No. 322: My Rights, Your Problem
⁂ Nashville's Alt-Daily ⁂ Laws · Entertainment · Commission · New Movies · Much More!
Good morning, everyone.
Yesterday, Tennessee's abortion ban went into effect banning nearly all abortions unless the mother's life is endangered by the pregnancy ensuring, in Hillary Clinton's words, that they are "safe, legal, and rare."
In protest, a group of doctors gathered outside of Nashville's courthouse where speakers delivered impassioned speeches in defense of the right to unlimited access to abortion. One doctor, referring to Governor Bill Lee and displaying a stunning lack of self-awareness, said, "You will have blood on your hands."
In other hysterical reactions, the Democratic challenger to Bill Lee, Jason Martin, had his 14-year-old daughter address a crowd of activists about why access to abortion was important. Jason tweeted a video of her address and added, "I have 3 daughters. @GovBillLee’s trigger law leaves me worried for their future, but I’m determined to lead TN in a new direction." It's admittedly a weird thing for a father to tacitly endorse his daughter having casual sex with men she doesn't want to have children with, but here we are.
Somewhere else in town, TN-5 candidate Heidi Campbell, flanked by a woman wearing a shirt that said "Our Bodies / Our Future / Our Abortions," addressed a crowd of people and evangelized the importance of unimpeded access to abortion.
It's all so ugly—the overt emphasis on abortion and access to it. Surely there is a better way to address anxiety around having children you don't want. Maybe, not having sex with someone you don't want to have children with would be a good start. Revolutionary idea, I know, but consider how this conversation would change were that celebrated and not dismissed as prudish.
What the emphasis on abortion fosters is a view of sex as a "commodity" which finds its roots in the Free Love 60s. Opponents of abortion laws express this clearly with their anxiety. The commodity, sex, will become more expensive, and thus, less accessible if the possibility of pregnancy is even slightly increased.
Intertwined with the commodity talk is the notion that having sex—specifically, casual sex—is a means by which one achieves some level of faux-enlightenment. A cursory perusal of any relgious doctrine seriously concerned with enlightenment would dissuade any serious person from this idea entirely—unless you misread the Kama Sutra—but you can't expect people who sincerely believe that sex is at the pinnacle of the human experience to entertain serious thoughts. Arguably, were our forbears to take sex too far in this direction, we'd still be living in grass huts, but that's a discussion for another time.
A NYT column expressed this view well with the headline "I Still Believe in the Power of Sexual Freedom" as if free, unimepeded, no consequence access to sex were some sacred talisman one could wave in the air to make all the bad things go away.
If we've learned anything, it's that the opposite happens when you wave that talisman. Communities crumble. Trauma becomes institutionalized. And the worst narcissistic tendencies of people run wild.
Onward.
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Thanks for reading.
➫ ENTERTAINMENT ON THE COUNCIL
Two competing Metro Entertainment bills duked it out in the council chambers last week.
THE DRAMA
There’s a chance you’ve caught wind of some of the buzz surrounding Metro’s attempt to create a new entertainment commission. The idea was initially introduced back in May, with a bill proposed by Joy Styles and others. Last week, this bill died on the floor, and was ultimately withdrawn; however, an entertainment board is still a possibility because a competing bill, presented by Robert Swope and others, has also made its way onto the docket.
HOW DO THEY DIFFER?
The drama surrounding these bills seems to have stemmed more from personality politics than anything else, considering they don’t seem to differ from one another in any noticeable ways. A lack of preparation, consensus, and teamwork seemed to motivate some council members involved with the original bill to jump ship before coming together to submit a competing bill.
The main differences include:
- The requirements regarding the selection process, appointments, and positions in making member selections for the board/commission are slightly different when comparing the two bills. However, these positions are presented as voluntary in both bills.
- Some of the outlined goals set for the board/commission differ in that the withdrawn bill focused on Nashville as a brand and included a goal of achieving certain national rankings as an entertainment hub that the more recent bill does not include.
THE NEW BILL
Similar to the withdrawn bill, the surviving legislation emphasizes the use of soft incentives such as tax credits to attract entertainment projects to the city. It also highlights attracting all forms of art and entertainment to the city, but puts an emphasis on the film industry. The current bill also encourages the creation of training programs and initiatives in areas of media and entertainment for high schools, vocational colleges, and universities in the Nashville area. Though deferred in the last meeting, the remaining entertainment bill will show up on the docket for second reading after a stakeholders meeting to be held on August 30th.
