The Contributor: April 12, 2023

los cargos durante su comparecencia ante el Tribunal Penal de Manhattan el 4 de abril en Nueva York.

Un gran contingente de reporteros, así como simpatizantes y detractores del expresidente asistieron a la lectura de cargos, celebrada en un tribunal de esta ciudad. El equipo de la fiscalía, dirigido por el fiscal de distrito de Manhattan, Alvin L. Bragg Jr., reveló cargos contra Trump relacionados con su papel en un esquema criminal de "catch and kill” (atrapar y eliminar) que supuestamente involucró 34 cargos de 'Falsificación de registros comerciales en primer grado' con el finalidad de cometer otros delitos. Durante la lectura de cargos, Trump se declaró inocente de los 34 cargos.

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Sus abogados argumentaron que los cargos tenían motivaciones políticas y que no había pruebas para respaldar las acusaciones en su contra. Sin embargo, el equipo de la fiscalía argumentó que había amplia evidencia para respaldar los cargos y que DONALD J. TRUMP, de 76 años, había estado involucrado en la falsificación de registros comerciales de Nueva York para ocultar información dañina y actividades ilegales a los votantes estadounidenses antes y después de las elecciones del 2016. “Durante las elecciones, Trump y otros emplearon un esquema de “atrapar y eliminar” para identificar, comprar y enterrar información negativa sobre él y mejorar sus perspectivas electorales. Trump luego hizo todo lo posible para ocultar esta con-

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ducta, causando docenas de entradas falsas en los registros comerciales para ocultar actividades delictivas, incluidos los intentos de violar las leyes electorales estatales y federales”. (fuente: Oficina del Fiscal del Distrito de Manhattan). La lectura de cargos fue el primer paso en lo que probablemente será una batalla legal larga y contenciosa. Los cargos contra Trump son graves y conllevan una pena significativa si es declarado culpable. Trump podría enfrentar años de prisión si es declarado culpable. La falsificación de registros comerciales en primer grado es un crimen grave de clase E.

La lectura de cargos llega en un momento de intenso escrutinio para

Trump, quien se ha visto envuelto en una serie de batallas legales desde que dejó el cargo. Además de los cargos en Nueva York, Trump también enfrenta investigaciones y juicios en otras jurisdicciones, incluida Georgia, donde los fiscales están investigando sus esfuerzos para anular los resultados de las elecciones del 2020.

A medida que continúa la batalla legal, muchos estadounidenses observarán de cerca cómo se desarrolla. Es probable que el caso contra Trump sea un tema importante de discusión en los medios y en los círculos políticos en el futuro previsible, y será interesante ver cómo afecta su futuro político. "Nadie está por encima de la ley; Trump no está por encima de la ley" gritaban los manifestantes. Si bien el tamaño de la multitud fue relativamente pequeña en comparación con las protestas típicas de la ciudad de Nueva York que atraen a miles, no hubo incidentes de comportamiento ingobernable que pudieran haber llevado a la policía a cerrar secciones de la ciudad. Como resultado, las medidas de seguridad se suspendieron en su mayoría dentro del perímetro conformado por unas pocas cuadras. A su regreso de Nueva York, ya desde su residencia en Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Trump dijo: "Nunca pensé que algo así podría suceder en Estados Unidos. El único crimen que he cometido es defender sin miedo a nuestra nación de aquellos que buscan destruirla." Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com ó 615-567-3569

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Tom Wills, Chair Cathy Jennings, Christine Doeg, Demetria Kalodimos, Kerry Graham, Amber DuVentre, Jerome Moore, Drew Morris, Andy Shapiro

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"The

Film reviewer Joe Nolan says Warren Beatty’s hybrid film masterpiece has The Belcourt seeing Reds.

Lisa A. wants more community for us all

“Get out your damn car, hang up, and read the paper,” said Contributor vendor Lisa A., laughing as she threads the lettering on a vivid, hand-crafted sign.

“I don’t know, that’s gonna be my next sign, I think. I don’t wanna piss people off. I think it’s funny, but you never know.”

Signs are something of a trademark for Abell, who festoons her selling spot with homespun designs and text — taking care to show up in colorful attire and a daisy sun hat dressed with purple flowers.

“I tried putting other things on it, but nope, it’s gotta be those flowers,” she said. “I grew up in the theater. I treat it as street theater, a little bit.”

But for Abell, the bright colors and deliberate theatrics are more than showmanship. They are an offer to the ever-distracted city: Come and join your community.

BY JUSTIN WAGNER

“Community isn’t something we get to have as much, in part because of the car,” Abell explained. “The newspaper creates an intersection where there is a potential for developing community. The newspaper helps create community.”

Abell noted that conveniences inherent to middle and upper-class city life — smartphones and the car, in particular — inhibit face-to-face interaction on the street. Abell uses her time selling to reclaim the street as a platform for community interaction, and tries to spark friendly connections wherever she can.

She finds that for most, that moment of connection with a stranger is as surprising as it is welcome.

“At first [people are] nervous, then when I wave and smile and speak intelligently, they relax, and then they’re kind of confused,” she said with a chuckle. “I think it’s a great way for

people to humanize each other.”

Having experience with depression, Abell finds that humanization and sense of community enriching and restorative, she said. It’s why she decided to start selling The Contributor earlier this year after first learning about it as a customer.

Abell has found that the rigors of a typical job can be dehumanizing and lonely — while doable for some, these rigors can leave us exhausted and disconnected from one another. Working on her own terms as a vendor has represented a welcome change of pace, she said.

“It affords wonderful autonomy that immediately brought my self-esteem up,” she said. “The fact that people are tipping me for bothering to give them local information and that they want to see me succeed is just fantastic.”

“So many of us were cashiers at a crappy

little place, or a janitor, we did all the bootson-the-ground, unpaid, low-pay work. Most of us did at some point in our lives. Not just a teenager, but for years,” she said. “To have a job where I’m valued and I can value myself the way I know I need to in order to get out there every day is fantastic.”

Seeing how face-to-face interaction has helped her build a strong community at her spot in such a short time, Abell thinks the city could benefit from replicating that — little by little, one person at a time.

“I want to ask everyone to take the opportunity with their vendor to think about ways to make stronger community in their neighborhood,” Abell said.

“I don’t want people to feel like they have to pity us. It’s more like, ‘how can you include us?’ We may or may not have that many differences between you and me.”

Militias, the Second Amendment and Gun Control

BY RIDLEY WILLS II

When the American Revolutionary War began in April 1775, the Colonial revolutionaries did not have an army. Previously, each colony had relied upon the militia made up of part-time civilian soldiers. Congress initially authorized ten companies of riflemen. The first full regiment of regular Army infantry, the Third Infantry Regiment, was not formed until June 1784. After the war, the continental Army was quickly disbanded because of the American distrust of standing armies, and irregular state militias became the new nation’s sole ground army, with the exception of a regiment to guard the Western frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Point’s arsenal.

During colonial America, all able-bodied men of a certain age range were members of the militia, depending on each colony’s rule. Because each militiaman was responsible for providing his own weapon, usually a musket, Congress, on Dec. 15, 1791, passed a Second Amendment to the Constitution. It read as follows: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the rights of people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

Following the War of 1812, during a long period of peace, militias became dormant. Capt. Aden Partridge, an early superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy, established the American Literary, Military and Scientific Academy in Vermont, later at Middleton in Connecticut. He was intent on revitalizing and reforming the militias. Quite a few Southern boys, including my great great grandfather, William Giles Harding, attended the academy, being interested in its course of study, methods and the studiousness of its students. William Giles graduated four years later, standing first in his class. He returned home to Belle

Meade Plantation, bringing with him old Capt. Partridge, who was making his first visit to the South. In 1838, Harding was named a brigadier-general in the local militia.

