GKar

http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/107/Bill/SB0397.pdf This one should be fun. The old bat from Memphis will pass out when she reads this.

http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/107/Bill/HB0355.pdf Short, sweet, to the point.

Short answer - for most folks between say 15 and 50, the answer is likely somewhere in between those two numbers. Different people's immune systems respond very differently, so its hard to make a general answer. That variaton gets even less predictable as you approach the extremes of age and overall health status. Longer answer: There are no definitive studies...at least yet. One of the big problems with generating that data is that just about each year's vaccine is in reality a new product, because of the changing strains that must be used to keep up with changes predictions of the most prevalent circulationg virus for the upcoming year. Some strains yield higher levels of protection, others less. Time constraints prevent any meaningful testing in humans RE conferred immunity pror to manufacturing commercial scale quantities of the vaccine. Each season's vaccine is composed of three or four strains. That makeup is determined by the World Health Organization and FDA beginning in January of the manufacturing season - the first strain is usually identified in January. Monitoring worldwide continues, with additional strain strains picked in late Feb and April, usually. It takes months to produce sufficient quantities of each strain component...and vaccine needs to be reviewed and approved by FDA and available for distribution by mid-August at the very latest. So it is in essence a race against time every year, with almost no room for error...or generating a lot of data ona gven year's vaccine, because by the time that data is available, that vaccine is no longer in production.

Several thoughts here. First off, I've been receiving the vaccine yearly for the last 10 years or so, with the exception of getting the monovalent H1N1 vaccine last year...and yep, contracted that strain and felt like I'd been hit by a train for about a week. As a microbiologist in a former life, I am quite familiar with the development and manufacture of influenza vaccines, and will agree with a previous post: a lot of the negative you hear about influenza vaccines is inaccurate, and just plain wrong. If you develop symptoms of a respiratory illness or "the flu" after receiving a vaccine, it is almost assuredly NOT from the vaccine itself: the manufacturing techniques utilized to inactivate the virus have been shown to be effective in killing of more than 40 log (that's 10 with about 40 zeroes after it) excess of influenza virus. It takes several weeks for protective immunity to develop in most folks, so you certainly can contract the disease within that time period. A relatively small proportion of folks simply will not develop a protective imunity after vaccincation...unfortunately, it is not usually possible to screen for those folks, or to even know they fall into that category after vaccination. And in any given year, there are myriads of circulating viruses that result in "flu-like" symptoms for some folks, but are not true influenza and thus not affected by the vaccine. Fortunately, these similar viruses differ in one aspect: they are not as deadly as true influenza. In an average year, the complications from influenza kill an average of almost 25,000 Americans. Pneumonia secondary to influenza is probably the biggest culprit. At highest risk are those over 50, those under 6, and those with any type of chronic debilitating disease or chronic respiratory problem. So you say "OK, I dont fall into that category, why should I get the shot?" The reason is two-fold: first, if you do come down with influenza, even a very mild case, you can easily transmit it to someone who is less capable of fighting it off than you are...and you are contagious and capable of transmitting the infection anywhere from 24-48 hours BEFORE you become symptomatic. Secondly, there is a dynamic called "herd immunity" that is very important in protecting large populations of susceptible folks: the idea being that, if a certain percantege af a given population is immunized, those remaining susceptible folks are of a sufficiently low number that a true epidemic cannot get started. Thats a big reason why you see mass vaccination programs in a lot of long-term care institutions and their associated caregivers.

My house is 300 yards from Virginia, and not quite far enough from Knoxville. Right in the middle of the Squabble State.

Getting a sponsor at Kettlefoot is not a problem...the person conducting the orientation session can take care of that for you. They made a number of improvements to the pistol bays and centerfire range this past year, as well as expanding the sporting clays course to 100 birds. Another expansion of the sporting clays/5-stand course begins in January, which will reportedly culminate in a self-serve range for those - complimenting nicely the 24/7 trap and skeet self-serve fields.

