The Weekly Town Crier (05/14/21)

All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (05/14/21).

We’ll Miss You:

Read “Vans co-founder Paul Van Doren dies At 90” at PennLive.

Read ‘Pervis Staples, Co-Founder of the Staple Singers, Dies at 85” at Pitchfork.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “For some pastors, the past year was a sign from God it was time to quit” at Religion News Service.

Read “Why Nathan Cartagena Teaches Critical Race Theory To Evangelicals” at Sojourners.

Read “Saddleback Church Ordains 3 Women Pastors, Defying Southern Baptist Position” at Roys Report.

Read “How American Christendom Weakens American Christianity” at David French.

Read ‘German priests defy Pope Francis with blessings of same-sex unions” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “Mark Driscoll Accused of Cult-Like Actions; 24/7 Surveillance, Mandated Loyalty” at Roys Report.

Read “Inside Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam’s Strange Ties to Scientology” at Daily Beast.

Read “Meet Kashmir’s ‘Midnight Drummers,’ keeping alive an age-old Ramadan tradition” at Religion News Service.

Read “Religion plays a role in the renewed conflict in Israel, but it may not be what you think” at Religion News Service.

Read “Former Members of Indiana Church Accuse Pastor of Sexual Abuse & Presbytery of Covering it Up” at Roys Report.

Read “The Eugenics Roots of Evangelical Family Values” at Religion and Politics.

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “The War on Critical Race Theory” at Boston Review. “Turning a blind eye to the realities of racial injustice, the highly orchestrated right-wing attacks cast a body of scholarship about race in the law as a great threat to American society.”

Read “Two Asian women repeatedly attacked with cinder block as they closed Baltimore store” at NBC News.

Read “Maryland governor pardons 34 victims of racial lynching” at The Hill.

Read “Sub shop owner allegedly pays manager to kill employee to avoid back pay” at Crime Online.

Read “'Woke,' Leftist & Black: The Incomplete Glossary of White Slurs” at The Root.

Read “DA to seek death penalty, hate crime charges against 22-year-old spa shooting suspect” at 11 Alive.

Read “Bodycam video shows Andrew Brown Jr. didn't drive into deputies who shot him, lawyers say: "He did just the opposite"“ at CBS News.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // Insurrectionists // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “In Exclusive Jailhouse Letter, Capitol Riot Defendant Explains Motives, Remains Boastful” at Pro Publica. ”The material obtained by ProPublica sheds light on the radicalization of a Jan. 6 defendant whom prosecutors have characterized as a “serious danger ... not only to his family and Congress, but to the entire system of justice.”

Read “Rep. Paul Gosar defends the 'peaceful patriots' who rioted on Jan. 6” at AZ Central.

Watch “GQP reps claim Capitol riot was a "normal tourist visit" at Boing Boing.

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “Washington bans open carry of weapons at state capitol, public protests” at The Hill.

This Week With The Police:

Read “Two More Lawsuits Filed Against Williamson County Sheriff's Department For Its Use Of Force” at KUT. “Attorneys say Ramsey Mitchell was punched, kicked and tased by deputies multiple times, and that he was put in a chokehold before being rendered unconscious. The incident was captured on camera for the the now-canceled reality television show “Live PD.”

Read “Alabama officer convicted of murdering suicidal man while on duty” at The Hill.

Read “Federal grand jury charges 4 former Minneapolis cops with violating George Floyd’s civil rights — Chauvin also charged in teen arrest” at CNBC.

Read “KARE 11 Investigates: New data shows MPD searches Black drivers at 29 times the rate of whites after minor stops” at KARE11. “A KARE 11 analysis reveals huge racial disparities continue in Minneapolis for minor traffic stops and searches despite reforms promised after George Floyd’s death.”

Read “Virginia prosecutor says Black motorist should never have been pulled over, asks for investigation” at CNN.

Read “Witness: Man angered by Texas deputies in yard killed them” at Yahoo.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Schools Seeing Relief, Conflicts Since Arizona Lifted School Mask Mandate” at KJZZ.

Read “Dillard University Receives $1 Million From The Ray Charles Foundation” at Offbeat Magazine.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “Nurses Honor 400 Colleagues Who Lost Their Lives to COVID-19, Call for More Protections” at Democracy Now.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “Pro golfer arrested for attempting to meet with minor for sex” at ABC 15.

Read “Caitlyn Jenner tells Hannity friends are fleeing California because of homeless people” at The Hill.

Read ‘Logjam! A journey to the heart of the lumber shortage.” at Slate.

Read “Anyone can claim copyright to your videos - and YouTube stands by and watches” at My News Desk.

Read “Kintsugi: The Centuries-Old Japanese Craft of Repairing Pottery with Gold & Finding Beauty in Broken Things” at Open Culture.

Read “Called by God” at Slate. “In 2014, I went on a vigilante raid to “save” kids sold for sex. What we did haunts me now.”

Read “Diamond in the rough: Japanese Americans imprisoned at Arizona camps during WWII found solace in baseball” at Cronkite News.

Read “Who Should John Mulaney Be Now?” at Vulture.

Browse “Leonardo da Vinci’s Handwritten Resume (1482)” at Open Culture.

Read “Hummer destroyed by fire after driver stockpiles gas” at The Hill.

Read “The 1970s Fashion Designer Who Was Outlandishly Ahead of His Time” at The Atlantic. “Twenty years ago, fashion lost the visionary designer—and prophet—behind P-Funk and Kiss.”

Read “McDonald's-owned U.S. restaurants boost pay to lure new workers” at Reuters.

Internationalities:

Read ‘Man Trapped on Bridge After Glass Deck Blown Off By Strong Wind” at Vice.

Read “8 dead in Russia school shooting” at The Hill.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read the opinion piece “Republicans will never certify a Democratic win ever again” at Boing Boing.

Read “Liz Cheney removed from position as House GOP conference chair over anti-Trump stance” at New York Post.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Trump Justice Department secretly obtained Post reporters’ phone records” at Washington Post.

Read “Arizona Republicans to brush off DOJ concern about election audit” at The Hill.

Read “Are Donald Trump & Rudy Giuliani Sitting on Secret Pardons?” at News and Guts.

Read “Tennessee cuts off $300 federal unemployment supplement” at The Hill.

Read “Election security experts say giving Maricopa County routers to Arizona Senate's election auditors would be concerning” at AZ Central.

Read “Activists and Ex-Spy Said to Have Plotted to Discredit Trump ‘Enemies’ in Government” at New York Times.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “Van Morrison: Latest Record Project Volume 1 review – depressing rants by tinfoil milliner” at Guardian. “The veteran bluesman loudly wakes up the sheeple with this boring and paranoid double album, reminiscent of a dinner party with a bitter divorcee.”

• Read as Pitchfork reviews Van Morrison’s newest album: “It’s a terrible night for a moondance: On this risible and intermittently lovely 28-song collection, Van indulges in some of his most cherished paranoid theories and deepest-held grudges.”

Read “Mac Miller’s Family Condemns Unauthorized Biography” at Pitchfork.

Read “Chrissie Hynde Details New Bob Dylan Covers Album Standing in the Doorway” at Consequence.

Read “David Lynch Directs New Music Video for Donovan’s “I Am the Shaman”” at Consequence.

Read “On maintaining creative relationships” at The Creative Independent.

Read “The Artist Impostors of Spotify” at Salon. “I tracked some down.”

Read “Rodney Crowell Previews New Album With Urgent ‘Something Has to Change’” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Listening to Hard Rock and Metal Can Lead to Unhealthy Food Choices” at Consequence.

Read “Dead & Company on Summer Tour: ‘You Couldn’t Turn Your Back on This Music’” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Archie Shepp’s 1974 Paris concert set for first vinyl release” at Vinyl Factory.

Read “JAY-Z, Foo Fighters, Tina Turner Inducted Into Rock Hall of Fame 2021” at Pitchfork.

