Recommended Reading
from Bruce
HENRY ROLLINS: WHEN YOU CLAIM RACISM IS OVER, YOU GET A DYLANN ROOF (LA Weekly)
Before more was known about the now-infamous Dylann Roof, there was a noticeably halting manner in the statements from politicians and in the reportage by media outlets. Some of them seemed unwilling to bring up the idea that this attack on a Bible study class at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church by a single white male, which left nine African-Americans dead, had a racial element.
Jordan Weissman: Companies That Exploit Unpaid Interns Just Won a Huge Victory at Court (Slate)
… by killing the potential for large class actions against companies over their internship programs, the 2nd Circuit is effectively giving them leeway for abuse. It's possible that media companies have been so scarred by this last round of court cases that they'll shy away from the worst practices of the past. But if they really want to go back to offering 22- and 23-year-olds unpaid "educational opportunities" that consist mostly of grabbing Starbucks and making photocopies, it doesn't look like there will be much to stop them.
Jacob Brogan: You Absolutely Should Not Donate to the Greece-Bailout Crowdfunding Campaign(Slate)
Those hoping to make a real difference might consider supporting an underfunded Greek charity. Or maybe just ordering a gyro at their neighborhood deli.
Tim Dowling: Harry Potter and the death of reading (Guardian)
JK Rowling's boy wizard may have drawn millions of children to novels, but Potter merchandise has disapparated books at Platform 9 ¾.
Jana Kasperkevic: Reddit CEO sorry for 'letting down' users after popular subforums shut down(Guardian)
Ellen Pao would not comment on firing of director of talent but said company was working on providing moderators with a better infrastructure and network.
Hari Kunzru: "Dune, 50 years on: how a science fiction novel changed the world" (Guardian)
It has sold millions of copies, is perhaps the greatest novel in the science-fiction canon and Star Wars wouldn't have existed without it. Frank Herbert's Dune should endure as a politically relevant fantasy from the Age of Aquarius.
Ellie Bate: 21 Of The Most Embarrassing Things People Have Done When Meeting Celebrities(BuzzFeed)
We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about some of their most awkward and embarrassing celebrity encounters. Here are some of their most hilarious responses!
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, wrote:
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Lois Way Up The Pacific Coast In The Land Of Rednecks
Sunday Idiotorial
Oh my, George Takei has gone and done it now! Disrespecting the right honorable Judge Clarence "who has put pubic hair on my coke?" Thomas! The finest ex-employe (?) Monsanto ever had! How DARE Mr. Takei exercise his first amendment rights by speaking the TRUTH in response to THIS truckload of bullshit dumped out of Thomas' twisted, sold out mind: "Human dignity cannot be taken away by the government," wrote Thomas, who is black (?). "Slaves did not lose their dignity (any more than they lost their humanity) because the government allowed them to be enslaved. Those held in internment camps did not lose their dignity because the government confined them".
Wha?
OK, George could have put it better than "clown in blackface". What he SHOULD have said is "OREO", which was once a delicious cookie, but is now just a composite of substandard ingredients formed from questionable chemicals which will eventually kill you in a horrible way. You know, black on the outside, white on the inside, and really, REALLY BAD FOR YOU!
Lois Of Oregon
Thanks, Lois!
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
from Marc Perkel
Patriot Act
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and breezy.
Climate Rally
Toronto
Jane Fonda joined hundreds gathered outside Ontario's legislative buildings on Sunday to rally and march for action on climate change and a greener economy ahead of two international summits this week.
Labour groups, First Nations leaders, students and environmentalists led the rally calling on the federal government to do more to combat climate change and to focus on creating more jobs in the renewable energy sector to shift Canada away from an oil-based economy.
The rally came on the eve of both the Climate Summit of the Americas and the Pan American Economic Summit, which the provincial environment ministry said in a release demonstrates "the important link between climate action and a strong, prosperous low-carbon economy."
David Suzuki, a prominent environmental activist, says he was excited by the fact that such a wide range of groups were involved in the demonstration, not just environmentalists. He added the economic impact of climate change is going to be "incredible" and "catastrophic" unless more is done by the federal government.