Between 1815 and 1860, the main role of the U.S. Army was, most unfortunately, to fight Native Americans in the West and to man coastal artillery stations at major ports. At the outset of the Civil War, the U.S. Army was small, but it grew enormously during the war. Militias by then had almost disappeared as able-bodied Americans no longer needed to own weapons to defend America. The U.S. Army had assumed this role. Nevertheless, the Second Amendment remained in force as millions of American men owned pistols, shotguns and rifles, which they used primarily in hunting birds and wild animals for food and for recreation.

The first semi-automatic weapon was produced in 1885. By early in the 20th century, many companies, including Remington Arms, were manufacturing automatic pistols, rifles and shotguns for the civilian and military markets. Many developed countries, including Japan, England and France, prohibited their use by civilians. The United States took an opposite stance, making it easy for civilians to acquire automatic weapons.

As recently as 2014 there were only 17 mass murders in the United States. Unfortunately, that number has skyrocketed since then with 117 in 2017, 175 in 2021, and 215 in 2022. As of April 1, 2023, there have been 131 this year, including six in Covenant School in Nashville on March 21.

According to Everytown Research and Policy, the homicide rate in the United States in 2019 was 4.382 per 100,000 people. In Ja-

pan, the homicide rate was 0.01 per 100,000 people. Here are the rates in other high income countries, all of whom have tighter gun control laws than the United States.

South Korea 0.002

Denmark 0.017

United Kingdom 0.049

Spain 0.082

Germany 0.100

Austria 0.103

Switzerland 0.104

Greece 0.112

Australia 0.154

Belgium 0.159

Finland 0.164

Italy 0.182

Netherlands 0.186

Sweden 0.388

France 0.400

Israel 0.709

The only reason to have a semi-automatic weapon in your possession is to kill someone. Yet Tennessee has no red flag laws and our Republican legislature is actually considering making our weak gun restrictions even more so. On April 3, Gov. Bill Lee announced that he would propose legislation to put armed guards in every public school in the state and provide funding for private schools who choose to have guards.

Our state has attracted gun manufacturers to move to Tennessee. Every time I drive to my cottage in Monteagle, Tenn., on I-24, I pass by Barrett Firearms in Christiana. A couple of years ago, I read that one of the prizes offered at the Swan Ball was a tour of Barrett Firearms. I was horrified. They manufacture semi-automatic rifles and advertise themselves as the, “world leader in large caliber rifle design and manufacturing.” Tennessee also has gun manufacturers in Clarksville, Minor Hill, Smyrna, Springfield, Tullahoma and Union City. The United States is by far the world’s leading exporter of lethal weapons. And there’s no doubt Tennessee is doing its part.

Learn More About Harm Reduction

BY JUDITH TACKETT

Lately I have been working with a couple of organizations and talking about onboarding new team members and implementing ongoing staff training. As part of the training curriculum, we discussed the importance for staff to learn about harm reduction.

Harm reduction, I found, is one of those terms where everyone thinks they have a good understanding, but then, when it comes to implementation, it becomes clear that many of us still have a lot to learn.

Furthermore, I have experienced situations where a few well-intentioned advocates and volunteers equated harm reduction as a “no-rules” approach. Let me be clear. Harm reduction does not negate program rules. Let me talk about a specific example I observed a few years ago during a winter shelter program run by Metro. The overnight cold weather shelter included a rule that people can go outside to a designated smoking area throughout the night, but they could not go outside to drink. The shelter was open for people who came in intoxicated. However, they were not allowed to drink on the premises. The reason was that when you have dozens of people come into a large room, you need to create a safe space for them to sleep out of the cold. Therefore, it was necessary to ensure that people were not actively drinking or taking drugs throughout the night. Some advocates blamed Metro for creating a high-barrier shelter that violated harm reduction principles.

Not so, I say.

Low-barrier access and harm reduction do not mean people don’t have to follow rules. We all have to follow some rules in society and communities to live together peacefully. So, let’s talk about harm reduction.

Harm reduction has been mostly associated with an approach or strategy to reduce the risks and harmful effects of drug use. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMHSA) defines harm reduction as, “an approach that emphasizes engaging directly with people who use drugs to prevent overdose and infectious disease transmis-

sion, improve the physical, mental and social wellbeing of those served, and offer low-threshold options for accessing substance use disorder treatment and other health care services.”

When working with homelessness, however, a lot of us expand the meaning slightly to focus on a person-centered approach including substance use and mental illness. In his book called Housing First: The Pathways Model to End Homelessness for People with Mental Illness and Addiction, Dr. Sam Tsemberis, who introduced the Housing First concept to us, defined harm reduction as, “a practical, client-directed approach that uses multiple strategies, including abstinence, to help clients manage their addictions and psychiatric symptoms. Harm reduction focuses on reducing the negative consequences of harmful behaviors related to drug and alcohol abuse or untreated psychiatric symptoms. With harm reduction, staff ‘meet clients where they are’ and start the treatment process from there, helping them gradually gain control over their harmful behaviors.”

I would like to point out that Tsemberis specifically includes abstinence as an option. However, it is not a requirement. The goal is to minimize risky behaviors and do so with an individualized approach.

One of the key aspects to me is to look at the options we provide people with substance use and/or mental illness in our community. If we have programs that offer abstinence, that’s one option. If we have programs that allow people with active addictions, we have another option. The point is to focus on solutions for each person and celebrate progress, whatever that progress or positive change looks like. To do so, we need to offer a diversity of programs within our community.

Generally, I believe it is hard for us to accept that the most effective interventions are client-driven. If we are being honest, pretty much all of us start with a perspective where we feel we have enough experience to know what’s healthy for another person, and in our eagerness to help, we are inclined to impose

our solutions on that person. And when that doesn’t work, we are disappointed and try to find fault with ourselves or the other person who would not do as we told them. It usually doesn’t occur to us that maybe we did not listen to each other, we did not take the time to build a trusting relationship, and we actually disempowered the person we claimed we wanted to help.

Let’s be honest. Is taking a person’s choices away truly helping them? And that’s where harm reduction’s focus is to meet people where they are and help them think through all the options they have. Then let them make their own decision and support them. And remember, that does not mean there are no rules to follow within a program.

When I speak about options and choices, I don’t necessarily say they have to be within one program. On the contrary. Take abstinence for example. People who want to be in an environment where sobriety is provided should have that option. But those programs then cannot also host people who choose to reduce their substance use but do so gradually. Therefore, we need different program options at the community level.

One definition I found was from the Canadian Homeless Hub. It states that, “harm reduction is an approach or strategy aimed at reducing the risks of harmful effects associated with substance use and addictive [behaviors] for the individual, the community and society as a whole.”

By the way, our city’s current encampment closure protocol (as implemented right now) is not focused on harm reduction. For one, it’s location-centered rather than person-centered. Secondly, officials distort evidence-based approaches such as the importance to build relationships with each person and have them be a driver in their own solutions by offering different choices (two options of temporary housing locations are not really a choice). When have we ever built meaningful relationships in our own lives on a timeline of three to four weeks? Hardly ever. So why do we think that by giving people in a specific encampment a notice of three to four weeks and an assessment will help create

meaningful relationships with government officials? And finally, if the entire group is offered to move into a temporary location together, are we really taking an individualized approach or are we just moving an encampment indoors?

I feel strongly that a better solution would be to implement a person-centered approach where we focus on the path to housing for each person. This community often forgets that prior to the Jefferson Street and Brookmeade encampment closures, our community providers housed more people and reduced the overall number of people in those encampments steadily without the added stress of rushing the process. Taking an individualized approach was more focused on a harm-reduction model than the current race to close encampments and shove people in temporary housing without the permanent supportive housing options in place that are needed for a true Housing First approach.

Harm reduction works, not only for individuals but also for our community. If we want to focus on real solutions, we must be willing to go the distance and move away from satisfying politicians with Band-Aid approaches.