Read “Kraftwerk FINALLY gets into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Oh, and the Foos made it, too)” at A Journal of Musical Things.

Read “Can’s Live Shows Will Be Heard at Last, Thanks to a Bootlegger in Big Pants” at New York Times.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “NBC Is Dropping Golden Globes After Criticism Over Diversity” at Bloomberg. “Musician Matt Sweeney discusses confidence, different types of collaboration, paying attention, and creating and sustaining your lane.”

Read “The "Ted Lasso" way is comforting – and a counter to the hollow nationalism Americans have embraced” at Salon.

Read “'American Idol' finalist Caleb Kennedy out after KKK-style hood video surfaces” at CNN.

Read “Bong Joon Ho working on animated film involving "deep-water sea creatures"“ at AV Club.

Books/Reading/Authors

Read “The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: 17,500 Entries on All Things Sci-Fi Are Now Free Online” at Open Culture.

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “A Private Company Is About to Send the First Paying Crew to the International Space Station” at Time.

Read “The Psychedelic Miracle” at Rolling Stone. “How some doctors are risking everything to unleash the healing power of MDMA, ayahuasca and other hallucinogens.”

• Read “A New Study Points to MDMA as a Powerful Treatment for PTSD” at Time.

Read “The Soviet Doctor Who Cut Out His Own Appendix” at Flashback.

Food Cultures:

Read “Restaurants are running out of chicken wings” at ABC 15.

Local:

Read “21 and Over! Here are 21 New Craft Beer Releases from Arizona Breweries” at Phoenix Magazine.

Read “What were those strange lights in the Arizona sky?” at AZ Family.

Read “Arizona's Early Voting List Is No Longer Permanent” at KJZZ.

The Weekly Town Crier (10/30/20)

All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (10/30/20).

We’ll Miss You:

Read “Jerry Jeff Walker (1942 – 2020), “Mr. Bojangles” singer and songwriter” at Legacy.

Read “Diane di Prima 1934–2020” at Poets.Org.

Read “Billy Joe Shaver, Seminal Outlaw Country Songwriter, Dead at 81” at Rolling Stone.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “Meet the TikTok Generation of Televangelists” at Christianity Today.

Read “A Photographer's Journey Through the Dangerous New Age of Conspiracies in America” at Time.

Read “New England Churches Buy Up, Forgive $26.2 Million In Medical Debt” at Boston Globe.

Read “AOC credits her Catholic faith for positions on health care, environment” at National Catholic Reporter.

Read “Peeing pastor’ hunt comes to an end” at Religion News Service. “The wife of a North Carolina pastor accused of disorderly conduct during a flight from Las Vegas to Detroit says he had a bad reaction to sleeping medication.”

• Read “Well-Known” N.C. Pastor accused of urinating on Michigan woman during flight identified” at NC Beat.

Read “The Anti-Abortion-Rights Movement Prepares to Build a Post-Roe World” at The Atlantic. “As activists move closer to their goal of making abortion illegal, they have started planning for the infrastructure needed for a world with more babies—and recruiting major CEOs to bankroll their cause.”

Read the Opinion piece “Don’t Vote Trump For Religious Liberty” at Religion Unplugged.

Read “NXIVM sex cult leader Keith Raniere sentenced to 120 years in prison” at Salon. “At the sentencing, one victim said she was treated like a “piece of meat” and a “brainwashed sex slave"

Read “He’s a former QAnon believer. He doesn’t want to tell his story, but thinks it might help” at Washington Post.

• Read “Christian QAnon’ers Want To #Savethechildren. They’re Making Things Worse” at Sojourners.

Read “Mysterious Orb Caught On Camera In Florida Pastor’s Home” at Miami CBS Local.

Read “Trump Becomes the First President Since Eisenhower to Change Faiths in Office” at Christianity Today. “Like many Christians switching churches, he now identifies as nondenominational.”

Read ‘The Alpha-Male Style in American Evangelicalism” at Christianity Today. “A historian asks whether a warped view of masculine authority has corrupted our faith and political witness.”

Read “Jerry Falwell Jr. Sues Liberty University for Defamation” at Julie Roys.

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “'A flat-out lie': Breonna Taylor attorneys seek new prosecutor after jurors speak out” at Yahoo.

Read “US Ice officers 'used torture to make Africans sign own deportation orders'“ at The Guardian.

Read “Kushner questions if Black Americans "want to be successful" in widely criticized Fox News interview” at Salon.

Read “Ida B. Wells was driven out of Memphis in 1892. She might soon have her own statue there” at USA Today.

Read “Neo-Nazi Ex-Marine And Porn Actor Arrested In Conspiracy To Hide Weapons From Government” at Huff Post. “The cases, involving three men, appear linked to threats against Alicia Garza, a Black Lives Matter movement co-founder.”

Read “Number of Women Alleging Misconduct by ICE Gynecologist Nearly Triples” at The Intercept. “Advocates briefed senators on allegations that a doctor working with with an ICE detention center performed unnecessary or overly aggressive procedures.”

Read “Judge blocks DOJ's gambit in Trump's E. Jean Carroll case” at MSNBC. “After a woman accused Trump of sexual assault, he lashed out at his accuser, prompting a defamation case. The DOJ wants to intervene; a judge won't let it.”

Read “Militia leader Stewart Rhodes says that his group will be at polling locations and is ready to kill Democrats” at Media Matters.

• Read “'It's performance art': Lawyer for Alex Jones says InfoWars founder is 'playing a character'“ at Business Insider from 2017).

Read “Unlocking the Vote in Jails” at Slate. “The majority of the 745,000 people held in local jails can vote, but few do. Advocates say it’s voter suppression on a national scale.”

Read “42% of Young Australian Men Don’t Think Punching a Partner Is Domestic Violence” at Global Citizen.

Read “ICE moves to quickly deport more immigrants without court hearings” at CBS News.

Read “Susan Collins: 'I do not believe systemic racism is a problem in the state of Maine' at CNN.

Read “Lil Wayne Voices Support For Trump’s Platinum Plan: “He Listened To What We Had To Say” at Okay Player.

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “'Boogaloo Bois' member charged in attack on Minneapolis police precinct during George Floyd protests” at ABC News.

Read “A Look Back at the People's Plaza Protest” at Nashville Scene. “With the process to remove the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust underway, we look back on the summer's longest-running protest.”

Read “A White House Adviser Was Involved in Surveillance of Protesters” at The Nation. “Formerly a Middle East adviser to Mike Pence, an intelligence official central to DHS’s Portland operation has not been made available for congressional testimony.”

This Week With The Police:

Read “Protests in Philadelphia After Police Fatally Shoot Black Man” at New York Times.

Read “Phoenix police officer accused of threatening Mayor Kate Gallego” at KTAR. “A Phoenix police officer allegedly made a “credible threat” against Mayor Kate Gallego, the mayor’s office said.”

Read “Cops Do a Big Lie About Philly Protests, Immediately Get Caught” at Discourse Blog.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Guidelines for keeping classrooms open during COVID-19 revised by ADHS” at 12 New AZ.

Read “Montgomery faith leaders urge voters to approve property tax increase for schools” at Montgomery Advisor.

Read “State leaders in Arizona have quietly changed school metrics as COVID-19 cases rise” at ABC 15.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “Health Agency Halts Coronavirus Ad Campaign, Leaving Santa Claus in the Cold” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “Certified safe labels coming for face masks” at Boing Boing.

Miscellany Cultural Items:

Read “Small-business owners say national paid sick leave wouldn’t hurt their bottom line” at Fast Company.

Read “BuzzFeed Expects to Break Even This Year, Thanks to Heavy Cost Cuts” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “Facebook’s Top Public Policy Executive in India Steps Down” at Wall Street Journal. “Ankhi Das drew criticism in India over social-media giant’s enforcement of its policy on anti-Muslim hate speech.”

