All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (07/31/20).
We’ll Miss You:
Read “Fleetwood Mac blues guitarist Peter Green dies at 73” at Los Angeles Times.
Read “Ronald L. Graham, Who Unlocked the Magic of Numbers, Dies at 84” at New York Times.
Read “Regis Philbin, TV Host With the Most Congenial Demeanor, Dies at 88” at The Hollywood Reporter.
Read “Olivia de Havilland, star of 'Gone With the Wind,' dies at 104” at CNN.
Read “Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain dies of COVID-19” at MSNBC.
Read “Malik B. – Co-Founder of The Roots – Has Died” at Relix.
Religion and Stuff:
Read “Multiracial Congregations May Not Bridge Racial Divide” at NPR.
Read “Evangelical, Midwestern, Southern churches most likely to be meeting in person again” at Religion News Service. “A new survey found that 7 out of 10 Protestant churches held an in-person service last week.”
Read “Supreme Court Rejects Nevada Church’s Appeal to Reopen Like Casinos” at Christianity Today.
Read “Sex Offenders Can Find Hope in Christ But Not Necessarily a Place at Church” at Christianity Today. “Most Christians believe offenders belong at worship. Most congregations aren’t prepared to welcome them.”
Read “Coronavirus, Conspiracy Theories, and the Ninth Commandment” at French Press. “A better political theology can make us less vulnerable to lies.”
Read “Rep. Ted Yoho removed from board of Christian charity over his comments about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez” at Washington Post.
Read “Faith in protest as young people find fervor on the street” at Associated Press.
Read “For Third-Party Christians, Some Things Are More Important Than Winning” at Christianity Today.
Read “Alabama Pastor Resigns After Praying at KKK Leader’s Birthday” at Christianity Today. “The pastor and state representative also posted a photo of himself standing in front of a portrait of the first KKK Grand Wizard and surrounded by Confederate flags.” “Baptist leaders said the controversy was not good for his church.”
Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:
Read “Sterilization abuse of Uighurs in China meets international legal criteria for genocide, experts say” at PRI.
Read “The World’s Most Technologically Sophisticated Genocide Is Happening in Xinjiang” at Foreign Policy.
Read “Alan Yang on anti-Asian bias: We're all 'fighting the same common enemy' at MSNBC.
Read “Confronting Racial Disparities in America, From Cradle to Grave: A Reading List” at Also A Carpenter.
Read “It's Time to Admit That the Department of Homeland Security Has to Go” at Esquire.
Read “‘Empowerment’ Selfies Are Burying a Turkish Women’s Rights Campaign” at KQED.
Read “LeBron James joins push to turn out ex-felon vote in Florida” at Politico.
Read “A Rare Look Inside Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Draws Legal Threats A new documentary peers inside the secretive world of immigration enforcement. The filmmakers faced demands to delete scenes and delay broadcast until after the election” at New York Times.
Read “The late Rep. John Lewis to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol next week” at News and Guts.
Read “US sued over expulsion of migrant children detained in Hampton Inns” at AZ Central.
Read “NBA players pick social justice jersey messaging” at Axios.
Read “Permission Required to Change Your Tampon” at ACLU.
Read “Bill by Sen. Tom Cotton targets curriculum on slavery” at Arkansas Online.
Read “Santa Clara County will no longer seek death penalty, DA says” at Palo Alto Online.
Read “Tom Cotton calls slavery 'necessary evil' in attack on New York Times' 1619 Project” at The Guardian.
Read “House passes legislation to create Smithsonian Latino museum” at The Hill.
Listen to “'Rednecks For Black Lives' Urges Southerners To Fight For Racial Justice” at WBUR.
Read “America Has Been Addicted To Whiteness For 400 Years” by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove at Sojourners.
Read “The Poison of Male Incivility When a woman dares respond to it, she’s seen as “disruptive” at The Cut.
Read “Switzerland opens criminal case against FIFA boss Infantino” at Al Jazeera.
Read “Judge blocks Trump administration's "public charge" rule on immigrants during pandemic” at Axios.
Read “Republican senator deletes ad that made Jewish opponent’s nose bigger” at Forward.
