with a warning that violent mobs seek to "erect a socialist utopia on the ashes of the republic."

At last night's Board of Health meeting, board members said they are receiving threats stemming from the video and expressed concern for their personal safety and the safety of their families. Jacobs said he was sorry that members felt threatened, but said he was just a politician trying to make a "political statement."

On the agenda at last night's meeting was a recent proposal by Jacobs and certain County Commissioners to severely limit the Board of Health's authority, or to disband it altogether. Members pushed back and admonished Jacobs, who has fought the local pandemic response at every step of the way, for his inflammatory video.

Mayor Jacobs is clearly not fit to serve. He has exhibited no regard whatsoever for the health and well-being of the community, and opposes those who do. His video is, frankly, unhinged, which raises serious concerns about his ability to lead in a time of crisis. He should resign, but don't hold your breath.

It was all fun and games when Knox County elected a professional wrestler with no prior experience in government or politics. The consequences should come as no surprise.

More...

KNS: Board of health members slam Glenn Jacobs for ominous video

WBIR: Knox County Board of Health addresses concerns about policy powers

WATE: Health Board members speak out about video narrated by Mayor Jacobs (includes the video)

KnoxTNToday: Health Board puts a ‘hurt’ on Jacobs

Compass: Health Board Hits Back

From Michael Dunthorn:

Mr. Kaplan,

With regard to the specific situation ... that you mentioned, KPD has been investigating it and will increase monitoring of those locations.

Tel Aviv set to become first city with electric roads that charge public transportation