No. 186: Tract Houses in Drag

Good morning, everyone.

In 1972, George Carlin was arrested after performing at Summerfest 1972. His crime? Disturbing the peace with a profanity laced act called 'Seven words you can't say on television (find a video clip at the bottom of this email). Carlin was eventually released, but just a year later, he included the act on his album Occupation: Fooles.

Carlin was an abrasive performer in the spirit of Lenny Bruce who pioneered the original act of listing off words you couldn't say for comedic effect which landed him in the clink for obscenity in 1961. And though Carlin would never spend time in the clink, his Seven Words act came to define obscenity laws in broadcast media up to the present day.

At 2 PM on a regular day in 1973, public radio station WBAI in New York played the 'Seven Words' act as part of a program celebrating speech protected by the First Amendment. Well, not everyone was stoked to hear the sacred, forbidden Seven Words blared across the airwaves. In particular, was John Douglas. At the time of the broadcast, Douglas was riding in the car with his 15-year-old son and happened to be a member of a group called Morality in Media (now called the National Center on Sexual Exploitation). Douglas immediately filed a complaint with the FCC.

Douglas' complaint, the only one received by the FCC that day, had an enormous impact on speech laws. At the time, there were 20 million people potentially exposed to the program, but it took only one complaint to send the case up to the Supreme Court where, in 1978, it handed down a ruling that gave the FCC the right to restrict and censor the Seven Dirty Words. At the time, Carlin railed that, frustrated by their inability to implement their social agenda through Congress, the "right wing” in the country used appointed federal agencies, such as the FCC, to do its bidding.

The right largely won the obscenity battle in legacy media, but the internet and podcasts sit outside the regulatory capabilities of the FCC, so porn is rampant and podcasters can say whatever they want — legally. In the present day, the FCC's role in policing "misinformation" — or whatever you want to call it — is severely restricted by law, and so, the "left wing" capture of the American bureaucracy has been little help in their attempts to control the flow of information.

Where the right wing of the 70s and 80s was concerned more with obscene language, the modern left wing seems more preoccupied with controlling the information itself. As the FCC is not at license to be the arbiter of truth and not able to punish or even regulate the new mediums, the modern day left wing has enlisted its cronies in Big Tech and the Corporate Media to help them control the flow of speech — a textbook example of fascism. This allows the left wing to censor and adjudicate information without infringing on basic rights because they involve themselves in the direct production of information and the manipulation of consumer behavior. While the FCC declines to this day to be the "arbiter of truth in journalism", the Democrat-Tech-Media conglomerate has taken up that mantle sight unseen.

Those sitting perilously under their Sword of Damocles continue to defend their right to do so because of the "free market" or something. We've all been the worse for it.

“Let the free market decide,” Carlin concluded in an interview with the LA Times in 1987 reminiscing on the incident. “Let the free market of ideas decide the value of ideas, the level of significance of discussion, the levels of taste, and sort it out. That’s what this democratic experiment is about in this country.”

Point taken, but how has that free-market worked out for you recently?

Today, we look at Tennessee's new 5th District, look at COVID and deer, present a novel idea coming out of Silicon Valley (finally), and wonder aloud what has led Danes to resent immigration so much with a graph.

In other news, Edward Landstreet introduces a series exploring the weird Nashville houses popping up around the town in response to the city's explosive growth.

You can follow us on Twitter (@realpamphleteer), LinkedIn (@realpamphleteer), or Instagram (@realpamphleteer) for additional content.

Thanks for reading.

⌗ A LOOK AT THE NEW 5TH DISTRICT

When convening to discuss the redistricting of Tennessee’s Congressional seats, Tennessee Democrats repeatedly circled back to a single talking point: the new rural counties added to the 5th District will suffer because the demographics of Davidson County, and its sheer size, will overpower them. Let’s look at what’s been added and subtracted to the recently instated district.

WHAT DID IT USE TO BE?