Read “10 Ways Good White People Can Help Black America (If 'Good White People' Exist)” at The Root.
Read “Census Door Knocking Cut A Month Short Amid Pressure To Finish Count” at NPR. “The change increases the odds of an undercount of hard to reach groups, such as people of color.”
Read “ICE Agents Complain About Nazi Comparisons, Say They're Only Enforcing the Laws” at Newsweek. In related news,
Read: “How the Nazi’s defense of ‘just following orders’ plays out in the mind” from PBS News Hour, originally posted in 2016.
Read “Ex-Nazi concentration camp guard, living in U.S. since 1959, faces deportation”” at Washington Post. “Reached by phone, Berger, now 94, said he was ordered to work in the camp . . . “
This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):
Read “Robert E. Lee high school in Virginia to be renamed for late Rep. John Lewis” at NBC News.
Read “Christopher Columbus statues taken down at 2 Chicago parks” at Yahoo.
Read “Virginia evicts Confederate monuments from its state Capitol” at The Black Wall Street Times.
This Week In Protest-Related News:
Read “Protesters March for Release of Fellow Demonstrator” at Nashville Scene. “A Black Lives Matter protester who is experiencing homelessness has been held by the Davidson County Sheriff's Office for a week.”
Read “Black Lives Matter Organizer in Florida Facing Felony Charges for Snatching Flags at Pro-Trump Event” at The Root.
Read “In Portland, this rabbi leads the clergy resistance” at Religion News Service.
Read “Portland Mayor Tear-Gassed By Federal Police After Joining Crowd Of Protesters Calling For His Resignation” at Comic Sands.
See “A literal tear gas tornado in downtown Portland” on Twitter and remember, kids: Tear gas is illegal in war but legal for police . . .
Read “The Lead Federal Agency Responding to Protesters in Portland Employs Thousands of Private Contractors” at Medium. “Congress needs to shine a light on the use of private security firms, including ‘Blackwater’ legacy companies, in Trump’s response to ongoing civil rights protests.”
Read “How One of America’s Whitest Cities Became The Center of B.L.M. Protests.”
Read “'The first step': Yankees, Nationals players all kneel before national anthem in MLB opener” at USA Today.
Read “Trump Expands Deployment Of Federal Agents To End 'Explosion Of Shootings'“ at NPR.
Read “Massive Protests in Portland Continue After Judge Denies State Request for Restraining Order Against Federal Agencies” at Common Dreams.
Read “Police declare a riot at Seattle protests” at Axios.
Read “Fatal shooting at Black Lives Matter protest in Austin, Texas” at Axios.
Read “Riot Ribs to Transfer Leadership to Don't Shoot PDX” at Portland Mercury.
Read “Black armed militia demands swift decision in Breonna Taylor case” at WLKY.
See “Videos Show How Federal Officers Escalated Violence in Portland” at New York Times.
Read “Police declare riots as protests turn violent in cities nationwide; 1 demonstrator dead in Austin” at Yahoo.
Read “Philadelphia DA on federal agents: Trump is acting like an ‘authoritarian dictator’ at MSNBC. “"My dad volunteered and fought in WWII to fight fascism. I wouldn't be doing my part for this country if I didn't say the obvious: We have a president who is acting like an authoritarian dictator."
Read “Anti-fascists linked to zero murders in the US in 25 years” at The Guardian. “As Trump rails against ‘far-left’ fascism, new database shows leftwing attacks have left far fewer people dead than violence by rightwing extremists.”
Read “'Umbrella Man' was a white supremacist trying to incite George Floyd rioting” at Star Tribune.
Read “What The 'Wall Of Moms' Protests Say About Motherhood, Race In America” at NPR.
Read ‘AG Barr agrees he ‘misspoke’ about FBI arrests in Kansas City under Operation LeGend” at Kansas City.
Read ‘Portland protesters released from jail on condition they no longer attend protests” at Boing Boing.
Read “Minnesota Twins hold moment of silence for George Floyd at 8:46” at AZ Central.
Read “It’s like they’re testing it on us': Portland protesters say tear gas has caused irregularities with their periods” at Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Read “Federal Agents Will Begin Leaving Portland in a 'Phased Withdrawal,' Says Oregon's Governor” at Time.
