high school librarian, “eagle-eyed” according to @ReliableSources, and founder of @projectciv. Strong opinions loosely held. Opinions are mine.
Nashville
Joined June 2009
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Amanda Smithfield retweeted
It would have been easy for NHJ not to write that desperately sad article about New York City public schools and her decision to send her daughter to a troubled one. I respect her for writing it and for writing it honestly and in a way that wasn’t an exercise in self-flattery.
Amanda Smithfield retweeted
This behavior is especially unacceptable for law students. What do they think? That they can interrupt and disrupt their opponents in court? Nope. They'll be forced to listen and respond with reason, not disruption.
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Great get, @TheFIREorg! I will proudly wear my FIRE socks to celebrate your wise hire. Hope y’all are ready to have debates about when Christmas music is allowed to be played, though. 😉
Some personal news:
"As a believer in the inherent worth and dignity of every individual, there is no greater calling than to ensure that every mind is free to believe and to speak."
I am humbled to join the great FIRE team to advance this mission.
fire.org/news/constitutional…
This was a great opportunity for Hume-Fogg students!
Thank you, @boringcompany, for inviting @HumeFoggKnights for a site visit in Nashville! It was really informative and one of the students is now interested in becoming a Mechanical Engineer after talking with the Lead Tunnel Engineer. Your passion for your work is contagious!
Amanda Smithfield retweeted
Important story, must share on Twitter! We need to get screens out of classrooms. But if we don't understand what learning is, we will fall just as hard for the next silver bullet solution, which might be "no screens." @karenvaites @mattyglesias @KelseyTuoc
CON laws are dumb. There. I said it.
“Since 2000, Certificate of Need laws have turned away nearly $1.5 billion in healthcare investment in our state... This General Assembly began reforming these laws years ago. We should finish the job for rural Tennessee, and we should finish it now.”
#StateoftheState @GovBillLee
Amanda Smithfield retweeted
Nobody has the right to shout someone down, hijack an event, or block others from listening.
Protesting outside is protected.
So is disagreement.
But if you want to challenge a speaker, ask questions or organize your own event.
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Lunch and Learns are the best!
Representatives from @boringcompany shared the scoop about the Music City Loop with Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet students at a Lunch and Learn last week. Thank you for a great presentation!
Amanda Smithfield retweeted
This point from @GovCox is so important: over the last 50 years America has been indoctrinated to believe that only presidential politics matters - which has justified a consolidation of power that's destroying checks and balances.
The subsequent point from @EzraKlein is also important: thanks to the nationalization of media & destruction of local media, more and more people are obsessed with national politics & aren't interested in what's happening in their own community. Which is extremely bad.
Very good interview here: nytimes.com/2025/09/19/opini…
Amanda Smithfield retweeted
Erika Kirk forgives her husband’s assassin and says: “The answer to hate is not hate. The answer, we know from the Gospel, is love and always love—love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
Amanda Smithfield retweeted
“Free speech belongs to everyone or it belongs to no one” - @glukianoff
Watch his full TED Talk on the importance of free speech — and how protecting it benefits everyone: t.ted.com/fKhlHjt
Amanda Smithfield retweeted
Yup. Also the birthright citizenship decision isn't a major win for Trump. He has still lost all the birthright injunctions and will almost certainly lose on the merits soon enough. Oh, and there are other options for injunctions as well. There have been lots of overreactions to this decision.
Amanda Smithfield retweeted
Progressives must be consistently for free speech & not censor books because they disagree with the views of the author. What's next? Will the store no longer sell the Republic because Plato accepted slavery as part of ancient Greek society?
A bookstore in San Francisco announces it will no longer sell titles by J.K. Rowling, including her popular “Harry Potter” series, due to the author’s anti-transgender views and advocacy. nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-pop-…
Amanda Smithfield retweeted
"Free speech makes you safer. Free speech cures violence. Free speech protects the powerless. And even 'bad' people can have good ideas." My talk from April at @TEDTalks 2025 in Vancouver is live!
Love this @HumeFoggKnights alum and future city planner and grateful to @freddieoconnell for going on his final bus ride with him. 😍😍
Nashville teen on riding every city bus route: "It’s really been interesting to see new developments that are different from when I was little ... and watching the city change around me.”
wpln.org/post/what-one-nashv…
Amanda Smithfield retweeted
When did it become 'progressive' to hold students back, instead of helping everyone achieve?
This approach was rejected in San Francisco and if it was on the ballot, it would be rejected anywhere else.
Amanda Smithfield retweeted
I don’t understand why blue books and handwriting are necessary solutions in 2025. Schools should build testing rooms with computers that lack connections to the outside world.
Amanda Smithfield retweeted
Bone chilling.
A court ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia to stay in the United States.
The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that he was illegally removed. Trump is pretending he won the ruling 9-0.
1/ You may not think this case means anything to you. But let me tell you why it does.
