The Weekly Town Crier (12/18/20)
All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (12/18/20).
We’ll Miss You:
Read “Charley Pride, country music's first Black superstar, dies at 86 of COVID-19 complications” at Tennessean.
Read “Tony-Winning Broadway Legend Ann Reinking Dies at Age 71” at Broadway.com.
Read “In Memoriam: “Nationally Recognized Tastemaker” Rita Houston (1961-2020)” at Relix.
Read “Jeremy Bulloch, 'Star Wars' actor who played bounty hunter Boba Fett, dies at 75” at USA Today.
Religion and Stuff:
Read “So, Why is Evangelicalism Not Declining? Because Non-Attenders Are Taking On the Label” at Religion In Public.
Read “The Dangerous Idolatry of Christian Trumpism” by David French. “We can pray peace will prevail, but we’d be fools to presume it will.”
Read “What I Saw At The Jericho March” by Rod Dreher at American Conservative.
Read “A Review of Rod Dreher's Live Not by Lies” at Christian Socialism. “Rod Dreher's back in our feeds because of his heroic stand against crass Trumpists. But aside from some aesthetic and rhetorical differences, Dreher depends on the very industrial fear-mongering complex he's decrying.”
Read “‘Proud Boys’ burn Black Lives Matter signs at churches in Washington” at Religion News Service. “'For me it was reminiscent of cross burnings,' said the Rev. Ianther M. Mills, pastor of a church whose Black Lives Matter sign was burned.”
Read “RZIM Apologist Sends Stunning Letter: Says Ministry Has Lost Trust & Needs to Make “Meaningful Reparations” at Julie Roys.
Read “It’s Desecration, Not Vandalism”" at Slate. “A longtime congregant on the Proud Boys’ violent attacks on Black churches in Washington.”
Read “Racism, Misogyny and Abuse: Why the SBC Keeps Getting it Wrong” at Faith, Philosophy, and Politics.
Read “Biden should reestablish the faith-based office” at Religion News Service.
Read ‘How to Be Pro-Life in Our Real Lives” at Christianity Today. “The Christian call to care for the vulnerable starts with facing the heightened needs in our own communities.”
Read “White evangelicals, don’t just condemn Christian nationalism. Own it.” at Religion News Service. “Piously opposing Trumpism as evil is empty, because it does not deal with white evangelicalism's own racism.”
Read “CA Pastor Charged With Contempt After Holding Indoor Maskless Church Services” at Patheos.
Read “Fifth Jehovah’s Witness receives six-year sentence in Russia for practicing his faith” at Religion News Service.
Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:
Read “Justices rule Muslim men can sue FBI agents over no-fly list” at Religion News Service.
Read “The Pandemic Gave Men a New Way to Sexually Harass Female Restaurant Workers” at Vice. “Pull that mask down so I can see if I want to take you home later,” one customer told a worker.”
Read “Peter Nygard: Fashion mogul faces sex trafficking charges” at BBC.
Read “Right-Wing Embrace Of Conspiracy Is 'Mass Radicalization,' Experts Warn” at NPR.
Read “Report Finds Federal Execution Numbers Top States' for 1st Time” at NBC Philadelphia.
Read “Trump Twitter ‘hack’: Police accept attacker's claim” at BBC. “Dutch prosecutors have found a hacker did successfully log in to Donald Trump's Twitter account by guessing his password - "MAGA2020!"
Read “Sexual Harassment Isn't a Party Issue, It's a Power Issue” at Men Yell at Me. “Or, how the Iowa Democratic Party promoted a state senator accused of harassment.”
Read “38 states file anti-trust lawsuit against Google” at 12 News.
Read “How did a Proud Boys leader with a felony record get into the White House?” at Salon.
This Week In Protest-Related News:
Read “MAGA Protesters Chant ‘Destroy the GOP’ at Pro-Trump Rally” at Rolling Stone.
Read “1 person shot, 5 arrested after opposing protests turn violent in Olympia” at King 5.
Read “MAGA Marchers and Proud Boys Descend on D.C., Setting Fire to Churches' Black Lives Matter Signs and Getting into Stabbing Fights” at The Root.
This Week With The Police:
Read “To Stop Police Violence, We Need Better Questions — and Bigger Demands” at Medium.
Read “Ex-Cop Held Man at Gunpoint to Search for Fraudulent Ballots That Didn't Exist, Prosecutors Say” at Vice.
Read “Former Houston police captain accused of violent attempt to prove election conspiracy was hired by GOP activist's group” at Texas Tribune.