Read “Analysts Say Armed Groups At Protests Raise Specter Of A 'Street War'“ at NPR.
Read “'It's About the Core Values of Black Lives Matter.' Portland Activists Are Trying to Remind People Why They Started Protesting to Begin With” at Time.
This Week With The Police:
Read “How the state uses “police morale” to divert from the violence inherent to policing” at Black Youth Project.
Read “NYPD admits it’s used unmarked vehicles to apprehend suspects for “decades” after “disturbing” video” at Slate.
Read “Federal encroachment on local police raises mission creep concern” at MSNBC.
Education and The Learnings:
Read “Chinese students who once set their sights on US schools now weigh other options” at PRI’s The World.
School Re-Openings:
Read “Many Arizona Grandparents Raising Grandkids Worried About Going Back To School” at KJZZ.
Read “CDC director concedes schools in ‘hot spots’ face tougher call on reopening” at Washington Post.
Read “GOP Senator Says They 'Can Kiss My A**' as Teachers, Unions Oppose School Reopenings Over COVID Concerns” at Newsweek.
Read “Ireland: Schools set to fully reopen before end of August” at BBC.
Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:
Read “As US passes 150,000 coronavirus deaths, experts at Johns Hopkins call for reset in national response” at CNN.
Read “Public health expert says ‘zero doubt’ most U.S. virus deaths were avoidable” at PBS News Hour.
Read “Fed chair warns path of the economy depends on path of coronavirus” at Axios.
Read “China Superspreader Gave COVID-19 to 71 People in a Single Elevator Trip” at Newsweek.
Read “A Doctor Who Specializes in Long-Term COVID-19 Effects Is Alarmed by What He Sees” at New York Magazine.
Read Fauci tells MarketWatch: I would not get on a plane or eat inside a restaurant” at Market Watch.
Read “McDonald’s to Require Face Masks in U.S. Restaurants” at Wall Street Journal.
Read “More than 60% disapprove of Ducey’s handling of pandemic, poll finds” at KTAR.
Read “Osteoporosis drug could be repurposed to fight Covid-19, say scientists” at The Telegraph.
Read “Would you like a side of glitter with that burger? Thanks to COVID-19, Houston is home to Texas’ first drive-thru strip club.” at CHRON.
Read “Fauci says family, including wife and daughters, receiving 'serious threats' at 12 News.
Read “Why casinos remain open despite experts saying gambling is a high risk activity during Arizona's COVID-19 spike” at AZ Central.'
Read “N.M. governor blasts Trump's virus response as "worst abdication" of duty” at Axios.
Read “Ex-CDC head: Total tests conducted is a "useless number" if results are delayed” at Axios.
Read ‘MLB faces its first coronavirus crisis with Marlins outbreak less than a week into season” at Washington Post.
Read “Florida surpasses New York to become the state with the second highest number of coronavirus cases” at CNN.
Read “White House, Senate GOP race to finalize coronavirus package ahead of Monday rollout” at The Hill.
Read “Study identifies six different "types" of COVID-19” at CBS News.
Read “Reality Winner, former NSA contractor who leaked classified intelligence, contracts coronavirus” at Washington Examiner.
Read “Senate GOP coronavirus bill includes $29.4B for Pentagon” at The Hill.
Read “Senators Introduce Bill to Fund Independent Venues Struggling During COVID-19” at Rolling Stone.
See “Video compares droplet sprays when wearing different masks -- and no mask at all” at Boing Boing.
Read “Why these retail chains won't require customers to wear masks” at CNN. “they aren't introducing mask mandates because they are difficult to enforce, and they don't want to put their workers in the position of having to tell shoppers to put on facial coverings.”
Read “Pandemic Is Overwhelming U.S. Public Health Capacity In Many States. What Now?” at NPR.
Read “How Airlines Are Changing the Flying Process” at AARP.
Read “Rep. Gohmert Tests Positive for COVID-19, Cancels Trump Trip An eight-term lawmaker, Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas is often seen without wearing a mask” at Snopes.
Read “Can Masks Save Us From More Lockdowns? Here's What The Science Says” at NPR.
