The Weekly Town Crier (07/03/20)
All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (07/03/20).
Read ‘Milton Glaser, Master Designer of ‘I ♥ NY’ Logo, Is Dead at 91” at New York Times.
Read “Marc Orleans of Sunburned Hand of the Man Has Died” at Pitchfork.
Read “Carl Reiner, longtime comedy legend, dies at 98” at CNN.
Read “Controversy and Coronavirus Keep Church Plants Out of Schools” at Christianity Today.
Read “I’m Not Hateful, You Are Judge me? You don’t even know me!” by David French at The Dispatch.
Read “Israel Orders Christian TV Channel to Stop Broadcasting GOD TV argues application for new Shelanu channel in Hebrew was forthright, decries decision as political” at Christianity Today.
Read “This is a moment of reckoning on race for White Christians” at CNN.
Read “Will International Religious Freedom Survive the Trump Administration? The president’s executive order elevates its priority in US foreign policy. Nine experts assess the strategy’s longevity” at Christianity Today.
Read “White Supremacist Ideas Have Historical Roots In U.S. Christianity” at NPR.
Read “Black Lives Matter in the Bible From Genesis to Revelation, racism runs counter to everything Scripture teaches” at Christianity Today.
Read “White, Black, and Blue: Christians Disagree Over Policing Black Christians overwhelmingly say police treatment is biased against them. Why don’t white evangelicals believe them?” at Christianity Today.
Read “87 Percent of Practicing Christians See the U.S. as a Leader to the World” at Barna.
Read “Supreme Court Dismisses State Ban on Public Funding for Religious Schools” at Christianity Today.
Read “Taxpayers Shouldn’t Have to Fund Religious Education: How Today’s Supreme Court Decision Further Erodes the Separation of Church and State” at ACLU.
Read “Pastors Worry About Patriotism But Still Favor July 4th Displays”at Facts and Trends. “53% of Protestant pastors say their congregation sometimes seems to love America more than God.”
Read Mark Noll on “Christian Patriotism” for Christianity Today in 1986. “Is This Land God’s Land?”
Read “Researcher: Most Evangelicals Support Women in Church Leadership” at Christianity Today.
Read “Why Evangelicals Support Trump—and Why They Shouldn’t Worry about ‘Christianophobia’ is understandable. But Trump is no true ally—and his immorality, race-baiting, and sexism give his Christian supporters a bad name” at The Bulwark.
Learn about “The Sand Creek Massacre: When U.S. Forces Slaughtered As Many As 200 Unsuspecting Native Americans” at All That’s Interesting.
Read “CBP Is Using Pandemic As Cover For Deportations, Advocates Say” at Sojourners.
Read “Trump Retweets Video Of Apparent Supporter Saying 'White Power' at NPR.
Read “'Indefensible': Trump slammed for sharing video where supporter yells 'white power' at protesters” at AZ Central.
Read “It Took 3 Hours to Delete the President’s ‘White Power’ Tweet Because No One Could Reach Him. He Was Out Golfing...During a Pandemic” at The Root.
Browse “How Trump talks about race” at PBS.
Read “Black Lives Matter mural in front of Trump Tower a 'symbol of hate,' Trump tweets” at 12 News.
Read “US soldier accused of sending information to neo-Nazi group as part of plot to attack his unit” at The Hill.
Read “Disguised Sacha Baron Cohen Crashes Far-Right Rally With “Inject Obama With The Wuhan Flu” Sing-Along” at Stereogum.
Read “Hair weaves from Chinese prison camps seized” at AP.
Read “3 States Abruptly Make Protesting Fossil Fuel Pipelines a Felony” at Green Matters.
Read “We have been through this before.’ Why anti-Asian hate crimes are rising amid coronavirus” at PBS News Hour.
Read “Asian American churches hold march through Chinatown, calling for unity with Black communities” at Chicago Sun Times.
Read “Why We Never Talk About Black-on-Black Crime: An Answer to White America’s Most Pressing Question” at The Root.
Read “Mike Pence explains why he refuses to say "Black lives matter" at Axios. “Vice President Mike Pence told CBS that he won't say the words "Black lives matter" because he believes the leadership of the BLM movement is pushing a "radical-left agenda."
Read "Trump: Painting 'Black Lives Matter' On 5th Avenue Would Be 'Symbol Of Hate' at NPR.