Read “Marilynne Robinson: 'America still has a democratic soul' at The Guardian. “The author of Gilead on the Black Lives Matter protests, the dangers of social media, and her latest novel, Jack.”

Read “A liberal daughter discusses White privilege with her conservative dad” at Christian Century. “What would happen if we listened to each other in love?”

Read “City Pages is closing, ending the era of alternative weeklies in Twin Cities” at Star Tribune.

Read “Sarah Cooper Jokingly Calls Out Stephen Colbert For Creating Trump” at Huff Post. “The “Late Show” host’s fictional “Colbert Report” character has become a reality.”

Read ‘One in Five Holiday Dollars Will Be Spent Online” at Bloomberg.

Read “Trump Has Weaponized Masculinity As President. Here's Why It Matters” at NPR.

Read “The Co-Opting of Rap Criticism Is About More Than Just Music” at Vice. “The strongest reporting on the LA riots of 1992 came from Black writers at a hip-hop magazine. In 2020, the infrastructure for a robust Black press doesn't exist.”

Internationalities:

Read “Putin rejects Donald Trump's criticism of Biden family business” at Reuters.

Read “Kazakhstan’s Tourism Board Embraces Borat’s “Very Nice!” as New Slogan” at Consequence of Sound.

Browse “Photographer Shows Differences Between North and South Korea” at Clever Classic.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “To defend taking immigrant kids from their parents, Trump blamed Biden” at Washington Post.

Read “Trump Told Donors That It Will Be ‘Very Tough’ For Republicans To Hold Senate” at Huff Post.

Read “Texas Supreme Court temporarily reinstates governor's ban on additional ballot drop boxes in state” at The Hill.

Read “Senate Confirms Amy Coney Barrett To The Supreme Court” by NPR.

Read “Boston man charged with setting fire to ballot drop box” at The Hill.

Read “Cruz: Hunter Biden attacks don't move 'a single voter'“ at The Hill.

Read “Ex-Postal Service worker charged with tossing absentee ballots in dumpster in Kentucky” at NBC News.

Read “Murkowski predicts Barrett won't overturn Roe v. Wade” at The Hill.

Read “Middle-finger voting is driving the entire country mad” at The Week. "The animating principle of our public life is the performance of certain rituals that set us apart (or so we fondly imagine) from persons utterly unlike ourselves whom we despise."

Read “Scaramucci: ‘I applaud the President for unifying the country. It just happens to be against him’” at MSNBC.

Read “Miles Taylor, a Former Homeland Security Official, Reveals He Was ‘Anonymous’” at New York Times.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Five Lessons for Fighting Back After a Disputed Election” at Slate.

Read “Trump Basically Just Encouraged Voters To Commit Election Fraud By Changing Their Already-Cast Votes To Him” at Comic Sands.

Read “Thousands of mail ballots may be lost, Pittsburgh-area official says” at The Hill.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “When David Byrne Got Together With Spike Lee” at New York Times.

Read “The Spiritual Power of Pharoah Sanders” at Vinyl Factory.

Read “Jah Wobble on his 5 essential bass albums” at Guitar World. “Jah Wobble on his 5 essential bass albums.”

Read as Cameron Crowe interviews Joni Mitchell for The Guardian. “Joni Mitchell: 'I'm a fool for love. I make the same mistake over and over'“.

Read “Trent Reznor, Billy Corgan, More to Play Virtual David Bowie Tribute Festival” at Pitchfork.

Read “Earth Couldn’t Contain Sun Ra’s Ideas. His Arkestra Is Still Exploring Them” at New York Times.

Read “Lamb of God’s John Campbell: Donald Trump Is “Murdering People” at Consequence of Sound.

Listen/Read “Lambchop Cover Stevie Wonder’s ‘Golden Lady’” at Spin.

Read “Stevie Nicks Can’t Wait for the Magic to Come Back” at Rolling Stone. “Nicks discusses her ’24 Karat Gold Concert Film’ and returning to live shows in new interview.”

Browse PopMatters’ picks for “The Top 10 Definitive Breakup Albums”. What are your picks?

Browse Paste’s picks for “14 Creepy Songs From 2020 to Add to Your Halloween Playlist.”

Browse Rolling Stone’s picks for “Bob Dylan’s Greatest Collaborations”.

Browse Consequence of Sound’s picks for “Every Bruce Springsteen Album from Worst to Best”.

Read/Listen to “What Bruce Springsteen Lost And Found” at NPR.

Read “Garcia Peoples :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview”.

Browse PopMatters’ picks for “15 Overlooked and Underrated Albums of the 1990s.”

Browse “Throwing Muses’ Kristin Hersh on the Music That Made Her” at Pitchfork.

Read “Can’t get enough K-pop? Check out these 6 reality shows to feed your fandom” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “‘Stardust’: Young David Bowie Hits the Road to Fame, Self-Discovery in New Trailer” at Rolling Stone.

Read “He Helped Create Lollapalooza. Now He Wants to Save Live Music” at New York Times.

Watch “The Flaming Lips bring their socially distanced bubbles to ‘Assassins Of Youth’ video” at NME.

Read “Chill Vibes, Minus the Wind Chimes: It’s a New Day for New Age Music” at New York Times.

Read “13 Songs for Halloween: "Red Right Hand" + "Song of Joy" by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds” at KEXP.

Read “How Jamaica shaped the creative spirit and evolution of music production” at Vinyl Factory.

Read “Outkast’s Stankonia Presented An Eclectic Hip-Hop Utopia” at Treble.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “Stacey Abrams’ Voter-Suppression Documentary ‘All In’ Will Be Free on YouTube” at Variety.

Books/Reading/Authors

Read “Lemonheads’ Evan Dando Pens Memoir ‘Rumors of My Demise’" at Rolling Stone.

Browse “10 Recent Books By Asian American Poets” at Book Riot.

Browse “Ten Poets Every Pastor Should Read” at Anglican Compass.

Science/Animals/Technology/Environment/Etc.:

Read “NASA discovered evidence of hidden water on a sunlit surface of the Moon for the first time” at Today News Post.

Read “Scientists discover coral reef taller than the Empire State Building” at CNet.

Read “Alphabet's Loon sets record for stratospheric flight by a balloon” at CNet.

Misc. Oddities:

Read “The Myth of the Werehyena and the Fear of the Other in the Horn of Africa” at Astro Obscura.

See “A Glass Floor in a Dublin Grocery Store Lets Shoppers Look Down & Explore Medieval Ruins” at Open Culture.

Local:

Read “How Arizona Wilderness DTPHX Became a Bird-Friendly Beer Garden” at Phoenix New Times.

The Weekly Town Crier (08/21/20)

All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (08/21/20).

We’ll Miss You:

Read “R.I.P. Todd Nance, Founding Drummer of Widespread Panic” at Relix.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “Why Jerry Falwell Jr.'s social media 'yacht' posts were problematic for Liberty University” at Religion News Service. “Religion News Service verified that Jerry Falwell has liked a handful of images posted on Instagram showing young women—some who are Liberty students—in swimsuits and scantily clad outfits.”

• Read “Liberty Alumni Pastors Urge University Board to 'Permanently Remove' Jerry Falwell Jr. as President” at CBN News. “"The students of Liberty University need a chancellor and president that embraces the responsibility to live out their faith with integrity and passion both publicly and privately.”

• See Jerry Falwell Jr.’s workout routine to deal with all the stress he’s under.

Read “How Megachurches Spent Coronavirus Relief Funds” at Christianity Today. “Religious groups got $7.3B in forgivable loans. That financial security helped ministry teams focus.”

Read “The California Court of Appeal today set aside a lower court order that would have allowed indoor services to take place at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley” at Yubanet.

Read “Joe Biden Campaigns on Faith” at Christianity Today. ““He may not be the conservative Catholic that a lot of evangelicals would like him to be, but when he talks about his faith, it rings true,” said Richard Mouw, former president of Fuller Seminary.”

