The Weekly Town Crier (06/05/20)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (06/07/20)





Read “Amid pandemic, the Wichita Kenyan community unites virtually through food and family” at Religion News Service.

Read “'Cannabis burned during worship' by ancient Israelites - study” at BBC.

Read “‘How long, O Lord?’ Psalm 13 is the cry of black Americans” at America Magazine.

Read “Dear Evangelicals, You Must Know What You’ve Done To be Healed” by Kyle J. Howard.

Read “Southern Baptists see historic drop in membership” at Washington Post.

Read “Bishop at DC church outraged by Trump visit: 'I just can't believe what my eyes have seen' at CNN.

  • Read “Peaceful Protesters Were Gassed Outside The White House So Trump Could Get A Photo Op At A Church” at Buzzfeed News.

  • Read “Ahead of Trump Bible photo op, police forcibly expel priest from St. John’s church near White House” at Religion News Service.

  • Read “The Bible Is Not a Prop. Its Teachings, Though—about the Gospel and Justice—Are What We Need Right Now A Bible in a photo opp was not the Bible we needed” at Christianity Today.

  • Read “Barr personally ordered removal of protesters near White House, leading to use of force against largely peaceful crowd” at Washington Post.

  • Read “The president is dragging the church into a culture war. We shouldn’t let him” at America Magazine.

  • Read “An 'ANTIFA' Twitter account that called for looting 'white hoods' was actually run by white nationalist group Identity Evropa” at Business Insider.

  • Read “American Bible Society leader: Don’t use the Bible as a political ‘prop’” at Religion News Service.

  • Read “Amid protests, US Faith leaders engage racism and politics” at AP News.

  • Read “Trump Favorability Slips Among White Catholic and Non-College Americans During National Unrest” at PRRI.

Read “Liberty University’s Director of Diversity Retention Has Resigned” at The Way of Improvement.

  • Read “Black Liberty U. alums rebuke Falwell after blackface tweet” at AP News.

Browse “Antiracism Books for Christians – A Reading Guide” at Englewood Review of Books.

Browse “75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice” at Medium.

Unrest erupts worldwide in response to systemic racism in the U.S. manifesting in police brutality:

  • Read “Pentagon puts military police on alert to go to Minneapolis” at Associated Press.

  • Read “The History Behind 'When The Looting Starts, The Shooting Starts' at NPR.

  • Read “The Revolution Will Not Be Videoed What Paul and Silas might have said about George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and and and …” at Christianity Today.

  • Read “Why Do They Riot? Rioting & The Overflow of Racial Trauma” by Jemar Tisby.

  • Read “JAY-Z Called Minnesota Governor About Justice for George Floyd, Issues Statement” at Pitchfork.

  • Read “Killer Mike Delivers Emotional Speech to Atlanta Protesters at Mayor’s Press Conference” at Pitchfork.

  • Read “In Some Cities, Police Officers Joined Protesters Marching Against Brutality” at Forbes.

  • Read “Cities on Edge as Fires Burn Near White House” at New York Times.

  • Read “Music Industry to Observe ‘Blackout Tuesday’ in Solidarity with Nationwide Protests” at Relix.

  • Read “A Reporter’s Cry on Live TV: ‘I’m Getting Shot! I’m Getting Shot!’” at New York Times.

  • Read “Op-Ed: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Don’t understand the protests? What you’re seeing is people pushed to the edge” at Los Angeles Times.

  • Read “As cities burned, Trump stayed silent — other than tweeting fuel on the fire” at Washington Post.

  • Read “Protest, Uprisings, and Race War” at Counter Punch.

  • Read “Martin Luther King Jr.’s scorn for ‘white moderates’ in his Birmingham jail letter” at Washington Post.

  • Read “The terror of wearing both a press badge and black skin’: Black journalists are carrying unique burdens” at Washington Post.

  • Read “What Does “Blackout Tuesday” Actually Mean for the Music Industry?” at Pitchfork.

    • Read “What Major Music Companies Actually Did on “Blackout Tuesday” at Pitchfork.

  • Read/Watch “Thousands protest in downtown Phoenix for 4th straight night, people being detained” at AZ Family.

  • Read “When Rioting Is the Answer” at Time.

  • Read “The additional violence of George Floyd’s autopsy report” at Christian Century.

  • Read “Minneapolis police union president releases letter criticizing city leaders following civil unrest” at KSTP.

