June 22, 2020
Happy Monday. We're coming up on my favorite part of the year, the post-equinox June days when the sun sets later and later every night. The days are getting shorter, sure, but that's because the sun is rising later in the morning, which is fine for me, because I'm never awake at 5:30 a.m. to see the sunrise anyway. In New York, where I live, twilight stretches past 9 p.m., and even though everyone is masked and a little hesitant to feel anything resembling joy, the summer nights are slowly regaining that frenetic hum they aways had—people talking on stoops, drinking in the street, setting off fireworks. I'm sorry to wax poetic when half of the country is seeing spikes in coronavirus cases, and President Trump is responding to the dire situation with the same denialism he always has. Among the places where case counts are skyrocketing is a Bay Area prison where sick inmates were transferred. Also in coronavirus news, the Trump administration paid millions of dollars to a fledgling Texas company for test tubes needed to track the spread of the virus, but got unusable mini soda bottles instead. That one might even be funny if it weren't a catastrophic turn of governmental ineptitude. Plus, remember the tax cuts Trump imposed in 2017? They're still a disaster. Also, Kentucky has slashed the number of polling places ahead of its primary, especially where Black voters live. Try to get outside, if you safely can, and enjoy the late sunset this evening (if you live in the Northern Hemisphere), and don't let the sun catch you crying! —Abigail Weinberg P.S. Thank you to everyone who has pitched in during our big fundraising drive. We still need to raise about $102,000 to hit our $400,000 goal by June 30, so if you haven't yet, I hope you'll consider joining your fellow readers and helping make our reporting possible with a donation today: Whether you can give $5 or $500, it all makes a difference. The rejection of reality comes as the virus has claimed 120,000 lives. BY INAE OH
BY KEVIN DRUM
BY MADISON PAULY
BY J. DAVID MCSWANE AND RYAN GABRIELSON
BY MADISON PAULY The Senate passed environmental legislation?????? BY WILL PEISCHEL
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SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE
Artists are doing their best in Detroit, and around the country, to celebrate the progress and and inspire more like it as the protests against police violence and racial injustice continue. Dozens of teens are using paint rollers to create a massive mural on the city’s main avenue, reading “Power to the People,” with the “o” in “Power” filled in with a raised fist of solidarity. “And we’re looking to do more around the city,” said Rochelle Riley, director of Detroit’s art and culture department. “This is permanent. It’s not just for a holiday or an action this week.” A look at the mural and the creative teens behind it. If you see or are helping to paint murals in your city or town, send photos and a description to recharge@motherjones.com. —Daniel King Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by forwarding it to a friend or sharing it on Facebook and Twitter.
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