The Weekly Town Crier (01/22/21)
All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (01/22/21)
We’ll Miss You:
Read “Phil Spector Dead at 81” at Pitchfork. “The producer, who was in prison for murder, reportedly died of “natural causes”.
Religion and Stuff:
Read “Is Dave Ramsey’s empire the ‘best place to work in America’? Say no and you’re out” at Religion News Service. “For years, Dave Ramsey has boasted that his company is the best place to work in the country. COVID-19 and a failure by a high-profile leader put that to the test.”
Read ‘Full Ramsey Solutions Response” at Religion News Service. “We are horrible people," the financial advice and media company told RNS in a sarcastic email.”
Read ‘Insisting on Healing May be the Death of Us” at Red Letter Christians.
Read "Where Does the South End and Christianity Begin?” by David French. “Understanding the role of shame/honor culture in the roots of Christian rage.”
Read “The Mandalorian’ is an indictment of holy wars, and a celebration of pluralism” at Religion News Service. “Religion is a constant in the galaxy far, far away....”
Read “Why Is It Difficult to Get Christians to Care About the Earth?” at Sojo.net.
Read “QAnon believers grapple with doubt, spin new theories as Trump era ends: 'We all got played'“ at Chron.
Read “It’s Over’: Devastated QAnon Believers Grapple With President Joe Biden’s Inauguration” at Huff Post.
Read “In rare rebuke, Cardinal Cupich criticizes USCCB president’s letter to President Biden” at America Magazine.
Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:
Read “Man Arrested in D.C. With Unauthorized Inauguration Credentials, a Loaded Gun, and Lots of Ammo” at Slate.
Read “Biden will sign executive order to reunite migrant families separated at the border” at MSNBC.
Read ‘Two Guard members removed from Biden inauguration over ties to far-right groups” at The HIll.
Read “The 'Racial Caste System' At The U.S. Capitol” at NPR.
Read “Wayfair workers, supporters protest furniture sale to U.S. immigrant camp” at Reuters.
Read “Supreme Court faces bomb threat during Biden's inauguration” at Business Insider.
Read “NRA can’t dodge accountability by moving to Texas: N.Y. AG James” at NY Daily News.
Read “The DEA May Have Botched a Mexican Cartel Case Over Slang for ‘Balls’” at Vice.
Read “House leader calls for FBI investigation into Parler” at The Verge.
This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // Insurrection // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):
Read “The Whole Story In A Single Photo” at The Atlantic. ‘An image from the Capitol captures the distance between who we purport to be and who we have actually been.”
Read ‘Capitol rioters included highly trained ex-military and cops” at Associated Press.
Read “Capitol riots: Police describe a 'medieval battle'“ at BBC.
Read ‘Criminal charges filed against Jenna Ryan, Frisco real estate broker who was part of Capitol mob” at Dallas News.
Read “I think this is a wake-up call”: Seeing a familiar face in the Capitol riot” at Vox. “Some are grappling with the prevalence of extremism in America, after seeing co-workers and fellow churchgoers in the riot.”
Read “Capitol Police intelligence report warned three days before attack that ‘Congress itself’ could be targeted” at Washington Post.
Read “Selfie-Snapping Rioters Leave FBI a Trail of Over 140,000 Images” at Bloomberg.
Read “Dating apps are using Capitol images to ban rioters’ accounts” at Washington Post.
Read “Sasse: Capitol rioters 'came dangerously close to starting a bloody constitutional crisis'“ at The Hill.
Read “Pelosi suggests criminal charges for any lawmaker who helped with Capitol riot” at The Hill.
Read “Colorado officials pen letter requesting probe into Boebert's actions” at The Hill.
Read “Lauren Boebert vowed to shake things up in Congress. She has delivered in her first week” at Colorado Sun.
Read “Comms director for gun-toting congresswoman quits” at Axios.
Read the opinion piece “Congress Is Still Littered With Insurrectionists” at Slate. “It’s time to remove the busts of these traitors from Statuary Hall.”
Read “The January 6 insurrection was a last gasp for white supremacy” at MSNBC.
Read “Experts say Trump, Congress members could be targets of Capitol invasion investigation” at MSNBC.
Read “A Former Marine Stormed the Capitol as Part of a Far-Right Militia” at New Yorker.
Read “Online far-right movements fracture in wake of Capitol riot” at NBC News.
Read “Former US attorney general William Barr tells ITV News questioning election legitimacy 'precipitated Capitol riots'“ at ITV.
Read “The Confederate battle flag: Longtime symbol of white insurrection” at Salon.
Read “The FBI is tracing a digital trail to Capitol rioters” at Axios.
Read “Mitch McConnell Says Capitol Rioters Were ‘Provoked’ By Trump” at Huff Post.