  • Read “The DEA Has Just Been Authorized to Conduct Surveillance on Protesters” at Buzzfeed News.

  • Read “Trump calls governors ‘weak,’ urges them to use force against unruly protests” at Washington Post.

  • Read “Colin Kaepernick sets up legal defence fund for George Floyd demonstrators” at The Independent.

  • Read “Minnesota Files Discrimination Complaint Against Minneapolis Police Department” at NPR.

  • Read “How to Safely and Ethically Film Police Misconduct” at Teen Vogue.

  • Read/Watch “Massive protests defy local curfews, Trump threats” at MSNBC.

  • Read “All four former officers involved in George Floyd's killing now face charges” at CNN.

  • Read “Social media cracks down on sick challenge mocking George Floyd’s death” at New York Post.

  • Read “If You Are White And Anti-Racist, This Non-Optical Allyship Guide Is Required Reading” at Vogue.

  • Read "A Soul Check for White Christians In the words of MLK, "There comes a time when silence is betrayal” at Christianity Today.

  • Read “‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ Cast, Showrunner Donate $100,000 to National Bail Fund Network” at Variety.

  • Read “They Wanted A War, They Got One” Inside Trump’s Militarized Occupation of Washington D.C.”

  • Read “Institutionalized Racism: A Syllabus How can we help students understand George Floyd’s death in the context of institutionalized racism?” at Daily JSTOR.

  • Read “Final autopsy report reveals George Floyd had CORONAVIRUS but died from 'cardiopulmonary arrest' after Minneapolis cop knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes” at Daily Mail.

  • Read "Jimmy Carter on George Floyd protests: 'Silence can be as deadly as violence' at CNN.

  • Read “New Yorkers Said ‘F**k The Police,’ So The Police Rioted A historic uprising against police brutality in the city has seen the arrest of nearly 2,000 people, including me” at Huff Post.

  • Browse “Resources in the Fight Against Police Brutality and Systemic Racism” at Pitchfork.

  • Read “3 more Minneapolis officers charged in George Floyd death, Derek Chauvin charges elevated” at NBC News.

  • Read “The Problem With Research on Racial Bias and Police Shootings” at City Lab.

  • Browse “Antiracism Books for Christians – A Reading Guide” at Englewood Review of Books.

  • Read “1968-2020: A Tale Of Two Uprisings” at NPR.

  • Read “Tear Gas Is Way More Dangerous Than Police Let On — Especially During the Coronavirus Pandemic In the middle of a respiratory pandemic, law enforcement agencies have used tear gas in especially dangerous ways. The chemical agent also seeps into homes, contaminates food, furniture, skin and surfaces, and can cause long-term lung damage” at Pro Publica.

  • Read “A Dubious Legal Doctrine Protects Cities From Lawsuits Over Police Brutality” at Slate.

  • Read “Floyd Protesters Met With Armed Bystanders During Indiana March” at Time.

  • Read “Law Enforcement Seizes Masks Meant To Protect Anti-Racist Protesters From COVID-19” at Huff Post.

Protests against police violence . . . produce more police violence?

Read “A church returns land to American Indians “This is decolonized land,” a young woman said. “This is a liberated zone” at Christian Century.

  • Read “Standing Rock Tribe Wins in Court After Years of Perseverance” at Earth Justice.

Read “Virginia governor to announce removal of Lee statue” at AP News.

  • Read “Robert E Lee statue: Virginia governor announces removal of monument” at BBC.

Read “K-Pop Fans Have Hijacked #WhiteLivesMatter on Twitter to Teach Racists a Lesson” at News 18.

Read “Study: White people react to evidence of white privilege by claiming greater personal hardships” at Raw Story (from 2015).

Read “Minneapolis Police Union President: “I’ve Been Involved In Three Shootings Myself, And Not A One Of Them Has Bothered Me” at The Intercept.

Read “White New York socialite calls police on black woman for sitting on a bench” at Indy 100.

Read “Racism, Police Violence, and the Climate Are Not Separate Issues” at New Yorker.

Read “Ahmaud Arbery was boxed in by 2 trucks as he tried to escape, suspect used racial slur as he stood over body, evidence revealed in court shows” at Chicago Tribune.

Read “No, I'm not okay By Neal Lester, PhD.” at Ahwatukee Foothills News.

Read “Portland Public Schools will discontinue regular presence of school resource officers” at KATU.

Read “Breonna Taylor lived and died in a part of the U.S. where rights do not matter” at America Magazine.