The counties included in District 5 as of 2012 included Davidson, Cheatham, and Dickson. Of these districts, one doesn’t look like the other. The demographics of Davidson County are vastly different than those of Cheatham and Dickson Counties. Curiously, Cheatham and Dickson demos look strikingly similar to those of the newly added 5th district counties.

WHAT'S BEEN ADDED?

While Cheatham and Dickson are now part of District 7 (Rep. Mark Green - R), Maury, Davidson, Lewis, and slivers of Williamson and Wilson Counties have been redrawn into the new 2022 5th District map. Though Maury, Lewis, Williamson, and Wilson have similar racial/ethnic demographics to that of Cheatham and Dickson counties, all but Lewis have something in common with Davidson — population growth. While Davidson has increased by about 80k in population from 2010–2020, Maury increased by about 20k, Wilson increased by about 30k, and Williamson is right up there with a 65k population increase in the same time period. Furthermore, 7.61% of Williamson County is foreign-born, compared to 8.26% in Davidson County.

Are these new counties truly that different from the old counties that were drawn into the 5th District? One can argue that the rate of growth and voting demographics/interests are moving in a similar direction as those of Davidson County. As the Metro area becomes more congested, areas such as Williamson County are becoming denser with the overflow of those who have a keen interest in the Metropolitan area. The makeup of rural, suburban, and urban areas surrounding Nashville are experiencing an unprecedented influx of people. How this shapes the future of Middle Tennessee is yet to be seen, just some food for thought.

FEATURED

• Spinner Hubcaps and Working to Death: Lessons From Jim Cooper’s Career (Scene) A barn-burner of a conversation between Jim Cooper and Stephen Elliot as Cooper lays thread-bare how Democrats in the state have failed and why they will continue to fail.

HEADLINES

• Certain Nashville neighborhoods see rise in gun thefts (WSMV) The Midtown Hills precinct area has seen the problem skyrocket, going from 65 stolen guns in 2017 to 342 in 2021. East, North, Central, and Madison precincts all, at least, doubled their numbers in the past five years, while West Nashville has remained about the same.
• Nashville's odds to host the 2024 Republican National Convention improve as Pittsburgh falls from running (NBJ) Pittsburgh is no longer in the running to host the 2024 Republican National Convention, the Republican National Committee announced Friday. In contrast, RNC members are “buzzing” about Music City.

DEVELOPMENT

• Trinity Lane site sells for four times 2019 transaction price (Post)
• Dallas-based investment firm continues Nashville shopping spree with industrial portfolio buy (NBJ)
• Alcove: The 34 Story, Zero-Parking Tower Next To Amazon’s Nashville Office (Now Next)
• EV charging company brings hundreds of jobs to Wilson County (WKRN)
• Three new tenants secure spaces in McEwen Northside (Post)
• Ground breaks on Gulch residential, retail tower (Post)

❀ TODAY IN: COVID COMES FOR US ALL, EVEN THE ANIMALS

As everyone except for the CDC has pointed out since the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 will be with us forever because it lives on in animals who spread to one another and can, potentially, spread it to humans. This fact is one of the foundational pillars of why COVID Zero is and will always be a stupid idea.

In Iowa, nearly 60% of roadkill deer came in positive for COVID-19. They've tested 4,000 deer so far. So far, there is no evidence that the virus makes deer sick, just that they can carry it and spread it amongst themselves.

Source: Is the Coronavirus in Your Backyard?
New York Times, February 7th, 2022, Read Online

☀ TODAY IN: NEW AND INTERESTING IDEAS

Controversial Silicon Valley entrepreneur Anthony Levandowski, a self-driving vehicle pioneer who was pardoned by Donald Trump after being found guilty of stealing trade secrets from Waymo, has a new venture. It's called Pollen Mobile.