What we need to recognize is that for one, it is not realistic to enforce abstinence on every person as it could actually do more harm than good. Some people need to gradually reduce their substance use and/or get to a place where they can manage it better. Plus, we have to understand that not every person is ready to give up drugs just because we want them to. Thus, when we focus on housing people, we need options. And punishing those who have learned to self-medicate because they have lost insurance, income, their safety nets and trust in people, is simply not working. At the core of a harm reduction approach, regardless of the nuances in the definitions I cited, is the need for us to build trusting relationships. This includes for us to listen to the people we assist and trust that in the end, most of them will know what path they are able to take and sustain.

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“The Contributor” está trabajando con uno de los principales periódicos en español La Noticia para llevar contenido a más lectores en Middle Tennessee. Nuestros vendedores de periódicos han pedido durante mucho tiempo que nuestra publicación incluya contenido que apele al interés de residentes de habla hispana en nuestra comunidad.

“The Contributor” is working with one of the leading Spanish-language newspapers La Noticia to bring content to more readers in Middle Tennessee. Our newspaper vendors have long requested that our publication include content that appeals to the interest of Spanish-speaking residents in our community.

L L a a N N ticia ticia

Expresidente Donald Trump procesado en tribunal de Nueva York por 34 cargos criminales de falsificación de registros comerciales

El expresidente Donald Trump fue procesado ayer martes (4/4/2023) por 34 cargos de delitos graves, lo que marca un avance significativo en la batalla legal en curso que ha rodeado al controversial expresidente desde que dejó el cargo. Trump ahora enfrenta una larga lista de cargos penales por delitos graves y otros delitos financieros. A través de sus abogados, Todd Blanche, Susan Necheles, Joe Tacopina y Boris Epshteyn, Trump se declaró inocente de todos los cargos durante su comparecencia ante el Tribunal Penal de Manhattan el 4 de abril en Nueva York.

Un gran contingente de reporteros, así como simpatizantes y detractores del expresidente asistieron a la lectura de cargos, celebrada en un tribunal de esta ciudad.

El equipo de la fiscalía, dirigido por el fiscal de distrito de Manhattan, Alvin L. Bragg Jr., reveló cargos contra Trump relacionados con su papel en un esquema criminal de "catch and kill” (atrapar y eliminar) que supuestamente involucró 34 cargos de 'Falsificación de registros comerciales en primer grado' con el finalidad de cometer otros delitos.

Durante la lectura de cargos, Trump se declaró inocente de los 34 cargos.

Sus abogados argumentaron que los cargos tenían motivaciones políticas y que no había pruebas para respaldar las acusaciones en su contra. Sin embargo, el equipo de la fiscalía argumentó que había amplia evidencia para respaldar los cargos y que DONALD J. TRUMP, de 76 años, había estado involucrado en la falsificación de registros comerciales de Nueva York para ocultar información dañina y actividades ilegales a los votantes estadounidenses antes y después de las elecciones del 2016. “Durante las elecciones, Trump y otros emplearon un esquema de “atrapar y eliminar” para identificar, comprar y enterrar información negativa sobre él y mejorar sus perspectivas electorales. Trump luego hizo todo lo posible para ocultar esta con-

Conoce tus derechos:

¿Que hacer en caso de una redada?

callado

2. Sólo dar nombre y apellido

3. No mentir

4. Nunca acepte/lleve documentos falsos

5. No revelar su situación migratoria

6. No llevar documentación de otro país

7. En caso de ser arrestado, mostrarla Tarjeta Miranda (llámenos si necesita una) Basados en la Quinta Enmienda de la Constitución, los derechos de guardar silencio y contar con un abogado fueron denominados Derechos Miranda luego de la decisión de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de Estados Unidos en el caso Miranda vs. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, de 1966.

ducta, causando docenas de entradas falsas en los registros comerciales para ocultar actividades delictivas, incluidos los intentos de violar las leyes electorales estatales y federales”. (fuente: Oficina del Fiscal del Distrito de Manhattan).

La lectura de cargos fue el primer paso en lo que probablemente será una batalla legal larga y contenciosa. Los cargos contra Trump son graves y conllevan una pena significativa si es declarado culpable. Trump podría enfrentar años de prisión si es declarado culpable. La falsificación de registros comerciales en primer grado es un crimen grave de clase E.

La lectura de cargos llega en un momento de intenso escrutinio para

Trump, quien se ha visto envuelto en una serie de batallas legales desde que dejó el cargo. Además de los cargos en Nueva York, Trump también enfrenta investigaciones y juicios en otras jurisdicciones, incluida Georgia, donde los fiscales están investigando sus esfuerzos para anular los resultados de las elecciones del 2020.

A medida que continúa la batalla legal, muchos estadounidenses observarán de cerca cómo se desarrolla. Es probable que el caso contra Trump sea un tema importante de discusión en los medios y en los círculos políticos en el futuro previsible, y será interesante ver cómo afecta su futuro político.

"Nadie está por encima de la ley; Trump no está por encima de la ley" gritaban los manifestantes. Si bien el tamaño de la multitud fue relativamente pequeña en comparación con las protestas típicas de la ciudad de Nueva York que atraen a miles, no hubo incidentes de comportamiento ingobernable que pudieran haber llevado a la policía a cerrar secciones de la ciudad. Como resultado, las medidas de seguridad se suspendieron en su mayoría dentro del perímetro conformado por unas pocas cuadras.

A su regreso de Nueva York, ya desde su residencia en Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Trump dijo: "Nunca pensé que algo así podría suceder en Estados Unidos. El único crimen que he cometido es defender sin miedo a nuestra nación de aquellos que buscan destruirla."

Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com ó 615-567-3569

Por Yuri Cunza Editor in Chief @LaNoticiaNews

A Few Questions with at-large Councilmember Sharon Hurt

BY JUDITH TACKETT

If you started following Nashville’s mayoral campaign, you have certainly come across Councilmember Sharon Hurt’s name, who announced in 2022 a run for mayor. Hurt is a two-term at-large councilmember and is also the executive director of Street Works, a nonprofit for people affected by HIV and AIDS.

The Contributor talked with Hurt as part of a series called A Few Questions With where we interview councilmembers about their district’s most pressing issues.

When you ran as an at-large councilmember representing the entire city, what were the main goals you had and which of those are you most focused on as you possibly serve your last year?

My main goal was to bring more equity to minority- and women-owned businesses, and it’s still my main goal. There are too many forgotten people, too many forgotten families, too many forgotten communities. The wealth in our community is not distributed equitably to all people, and we need to change that. That is something I will continue to advocate for, especially when it comes to small businesses and those individuals who have been disenfranchised, including those who are unhoused, those who are disabled, veterans, or people of color.

What are some of the most pressing concerns you hear from your constituents?

The most pressing concerns are about housing and traffic. People are no longer able to afford to live in the city and communities do not look like they used to look. I want to preserve the culture of what Nashville was for me, and what I believe it is for so many people.

And of course, I hear concerns about safety and education, especially in the wake of the gun violence we just had with the Covenant mass shooting. It’s always been in our minds, but then it is put on our back burner until something like this most recent mass shooting occurs. The Waffle House shooting was about five years ago. But until we really make some strong, enforceable, common-sense laws, we’re going to continue to deal with the same type of unfortunate situations that we are grieving right now.

I always view that prevention is the best solution to any problem that we have.

If the state legislature prevails with its law to change the Metro Council and if you were not elected as the next mayor in August or September, would you be willing to continue for one more year as an at-large member? Why, why not?

Today I would say, yes, I would continue because the people voted me in. They expect me to fulfill my time and my responsibility. If we get to that point where Metro Council is [required to change and asked to serve an additional year], and that would not be up to us nor to the [Nashville voters] — because they have voted and said loud and clear that what they wanted —

METRO COUNCIL COMMITTEES:

• Public Facilities, Arts, and Culture; chair

• Budget and Finance

• Transportation and

• Infrastructure

I still would feel that I have an obligation to the people I serve. I would not want to fail them in any way.

As the head of Street Works, you are familiar with the plight of marginalized populations in Nashville. What are some of the changes you would like the city to make to better address the needs of people experiencing housing insecurity?

