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Black Theater Artists Are Helping Shakespeare Speak To More Diverse Audiences
John Douglas Thompson portrays the magician Prospero in a Commonwealth Shakespeare Company production of
The Tempest in Boston this month.
Evgenia Eliseeva
/
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
Thousands of people will lay down blankets this week and watch Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's annual production in Boston Common, the heart of the city's sacred civic space.
This year's selection, following a year off because of the pandemic, is
The Tempest. The production stars John Douglas Thompson as Prospero, a powerful magician ruling over a tiny island.
Thompson, 57, didn't take to the stage until his late 20s, but then quickly built a reputation as one of the greatest stage actors now working. He's earned a Tony Award nomination for his work in August Wilson's

Second, if the bipartisan legislation fails, as it should, Democrats will be forced to jam all the real infrastructure items into their $3.5 trillion reconciliation effort - pushing up the price tag, and perhaps stalling the effort, which would be a good thing. Gridlock is the blessing of both Congressional branches being almost equally split between political parties.
Republicans must impede, not concede.
The amount in question is not small.  Spending on infrastructure and reconciliation would total $4.2 trillion over ten years.  The tax increases would need to add up to the same. That means that everyone – including the Republicans – who vote for the infrastructure deal are voting to increase the amount citizens pay to the federal government.  It doesn’t matter whether you call it taxes, or fees, or tariffs, or – our personal favorite – a carbon border adjustment mechanism, it is all transferring cash from individuals to the government.

Bullfrag
EU sets new guidelines on vaccines and face masks for federal employees
Reuters.- Federal workers and contractors
in situ They will have to show proof of vaccination against Covid-19 or wear face masks, practice social distancing and undergo regular tests, according to new guidelines announced Thursday by the White House.
The measures are the latest effort by US President Joel Biden to encourage some reluctant Americans to get vaccinated, as the Delta variant of the coronavirus is wreaking havoc especially among the unvaccinated.
Public employees who cannot prove they are vaccinated will be subjected to weekly or biweekly tests for Covid-19 and restrictions on official travel.

Congress moves to reclaim its war powers
The Conversation
30 Jul 2021, 06:41 GMT+10
Whether this bill passes as is, or with significant changes, or not at all, its proposal signals an effort by lawmakers to reclaim power over military action and spending that Congress has gradually surrendered over decades. It also puts pressure on presidents to evaluate their foreign policy objectives more clearly, to determine whether military action is, in fact, appropriate and justified.
As I've demonstrated in my research, even though the 1973 War Powers Resolution attempted to constrain presidential power after the disasters of the Vietnam War, it contains many loopholes that presidents have exploited to act unilaterally. For example, it allows presidents to engage in military operations without congressional approval for up to 90 days.

President Biden orders tough new vaccination rules for fed government
President Biden declared we're facing "a pandemic of the unvaccinated" and said “people are dying who don't have to die.”
Author: ALEXANDRA JAFFE and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR (Associated Press)
Published: 2:47 PM EDT July 29, 2021
Updated: 5:21 PM EDT July 29, 2021
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday announced sweeping new pandemic requirements for millions of federal workers as he denounced an “American tragedy” of rising-yet-preventable deaths among unvaccinated U.S. employees and others.
Federal workers will be required to attest they’ve been vaccinated against the coronavirus or else face mandatory masking, weekly testing, distancing and other new rules. The newly strict guidelines are aimed at boosting sluggish vaccination rates among the four million of Americans who draw federal paychecks and to set an example for private employers around the country.

BIKE NIGHT 2021 - WEEK 9
Wow, our Bike Night 2021 season has really flown by - Week 9 arrived and brought some cooler weather and our usual enthusiastic crowd. This year I've noticed more families coming out - their smiles say it all - the beautiful bikes all lined in their favorite spots - a big-time highlight from last night was having Jim from NDFlagpoleGuy there with us - he brought his truck and lifted a huge American flag into the muggy air. Bike Night 2021 stands alone for bringing so many awesome people out to enjoy each other's company and to embrace the cool bikes!

To Enable More Vaccinations, Treasury Expands Paid Leave Tax Credit
07/29/2021 | 04:29pm EDT
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July 29, 2021
WASHINGTON - Today the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced that eligible employers can claim tax credits equal to the wages paid for providing paid time-off to employees to take a family or household member or certain other individuals to get vaccinated, or to care for a family or household member or certain other individuals recovering from the vaccination. Comparable tax credits are also available for self-employed individuals.
In April, Treasury and the IRS announced eligible employers, such as businesses and tax-exempt organizations with fewer than 500 employees and certain governmental employers, could receive paid leave tax credits available under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) for providing leave for each employee receiving the vaccine and for any time needed to recover from the vaccine. Today's expanded guidance gives employers further opportunity to support the health and safety of their employees' families and communities without placing an undue burden on their business during the pandemic.

