June 30, 2020
The world is a lot less funny today than it was yesterday: Last night, legendary comedian Carl Reiner died at the age of 98.
You may have known Reiner from the Dick Van Dyke Show, which he created and wrote, or from his "2000 Year Old Man" comedy duo with Mel Brooks, or from his appearance in Ocean's Eleven. I knew him from Twitter. He regularly tweeted his disgust at President Trump's policies and at the racism endemic to this country. Sometimes he tweeted successive thoughts that seemed intended for a Google search bar, but it was never really clear whether this was a bit. Regardless, the world lost a mensch last night.
In today's newsletter, we examine the hate unleashed by a pro-Trump subreddit; study whether a group of policy experts can prevent an election catastrophe in November; investigate the obstacles facing an accurate census count in Native American communities; ponder why Trump loves Putin so much; and debunk the notion that opportunity zones benefit low-income residents.
I'm gonna go watch some Carl Reiner standup. We all need a laugh these days.
One last thing: We're so close! Our fundraising deadline is today and we still have about $9,000 left to hit our very important $400,000 goal. Thank you so much to everyone who has pitched in. If you haven't yet, and you're able to, please join your fellow readers and help us close the gap with a donation today.
—Abigail Weinberg
Big Tech's foot-dragging ensures Trump's most toxic supporters still have a home.
BY ALI BRELAND
BY DAVID CORN
BY ABIGAIL WEINBERG
BY DAVID CORN
BY KATHRYN KRANHOLD
Poultry workers are particularly vulnerable during the pandemic.
BY MOLLY SCHWARTZ
SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE
Like clockwork, a customer walked into a Starbucks without a mask and loudly refused the barista’s request that she wear one (on order of county officials). A more authoritarian overreach, the customer had never seen, so this principled, in-the-right customer—who was denied service—took a photo of the barista, posted it on Facebook, and wrote, with exquisite moral clarity: “Meet lenen from Starbucks who refused to serve me cause I’m not wearing a mask. Next time I will wait for cops…”
Also like clockwork, Facebook users realized that the customer is not always right, masks can save lives, and this barista was unfairly maligned. The customer’s post backfired. Tens of thousands of people defended the worker, and a virtual tip jar was started on GoFundMe. More than $32,000 in tips rolled in.
Clocks are these mechanisms with springs and toothed gearwheels, and sometimes a dial. A working one measures time. It can be a synchronizing device, producing pulses at regular intervals. It can also tell you precisely when a maskless customer will call a barista “lenen.”
More tip stories please: recharge@motherjones.com.
—Daniel King
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