I think we have to get ahead of these things. That’s the concern that I have. While we’re addressing the 2,000 people who are homeless right now, we’ve got 10,000 that are on the verge of being unhoused. I think we have to anticipate those things and get in front of them. As I said, prevention is the best solution.

I think we have to provide resources. We have got to have job creation, workforce development, trainings, meet people where they are, find out what’s at the root of the problem, so we can get to the cause of it.

We don’t really know what’s happening and what has caused those we serve to be where they are. Whether it’s a concern that they have, whether it’s a real service that they need, [we won’t know] until we communicate effectively to the people, and they communicate with us. Once we understand what it is that they need and are in a position to provide that, that’s what I think is where we need to go. If we don’t go there, I think we will fail our people. You are running for mayor. What are

some of your top priorities?

My top priority is to restore hope and prosperity to every person, let them know that they are valued, that they can make their dreams come true, that Nashville is a city for all people.

That means we have to make sure that our public education is top 10. We’re going to have to focus on that. We’re going to have to focus on workforce development and job creation. We’re going to have to focus on traffic, what it is we need in order for people to be able to mobilize themselves in and around this city. We’re going to have to focus on public safety and ensure that every person feels safe and that they are safe in this city.

I want to redefine public opinion because Abraham Lincoln said that, “whoever can change public opinion can change the government.” And our government needs changing.

I want to make sure that we redefine what minority means. It is not race-based, but it’s need-based. The woman who has a child needing hospital and health care that lives in Madison. The man who is a veteran and has not been able to find the work that he needs to provide for his family. The disabled person that is out of a home. Anyone who is disenfranchised, I consider to be [a] minority.

And I believe we as a city and a state should take on the responsibility and the obligation in order to provide for that person, so every person can have their promises fulfilled in this city.

People come here every day wanting to be a songwriter, a musician, an engineer, and

so on. They all come here for their dreams to come true. This is a city of hope, and we want to make sure that we give people that hope. That’s why they’re coming here, they love the city. Once they get here, they find it to be infectious. We’ve got legacy residents that we need to maintain and support and make sure that they’re not pushed out.

So, all of those who have been disenfranchised or forgotten, I want them to know that they are valued, and they’re loved. And they can have their dreams come true.

Anything else you’d like to add?

I think that even though they call us politicians because we have to affect policy in order to get things done as part of the process. But honestly, I believe the role of an elected official is to be a public servant.

The Constitution starts with “we the people,” and it says that the government exists in order to serve its citizens. We need to make sure we put people before politics. We do what’s right as opposed to what’s legal. It doesn’t make sense for there to be so much wealth… you know, I heard constituents talk about coming out of these luxury buildings and hotels and condos, and yet you see people [lying] on the street.

Something is wrong with that picture. We’ve got to change. There has to be something we can do to eliminate this tale of two cities. And I think it is on us to make sure that that happens.

From grief to action in Nashville, protesters demand change at the state capitol

Less than 16 hours after a muted vigil, a grieving city turned to protest, and crowds took to the halls of the Tennessee Capitol on March 30 demanding action on gun violence after six were killed at the Covenant School, marking Nashville’s third mass shooting since 2017.

Hundreds gathered outside the city government building evening of March 29 to honor the lives of 9-year-old students Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney; 61-year-old substitute teacher Cynthia Peak; 61-year-old custodian Mike Hill; and 60-year-old Covenant Head of School Katherine Koonce.

BY ADAM FRIEDMAN

“I so wish we did not need to be here,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper told the mourning crowd, which included Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty and First Lady Jill Biden, “but we need to be here, together, as a community.”

The grief became dissatisfaction, with over a thousand protesters flooding the halls of Tennessee’s state government as lawmakers gathered for their Thursday floor sessions.

Janet Maykus, 61, of Nashville showed up at Tennessee’s State Capitol to call for legislative action on guns in Nashville on March 30, 2023.

“They are cowards,” Janet Maykus, 61,

said after she and other protesters were kicked out of the Tennessee Senate gallery. “Is anybody going to do anything? Or are we just going allow weapons of war on the streets?”

Chants of “Shame on you,” and “No justice, no peace,” rang in the background as lawmakers attempted to conduct their regular state business, debating dozens of bills like stopping payroll deductions for teacher unions and Gov. Bill Lee’s $3 billion transportation plan.

“We need them to act,” said Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, to the crowd in reference to Republican lawmakers who hold a super-

majority in the state House and Senate. “We need to hold them accountable.”

The morning of March 30, tensions were high as Jones and House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, yelled at each other. Jones held a sign demanding action on gun violence in Lamberth’s face. Members from both sides of the aisle stepped in to calm the two.

“I made it clear to him that behavior is not acceptable in this chamber,” Lamberth said. “If you’re a citizen and you want to come up here and yell at the top of your lungs, it is free country, you can do so. You can’t do so in this chamber.”

Protesters then flooded the House and Senate public viewing areas. In the Senate, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, cleared the public area after protesters refused to stop chanting “Children are dead, and you don’t care.”

The House was more chaotic. Jones, joined by Reps. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, and Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, took over the podium with a megaphone during a recess. House Minority Leader Karen Camper, D-Memphis, angrily yelled at the trio, forcing them off the floor.

“When our colleagues got in the well to make good trouble, temperatures were raging,” Camper said. “My job as the leader is to tamp that down so they don’t get out of hand.”

Democrat and Republican leaders briefly huddled to discuss sanctions against the three. In the aftermath, they were stripped of their committee positions and will likely be expelled from the state house. House Speaker Cameron Sexton said almost im -

mediately after the incident that he would take action against the members involved.

“Something like that has never happened before,” Sexton said.

The initial shock, grief and unity quickly turned into a political debate in Nashville.

State Republicans have spent years loosening Tennessee’s gun laws with no sign of letting up, saying the right to own, buy and carry weapons freely is an essential and secure right as an American citizen.

“Even if we had the most restrictive ban on weapons, when you have someone who is willing to die and kill other people you cannot stop them,” Sexton said. “Unless you can determine very quickly what they are going to do.”

Before the shooting on March 27, Nashville and the state were locked in a bitter battle over the city’s right to self-governance; the event likely exacerbated the divide even further.

Several Senate Republicans entered the chambers on March 30 with headphones on

in an attempt to block out the protesters; many Democrats joined and encouraged the protests.

Gov. Bill Lee released a video discussing the tragedy without saying the words “Nashville” or “gun” and, as of publishing, has not offered other comment or media availability.

U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, told reporters there was “nothing” Congress could do to stop gun violence.

The shooting showed how a city, tested by tornadoes, bombings and pandemics, can react to tragedy. It displayed itself in the teachers and administrators who locked down the Covenant School with an action plan they’d likely been preparing since Newtown; in the police officers who responded immediately to take out the shooter; and in residents’ unity and funds raised.

A week after six people died in the shooting, Lee pitched a $205 million school safety program containing nothing about gun restrictions, despite the daylong protest

against lax weapon laws. Lee acknowledged he would consider something akin to a red flag law as part of an effort to keep mentally unstable people from possessing guns, but he offered no specifics.

Democrats offered several proposals, including a repeal of permitless carry, limit on cash transactions for firearms and the creation of red flag laws.

McNally also mentioned to reporters he was open to discussing red flag laws, which prevent someone who displays signs of being a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing a gun.

Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, said he was encouraged by McNally’s words.

“Today needed to happen,” Yarbro said. “Now we’ll see if this frustration can be turned into legislative action.”

This story was published with the permission of The Tennessee Lookout . It was first published online at https://tennesseelookout.com.

IMAGES BY RAY DI PIETRO

I met these two free roamers in a cul-de-sac I was cutting through. Adventure chicken and her sidekick, Lucky.

BY CONTRIBUTOR

Stephanie Nash is a fourth generation farmer. She is also a singer/songwriter. She sings music to promote awareness about the struggles farmers face. Stephanie will be performing live April 18 from 6-8 p.m. at Sunset Road in Brentwood. Please join to learn about the importance of American Agriculture and farmers.