DO ENTERTAINMENT BOARDS HELP?
Those who support creating a metro entertainment board believe it will increase job opportunities in the local entertainment market. Though the state provides incentives outlined by the Tennessee Entertainment Commission (TEC), cities create boards in order to solicit and attract projects on their own behalf. While Nashville would seemingly benefit from this sort of concentrated focus, the numbers don’t necessarily reflect any true boon correlated with such endeavors. According to some studies, the trade off seems to benefit the industry more than the taxpayers. Here are some findings compiled by the Department of Media Relations at the University of Southern California:
- The American Review of Public Administration: This study found that entertainment industry incentives had no sustained impact on wage growth and little effect on employment.
- American Politics Research: Similarly, this study found states terminated entertainment incentives because they grew skeptical that the programs didn’t work.
More on this, and other Metro Council news, coming next week.
HEADLINES
- Metro Appeals to FEMA for $7.2 Million in Police Overtime (Scene) Metro is stuck in a FEMA appeals process for $7.2 million in police overtime accrued in the six months following the March 2020 tornado. Officers have long been paid, leaving Metro Finance to negotiate with the notoriously bureaucratic federal agency.
- Nashville public schools to address racial disparities in gifted programs under new policy (Tennessean) The policy, set to go into effect this year, identifies goals of equitable distribution of opportunities, providing teachers with more training for eliminating the achievement gap and reducing the barriers for students of color so that they are able to benefit from the gifted program.
- More than 450 small businesses will receive grant money in Nashville, Mayor Cooper announces (Channel 5) The relief will help more than 450 small businesses in their long-term recovery from the pandemic. The $9 million comes from the Nashville Small Business Recovery Fund using federal funds from the American Rescue Plan.
POLITICS
- Trial date set in former House Speaker Glen Casada’s case (WPLN) A trial date of Oct. 25 has been set for Tennessee’s former House Speaker Glen Casada. The Williamson County Republican pleaded not guilty Tuesday in federal court to involvement in a kickback scheme that funneled money from the General Assembly.
- Tennessee Supreme Court Appoints New Reporter to Advisory Commission on Rules of Practice and Procedure (Star) The Tennessee Supreme Court announced Monday that it appointed a new reporter to the Advisory Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure, Lynn Zehrt, who is currently a professor at Belmont University College of Law.
DEVELOPMENT
- Billionaire sells Cool Springs property for $19.5M (Post)
- Bridgestone to invest $550M in Warren County facility (Post)
◉ OPTING OUT QUIETLY
In China, they have "lying flat" as a response to the stresses of modern life. The Chinese manifestation of opting out celebrates the "merits of relinquishing ambition, spurning effort, and refusing to bear hardship." A variation has begun to emerge in the US: quiet quitting.
Anti-work philosophies gaining favor is nothing new, but the latest example in the US is notable because it comes on the heels of the shift to working from home motivated in part by Covid and the concomitant anxiety around AI and automation stealing jobs.
So what is "quiet quitting"? As the Wall Street Journal puts it:
How quiet quitting’s advocates and critics react depends on what they think the phrase means—and interpretations vary wildly. Some professionals argue the concept is saying no to extra work without extra pay and work stress, not necessarily phoning it in. Many detractors say the quiet quitting mind-set fosters laziness and hurts performance, even if baseline job expectations are being met.
To some, quiet quitting involves simply setting boundaries and drawing a clear line between life inside and outside of work—a line that becomes blurred in the shift to remote work. To others, quiet quitting involves giving up on the notion that one can advance in the world through hard work and thrift.
Source: The Backlash Against Quiet Quitting Is Getting Loud
Wall Street Jounral, 25 August 2022, Read Online
❏ CHART OF THE DAY: WHOSE LOANS?
⚔ MISSIVES ⚔
- 📄 A federal judge on Thursday ordered that a redacted version of the affidavit used to obtain a warrant for former President Donald J. Trump’s Florida residence be unsealed by noon on Friday — paving the way for the disclosure of potentially revelatory details about a search with enormous legal and political implications.
- 🛰 SpaceX and T-Mobile US Inc. said they plan to work together to use the rocket company’s satellites to provide connections to T-Mobile cellphones across the U.S., even in remote areas with no current wireless service.
- ❌ Texas banned BlackRock and nine other finance firms from working with the Lone Star state after declaring they were hostile to fossil fuels.
- 🛢 Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak on the outlook for the U.S. economy, inflation and interest-rate policy at the Kansas City Fed’s symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming today.