Read “The latest tool to help police develop empathy for the public: Virtual reality headsets” at Washington Post.
Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:
Read “Harold Budd's Family Confirm Cause Of Death” at The Quietus.
Read “Around America’s ‘Christmas City,’ Rural Churches Left Heartbroken by COVID-19” at Christianity Today.
Read “COVID-19's effects include seizures and movement disorders -- even in some moderate cases, study finds” at AZ Family.
Read “CMA Awards: Unmasked, Indoor Ceremony Raises Questions About COVID-19 Precautions, Producers Cite 'Extremely Diligent' Measures” at TV Line.
Read “Rick Rubin Court Date Set for COVID-19 Quarantine Violation” at Pitchfork.
Read “Dave Ramsey, Christian personal finance guru, defies COVID-19 to keep staff at desks” at Religion News Service.
Read “Arizona has 'all but locked in a humanitarian crisis' ahead of Christmas, expert says” at 12 News. “Dr. Joe Gerald from the University of Arizona said a lack of harsh mitigation tactics have pushed the state into crisis.’
Read “The Mass Distribution of Covid-19 Vaccines Is Under Way. ‘Everything Has to Come Together” at Wall Street Journal.
Read “As U.S. Deaths Surpass 300,000, Obituaries Force Reckoning with Covid” at New York Times.
Read “What The Pandemic Means For The Future Of Movie Theaters” at KJZZ.
Read “Melania Trump breaks children's hospital rules by taking her mask off to read to patients” at CNN.
Read “How Profit and Incompetence Delayed N95 Masks While People Died at the VA” at Pro Publica.
Read “California sheriff refusing to comply with order to release inmates due to COVID” at The Hill.
Read “FDA panel backs Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for use in the US” at CNET. “This follows the backing and subsequent authorization of Pfizer's vaccine last week.”
Read “Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko In Quarantine After COVID-19 Exposure” at KJZZ.
Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):
Read “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris named Time Person of the Year” at CNN.
Read “Tennessee lawmaker pushing for Presidential Medal of Freedom for Dolly Parton” at News Channel 9.
Read “How Rita Moreno Found Dignity and Strength With Her ‘West Side Story’ Role” at Variety. “I was not treated like a serious young actress and that was very hard. It sent me into psychotherapy, which is one of the smartest things I ever did. It taught me that I had to find value in myself.”
Read ‘U.S. needs estimated $4.5 trillion in stimulus to recover, analysis argues” at Yahoo.
Read “Red Flags for Economy as Retail Sales Fall for a Second Month” at New York Times
Read ““A Ray of Sunshine in a Dark Time”: A Look at ‘Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President’” at Relix.
Internationalities:
Read: (Canada) “Federal government to pay for COVID-19 vaccine costs as Canada’s death toll surpasses 13K.”
Read “Treasury breached by hackers backed by foreign government - sources” at Reuters.
Read “Australia: NSW man charged over allegedly corrupt betting on table tennis” at BBC.
Politics And Sucheries:
Read “Fox News poll: Majority say US worse off than it was 4 years ago” at The Hill.
Read “House Democrat says 126 Republicans backing Texas election challenge shouldn't be seated” at Washington Examiner.
Read “Chris Christie calls Trump's legal team's legal theory an 'absurdity'“ at The Hill.
Read “Georgia Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Last-Minute Request To Toss Election Results” at Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Read “Joe Biden picks Pete Buttigieg to be transportation secretary” at CNN.
Read “McConnell urges GOP senators not to object to Electoral College vote” at The Hill.
This Week In Political Corruption:
Read “Rep. Katie Porter Exposes 'Corruption In Real Time' After McConnell's Attempts To Tank Relief Bill” at Comic Sands.
Read ‘GOP Lawmakers in Missouri Propose Bills Making It Legal to Hit Protesters With Cars” at Newsweek.
Read “USPS Finally Releases Louis DeJoy’s Calendar — And Everything’s Redacted” at Huff Post.
Read “At This Trump-Favored Charity, Financial Reporting Is Questionable and Insiders Are Cashing In” at Pro Publica.
Read “The CARES Act Sent You a $1,200 Check but Gave Millionaires and Billionaires Far More” at Pro Publica.
Music-Related News and Such:
2020 Year-End Lists (* = New This Week):
Browse “Brad's Top 50 Albums of 2020” at Amoeba Music.
Browse “Aquarium Drunkard :: 2020 Year In Review.” *
Browse AV Club’s picks for “The 20 best albums of 2020.” *
Browse Bandcamp’s picks for “The Best Soul of 2020.”