Read “Atlanta-Based Organization Advocates For Rest As A Form Of Social Justice” at NPR.

Read “Putin decides to announce federal emergency due to fuel spill in Norilsk at RBC.

Read “About Face Death and surrender to power in the clothing of men” at Popula.

Weekly Coronavirus Roundup

  • Read “Social Distancing Is Not Enough We will need a comprehensive strategy to reduce the sort of interactions that can lead to more infections” at The Atlantic.

  • Read “Praying in a church is more important than buying flatpack furniture” at The Telegraph.

  • Read “A pastor’s pandemic diary” at Christian Century.

  • Read “Hydroxychloroquine, a drug promoted by Trump, failed to prevent healthy people from getting covid-19 in trial” at Washington Post.

  • The U.S. death toll passes 110,000.

Read “What comes after the ‘Trumpocalypse’? America has a chance to be reborn” at The Star.

  • Read “Donald Trump Appears to Have Committed Felony Voter Fraud” at Slate.

  • Read “Trump, Lacking Clear Authority, Says U.S. Will Declare Antifa a Terrorist Group” at New York Times.

  • Read “'I wish you the best': US military adviser resigns after Trump's controversial photo op at church” at Business Insider.

  • Read “James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution In an extraordinary condemnation, the former defense secretary backs protesters and says the president is trying to turn Americans against one another” at The Atlantic.

  • Read “History Will Judge the Complicit Why have Republican leaders abandoned their principles in support of an immoral and dangerous president?” at The Atlantic.

Read “Iowa Rep. Steve King defeated in GOP primary” at Axios.

Read “Colorado Democrats Announce a New Bill To Hold Law Enforcement More Accountable As mass demonstrations against police brutality continue throughout America, a group of Centennial State lawmakers has put forth a set of legislative solutions” at 5280.

Read “Carole Baskin wins control of Tiger King star Joe Exotic's former zoo” at Yahoo.

Read “Formation of The Bob Weir Band-Fall 1977 (Enter Brent)” at Lost Live Dead.

Read “Music Industry to Observe ‘Blackout Tuesday’ in Solidarity with Nationwide Protests” at Relix.

Hear “Bob Mould Rage Against the President and Evangelicals on ‘American Crisis’ Track will appear on artist’s upcoming Blue Hearts LP, due out this fall” at Rolling Stone.

Read “This Is How Much More Money Artists Earn From Bandcamp Compared to Streaming Services” at Pitchfork.

Read “The Apollo Theater Schedules Free ‘Let’s Stay In Together’ Benefit with Dionne Warwick, Gary Clark Jr., Warren Haynes and More” at Relix.

Read “Sturgill Simpson Announces Livestream Show At Empty Ryman Auditorium” at Jambands.

Read “The Osbick Bird: Edward Gorey’s Tender and Surprising Vintage Illustrated Allegory About the Meaning of True Love” at Brain Pickings.

Read “The Court Case That Killed the ‘Ladies Menu’ Upscale restaurants once listed prices only for men” at Atlas Obscura.

Read “How ‘Shoebox Lunches’ Made Black Travel Possible During Jim Crow Humble shoeboxes allowed African-Americans to dine with dignity” at Atlas Obscura.

Browse “The extraordinary Polaroid diary of German filmmaker Wim Wenders” at Far Out Magazine.

Support FilmBar Online.

Read “10 Black-Owned Businesses To Support In Downtown Phoenix” at DTPHX.

Read “First Amendment Lawsuit Filed Over Terrorism Lesson At Scottsdale Community College” at Fronteras Desk.

The Weekly Town Crier (09/20/19)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (09/20/19 Edition).

Browse all the Weekly Town Crier posts so far.

Listen to all 52 episodes of The Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow.

Listen to a mix of artists who have performed Habañero Collective house shows.

Browse the Musical Worldview posts.

Read about “Yours Apefully: The ‘Planet of the Apes’ Live Arena Show, 1976” at We Are The Mutants.

Read CNN’s report: “Jerry Falwell Jr. faces backlash over emails in which he allegedly belittled students and staff at Liberty University.”

Read/Watch: “Trump supporter Jerry Falwell, Jr. under scrutiny after exposé: "Jerry Falwell Jr. is just another con artist grifter cashing in on 501(c)(3) tax deductible status… Now it’s con artists married to a neofacist Republican party that’s all about white nationalism." by Frank Schaeffer.