Read “'Black Lives Matter' to be painted on NBA courts” at 5 News Online.
George Floyd:
Read “New Jersey Corrections Officer Seen Mocking George Floyd's Death on Track to be Fired” at The Root.
Elijah McClain:
Read “Cops in Riot Gear Stormed a Violin Vigil for Elijah McClain” at The Cut.
Read “Colorado Police Officers Under Investigation For Photos At Elijah McClain Memorial” at NPR.
This Week In Protest News:
Read “On Stonewall anniversary, the NYPD launched a brutal unprovoked attack on LGBTQ people As Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted about honoring Stonewall, the NYPD was unleashing pepper spray on LGBTQ people dancing in celebration” at LGBTQ Nation.
Read “Couple points guns at protesters marching to call for St. Louis mayor to resign” at 12 News.
Read “Troops were issued bayonets in DC unrest” at Associated Press.
This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):
Read “Native Americans protesting Trump July 3 trip to Mount Rushmore Many Indigenous American activists say the Rushmore memorial is as reprehensible as the many Confederate monuments being toppled around the nation” at 12 News.
Read “Meet The Confederados, The Confederate Loyalists Who Fled To Brazil After The Civil War” at All That’s Interesting.
Read “Mississippi lawmakers vote to remove rebel emblem from flag” at Fox 4 News.
Read “Mississippi governor signs bill into law removing Confederate symbol from state flag” at NBC News.
Read “Trump’s Message to African-Americans Unhappy With Monuments to Slave Owners: ‘You Have to Learn’ History” at Media-Ite.
Read “Boston to remove statue of slave kneeling before Lincoln” at Associated Press.
Read “Homeland Security sets up task force to protect monuments, statues” at 12 News.
Read “President Trump says he'll veto defense bill to keep Confederate base names” at 12 News.
Read “Columbus, Ohio, Takes Down Statue Of Christopher Columbus” at NPR
Read “Some Arizona Veterans Call On Ducey To Remove Confederate Monument.”
Read “Read "Three Words. 70 Cases. The Tragic History of ‘I Can’t Breathe.’ The deaths of Eric Garner in New York and George Floyd in Minnesota created national outrage over the use of deadly police restraints at New York Times.
This Week With The Police:
Read “House approves sweeping police reform package that would ban chokeholds, end qualified immunity after George Floyd death at AZ Central.
Read "City Council OKs charter amendment to remove Minneapolis Police Department. “The Minneapolis City Council on Friday unanimously approved a proposed amendment would remove requirements for the city to maintain a police department from the city’s charter. The 12-0 vote is step toward putting the issue in front of Minneapolis voters on the November ballot.”
Read “Miami Cop Arrested And Charged After Tasing A Pregnant Woman On Her Stomach And Lying On The Police Report” at Blavity.
Read/Watch “How the Philadelphia Police Tear-Gassed a Group of Trapped Protesters” at New York Times.
Read “Landlords Use Police to Stop Tenants From Organizing” at Jacobin Magazine.
Read “Police Unions: What to Know and Why They Don’t Belong in the Labor Movement” at Teen Vogue.
Watch “How Cop Shows Lie to You | The Daily Social Distancing Show” by Trevor Noah at Youtube.
Read “Two San Jose School Districts End Contracts with Local Police” at San Jose Inside.
Read “ACLU of Oregon files class-action suit against PPB, city” at KOIN.
Read “Philadelphia officials announce moratorium on tear gas following NYT investigation” at The Hill.
See an interactive map of police violence in the United States. So far, “Police have killed 576 people in 2020.”
Read “Hoover police officer fired over Facebook photo of protester in crosshairs” at Al.com
Read “‘We are just gonna go out and start slaughtering them’: Three cops fired after racist talk of killing black residents” at Washington Post.
Read “L.A. council advances plan to replace LAPD officers with social workers on non-violent police calls” at KTLA.
Read “L.A. cuts LAPD spending, taking police staffing to its lowest level in 12 years” at Los Angeles Times.
Read “Congress Urged to Repeal Program That Transfers 'Weapons of War' to Local Police” at Common Dreams.
Read “NFL to play Black anthem before national anthem” at Associated Press.
Read “Was It All for This? The Failure of the Conservative Legal Movement” at The Public Discourse.
