The White House has issued the following statement. President Trump does know the difference between Greenland and Iceland. He is aware that Norway and Denmark are separate countries, and neither controls Nobel Awards. Mauritius and Mauritania are very different places, and our telegram about the Diego Garcia airbase sent to the latter was an honest typo. We understand that Chile is a country, not a restaurant, and Kash Patel's attempt to redeem a Chili's coupon at the Chilean embassy should be viewed as a joke. Vice President Vance knows the difference between Austria and Australia and should not be criticized for his attempt to book a ski chalet in Melbourne.

Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican singer, is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show. MAGA outrage ensued. Some said an American should perform the halftime show. Others said being a Puerto Rican indicates you are American.

Now, the NFL has announced they have "booked Green Day to perform the Super Bowl opening ceremony ― the punk rock band that fueled our anti-imperialist teenage angst."

Lies, lies, lies.... That is what we get from the current federal administration. Now we also get altered pictures and videos. Who can believe anything from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, etc.?

It's sad but primarily scary.

White House posts digitally altered image of woman arrested after ICE protest. The White House response, "... The memes will continue. Thank you for your attention to this matter."

While out running errands I noticed our cute little local store that sells propane was packed. There were cars covering all paved areas. Then there was a long line of people with their little propane tanks waiting for refills.

Propane won't help me. However, I am looking to acquire eggs, milk, water, and, aw heck, Ding Dongs.

In an interview that quickly went haywire, Fox News host Sean Hannity and Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones (D) verbally sparred on Tuesday night over Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids targeting immigrants.

“The America I believe in does not look like this,” Jones said, holding up an image of masked ICE agents. “The America I believe in does not look like masked men targeting people. Shameful!”

“The threat to the American people is in the White House,” he said, adding that 70 percent of immigrants “kidnapped” by ICE “goons” haven’t been convicted of any crimes.

“Shame on you!” Jones said again. “God have mercy on you and anybody who believes it’s right, and your children will be ashamed of where you stand in this time, Sean.”

Yahoo News has another story about the interview from Mediaite with more text and possibly the entire segment. You have to watch a 15 second ad.

There is so much more. It is a little hard to find the full video, try Googling justin jones on fox.

TN State Rep. Justin Jones is a good representative of our state. If only more people stood up like he does. I hope he doesn't get arrested for something they make up.

The Tennessee legislature is now in session. What are there issues? What are the issues of the people?

Gov. Lee declined to accept $84 million in federal funds to feed Tennessee kids during summer.

Tennessee lawmakers are more concerned with loosening gun laws than the issues of the people, e.g. cost of living and inflation, health care access and affordability and housing affordability.

"Some bills to look out for are House Bill 1189, ... would change Tennessee’s current handgun carry permit system ... allowing permit holders to legally carry any firearm they own in places where they can now only carry handguns."

"HB 0387 and Senate Bill 0474 limit doctors from asking about gun ownership. If a provider asks a patient if they own, possess, or have access to firearms, ammunition, or accessories, the bill would allow disciplinary action and a fine of up to $1,000."

"SB 1629 deletes the criminal offenses of carrying a firearm with intent to go armed and carrying a weapon in a public park with the intent to go armed. It also prohibits a juvenile from carrying a firearm with the intent to go armed except in certain circumstances."

Sen. Becky Massey (R-Knoxville) said, "I'm not about making a statement. I'm about trying to get things done and trying to pass bills that save lives."

Huh?

‘An inspiration’ | Dr. Tom Kim, founder of Kim Health Center, passes away.

Dr. Tom Kim opened his first Free Medical Clinic of America on Chapman Highway in 1993 and helped thousands of patients.

The clinic at 6209 Chapman Highway, Knoxville, TN 37920, is still helping with free or low cost healthcare. A second clinic has opened at 1610 Magnolia Ave (at the PTSCC campus) Knoxville, TN, 37917.

Many thanks to Dr. Kim for what he did to help those in need for over 30 years. Thank an immigrant today.

KPD said multiple car burglaries were reported at the State Street Garage, the Civic Coliseum parking garage, and the Marble Alley parking garage between January 4 and January 14. Investigators reviewed surveillance video and found the same suspect at each of the burglaries. They were then able to identify Brabson Jr. as the suspect, according to KPD.

WATE Report: Man arrested after series of vehicle burglaries in Downtown Knoxville

WVLT Report: Teen facing almost 20 charges after downtown car break-ins, Knoxville police say

We may be past being embarrassed. We're now in shock?

Many others have worked this song parody, but if there still was a Front Page Follies I'd be working on this:

Super-Callous-Fragile-Ego-Epstein Files-Atrocious
Did you see his hand today, it looks just like necrosis

I sure miss Follies.

The new effort saves much money by focusing on utilitizing railroad lines that are already in place. The aim is to bolster these lines by adding double tracks as well as side tracks where needed so passenger lines on a schedule could veer past freights.

Plans Chugging Down The Track For Passenger Rail Connecting Chattanooga, Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis

Attendance at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the country’s most-visited national park, dropped for second year in a row.

For the first time since 2018, fewer than 12 million people visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2025, according to preliminary attendance data from the National Park Service. There were just over 11.5 million visits last year, a 5.4% drop from 2024, which had nearly 12.2 million visitors.

Recently, the administration unveiled a new food pyramid with red meat, cheese, vegetables and fruits pictured at the top.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins "suggested an affordable meal option that met her new guidelines."

“We’ve run over a thousand simulations,” she said. “It can cost around $3 a meal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, a corn tortilla and one other thing. And so, there is a way to do this that actually will save the average American consumer money.”

The hilarity ensues.

U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY) will introduce the Quick Recognition (QR) Act into Congress next week, a bill that would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, as well as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, to have QR codes embedded into their uniforms.

2025 was the third-hottest year ever recorded on Earth, data shows

Tennessee State Reps. Gloria Johnson and Justin Jones stand strong in the state capitol.

The president "said Iran’s leaders should “show humanity” in dealing with the mass demonstrations sweeping the country as he warned Tehran the US would take “very strong action” if it started hanging protesters."
...
Asked what his message to Iran’s leadership was, the president said: “They’ve got to show humanity. They’ve got a big problem and I hope they’re not going to be killing people.”

I don't understand. We are killing and harming people for protesting. Why doesn't he order his people to stop?

Bill and Hillary Clinton wrote a lengthy letter to Representative James R. Comer of Kentucky, the Republican chairman of the Oversight Committee, refusing to testify in Congress.

"Every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, it's principles and it's people, no matter the consequences.

For us, now is that time."

Statement from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell.

Bluesky video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell

YouTube video Statement by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell

On Friday, the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June. That testimony concerned in part a multi-year project to renovate historic Federal Reserve office buildings.

Thank you.

A team of doctors has been rushed to Capitol Hill to analyze House Speaker Mike Johnson's curious absence of a spine. They were called after Johnson refused to install a plaque honoring the police officers injured during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"It was just the latest in a series of spineless acts," explained one doctor. "It appears he has no spine, but some cartilage like a shark. Curiously, that cartilage only hardens when it hears Donald Trump's voice."