Read “MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Says Bed Bath And Beyond, Kohl’s To Drop His Products; Dominion Voting Systems Threatens To Sue” at Minnesota CBS Local.
Read “An apparent leader of Oath Keepers charged with planning and coordinating breach at US Capitol” at CNN.
Read “Scottsdale Prosecutors Seek to Revoke Baked Alaska's Release Due to Capitol Livestream” at Phoenix New Times.
Read “Nearly 1 In 5 Defendants In Capitol Riot Cases Served In The Military” at NPR.
This Week With The Police:
Read Sheriffs Helped Lead This Insurrection” at Slate. “Sheriffs play a key role in right-wing white supremacist movements.”
Read “The Cops at the Captiol” at The Appeal. “Law enforcement officers from around the country attended and supported last week’s rally in support of President Trump that sparked a riot.” “At least 32 members of law enforcement agencies from 15 states have been identified as having participating in the Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally.”
Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings
Read “Europe’s Schools Are Closing Again on Concerns They Spread Covid-19” at Wall Street Journal. “Countries are abandoning pledges to keep classrooms open as concerns mount over children’s capacity to pass on the virus.”
Read “‘A hack job,’ ‘outright lies’: Trump commission’s ‘1776 Report’ outrages historians” at Washington Post.
Read “Biden to rescind 1776 commission via executive order” at CNN.
Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:
Read, “Yes, the Pandemic Is Ruining Your Body” at The Atlantic. “Quarantine is turning you into a stiff, hunched-over, itchy, sore, headachy husk.”
Read “Vaccine reserve was already exhausted when Trump administration vowed to release it, dashing hopes of expanded” at Washington Post.
Read ‘COVID-19 exposure on flights is more common than you think. The US doesn't share details, but Canada does” at USA Today.
Read ‘There have now been over two million virus-related deaths worldwide” at New York Times.
Read “Arizona has highest rate of COVID-19 in world, data shows” at ABC 15.
Read “Charles Barkley: Athletes pay more in taxes, 'deserve some preferential treatment' for COVID-19 vaccine” at The Hill.
Read “This Coronavirus Is Unlike Anything in Our Lifetime, and We Have to Stop Comparing It to the Flu” at Pro Publica.
Read “Dallas County axes plan to prioritize vaccinating communities of color after state threatens to slash allocation” at Texas Tribune.
Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):
Read The Importance, and Incoherence, of Twitter’s Trump Ban” at The New Yorker. ““It’s coherent—and in my view absolutely appropriate—to believe both that (i) the social media companies were right to suspend Trump’s accounts last week; and (ii) the companies’ immense power over public discourse is a problem for democracy.”
Read “NRA files for bankruptcy” at CNN.
Read ‘Biden plans early legislation to offer legal status to 11 million immigrants without it” at Los Angeles Times.
Read “Pepsi, Coca-Cola will not run ads during Super Bowl” at The Hill.
Read ‘‘Guardians’ Star Offers $20,000 Reward in’TRUMP’ Manatee Case” at Huff Post.
Read “Social media has been radicalizing people for years” at Marketplace.
Read “Technologists Use Facial Recognition on Parler Videos” at Vice.
Read “One of President Biden's first orders of business: Following Chrissy Teigen on Twitter” at AV Club.
Internationalities:
Read “Japan Virus Surge Makes Suga More Look Like Short-Term Premier” at Bloomberg.
Read “Saudi Arabia Curbs Death Penalty in Move to Soften Image” at Wall Street Journal.
Read “Joe Biden to Cancel Keystone Pipeline, Another Blow to Canadian Oil Industry” at Vice.
Read “US calls China's abuses of Muslim minorities 'genocide' and 'crimes against humanity” at ABC News.
Politics And Sucheries:
Read “Josh Hawley, who led Senate efforts to overturn the election results, is being targeted by a super PAC” at New York Times.
Read “Conservative Website Admits Its Stories About Dominion Were ‘Completely False’ in Massive Retraction” at Media-ite.
Read “Biden Covid-19 Relief Plan Aims to Ease Poverty, Advance Democratic Priorities” at Wall Street Journal.
Read “How Joe Biden’s $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Proposal Helps Women” at Huff Post.
Read “Three days after President Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Andy Biggs threatened to sue former political rival Joan Greene for defamation in a letter” at AZ Central. “Greene's lawyer said the letter "has all of the strength of a sloppy Kleenex."
Read “Former GOP congressman says he's leaving party: 'This has become a cult'“ (EDITOR’S NOTE: “AMEN”).
Read “Manchin: Removing Hawley, Cruz with 14th Amendment 'should be a consideration'“ at The HIll.
Read “The 15 most notable lies of Donald Trump's presidency” at CNN.