Read “Buddy, first dog to test positive for COVID-19 in the U.S., has died” at National Geographic.
Read “We Thought It Was Just a Respiratory Virus We were wrong” at University of California San Francisco.
Read “Retailers are canceling coronavirus hazard pay. That's a mistake” at CNN.
Read “Coronavirus pandemic pushes U.S. economy to worst-ever contraction” at Axios.
Read “How Jared Kushner’s Secret Testing Plan “Went Poof Into Thin Air” at Vanity Fair. “This spring, a team working under the president's son-in-law produced a plan for an aggressive, coordinated national COVID-19 response that could have brought the pandemic under control. So why did the White House spike it in favor of a shambolic 50-state response?” // “Most troubling of all, perhaps, was a sentiment the expert said a member of Kushner’s team expressed: that because the virus had hit blue states hardest, a national plan was unnecessary and would not make sense politically. “The political folks believed that because it was going to be relegated to Democratic states, that they could blame those governors, and that would be an effective political strategy,” said the expert.”
Read “Three-quarters of adults with COVID-19 have heart damage after recovery” at UPI.
This Week in Hydroxychloroquine News:
Read “Misleading Virus Video, Pushed by the Trumps, Spreads Online” at New York Times. “Social media companies took down the video within hours. But by then, it had already been viewed tens of millions of times.”
Read “Trump’s New Favorite COVID Doctor Believes in Alien DNA, Demon Sperm, and Hydroxychloroquine” at Daily Beast.
Read “Madonnna Heralds Demon Semen Doctor As “My Hero” Following Bizarre COVID-19 Presser” at Consequence of Sound.
Read “Social media giants remove viral video with false coronavirus claims that Trump retweeted” at CNN.
Read “Trump is retweeting complaints of censorship after Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter take down hydroxychloroquine video” at Business Insider.
Read “No Evidence That Doctor Group in Viral Video Got Near COVID 'Front Lines' at Med Page Today.
Read “'America's Frontline Doctors' may be real doctors, but experts say they don't know what they're talking about” at USA Today.
Read “Who Are ‘America’s Frontline Doctors’ and Dr. Stella Immanuel?” at Snopes. “During the course of our investigation, we found a doctor who describes herself on Twitter as “God’s battle axe and weapon of war,” health care providers some of whose claimed credentials and affiliations could not be confirmed, and some questionable and outright dangerous claims regarding an unproven “cure” and preventative treatment for COVID-19.”
Read “Fauci: Trials have "consistently" shown hydroxychloroquine is "not effective" at Axios.
Read “Former FDA head Scott Gottlieb: "We can definitively say hydroxychloroquine doesn't work" at Axios.
Read “Ohio Board of Pharmacy bans sale of hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus” at WKBN.
Miscellany Cultural Items:
Read “On Anthony Bourdain in a Tearing World” at The Millions.
Read “Culture, Claims ‘PAW Patrol’ Was Dropped, But It Wasn’t” at Deadline.
Read “Hi, my name is Karen. Embarrassed to meet you” at America Magazine.
Read “Former X-Factor Live star exposed as 'pure evil' serial rapist is jailed for life” at the Daily Record.
Read “A cyberpsychologist explains why you can't stop staring at yourself on Zoom calls (and everyone else is probably doing the same)” at Insider.
Read “Americans Aren’t Making Babies, and That’s Bad for the Economy” at Bloomberg.
Read “How America weaponizes motherhood” at Washington Post. “The experience of motherhood in America is a political question just as much as it is a question of flesh. We allow white mothers a sainthood not extended to other types of mothers.”
Read “Greta Thunberg Wins $1.15 Million Prize; Pledges to Donate All to Environmental Groups” at A Mighty Girl.
Politics And Sucheries:
Read “Fire at Arizona Democratic Party headquarters under investigation” at MSN.
Read “Russia satellite: Kremlin accuses US and UK of 'distorting' truth” at BBC.
Read “Twitter Finally Cracked Down on QAnon—but There’s a Catch” at Slate.
Read “Down In The Polls, Trump Pitches Fear: 'They Want To Destroy Our Suburbs' at NPR.