Read AV Club’s report: Cops called to prevent 3,000-person hide-and-seek game in a Scottish IKEA".”

R.I.P. Eddie Money.

R.I.P. Ric Ocasek.

R.I.P. Cokie Roberts.

Read “Lupita Nyong’o Will Be Spreading Black Girl Literary Magic as HBO Max Orders Series Based on the Novel, Americanah” at The Root.

Watch “When William S. Burroughs Met Francis Bacon.”

Read “How Dr. Benjamin Spock Changed American Parenting” at Time.

Read “Jeff Goldblum announces new guest-heavy album, shares Sharon Van Etten duet” at Consequence of Sound.

Read as Relevant asks” Why Did an Evangelical Delegation Meet With the Saudi Crown Prince?”

Read “Kurt Vile, Courtney Barnett, Parquet Courts, Low, and More Cover Wilco for New Album” at Pitchfork.

Read “A Reproducible Lifestyle and the De-emphasis of Clergy Can Lead to Movement” by Ed Stetzer at Christianity Today.

Read as Relevant asks “Who’s Ready for Kirk Cameron’s New TV Show?”

Read “Tempe Could Get Arizona's Next Artspace Lofts Development” at Phoenix New Times.

Read “New Zealand Moves To Create Firearm Registry And Stiffen Penalties For Gun Crimes” at NPR.

Read “How Grocery Stores Became A Cultural Flashpoint In The Gun Debate Women, who do the majority of household shopping, are wielding the power of the purse” at HuffPost.

Read “Edward Snowden Tells NPR: The Executive Branch 'Sort Of Hacked The Constitution' in an interview about his new book Permanent Record.

Read “Remembering Daniel Johnston, a Songwriter Like No Other” by Marc Masters at Spin.

Read “How we have failed our teachers” at CBS.

Read as “Jimmy Carter says Trump re-election would be ‘a disaster’” at AJC.

Read Consequence of Sound’s report: “Netflix acquires exclusive rights to Seinfeld.”

Read Relevant’s report: “‘The Far Side’ Will Return to Rescue Us From Our Cultural Catastrophe.”

Read The Hill’s report: “Sean Spicer urges Dancing with the Stars fans to vote for him: "Those of us who stand for #Christ won't be discounted.”

Read Cronkite News’s report: “Arizona Supreme Court: Freedom of speech trumps anti-discrimination law.”

Read AZ Central’s report: “Mumford & Sons' opening act bails in Phoenix, and the band copes in a very colorful way.”

Read Business Insider’s report: “KFC is serving fried chicken sandwiched between 2 glazed doughnuts at dozens of locations, and people are freaking out.”

Read The Hollywood Reporter’s piece: “Saved by the Bell' TV Sequel With Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley a Go at NBCUniversal's Streamer.”

  • Read “Mark-Paul Gosselaar thinks it's a little weird he wasn't approached about the Saved By The Bell revival” at AV Club.

Read Phoenix New Times’s piece: “Glendale's Vic Clinco May Have the World's Largest Hot Sauce Collection.”

Read as Scot McKnight reviews Willow Creek’s job posting and comes away asking: “Willow Creek, What’s a Pastor?”

Read NPR’s report: “North America Has Lost 3 Billion Birds, Scientists Say.”

Remember the wrestling coach who made a boy cut his dreadlocks or not wrestle? Read: “Wrestling Ref Gets 2-Year Suspension for Forcing Black Student to Cut ‘Unnatural’ Dreadlocks” at The Root.

Read “No more Misfits shows after MSG,” Danzig says” at Brooklyn Vegan.

See the “Museo Bichos Querétaro (Querétaro Bugs Museum)” at Atlas Obscura.

Read Variety’s report: “Norman Lear Won’t Stop: TV Legend’s Sony Deal Renewal Takes Him to Age 100” including possible talk of a Princess Bride remake, to which Cary Elwes responds: “There’s a shortage of perfect movies in this world. It would be a pity to damage this one.”

See Moby’s new Vegan neck tattoo, because who wouldn’t want to, right?!

Watch the video for Wilco’s new single "Everyone Hides" from their upcoming album Ode To Joy, due out October 04.

Hear a new Van Morrison song "Dark Night of the Soul" on Youtube.

Read Newsweek’s report: “NRA Admits Accepting Money From 23 Russia-Linked Donors.” Protecting American rights, right?