BY CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR WENDELL J. #5314

BY JOHN H., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

I remember when I was small my dad reminded his kids of being conformed to the world. Many Americans don’t take something so important as this in consideration. Everything the world does we want to be a part of. For instance, Donald Trump is running for president again. He constantly speaks about getting the country back (White men). Think of it as, the country never belonged to you or y'all. How can you lead a country if you hate over half of the citizens? Bad enough we have a racist governor, we don’t need a racist president again.

I’ve been here all these years on Earth, and I never understood hate. I was studying my Bible and read a chapter with the rich man. The rich man showed much hate toward Lazarus. I guarantee you the last person the rich expected to see when he

looked over the chasm was Lazarus. Even though Abraham explained to him why he was in hell, he wanted to go back and warn his brothers. Yet, many of Americans follow the rich man's example. Example of hate. Many do it because it's what the world does. In 1st John, God referred to the world as Satan. Believe it or not, many Americans are led by Satan. We hate our own Christian brothers and sisters. Sad story, “Huh!”

Gods’ word says, “Know that I am God” Many read the word but they are so disobedient as it what the world think or believe is more important than God’s word. They are conformed to the world. I see and hear things everyday. But it doesn’t mean I have to do as they do. I just keep on “Living that quite life, minding my own business.” I refuse to be conformed to the things of this world.

BY JUNE P., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

The Final Chapter Real Life Conformed to the World

Being a vendor I meet a lot of different people.

I'm so grateful God didn't make us all the same. Oh, I know he made men and women, but why are a lot of people so mean? Not mean, I guess, they seem like a lot are mad.

Me, myself, I'm so grateful for who I am and what I got and it's not much. But he gave me what I need when I needed it. Not when I want it.

Wish my eyes had been open like this before my mother passed. But I'm grateful they are now.

Miss you mama, daddy, little brother and my best sister ever.

Thank you God for having them with you to watch over me and you too.

And thank you God for you. And all these Earth angels you put in my life today.

Thank you God and ALL.

BY SHORTY R., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

The "final" chapter is near , when the curtain is pulled it's almost here. Don't worry be happy, we had some good times, worst times, be happy celebrate times we have had and that we're having together. Now, let's don't forget we will be together in final chapter and we're not alone. We will to do this. Be happy and strong with this journey. Just like I said this is "the last ride." God Bless you all.

VENDOR LISA A. #5314

Another Day, Another School Shooting

On April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School, two teenage students/gunmen walked into their school armed with multiple weapons and carried out a massacre that left 13 students dead and 24 injured (21 by gunfire). At the time, it was considered one of the worst mass shootings of its kind in United States history.

Sadly, since that time there have been many others. Consider the following examples:

On Dec. 14, 2012, a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut killing 26 people — 20 children and six adults — before taking his own life.

On Feb. 14, 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., a gunman killed 17 students and injured 14 before he was taken into custody.

More recently on May 24, 2022, at Robb Elementary an 18 year old gunman killed 21 people — 19 students and two adults — before the shooter was killed.

These are just a few examples of the atrocities being committed against our young people — the most vulnerable segment of society and one that we as adults are supposed to protect.

The damage done extends far beyond those killed or physically injured. Countless others are profoundly mentally traumatized as they are forced to witness these horrific events unfold before their eyes.

Still others hide behind locked doors cowering in fear in hopes that a savior will soon appear amid all the chaos.

So just how prevalent is this problem in the

BY NORMA B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

U.S.? There have been a total of 377 school shootings since Columbine in 1999, exposing more than 348,000 students to gun violence in their schools. (Washington Post)

As of Dec. 20, 2022, there were over 300 incidents involving gun violence on school grounds. This includes mass shootings, gang shootings, shootings at sporting events, as well as other after school activities that have taken place on school grounds of both public and private schools. (See K-12 School Shooting Database for more information.)

There have already been 13 school shootings so far this year, with a total of 18 people fatally shot, and another 56 injured in these incidents. (NPR) But don’t worry, it’ll NEVER happen here, right? WRONG!

The most recent shooting occurred at Covenant, a private Christian school that teaches Pre-K-6th grade in the typically quiet community of Green Hills, an affluent suburb just south of of Nashville. This shooting now has the distinction of having the highest number of victims in a single mass shooting this year so far. (Education Week)

So what has changed over the years?

Since Columbine, over 90 percent of our schools now have a written plan to deal with an active shooter situation.

Seventy five percent have had active shooter training drills (much like we had fire or tornado drills when I was a child in public school). (ABC News)

It’s important to note that ALL faculty and staff at the Covenant Christian School had at-

Hole in the Sky

BY JEFFREY W., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

Some years ago I left Iowa on a bicycle. I made a trailer using one of those baby strollers with the two 16” tires on the back. So, I had a tent and everything I needed to be comfortable. One morning early, just as I did almost every day, I got a very vivid vision. I knew that it was about where I was to spend the night. I was now in the flat part of Arkansas along the Mississippi Delta region heading toward the Gulf. When you say “flat land” this is the textbook example of it.

I never knew how far I would bike daily, so I would simply enjoy the day, scenery and occasional people I would meet that loved to talk to me about my journey. This particular day, just like the rest, I began to get very tired towards the end of it. I had just left an old town that really looked awful. You could tell that a tornado had destroyed a lot of years ago, but had been left still in disarray. “No Trespassing” signs were posted everywhere. I believe in respecting those, not to mention none of them matched my vision, which was of a falling down building. So I continued on, having everything I would need in my trailer.

On these roads you can see almost forever because it’s so flat. Oh no!! Yep, I began to see lightning. This usually never bothered me because I could find some type of natural protection. Today, there was not even a single tree. Way in the horizon the lightning began to intensify. I kept trying to pretend like I wasn’t actually seeing it.

The storm still looked small and isolated. It had a tail wind and I began to think about the severity of what could be coming. The storm quickly began to widen in my sight as it drew closer. There was

zero chance to get back to the town I left. I had an entirely different feeling deep inside of me that I began to heed closely as if I was in a way seeking guidance. Something welled up in my spirit and I began to pick up my pace a little even as the tail wind also did. I knew I was in serious trouble and a very bad situation was unfolding and I felt like I was about to be dinner for this storm. There still was nothing in sight at all. The clouds of thunder and lightning now were extremely wide and were coming quickly. They formed a horseshoe shape and I was headed to the center of it.

I found the strength and began to move quicker. I wasn’t speaking to myself, I was speaking to this storm now. “You’ll not get one piece of me at all. I am absolutely going to kick your ass.” I became very feisty and was moving quickly headed directly into the heart of this now rapidly intensifying storm. “You haven’t seen me pissed off!” My rhetoric continued as my heartbeat was about to come out of my chest. Lightening on both sides with full thunder. I began to notice something ahead that looked like a single tree. I peddled harder and faster, but it seemed impossible to get to the now appearing group of trees in the middle of nothingness on the side of the highway. I had considered getting off the bike and sheltering in a shallow drainage ditch. I realized I was the target and stood ready to fight. My heart was beating like a mad man now as I was surrounded by lightning and massive thunder, but no rain!! In the past I would simply pray for passage to be made by a hole in the skies and it did happen. Today, this wasn’t going to happen.

tended Active Shooter Training in the Fall of 2021, conducted by Brink Fidler a former MNPD officer who stated in an interview with News Channel 5, “The school performed flawlessly” in accordance with their training.

Still, more needs to be done as mass shootings continue to escalate at an unprecedented rate.

Given all this information it should come as no surprise that gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children in America! (New York Times/NPR)

With that in mind, what more can be done to further ensure the safety of students, educators, and others in our schools?

Here are just a few suggestions:

1. Instituting a waiting period to buy a gun, (many of the guns used in recent mass shootings were purchased legally on the same day as the incident) which represents a departure from my long held belief that individuals who do things like this don’t purchase the guns legally.