• Read “Joe Biden’s Catholic politics are complicated—but deeply American” at America Magazine.

• Read “By embracing faith, Joe Biden and the Democrats have the potential to transform American politics” at Religion News Service.

Read “QAnon: The alternative religion that’s coming to your church” at Religion News Service.

Read “It’s Not Enough to Broadcast a Service. Churches Need to Foster Community” at Christianity Today.

Read “Is the White Church Inherently Racist?” at New York Times. “White Christianity has not merely been a passive bystander in the construction of this nation’s racial caste system, it has been the primary cultural and religious institution creating, promoting and preserving it.”

Read “A New Face for Canadian Social Conservatism” at Christianity Today.

Read “Compassion begins in the eyes” at Christian Century.

Read “Americans want churches open but aren’t attending when they are open” at Baptist News.

Read “Evangelicals Call for Police and Criminal Justice Reform” at Christianity Today.

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “President Donald Trump calls NBA players 'very nasty' and 'very dumb' for kneeling during anthem” at AZ Central.

Read “Facebook goes after Apple” at Axios. “Facebook is seeking to force a face-off with Apple over its 30% in-app purchase commission fee, which Facebook suggests hurts small businesses struggling to get by during the pandemic.”

Read “8 Years After Proving Racism Affected His Trial, North Carolina Inmate Taken Off Death Row” at Time.

Read “What we know about the killing of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant” at Washington Post.

Read “Federal Appeals Court Throws Out California Ban On Large-Capacity Gun Magazines” at NPR.

Read “Portland Is Still Protesting. Where Is the Church?” at Christianity Today. “Christian leaders weigh when and how to engage in the city’s mounting clash over racial justice.”

Read “Dolly Parton Talks Black Lives Matter, Says 'Do We Think Our Little White Asses Are the Only Ones That Matter?' at The Root.

Read “Greece secretly sent away more than 1,000 migrants, abandoning them on the open sea” at Business Insider.

Read “President Trump's suburbs” at Axios. “President Trump cast an outdated vision of "the 'suburban housewife'" as he swiped this week at Joe Biden's newly minted running mate Kamala Harris — building on his months-long play to drive a wedge through battleground-state suburbs by reframing white voters' expectations.”

Read “Who Wrote The Pledge Of Allegiance — And Why Its History Is Controversial” at All That’s Interesting.

Read “Antifa crackdown is the new red scare” at The Real News.

Read “Jordan: Escalating Repression of Journalists” at Human Rights Watch.

Read “Russian opposition figure Navalny in coma after poisoning” at Politico.

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “Far-right groups clash with anti-racism protesters in U.S. cities” at Axios.”Far-right and anti-racism groups have clashed in several U.S. cities — including in Portland, where Black Lives Matter protesters were targeted with paintball from a paintball gun as they marked their 80th straight day of protests, per local media.”

• Read “Proud Boys, antifa clash in downtown Kalamazoo” at The Detroit News.

Read “Maker of tear gas used on Washington, D.C., protesters will exit business” at CBS News.

This Week With The Police:

Read “FL Sheriff Who Threatened to Hunt Down Godless BLM Looters Faces Felony Charges” at Patheos.

Read “Millions in lawsuit settlements are another hidden cost of police misconduct, legal experts say” at ABC News.

Read ‘Cops Who Shot and Killed a Queer Black Man Won’t Be Charged’ at New, Now, Next. “Kawaski Trawick accidentally got locked out of his apartment while cooking and called 911 because he thought he may have accidentally started a fire. Fire Dept arrived & let him in. Police arrived & killed him in his doorway. They will not be charged.”

Read “The Infuriating History of Why Police Unions Have So Much Power” at Mother Jones.

Read “Campus cop whines after she’s fired for putting ‘KKK member’ in her Twitter bio: ‘Not one person had my back’ at Raw Story.

Education and The Learnings/School Re-Openings:

Read “Less Than A Week After Starting Classes, UNC-Chapel Hill Reports 4 COVID-19 Clusters” at NPR.

Read “UNC reverses plans for in-person classes after 130 students test positive for Covid-19” at CNN.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read ‘CDC director says U.S. could have "worst fall" ever if public health measures are not followed” at CBS News.

Read “One in three Americans say they won't get coronavirus vaccine” at The Hill.

Read “The cardiac threat coronavirus poses to athletes” at Axios. “Cardiologists are increasingly concerned that coronavirus infections could cause heart complications that lead to sudden cardiac death in athletes.”

Read “Trump eyes new unproven coronavirus "cure" at Axios. “A senior official told Axios, "The involvement of the Secretary of HUD and http://MyPillow.com in pushing a dubious product at the highest levels should give Americans no comfort at night about their health and safety during a raging pandemic."

Read “Sweden’s disease expert says just wearing face masks could be ‘very dangerous’” at New York Post. In case you, like me, do not like this headline, the full context is that he argues: “it’s “very dangerous” if people believe the coverings alone will stop the spread of the coronavirus.”

Miscellany Cultural Items:

Read “American Passports Are Useless Now” at The Atlantic.

Read “Cultural Marxism” at Hedgehog Review (from 2018).

Read “Facebook begins merging WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger infrastructures” at Axios.

Read “Japan’s Been Proudly Pacifist for 75 Years. A Missile Proposal Challenges That.” at New York Times.

Read “The Company Behind Fortnite Is Waging a Righteous War Against Apple” at Slate.

Read “Snapchat adds in-app voter registration targeted at young people” at Axios.

Read “750 million genetically engineered mosquitoes approved for release in Florida Keys” at CNN.

Read “Uber and Lyft get reprieve from court, won't shut down in California for now” at CNN.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Biden hits Trump for vow to block USPS funding: "He doesn't want an election"“ at Axios.

Read “Biden on track to beat Trump with Harris, as Dems eye the "next AOC" at MSNBC. “As Biden continues to beat Trump in the polls, Sen. Kamala Harris sparks a record-breaking $48 million in donations for Biden.”

• Read “Could Kamala Harris’s Presence on the Ticket Help Usher in a Third Reconstruction?” at The Nation.

Read “Iran foreign minister accuses Western countries of using Beirut blast to dictate policies” at PBS News Hour.

Read “Poll: Biden Expands Lead; A Third Of Country Says It Won't Get Vaccinated” at NPR.

• Read “Poll: 58% of Biden voters say vote is more "against" Trump than "for" Biden” at Axios.

Read “Trump tightens screws on ByteDance to sell Tiktok” at Axios.

Read “Trump administration looks to ease showerhead water flow rules” at PBS News Hours.

Read “Rep. Ilhan Omar Wins Congressional Primary” at NPR.

Read “Trump campaign to flood the web with ads during Democratic convention” at Axios.

Read “Mike Pompeo signs deal to send U.S. troops from Germany to Poland” at Axios.

Read “Trump says ‘No one will be safe in Biden’s America’ at NYPD event” at PBS News Hour.

Read “House Republicans Get Cranked Up” at Slate. “QAnon is headed for Capitol Hill.”

Read “Biden Faces A Convention Test, To Offer A Vision Beyond Beating Trump” at NPR.

Read “Puerto Rico governor loses primary” at Axios.

Read “O'Brien on deterring Russian meddling: "There’s almost nothing left to sanction" at Axios.

Read “Here are five questions to ask when analyzing political polls” at NBC News. “Not all political polls are created equally so here are five key questions to ask when reading them.”

Read “The ‘Rage Moms’ Democrats Are Counting On” at New York Times.

Read “Trump announces he'll posthumously pardon Susan B. Anthony, convicted of voting illegally as a woman in 1872” at ABC News.

Read “The Senate Intelligence Committee’s new Russia report, explained” at Vox.

Read “Bernie Sanders Becomes The “Party Unifier” at News and Guts.