Browse Clash’s “Clash Albums Of The Year 2020.” *
Browse “Top 30 Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2020” at Consequence of Sound.
Browse Crack’s picks for “The Top Albums of 2020.”
Browse The Fader’s picks for “The 50 best albums of 2020.” *
Browse “Glide’s 20 Best Albums of 2020.”
Browse Ted Goia’s picks for “The One Hundred Best Albums of 2020.”
Browse Gorilla Vs. Bear’s Albums of 2020.
Browse the New Yorker’s picks for “The Best Music of 2020” (topped by a 2018 album which I can get behind).'
Browse the New York Times’ picks for the “Best Albums of 2020.”
Browse NPR’s picks for “The 100 Best Songs Of 2020.”
Browse NPR’s picks for “The 50 Best Albums Of 2020.”
Browse Paste’s picks for “The 50 Best Albums of 2020.”
Browse Pitchfork’s picks for “The 30 Best Electronic Music Releases of 2020.”
Browse Pitchfork’s picks for “The 100 Best Songs of 2020.”
Browse Pitchfork’s picks for “The 50 Best Albums of 2020.” *
Browse Pitchfork’s picks for “The 35 Best Rock Albums of 2020.”
Browse Pitchfork’s picks for “The 20 Best Music Videos of 2020.”
Browse “Tunes that kept The World spinning in 2020: A playlist” at PRI. *
Browse Stereogum’s picks for “The 50 Best Albums Of 2020”.
Browse Time’s picks for “The 10 Best Albums of 2020.”
Browse Treble’s picks for the “Top 100 Songs of 2020.”
Browse Treble’s picks for the “Top 50 Albums of 2020.”
Browse “The 2020 Uproxx Music Critics Poll.” *
Browse Vice’s picks for “The 100 Best Albums of 2020.”
Browse Vinyl Factory’s picks for their “favourite vinyl artwork and packaging of 2020.”
Browse Yardbarker’s picks for “The 30 best albums of 2020.”
Read “Family affair: Tengger reunite after Covid enforced separation” at The Wire.
Read “FKA twigs sues Shia LaBeouf, alleges sexual battery and assault in new interview” at The Fader.
Read “Sia Says ‘Pathological Liar’ Shia LaBeouf ‘Conned’ Her ‘Into an Adulterous Relationship’” at Spin.
Read “What We Know About the Domestic Abuse Allegations Against Shia LaBoeuf” at Rolling Stone.
Read “Harold Budd's Music Was Heaven On Earth” at NPR.
Read “Rapper Lil Wayne pleads guilty to illegal gun possession” at The Hill.
Read “Streaming payments 'threaten the future of music,' says Elbow's Guy Garvey” at BBC.
Read/Listen to “How independent musicians are planning for 2021” at MarketPlace.
Read “‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ Drummer Jerry Granelli :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview” at Aquarium Drunkard (REPOST).
Browse “A Visual History of The Rolling Stones Documented in a Beautiful, 450-Page Photo Book by Taschen” at Open Culture.
Browse The Ringer’s picks for “The Top 100 Albums in the Rick Rubin Extended Universe, Ranked.”
Read “An Update on Bandcamp Fridays” at Bandcamp.
Read “Chance the Rapper Says He and Dionne Warwick Are Working on New Music on ‘Colbert’” at Rolling Stone.
Read “H.C. McEntire Delivers Her Masterpiece with 'Eno Axis'“ at Pop Matters.
Read “Emily Eavis says Glastonbury is “a long way” from being able to confirm 2021 festival” at NME.
Read “6 Paths Through Jazz in 2020” at Rolling Stone.
Read “Carlos Santana Launches New Coffee Company” at Jambands.
Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:
Read “The Best Films of 2020” at Flood Magazine.
Books/Reading/Authors
Browse “Christianity Today’s 2021 Book Awards.”
Browse Pitchfork’s picks for “Our 15 Favorite Music Books of 2020.”
Design/Artsy Things:
Take “a Close Look at Basquiat’s Revolutionary Art in a New 500-Page, 14-Pound, Large Format Book by TASCHEN” at Open Culture.
Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:
Read “‘Cat scratch’ fever may cause human madness, study says” at New York Post.
Read “Kangaroos Can Learn To Communicate With Humans, Researchers Say” at Huff Post.
Misc. Oddities:
Read “Mysterious Radio Signal Is Coming From Inside Our Galaxy, Scientists Announce” at Independent.