2. Raising the age to buy a gun from 18 to 21. Tennessee has tabled a bill to lower the age to buy a gun from 21 to 18 until 2024.

3. Tougher background checks.

4. Banning the sale of assault riffles and high capacity magazines to civilians who have no need for them. (Their only purpose is to maim, kill and destroy anything in their path.)

5. Enact Red Flag laws which allow law enforcement to confiscate weapons from

When I got to the place of what looked like a single tree, I was shocked by what was coming quickly into view. It was a rundown, dilapidated barn. It was a perfect match for my vision!! With no hesitation, I steered in and was somewhat sheltered. When I went to the back of the barn, I saw a 10x10 opening of solid stone with a doorway pointing away from the storm. It used to be an outbuilding, probably a simple shed. I am quick to set up a small simple tent, and soon i was perfectly snuggled inside the stone walls. Shortly the screaming of this pissed off storm went over my shelter. My laughter was loud as was my relief. The fight was over and I won fair and square.

I slept very nicely inside my hole in the middle of the storm that seemed to target me. The shelter had been there for years, I simply had to be ready to fight if I needed to. Remembering simple passages of scripture that most people overlook has helped me in countless situations.

Recently on my post selling The Contributor near a McDonalds, the morning was cloudy but I felt good inside about being on my post. Getting soaked to the bone the way I live can be a bad thing as it can make you ill or take forever to dry your clothes. On this morning the rain was light, and wasn’t ruining my morning. At one point I remember asking God for a hole in the sky to keep me dry so I could continue selling papers. I remained mostly dry and was enjoying my morning on my post. Then a most wonderful man came up behind me. He bought a paper, gave me a double cheeseburger and a McChicken sandwich and strongly insisted upon me taking an extra umbrella he had. That to me seemed strange because the clouds were breaking up giving way to sunshine.

Then all at once with no warning at all, a very torrential rain began. I quickly unfolded this um-

those deemed by a judge to be a danger to themselves or others.

6. Install SRO’s or Security officers at EVERY school both public and private.

I admit these steps may be unpopular and some may view them as an infringement on their “individual rights” and yes, I know, it’s the law, but I’m reminded of a scripture:

1 Cor. 6:12 NIV says, “All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial.” My point? While it is lawful to own any type of gun you choose, it would definitely be beneficial to so many others if we didn’t so adamantly insist on utilizing it. Also it would let the victims' families know their loved ones mattered not only to them, but to others.

In contrast, to do nothing is like saying all the victims died in vain, adding insult to injury on those left behind to pick up the pieces.

If this sounds familiar, it should, as it was mentioned in my previous article “Gun Rights Verses Victims Rights — What Is More Important? ” appearing in The Contributor 's June 22,2022, edition. Since these suggestions weren’t implemented then, it bears repeating now. Maybe this time in light of recent events that have hit so close to home, those in a position to do so will take action to promote real and lasting change to benefit EVERYONE in Nashville and the surrounding areas, as well as anyone else who chooses to listen.

Since writing this article, all gun legislation in Tennessee has been tabled until 2024. So, I guess we will have to wait and see.

brella and sat down on a five gallon bucket I had. I curled up under this umbrella. It was made of see-through plastic and was the type that drooped a lot around the edges. All I could do was weep a little and say, “Thank you God, for sending this man to provide my hole in the sky!!” I was dry!!

Long ago, in the days of old, a wonderful warrior was in need of the sun to stay in the sky long enough to defeat the enemy God had sent him to destroy. Joshua’s prayer wasn’t perfect according to the scientific community because he was actually needing the Earth to stop. God knew what he really needed and did exactly that.

Over the years, I have enjoyed helping so many people to open their eyes to the things around them in their lives. Seeing the obvious sometimes can be difficult because things don’t seem to be going in the right direction. Many fight to go against something that they actually have prayed for. As the answer comes to them they can be deceived into not seeing it as the answer they were looking for. Being patient and going straight forward into the storm could be the very answer we seek at times. A shelter in the provided hole inside the storm. You simply need to go forward. Other times perhaps your hole in the sky will simply show up.

The God I serve is very capable of having a billionaire hand me fortune should it be his will. The peace of life comes about by not caring either way. He has promised me much so I don’t fret about it today. I simply enjoy seeing what and how he does things so easily in our lives everyday. Just as with Abraham when God says what he shall do in our lives, he will then teach us to walk in it first. In his way, not ours, we will earn the right to have his blessings commanded upon us. Just like a Tesla purchase, you own it first, but have to wait until you get to actually drive it. I have witnessed way too much to be convinced otherwise.

HOBOSCOPES

ARIES

How long has it been, Aries? Maybe a month? It seems like it just happened. But it also seems like a year ago. It still feels bad, but I guess I think about it less. In any case, I’m not sure how I would have made it through all that without you. And I’m not sure how the world is still making it through without them. Everyone you meet is so important, Aries. Even the ones you don’t much like. So we’ve got to hold onto each other and remember that everybody means everything to somebody. And the only ones to take care of them is us.

TAURUS

How much does it cost to feel better? I mean, you can feel a little bit better for $8 if you like chili cheese fries and espresso milkshakes. But then you end up feeling worse for the rest of the day. If you’re in a spendy mood, $20 will make you feel better for the length of time it takes to play “Don’t Stop Me Now” on the Waffle House jukebox 40 times in a row. (Honestly, though, I’ve found the thrill wears off after the 33rd time or so.) But how much does it cost to feel all the way better, Taurus? I’m not sure we’ve figured that one out yet. It probably costs some acceptance and some generosity. And I think you start by doing it for somebody else.

GEMINI

Emily Dickinson wrote “If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.” And I’d guess that her catalog of 1,800 poems did the trick somewhere along the way — stopping hearts from breaking and all — so great job, Emily. I’m sorry, Gemini, if I seem dismissive, it’s just that I think sometimes hearts need to break. That it might be the only thing that changes minds. And I think poems can do that, but so can just having hard conversations with people you love. So tell the truth and break a heart and, I think, you shall not live in vain.

CANCER

According to my targeted-ads, scientists have invented a new shade of blue. I can’t say I really understand how that could be true. Blue is a known quantity, like, on the color wheel, right? Don’t we already know what all the blues are, Cancer? But I understand how the blues might seem like a new shade if you haven’t felt this way before. And I just want you to know that as bad as it can feel, you’re still on that wheel with the rest of us. You’re not the only one with these blues, Cancer. And when you’re ready, it might help if you tell us all what it’s like.

LEO

Poets, preachers, and politicians all love to tell that one story about boiling a frog. How if you start a happy little frog in tepid water and slowly raise the temperature, the frog will stay put until it’s boiled alive. Amateur astrologers know better. I mean, sure I could use that metaphor for how things around you are getting more and more extreme and you’re just being cool about it. But it’s just not factually true, Leo. Frogs are like the rest of us. When the water gets too hot, they jump out. And you will too, Leo. I know you’re going to jump. I’m just a little surprised it’s taking this long.

VIRGO

It’s true, Virgo, that love beats fear every time. Keep in mind, however, that paper covers love, fear scares rock, rock crushes scissors, and scissors…well, I’ve gotten a little turned around in this metaphor, Virgo. I just want you to know that it’s not always easy to hang on to your love. Nor is it simple to beat your fear. There may be other factors at play that make things seem too complicated. But I hope you notice there are other people here who are on your side — people who love what you love and who want to beat fear just as badly as you do. If the game starts getting away from you, look for those folks.

LIBRA

How many actual governments were overthrown by the interactive hit Konami home game Dance, Dance, Revolution? Zero, Libra. It’s zero governments. DDR was more a revolution of the body and mind than of the sociopolitical sphere. Still, it’s a reminder to me, Libra, that every revolution starts by getting off the couch and standing up. Maybe after that you step onto a soft plastic dance pad in front of your television. Or maybe you leave the house. It’s really up to you.

