Commentary

A group of Republican lawmakers on the Aug. 22, 2023, during a special session on public safety called by Gov. Bill Lee. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Doing nothing, and doing even that badly

BY: - September 6, 2023

There’s a problem with doing nothing — how do you know when you’re done?  It is more than a philosophical question, or a rumination on activity versus stillness.  Our state legislature has stumbled through a special session of almost no significant legislating, but failed to stick the landing on when to stop doing nothing. Perhaps we should […]

UAW members rally for a new contract at the labor organization’s Region 1 headquarters on Aug. 20, 2023. | UAW photo.

Unions play a key role in improving life for Tennessee workers

BY: - September 4, 2023

For many folks, Labor Day is often thought of as the “unofficial” end to summer.  But for those of us in the labor movement, it’s a turning point in our “summer of strikes” as we head into the fall.  Whether it’s Writers Guild of America (WGA) or SAG-AFTRA members walking the picket lines in Hollywood […]

During a four-hour House Education Committee meeting on Aug. 23, 2023, Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, right, and Rep. Todd Warner, R-Culleoka, engaged in a yelling match over bill would enable armed active duty members of the military, veterans and law enforcement officers to walk the grounds of schools. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Editor’s notebook: The rot in America’s soul

BY: - September 1, 2023

There are many things I could write about the First Extraordinary Session of the 113th Tennessee General Assembly, called by Gov. Bill Lee ostensibly to address public safety. I could write about the House’s restrictive rules package, or that Lee was missing in action, or the dysfunction between the Republican-dominated House and Senate. But the […]

Volunteers with Rise and Shine TN and Moms Demand Action hold signs in a legislative committee room. (Photo: John Partipilo)

The white patriarchy in Tennessee

BY: - August 29, 2023

This week, the Tennessee General Assembly gave me a lesson on the white patriarchy. I had not understood the term in a meaningful way until this week, until I could feel it viscerally in the silencing of our dissent, in the ignoring of our presence, and our silent and present plea for gun safety — […]

A wish list for Nashville’s next mayor

BY: - August 28, 2023

Nashville is getting a new Mayor in September and this Angry Grandmother has suggestions about sidewalks, assault weapons and healthcare for our two finalists in the upcoming mayoral election.  The day our next Mayor is elected  — don’t wait until the swearing in a week later; we have waited too long already —  I want […]

Megan Desai posts a message about a special session of the Tennessee Legislature during a contentious House Education Committee meeting on Aug. 23, 2023. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Stockard on the Stump: Theater of the absurd plays out at Tennessee Capitol

BY: - August 25, 2023

Men without hats, men with Cap’n’ Crunch hats, Proud Boys with masks, no water, no signs, weeping women, troopers high and low. House and Senate in tow. “This is the strangest life I’ve ever known.” What started as an innocent call by Gov. Bill Lee for the Legislature to act in response to The Covenant […]

Shaundelle Brooks, photographed during a House session in March 2023, has experienced gun violence from several perspectives. Her son Akilah DaSilva, was killed in an April 2018 mass shooting at a Nashville Waffle House. A second son, Abede, was shot in June 2023 after leaving a venue at which he was performing as a DJ. (Photo: John Partipilo)

The unbalanced effects of gun violence in Tennessee

BY: - August 23, 2023

TI started my 20th year in public education two weeks ago. We began with an informational text on the Salem Witch Trials and a discussion about how “witch hunts” have continued globally since then. Like most thought-provoking texts, this one elicited some engaging conversation in class. It wasn’t long before I was hanging on for […]

Rep. Jason Zachary's bill to create involuntary psychiatric commitments is no solution to gun violence and strips people of their civil rights. Photo: John Partipilo)

Zachary bill for involuntary psychiatric commitment is no solution for gun violence

BY: - August 22, 2023

The Tennessee General Assembly convened Monday  for a special session on public safety, and they will discuss what measures, if any, they are willing to take to stem gun violence. While some lawmakers have identified mental health care as the fix, I wish they would ask a psychiatrist for thoughts on the issue. Before I […]

Running off with it?

BY: - August 21, 2023

In political circles talk of a candidate’s “lane”— a metaphorical claim to an exclusive or dominant hold on some identifiable voter segment—has grown banal almost to the point of cliché. But in a jungle primary with a crowded field, like the first round of voting in Nashville’s mayoral race, lanes do matter. The two who […]

Tennessee State University President Glenda Glover, Ph.D., surrounded by students on Aug. 14, 2022, at her resignation announcement. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Stockard on the Stump: Black Caucus wants one more year from TSU’s Glover

BY: - August 18, 2023

Saying TSU President Glenda Glover has been “unfairly targeted” by Republican lawmakers, Tennessee’s Black Caucus is urging her to remain at the helm through 2025 to provide stability. Rep. Sam McKenzie, the caucus chairman, says Glover’s announcement this week that she will retire from TSU in June 2024 “seems rushed,” coming on the heels of […]