Read “Supreme Court strikes down restrictive Louisiana abortion law that would have closed clinics” at Washington Post.
Visit “The Louisiana Clinic At The Center Of Abortion Case Before Supreme Court” with NPR.
Read “Have Pro-Lifers Lost the Supreme Court Fight? What's ahead for abortion opponents after another frustrating decision” at Christianity Today.
Read ““Reality” is constructed by your brain. Here’s what that means, and why it matters. What the science of visual illusions can teach us about our polarized world” at Vox.
Weekly Coronavirus Roundup
Read “Scottsdale nightclub Riot House charged for failing to enforce social distancing, mask requirements Several other Old Town Scottsdale businesses are under investigation and may be charged for similar violations, a Scottsdale police spokesman said” at AZ Central.
Read “How Arizona ‘lost control of the epidemic’” at Washington Post.
Read “If president, Biden would make Americans wear face coverings in public during pandemic The presumptive Democratic nominee's comments came amid a surge of coronavirus cases in several states” at 12 News.
Read “CDC says coronavirus cases in U.S. may be 10 times higher than reported” at MSNBC.
Read “Judge Orders ICE To Free Detained Immigrant Children Because Of COVID-19” at NPR.
Read “In Mexico City, the Coronavirus Is Bringing Back Aztec-Era ‘Floating Gardens’” at Atlas Obscura.
Read “Parties — Not Protests — Are Causing Spikes In Coronavirus” at NPR.
Read “Workers removed thousands of social distancing stickers before Trump’s Tulsa rally, according to video and a person familiar with the set-up” at Washington Post.
Read “Revived Mount Rushmore Fireworks Will Feature Trump But No Social Distancing” at NPR.
Read “This chart shows the link between restaurant spending and new cases of coronavirus” at CNBC.
Read “Tennessee Concert Attracts Packed Crowd With No Masks Or Social Distancing” at Stereogum.
Read “Festival organizer defends packed, maskless crowd at Chris Janson show” at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read “The Pandemic Is Still Killing People. Why Is Country Music Putting on Concerts?” at Rolling Stone.
Read “Chase Rice responds to criticism over his TN show with packed, maskless crowd” at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read “Jason Isbell Blasts Chase Rice & Other “Country Stars”: “Some Are So Broke They’ve Decided To Do Shows This Weekend” at Whiskey Riff.
Read “Vanilla Ice Cancels 4th of July Concert: “I Didn’t Know the Numbers Were So Crazy!” at Consequence of Sound.
Read “Global coronavirus death toll exceeds 500,000” at Axios.
Read “Fake News and the Politicization Of Science Could Cost Lives” at Sojourners.
Read “U.S. Pediatricians Call For In-Person School This Fall” at NPR.
Read “Poll: 30% of Americans say they trust Trump to get facts right on coronavirus” at Axios.
Read “Kansas becomes latest state to make wearing masks in public mandatory” at Axios.
Read “Sen. McConnell Says Americans Must Have 'No Stigma' In Wearing Face Masks” at NPR.
Read “Fauci warns U.S. could see 100,000 new coronavirus cases per day” at Axios.
Read “Goldman Sachs says a national mask mandate could slash infections and save economy from a 5% hit” at CNBC.
Read “South Dakota governor: "We will not be social distancing" at July 3 event with Trump” at Axios. "We will have a large event on July 3. We told those folks that have concerns that they can stay home, but those who want to come and join us, we'll be giving out free face masks, if they choose to wear one. But we won't be social distancing."
Read “European Union formally bars U.S. travelers due to coronavirus threat” at MSNBC.
Read “CDC expert warns U.S. has "way too much virus" to contain outbreak” at Axios.
Read “Model Predicts Tens of Thousands of Lives Could be Saved if Almost Everyone Uses Masks” at US News.
Read “Young people of color more likely to be hospitalized for coronavirus” at Axios.
Read “Florida is "not going back" on reopening, governor says” at Axios.
Read “Coronavirus ‘Incarnates’ Biblical Teachings in French Evangelical Leader President of CNEF and COVID-19 survivor explains his renewed confidence to defend the faith and French evangelical churches, as well as why his mother now calls him “Lazarus” at Christianity Today.
