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Wow, it’s only Wednesday. But we’ll count that as a good thing, here. Because it means we’ve got another day with Greg Dworkin on tap.

I don’t know how we’re going to top yesterday’s Trump freak out. I suppose the only place for him to go is to accuse Santa of really being Santifa, or something of that nature.

The Familial Language of Black Grief

I cracked a joke to break the tension. “Everyone put on your seat belts, because the cops are definitely pulling us over tonight.” Psychologists say that laughter relieves stress and reduces anxiety—I guess that’s what I was going for in that moment. We were five black men sitting in a very nice car, a black Range Rover, about to go out for a night on the town. As I recall, we really tore it up at the local coffee shop with our lattes and pour-overs.

How Mitch McConnell Is Defunding the Police

On a modest scale, police defunding is happening. For years, powerful police unions have made law-enforcement funding all but untouchable. As The New York Times noted in 2018, the number of police per capita has risen over the past three decades even as crime rates have plunged. Last week, however, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that he would shave at least $100 million from his city’s law-enforcement budget.

The Looming Bank Collapse

After months of living with the coronavirus pandemic, American citizens are well aware of the toll it has taken on the economy: broken supply chains, record unemployment, failing small businesses. All of these factors are serious and could mire the United States in a deep, prolonged recession. But there’s another threat to the economy, too. It lurks on the balance sheets of the big banks, and it could be cataclysmic.

Tuesday Night Owls: Debt collectors aren’t letting up just because of Pandemic Recession

Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week

Paul Kiel and Jeff Ernsthausen at Pro-Publica write—Capital One and Other Debt Collectors Are Still Coming for Millions of Americans:

Federal, state and local officials have all taken some steps to protect Americans from the ravages of the economic crash due to COVID-19. Congress halted a substantial portion of evictions, foreclosures and collection on student loans.

Authors get real about book advances, highlighting enormous pay disparity for writers of color

As people are slowly starting to discuss pay disparities based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disabilities more openly, one subject that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention is the matter of what monetary advances writers receive for their books. At first, that sounds like a pretty niche topic, but as has become evident via viral Twitter hashtag #PublishingPaidMe, even people without a connection to the publishing world are taking an interest.

Reebok, athletes revolt after CrossFit CEO’s George Floyd tweets

It seems 2020 is the year of accountability and Reebok is leading the way in its industry. The company announced Sunday that it would end a corporate partnership with CrossFit following racist tweets by CrossFit founder Greg Glassman. “Our partnership with CrossFit HQ comes to an end later this year,” Reebok told the Associated Press.

‘The game is fixed’: Activist explains why people loot, and historical erasure of Black wealth

The violent murder of George Floyd at the hands of four former Minneapolis police officers sparked a movement across the country against racial injustice. Protesters came together to address systemic racism faced by Black people following the deaths of Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. While the message is loud and clear that Black Lives Matter and police brutality must end, videos of violence and looting on social media have distracted many from the movement’s focus.