SCORPIO

Leonard Cohen once wrote “How can I begin anything new with all of yesterday in me?” I get it, but if you’re full of a hot stack of painful yesterdays, Scorpio, I’d say the first thing to do is acknowledge it. You’ve been through a lot and some of that has some real weight that needs your attention. Maybe the new thing you start today is letting your yesterdays take up the space they need.

SAGITTARIUS

Sometimes when something terrible happens, the people in charge get real metaphysical. They start talking about “evil” and “evildoers.” You’ve heard them do it, Sagittarius. They talk about other realms and dark forces. What they’re really saying is that we don’t know. We don’t know why the terrible thing happened. And we’re afraid to find out. It’s easier to blame a problem on a ghost or a beast or a satanist army than to admit that we’re just scared to look. Stare your problems square in the face today, Sagittarius. Accept what you can and change what you can’t and don’t get too metaphysical.

CAPRICORN

So it’s settled. Me and my anxiety are running away together. We quit our jobs and rented a van and got matching sunglasses and we’re in love, Capricorn! My anxiety has never felt so sure about anything and I’ve never been this nervous. I guess we have to face our fears, Capricorn. And there are feelings that we have to accept and even learn to live with. But maybe we don’t have to identify with them so fully? You should look into that, Capricorn, while my anxiety and I are picking out a sofa.

AQUARIUS

This weather is crazy lately, Aquarius! Too hot, too cold, too wet, too windy, and then just right. Or maybe that’s just what the weather is like. It changes. And then we act surprised. I guess it’s just something easy to chat about over a nice chianti. Curse or blessing, Aquarius, change shows up. But instead of smalltalking over weather why not acknowledge some of the bigger, scarier changes that you see. Talk about what winds are blowing on the inside. What’s got you worried? What gives you hope? It’s all your change and it’s all worth talking about.

PISCES

I called all the offices and I filled out the online petitions. I just don’t know who to send this last letter to. An old poet told me that words can only do so much. That’s hard for a guy like me to hear, Pisces. I think you get it, though. Sometimes you have to stand up from the desk and get moving. I think it’s that kind of week. Let me know what time and I’ll try to meet you there. Maybe I can hand this letter off in person.

Mr. Mysterio is not a licensed astrologer, a trained instigator, or a registered representative. Mr. Mysterio is, however, a budding intermediate podcaster! Check out The Mr. Mysterio Podcast. Season 2 is now playing at mrmysterio.com. Got a question, just give Mr. M a call at 707-VHS-TAN1

The New Christian Year

Selected by Charles Williams

Charles Walter Stansby Williams (1886–1945), the editor of the following selections, is today probably the third most famous of the famous Inklings literary group of Oxford, England, which existed in the middle of the 20th century, and which included among its ranks the better-known and longer-lived Oxford Dons J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis—but he was arguably the most precocious and well-read of this eminent and intellectually fertile group. He was also known to have influenced Dorothy Sayers, T. S. Eliot and W. H. Auden. Lacking a proper degree unlike his fellow Inklings, this genius Cockney-speaking author, editor, critic, and playwright was eminently well-versed in both philosophical and theological writings of the remote past as of the present day (the mid-20th century) and used this familiarity to good effect in his poetry, supernatural fiction and his lesser-known devotional selections designed for the spiritual benefit of the faithful in the Church of England. This series of profound quotations, encompassing all walks of life, follows the sequence of the themes and Bible readings anciently appointed for contemplation throughout the church's year, beginning with Advent (i.e., December) and ending in November, and reaches far beyond the pale of the philosophical and theological discussions of his day. It was under his hand, for instance, that some of the first translations of Kierkegaard were made available to the wider public. It is hoped that the readings reproduced here will prove beneficial for any who read them, whatever their place in life's journey. — Matthew Carver

EASTER WEEK WEDNESDAY

THE will of the Creator shall gather together man's dust, shall renew it, and make of it the temple of glory; the body shall lead his companion, the soul, into the bridal chamber and there comfort her; and the body filled with sorrow in Hades shall rejoice, and the body that hath despaired shall give praise for his redemption, and that over which the foolish despaired shall receive great mercy.

St Ephraem Syrus: Hymns.

EASTER WEEK THURSDAY

THE Word, leaving his Father in heaven, came down to be joined to his Wife, and slept in the trace of his Passion, and willingly suffered death for her, that he might present the Church to himself, glorious and blameless, having cleansed her by the laver, for the receiving of the spiritual and blessed seed which is sown by him who, with whispers, implants it in the depths of the mind, and is conceived and formed by the Church, as by a woman, so as to give birth and nourishment to virtue. For in this way, too, the command "Increase and multiply" is duly fulfilled, the Church increasing daily in greatness and beauty and multitude by the union and communion of the Word who now still comes down to us and falls into a trance by the Memorial of his Passion.

Methodius: Banquet of the Ten Virgins

EASTER WEEK FRIDAY

IT belongs to God alone to bestow beatitude upon souls by a participation with Himself; but it is Christ's prerogative to bring them to such beatitude, inasmuch as He is their Head and the author of their salvation.

Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologica. NONE can be eternally united who have not died for each other.

Patmore: The Rod, the Root, and the Flower.

EASTER WEEK SATURDAY

AFTER the meeting was over I went to John Audland's, and there came John Story to me and lighted his pipe of tobacco. And said he, "Will you take a pipe of tobacco?" saying, "Come; all is ours." And I looked upon him to be a forward bold lad; and tobacco I did not take, but it came to my mind that the lad might think I had not unity with the creation. For I saw he had a flashy, empty notion of religion. So I took his pipe and put it to my mouth, and gave it to him again to stop him lest his rude tongue should say I had not unity with the creation.

George Fox: Journal.

FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER

NOT for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up in life. These are words by which the slanderers of the nature of the body, the impeachers of our flesh, are completely overthrown . . . We do not with to cast aside the body, but corruption; not the flesh, but death. The body is one thing, death another . . . What is foreign to us is not the body but corruptibility.

St John Chrysostom: On the Resurrection of the Dead.

2ND MONDAY AFTER EASTER

GIVE yourself up to ever so many good works, read, preach, pray, visit the sick, build hospitals, clothe the naked, etc., yet if anything goes along with these or in the doing of them you have anything else that you will and hunger after, but that God's Kingdom may come and His will done, they are not the works of the new-born from above and so cannot be his life-giving food. For the new creature in Christ is

that one will and one hunger that was in Christ; and therefore, where that is wanting, there is wanting that new creature which alone can have His conversation.

William Law: Letters.

2ND TUESDAY AFTER EASTER

ACCORDING to the Scriptures we have been taught that death is threefold. One death is when we die to sin, but live to God. Blessed, then, is that death which, escaping from sin, and devoted to God, separates us from what is mortal and consecrates us to Him Who is immortal. Another death is the departure from this life, as the patriarch Abraham died, and David, and were buried with their fathers; when the soul is set free from the bonds of the body. The third death is that of which it is said: "Leave the dead to bury their own dead." In that death not only the flesh but also the soul dies, for "the soul that sinneth, it shall die." For it dies to the Lord, through the weakness not of nature but of guilt. But this death is not the discharge from this life, but a fall through error.

St Ambrose: On the Death of Satyrus.

2ND WEDNESDAY AFTER EASTER

CHRIST was common to all in love, in teaching, in tender consolation, in generous gifts, in merciful forgiveness. His soul and his body, his life and his death, and his ministry were, and are, common to all. His sacraments and his gifts are common to all. Christ never took any food or drink, nor anything that his body needed, without intending by it the common good of all those who shall be saved, even unto the last day . . . He ate and he drank for our sake; he lived and he died for our sake.

Ruysbroeck: Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage

2ND THURSDAY AFTER EASTER

THE Word was from the beginning and therefore was and is the divine of all things; but now that He has taken the name, which of old was sanctified, the Christ, He is called by me a New Song.