Canadian author and activist Naomi Klein said elected officials need to treat climate change as an "emergency" by reducing carbon emissions and investing in greener jobs. She said a "broader agenda" is emerging against climate change that involves more than just traditional environmentalists because the economic model tied to fossil fuels is failing Canadians on many different fronts.
Toronto
To Rename Or Not?
Honors For Racists
The massacre at a predominantly black South Carolina church has institutions from Alaska to Connecticut evaluating whether they should continue enshrining the names of historical figures linked to slavery and the Confederacy.
The June 17 slaying of nine black worshippers led to calls to curb displays of the Confederate flag after photos emerged showing the suspect posing with one and burning the U.S. flag. But it also has added urgency to discussions on whether it is time to do away with names given to schools, colleges and streets that have come to be seen in a new light in places far outside the South.
A petition is calling for Yale University in Connecticut to change the name of its residential Calhoun College, which honors 1804 alumnus John C. Calhoun, a prominent advocate of the slave plantation system who became a vice president and U.S. senator from South Carolina. The petition says the name, in place since the 1930s, represents "an indifference to centuries of pain and suffering among the black population."
Other campaigns around the country include efforts to change the names of Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis and New York City's General Lee Avenue in Brooklyn, named after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. In Helena, Montana, officials will meet Wednesday to discuss whether anything should be done with a downtown memorial to fallen Confederate soldiers. The foundation was built in 1916 by the Daughters of the Confederacy.
Honors For Racists
Wedding News
Roderick - Joel
US pop legend Billy Joel married longtime girlfriend Alexis Roderick in a surprise wedding Saturday, popping their nuptials on unsuspecting guests at a July 4 holiday party, the singer's publicist said.
The wedding, which took place on Joel's Long Island estate, was officiated by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Among the guests were actor Kevin James and Joel's daughter Alexa Ray Joel -- whom he had with his second wife, former supermodel Christie Brinkley.
Joel, 66, and Roderick, who is in her early 30s according to US media, are expecting their first child in the next few months, his publicist said.
Roderick - Joel
Paying For Ancestry
Santo Domingo
Soy dominicano y tengo derecho!
This is the call that has echoed throughout Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic where tens of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent have protested a move to drop their citizenship: "I am Dominican, and I have rights."
Following a 2013 high court decision, the Dominican government revoked the citizenship of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent born in the country after 1929. The decision impacted people who were born in the country and built their entire lives there-simply because of their ancestry. The complicated history of violence, racism, and labor demand between Haiti and the Dominican Republic-two countries that share one island-was the backdrop for the court's controversial ruling, which left thousands stateless and in fear of deportation to the other side of the island.
While Haitians work to recover from a devastating 2010 earthquake that is estimated to have killed 220,000, Dominicans of Haitian descent have been cut off from public resources, ranging from education to healthcare, according to a report released Wednesday by Human Rights Watch. While the Dominican government attempted to put a naturalization process into place to assist the many people who wanted to regain full citizenship, experts say the registration system is inadequate, and has left many people in limbo as a result.
The problem has hit children born in the Dominican Republic to Haitian parents especially hard. Haitian nationals who have emigrated must get identification from the dysfunctional bureaucracy of the Haitian consulate before they can help their children register for Dominican citizenship.
Santo Domingo
Chinese Tourists Stir Outrage
Thailand
Accused of urinating in public, spitting on the street, or kicking a sacred temple bell -- free-spending Chinese tourists are receiving a mixed welcome as their soaring numbers help the kingdom's creaking economy.
Growing outrage over the perceived disrespect of visitors from the Asian giant saw authorities print thousands of Chinese-language etiquette manuals earlier this year in a bid to keep their tourists in check.
At the gleaming Wat Rong Khun, also known as the White Temple, in northern Chiang Rai province, owner Chalermchai Kositpipat complained about the state of the toilets after a recent visit by a Chinese group.
"We had problems with some Chinese who defecated anywhere, so I asked the guides to explain to them that rules must be respected in Thailand," Chalermchai told AFP, having earlier threatened to refuse the nationals entry.
