Four Observations

1.  Knoxville area.  City agreed on having 'some' Halloween decorations.  Not a lot of explanations over this....I assume that they felt it was a community 'hype' and no one would have issues.

So the picked decorations....it was a Halloween ghost figure (multiple).

Shortly after going up....some social worker in the city....started pressuring the city council to take down its Halloween ghost decorations.  Reason?  Figure looks to her like a white supremacist lynching (her words, not mine).

I paused over this....looking for images of the 'ghost'.  I have to admit....after viewing it....yeah, it does in some odd way resemble Klan-sheeted-guy.  

Now....if you'd asked real locals (not the moved-in or new residents)....they probably would have grinned and said 'yes, it's Klan-stuff'.  

2.  Guys seem to pick up on tampon dispensers in the men's bathroom....identifying the 'machine', hallway, and area.....noting this to other guys in water-cooler-chat.  Women, eyeballing this odd chat, seem to want to know why it's noticeable to guys and their reaction.

3.  This Cleveland-prophet-guy with the 2nd wife issue?  It's perfectly legal as long as he doesn't do a legit marriage-license with the 2nd wife.

Now, if you asked me about this 2nd wife deal lasting long....I'd take a humble guess that either wife #1 or wife #2....by the end of 2027...probably up and leaves....saying it was too complicated.

The path ahead?  Well....there's going to be some group to emerge...saying it's religiously 'OK' to have multiple wives, and we go through a cycle of 5 to 10 years....where 3some marriages are openly discussed.

4.   PEW did a poll...asking Americans if they could afford 'essentials'.  Forty-four percent came back and said NO.

I pondered over this....a list of necessities/essentials....could I today (2026) afford it?  I would ask....what's on the list?  Cable-TV....case of beer per week...Wall Street Journal daily....a McRib at least once a month....tooth-paste....bottled-water (Evian if possible)....TP (toilet-paper)....Netflix.

Bogus poll?  I might ask average IQ of the thousand-odd folks they polled.