ReadRachael Denhollander’s Witness Abused as a teen by Larry Nassar, she’s become an advocate for change in her evangelical community” at Slate.

Read “The Divine in Daniel Johnston” at Tape Op.

Read Soundblab’s review of the new One Eleven Heavy album Desire Path.

ReadHiss Golden Messenger Finds Salvation in ‘Terms of Surrender’” at No Depression.

  • Read Line of Best Fit’s review of the album.

  • Read Rolling Stone’s profile.

Watch “Watch Benny Hinn Open Up About Renouncing the Prosperity Gospel” at Relevant.

Read about “Malawi Female Chief Comes To Power, Annuls Over 1500 Child Marriages, And Sends Young Girls Back To School” at I Heart Intelligence.

Read Live For Live Music’s report: “LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy To Open New Café/Bar In Brooklyn.”

Read the report: “Navy confirms UFO videos posted by Blink 182 rocker are real and should not have been released.”

Browse “The 9 Best Places to Hear Free Live Music in Phoenix” at Phoenix New Times.

View “Modern marvels: museums with spectacular architecture” at National Geographic.

Read Business Insider’s piece: “'The Dust Lady' of 9/11, a New Jersey banker, dies at age 42 of stomach cancer.”

Read Phoenix New Times’ reoport: “Arizona’s First White Castle Announces Opening Date.”

Read American Military News’ report: “Colt is ending production of AR-15s.”

Read Relevant’s report: “Abortion Is at Its Lowest Rate Since Roe v. Wade.”

Download “Original Bauhaus Books & Journals for Free: Gropius, Klee, Kandinsky, Moholy-Nagy & More” at Open Culture.

Read the New York Times’ profile of Sturgill Simpson.

Stream a mix put together by the Greyboy Allstars.

ReadBrittany Howard on Her Solo Debut, Her Black Heroes, and Owning Her Greatness The Alabama Shakes leader opens up about doing things her way” at Pitchfork.

Read Pitchfork’s report: “Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash Session Unearthed for Bootleg Series.”

Read Vice’s report: “Bob Dylan Died 11 Years Ago, According to Siri.”

Read: “Lee “Scratch” Perry and Adrian Sherwood release remix companion to latest album, featuring Brian Eno and Bob Marley trombonist Vin Gordo” at ReGen Magazine.

Read Entertainment Weekly’s report: “Wes Anderson's next film The French Dispatch confirms cast for 2020 release.”

Read Phoenix New Times’ report: “Mesa College Fires Professor Who Promoted QAnon Conspiracy Theory.”

Read Forbes’ report: “One In Four Teachers Works 60-Plus Hours A Week.”

Browse “10 Essential Folk Albums from 2019 (So Far)” at Paste.

Read “Who Gets to Come through the Golden Door: Refugees, Asylum Seekers, the Church, and the Soul of America” by Alan Cross at Providence.

Read Exclaim’s report: “Céline Dion Is Apparently Becoming a Big Fan of the Cure.”

Read “Mike Patton on Joining Faith No More, Finding Inspiration from Tom Waits, and Being Yourself” at Consequence of Sound.

Read Real Clear Politics report of a very lucid “Conservative,” - “Glenn Beck: If Trump Doesn't Win "We Are Officially At The End Of The Country As We Know It"

Read “Becoming Bourbon” at Image Journal.

Read the New York Times profile of Patti Smith.

Read “Kim Kardashian West Tells ‘The View’ That Getting ‘Saved by Christ’ Changed Kanye’s Life” at Relevant.

Read “The Making of An Urbane Cowboy Both before and after Lee Hazlewood wrote hits for Nancy Sinatra and Duane Eddy, he was a Texas musician” at Texas Monthly.

Read Post-Punk’s report: “Depeche Mode Announce New Anton Corbijn Directed Documentary Concert Film “Spirits in the Forest”.

Read “Jimmy Page: Led Zeppelin were the best band of all time” at Consequence of Sound.

Watch “Musicians Around the World Play The Band’s Classic Song, “The Weight,” with Help from Robbie Robertson and Ringo Starr” at Open Culture.

See a “Sneak Peek Of New Kurt Vonnegut Museum And Library” at Indianapolis Monthly.

ReadThurston Moore Selling a Chunk of His Private Record Collection More than 300 records will be up for grabs in London.”

Read AZ Central’s report: “Taco Bell Cantina is coming soon to the former Restaurant Mexico space on Mill Avenue.”