"Silence is not neutrality; it is permission." Scalding argument in WaPo op-ed last week calling out appeasement masquerading as institutional neutrality by univ leaders like Diermeier at @Vanderbilt.edu.

State campaign finance disclosure filed last week shows Dem @jerrigreen4tn.bsky.social in her gub bid raised $125K spent $91K and has a paltry $34K on hand. Green deserves kudos for stepping into the arena when no one else has but c'mon @tndems.bsky.social this won't cut it.

TN-7 Congressman Chucklehead Van Epps is "proud to announce" that his choice of district office locations willfully ignores the county with the largest number of constituents - because why even bother pretending you rep Nashville or give the slightest shit about it?

The @nashvilledot.bsky.social residential storm-related debris collection op hit our street this morning and it is impressive in scale. Well done NDOT and thanks.

icymi My take on NES ice storm response in latest column at @tennesseelookout.com. tennesseelookout.com/2026/02/04/t...

Commentary: Columnist @brucebarry.bsky.social on the Nashville Electric Service power outages and communication (or lack thereof) from the agency as hundreds of thousands were left without power following Winter Storm Fern.

I was wondering what the 2 week temperatures were after the 1994 Nashville ice storm and wow!

To what extent should we fault NES for ice storm recovery mayhem? My latest column for @tennesseelookout.com up today. tennesseelookout.com/2026/02/04/t...

Dispatch from the Dept. of Some Things Never Change.

There's a chart at the NES homepage showing when power is expected back by zip code. Doesn't say when use of a spellchecker will be back.

It's curious that @aftynbehn.bsky.social's announcement today that she won't run again in TN-7 tells of plans for the "less than $200K in remaining funds" when her FEC disclosure earlier this month showed her campaign account with $465K cash on hand and zero debts or obligations left.

Takeaways for 2026 from that December special election in the 5th Congressional District: my latest column up today at @tennesseelookout.com. tennesseelookout.com/2026/01/12/w...

It's old hat to call the @thetennesean.bsky.social feckless but they have outdone themselves with a story two months ahead that it's "almost time" to move clocks ahead.

My take on that little special election we had here in Tennessee yesterday, up this afternoon at @ms.now. www.ms.now/opinion/tenn...

I can see what he's getting at. The Ad looked like it was cooked up by tourists who have an idea of the south in their heads. Cause growing up here, I've never been in a venue with a mechanical bull.

TN7 special election ad watch: Matt Van Epps on TV w/ 30-sec ad, a $48K buy for 101 airings this week and next on ch 5. (Assume similar buys at 2, 4, 17 but gov't shutdown has FCC filings offline; have to get them directly from stations, and I'm in touch only w/ 5.) [1/3]

icymi My take on Democrat Aftyn Behn's @aftynfortn prospects for turning Tennessee's markedly red 7th Congressional District blue in the upcoming Dec. 2 special election. Latest column at @tennesseelookout.com. tennesseelookout.com/2025/10/30/c...

Commentary: Columnist Bruce Barry analyzes the Democratic prospects for a win in the upcoming special election for Congressional District 7: Democratic nominee, Rep. Aftyn Behn, appears to be making a close race in a GOP district--but can she close the gap?

Can Democrats flip Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District? Analysis in my new column up today at @tennesseelookout.com. tennesseelookout.com/2025/10/30/c...

Oct 15 means 3rd quarter FEC disclosures (updating from Sept. pre-primary numbers). In TN7 special the Dem. nominee @aftynbehn.bsky.social reports total cycle raise $188K and total spend $167K, so as of 9/30 cash on hand heading into the general of just over $20K. Yikes?

Enjoyed being on the show today. Watch it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykAv...

Workers should not lose jobs merely because in off hours they have controversial things to say on social media or in other public settings, and elected officials should not be egging on this witch hunt. My latest column up today at @tennesseelookout.com. tennesseelookout.com/2025/09/23/t... .

Fun as always doing Nashville in Focus with host Scott Couch and panel. For the few who weren't up Sunday at 6:30 am to watch it live stream here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8Xc...

CD 7 Adwatch: FCC filings show first Dem up on TV is Darden Copeland on Ch 2, 4, 5. A modest buy: ~$30K total through 9/22, $14K of it a one-shot splurge on 30 seconds during Titans Colts on Sunday. Meanwhile Vincent Dixie hits radio with spots on 92Q.

With some public universities and agencies letting themselves be pressured into firing staff for political expression, worth having a look at this very good @volokhc.bsky.social summary of the state of the law on free speech and employment in the public sector. reason.com/volokh/2025/...

CD7 Adwatch: @nashvillebanner.bsky.social reports today that Vincent Dixie "is the first Democrat to launch on TV" but no FCC filings (yet) for a buy by Dixie or any other Dem. With early voting for primary days away appears Dems mostly avoiding TV, unlike Repubs who are all over it.