Read “Effort appears to be underway to qualify Kanye West for the presidential ballot in Arizona” at AZ Central.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read ‘U.S. Postal Service Confirms It Has Removed Mailboxes in Portland and Eugene” at Willamette Week.

• Read “USPS removes mail collection boxes and reduces post office hours as critics accuse Trump administration of voter suppression” at CNN.

• Read “Obama: Americans could be "collateral damage" in Trump's war on mail-in voting” at Axios.

• Read “"He needs to cheat to win": Dems condemn Trump's USPS attacks” at Axios.

• Read “Postal service inspector general reviewing DeJoy's policy changes and potential ethics conflicts” at CNN.

• Read “Postal workers' union endorses Biden” at Axios.

• Read “Mail sorting machines across the country being removed, multiple reports say” at 12 News.

• Read “New Postmaster Hasn't Yet Met Election Officials About Mail-In Ballot Concerns” at NPR.

• Read “Postal Service Warns States – No Guarantee Ballots Will Arrive In Time To Be Counted” at News and Guts.

• Read “Trump says postmaster general wants to make USPS "great again” at Axios.

• Read “Phoenix Mayor Gallego stresses importance for Postal Service funding” at KTAR. “Absentee ballots have been an important part of voting in Arizona. We were one of the first states where anyone could vote by mail without an excuse."

  • Read “Katie Hobbs asks Arizona AG to investigate Trump administration over USPS” at 12 News. “The timing of the changes prior to a major election where most will be mail-in voting is conspicuous, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said.”

• Read “Romney rebukes Trump on mail-in voting” at Axios. “Sen. Mitt Romney said on Friday that he's unaware of "any evidence that voting by mail would increase voter fraud," countering repeated claims from President Trump that mail-in voting will lead to rampant fraud.”

• Read “President Trump requests mail-in ballot for upcoming Florida primary, despite rhetoric” at News and Guts.

• Read “Pelosi Calls House Back From August Recess To Act On “Postal Sabotage” at News and Guts.

  • Read “Postmaster general to testify before Senate committee on Friday” at Axios.

• Read “USPS to Suspend Changes Until After Election” at Wall Street Journal. “Postmaster General Louis DeJoy says agency won’t remove equipment or cut hours amid congressional scrutiny ahead of an expected surge in mail-in voting.”

Read “Senate committee sought investigation of Bannon, raised concerns about Trump family testimony” at PBS News Hour.

Read “Trump And His Campaign Amplify Untrue 'Birther' Conspiracy Against Kamala Harris” at NPR.

• Read “AP Fact Check: Harris meets constitutional requirements” at Associated Press.

Read “One Tough Question For DOJ If Biden Is Elected: Whether To Prosecute Trump” at NPR.

Read “Feds Ignored Warnings of Border Wall Construction Impacts, Emails Show” at Phoenix New Times.

Read “Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon arrested on fraud charges in border wall fundraising scheme”

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “Elvis Costello Announces New Album Hello Clockface, Shares Latest Single” at Spin.

Read “Billie Eilish to Perform at 2020 Democratic National Convention” at Pitchfork. “The Chicks, Maggie Rogers, John Legend, Leon Bridges, and others are also set for the virtual DNC.”

Read “Kathleen Edwards Left Behind Roots-Music Stardom to Sell Coffee. Now She’s Back” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Two Men Charged with Murder of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay” at Consequence of Sound. “Indictments come 18 years following the death of the iconic DJ.”

Read “A History of North American Death Metal in 30 Albums” at Treble.

Read “Student gets a D in art, picks up report card in amazing homemade GWAR costume” at Brooklyn Vegan.

Read “Sun Kil Moon’s UK tour cancelled following allegations against Mark Kozelek” at Brooklyn Vegan.

• Read “Mark Kozelek: “I reject the false allegations and innuendo in the recent press” at Brooklyn Vegan.

Watch “Fiona Apple Narrates Video About ICE Arrests” at Pitchfork.

Read “Bruce Springsteen, Bob Weir, Lucinda Williams Set for Massive Joe Strummer Tribute Livestream” at Consequence of Sound. “Josh Homme, Beto O'Rourke, Jim Jarmusch, and Steve Buscemi are also expected to appear.”

Read “How the U.S. Postal Service Gave Us John Prine” at Rolling Stone. “Delivering the mail provided a steady job at a crucial time for one of America’s greatest songwriters.”

Read “Mariah Carey Announces Rarities Album, New Song Out This Week” at Pitchfork.

Read “Non-verbal teenager Tyler Hartfield writes music inspired by Nick Cave” at ABC.

Read “Tom Petty Estate Announces ‘Wildflowers & All The Rest’ Collection, Shares Video for “Wildflowers (Home Recording)” at Relix.

Movies/TV/Etc.:

Read “George Orwell's Animal Farm Is Becoming a Videogame” at Paste.

Read “The Ellen DeGeneres Show Fires 3 Producers Amid "Toxic" Work Environment Allegations” at Yahoo.

Books/Reading/Authors

Read “How ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ Saved My Life” at The Millions.

Science/Animals/Technology/Environment/Etc.:

Read “Interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua could still be alien technology, new study hints” at Live Science.

Read “Pentagon unveils Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force” at Axios.

Food Cultures:

Read “How Former Samurai and Farmers Cultivated the First Japanese Apples” at Gastro Obscura.

Read “Krispy Kreme to open NYC flagship location next month with world’s largest 'Hot Light' after COVID-19 delay” at USA Today.

The Weekly Town Crier (05/15/20)

All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (05/15/20).

Read “Died: Darrin Patrick, Who Used His Fall and Restoration to Help Struggling Pastors” at Christianity Today.

Read “Betty Wright, Iconic R&B Singer, Dead at 66” at Pitchfork.

Read “Little Richard, Founding Father of Rock Who Broke Musical Barriers, Dead at 87” at Rolling Stone.

Read “R.I.P. Andre Harrell, Hip-Hop Mogul and Founder of Uptown Records Dies at 57” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Jerry Stiller, Comedian With Enduring Appeal, Is Dead at 92” at New York Times.

Read “'Double Rainbow Guy' Paul Vasquez has died” at CNN.

Read “Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy duo dies of coronavirus” at CNN.

Read “Largest Christian Radio Company Faces Financial Crisis Due to Coronavirus Downturn Salem Media makes cuts as more churches and ministries pull spending during the pandemic” at Christianity Today.

Read “Germany Just Banned Conversion Therapy for Minors” at New Now Next.

Read “Nearly 2000 former DOJ officials call for AG Barr to resign over Flynn case” at ABC News.

Read “White Man Who Wore KKK Hood to Store Won't Face Charges” at The Root.

Read “Ahmaud Arbery died for the indefensible principle of white control” at Religion News Service.

• Read “Ahmaud Arbery and the Trauma of Being a Black Runner” at Christianity Today.

Read/Watch“High school senior, mother say large group of armed people, including off-duty deputy, terrorized them in their home” at WCET.

Read “Trump Believes Giving Black Voters Access to Voting Is Stealing the Election” at The Root.

Read “Breonna Taylor’s Life Mattered The young EMT didn’t need to be a hero. She just needed to be alive” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Senate Votes to Allow FBI to Monitor Browsing History Without a Warrant Federal agencies no longer need probable cause to access your online browsing data” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “The many failures revealed by the Afghanistan Papers US officials have been lying about the war since it started. Why don’t we care?” at Christianity Today.

Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

• Read “Trump says doing too much coronavirus testing makes the US 'look bad' as he pushes for the country to reopen” at Business Insider.

• Read “White House Rejects C.D.C.’s Coronavirus Reopening Plan” at New York Times.

• Read “Costco’s Mask Requirement Reminds Businesses The Customer Is Not Always Right” at Forbes.

• Read “Americans widely oppose reopening most businesses, despite easing of restrictions in some states, Post-U. Md. poll finds” at Washington Post.

• Read “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: The Perils of Hollywood’s Reckless Social Media Posts” at Hollywood Reporter.