Read “FBI vetting service members ahead of inauguration amid reported fears of insider attack” at NBC News.
Read “Dominion threatens MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell with lawsuit over ‘false and conspiratorial’ claims” at Washington Post.
This Week In Political Corruption:
Read ‘Newly sworn-in GOP senator suggests delaying inauguration” at The Hill.
Read “Limbaugh falsely says Biden didn't win legitimately while reacting to inauguration” at The Hill.
Read “At This Trump-Favored Charity, Financial Reporting Is Questionable and Insiders Are Cashing In” at Pro Publica.
Read “Giuliani associate told ex-CIA officer a Trump pardon would 'cost $2m’” at The Guardian.
Read the opinion piece “What Does Josh Hawley Think He’s Doing?” at Washington Post.
Read “Trump Does His Part in Scandalizing the Presidential Pardon Power” at National Review.
Read “Trump commutes 40-year sentence of Clearwater Ponzi scheme operator” at Tampa Bay Times.
Read “Joe Exotic says he was ‘too gay’ to be pardoned by Trump” at New York Post.
Music-Related News and Such:
Read “Bruce Springsteen and Foo Fighters to Play at Biden-Harris Inauguration Event” at Pitchfork.
Read “Lady Gaga to Sing National Anthem at Biden-Harris Inauguration” at New Now Next.
Read “MF DOOM, Kendrick Lamar Highlight Joe Biden Official Inauguration Playlist’ at OkayPlayer.
Read “New Radicals Reuniting After 22 Years to Perform at Biden Inauguration Event” at Pitchfork.
Read “Ariel Pink and Tucker Carlson Are Both Parasites” at Vice. “Pink played the victim on Fox News Thursday night, and Carlson gladly let him do it. No one mentioned that Pink is facing allegations of abuse.”
Read “Ariel Pink Accused of Sexual Abuse and Misconduct” at Spin.
Read “Marianne Faithfull: 'I was in a dark place. Presumably it was death'“ at The Guardian. “After battling Covid-19 for three weeks in hospital, Faithfull went on to finish her 21st solo album – and possibly her last. She reflects on how she might never sing again, her hatred of being a 60s muse and why she still believes in miracles.”
Read “Dr. Dre Released from Hospital Following Brain Aneurysm Scare” at Consequence of Sound.
Read “Mozart apparently liked to imitate cats. Here’s the tail as we know it” at Classic.fm.
Read “Rough Trade Closing Current Brooklyn Location” at Stereogum.
Read “Gary Numan: 'One of my songs got over a million streams - I got £37'“ at Sky News.
Read “With COVID-19 Transmissions Under Control, New Zealand Hosts 20,000-Person Concert” at Relix.
Read “A Probably Futile Attempt To Figure Out What Happened To Mark Kozelek” at Uproxx.
Read “Trump Pardons Lil Wayne and Kodak Black” at Pitchfork.
Read “Van Morrison to start legal action over Northern Ireland Covid ban on live music” at The Guardian.
Read “An Update From The Wrens On The Most Delayed Indie Album In History” at Uproxx.
Read “Charles Bissell Details New Wrens Album And Teases 2021 Release: “Plans Are Afoot”” at Stereogum.
Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:
Read “Historian Dr. Ibram X. Kendi to Produce Three Netflix Projects Based on His Anti-Racism Books” at People.
Read “Ken Burns Says U.S. Has 3 Viruses: COVID-19, White Supremacy And Misinformation” at NPR.
Read “‘The Muppet Show’ Heads To Disney+” at Deadline.
Books/Reading/Authors
Read “Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen to pen foreword for impeachment book” at The Hill.
Read “Why Should You Read Toni Morrison’s Beloved? An Animated Video Makes the Case” at Open Culture.
Read “'Wow, you're awesome': Cooper left speechless by youth poet laureate” at CNN.
Design/Artsy Things:
Read “The most expensive comic art in the world was folded up in a drawer for decades” at Boing Boing.
Read “Wanna buy a Botticelli? The masterpiece coming to auction, and who might nab it” at Los Angeles Times.
Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:
Read “Mice may ‘catch’ each other’s pain — and pain relief” at Science News.
Food Cultures:
Read “Oscar Mayer Is Hiring Wienermobile Drivers for Road Trips Across the U.S.” at Thrill List.
Misc. Oddities:
Read “Hanging Pillar of Lepakshi Veerabhadra Temple Lepakshi, India” at Atlas Obscura.
Local:
Read “Bill aims to disallow Sharpies to be used on ballots” at AZ Mirror.
Read “Oatman Ghost Town Oatman, Arizona” at Atlas Obscura. “This Wild West ghost town on Route 66 is filled with wild burros.”