We the people...
📜 The nation's founding documents · Kanew Gets Kanew'd · Half-finished picture · Streaming this week · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone.
Trump’s appearance at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s on Sunday afternoon has set everyone’s hair on fire. In the intervening days and hours since Trump adorned the Golden Arches’ uniform, The New York Times has published a total of nine stories taking on the stunt from every possible angle. The Daily Beast wondered aloud about his missing hairnet. In case you were stupid enough to believe that a former President could just slide into a McDonald’s and take up a shift without disrupting things, these outlets have your back.
Onward.
Did you know that September 17 was a federal holiday? Constitution Day, the anniversary of the date the United States Constitution was signed, was established in 2004 with Public Law 108-447. The law mandates that all public schools and federal agencies provide education on the history of the Constitution to commemorate and celebrate its formation on that day. That mandate, however, is largely ignored—few people are even aware of it today. Joni Bryan founded the non-profit organization the 917 Society in 2016 to remedy this issue, and it’s an enormous task. We spoke about how she got started, her goals for the organization, as it grows steadily.
It was 2011 when Bryan—who was at the time working in a retirement community—was first posed with the question that ultimately changed her life. “When was the last time you read your Constitution?” asked a retired lawyer she enjoyed speaking to. As he spoke, he held his own pocket Constitution up to her face. Bryan remembers feeling utterly stunned in that moment, realizing she never had actually read it. “You have to understand, he was 6’5” and I was 5’,” she laughs, recalling the profound effect it had on her. She was a social worker, and her husband was a public school teacher. Why hadn’t she read the United States Constitution? The notion kept her up at night, and she soon began reading and studying.
As Bryan—a long-time Democrat—began reading the document that formed the very foundation of our government, she found her personal views becoming far more nuanced and complex. “Now, I’m an independent in a lot of ways,” she explains, adding that it no longer makes sense to her to subscribe to a list of pre-picked beliefs. “None of us are gonna be aligned on everything.”
⧖⧗⧖ SHOW YOUR SUPPORT ⧗⧖⧗
If you want to support our work at The Pamphleteer, a recurring donation is the best way. We have a $10/month Grub Street tier and a $50/month Bard tier. Membership gets you access to our comments section and free access to upcoming events.
🎤 Kanew Gets… Kanew’d Last Wednesday, the Tennessee Holler and Memphis’ MLK50: Justice Through Journalism hosted a live debate in Franklin that was set to be between the top two candidates in Tennessee’s US Senate race: Incumbent Marsha Blackburn and state Representative Gloria Johnson. Blackburn declined the offer, turning the event into an unopposed soapbox for Johnson—but not for long. Candidate Pamela Moses of Memphis crashed the town hall forum and requested to debate the Democratic nominee.
According to State Affairs, chaos ensued as the uninvited Black Lives Matter activist took the mic. Founder of the Holler, Justin Kanew, had to step in to shut the debate down. “Some people are taking this race seriously,” said Kanew to Moses. “You're just showing up and causing a stink, ma'am.” A progressive activist notorious for disrupting events and bird dogging politicians himself, it seems Kanew got a taste of his own medicine.
🗳️ Are Davidson Voters Undecided? Yesterday’s early voting numbers are in, and a total of 70,499 Nashvillians have voted in person so far. The cumulative day five total in 2020 was 76,061. Though it seems Nashville is pretty much on track for early voting compared to four years ago, the slight dip in numbers may be an indication that voters are undecided or apathetic.
In 2020, 82 percent of the Davidson County residents who voted did so early or by absentee ballot. Given that Tennessee saw an increase in those types of numbers due to Covid—especially in predominantly blue counties—this year’s dip could be par for the course. That said, early and absentee votes have always made up a healthy percentage of the ballots cast in Music City. Taking into account both the increase in voter registration and population, this year’s lag could show hesitation either on the top of the ticket or down ballot.
If you need to apply for an absentee ballot, there is still one week left. You can do so by filling out this form.
🚍 A Half-Finished Picture Yesterday, Axios painted a picture of the field for and against Mayor O’Connell’s “Choose How You Move” transit plan. But missing from the image was the Committee Against an Unfair Tax, which has pushed back against the sales tax referendum since August. We sat down with a few of the key members of the coalition two months ago to get their thoughts about the mayor’s proposal. But the article’s omission isn’t due to the organization’s lack of initiative: One of its members, former Councilmember Emily Evans, has been regularly moonlighting at local community meetings to discuss the topic.
While the article did mention the surprising opposition coming from Democratic Metro Councilmember Joy Kimbrough, it also failed to mention the “Vote No Transit Tax” signs that have popped up across the county, or the pushback coming from the founder of Tennessee Tax Revolt, Ben Cunningham. You can read our interview with the veteran anti-tax crusader here.
DEVELOPMENT
- Indian restaurant and cocktail bar opens soon in East Nashville (NBJ)
- Belmont pays $1.5M for campus-area home (Post)
- Antioch apartment complex sells for $65.25M (Post)
- Berry Hill building fetches three times its 2015 sales price (Post)
✹ THIS WEEK IN STREAMING (October 22nd)
Woman of the Hour (Netflix) America’s twee sweetheart, Anna Kendrick, directs and stars in this true story of an aspiring actress who meets a wanted serial killer while appearing on a 70s dating show. A tense and smart showcase of Kendrick’s wit, it’s a nice lighter option for those hoping to avoid the gore in their seasonal viewing.
Scream Queens (Hulu/Disney+) The most acerbic satire of the Obama age’s waning days never quite got the attention it deserved. But Ryan Murphry’s 2015-2016 horror comedy series about a masked killer stalking a monster of a queen bee (Emma Roberts) and the sorority she presides over on a mediocre liberal arts college campus is as consistently hilarious as it is brutally off-color.
The Serpent and the Rainbow (Peacock) Horror icon Wes Craven spent the 12 years between A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream trying to regain his footing. Still, the most scattershot years of his career also produced flourishes of brilliance such as this late 80s psychodrama about an anthropologist (Bill Pullman) traveling to Haiti to find a powder central to voodoo reituals that could revolutionize anesthesiology. Despite its setting in the waning days of the Duvalier regime, the film confidently avoids the posturing while presenting an immersive view into the nation’s religious life built on some of the 80s’s best practical effects. Not to mention, it features one of the most claustrophobia-inducing scenes of live burial ever put to film.
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.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide and yearly festival guide.
TONIGHT
🪕 The Straw Fox Chamber Orchestra @ Dee's Lounge, 8p, $5, Info
🎸 A Country Western @ DRKMTTR, 8p, $15, Info
🎷 Tower of Power @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 7:30p, $36+, Info
+ 56th Anniversary Tour with the Nashville Symphony
🎸 Honky Tonk Tuesday @ Eastside Bowl, 8p, $10, Info
+ two-step lessons @ 7p, The Cowpokes @ 8p
🎸 Cole Ritter and the Night Owls @ The Underdog, 11:30p, Free, Info
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer