The Weekly Town Crier (07/24/20)
All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (07/24/20).
We’ll Miss You:
Read “Rev. C.T. Vivian, key civil rights leader, has died at 95” at Associated Press.
Read “Rep. John Lewis, who 'risked his life and his blood' as a giant of the civil rights movement, dies of cancer at 80” at USA Today.
Read “When John Lewis Cosplayed at Comic-Con as His Younger Self” at New York Times. “For several years, Mr. Lewis would lead a group of children in a march across the San Diego Convention Center.”
Read “Patience Is a Dirty Word “We do not want our freedom gradually,” John Lewis said, “but we want to be free now!” by Ibram X. Kendi at The Atlantic.
Read “J. I. Packer, ‘Knowing God’ Author, Dies at 93” at Christianity Today.
Read “Charles Evers, Businessman and Civil Rights Leader, Dies at 97” at New York Times.
Read “R.I.P. Emitt Rhodes, Power Pop Icon and Home Recording Pioneer Dies at 70” at Consequence of Sound.
Religion and Stuff:
Read “Atlanta Church Splits With SBC for Downplaying Racial Issues” at Christianity Today.
Read ‘Biden’s bid touts faith, courts even religious conservatives” at PBS News Hour.
Read “A Gospel reading for those who feel rejected by a broken world” at America Magazine.
Read “The pandemic calls for closed hymnals Forgoing congregational singing as a spiritual discipline” at Christian Century.
Read “I’m Awash in Christian ‘Content.’ But Am I Living Like Christ?” at Christianity Today.
Justice/Social Justice/Race/Equality and Such Related Stuff:
Read “GOP senator stops bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) claimed the new holiday would come at the expense of the American taxpayer, suggesting federal employee's lose a day of paid leave” at 12 News.
Read “This land is my land For generations, my family has owned a piece of untold Black history in Boley, Oklahoma. This year, I finally got to see it” at Chicago Reader.
Read “Rev. Dr. William Barber II: A Multi-Racial Coalition Is Necessary For This Moment” at Real News.
Read “GOP senator: Hispanics show 'less consistent adherence' to social distancing, mask-wearing” at The Hill.
Read “East Texas Town Removes Fence Between White, Black Cemeteries” at NBCDFW.
Read “Federal court rules DACA must be restored fully after Supreme Court ruling”
Read “Roger Stone calls Black radio host a racial slur on air” at NBC News. “"I did not. You're out of your mind," Stone replied when Morris W. O'Kelly questioned him about it.”
Read “Supreme Court deals blow to felons in Florida seeking to regain the right to vote” at Washington Post.
Read “No, The Civil War Wasn’t About “States’ Rights” — Just Slavery” at All That’s Interesting.
Read “Americans support Black Lives Matter but resist shifts of police funds or removal of statues of Confederate generals or presidents who were enslavers” at Washington Post.
Read “NBA debuts 'Black Lives Matter' painted on game court” at 12 News.
Read “Red Sox hang Black Lives Matter banner outside Fenway Park” at 12 News.
Read “Texas School Board Doubles Down on Hair Policy That Pushed Two Black Male Students Out of School” at The Root.
This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):
Read “Pentagon effectively bans Confederate flag from military installations” at Axios.
Read “Confederate monument outside Arizona Capitol to be moved, returned to donor” at AZ Central.
Read “Confederate monuments removed from Arizona Capitol as United Daughters of the Confederacy take action” at AZ Central.
Read “House Votes to Remove Confederate Statues From the Capitol' at The Root.
This Week In Protest-Related News:
Read “Trump Sent Cops to Portland and They're ‘Kidnapping People Off the Streets’” at Vice. “Camouflaged federal officers have been patrolling the streets, pulling protesters into unmarked cars and arresting them.”
Read “The Authoritarian Operation in Portland Is Only a Dress Rehearsal” at Esquire.
Read “Federal officers Trump sent to Portland teargassed protesters despite being told to leave by the mayor and the governor” at Business Insider.
Read “What the Heck Are Federal Law Enforcement Officers Doing in Portland?” at Lawfare Blog.
Read “Federal Agents Unleash Militarized Crackdown on Portland” at New York Times. “Federal authorities said they would bring order to Portland, Ore., after weeks of protests there. Local leaders believe the federal presence is making things worse.”
Read “Oregon will sue federal police agencies, open criminal investigation into use of force” at Oregon Live.
Read “Oregon Attorney General sues DHS amid reports of unlawful detainment of Portland protesters” at NBC. “Ellen Rosenblum is asking for a restraining order to prevent officers with Homeland Security and other federal agencies from making any further arrests.”
Read “Federal Officers Deployed in Portland Didn’t Have Proper Training, D.H.S. Memo Said” at New York Times.
See “Federal police strike protester with baton, use pepper spray and tear gas outside courthouse in Portland” at Zane Sparling’s at Twitter.
Read “‘They just started whaling on me’: Veteran speaks out after video of federal officers beating him at Portland protests goes viral” at The Independent.
Read “Presence, tactics of federal agents in Portland, Oregon, prompt questions and criticism” at PBS News Hour.
Read “Portland Protests Grow Despite Violent Crackdown from Militarized Federal Agents & Local Police” at The Root.
Read “Federal Law Enforcement Use Unmarked Vehicles To Grab Protesters Off Portland Streets” at Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Read “Portland and the Paramilitarization of the Border Patrol” at Cato Institute.
Read “Portland’s Wall of Moms Joined by Dads With Leaf Blowers Against Trump’s Police” at Truthout.
Read “In Portland, A 'Wall Of Moms' And Leaf Blowers Against Tear Gas” at NPR.
Read “Portland’s Pretext: Barr’s Long History Manipulating Law to Put Federal Forces on U.S. Streets” at Just Security.
Read “U.S. Homeland Security confirms three units sent paramilitary officers to Portland” at Reuters
See Sergio Olmos’ Tweet: “It appears that federal officers, during dispersal, pepper sprayed the medical supplies in the tents”
Read “Portland Federal Agents Accused of War Crimes for Destroying Medical Supplies” at Newsweek.
Read “A Photographer Says He's Traumatized By What He's Captured In Portland’ at Buzzfeed News. "Last night was the most horrifying thing I have ever experienced in my life."
Read “Oregon officials decry arrests by federal agents in Portland” at PBS News Hour.
Read “Homeland Security sending 150 agents to Chicago this week” at The Hill.
Read “Activists, officials slam Chicago police for alleged brutality in Columbus statue standoff” at Chicago Sun Times.
Read “I don't need invitations': Homeland Security chief says he has authority to deploy more feds to shut down protests across the US” at Business Insider.
Read Barr calls reaction to George Floyd's death 'extreme' at CNN.
Read ‘Men Charged With Murder Of Ahmaud Arbery Plead Not Guilty” at NPR.
Read “Police arrest 4, including organizers, at downtown Phoenix protest” at AZ Central.
Read “St. Louis couple charged for pulling, waving guns at protest” at Associated Press.
Read “In emerging role, chaplains are providing spiritual care for activists in movements across the nation” at Religion News Service.
Read “Trump Is the Problem. The Organizational Chart Doesn’t Matter. Federal agents are confronting protesters in Portland because voters chose a president with authoritarian instincts” at The Atlantic.
This Week With The Police:
Read “The Honolulu Cop Who Forced a Homeless Man to Lick a Urinal Is Going to Prison” at Vice.
Read “Why We Should Be Alarmed That Israeli Forces And U.S. Police Are Training Together” at Common Dreams.
Read “Portland protesters tear gassed as DHS head calls them 'violent'“ at Al Jazeera.
Read “‘They just started whaling on me’: Veteran speaks out after video of federal officers beating him at Portland protests goes viral” at The Independent.
Read “DPS trooper who killed Dion Johnson previously reprimanded for using stun gun on puppy, threatening ex-partner” at AZ Central.
Read “Pennsylvania Approves Police Reform Bill Requiring Employment Records From Officers Seeking New Jobs” at The Root.
Read “The Invention Of The Police” at The New Yorker.
Read “Phoenix police fired an officer charged with sexually assaulting handcuffed woman” at AZ Central.
