Jailed For 150 Days

US actor Jussie Smollett was sentenced to almost five months in prison after being found guilty of falsely telling police he was the victim of a racist and homophobic hate crime in 2019 – an attack prosecutors said he himself staged.

The gay 39-year-old African American was found guilty in December of “planning” the fake assault by paying two Nigerian brothers $3,500, and of lying to police in his depositions.

“You really crave the attention and you wanted to get the attention,” Chicago Judge James Linn told the former “Empire” star as he read out the sentence late Thursday.  He said the actor had a streak that was “profoundly arrogant and selfish and narcissistic”.

“This was premeditated to the extreme… You’ve destroyed your life as you knew it,” Linn said, adding that “you did damage to real hate crimes victims.”  He said Smollett was “just a charlatan, pretending to be a victim of a hate crime”.

The sentence and Smollett’s ensuing outburst capped an hours-long hearing Thursday and more than three years of legal drama following Smollett’s claim that he had been the target of a racist and homophobic attack.

Smollett did not make a statement when offered the opportunity before the judge announced the sentence, saying he was listening to his attorneys’ advice. But after Linn issued his decision, Smollett removed the face mask he wore throughout the hearing to proclaim himself innocent.

“If I did this, then it means that I stuck my fist in the fears of Black Americans in this country for over 400 years and the fears of the LGBT community,” Smollett said, standing up at the defence table as his lawyers and sheriff’s deputies surrounded him.

“Your Honour, I respect you and I respect the jury but I did not do this. And I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself. And you must all know that.”  As deputies led him from the courtroom, Smollett shouted out again.  “I am innocent,” he yelled, raising his fist. “I could have said I am guilty a long time ago.”  READ MORE...

Away From the Violence of the Big Cities

One of the KEY FEATURES of living in East TN is the fact that there is minimal crime being perpetrated on individuals and families and there is absolutely NOTHING going on in Knoxville that resembles anything like we hear about in Washington DC, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, or Las Angeles...   and, it is highly unlikely that anything like that will ever happen here.  

WHY NOT?

1. People who live in East TN just are not like that
2. We honor the right of law and order
3. We proudly support the Second Amendment
4. We care about our faith and the Church
5. We have better things to do with our time

Saturday morning and the temperatures are in the 70's with just a slight breeze in the air and my neighborhood is quiet and calm as there are no people outside working in their yards, allowing me unfettered access to my screened-in back porch as I enjoy the afternoon sun warming everything around me.

NOW...  don't get me wrong about how absolutely great it is in East TN because we have plenty of problems with illegal drugs in our elementary schools and in our high schools.  And, there are an enormous amount of people who like to drive faster than the posted speed limit signs...  and, there are a few people who like to steal from others who they think might be too stupid to realize what is going on...  and, our hospitals and cancer centers are full with patients all the time.

BUT...  it is still better than living up NORTH where all them millionaires live and expect people to bend over backwards because they are wealthy...  there are wealthy people down here too, but they are not as arrogant.

PLUS...  it is a hell of a lot cheaper to live here than anywhere else...   ON AVERAGE that is...