No. 618: Blocked!
📅 Today, Davis ponders his next move, Jerod reviews the movie Thanksgiving, and Megan looks at the latest from the airport and Meta's efforts to censor lawsuits against it.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Something unusual happened to me yesterday. Actually, for me it wasn’t just unusual: it was a first. I was blocked on Twitter (X) by an elected official for asking a fairly benign question.
That representative is Councilwoman Sandra Sepulveda. My transgression? Asking if she believes that the council’s proposal allowing non-citizens and teenagers to vote on participatory budgeting items should extend to general city elections. Sandra didn’t like the question, I guess, ‘cause she smashed the block button.
It’s worth noting that elected officials are prohibited, via the First Amendment, from blocking constituents on social media. I’d normally just let something like this slide—hazard of the job, you know—but in this case, I prefer to stand up, roll this log over, and see what crawls out.
Maybe a lawsuit is appropriate?
Onward.
❏ ELI ROTH'S SOCIETY OF THE SPECTACLE
From Jerod Hollyfield
The key scene in Eli Roth’s latest horror movie, Thanksgiving, has nothing to do with a murderous Pilgrim shoving corn holders in a teenager’s ears or baking a victim alive in an industrial oven after dressing her like a turkey. It’s a moment of seeming levity in which a nameless high-school jock with flowing locks reads from a paper in English class.
He’s nearing the crescendo as he proudly proclaims that he just can’t celebrate Thanksgiving anymore in these times, especially as a citizen of Plymouth, Massachusetts. The group of girls surrounding him coo. He tears up and wipes his eyes with his shirt, revealing his washboard abs.
It’s the exact type of America-as-oppressor platitude that public school youth face daily. But the scene also tells us that the kids are smarter than we think. They know how to cull favor by regurgitating the talking points for authority figures like this class’s teacher, who, as the film later reveals, runs a blog about native extermination as a hobby.
In a film of ruthless satire and utter carnage, Roth never absolves viewers for their sense that they are above it all. It’s what makes him one of the best American filmmakers working today. It’s also largely why, until Thanksgiving, he’s never been taken as seriously as he should be.
✷ DOES THE STATE HAVE A CASE?
Yesterday, General Skrmetti announced that his office filed an appeal of the injunction issued by the court in Metro vs. Lee, otherwise known as the Metro Nashville airport authority case. “We look forward to litigating this case to a clear and decisive resolution so airport leadership can focus on serving our community and our visitors,” said press secretary Tim Meads in a press release. According to the AG’s office, this “is just the first step in appealing the judges’ decision which was issued on October 31st.”
As we reported a few weeks back, the authority is still in flux. During General Assembly, a new state law was passed which not only added seats to the board overseeing BNA, but shifted most of the appointment power away from Metro Government and into the hands of state leaders.
On July 1st, Mayor O’Connell, Speaker Sexton, Lt. Governor McNally, and Governor Lee established a newly appointed board while Metro’s suit against the state was pending. At the time, two Metro-appointed board members, Jimmy Granberry and Bobby Joslin, resigned in order to serve as state appointees. When the old board was reinstated following an October 31st ruling, Granberry and Joslin were left in limbo. As of this writing, Mayor O’Connell hasn’t nominated replacements for the Granberry and Joslin. For now, he is allowing them to stay.
Appealing the injunction, the AG’s office noted, is just the first step in the appeal process: depending on the outcome, the next step would be to appeal the judge’s decision. It’s unclear whether a reversal of the injunction would result in the reinstatement of the state’s board.
THE META EFFECT
On October 24th, Tennessee filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta. General Skrmetti held a press conference on the same day explaining his actions. “Meta has known for years that Instagram causes psychological harm to young users,” said the AG from the steps of the John Sevier Building. “Rather than take steps to reduce or disclose the harm, Meta leaned further into its profit-maximizing approach that hurts kids.”
Though heavily redacted per Meta’s request, the AG stated that the suit contains compelling evidence that the company knowingly designed their platforms to make them more addictive to children. “We’re suing to make the company fix the problem.”
In the following weeks, Pamphleteer reporters attempted to post information about the suit on Instagram. On multiple occasions, Meta marked comments containing information about the case as spam. In two instances, the comments were removed from Instagram entirely. Don’t worry, we have screenshots.
HEADLINES
John Oates lashes back at Daryl Hall in new court filing (Tennessean) Days after Daryl Hall filed a lawsuit and received a temporary restraining order against his past musical partner John Oates, a new document reveals Hall's feelings about John Oates' recent business undertakings with their joint venture.
Tennessee Funding Board approves smaller budget for the upcoming fiscal year (WPLN) Tennessee officials approved a budget that’s a little lower than last year’s, citing a need to be cautious due to a slight decrease in revenue projections. However, some believe that dip is actually a sign of how well the state government has managed the budget throughout the pandemic.
Federal lawsuit filed over new Tennessee law requiring polling places to warn voters against voting in the ‘wrong’ primary (Lookout) The League of Women Voters of Tennessee filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of a new law requiring every Tennessee polling place to display signs saying it is a crime to vote in a primary without being a bona fide party member.
DEVELOPMENT
- Indian eatery headed to Hillsboro Village by local restaurateur (NBJ)
- Five Points building offered for $2.5M (Post)
- Green Hills CVS site list price reduced (Post)
- Rezoning sought for proposed Rock Harbor project (Post)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide and our 2023 southern festival guide and 🎥 2023 movie guide.
TONIGHT
🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelly’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
🎸 Open Mic @ Fox & Locke, 6:30p, Free, Info
+ vet community here
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
- 🌄 A review of Jeff Fynn-Paul’s Not Stolen: The Truth About European Colonialism in the New World (Read)
- 🎉 Rediscovering the suburban roots of Taylor Swift, the world’s biggest popstar, may be the city’s only way to stave off its decline (Read)
- 🛣 A collection of four short trips you can take around Nashville to get the most out of the Fall (Read)
- 🎞 The Pamphleteer's Fall 2023 Streaming Guide (Read)
- And check out our podcast, YouTube, and article archive for more.