Education and The Learnings:
School Re-opening news:
Read “CDC Won't Release School Guidance This Week As Anticipated” at NPR.
Read “Health Kim Reynolds Virus Outbreak Iowa General News Iowa governor overrides schools, requires in-person classes” at Associated Press.
Read “Kids Get Coronavirus, But Do They Spread It? We'll Find Out When Schools Reopen”
Read “Teachers Are Ready To Quit Rather Than Put Their Lives At Risk” at Buzzfeed.
Read “Missouri governor’s comments on coronavirus, McCloskeys raise eyebrows” at St. Louis Dispatch. “These kids have got to get back to school.... And if they do get COVID-19, which they will — and they will when they go to school — they’re not going to the hospitals.... They’re going to go home and they’re going to get over it.”
Read “Florida teachers union sues DeSantis, Corcoran over schools’ ‘reckless, unsafe reopening’ at Miami Herald.
Read “Health care professionals and school board members warn Arizona governor returning to school isn't safe” at CNN.
Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:
Read “We’re Learning More About How COVID Spreads. What You Need to Know Now. Transmission by aerosols helps explain why the virus spreads so much more indoors than it does outside” at The Dispatch.
Read “Georgia's Governor Issues Order Rescinding Local Mask Mandates” at NPR.
Read “Tom Hanks Decals Are Popping Up in Toronto to Mark Your Social Distancing” at Exclaim.
Read “Woman who refused to wear mask wants half of $100,000 donated to Starbucks barista” at NBC4I.
Read “Banner Health utilizing 1,000 out-of-state workers for coronavirus response” (Arizona).
Read “Studies provide glimpse at efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines from Oxford-AstraZeneca and CanSino” at STAT News.
Read “As cases surge and poll numbers drop, Trump to resume White House coronavirus briefings” at ABC News. "Never been anything like it," he said, calling them "very successful."
Read “India coronavirus: Amarnath pilgrimage cancelled due to Covid-19” at BBC.
Read “Outbreak at Iowa pork plant was larger than state reported” at Associated Press.
Read “'Worse before it gets better.' Trump delivers sober warning in return to coronavirus briefings” at USA Today.
Read “Ohio, Minnesota Governors Issue Statewide Mask Mandates” at Daily Beast.
Read “Coronavirus Has Raged Inside American Prisons At A Higher Rate Than Rest Of Nation” At The Appeal.
Read “US surpasses 4 million reported coronavirus cases as hospitalizations near record” at CNN.
Miscellany Cultural Items:
Read “Queen knights 100-year-old who raised more than $40 million for U.K.'s National Health Service'“ at Axios.
Read “Near and Present Anarchy America’s death tango with state failure” at The Baffler.
Politics And Sucheries:
Read “Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has Cancer Again, Says She Will Remain On The Court” at NPR.
Read ‘Mary Trump Describes Abusive Trump Family Home, Says She Will Vote For Biden” at NPR.
Read “DeSantis and Rubio Brutally Fumble Their Responses to Lewis’ Death” at Rolling Stone.
Read “White House portraits of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush moved from prominent space to rarely used room” at News and Guts.
Read “Pandemic surge damages Trump, boosting Biden's White House bid” at ABC News.
Read ‘Everytown Applauds House Democrats for Including Key Gun Safety Measures in Appropriations Package” at Everytown.
Read “Presidential Nominees Rarely Speak To Muslim Audiences. Biden Did Monday” at NPR.
Read “In unusual arrangement, deputy HHS secretary’s wife has been lobbying the agency on behalf of health care companies” at STAT News.
Read “With No Final Say, Trump Wants To Change Who Counts For Dividing Up Congress' Seats” at NPR.
Read “US accuses China of hacking coronavirus researchers, others” at Al Jazeera.
Read “The Billionaire Behind Efforts to Kill the U.S. Postal Service” at In The Public Interest.
Read “More than two dozen DC Bar members urge disciplinary probe of AG Barr” at The Hill.