St Clement: Address to the Greeks

HE called us when we were not, and willed us from not being to be.

St Clement: Epistles

2ND FRIDAY AFTER EASTER

JEHOVAH’S salvation Is without money and without price, in the continual forgivness of sins,

In the perpetual mutual sacrifice in great eternity: for behold, There is none that liveth and sinneth not! And this is the covenant

Of Jehovah: "If you forgive one another so shall Jehovah forgive you; That He Himself may dwell among you."

Blake: Jerusalem

JOSEPH wraps the body in a clean linen cloth, in which same linen sheet were let down to Peter out of heaven all manner of living creatures; whence we understand that under the representation of this linen cloth the Church is buried together with Christ.

St Hillary, quoted by Aquinas: Catena Aurea

2ND SATURDAY AFTER EASTER

GRANT me, O most sweet and loving Jesus, to rest in thee above every creature, above all health and beauty, above all glory and honour, above all power and dignity, above all joy

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and exultation, above all fame and praise, above all sweetness and consolation, above all hope and promise, above all desert and desire, above all gifts and presents which Thou art able to bestow or infuse, above all joy and gladness which the mind is capable of receiving and feeling; finally, above Angels and Archangels, and above all the host of Heaven, above all things visible and invisible, and above all that falls short of Thyself, O Thou, my God.

Thomas à Kempis: Imitation

SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER

THERE is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. But what is Repentance? Not the last and noblest and most refined achievement of the righteousness of men in the service of God, but the first elemental act of the righteousness of God in the service of men; the work that God has written in their hearts and which, because it is from God and not from men, occasions joy in heaven; that looking forward to God, and to Him only, which is recognized only by God and by God Himself.

Barth: The Epistle to the Romans

ALL things in motion desire to make known their own proper movement, and this is an aspiration after the Divine Peace of the whole, which, unfalling, preserves all things from falling, and, unmoved, guards the idiosyncrasy and life of all moving things, so that the things moved, being at peace among themselves, perform their own proper functions.

Dionysius the Areopagite: On the Divine Names

3RD MONDAY AFTER EASTER

WONDER not then that all the true followers of Christ, the saints of every age, have so gloried in the cross of Christ, have imputed such great things to it, have desired nothing so much as to be partakers of it, to live in constant union with it. It is because His sufferings, His death and cross were the fulness of His victory over all the works of the devil. Not an evil in flesh and blood, not a misery of life, not a chain of death, not a power of hell and darkness, but were all baffled, broken, and overcome by the process of a suffering and dying Christ. Well therefore may the cross of Christ be the glory of Christians!

William Law: The Spirit of Love

FEAST OF ST MARK THE EVANGELIST

WHO has taught the evangelists the qualities of a perfectly heroic soul, that they paint it so perfectly in Jesus Christ? Why do they make Him weak in His agony? Do they know how to paint a resolute death? Yes, for the same Saint Luke paints the death of Saint Stephen as braver than that of Jesus Christ.

They make him therefore capable of fear, before the necessity of dying has come, and then altogether brave.

But when they make Him so troubled, it is when He afflicts Himself; and when men afflict Him, he is altogether strong.

Pascal: Pensées.

3RD TUESDAY AFTER EASTER

FAITH becomes hope through repentance, as does fear through faith; perseverance and exercise in these, united with instruction, are perfected into charity; and charity is perfected into knowledge.

St Clement: Stromata

EACH one creates his god, when judging, "This is good or bad"; and men mourn or rejoice too much at events.

Pascal: Pensées.

THEME: ANATOMY 101

We Are Left To Grieve

BY NORMA B.

A “normal” Monday morning like so many others before —

A new week just beginning you never know what’s in store — Children go to school to learn

To spend time with friends, to have fun

All of that suddenly came to an end because of someone with a gun

In the blink of an eye, three young children lost their lives

Others hid in fear as they no doubt shed many tears

And though they weren’t hurt physically

They will carry the scars with them through the years

Sadly this story doesn’t end there

Three more lives were lost that day as they tried to protect the young children in their care

Putting themselves in harms way so that others might live

A truly selfless act of love they made the ultimate sacrifice

A community, friends, and families shattered numb in disbelief are left to grieve trying to make sense of this tragedy

Looking for anything to give some relief

To those left behind to pick up the pieces I say Cherish the photographs and memories of your loved ones in your heart each day

And each night as you close your eyes

Until you see them again in paradise, when you will never again have to leave their side!

Revolt and Revolution

WARREN BEATTY’S HYBRID FILM MASTERPIECE HAS THE BELCOURT SEEING ‘REDS’

BY JOE NOLAN, FILM CRITIC

I’m more than a little obsessed with hybrid films that blur the line between narrative and documentary movies. I wrote all about these genre bending gems right here in The Contributor when The Belcourt Theatre screened Pixote back in February. Héctor Babenco’s fictional, coming of age crime drama features a cast of kids who were actually living on the streets of São Paulo, Brazil. The movie gives audiences fictional characters and made up storylines, but they’re all inspired by real life and the cast of mostly non-actors adds to the film’s brutal realism.

Warren Beatty’s 1981 masterpiece Reds is a biopic of John Reed (Beatty), the American communist activist whose journalism helped to propel the American labor and antiwar movements of the early 20 century. Reed wrote Ten Days that Shook the World , his firsthand account of the early days of the Bolshevik revolution, and he’s the only American buried at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis. Reds is brimming with revolt and revolution, but it’s focused on Reed’s globe-spanning love affair with suffragist and writer Louis Bryant (Diane Keaton). It’s a movie about real people and real events, but they’re presented by actors following a script. Of course, this is true of any historical drama, but Beatty ups the ante by also casting a chorus referred to only as “The Witnesses” — venerable activists, artists and rabble rousers who knew Reed and Bryant, and were actually part of the events depicted in the film. Reds is movie making of the highest order and one of the best examples of how narrative and

documentary film techniques and devices can be paired together to create both deeper stories and more moving history lessons.

Reds is three and a half hours long. It was scheduled as a 15 week shoot, but actually took a full year of filming in five different countries. Legendary cinematographer Vittorio Storaro ( Apocalypse Now, The Last Emperor) captures the struggle, strife, passion, glory and despair of Reds with Academy Award-winning lensing. And the new 4K restoration screening at The Belcourt gives every desperate embrace, every exploding bomb, every heroic parade and impassioned speech the big screen treatment that a romantic epic like Reds truly requires.

Beatty was relentless when it came to Reds , dedicating an entire decade to writing most of the script, securing financing, producing, directing and also starring as Reed. Beatty the obsessed filmmaker casts himself perfectly as Reed the obsessed writer and revolutionary, and Keaton is, of course, great as Bryant — a proto-feminist who leaves her staid middle class marriage to live with Reed in Greenwich Village where their lives are caught-up in bohemian circles of writers and artists, free love and radical politics. Playwright Eugene O’Neill is played by Jack Nicholson in one of his slimiest roles, and the mother of American anarchism, Emma Goldman is played by Maureen Stapleton. Real-life novelist Jerzy Kosinski takes a scene stealing turn as Soviet politician Grigory Zinoviev, and Beatty’s “Witnesses”

include painter Andrew Dasburg, journalist Adela Rogers St. Johns, and the great novelist Henry Miller, whose mesmerizing remembrances, dripping in Brooklyn-ese are a highlight in a film with lots of highlights.

Reds is an epic romance that can stand-up to any other film in that category, but it’s also a social history lesson that manages to il -

luminate the lives and deeds of the men and women who fought for labor rights and against American imperialism in the early days of the 20th century. And despite Beatty’s reputation as a Hollywood leftist Reds is remarkably honest in its grounded criticisms of both capitalism’s exploitation and excesses, and the starving utopias of communism.

Reds is the Weekend Classic at The Belcourt Theatre on Saturday, April 15 and Sunday, April 16. Go to www.belcourt.org for times and tickets

Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www. joenolan.com.

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