Read “A's join Giants and offer MLB fans option to buy cardboard cutouts of themselves for empty stadiums” at CBS Sports.
Read “Army Halts SERE Course after 90 Students Test Positive for Coronavirus” at Military.
Read “The US Public Paid to Develop This COVID-19 Drug. It Will Cost $3,000 a Dose” at Jacobin Magazine.
Read “This fall, going back to school will be a luxury few families can afford” at The Gazette.
Read “Texas governor mandates face masks in public spaces” at Axios.
Read “White House to 'seriously consider' second stimulus check, Treasury Secretary says” at 12 News.
Read “The gift of nurturing small things during isolation” at Christian Century.
Read “More than 40 Bay Area school principals exposed to coronavirus during in-person meeting” at San Fransisco Chronicle.
Read “Closing bars to stop coronavirus spread is backed by science” at Associated Press.
Read “Attorney General Barr Says DOJ Acts Independent Of Trump's Interests” at NPR.
Read “Atlanta Hawks Arena To Host Voting Site, Team Challenges Rest Of NBA To Follow” at NPR.
Read “Oklahoma Votes For Medicaid Expansion Over Objections Of Republican State Leaders” at NPR.
Read “Judges rule Donald Trump CANNOT use $2.5 billion in military cash to build his border wall - days after he signed a new section” at Daily Mail.
Read “Appeals court rules funding for Trump border wall construction ‘unlawful’” at NBC News.
Read “Trump’s Latest Comments About Blacks Thanking Him for His ‘Law and Order’ Approach Is Right Out of the Slave Master’s Playbook” at The Root.
Read “Trump renews vow on preexisting conditions after urging court to overturn ObamaCare” at The HIll.
Read “Spies and Commandos Warned Months Ago of Russian Bounties on U.S. Troops The recovery of large amounts of American cash at a Taliban outpost in Afghanistan helped tip off U.S. officials” “Spies and Commandos Warned Months Ago of Russian Bounties on U.S. Troops The recovery of large amounts of American cash at a Taliban outpost in Afghanistan helped tip off U.S. officials” New York Times
Read “Russian spy unit paid Taliban to attack US troops, US intelligence says It couldn’t be determined whether Russian bounties paid to Taliban fighters resulted in any American combat deaths in Afghanistan” at Fox News.
Read “Top Republican demands answers from White House over reports of Russian bounties” at Axios.
Read “GOP senator demands accountability over reports of Russian bounties on U.S. troops” at Axios.
Read “White House briefs Republicans on Russian bounties Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are calling for all lawmakers to be briefed, not just GOP members” at Politico.
Read “AP sources: White House aware of Russian bounties in 2019” at Associated Press.
Read "President Trump tweets that Russia bounty allegations are 'Fake News'“ at 12 News.
Read “Top Democrat introduces amendment to sanction Putin for alleged Russian bounties” at News Break.
Read “Russians back reforms that could let Putin rule through 2036, officials say” at Axios.
Read “Veterans Group Accuses Donald Trump Of Acting Like A Traitor” at News and Guts.
Read “House approves statehood for DC in 232-180 vote” at The Hill.
Read “Tribes, environmentalists sue to stop rollback of Clean Water Act protections” at AZ Central.
Read “r/The_Donald banned from Reddit as Trump suspended from Twitch” at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read “Reddit Bans The_Donald, Forum Of Nearly 800,000 Trump Fans, Over Abusive Posts” at NPR.
Read “From pandering to Putin to abusing allies and ignoring his own advisers, Trump’s phone calls alarm US officials” at CNN.
Read “Amy McGrath wins Kentucky Democratic Senate primary” at Axios.
Read “Colorado Supreme Court upholds state’s ban on large-capacity gun magazines State’s prohibition on magazines that hold more than 15 rounds adopted after Aurora theater shooting” at Denver Post.
Read “Biden calls on Trump to wear a mask, limit rallies amid coronavirus surge” at Axios. "The crisis is real and it’s surging, Mr. President. America knows that this crisis isn’t behind us, even if you don’t."
Read “Hundreds Of Former Bush Officials Unite To Endorse Joe Biden” at NPR.
Read “Biden Faces Pressure To Pick A Black Running Mate. But Warren Remains A Top Contender” at NPR.
Read “McConnell warns Democrats not to change filibuster rule” at The Hill.