- 📉 The second-quarter decline in U.S. economic output was less severe than initially estimated and unemployment claims fell slightly last week, signs of measured slowing in the overall economy in the face of high inflation and easing consumer demand.
- 🤡 Twenty-one time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic has announced his absence from the upcoming US Open via a Twitter post on Thursday. Djokovic has remained unvaccinated against Covid-19 throughout the pandemic, and current US rules stipulate that any non-US citizen must be fully vaccinated against the virus in order to receive a visa and enter the country.
THINGS TO DO
You can view our full calendar here.
🍺 The Pamphleteer hosts Bar Hours on the third Thursday of every month (the next meeting is September 15th) 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.
🎭 Shakespeare in the park is every Thursday through Sunday from August 18th till September 11th
🎼 Listen to The Pamphleteer's Picks, our playlist of bands playing in Nashville each week.
TONIGHT
📷 Flea Market @ The Fairgrounds, 8a, Free, Info
🎻 The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12p, Free, Info
🌴 Deep Tropics @ Centennial Park, 3p, $95+, Info
🎡 Wilson County Fair @ Lebanon Fairgrounds, 5p, $10, Info
🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelly’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
🚘 Demolition Derby @ Wilson County Fair 7p, $10, Info
🌌 Allen Thompson & Friends Play Ziggy Stardust @ Dee's Lounge, 7p, $10, Info
🎸 Stargazer Lillies & Red Feather @ The 5 Spot, 8p, $10, Info
TOMORROW
📷 Flea Market @ The Fairgrounds, 8a, Free, Info
🎡 Wilson County Fair @ Lebanon Fairgrounds, 10a, $10, Info
🏎 Drag Race @ Music City Raceway, 3p, $12, Info
🌴 Deep Tropics @ Centennial Park, 3p, $95+, Info
🎻 Cornelia Fort Pickin Party @ Shelby Bottoms Park, 5:30p, $18, Info
+ Brazilbilly
🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelly’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
🚘 Demolition Derby @ Wilson County Fair 7p, $10, Info
🎺 Big Band Dance Lessons (Two Step) @ Centennial park, 7:30p, Free, Info
🤠 Randall King @ Nashville Palace, 8p, $20, Info
🐖 Roger Waters @ Bridgestone, 8p, $39, Info
SUNDAY
📷 Flea Market @ The Fairgrounds, 8a, Free, Info
🏎 TN Drift @ Nashville Super Speedway, 8a, $20, Info
🎻 Bluegrass Brunch @ Von Elrod's, 10a, Info
🎡 Wilson County Fair @ Lebanon Fairgrounds, 12p, $10, Info
🎅🏽 Santa's Ice Cold Pickers @ Santa's Pub, 7p, Free, No Info
👾 Auragraph @ Random Sample, 7p, $10, Info
+ Vaporwave
🎻 Old Time Jam @ Dee's Lounge, 7:30, Free, Info
✵ WEEKLY FILM RUNDOWN (8/26-9/1)
Worthwhile Multiplex Excursion
Three Thousand Years of Longing - Idris Elba is a djinn, Tilda Swinton is the mythology professor who finds him in Istanbul, and George Miller is the director of Mad Max: Fury Road, who turns what sounds like a ridiculous disaster into a gorgeous and bugnuts two hours.
Now in theatres.
Artsy Horror Gem
The Invitation - City girl took a DNA test. Turns out, she’s 100% related to British vampires who invite her to their country estate for a wedding in this loose yet fresh update of Dracula.
Now in theaters.
Self-Serious Cinematic Vitamin
Breaking - John Boyega (Black Stormtrooper from the new Star Wars and perpetual victim in the press) stars in this ripped-from-the-headlinser about a vet in dire financial straits who holds up a Wells Fargo. Make sure to tweet about how profoundly it deals with life In These Times™.
Now playing at AMC Thoroughbred 20 and The Belcourt.
Matinee for Masochists
The Territory - Watch beautiful images of the Uru-eu-wau-wau people directed by a rich white dude in Warby Parkers in a propagandistic plea to stop deforestation.
Now playing at AMC Thoroughbred 20 and Regal Hollywood 27.
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Around the Web
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Words of Wisdom
"When I say that religion and marriage and local loyalty are permanent in humanity, I mean that they recur when humanity is most human; and only comparatively decline when society is comparatively inhuman."
G.K. Chesterton
Today's newsletter is brought to you by Megan Podsiedlik (Nashville), Edward Landstreet (Local Noise), and Davis Hunt (everything else).