Read “Ted Yoho apologizes after reportedly verbally accosting Ocasio-Cortez over stance on unemployment, crime in New York” at CNN. In case you’re wondering, this, fine upstanding Republican who protects “family values” called her "f**king bitch". Watch Ocasio-Cortez’s response here and here and here. “Mr. Yoho mentioned that he has a wife and two daughters. I am two years younger than Mr. Yoho's youngest daughter. I am someone's daughter, too. My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter."
Read “White House aware of Russian bounties in 2019” at Associated Press.
Read “President Trump Cancels Jacksonville Component Of Republican National Convention” at NPR.
This Week In Political Corruption:
Read “Two Trump Judges Broke Ethics Rules to Stop Up to 1 Million Floridians From Voting in November” at Slate.
Read 'Rep. Matt Gaetz Had a TV Studio Installed in His Father’s Home With Taxpayer Money and Other Possible Violations” at The Root.
Music-Related News and Such:
Read “Senators Introduce ‘Save Our Stages Act’ to Support Struggling Venues” at Jambands.
Read “The Stranger-Than-Fiction Secret History of Prog-Rock Icon Rick Wakeman” at Vanity Fair.
Read “Live music won’t return until 2022, Lollapalooza co-founder says” at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read “Gillian Welch Announces Archival Collection, Shares New Songs” at Pitchfork.
Read “Mike Watt says he reunited with Porno For Pyros for first time in 24 years & filmed 4 songs” at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read “Barns, breaks and barebones production: Recording Khruangbin’s Mordechai” at Music Tech.
Read “Laraaji’s music has emphasized stillness and calm for decades. Now the world is trying to get on his level” at Washington Post.
Read ‘US rockers REM to stream documentary of Stirling gigs to mark 21st anniversary” at The Daily Record.
Read “A Music Manager Suggested New Artists Should Only Release Singles and Everyone Is Pissed” at Exclaim.
Read “Why Do So Many People Love The Grateful Dead Now?” at Uproxx. (EDITOR’S NOTE: Genius is often ahead of its time).
Read Pitchfork’s “The Grateful Dead: A Guide to Their Essential Live Songs” from 2017.
Read “Pavement joins Bandcamp (all five studio albums streaming)” at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read “Kanye West Says New Album Is Out This Week The follow-up to Jesus Is King and Jesus Is Born arrives July 24” at Pitchfork.
Read “Kim Kardashian West Releases Statement on Kanye’s Mental Health” at Pitchfork.
Read “Burger Records Shuts Down Completely” at Pitchfork. “Following misconduct allegations, the tape label’s plan to rebrand and establish new leadership has reportedly fallen apart.” at Pitchfork.
Read “The Growlers’ keyboardist leaves band following sexual misconduct allegations against other members” at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read “The Cure say new LP will be their “most intense, saddest” yet…when they finish it” at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read “Lady A Discusses Lady Antebellum Controversy on Desus & Mero” at Pitchfork.
Read “I Don't Want This Sullied by These Foul-mouthed Youngsters": An Interview With Old 97's” at Pop Matters.
Read “Howe Gelb :: Surrounded By Sound And Washed In Color” at Aquarium Drunkard.
Movies/TV/Etc.:
Browse “Every Episode of Psych, Ranked Eight seasons, two movies, and a whole bunch of cases” at Vulture.
Read “How Psych Evolved Through the Character of Carlton Lassiter” at Den of Geek.
Read “Ukraine President Ends Hostage Situation by Endorsing Joaquin Phoenix Film” at The Guardian.
Read “Blocked Busters: Disney Pushes 17 Movie Release Dates” at NPR.
Books/Reading/Authors
Read “Colson Whitehead Awarded 2020 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction” at Publisher’s Weekly.
Science/Animals/Technology/Environment/Etc.:
Read “Something Weird Happened to Men 7,000 Years Ago, And We Finally Know Why” at Science Alert.
Food Cultures:
Read “To Evade Pre-Prohibition Drinking Laws, New Yorkers Created the World’s Worst Sandwich” at Atlas Obscura. “It was everywhere at the turn of the 20th century. It was also inedible.”
Local:
Read “Phoenix May Use CARES Act Funds to Keep Homeless People Out of Alleys” at Phoenix New Times.
Read “Florida coronavirus cases surge for fifth day as Trump pledges outbreak will be under control” at Reuters.