No. 248: Who Fights the Wars?
Good morning, everyone.
Sentor Mazie Hirono of Hawaii posed this question yesteday:
I can’t think of a single comparable thing that the government can do to men that even comes close to forcing a woman to have a child.
Can you?
We'll give her the pass for being unable to think and do some thinking for her because the answer to this question is simple. The government makes men fight in wars. 99% of combat fatalities are, unsuprisingly, men.
If there were a serious military conflict that stretched the bounds of the country's volunteer army — which is overwhlemingly male — it'd be the men who'd be first in line to provide support. According to Hirono, the equivalent for a woman is having a child with a man she doesn't like. This begs the question why she would have sexual relations with said man in the first place, but of course, this way of thinking is "old hat" these days. It's 2022 and free love has produced the best of all possible worlds. Who are we to question that?
Back in 2018, Hirono chastized members of the Senate Judiciary Committee for not taking the very fake sexual assault allegations made against Brett Kavanaugh very seriously. Hirono took to a pulpit and stated, "I just want to say to the men in this country: Just shut up and step up! Do the right thing for a change!" I know we expect lies from our politicians, but sexism? I thought we were past that. Come on, man.
While we're on the topic of men "doing something," I guess she's not aware that it was seven male Supreme Court Justices who first voted in favor of Roe v. Wade way back in 1973.
This week, it was one woman, a black guy, and three white guys who voted to repeal Roe in the opinion leaked earlier this week. A win for diversity!
Right?
Today, we give a rundown of last night's Metro Council meeting, consider how farm subsidies affect the quality of American food, and observe how some trends around drinking in France and eating out in big US cities.
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Thanks for reading.
❍ LAST NIGHT AT THE METRO COUNCIL
Last night was Nashville’s Metro Council meeting; an extraordinary meeting placed on a Thursday instead of the usual Tuesday soiree, completely lacking in Cinco de Mayo vibes despite Councilmember Young of District 10 letting us know it was his birthday. The council was a bit lean with only 32 of the 40 councilmembers present. Somewhere between droning protocol and Vice Mayor Shulman asking council members to fight the urge to duck out of the meeting early for the Preds game, Charter Amendments that will make it onto the August ballot were voted on.
Let’s take a look at the Charter Amendments and the rest of the evening.
CHARTER AMENDMENTS ON YOUR BALLOT
Four proposed amendments were passed by the Metro Council and will be up for vote by the general public during the August election. Two were merely housekeeping issues, but the two remaining amendments will enact important changes that voters should keep in mind when they show up to the ballot box. They are as follows:
- A change to the regulations regarding the public’s right to petition the Metro Charter. Council approved making the ability for the public to petition a Metro decision and get the issue on a public ballot a bit harder. Though certain council members did try to ease the blow with certain adjustments, the new protocol (if passed during the August election) will require the signatures of 10% of all registered voters in Davidson county to be collected within 90 days in order to file a petition properly. The number used to be based on the number of people who actually voted in the previous election cycle, not the full tally of registered voters. We all know how striking the difference is between active voters and registered voters. Mendes argued that the fluctuation of that number created legal issues. The last major issue addressed by this type of public petition was the 34% property tax increase.
- Efforts to recruit more Metro Police by creating incentives, including housing veterans. This amendment also changes the physical requirements from military level physical requirements, to civil service physical requirements to attract older veterans to the Metro Police Department.
A RESOLUTION TO PURCHASE $20M PROPERTY: DEFERRED
This resolution would enable Metro to make a $20M purchase of a public parks property on 88 Hermitage Avenue that includes the old Tennessee school for the blind.
It’s worth noting that three years ago Metro Council denied passing a resolution to purchase the same property and that the first time this property came around, they were only asking for $11M. On the floor, council member O’Connell defended the purchase of this property noting that it is a strategic move while council member Johston pointed out that the investment was a bad idea based on the dilapidated state of the actual structure. Johnston hit her point home stating that there is need for the money elsewhere, and taxpayers will end up bearing the brunt of the burden.
Council member Bradford echoed Jonston’s sentiments and reiterated the concern for taxpayer money. Council members Rosenburg and Sledge both piped up in defense of O’Connell and are interested in the purchase. The motion was deferred for one meeting so that the legal staff has the time to properly answer some of the council member’s questions before they make a decision.