Tell me this line of Matt Van Epps's TV spot, "I know what to do to terrorists, so these woke wannabes in Washington better take cover," is not a call for violence against political foes. (Or does he believe that one debates policy with terrorists?) Jarring cluelessness especially after yesterday.

Update: Van Epps adds cable buy (Fox + ESPN) and pro-Van Epps PAC with begins airing on ch 2, 4, 5 plus cable (Fox + Newsmax). The PAC buy includes a spot during each of next two Titans game, each costing a cool 21 large.

Thanks @axios.com for adding a link to the full document to the story. www.axios.com/local/nashvi...

Hey @axios.com Nashville if you have obtained this document why doesn't your story link to it? Reporting on it is short form and sketchy. Let's see the full document.

CD7 ad watch: FCC filings show GOPers Reeves and Van Epps airing 30 sec spots on Ch 2, 4, 5. Bulso doing Fox and Newsmax on cable in Williamson. Reeves and Bulso buying 99.7 radio. Dem filings: zilch. Mitchell email-blasted a 30-sec spot today but no buy yet.

Not sure the Dolly musical, workshopping at Belmont to a pretty good amount of local plaudits, is getting the sort of advance buzz in the NY theater press that it might have wished for. nypost.com/2025/08/23/e...

Gerrymandering has got to stop. You can see how it has completely f@#ked up politics in TN. Here's a good commentary from @tennesseelookout.com

The Texas-California rhubarb over redistricting has me pondering our own congressional gerrymandered madness here in Nashville, and the upcoming CD-7 special election. My latest column up today at @tennesseelookout.com. tennesseelookout.com/2025/08/26/h...

Nashville needs to decide what it wants to be when it grows up. My latest column up today at @tennesseelookout.com. tennesseelookout.com/2025/07/11/n...

Big haul for @tennesseelookout.com in Tennessee Press Association awards. Happy to be a small piece... tennesseelookout.com/briefs/tenne...

"Ryan was abandoned by the same people who were supposed to protect the university." A sad and disappointing outcome for my alma mater UVa, whose Board of Visitors compromised principle in favor of capitulation. Color me one disgusted wahoo. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/o...

"Top headline" @thetennesean.bsky.social feeds is an advance preview of something that happened yesterday. Some days I can't believe I pay actual money to subscribe to this stupefying level of incompetence. Come to think of it most days.

Outrage at ICE operations on Nashville streets is understandable, but Dems wishing to return to power must also say what they would do differently to abate unauthorized immigration (which voters are clearly demanding). My latest column at @tennesseelookout.com. tennesseelookout.com/2025/05/29/m...

Moving beyond moral indignation on Tennessee immigration enforcement: my latest column at @tennesseelookout.com up today. tennesseelookout.com/2025/05/29/m...

Startling to see these WSJ stories - two cities not so long ago the object of much urban growth + vibe envy, both now bleeding talent and mojo. There's a cautionary tale in here for Nashville no doubt...

I wish I could take credit for this headline but like the rest of the column, it's all @brucebarry.bsky.social.

On the subject of regulating cannabis, TN's feckless legislature in the session just ended once again chose nanny-state provincialism over giving the people what they want. My latest column up today at @tennesseelookout.com. tennesseelookout.com/2025/04/30/d...

Don't have to be a business school professor to surmise that this is a harebrained small business idea. Wish them the best but putting the over/under at six months. www.theguardian.com/film/2025/ap...

Commentary: U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's pep rally in Nashville on Saturday was a missed opportunity for her to address serious concerns about the direction of the Democratic Party, writes columnist @[email protected].

Seemed like most attending Elizabeth Warren's so-called town hall in Nashville last weekend were energized by her appearance. I was underwhelmed. My latest column at bsky.app/profile/tenn... up today. tennesseelookout.com/2025/04/08/u...

The @thinktn.bsky.social "state of our state" dashboard is an amazing resource - substantively thorough and elegantly implemented. A real treasure for policy wonks (and others too). www.thinktennessee.org/state-of-our...

Pondering why TN Republicans legislate as they do: they're not out to remake the present to relive a nostalgic past; they pursue a dystopian future based on willful ignorance of the present. My latest column up today @tennesseelookout.com. tennesseelookout.com/2025/03/13/a...

How is renaming BNA for DJT like renaming the GOM for USA? My latest column up today at bsky.app/profile/tenn... tennesseelookout.com/2025/02/03/t...

Watching RFK hearing it's clear that elected DC Democrats need go on a month-long retreat where they learn and practice how to formulate and ask a rapid series of sharp brief focused non-speechifying questions that induce the nominee to say the things the country needs to hear.