Betsy Phillips

5 days ago | nashvillescene.com | Betsy Phillips

Dear Border Czar Homan, Congressional rep says mayor is ‘aiding and abetting illegal immigration,’ urges law enforcement statewide to cooperate with ICE I have learned that you were on Fox News last week talking about ICE coming back to Nashville to “flood the zone in the neighborhoods to find the bad guy.

1 week ago | nashvillescene.com | Betsy Phillips

Since many of us made stops at cemeteries over Memorial Day weekend, I decided to set aside my plans to write about the state of Republican politics in Tennessee and instead head out to the cemetery myself. Over in Mt. Ararat Cemetery, there is a rectangular-cube headstone that sits about two feet high. There are two names on it: CM Brown (1888-1940) and GC Younge (1912-1945). Their headstone was carved by Nashville sculptor William Edmondson, whom I've written about many times.

2 weeks ago | nashvillescene.com | Betsy Phillips

Way back in the day, there used to be a G.I. Joe cartoon on TV. The basic set-up was that there was one evil villain with a silver head — Destro — who seemed genuinely evil. He had seemingly workable plans, but he must have had ADHD or something because he was always like “Do this thing and defeat the Joes,” and then he would peace out. He also had a competent female helper — The Baroness — but I don’t remember her actually doing much except speaking in a mysterious accent and then also leaving.

3 weeks ago | nashvillescene.com | Betsy Phillips

So let me get this straight. Someone walks into a school and shoots children and Gov. Bill Lee’s friend, and Lee’s response is awkward silence and a sham legislative session. Nazis hang a thank-you note to him from a bridge, and Lee can’t be bothered to be concerned. Different Nazis yell vile antique epithets at Black children downtown, and it's crickets from the governor. Even when Nazis surround the state Capitol, Bill Lee is quiet as a church mouse.

1 month ago | nashvillescene.com | Betsy Phillips

Whew, these new property assessments are something else. I live in a 70-year-old ranch with one bathroom, and with the exception of the kitchen, it is mostly original. It’s on an acre, which is delightful. The new houses in my neighborhood — the new construction — are all these mammoth, castle-looking things. This is important because it means that no one’s going to live in my house after me. They’ll tear it down and put two huge mansions on the lot since we’re zoned for half-acre lots.