After watching the video, it seems that one track legislators are interested in pursuing is to revise (not create anew) the licensing scheme currently used by ABC. Instead of the current 2 or 3 tiered system based on percentage of food sales, it would utilize as the basis for licensure an existing insurance scheme that stratifies establishments by level of risk according to the percentage of alcohol served vs total receipts. It presumably allows licensure to be more tailored to the business model of the establishment, with an escalatingfee structure corresponding to greater perceived risk models. (ie, an establishment that derives say, 35% revenues from the sale of alcohol would be charged a lower licensure fee than a business that derived 85% or more revenue form alcohol sales). Since restaurants and other establishments are already familiar with this classification scheme due to using it to acquire their insurance/bond, it should simplify things considerably. Nothing was said during the proceedings relating to tying this scheme to HCP/carry regulation...not even close. Before others go off about new laws and revenue generation, remember that current ABC licensure also requires different licensures for decreasing amounts of revenue versus food sales...places deriving as little as 15-20% pay $4000, decreasing to about $1500 or less for >50%. Difference being, ABC had to audit receipts to determie for their classification - the insurance assn already does so for theirs, and so the data would already be there.

Don't be too quick to forget that much of this scrutiny arose as backlash over the first restaurant bill and its fate...indeed, Curry Todd (who co-chaired this hearing) made it very clear during debates on version 2 of the restaurant bill that he wanted to see a major overhaul of these regulations, incljuding a total revamp of the ABC laws. And, it was this same discourse that ratcheted up the pressure on ABC, and several establishments ended up losing their licensure. If anyone is interested in hearing (and seeing) what was actually said, go to the link below: Tennessee General Assembly::Streaming Video Choose archived video for Joint-Other-Joint Senate/House State & Local Government Committee of November 18.

I've managed to have email "discussions" RE the Speakers position with both our newly-elected Rep and with the established Rep for the adjacent House district (with whom I've had several such conversations over the years). Both responses were of the "thanks for letting me know your thoughts, and I'll keep them in mind" variety. While neither of them flat out told me to go away and mind my own business, I still found their non-commital response somewhat disturbing.

One important tip - make sure the bird is as dry as you can get it before lowering it into the oil. Both outside and in every cavity, nook and cranny...any water that's not internal to the skin will immediately flash to steam, popping very hot oil everywhere...and right onto the heat source. Needless to say, if its been previously frozen, it must absolutely be thoroughly thawed, or the scenario above repeats.

Typically, use ground chipotle, Penzey's med-hot chili powder and a generous dose of ground ancho to deepen the flavor. That's in with ground beef or venison/beef, kidney and pinto beans, and a little local BBQ sauce. Have been known to garnish with habanero or Scotch Bonnet rings, particularly for the unsuspecting. Red Savinas when I can get/grow them...

Something like what was passed in Virginia last year? HB885 Patron: Clifford L. Athey, Jr. Possession of concealed weapons in vehicles. Creates a new exemption to the general prohibition against carrying concealed weapons by allowing a person who may lawfully possess a firearm to carry a handgun in a private motor vehicle or vessel if the handgun is secured in a container or compartment. This bill allows anyone who may lawfully possess firearm, to carry a handgun secured in a container or compartment in a vehicle or vessel. So the question becomes then, how do you craft the linkage between the features of TN law that allow possession (w/o a permit) within the confines of your home to such a bill as above. VA was easier, in that there are already allowances to allow people to legally possess without a permit...the exception above is specific to the prohibition againsst concealed carry..

I corresponded with one of our local legislators last night, expresing my concern RE Rep Harwell. He indicated that he understands and shares that concern, and confirmed that Rep Glen Casada is also seeking the Speakers chair. Also, Rep Jon Lundberg (from upper E TN) will be seeking the role of Majority Leader - he has been a consistently strong 2A proponent, is very politically astute, and would I believe be a good choice for that role.