Pollen Mobile is a peer-to-peer cellular network that doesn't rely on centralized carriers. For the network to function, it requires users to install miniature cell towers in their house for which they are credited with a cryptocurrency called PollenCoin (PCN). The new venture declares its intention to take on the "Four Horsemen" of mobile networks:

1. Lack of Privacy and Anonymity
2. Poor Coverage
3. High Costs
4. No User Voice

In line with the basic ethos of most projects which attempt to remove the middleman and decentralize digital technologies — a.k.a. the emerging crypto-economy — Pollen Mobile relies entirely on users to maintain the network. For now, the project has been confined to San Francisco Bay Area, but the idea is that if enough personal towers are put up, anyone with a Pollen Mobile phone can connect to anyone else with a Pollen phone without hitting a major cell tower.

More Info: Medium · Website · White Paper

⎇ GRAPH OF THE DAY

Source: Why have Danes turned against immigration?
The Economist, December 18th, 2021, Read Online ($)

⚔︎ MISSIVES ⚔︎

• 🚩 Virginia Democrats are certainly taking their defeat last November hard. Last week, they spitefully refused the application of the lone black Republican in the House of Delegates to join the Black Caucus — which in theory is open to non-Democrats.
• 🙏 Reverends, rabbis and other religious leaders urged Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to permanently stop the company's plan for an Instagram version aimed at young users on Tuesday, in a letter sent by advocacy group Fairplay and their Children's Screen Time Action Network.
• 🗣 The IRS said Monday that it is abandoning its push to use facial recognition technology on taxpayers after massive bipartisan pushback from senior lawmakers, who called the idea a disaster for privacy and security.  
• 📲 If Meta is not given the option to transfer, store and process data from its European users on US-based servers, Facebook and Instagram may be shut down across Europe, the social media giants’ owner reportedly warned in its annual report.
• 🛢 President Biden said the Russian-built Nord Stream 2 natural-gas pipeline to Germany would be suspended if Russia invades Ukraine, with the German chancellor offering support but without explicitly saying the project would be halted.

THINGS TO DO

View the full calendar here.

⚜️ At Cheekwood, Spanning the Atlantic, The Arts and Crafts Movement, an international trend in the decorative arts that originated in the British Isles during the 19th century.

TONIGHT

🎸 Marshal Tucker Band @ The Ryman, 7p, $49+, Info

🎻 Bluegrass Night @ The American Legion Post 82, 7p, Free, Info

🍸 Electric relaxation @ Bar Sovereign, 9p, Free, Info

Get ‘em while you can

🎸 Tedeschi Trucks Band (Feb 22, 23, 25, 26) @ The Ryman, 7p, $40+, Info for the 22nd, 23rd, 25th, and 26th

🔆 Jordan Peterson (03/22) @ The Ryman, 7:30p, $40+, Info

🎸 Buddy Guy (03/26) @ The Ryman, 7:30p, $80, Info

🐷 Primus a Farewell to Kings tour (05/09) @ The Ryman, 7:30p, $55+, Info

NEW THIS WEEK

FROM THE ARCHIVE

Around the Web

⤵ Couple arrested in alleged $4.5 billion cryptocurrency laundering scheme Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, 34, and his rapper wife, Heather Morgan, 31, are accused of conspiring to wash the proceeds of 119,754 bitcoin that were looted when a hacker breached the systems of virtual currency exchange Bitfinex.

☁ Crisis for the Climate Models One of my heterodox positions on climate change is that many of our scientific efforts to improve our grasp of the earth’s climate system since it became a hot topic (no pun intended) back in the 1970s have actually moved our knowledge backwards.

⇟ Were masks a waste of time? Experts advocated an intervention they once thought useless

Political Theater Highlight Reel

1. Stacey Abrams maskless in other photos from her infamous trip to school
2. GA School ⁦The Lovett School DEI office compiles “list” of parent targets.
3. L.A. County will not lift its mask mandate on February 15th.

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Words of Wisdom

"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever."

Thomas Jefferson