❦ ANTIQUE DERANGEMENTS: NPL
The Nashville Public Library (NPL) just announced the release of its limited edition 'I read banned books' library cards. The declaration is a direct response to the incident earlier this year in teeny tiny McMinn County where the school board voted to replace Maus, an acclaimed graphic novel about the holocaust, with another book in its curriculum. Standard operating procedure to those of us low in neurotocism.
Maus — which is supposedly "banned" — can be had from Amazon with expedited shipping, checked out from the Nashville Public Library itself, or bought from bookstores like Parnassus at exorbitant rates due to the feverish attention books like this have drawn. Banned is not the correct word here, politically grandstanding for cool points with children is not admirable or an act befitting a public institution like the taxpayer funded public library.
➤ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE RYMAN
- Ryman Auditorium celebrates 130 years (WSMV) The famous Ryman Auditorium is celebrating its 130th birthday on Wednesday. Considered by many to be the stage where bluegrass music was born, the Ryman has long been a special place for both artists and fans. It started as the Union Gospel Tabernacle in 1892, built by riverboat captain Thomas Ryman and evangelist Sam Jones. The first concert ever held at the Tabernacle was performed by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra on May 4, 1892, as a fundraiser to preserve Andrew Jackson’s home in Hermitage.The Tabernacle was renamed as the Ryman Auditorium when Captain Ryman died in December of 1904.
HEADLINES
- Nashville schools left students vulnerable to online harassment, lawsuit claims (Tennessean) A family claims the district's "negligence has allowed its students to be vulnerable to online attacks through its servers" after their child, at the time a third-grader at Sylvan Park Elementary School, received explicit images from another student via email last school year.
- Breaking down Mayor Cooper’s $2.97 billion budget proposal (Main Street) The budget reflects a 12.1% spending increase over fiscal year 2022, relying on already-realized increased revenues. Metro revenues come primarily from property taxes, local sales tax and other grants. Property taxes make up 54.1% of Metro revenue.
- Food Program Participants Receive Money Without Feeding Children (TCN) A new special report from the Comptroller’s Division of State Audit reveals issues identified with two food program sponsors that were reviewed as part of the state’s fiscal year 2021 Single Audit.
- $8.6 million for a teardown? Just a sign of things to come (TN Ledger) At $8.6 million, the house at 1220 Chickering Road speaks to the strength of the Nashville Real estate market as it, like houses priced $7 million less, sold in one day.
POLITICS
- Lee Signs Act To Reinstate SNAP Benefits Work Requirement Into Law (TCN) The bill would require that all individuals ages 18-49 who are able-bodied and without dependents must work at least 20 hours per week, or participate in job training or volunteer work, in order to receive government benefits.
- New poll gives Cato an edge over Cooper (Post) The poll, commissioned by Cato and conducted by D.C.-based firm Impact Research, shows an uphill reelection for Cooper and gives Cato a comfortable margin over both Cooper and Matt Wiltshire, another potential candidate.
- Lee declines signature on ‘truth in sentencing’ bill (TNJ) Gov. Bill Lee has declined to sign a “truth in sentencing” bill championed by legislative Republicans to require people convicted of violent crimes to serve all of their sentences behind bars.
DEVELOPMENT
- Aguilera, Black Eyed Peas producer lists local property (Post)
- Automakers drive south, powered by electricity (TN Ledger)
- Image released for Marriott planned for downtown (Post)
- 12South church site eyed for project sells for $10M (Post)
❁ FOOD QUALITY AND GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES
Is there a connection between food subsidies and food quality? Oh, you betcha there is.
The most heavily subsidized crops in the US are corn, soybeans, and wheat. Not coincidentally, these are also the key ingredients in highly processed foods optimized for shelf life and profit margin instead of nutritional value. Fresh fruit and vegetables, on the other hand, receive comparatively few subsidies. In total, the Department of Agriculture has divvied out $16 billion per year on average to farmers in the US.
Corn, wheat, and soybeans comprise 82% of all base acres in the country. Corn subsidies from the Farm Bill — which don't account for the Department of Energy’s biofuel programs or the Renewable Fuel Standard mandates — have amounted to $116 billion since 1995. Over the same period, wheat received $48.4 billion, and soybeans received $44.9 billion.
It shouldn't surprise you that heavily subsidized things become more abundant and cheaper. This is by design. The problem as it relates to the nutritional value of our food is that mono-crop agriculture operations involve all kinds of fertilizers and chemicals to promote yield and fend off pests. We've already started to see the wheat market begin to whither amidst a global fertilizer shortage exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine which points to farms' reliance on imported fertilizers and pesticides.
