No. 302: Trading the Merchant of Death

📰Today, we look at the trade of the century, consider a frequently overlooked position on the August primary ballot, and rekindle our semi-frequent Woke-acracy section.

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.

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

Also, be sure to check out our podcast. Available wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for reading.


⧖⧗⧖ August Voter Guide ⧗⧖⧗

Checkout out our Davidson County August Voter Guide. The best and easiest way to prepare before you head to the polls.

View Voter Guide


❍ 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

POLITICS

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.

↘ 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

NEW THIS WEEK

Review: The Black Phone
A mashup of ghost story and slasher offers a faith-tinged take on childhood trauma
Herbal Medicine Made Simple
I Did the Research So You Don’t Have To

FROM LAST WEEK

The Meteor That Nearly Hit Nashville
John digs up a big, weird rock in his backyard and tries to discover its origin
Milk & Tennessee Forever
The History of Our State Drink
Metro Council’s War on the Unborn
Metro wants to force companies to pay for out-of-state abrortions
The Revolution Must Go On
A Nashville columnist beseeches NYT liberals to move to the Volunteer State to change it
Office Hours, Vol. I: The Big Lie
In which we spill ink on what passes for journalism in Music City
Around the Web

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