Read “Reagan Foundation Calls on Trump Campaign to Stop Using Ex-President’s Image to Raise Money” at Slate.
Read “Ocasio-Cortez calls for end to federal funding for military recruitment in schools” at The Hill.
Read “How Shannon Watts Says You Can Be A Mom And Advocate During Coronavirus” at Forbes.
Read “Record number of Black women are running for U.S. Congress” at NBC News.
Read “Democrats seek to shame Barr over politics at the Justice Department” at Washington Post.
Read “Biden says he will pick running mate by end of next week” at Washington Post.
Read “Trump: Republicans who oppose funding FBI building in stimulus "should go back to school" at Axios.
Read “Former President Obama to speak at Rep. John Lewis’ funeral” at News and Guts.
Read “Trump Tries To Appeal To 'Housewives' And White Suburbs, But His Views Seem Outdated” at NPR. “Whatever you call them, they're not in Trump's corner. Trump needs them back, and he's trying to use fear to do it.”
Read “Pending Postal Service Changes Could Delay Mail And Deliveries, Advocates Warn” at NPR.
Read “AOC Introduces Measure to Stop the Military from Recruiting on Twitch” at Vice.
Read “More Than Half Of Young People Lack Resources To Vote By Mail” at NPR.
Read “Yankees surprised by Trump announcing plans to throw first pitch without invite” at The Hill.
Read “Senate adjourns without extending expiring unemployment benefits” at Axios.
Read “Postal Service backlog sparks worries that ballot delivery could be delayed in November” at Washington Post.
Read “Trump-backed postmaster general plans to slow mail delivery” at Fortune.
This Week In Political Corruption:
Read “Trump floats delaying November election” at Axios.
Read “Tax burden from the Pentagon budget authorized by the NDAA wipes out COVID stimulus payments” at Responsible StateCraft. “The new defense budget imposes a $4,711.11 cost on each tax filer. The average coronavirus stimulus check was $1,809.”
Read “White House Lies About Paw Patrol Being Cancelled While Criticizing So-Called 'Cancel Culture' for Cops” at The Root.
Read “Obese politicians signal corruption, study finds” at Eurasianet. “Post-Soviet nations with the biggest corruption problem have the biggest politicians.”
Music-Related News and Such:
Read “The Man Brian Eno Called ‘the Daddy of us all.” at New York Times.
Read “Grateful Dead, Dead & Company, Bob Weir and More To Be Featured on Rex Foundation and Jerry Garcia Family’s ‘Daze Between’ Livestream” at Relix.
Read “The Endurance of Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways” at Pitchfork.
Read “Marilyn Manson announces new album ‘We Are Chaos,’ shares video for title track” at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read “Taylor Swift Has Been Working Toward ‘Folklore’ All Along” at Rolling Stone. “Her new album’s indie-folk touches fit into a career full of effortless reinvention.”
Read “5 Takeaways From Taylor Swift’s New Album, folklore” at Pitchfork. “The superstar singer-songwriter teams up with Bon Iver and members of the National for her quiet, personal eighth album.”
Read “Aaron Dessner Describes Keeping Taylor Swift Album Secret From His 8-Year-Old Daughter” at Stereogum.
Read “Black-Metal Legend Ihsahn Calls Out Taylor Swift Over Album Artwork” at Consequence of Sound.
Read/Listen to “Reclaiming Boogaloo” at NPR. “Boogaloo was a music developed in the 1960s by Nuyoricans who were listening to American pop music, James Brown, Tito Puente and Machito – young folks bringing together disparate sounds and cultures to make their own. But recently, an informal network of white supremacists and other hate groups have adopted the word "boogaloo" to signify an impending race war or some other form of mass violence.”
Read “Bloodshot co-founder responds following allegations of unpaid royalties and plans to sell label” at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read as Pitchfork considers “Bad Brains I Against I”. Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today, we revisit the hard-fought third album by the D.C. hardcore icons who played faster and better than everyone else.”
Read “Lalo Guerrero: The Forgotten Father Of Chicano Music” at Daily Chela.