Read “Judge temporarily blocks publication of tell-all book by Trump's niece” at Axios.
Read “AOC’s brand was groundbreaking. Now it’s inspiring copycats around the world” at Fast Company.
Read “GOP Candidates Open To QAnon Conspiracy Theory Advance In Congressional Races” at NPR.
Read “A 10% cut to the US military budget would help support struggling American” by Bernie Sanders at The Guardian.
Read “Wave Of Young Judges Pushed By McConnell Will Be 'Ruling For Decades To Come' at NPR.
Read “Starbucks stops advertising on ALL social media while Pepsi joins the growing list of companies boycotting Facebook as pressure grows on sites to crack down on 'hate speech'“ at Daily Mail.
Read “Zuckerberg Loses $7 Billion as Firms Boycott Facebook Ads” at Bloomberg.
Read “Mark Zuckerberg reportedly said Facebook is 'not gonna change' in response to a boycott by more than 500 advertisers over the company's hate-speech policies” at Business Insider.
Read “The Indebted Dead Tracing the history of the Grateful Dead folktale and the evolving obligations of being alive” at Lapham’s Quarterly.
Read “The cost of giving birth in America is now more than an average month’s salary” at Motherly.
Half-year-end Half-lists:
Browse “The 33 Best Albums of 2020 So Far” at Treble.
Browse “The Best Of 2020 – Halftime Report A list of 72 Albums we've enjoyed from January to June” at Uncut.
Browse “Exclaim!'s 33 Best Albums of 2020 So Far”.
Browse “NPR Music's 25 Favorite Albums Of 2020 (So Far)” at NPR.
Browse “Post-Trash's Best of 2020: A Mid-Year Report”.
Browse “The 50 Best Albums of 2020 So Far” at PopMatters.
Read “Trey Anastasio on the Power of Live” at Relix.
Read “Dean Wareham interviews Pete Kember, aka Sonic Boom The Luna/Galaxie 500 singer chats with his old friend, Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3 and Spectrum” at Talk House.
Read “Sufjan Stevens Announces New Solo Album 'The Ascension'“ at NPR.
Read “New True Crime Podcast to Explore Deaths and Disappearances of Deadheads” at Jambands.
Read “With New Albums, Bob Dylan, Neil Young And Willie Nelson Are As Relevant As Ever” at NPR.
Read “Rolling Stones Threaten Trump With Lawsuit Over Rally Music “This could be the last time Trump uses any Jagger/ Richards songs on his campaigns,” band’s rep says” at Rolling Stone.
Browse “The 50 Greatest Bassists of All Time From funk masters to prog prodigies and beyond, we count down the players who have shaped our idea of the low-end theory” at Rolling Stone.
Browse “40 Years of Experimental Dub Label On-U Sound Records: Nine Essential LPs” at Bandcamp.
Read “John Prine Named Illinois’ First Honorary Poet Laureate” at PItchfork.
Read ‘Roland and Korg fined £5.5 million” for price fixing at Wire.
Read “Back-stabbing, bullying, busking: how The Clash disintegrated” at Louder Sound.
Read “One Eleven Heavy interview” at It’s Psychedelic, Baby. “Transatlantic psychedelic rock resurrecting the joyful, altered reminiscence of the first wave of Cosmic American Music.
Read “Radio Is Quietly Scrubbing the Word ‘Urban,’ Sources Say Insiders say radio giant iHeartMedia and radio analytics company Mediabase are poised to remove the word, which has been controversial in industry-wide discussions around systemic racism” at Rolling Stone.
Read “Ford-Wyoming Drive-In was top-grossing movie theater in nation over weekend” at Freep.
Read “Beavis and Butt-Head Are Returning With New Episodes Mike Judge is resurrecting his beloved Gen X cartoon as part of a new deal with Comedy Central” at Consequence of Sound.
Read “Drawing on Walls: An Wondrous Illustrated Homage to Keith Haring, His Irrepressible Art of Hope, and His Beautiful Bond with Children” at Brain Pickings.
Read “The Origins of Warhol’s Brillo Boxes” at Warholiana.
Browse “5 Best Routes for a Cross-Country Road Trip” at The Discoverer.
Read “Arizona reps. Debbie Lesko, Paul Gosar push for Peoria to be home base of Space Force” at 12 News.