No. 231: The Stupidity is the Point

Good morning, everyone.

We've got Bar Hours tomorrow night. At Lucky's 3 Star Bar in Wedgewood-Houston. If you can make it, we'd love to see you out.

Today, we take a look at the 5th Congressional district's fund-raising efforts so far and survey the field of candidates, look at how the stupidity of much propaganda is the point, and then point to a specific instance where falling for propaganda has negative side effects.

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Thanks for reading.

✱ QUICK GUIDE TO FIVE

Q1 Campaign Financial Disclosures were due for candidates throughout Tennessee no later than April 10th. As we await a full system update, allow us to disclose the few financial standings we know for the Congressional race in the 5th district.

The field is getting dense, especially for the Republican primary ballot that will take place on August 4th, but there is currently a bill sitting on the Governor’s desk that may affect two of the candidate’s eligibility. Trump endorsed Morgan Ortagus and Hollywood defector Robby Starbuck both face the possibility of disqualification if the bill since it will require congressional candidates to have lived in the state of Tennessee for a minimum of 3 years and within their district for a minimum of 1 year, passes into law. It seems as though Starbuck doesn’t think the bill will affect him, but a super PAC plans to file a lawsuit against the state if the legislation passes and that PAC seems to be connected to Ortagus.

In the meantime, a few candidates stand out more than others. Here is a list of everyone who is currently on the Republican ticket in the 5th.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES

Andy Ogles Maury County Mayor. Appeals to the local Williamson, Wilson, Davidson, Maury county voters. Has an established older and younger Republican base. Directs Tennessee’s Chapter of Americans For Prosperity.

Robby Starbuck A Music video producer who moved out of California after being ostracized by the community because of his right-wing values. He has online influence and is popular among younger Republicans.

Beth Harwell Former Tennessee Speaker of the House. Harwell has an established base in Williamson and Davidson counties as well as name recognition and respect across Tennessee.

Natisha Brooks Recently placed 2nd in the Wilson County Republican straw poll after speaking the other night.

Kurt Winstead Retired Brigadier General and businessman with strong ties in Williamson County. May be a dark horse candidate. His campaign finances are reflecting the loyalty he is drawing.

Morgan Ortagus Trump-endorsed candidate, Navy Reserve officer, intelligence analyst for the Treasury Department during the Obama administration. Personally targeted by the new bill in the TN legislature that may disqualify her from running because she has only lived in the state for a short time.

OTHER REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES

Baxter Lee, Tres Wittum, Jeff Beierlein, Timothy Bruce Lee, Stewart T. Parks, & Geni Batchelor.

INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES

Derrick Brantley, Daniel Cooper, & Rick Shannon.

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES

Heidi Campbell

HEADLINES

• ⭐️ OSHA officials admit to shredding documents in Tennessee Valley Authority coal ash case (Lookout) For two months, teams of workers had been toiling around the clock to clean up a colossal spill of toxic coal ash unleashed in East Tennessee when a containment wall buckled, loosing millions of tons of the sludge across the landscape.
• State launches tax incentive for entertainment projects (Post) Tennessee's Entertainment Commission, Department of Revenue and Department of Economic and Community Development announced Tuesday a new franchise and excise tax credit program that seeks to promote job creation and economic development.
• Did the NFL follow through on a promise to donate 200 cherry blossom trees to Nashville? (WPLN) Yes, the NFL did follow through on its promise. They gave $26,000 to relocate about 10 of the trees on Lower Broadway where the stage was built, and gave an additional 200 trees to plant across the city.

POLITICS

• Funk leads DA race in fundraising (Post) Glenn Funk raised $170,000 in the first quarter of 2022, more than double the amount of his next closest competitor in the race for district attorney. Sara Beth Myers raised $77,638 in the quarter while P. Danielle Nellis raised $34,219.
• TN Bill To Censor Conservative Groups Before Elections Could Be Unconstitutional (TCN) An obscure caption bill slipped in by Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov Randy McNally that seeks to censor Conservative groups 60-days prior to an election may be Unconstitutional based on a Supreme Court decision in a similar case.
• Tennessee public school funding bill advances past House committee (Center Square) The new funding formula takes a base funding number for each student of $6,860 and then adds on additional weights for learning needs. That funding would go along with a student that elected to attend a charter school.
• Legislation Would Ensure Some Criminals Serve 100% Of Their Sentence (TCN) There is legislation that is making its way through the state legislature called the Truth In Sentencing Bill that would expand the list of offenses that would mandate an inmate serve 100% of their sentence.

DEVELOPMENT

• 🌮 Nashville eyed for high-end Mexican restaurant concept (Post)
• Donors gift $5.5M to Vandy United fund (Post)
• Boutique hotel building in North Nashville offered for sale (Post)
• Investment firm CapitalSpring moved its headquarters to Nashville from NYC (NBJ)
• 900 Division Street Eyed For Mixed-use Development In the Nashville Gulch (Now Next)
• Atlanta developer plans project near Mt. Olivet Cemetery (Post)

➥ TODAY IN: DYSTOPIAN PROPAGANDA

We commonly associate propaganda with brainwashing — messages designed to persuade citizens. But, that's not the only purpose of propaganda. In addition to blocking out signals that could undermine a regime's goals, propaganda also serves to remind citizens of its power.