There's way too much bad blood between Wiliams and the Republican party in E TN for him to take the Speakers chair. To that end, he campaigned as an Independent this election, defeating a Republican challenger (no Dem ran in his district, IIRC). Names I've heard so far tossed as Speaker candidates: Harwell, Casada, Harry Brooks, Sargent. Thoughts? Casada seems to be a favorite of some folks...

Interesting...Kent Williams announced this morning that he was not going to be a candidate for House Speaker, and was throwing his support behind...Beth Harwell. Frankly, I would think that legislators would indeed be interested in the electorate's input RE Speaker - if they are accompanied by a rational and well-thought justification for that recommendation.

Looks like Republicans gained 14 seats in the House (64-35 now), and 1 in the Senate. 15th Senate District was incredibly tight: Burks by 183 votes over Steakley. Doug Jackson loses by about 900 votes to Summerville in Senate 25, McLeary over Finney by 1200 in Senate 27. Kent Coleman loses in House 49 (there goes at least one consistent anti vote). Even Naifeh was in a close race...which he unfortunately won.

Right now, with most of the West districts not yet reporting, looks like Republicans may end up with at least a 60-39 majority in the TN House.

Fox news, 8:31pm ET Early returns in Sullivan and Washington Counties had him leading 78%/21%

Last time I talked with local Republican leaders, they thought they could realistically gain about 5 seats in the TN House. Perhaps the single biggest benefit from that would be the likely ouster of Kent Williams as Speaker of the House. His committee/chair appointments were the death of several good bills last session, and made it very difficult for others to migrate through.

Remember, this incident occurred in South Carolina, not TN...not sure what the possible diffferences in the laws there may bring to bear. Dr. Boyle still practices medicine in Bristol, and apparently in the Charleston, SC area as well...could that have played into the decision to require bond (ie, pretty obvious he would be leaving the SC area periodically). Seems an article appearing in one of the local papers listed the ages of the protestors as 60, 50 and a juvenile, all male. Boyle pointed the gun at them from inside his vehicle, and has been charged with "pointing a firearm at any person", which is a felony in SC. The protestors indicate they were standing in public right-of-way, attempting to hand out literature. They indicated that, if Boyle felt threatened, he could have called the office security guard - who sometimes stands and talks with the protestors, according to their account. If he is inside his vehicle as the accounts suggest, it seems a bit of a stretch to justify felling threatened to the point of justifying pointing a gun at someone who is unarmed and standing outside the vehicle. His 3000 lb car would have been a much more effective weapon anyway, no?

Somebody else mentioned it...prescription drug products. I'd refer you to the Physician's Desk Reference for pictures - they have about 100 pages of them. Many here, if not most, depend on them to either keep them alive, or to improve the quality of their life. And the vast, vast majority of those products are made in the US...not in China, or in eastern Europe, or even in Mejico or Cahnadah. Why? Because the FDA routinely finds that products manufactured in those places fail to meet the quality and performance standards of their US counterparts.

'Splain this one, Ricky...you got your license CHECKED three times, or you actually got ARRESTED three times? Mucho difference. The former is no big deal...I'm as white as a bag of White Lily flour, and have been checked probably 6-8 times this summer alone, not counting the times I was checked for my hunting license. The latter case (that's the second one, if your english is indeed as poor as your post suggests), however, shines a quite different light on things...suggesting that you were doing something illegal: fishing without a license in an area where one is required, for example. Just sayin...

This is also a great trail to hike or ride horseback. Hiked the section from Watauga to Alvarado a few weeks ago, and saw no signs regarding firearms possession (which was a good thing...). In all the times I've been on various sections of the Creeper Trail, I don't ever recall seeing any LEO's, Rangers, etc...but with the trestle repair projects now underway, there may be more around (especially on the White Top end). BTW - if anyone is into geocaching, there are 30-40 caches along the Trail.

If it was like our end of the state, there were numerous local positions on the ballot: county mayor, council positions, etc. in additon to the primaries. Perhaps he meant those.

Wife and I voted early, as we have for several years. Disappointed with the Gov results, but ... its now time to focus on avoiding Dem control of either chamber, and keepin Haslam on a very short leash.