• Read/watch “Trump administration cuts funding for coronavirus researcher, jeopardizing possible COVID-19 cure” at CBS News.

• Read “CEOs, Farm Bureau President Told To Remove Face Masks Before Meeting With Mike Pence” at Huff Post.

• Read “The U.S. is exporting Covid-19 to Latin America. We should instead be working with our neighbors” at America Magazine.

• Read “Trump won't wear a mask in public because he's afraid he might look ridiculous and it will harm his reelection chances, report says” at Business Insider.

• Read “Unreleased White House report shows coronavirus rates spiking in heartland communities” at NBC News.

• Read "Dr. Anthony Fauci Said Reopening The Country Early Could Lead To Avoidable "Suffering And Death" at Buzzfeed News.

• Read “Coronavirus cases are on the rise in Texas and other states that reopened early, former FDA chief says” at CNBC.

• Read/Watch “Doctors Without Borders dispatches team to the Navajo Nation” at CBS News.

• Read “Cancel The Rent’ at The New Yorker. “If our government can spend trillions of dollars to bail corporations out of a worsening economic situation, then there is no reason why that same gesture cannot be extended to poor and working-class families.“

• Read “Bill Gates on how to fight future pandemics The coronavirus will hasten three big medical breakthroughs. That is just a start” at The Economist.

• Read “COVID-19 and The Mark of the Beast” at The Logos Academic Blog.

• Read “Americans more worried about reopening too quickly than not opening quickly enough, survey says” at USA Today.

• Read “Heavily Armed Protesters Gather Again At Michigan Capitol To Decry Stay-At-Home Order” at NPR.

• Read “Thousands of Americans Have Become Socialists Since March The Democratic Socialists of America have an estimated 10,000 new members—growth that organizers attribute, in part, to the coronavirus pandemic” at The Atlantic.

• Read “Trump Feared Testing Too Many People for Virus Would Spook Stock Markets, Says Report” at Daily Beast.
  

Read “Liberty University Dumps Its Philosophy Department” at The Way of Improvement.

Read “One For The History Books: 14.7% Unemployment, 20.5 Million Jobs Wiped Away” at NPR.

Read “Fight Over Vote-By-Mail Is ‘Spiritual Battle’ For ‘Control of the Free World,’ Says True the Vote Leader” at Right Wing Watch.

Read “Trump says Washington, DC, will never be a state — because of all the Democrats” at New York Post.

Read “Court Allows Emoluments Case Against Trump Over D.C. Hotel To Proceed” at NPR.

Read “After FBI Warrant, Sen. Richard Burr Steps Down As Intelligence Chairman” at News and Guts.

Read “QAnon Is More Important Than You Think: The Prophecies of Q. American conspiracy theories are entering a dangerous new phase” at The Atlantic.

Browse “Deaf People Show How To Swear In Sign Language, And It’s Shamefully Entertaining” at Design Your Trust.

Read “Live Nation Planning to Resume Concerts at “Full Scale” Beginning in 2021 In the short term, the concert promoter will experiment with fan-less or reduced-capacity shows” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Supreme Launches Daniel Johnston Clothing Line” at Pitchfork.

Read “Brian May taken to hospital after tearing buttock muscles while gardening” at The Guardian.

Read “Nirvana, Siouxsie and the Banshees, David Bowie and Hundreds More Peel Sessions Hit YouTube” at Flood.

Read “Coachella Radius Clause Lawsuit Dismissal Reversed Oregon-based promoter Soul'd Out Productions can now re-file their anti-trust suit in U.S. District Court” at Pitchfork.

Read “Jason Isbell Discusses New Album ‘Reunions’ On ‘CBS This Morning’” at JamBase.

Read “Laurie Anderson and Michael Stipe on Music, Art and New Chapters “You’ve got to fall on your face to sit at the table,” says the erstwhile R.E.M. frontman” at New York Times.

Read “'I found the roots of electronic music in a cupboard!': the tale of India's lost techno pioneers” at The Guardian.

Read “My Cymbals Were Melting”: Bill Kreutzmann Joins Carrie Fisher, Ad-Rock and Nick Offerman in ‘Have A Good Trip’ Which Debuts Today” at Relix.

Read “Listen to Iggy Pop Read a Bedtime Story About His Dog” at Pitchfork.

See “Salvador Dalí’s Illustrations for The Bible (1963)” at Open Culture.

Read “Original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Games Getting Re-Released for PS4, XBOX One, and PC” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “An ASU researcher is working on a virus that's harmless to humans, but kills cancer cells” at AZ Central.

Read “Stanford scientists created a sound so loud it instantly boils water” at CNet.

See “Musician who loves danger invents a flame-throwing trombone” at Classic FM.

Read “Arizona Schools Plan For The Possibility Buildings May Not Open This Fall” at KJZZ.

The Weekly Town Crier (05/01/20)

All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (05/01/20).

Read “BREAKING: Fela's Ex-drummer, Tony Allen, Dies In France” at Sahara Reporters.

Read “Knock Knock. It's Weird Evangelical Twitter. Online, millennial Christians embrace the absurd” at Christianity Today.

Read “Can Staying Home Help Us Regain a Sense of Place? How rediscovering creation around us can deepen our connection with God” at Christianity Today.

Read “America's billionaires have become even richer since Donald Trump became president, and it says a lot about the country's record-high wealth gap” at Business Insider.

Read “Microsoft Word now flags double spaces as errors, ending the great space debate” at The Verge.

Read Pentagon Officially Publishes Tom DeLonge’s UFO Videos Confirming what DeLonge's known since Enema of the State -- that "Aliens Exist" at Consequence of Sound.

Read “'This is no damn hobby': the 'gangsta gardener' transforming Los Angeles” at The Guardian.

Read “The Great Gatsby and Catch-22 among classic books banned from Alaska classrooms Works from Maya Angelou, Joseph Heller, Tim O'Brien, Ralph Ellison and F Scott Fitzgerald erased from curriculum” at The Independent.

Read “Land O’Lakes quietly gets rid of iconic Indian maiden mascot” at Minnesota Reformer.

Read “We are living in an apocalypse” by David Dark at American Magazine.

Your Weekly Coronavirus News Roundup:

• Read “Tom Cotton: Ban Chinese students from learning science so they can’t ‘steal’ coronavirus vaccine” at Raw Story.

• Read “Miami goes seven weeks without a homicide for first time since 1957” at CBS News.

• Read the opinion piece “Lysol and UV Rays: Running A Pandemic Like A Reality TV Show” at Empty Wheel.

• Read “Tennessee Restaurants Reopen As State Sees Biggest 1-Day Jump In COVID-19 Cases” at NPR.

• Read “How Some Phoenix Record Labels Are Surviving the Coronavirus” at Phoenix New Times.

• Read “States Warn That Workers Will Lose Unemployment If They Refuse To Return To Jobs” at The Intellectualist.

• Read/Watch “The dangerous global flood of misinformation surrounding COVID-19” at PBS News Hour.

• Read “How Are Rich People Getting Richer During the Coronavirus Pandemic? Jeff Bezos has reportedly made another $25 billion since the beginning of the year” at GQ.

• Read/Listen to “Grief is Everywhere in the Age of COVID-19” at WNYC.

• Read “King Crimson’s Robert Fripp Launches “Music for Quiet Moments” Quarantine Series” at Consequence of Sound.

• Read “THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS 'I Am Mourning The Loss': Two-Thirds Of Artists Report They're Now Unemployed” at NPR.

  • BUY MUSIC, SUPPORT ARTISTS (Listen to music. Love Your Neighbor): Beginning this Friday, May 01, Bandcamp will again waive their revenue share for everything sold. Until otherwise stated, they will be doing this on the first Friday of each month. Please use these chances to support artists during this difficult time.

