Regarding J.A. Jackson's letter about the Dec. 2 story "Be Your Own Band" (Love/Hate Mail, Dec. 9): Hey J.A. Jackson and company, I need your help. Who are these young, more deserving Nashville rock and roll bands? When and where are they playing? Here's my contact information: P.O. Box 60099, Nashville, TN 37206—and your Daddy doesn't even have to know Ronnie Milsap.
Seth Howell Riddle
Rough Trade Records
Seth.Riddle@sanctuaryrecords.com (Nashville)
He was a longhair, after all
When it comes to medical cannabis ("Let 'Em Smoke," Dec. 2), there is no need to ask, "What would Jesus do?" We already know.
Cannabis was not only known, it was widely used in biblical times. Jesus would have been familiar with cannabis; it was used at the time in healing unctions and temple incense and was fed to both man and livestock. In fact, it is not outside the realm of possibility that the Blessed Virgin Mary used it to ease the pains of childbirth. There is a wealth of documentation attesting to the safety and efficacy of this natural, healing herb stretching back over 5,000 years. It's mentioned repeatedly in the Bible. Yet, nowhere does Jesus caution against its use. Alcohol yes, cannabis no.
This Christmas, as we recall the visit of the Three Magi on that Holy Night, we might also remember that aromatic cannabis was a common ingredient in incense, along with frankincense and myrrh. It was good enough to give as a gift to the infant Jesus, it's good enough for me.
Rev. Steven B. Thompson
benziecountynorml@yahoo.com (Benzonia, Mich.)
Gold's fool
Matt Pulle's lovingly sympathetic article on the downfall of David Gold ("Law & Order: Antioch," Dec. 2) is the perfect example of the type of elitism the Nashville Scene caters to.
Mr. Gold's involvement with the "tattooed from head to toe" pit bull wielder and "drug-prone ex-girlfriend" were indicative not of Mr. Gold's sympathy with low class people but of his own lack of character. This lack of character is what brought him down, not the deviantly conspiring pleather-clad vixen.
The sympathetic tones of the article shine through with statements like "thinning brown hair that undercuts a boyish grin" and the description of Gold's success in materialistic terms (Porsches, boat, West Nashville home). The picture in the Scene of Mr. Gold looked more like a half-bald suicide candidate.
I am sure that the warm image Mr. Pulle created for Mr. Gold tugged at the heartstrings of many of Nashville's wannabe jet-setters.
Moral of the story? If you are an up-and-coming, slightly balding, boyishly grinning, materialistic, bourgeois elitist, don't associate with men of questionable backgrounds and judgment or drugged-out 20-year-old single moms from the lower classes. I'm sure you can find the same types among your peers to share your lust for life with.
Brandon Frazer
brandonfrazer@comcast.net (Nashville)
Age discrimination
In the Dec. 9 issue, you attributed the "Word of the week" to an "Anonymous adolescent indie rock fan."
If the person who left that comment on nashvillezine.com is indeed anonymous, how do you know that they are adolescent? And although signing a comment on an Internet message board with an e-mail address does not guarantee the identity of the person leaving the comment, I think that it isn't accurate to say that someone leaving their first name and e-mail address is anonymous.
On an unrelated note, thanks for the kind words about the Red Rose. As an employee for the last six years, I've been grateful for all of the free publicity that the Scene's writers have given to the rock shows that were hosted at the Red Rose. Adam Michelman wrote in last week to say that the Scene has been as guilty as the All the Rage when it comes to "pandering to advertisers," but the Red Rose never advertised in the Scene, and I felt that the coverage that our shows received was based on the quality of the acts that were booked.
I don't have a problem with the winners of the "Best of Nashville" awards being given a chance to buy ads for that issue, as long as it continues to subsidize your weekly coverage of Nashville's arts and music scene. The alternative to having advertisers, of course, is to pander to indie rock kids with no money and go out of business, like the Red Rose.
Kevin Newman
(Non-anonymous, non-adolescent former Red Rose kitchen manager)
knewman@gmail.com (Nashville)
Healthy and educated
I am a third-grade teacher in Williamson County and I was disappointed to read that education lobbying groups are suggesting that education funding must come at the expense of health care for needy Tennesseans ("Your Move, Phil," Nov. 18). It's not an either-or situation. Both are needed. Both are a right. How can we ask a child to go without proper health care and send that child off to school sick? Research shows that children who are uninsured are more likely to go untreated when they have a health problem. By the same token, research also indicates that uninsured children have more absenteeism, a lower grade average and don't do as well on test scores as children with insurance.
There is a myth in the general public that reverting to Medicaid is the answer to solving our TennCare dilemma. But a recent study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities predicts that the impact on Tennessee's budget would be a loss of $1.6 billion in federal funds, along with the loss of 14,500 jobs. A loss of that magnitude is bound to have very dire consequences for our state.
I believed Gov. Bredesen's campaign promise to manage the TennCare program. And I am trusting that he will be able to do it, so that we are not faced with the impossible choice of either good education or life-saving medical care for low-income and uninsurable children in Tennessee.
Marnie Cotton
marniejay@aol.com (Franklin)
Marnie Cotton
marniejay@aol.com (Franklin)
