No. 302: Trading the Merchant of Death

Good morning, everyone.

Lots of bad deals lately. The latest is the US's attempt to get WNBA star Brittney Griner out of Russia after authorities arrested her for possessing vape cartridges with hashish oil (which, apparently, is a crime against humanity in Russia). That happened back in February, and over the past five months, her detainment has received much less press than you'd expect.

I'm reminded of when Trump threatened a trade war with Sweden to free A$AP Rocky after a Stockholm street fight landed the rapper in  jail. We've seen nothing of the sort with Griner, but that's probably because the current President is likely not even aware of the situation for reasons I don't need to get into here.

Anyway, there's finally been a deal cut with the Russians and guess who we're thinking about trading Griner for?

A guy who goes by the moniker the "Merchant of Death", otherwise known as Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Does that sound like a fair trade to anyone? We're talking about swapping a woman who once said, "I honestly feel we should not play the national anthem" for a dude whose nickname evokes images of the grim reaper.

Something to consider.

Onward.

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Thanks for reading.

❍ EARLY VOTING ENDS TOMORROW

Today and tomorrow are the last days for you to early vote in Tennessee's August Primary. If you're wondering where to vote, look here. If you aren't able to and haven't voted yet, fear not: August 4th is election day.

Today, we wanted to take the time to look at one frequently confusing position which will be on the ballot: the State Executive Committee (SEC).

Here's the skinny directly from our voter guide:

Each political party of the state shall be represented by a state executive committee. County executive committees and other committees may be established in accordance with the rules of the state executive committee. Unless otherwise provided by party rule, the county executive committee of each political party shall consist of at least two members, a man and a woman, from each precinct, who shall be called the precinct committeeman and committeewoman. Each county committeeman or committeewoman shall be a resident of the precinct from which he or she is elected. Each state committeeman or committeewoman must be a member in good standing of the county executive committee for the county in which the state committeeman or committeewoman is a registered voter. State executive committees of each political party determine the bona fide status of party candidates who file their petition to run for an elected position to run according to their own party bylaws.

The SEC most recently emerged in the public eye after it voted to declare Morgan Ortagus, Baxter Lee, and Robby Starbuck non-bonafide Republicans, thus disqualifying them from the August primary ballot. Since that time, Ortagus has dropped out and joined the Winstead campaign, Lee has dropped out entirely, and Robby Starbuck has initiated a write-in campaign.

A list of the contested SEC positions in Davidson County:

• District 17 Committeewoman between Helene Singer Cash and Terri Nicholson
• District 20 Committeewoman between Lulu Rogers Elam and Karen Moore
• District 21 Committeeman between Chuck Grimes and John Richardson

For more information on the candidates, consult our voter guide.

HEADLINES

• Sperry’s secret spice blend held ‘hostage’ by producer (Post) The owner of Sperry’s Restaurant and Sam’s Sports Grill is suing a spice blend manufacturer, alleging that the out-of-state company is holding the local restaurants “hostage” by refusing to disclose the recipes for spice blends Sperry’s and Sam’s have used for years.
• Police Officer Shortage Affects School Safety in Middle Tennessee (TCN) It is the policy of Williamson County to have at least one school resource officer (SRO) in place at every school to maximize safety. According to the Williamson County Sheriff’s office, the county is short 10 SROs, meaning five schools will not have a full-time deputy.
• Middle Tennessee researchers are studying rare, wild ginseng in a secret location (WPLN) “There’s kind of a legend about ginseng,” according to Ethan Swiggart, a plant scientist at Middle Tennessee State University. The legend goes something like this: Ginseng “shows itself to you.” And if you’re not ready? Then you won’t find it."

POLITICS

• Candidate Gary Humble Pushes Back Against Campaign Ethics Violation Allegations (TCN) Two ethics complaints have been filed with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance against Gary Humble, who is running against incumbent Jack Johnson for the District 27 Tennessee Senate seat.
• Kurt Winstead Serves on Arts Commission That Distributes Taxpayer Funds to Black Lives Matter-Connected Organizations (Star) The Tennessee Arts Commission, according to a spreadsheet provided to The Tennessee Star, has distributed $35,866,258.95 in grants during the fiscal year 2022.

DEVELOPMENT

• Woolworth Theatre (formerly Woolworth on Fifth) announces fall opening date (NBJ)
• 12South commercial building listed for $2.7M (Post)
• Music Hall Anchored Development Planned For Wedgewood-Houston In Nashville. (Now Next)
• Effort progresses related to mixed-use project planned for Midtown (Post)

𐂅 WOKE-ACRACY

Our semi-regular feature noting some of the more unhinged news and headlines. The jokes really write themselves, but we may chime in here and there.

