it's the latest edition of 

The Recommentunde Newsletter

Sent on 7 July 2020 Edition

It’s time again.

FOR ME TO DO ANOTHER SHOW!!

And this one is not in Zoom. I repeat, my upcoming show is not in Zoom. You’re welcome. 

Next Thursday July 16, I’ll be doing a solo performance. No opening acts; just me. It’s on a newish platform called Looped, and there are two types of tickets. The livestream ticket is $10 and gets you access to the live show with a chat room. The VIP tickets are $50 and add on a one-on-one video chat after the main show. It’s like a COVID-safe meet and greet line! We can spend that time taking selfies or talking about your cat or solving the crisis of democracy. I believe in your power to choose. Showtime is 5pm Pacific so even the Europeans and Africans who want late night entertainment can tune in.

I know many of you missed the June 3rd show I did so come to this one, and if you were there last time, I’ve got new stories to share. You can also buy tickets for someone else, so gift one to someone you think deserves it. It's a good time to remind you of my public Google Calendar for events. 

In the land of my new podcast, episode 3 of We’re Having A Moment is out, and it’s the best yet. Consider this episode the definitive guide to what “defund the police” means. Send it to your friends and skeptical colleagues. Stream it into your Zoom calls. Blast it out your apartment windows. And leave a review on iTunes ;) 

If you’ve been with me for a while, you know my love of the 1852 speech by Frederick Douglass, What To The Slave Is The Fourth of July? This year I performed a more intimate six-minute excerpt. And on July 4th, I streamed my full-length performance from 2016 on loop for 9 hours! 

Finally a small thought: we live in a one-party system in the U.S. right now. There is a flawed but ultimately loyal and patriotic Democratic Party. And there is a Republican Party that stays silent in the face of Russia paying to kill U.S. troops and applauds as the president seeks to further rip the nation apart through appeals to overt white supremacy and nationalism. The GOP needs to be put on a timeout until they prove themselves capable of living in society with the rest of us. For my extended thoughts on the Party of Treason, check out Episode 29 of Live On Lockdown; start 5 minutes in. 

And now for your regularly-scheduled content…

How severe is the pandemic where you live?

COVID Risk Assessment Map from Harvard, CIDRAP, And many others. 

This is the map you should be looking at. It shows color-coded risk levels by county based on daily new cases per 100,000 people. Total numbers are misleading. You want trends and you want them on the same denominator. 

How Mass Protests End

Article in The Atlantic

This feels relevant now. Good explanation of the cyclical nature of movements. 

How An Ohio Black Lives Matter Protest Turned Ugly

Article in Buzzfeed

Excellent reporting from Small Town America, where the majority white population doesn’t think it has a race problem but everybody Black and Latinx does. 

In the Covid-19 Economy, You Can Have a Kid or a Job. You Can’t Have Both

Rage-inducing article in NY Times

I feel for the parents. I feel for the poor. To be a poor parent in a pandemic is to be sentenced to a dystopic doom by our cruel capitalist system in the USA. We really should reboot this entire society and try again. 

Celebrate National Forest Week With a Virtual Tour Through Some of America’s Most Stunning Forests

Article and video in Travel + Leisure

After that last article you need this palate cleanser. 

What can we do to save the restaurant industry? Why is it ours to save?

Article in San Francisco Chronicle

“Any time a server has to remind a customer to wear a mask or not touch her shoulder, that is a failure of public policy.” Hear ye hear ye! 

Riskiest Coronavirus Activities

Infographic on Instagram

Four pictures that do more than the CDC has managed in six months. Share with friends and enemies alike.

As Neo-Nazis Seed Military Ranks, Germany Confronts ‘an Enemy Within’

Article in New York Times

Ruh roh! I have given Europe a lot of credit in these past few months for not completely fumbling the pandemic ball and leaving their citizens to die of COVID or starvation. Such is the lowness of my American standards. This is a worrying article whose central thesis will make an appearance in episode 5 of my podcast as I spoke with a Berlin-based Black Lives Matter activist who talked about this very phenomenon. America isn’t the only country whose security apparatus is infested with white supremacists. 

Black Lives Matter protests did not cause an uptick in covid-19 cases

Chart in The Economist.

I mean, this is the Economist so that should settle the argument. 

Asians and Latinos embrace George Floyd protests over parents’ objections

Article in Washington Post

Thought provoking!!

Biggest Little Farm: Home

A great documentary

Watch this movie. It will do some soul restoration work inside of you.

SIGNING OFF

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