Read/Listen to “How Will Chief Justice And Supreme Court Conservative Majority Affect 2020 Election?” at NPR. “Chief Justice John Roberts has worked hard to persuade the public that the Supreme Court justices are fair-minded legal umpires — not politicians in robes. But that image was tarnished by the Court's decision on Wisconsin's election earlier this month.”

Read “Here are the largest public companies taking payroll loans meant for small businesses” at MSNBC.

• Read “U.S. Citizens Married To Immigrants Are Blocked From Getting Stimulus Checks” at Yahoo.

Read “Trump’s History With the Word Sarcasm Is Littered with Excuses and Ignorance When Trump uses the sarcasm excuse, it’s because he knows he’s gone too far but can’t bring himself to admit it” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Nancy Pelosi Endorses Joe Biden: “The Personification Of Hope And Courage, Values, Authenticity And Integrity” at News and Guts.

Read “Hillary Clinton Endorses Joe Biden” at News and Guts.

Browse the 2017 piece “11 Warning Signs of Gaslighting Gaslighting is a manipulation tactic used to gain power. And it works too well” at Psychology Today.

Read “I Love Phish Concerts, and I Can’t Wait for Them to Come Back”: Trey Anastasio Speaks About Quarantine, Tour Plans and ‘Sigma Oasis’ in New Interview” at Jambands.

Watch “Post Malone Performs Nirvana Covers With Travis Barker” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Quarantine Creativity Interview Series: Ethan Miller” at Savage Henry.

Read “Library of Congress Launches Open-Source Hip-Hop Sampling Tool Producers will have access to the library's vast audio collection, which dates back more than a hundred years” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “This Is Heartbreaking For Us": Amoeba Music's Original Hollywood Location Permanently Closed” at Okay Player.

Read “Tori Amos Believes the Muses Can Help A conversation about music, politics, and what you learn about America from being on the road” at New Yorker.

Read “How Do You Sell Concert Tees Without Concerts? Merch Companies Are Up Against a Wall “I was thinking this is a bulletproof business,” says one of many merch execs who have lost their biggest revenue stream” at Rolling Stone.

Read “PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, More Sign Letter Calling for Creative Industry Funding From UK Government” at Pitchfork.

Read “It Has to Be About Need :: The Mysteries of Lucinda Williams’ Good Souls Better Angels” at Aquarium Drunkard.

• Read “Lucinda Williams on the Music That Made Her The venerable singer-songwriter talks about the artists and albums that have meant the most to her—Sade, Audioslave, Tricky—five years at a time” at Pitchfork.

Read “Live Nation Updates Ticket Refund Policy” at Jambands.

Read “Stephen Malkmus on Traditional Techniques :: We’re Just Going To Wing It” at Aquarium Drunkard.

Read “Charlie Parker's Story to Be Told in Graphic Novel 'Chasin' the Bird' at The Hollywood Reporter.

Read “European Cities Launch Drive-In Concert Series With Great Success” at Live For Live Music.

Read “Watch Fiona Apple Give a Rare TV Interview on Democracy Now!” at Pitchfork.

BUY MUSIC, SUPPORT ARTISTS (Listen to music. Love Your Neighbor): Beginning this Friday, May 01, Bandcamp will again waive their revenue share for everything sold. Until otherwise stated, they will be doing this on the first Friday of each month. Please use these chances to support artists during this difficult time.

Read “For this year only, movies that had to go streaming will still be eligible for Oscars” at AV Club.

Read “AMC Theatres Refuses to Show Universal Films Following VOD Release of Trolls World Tour Universal seemed to imply that the commercial success of Trolls was proof that VOD was the way of the future” at Consequence of Sound

Read “Museums are sharing their creepiest objects in apparent attempt to digitize ancient curses” at AV Club.

Read “In Thailand, Funeral Cookbooks Preserve Recipes and Memories Though their origins are tragic, the books provide invaluable inspiration” at Atlas Obscura.

The Weekly Town Crier (01/03/20)

All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (01/03/20).

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.

Stream/download an introductory mix of Sacred Steel music.

Browse all my favorite music of 2019.

• Listen to Volume 01 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

• Listen to Volume 02 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

• Listen to Volume 03 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

• Listen to Volume 04 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

Read/Hear “The Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions Read by Bob Dylan” at Open Culture.

Read “Lee Mendelson, ‘Peanuts’ Producer and ‘Christmas Time Is Here’ Co-Writer, Dead at 86” at Rolling Stone.

Read “R.I.P. Don Imus, veteran radio broadcaster dies at 79” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Broadway Legend Jerry Herman Is Dead At 88” at NPR.

Read “Cult Rockabilly Star Sleepy LaBeef Dead at 84” at Pitchfork.

Read “R.I.P. Jack Sheldon, Schoolhouse Rock! singer and jazz musician dead at 88” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “When a Dragon Tried to Eat Jesus: The Nativity Story We Don’t Talk About” at Mockingbird.

Read “There’s No Shame When A Miracle Doesn’t Come” at Christianity Today. “God didn’t #WakeUpOlive, but the gospel teaches Christ’s solidarity with suffering.”

Read “Trump campaign selects Apostolic Miami megachurch for evangelicals campaign roll-out” at Yahoo News.

• Read “The Evangelical War Over Impeachment Has Been A Long Time Coming” at Talking Points Memo.

Read “11 Nigerian Christians Executed in ISIS Christmas Video” at Christianity Today.

Read “Conservative Protestant Men Are Still Resisting Porn Sociological data suggests that churchgoing men engage pornography at a vastly lower rate than others” at Christianity Today.

Read “Greece's first and only crematorium opens despite pushback from the church” at PRI.

Read “Why Christianity Has Thrived in the U.S.” at Time. “Between 1870 and 1960, Christianity declined across Europe. But not in the U.S.” Hint: “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.”

Read “Christianity Today’s Editorial May Be Watershed Moment For 2020” at Sojourners.

Read “I and Thou: A Bigfoot Encounter It’s possible, even likely, that somehow all of us, even those among us who pay close attention, have missed something” at Guernica Magazine.

Read “Churches Are Saving Ethiopia’s Last Remaining Native Trees” at Christianity Today.

Read “Good Guys’ Carrying Guns & a Savior Who Carried a Cross” at Red Letter Christians.

Read “Has family become an idol? The Bible gives no sense that the family is an end in itself” at Christian Century.

Read “The Strangeness of Grief” at New Yorker. “We are never finished with grief. It is part of the fabric of living. Love makes memories and life precious; the grief that comes to us is proportionate to that love and is inescapable.”

Read “Mexican police chief arrested in connection to Mormon family massacre” at 12 News.

Read “Ex-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn fled Japan ‘hiding in double bass case on private jet’ while awaiting trial for corruption” at The Sun.

In headlines that feel like we shouldn’t have to deal with in 2020: Read “West Virginia Governor Approves Firing All Cadets Who Posed In Nazi-Like Salute Photo” at NPR.

Read “Buttigieg Getting Dragged For Saying Constitution Signers Didn't Know Slavery Was Bad” at The Root.

Read “Illinois governor clears thousands of marijuana convictions” at PBS News Hour.

Read "'The Slaves Dread New Year's Day the Worst': The Grim History of January 1” at Time Magazine.

Read “Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu seeks immunity from corruption charges” at PBS News Hour.

Read “U.S. launched Baghdad airstrike that killed Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani” at AZ Central.

Read “Trump Vs. Toilets (And Showers, Dishwashers And Light Bulbs)” at NPR.

Read “People Can't Even Agree On When The Decade Ends” at NPR.

Read “Why Am I Unhappy? Because All American Men Are Getting Sadder” at Fatherly.

Read “Boomers, Take It from Woody or Iron Man: It’s Time to Pass the Torch This summer’s blockbusters showcase the importance of transferring wisdom between generations” at Christianity Today.

Read “The world's 500 wealthiest people gained $1.2 trillion this year, boosting their collective net worth 25% to $5.9 trillion” at Bloomberg.