Thailand
GOP Retreat
Wisconsin
In a sudden reversal amid a stinging backlash, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R-Pro Rape) and GOP legislative leaders said they agreed Saturday to completely remove a part of the proposed state budget that would severely roll back open records laws.
Walker announced the decision in a joint statement Saturday with Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, and the co-chairs of the joint budget committee. They said that they're committed to open and accountable government.
The restrictions, which Republicans on the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee slipped into the proposed budget late Thursday, would shield nearly everything created by state and local government officials from Wisconsin's open records law, including drafts of legislation and staff communications. The proposal drew heavy criticism from liberals and conservatives alike, and was the subject of a withering front-page editorial in Saturday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The sudden furor had become a serious distraction for Walker as he prepares to formally announce his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination on July 13. He told reporters before an Independence Day parade in the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa on Saturday morning that he planned to discuss the matter with legislative leaders after the weekend, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Wisconsin
Charges Against Pink Panty Sheriff
Arizona
The sheriff of metro Phoenix has long been known for jailing inmates in tents and pink underwear and cracking down on illegal immigration. But an upcoming trial will force Sheriff Joe Arpaio to answer for a pattern of behavior that his critics have long found deeply troubling.
The U.S. Justice Department is putting Arpaio on trial next month in a civil rights case that will focus in part on how the sheriff investigated and criminally charged people who crossed him from 2007 until 2010.
The cases included officers leading a judge out of his chambers and arresting newspaper executives and protesters who were critical of him. In addition, a county supervisor embroiled in a feud with the lawman was charged with dozens of felonies.
Each of the investigations collapsed, and county taxpayers had to pay $8.7 million in lawsuits to the people who said they were investigated on trumped-up allegations. The Justice Department decided against filing criminal abuse-of-power allegations against Arpaio but went ahead with a civil case that will be heard beginning Aug. 10 in Phoenix.
Arizona
State Must Fix Fish-Blocking Culverts
Washington
Washington state is under a federal court order to fix hundreds of barriers built under state roads and highways that block access for migrating salmon and thus interfere with Washington tribes' treaty-backed right to catch fish.
But it's not clear how the state is going to come up with the estimated $2.4 billion it will take to correct more than 825 culverts - concrete pipes or steel structures that allow streams to flow under state roads and highways.
The state says it would need to fix an average of 30 to 40 culverts a year by 2030, spending $310 million every biennium, to comply with the 2013 court injunction.
The state has appealed the judge's decision. But in the meantime, the Legislature last week approved millions to correct fish barriers statewide. The 16-year transportation revenue bill includes $300 million for fish passage, dramatically more than in the past but far short of what the state estimates it needs. The House still needs to pass two Senate-approved bills to complete the transportation package.
Washington
Weekend Box Office
"Jurassic World"
July 4th went off like a dud at the box office. Anticipated new releases "Magic Mike XXL" and "Terminator Genisys" fizzled, leaving the popular holdovers "Jurassic World" and "Inside Out" to top the holiday weekend.
Despite the brawny enticements of Channing Tatum and Arnold $chwarzenegger, the four-week rule of Universal's dinosaur sensation "Jurassic World" continued with an estimated $30.9 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Pixar's acclaimed "Inside Out" nearly caught up to the runaway dinos, taking in $30.1 million in its third weekend of release.
This weekend was still up 6.9 percent over last year, when Melissa McCarthy's "Tammy" and the sci-fi adventure "Earth to Echo" made for Hollywood's worst July 4 in decades.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Jurassic World," $30.9 million ($42 million international).
2. "Inside Out," $30.1 million ($18.6 million international).
3. "Terminator: Genisys," $28.7 million ($74 million international).
4. "Magic Mike XXL," $12 million ($6.2 million international)
5. "Ted 2," $11 million ($18.8 million international).
6. "Max," $7 million.
7. "Spy," $5.5 million ($3.4 million international).
8. "San Andreas," $3 million.
9. "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl," $1.3 million.
10. "Dope," $1.1 million.
"Jurassic World"
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