Amanda Smithfield

high school librarian, “eagle-eyed” according to @ReliableSources, and founder of @projectciv. Strong opinions loosely held. Opinions are mine.

[Amanda Smithfield @asmithfield]

@arthurbrooks @VanderbiltU Yay! I recommend The Conservative Heart all the time to my high school students at Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet, in downtown Nashville. I have many of your books in my high school library. I would love for you to come for a Lunch and Learn with my kids!

[David French @DavidAFrench]

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.

[Amanda Smithfield @asmithfield]

@KSoltisAnderson @whignewtons Putting it on my high school library’s order list, for sure.
(Gonna order my own copy, as well)

[Amanda Smithfield @asmithfield]

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. 😉

[Casey Mattox @CaseyMattox_]

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.
https://t.co/KOf3ymnqpP

[Amanda Smithfield @asmithfield]

This was a great opportunity for Hume-Fogg students!

[Hume-Fogg Library @hfalibrary]

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!

[Holly Korbey @HKorbey]

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

[Amanda Smithfield @asmithfield]

CON laws are dumb. There. I said it.

[Beacon Center of TN @BeaconTN]

“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

[FIRE @TheFIREorg]

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.

[Amanda Smithfield @asmithfield]

@CaseyMattox_ Very true, Casey.

[Amanda Smithfield @asmithfield]

Lunch and Learns are the best!

[Hume-Fogg Library @hfalibrary]

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!

[David French @DavidAFrench]

A very bad sign. Pervasive fear should not be the price of political participation.

[David Sirota @davidsirota]

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: https://t.co/p5RpZ0a4lx

[John McCormack @McCormackJohn]

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.”

[TED Talks @TEDTalks]

“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: https://t.co/IMRw705IKg

[Ezra Klein @ezraklein]

Obama weighs in on Abundance:

[Amanda Smithfield @asmithfield]

@rpondiscio I definitely hope this is something you’ll follow and write about!

[Amanda Smithfield @asmithfield]

@rpondiscio I’m not sure. It looks like Utah recently passed something similar. Here’s more info: https://t.co/0Y6tfnqmNa

[Amanda Smithfield @asmithfield]

@edjsandoval @nytimes Hey @mattyglesias checking in on your in-laws and hoping everyone is okay! I know you’ve been to Kerrville many times.

[David French @DavidAFrench]

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.