• The Racist Roots of Fighting Obesity (Scientific American) From the article: "The most effective and ethical approaches for improving health should aim to change the conditions of Black women’s lives: tackling racism, sexism and weightism and providing opportunity for individuals to thrive."
• BLM Activist Shaun King Calls for Destruction of Jesus Christ Statues, Churches: ‘White Supremacy,’ ‘Oppression,’ ‘Racist Propaganda’ (GV Wire) This is from the height of the Summer of Floyd.  Just a reminder of what was permissive in those halcyon days when racism imbued the trees and leaves with its presence.
• It’s time to decolonise botanical collections, says Kew Gardens director (iNews) After they're done with this, you'll never look at a flower the same way. Richard Feynman famously postulated that science could reveal the beauty of a flower without God, but now, we're one step further. Racism can reveal the depravity of that same flower. Don't smell the roses. That's racist.
• Robot racism? Yes, says a study showing humans’ biases extend to robots (CNN) You know the white plastic they use on robots? Yep, you guessed it. That's white supremacy.

↘ CHART OF THE DAY: TRUST IN THE NEWS

⚔ MISSIVES ⚔

• 🇨🇳 Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned President Biden about relations with Taiwan, as a possible trip to the island by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi adds tensions to strained U.S.-China relations.
• 💿 The House on Thursday passed the bipartisan Chips and Science Act, which aims to increase domestic production of computer chips to allow the U.S. to become more competitive against China in the global technology market
• 🙈 The city of San Francisco declared a state of emergency Thursday in response to an outbreak of Schlong Covid, an emerging viral disease primarily affecting gay men.
• 💸 More than 100 Democratic senators and U.S. House members sent a letter to President Biden on Thursday urging him to renew the pandemic pause on student loan payments, citing continued economic difficulties for borrowers.
• ❌ A federal judge temporarily blocked the Education Department’s Title IX guidance, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

THINGS TO DO

View our full event calendar here.

🍺 The Pamphleteer hosts Bar Hours on the third Thursday of every month (the next meeting is August 18th) at Lucky's 3 Star Bar from 6-8 PM. The first ten guests get drinks on the company tab.

🎪 Check out our favorite driving distance festivals this summer.

👨🏻‍🌾 The Pamphleteer farmer's market guide.

⚔️ Knights in Armor at the Frist starting July 1st: European arms and armor from the renowned collection of the Museo Stibbert in Florence, Italy.

🎻 Kindling Arts Festival runs July 28-31. A variety of different performances, each held at a different venue.

🎼 Listen to The Pamphleteer's Picks, our playlist of bands playing in Nashville each week.

TONIGHT

🦐 Cedar Glades Fossil Hunt @ Cedars of Lebanon State Park, 9a, Free, Info

🎻 The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12p, Free, Info

🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info

🍅 Tomato Dinner @ Green Door Gourmet, 6p, $55, Info

🎸 Kelly’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info

📽 Needful Things @ Full Moon Cineplex, 7p, $8, Info
+ The town of Castle Rock just made a deal with the devil...

🎸 Flying Hot Saucers @ Cobra, 9p, Free, Info

TOMORROW

🎙 Musicians Corner @ Centennial Park, 12p, Free, Info

🍎 Colonial Apple Butter @ Cedars of Lebanon State Park, 2:30p, Free, Info
+ Learn and consume

🏎 Drag Race @ Music City Raceway, 3p, $12, Info

🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info

🎸 Kelly’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info

🎙 Maddie Medley @ Exit/In, 7p, $16, Info
+ She's the opener

🎺 Big Band Dance Lessons @ Centennial park, 7:30p, Free, Info
+ Foxtrot

👅 The Long Players Play Exile on Main Street @ 3rd & Lindsley, 8p, $20, Info

🌑 Black Venus @ Cobra, 8p, Free, Info
+ Bring earplugs

🎺 Admiral Phunk @ Acme Feed & Seed, 8p, Free, Info

🎸 Lone Tree @ The Basement, 9p, $10, Info
+ Nairobites

🎻 Shannon Slaughter @ Station Inn, 9p, $20, Info

SUNDAY

🎻 Bluegrass Brunch @ Von Elrod's, 10a, Info

🎅🏽  Santa's Ice Cold Pickers @ Santa's Pub, 7p, Free, No Info‌‌

👾 Cobra Man w/ Snooper @ Basement East, 8p, $25, Info
+ Cobra man lays the synth on heavy

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➫ They Can't Let Him Back In The people who really run the United States of America have made it clear that they can’t, and won’t, if they can help it, allow Donald Trump to be president again.

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Words of Wisdom

“Whatever is begun in anger, ends in shame.”

Benjamin Franklin

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