Read “Rilo Kiley Will Reissue And Finally Stream Their 1999 Debut” at Stereogum. “After attending Rilo Kiley's first show, comedian Dave Foley of 'Kids In The Hall' and 'NewsRadio' funded the recording sessions for the band's 1999 debut, soon to be streaming for the first time. He recalls, "I was in a full on, pop music fan swoon."
Read “The Killers respond to allegations of sexual misconduct against band & crew members” at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read “Amid a Racial Justice Reckoning, Pioneers of Rap, Reggae, and R&B Recount Their Struggles to Get Paid” at Pitchfork.
Read “Jerry Garcia’s “Pretzel” Guitar Resurfaces” at Relix.
Read “A Neil Young Time Capsule” at the New Yorker.
Read “Yo La Tengo announce socially distant shows at MASS MoCA, share Matmos collab” at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read “Trent Reznor, Kamasi Washington, RZA, More Nominated for 2020 Emmys” at Pitchfork.
Read “New Orleans Musician Offers Kids Trumpets In Exchange For Their Guns” at NPR.
Browse “10 Best Quarantine Concerts Online” at New York Times.
Read ‘Pop music is getting faster (and happier)” at BBC. “The average tempo of 2020's top 20 best-selling songs is a pulse-quickening 122 beats per minute. That's the highest it's been since 2009.’
Read “Phish Lyricist Tom Marshall Hospitalized for Bacterial Blood Infection” at Jambands.
Read “Merge Records cuts ties with Ian Svenonius” at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read “Want live music back? Wear a mask and call Congress” at Reader.
Read “Trey Anastasio Announces New Album, ‘Lonely Trip’” at Relix.
Read “MTV VMAs 2020: See The Full List of Nominees Here” at Pitchfork.
Read “Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says working musicians may no longer be able to release music only “once every three to four years” at The Fader.
Movies/TV/Etc.:
Read “Disney is remaking its classic 1973 Robin Hood film as a CGI Disney Plus exclusive” at The Verge.
Read “Wes Anderson’s New Movie The French Dispatch Pushed to 2021” at Pitchfork.
Read “Dystopian series ‘Watchmen’ leads all Emmy nominees with 26” at Associated Press.
Read “IMAX has lost $26 million due to coronavirus closures” at NME.
Books/Reading/Authors
Read “Stuck in an imperial system that has outlived its promise Ross Douthat wonders what will get us beyond decadence” at Christian Century.
Design/Artsy Things:
Read “33% of U.S. museums are "not confident" they will survive next fall”
See “Design Inspiration: Bailey Elder” at Raven Sings The Blues.
Movies/TV/Etc.:
Read “Disney is remaking its classic 1973 Robin Hood film as a CGI Disney Plus exclusive” at The Verge.
Read “Universal and AMC strike historic movie distribution deal” at Axios.
Books/Reading/Authors/Podcasts:
Read “Michelle Obama to "Explore Meaningful Topics" in New Spotify Podcast Launching This Month” at Pop Sugar.
Design/Artsy Things:
Read “33% of U.S. museums are "not confident" they will survive next fall” at Axios.
Read “Is It Time to Repatriate Africa’s Looted Art?” at Foreign Policy.
Science/Animals/Technology/Environment/Etc.:
Read “No Longer in Shadows, Pentagon’s U.F.O. Unit Will Make Some Findings Public For over a decade, the program, now tucked inside the Office of Naval Intelligence, has discussed mysterious events in classified briefings” at New York Times.
Read “It’s Still Not Aliens The latest report on military study of UFOs is just as tantalizing—and unilluminating—as all the ones before” at Slate.
Read “Baboons 'carrying knives and chainsaw' spotted in safari park” at Yahoo.
Food Cultures:
Read “The 19th-Century Swill Milk Scandal That Poisoned Infants With Whiskey Runoff” at Atlas Obscura.
Read “Coca-Cola Entering Hard Seltzer Market With Topo Chico Hard Seltzer” at Paste.
Browse “The Best Burger in Every State” at The Daily Meal. What do you think of their picks?
Misc. Oddities:
Read “How to Outrun a Dinosaur” at Wired. “If, through some scientific malfunction, you found yourself transported 70 million years into the past, you might be safer from certain hungry reptiles than you think.”
Local: