The owner of an independent Nashville bookstore took a strong stand for free speech earlier this week.

It didn’t last long.

Bell Bird Books owner Mary Ann Weprin told The Tennessean why her store is open to diverse points of view.

“My mission for Bell Bird Books has always been to create a welcoming, warm space where neighbors could gather to share stories and learn from one another,” Weprin said. “We believe independent bookstores play a vital role in their communities, and hosting author events is an extension of that mission.”

The statement came in response to author Alyssa Rosenheck’s upcoming appearance at the store. The author of “White. Blonde. Jew.” (available Aug. 18) was slated to promote her book.

Not anymore. The store cancelled the book launch and didn’t respond to The Tennessean’s request for comment.

A Statement Regarding the Cancellation of My Nashville Book Launch: On Sunday, July 26, Bell Bird Books communicated it no longer felt it could continue promoting either me or my upcoming Nashville book launch for White. Blonde. Jew.

Two days later on July 28th, the bookstore… pic.twitter.com/QitfVmhSIK

— Alyssa Rosenheck (@AlyssaRosenheck) July 31, 2026

Rosenheck, a cancer survivor and professional photographer, shares her plea for peace in the new book. The subtitle? “A Call to End Extremism, Speak Up, and Reclaim Center.”

Unseen forces vowed to boycott the store and claimed the event promoted “Zionism.”

None of this is new or shocking.

Other Jewish artists have faced similar cancellations in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.

• Matisyahu
• Michael Rapaport
• Brett Gelman
• Guy Hochman
• Kosha Dillz
• Rachel Creeger and Philip Simon

The latest cancellation is part of a disturbing, three-part process that keeps happening in a culture where antisemitism is soaring.

Part one: A Jewish artist agrees to appear at a venue to either talk about their work or perform

Part two: Pro-Palestinian protesters vow to boycott the event/club, slam the venue and, sometimes, threaten violence

Part three: The venue meekly backs down

There’s more to this frightening process. The Legacy Media gives the cancellations limited, if any, coverage. Imagine if a black singer faced a sudden cancellation due to his or her skin color?

The response would be dramatically different, no?

Groups like the ACLU take a knee rather than defend the artists’ speech rights. The once-mighty civil rights group is too busy praising Bruce Springsteen for turning his latest tour into a No Kings jamboree.

We collectively shrug our shoulders, refusing to care that Jewish artists face a growing threat to their livelihoods and free expression rights.

Let’s face it. Jewish artists getting cancelled for being Jewish is The New Normal. It’s also why Jewish-themed events require extra security now.

This critic attended two Jewish film screenings last year. Both featured bulked-up security measures to keep the participants safe.

When Rapaport performed at Denver Comedy Works last year, the club used workers to “wand” patrons to ensure no weapons entered the building.

Phelim McAleer’s “October 7” play also required extra security to keep the cast and patrons safe.

Where is The Hollywood Reporter? Variety? The New York Times?

The lack of outrage may be the most frightening part of it all. 

We saw plenty of A-list stars rally behind Jimmy Kimmel following his one-week ABC suspension last year. The same community also rallied behind fellow late-night host Stephen Colbert after CBS cancelled his show due to massive money loss.

Yet these stars won’t share a syllable about Rosenheck’s cancellation, if past is prologue.

Three-time Emmy-winner Patricia Heaton is a rare, and welcome, exception.

THIS IS NOT THE NASHVILLE WAY. Shame on #bellbirdbooks – a new bookstore that was planning on launching Nashville photographer Alyssa Rosenheck’s new book #WhiteBlondeJew until bookstore owner Mary Ann Weprin caved to hatred, bigotry and ignorance and cancelled the launch. Oddly,… https://t.co/UJ1cavyRph

— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) August 1, 2026

Let’s give Rosenheck the final word:

No business that pretends to give a voice to all points of view should kowtow to the bigots who would silence an author because of her religion or her strongly held beliefs.

The post Yet Another Jewish Artist Cancelled (While Legacy Media Sleeps) appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

What is the key to world domination?*

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Homer’s Odyssey is an epic story with an epic protagonist—Odysseus is not simply a skilled warrior but also a thinker, a trickster, and an “obstinate, cunning and irrepressible intriguer.”1

Although this is a deeply heroic work that pioneered the idea of centering a story on a rational, proactive character, it also depends upon a premise fundamentally opposed to the conditions that make heroism possible. It is set in a universe where the attainment of goals and values doesn’t ultimately depend on one’s choices but upon the decrees and interventions of Olympian deities.

In many respects Odysseus is a prototype of a romantic hero of literature. Romantic narratives are characterized by larger-than-life characters, purposeful action, and value-driven plots, all of which are exemplified in Odysseus’s arduous striving and overcoming of monstrous obstacles to return home to his family. We see his courage, perseverance, and intelligence during his journey’s most memorable moments: when he devises the wooden horse plot that leads to the downfall of Troy; his quick-witted plan to evade the seductive snare of the sirens; and when he outwits the Cyclops Polyphemus—where, assessing that killing the giant outright would trap him and his men in the cave, Odysseus devises a plan to intoxicate their foe, blind him, and lead his men to escape beneath a herd of sheep. Each of these episodes revolves around Odysseus using reason to overcome ordeals and move closer to his main goal—to return home. But the emotional response the reader feels in these moments is somewhat dampened when we are reminded of Homer’s fundamental view of man and of existence.2

The problem with the Homeric universe is not that gods and monsters exist—good art can have fantastical, mythical elements so long as its theme is rational and thereby life-serving. The problem is that the gods limit Odysseus’s efficacy, which undermines his achievements. We repeatedly see Odysseus act to achieve his goals, but whether his actions matter is largely determined by the whims of the gods. His favor with the goddess Athena, in particular, becomes the deciding factor of his fate on multiple occasions. His escape from Calypso’s island after seven years of captivity is due solely to divine command following Athena’s petition to Zeus. His subsequent survival of Poseidon’s storm is made possible only by the interventions of Athena and her fellow goddess Leucothea. Upon finally returning to his homeland of Ithaca, his victory over the parasitic suitors is again made possible thanks to the divine intervention of Athena and Zeus. None of this detracts from Odysseus’s capacity to think, act, and strive in pursuit of his goals (in fact, these attributes somewhat influence his favor with Athena). But instead of directly earning every victory himself, his actions are constantly subsidized by the interference of divine forces. For heroic storytelling to be effective, the hero’s actions need to be the primary driver of the story. From a reader’s perspective, wouldn’t his victories be greater—and more heroic—if they depended solely on his own strength of body and mind?

Difficult obstacles reinforce this storytelling principle, and these could even take the form of intervening gods—provided they remain obstacles, such as the hostile Poseidon in The Odyssey. The problem arises when such intervening gods become the final causal explanation of unfolding events. In romantic storytelling, the hero overcomes adversity through volitional action, but in deterministic storytelling, he overcomes adversity because “destiny” dictates it. The Odyssey, which mixes both styles, is impactful to the extent that it’s romantic and undermined to the extent that it’s deterministic.

None of the above should be viewed as an attack on Homer; he wrote this in an age before formal philosophy—before explicit conceptions of volition, individual rights, and reason as man’s absolute guide. Despite the dominance of mysticism in Archaic Greece, Homer captured the dramatic cogency of human greatness at a time when nobody had formulated its philosophic explanation. One might say that he discovered the hero before the philosophy of heroism.

Despite its flaws, The Odyssey often feels like a story of human efficacy. Homer constantly dramatizes choice, particularly regarding Odysseus’s unique skill in scheming his way out of dangerous situations. It’s these moments that drive the story forward most climactically, and one of the reasons it has endured for millennia. The decisions, the disguises, the scheming, and the action—not the divine meddling—remain the most imperishable factors behind the story’s enduring emotional power.

This heroic spirit eventually would require a different philosophy—one in which the hero’s choices and actions are the primary causes of his own achievements. There would be stormy sailing ahead before mankind found that philosophy, but Homer’s Odyssey gave this heroic spirit its bearings and set the course for it to pursue its destination.

“I feel that this country is being destroyed by its philosophy. Specifically, by its universities: the most dangerous thing in this country today are the universities, because they are teaching the kind of ideas that would necessarily have to lead to the destruction of this country.... 

"[T]oday, when all those institutions ... are preaching collectivism, mysticism, and above all altruism -- self-sacrifice of yourself ... the disgusting kind of ideas that the whole world has been nurturing for centuries, then when they do that this country cannot [long] survive....

"[W]ith all the faults in American intellectual equipment and there were a lot of holes, at least people were taught pride in their own country and in the good aspects, the great achievements of this country. Today you're supposed to apologise ... because you are ... prosperous. Because you've earned your money you have to feel guilty and apologise for it. That's what we're being told."

~Ayn Rand, from her interview with Tom Snyder [from 14:00]

I'm Rob Tracinski. Come out to vote for me in the Democratic primary on Tuesday.

And come out to vote even if you’re not a Democrat, even if you’re an Independent—even a Republican. And there’s one big reason why.

Republicans have spent the last year and a half building Frankenstein'smonster.

They have built a presidency so powerful, so unchecked—and they haven't thought about who's going to be able to use that power next.

They built it because they thought Donald Trump was going to use it. But the thing is, Donald Trump’s at the lowest point in his popularity. He’s constitutionally banned from running again. He has no clear successor. There is a very good chance that a little over two years from now, there’s going to be a Democratic president. And it might be a Democratic president you really don't like.

Now, I am running to limit presidential power, to limit this unchecked power, to bring power back to Congress. And I’m willing to limit even the power of a future Democratic president, even a Democratic president I might even like. But I’m willing to do that because that way we can limit Donald Trump's power now—and we can also limit the power of whoever comes next: the guy after him, or the guy after him, or the guy after him.

We can think forward and realize that no one person should have this much power.

And if you think that’s a good idea, if you think that’s the original American idea, that no one person should have too much power, then come out and vote for me this Tuesday, August 4 in the Democratic primary.

Vote for me in the Democratic primary on August 4—early voting is open through August 1.

And support my campaign so we can bring this fight to the US Congress!

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