Many of the more unhinged, easily falsifiable stories you see float through the press serve the sole purpose of flexing muscle. Only a strong institution can afford to waste resources putting a same-sex kiss in a child's movie, insisting on its sincerity, then removing said kiss when the movie is exported to China. A smaller, weaker organization could not do this. The message looks something like, "Yes, we know this is wrong, but you are powerless to do anything about it." We see this in China, in the US, and elsewhere across the globe.

As Voltaire put it, "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." What's important to remember is that propaganda is an expression of power and not actual power. Potentially worse than falling for it would be the belief that it signals god-like omnipotence.

SOME EXAMPLES

• What Quantum Mechanics Can Teach Us about Abortion (Scientific American)
• The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election (Time)
• Illinois church bans music and liturgical contributions by white people, claims it is “fasting from whiteness” (Rebel News)

♞ LIVE AS YOUR PARENTS DID

Much of the rhetoric around excessively and outwardly supporting people with deviant sexual orientations comes from an emotional place. We are to care for those that are suffering and accommodate them. If you don't do everything within your power to care for and accommodate those that are suffering, then you are a heartless pig.

But what if, and bear with me here, modern ideas around sexuality and gender roles are inherently destructive, regardless of their intent? What if the intent to accommodate those that are suffering under the regime's schizophrenic gender ideology is more damaging than steering them away from it? There will always be those that live deviant lifestyles, but for the vast, vast majority of people, they are better off simply living as their parents did.

These are obvious points for most of our readers, but in addition to the LGBTQ+ stuff, consider that feminism, oft-overlooked since the Dawn of the Tranny, has led women down an equally destructive path. Alcoholism rates among American women are higher than in any nation in the world. American men, on the other hand, don't even clock-in in the top 10. Could it be that the head-on rush to get women into the workplace is "against nature"?

The silver lining here is that how you live is still a decision that only you can make. Come what may from the US government's disinformation factory, these are decisions that you can still make. It may be more difficult now than it was in the past, but it's still up to you.

⚔︎ MISSIVES ⚔︎

• 🇷🇺 President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said that Russia would triumph in its conflict with Ukraine, delivering his first remarks in several days about the weekslong war.
• 🇩🇪 A planned visit to Kyiv by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was not welcomed by Ukraine, he said on Tuesday, following a report that President Volodymyr Zelensky was critical of Steinmeier's historic advocacy of Western rapprochement with Russia.
• 🏙 A madman disguised as a construction worker turned a Brooklyn subway car into a bloodbath during the early-morning rush Tuesday, setting off smoke bombs before opening fire and wounding 29, officials said.
• 🛢 The Biden administration said Tuesday it would allow high-ethanol content gasoline to be sold in the hot summer months, in an effort aimed at lowering prices at the pump that could pay political dividends in farm-country states.

THINGS TO DO

View the full calendar here.

🍺 The Pamphleteer hosts Bar Hours every Thursday night at Lucky's 3 Star Bar from 6-8 PM. The first ten guests get drinks on the company tab. Join us to discuss how to shake off the sloth of the modern era and recapture the vitality that made this country great.

🎙 Hannah Juanita is playing two-steppin' music every Friday in April at Bobby's Idle Hour.

🎪 Check out our favorite driving distance festivals this summer.

TONIGHT

🦎 Reptiles and Amphibians of TN @ Warner Park Nature Center, 6:30, Free, Info

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

🎸 The Zombies @ The Ryman, 7:30, $39.50+, Info

💥 Weedeater w/ Rebelmatic & Adam Faucett @ Springwater, 8p, $25, Info
+ Metalish - bring earplugs and wear closed-toed shoes

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

GET ‘EM WHILE YOU CAN

🎸 Jerry Cantrell (4/17) @ The Ryman, $35, 7p, Info

🌊 The Brian Jonestown Massacre (5/5) @ Brooklyn Bowl, 8p, $25, Info

🎻 Billy Strings (5/6 – 5/8) @ The Ryman, $39.50+, 8:30, Info for 5/6, 5/7, 5/8

🐷 Primus: a Farewell to Kings tour & Battles (5/9) @ The Ryman, 7:30p, $55+, Info

🥁 Gogol Bordello (5/21) @ Brooklyn Bowl, 8p, $33, Info

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FROM THE ARCHIVE

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↯ Sweden’s inconvenient Covid victory Were millions of people denied freedom for nothing?

Political Theater Highlight Reel

1. Rachel Maddow announces she’s scaling back to Mondays only on MSNBC. Does anyone watch this trash?

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Words of Wisdom

“When a nation ceases to put the highest value on the home, it will not be long before it ceases to put a value on a person. Soon a man will begin to be valued because of what he can do for a revolutionary class, and then comes communism.”

Fulton J. Sheen

Today's newsletter is brought to you by Megan Podsiedlik (Nashville), Edward Landstreet (Local Noise), and Davis Hunt (everything else).