Read “How to Talk to Someone Whose Opinions You Can’t Stand It’s a family gathering, not a debate you need to win” at Forge.

Read “US mass killings hit a record high in 2019: 'This seems to be the age of mass shootings'“ at AZ Central.

Read “It's OK to not be OK. So go ahead and cry in public, if that's what you need to do. Life is full of breaking points after thousands of personal apocalypses. You have to learn to forgive yourself for yours” at NBC News.

Read “With Births Down, the U.S. Sees the Slowest Population Growth Rate in a Century” at Time.

Read “The Death of Truth: “Both Sides” Don’t Deserve Our Consideration” at Theology Corner.

Read “OxyContin Billionaire Granted Patent for Opioid Addiction Treatment” at Fortune.

Read/watch “Greyhound offers free bus ticket home to runaway kids” at Fox 4 News.

Read “Italy passes law to send unsold food to charities instead of dumpsters” at Global Citizen.

Read “Stop Believing in Free Shipping How retailers hide the costs of delivery—and why we’re such suckers for their ploys” at The Atlantic.

Read “No Test Left Behind How Pearson Made a Killing on the US Testing Craze” at Talking Points Memo.

Read “Virginia School District To Give Students One Day Off Per Year For 'Civic Engagement'“ at NPR. “Starting next month, students in Virginia's Fairfax County — one of the largest school district in the country — can take one day off per school year to engage in political activism.”

Read “Don’t assume that every student had a fun or warm holiday break” at PBS News Hour.

Read “Public support for Trump conviction at all-time high, poll finds” at Yahoo.

• Read “Fed study finds Trump tariffs backfired” at Market Watch.

• Read “The Louder the Monkey, the Smaller Its Balls, Study Finds Howler monkeys can be well-endowed in the voice box or the family jewels, but not both” at Vice. Yes, I put in the “politics” section.

• Read “A Gangster in the White House” at The Atlantic. “The President tweeted the name of the presumed Whistle-Blower in the Ukraine scandal–demonstrating that he is unrepentant and determined to break the law again.”

• Read “Germans think Trump is more dangerous than Kim Jong Un and Putin” at DW.

Read “Anger and Anguish From The Navy SEALs Who Turned In Edward Gallagher" at New York Times.

• Read “Eddie Gallagher ‘Is Freaking Evil’ Says Fellow Navy SEAL in R

Read “Eddie Gallagher ‘Is Freaking Evil’ Says Fellow Navy SEAL in Rolling Stone.

Read “Treasury will again borrow $1 trillion to pay for tax cuts, spending” at Axios.

Read “Spotify Becomes Latest Tech Company To Hit Pause On Political Ads” at NPR.

Read “Civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis diagnosed with Stage IV cancer” at 12 News.

Read “NC voter ID law written with ‘discriminatory intent,’ says judge who just struck it down” at News Observer. “Federal judge just struck down NC’s voter ID law: “North Carolina has a sordid history of racial discrimination & voter suppression stretching back to the time of slavery, through the era of Jim Crow, and, crucially, continuing up to the present day.”

Read “Farmers Got Billions From Taxpayers In 2019, And Hardly Anyone Objected” a NPR. AKA: Welcome to ‘Murica’s Socialism.

Read “After 2 Years, Trump Tax Cuts Have Failed To Deliver On GOP's Promises” at NPR.

Read Washington Post’s opinion piece: “Wake up, Republicans. Your party stands for all the wrong things now.”

Read “Intended to induce awe': codpiece thrusts itself back into fashion Designers’ embrace of 16th-century accessory forms part of revival of Tudor power dressing” at The Guardian.

Read “Judge orders Alex Jones to pay $100,000 in Sandy Hook case” at PBS News Hour.

2019 Year-End Round-Ups continue to roll in.

• Browse “NPR Music's 25 Best Albums Of 2019.”

• Browse Magnet’s Top 25 Albums of 2019.

• Browse “Stinkweeds’ Top 25 of 2019: The “Shop Favorites”.

• Browse Barack Obama’s Favorite Music of 2019 at Twitter.

• Browse the full list of my favorite 2019 music.

  • Listen to Volume 01 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

  • Listen to Volume 02 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

  • Listen to Volume 03 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

  • Listen to Volume 04 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist

Read “From Digable Planets to Knife Knights: The Many Faces of Ishmael Butler” at Pitchfork.

Read “Kim Gordon on five of her favorite breakup songs Read More: Kim Gordon on five of her favorite breakup songs” at Brooklyn Vegan.

Read “A Conversation With Brian Eno About Ambient Music The unceasingly curious composer on chance, minimalism, and the politics of form” at Pitchfork.

Read “Watch the Berlin era Nick Cave documentary “Stranger in a Strange land” at Post-Punk.

Read Esquire’s profile of Mdou Moctar: “The Hendrix of the Sahara.” Listen to “Tarha” by Mdou Moctar on Episode 43 of the Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow. Listen to "‘Wiwasharnine’ by Mdou Moctar from the album Ilana (The Creator) in Volume 01 of my 2019 year-end music wrap-up.

Read “40 Years of Goth: Essential Albums from the Genre’s Beginnings” at Post-Punk.

Read “Nick Cave on PJ Harvey breaking up with him: “I was so surprised I almost dropped my syringe.” Read More: Nick Cave on PJ Harvey breaking up with him: “I was so surprised I almost dropped my syringe” at Brooklyn Vegan.

• Read “An Essential Guide to Nick Cave” at Exclaim.

Read “Bo Diddley’s Essential Tips for Surviving Life & the Music Business” at Open Culture.

Read “Death Row Records is now owned by toy company Hasbro The maker of Monopoly and Transformers acquired the label's catalog in its purchase of Entertainment One” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Rare Rolling Stones Outtakes Appear on YouTube in Copyright-Extending Release” at Variety.

Read “Watch Dead & Company Get Interviewed By Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen on New Year’s Eve” at Relix.

Read “He has spoken: Jon Favreau confirms season 2 of The Mandalorian” at AV Club.

Read “Daniel Day-Lewis Called Adam Sandler to Congratulate Him on His Uncut Gems Performance” at Esquire.

Read “How Space Ghost Coast to Coast Changed Cartoon Network Forever A perfect nerd storm of late-'90s sarcasm, twisted nostalgia, and surrealist delights” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Kurt Vonnegut on 8 'shapes' of stories” Big Think.

Read “Toddlers engage more with print books than tablets” at ABC News.

Read “Dolly Parton's Charity Just Donated Its 100 Millionth Book to Kids” at Global Citizen.

Read “100+ Museums Turn Their Collections Into Free Downloadable Coloring Books” at My Modern.

Browse “Rolling Stone’s Favorite Photos of 2019.”

Read “For almost every common medical service, patients and insurance companies in the U.S. pay higher prices compared to the rest of the world, an international survey found” at New York Times.

Read “When Wasps Are Given Colored Paper, They Build Rainbow Nests” at Bored Panda.

Read “Humanity Has Killed 83% of All Wild Mammals and Half of All Plants” at Global Citizen.

Read “Psychedelic Drugs: Researchers experimenting with active agent in magic mushrooms to treat addiction, depression and anxiety” at CBS News.

Read “6 Bricks Under: Vienna Cemetery Introduces Funeral LEGO Sets” at Cult of Weird.

See “Tortoises eating berries” at 41 Strange on Twitter.

Read “How Chinese Artisans Turn Dead Cicadas Into ‘Hairy Monkeys’ These traditional handicrafts require exoskeletons, magnolia buds, and a steady hand” at Atlas Obscura.

Read “Ruins of Aleister Crowley’s Cursed House on Loch Ness for Sale” at Cult of Weird.

Read “According To FBI Statistics, These Are The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Arizona For 2020” at Only In Your State.

Read “U-Haul to stop hiring smokers and nicotine users in Arizona, 20 other states” at AZ Central.

Read “Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Phoenix is closing. Here's what we know” at AZ Central.