Many, many studies have traced pesticides used in the production of corn to cancer. You'll find pesticides in everything from vegetable oils (stay away) to a box of Wheat Thins. They can even show up in beef fed on pesticide laden corn (grass-finished always). The obesity, heart disease, and cancer epidemics in the US are arguably a direct result of how and what foods we subsidize.
Source: Agriculture Subsidies and Their Influence on the Composition of U.S. Food Supply and Consumption
American Action Forum, 3 November 2021, Read Online
↪ GRAPHS OF THE DAY: EATING AND DRINKING
⚔ MISSIVES ⚔
- 💰 Top U.S. regulators proposed overhauling how banks lend hundreds of billions of dollars annually in lower-income communities, the first major revamp to the standards in more than two decades as lenders increasingly offer financial services online.
- 💉 The Food and Drug Administration limited its emergency authorization of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid vaccine because of the risk of blood clots, the agency said on Thursday. A little late?
- 💻 The Delaware computer repairman who received a damaged laptop computer from President Joe Biden’s son has sued Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), CNN, The Daily Beast, and Politico for alleged defamation.
- 🚼 In response to the Monday night leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, a leftist group called Ruth Sent Us posted what it claims are the home addresses of the Supreme Court’s six conservative justices online in preparation for an organized “walk-by protest” set to take place outside the justices’ homes next week.
- 📉 The number of international students enrolled at U.S. universities dropped prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, but enrollment soared at Canadian colleges and universities.
THINGS TO DO
View our full event calendar here.
🍺 The Pamphleteer hosts Bar Hours on the last Thursday of every month at Lucky's 3 Star Bar from 6-8 PM. The first ten guests get drinks on the company tab.
🎙 Hannah Juanita is playing two-steppin' music every Friday in April at Bobby's Idle Hour. Great show, she packs the place.
🎪 Check out our favorite driving distance festivals this summer.
👨🏻🌾 The Pamphleteer farmer's market guide
TONIGHT
🎻 The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12p, Free, Info
🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelly’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
🎻 Billy Strings @ The Ryman, 8:30p, $39.50+, Info
🕺 80's Dance Party @ The 5 Spot, 9p, $5, Info
TOMORROW
🏎 Drag Race @ Music City Raceway, 11a, Free, Info
🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelly’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
🎻 Billy Strings @ The Ryman, 8:30p, $39.50+, Info
🎸 Bob Log III @ The Basement, 9p, $10, Info
SUNDAY
🎅🏽 Santa's Ice Cold Pickers @ Santa's Pub, 7p, Free, No Info
⚡️ Lightning 100 Nashville Sunday Night @ 3rd & Lindsley, 8p, $15, Info
🎻 Billy Strings @ The Ryman, 8:30p, $39.50+, Info
GET ‘EM WHILE YOU CAN
🐷 Primus: a Farewell to Kings tour & Battles (5/9) @ The Ryman, 7:30p, $55+, Info
🥁 Gogol Bordello (5/21) @ Brooklyn Bowl, 8p, $33, Info
🎸 Boulevards (7/17) @ Basement East, 7p, $10, Info
NEW THIS WEEK
FROM THE ARCHIVE
Around the Web
➫ Did von Braun prophesize Elon Musk colonizing Mars? Did a book written more than 70 years ago by American space pioneer Dr. Wernher von Braun predict that a man called Elon would lead a 10-man government of Mars colonies?
↯ How to Tell Google to Forget Your Data Google has launched a new tool that will allow users to remove their phone number, email address, home address, and other personal information from its search engine.
✱ The Tragic True Story Behind ‘WAGMI,’ Crypto's Most Positive Catchphrase WAGMI—"We're All Gonna Make It"—is crypto's rallying cry, but its origins lie in the too-short and very online life of a shitposting bodybuilder.
Political Theater Highlight Reel
- Janet Yellen, Treasury Secretary, admits Democrats' spending fueled inflation
- Geraldo and Gutfeld throw down on abortion: ‘You insulting punk!’
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Words of Wisdom
"Those who like death have their innings today with art that is like mahogany and horsehair furniture, solid, true, serious and dead as Caesar."
Robert Louis Stevenson
Today's newsletter is brought to you by Megan Podsiedlik (Nashville), Edward Landstreet (Local Noise), and Davis Hunt (everything else).