National parks refine ticketed-entry systems to manage visitor boom
Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado requires timed entry
By: Laura Olson - July 29, 2021 5:15 am
Park visitors walk up the dunes at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado in February 2017. In the distance the snow-capped Sangre de Cristo Mountains rise above the dunes. (Mackenzie Reed/NPS/Public domain)
WASHINGTON — Watching the sunrise from Cadillac Mountain at Maine’s Acadia National Park is a gorgeous view — so breathtaking that on some days, as many as 500 cars could be found vying for the scenic overlook’s 150 parking spots.
That competition has become more manageable since Acadia officials began using a reservation system in May, according to the park’s superintendent, Kevin Schneider, who testified to federal lawmakers Wednesday about overcrowding in national parks.

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Oct 23, 2012
It's largely forgotten now — but there was a time when the mere mention of Brooklyn would produce a cascade of laughs. It was like saying "woman driver" — surefire guffaws. Everybody from Brooklyn was supposed to be a character.
Every platoon in every war movie had one wise guy from Brooklyn in it. Brooklyn natives spoke funny. They said, most famously, "youse guys." At a time when African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Hispanics barely existed — visibly — in movies or on radio or television, Brooklyn was the all-purpose stand-in for our great American ethnic diversity.

House lawmakers are considering legislation that would withhold federal funds from tribal nations who discriminate against Freedmen, the descendants of people they once enslaved.
The House Committee on Financial Services held a subcommittee hearing on Tuesday to discuss reauthorizing the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA), a federal government program that provides assistance to tribal governments to support affordable housing and infrastructure.
Included in the draft bill is a provision that would require tribes to uphold their ends of agreements made with the US government and ensure full tribal citizenship rights to Freedmen before they can receive federal housing assistance.

By Battle
Jul 29, 2021
The IRS is sending out another round of tax refund checks to 1.5 million Americans this week.
The money will goes Americans who overpaid on their taxes after receiving jobless benefits this year. The typical refund check will be around $1,600.
It's all because of the American Rescue Plan, which changed tax laws to allow up to $10,200 in jobless benefits to be considered non-taxable.  However, many people had already filed their taxes before the law was passed, meaning they overpaid.  
More refunds will be coming - as many as 13 million people total could be eligible, according to the IRS.

Latest Articles
Google ^ | 29 July 2021 | Steely Tom
Looks like she's being deep-sixed by the MSM.
Fossils found in rugged mountainous terrain in Canada’s Northwest Territories may give a glimpse at the humble dawn of animal life on Earth – sea sponges that inhabited primordial reefs built by bacteria roughly 890 million years ago. A Canadian researcher said on Wednesday the fossils, dating to a time called the Neoproterozoic Period, appear to show distinctive microstructures from the body of a sea sponge built similarly to a species living today called the Mediterranean bath sponge, or Spongia officinalis. If this interpretation is correct, these would be the oldest fossils of animal life by roughly 300 million years.

The number of homicides continues to rise in major American cities following a year that saw a record increase in homicides across the country, according to a report published Thursday by the Council on Criminal Justice.
A study of homicides during the first six months of this year in 22 cities showed that the number of murders increased by 16% compared to the same period in 2020 and by 42% compared to the first six months of 2019.
The report is the latest suggesting that the number of homicides in major American cities continues to grow.
The number of homicides in 2020 compared to 2019 rose by 25%, according to an FBI preliminary report. That represents the largest jump since the agency started releasing annual homicide figures in the 1960s.

Analysis | Iran-China pact not a cure-all for Tehran's economic woes
30 Jul 2021, 05:49 GMT+10
Iran's incoming hardline leadership is looking to China to provide economic relief for the country's flatlining economy. But so far, the foundation for a new strategic partnership seems to rest more on rhetoric than substance.
Ebrahim Raisi, who will be inaugurated August 3 as Iran's president, is inheriting a domestic economy that is on life support, thanks to decades of corruption and mismanagement, compounded by U.S. sanctions. The situation ensures that a top foreign policy priority for Raisi will be cultivating stronger ties with China. Not only does Beijing possess the economic clout that can ease Tehran's sanctions-related pain, the two countries have a mutual interest in checking Washington's global influence.

Andy Lyons
/ Getty Images
For some of us, the Olympics don't
really get started until the runners take the starting line and the javelins go flying. Every four years — or in this case, five — we rejoice when the hours of swimming coverage give way to wall-to-wall athletics, as the Olympics and other countries call track and field.
Here are a few storylines to watch for, as the tracksters lace up their spikes and events kick off in Japan.
JuVaughn Harrison is a double-threat jumper
JuVaughn Harrison won both the high jump and the long jump at the U.S. Olympic trials last month. That means the 22-year-old will compete in both events in Tokyo, making him the first man to represent the U.S. in both events at the Olympics since Jim Thorpe in 1912.

Vilsack released the following statement:
Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Ph.D. (photo credit USDA ARS)
“Dr. Jacobs-Young has a deep understanding of USDA’s commitment to science, research and education and of the importance of advancing scientific knowledge to best serve the American people. For many years, she has served as an influential leader in agricultural science and research with notable experience working across the Department and across federal government. Since 2014, Dr. Jacobs-Young has served as Administrator of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), USDA’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Previously, she was the ARS Associate Administrator for National Programs, where she led the Office of National Programs and the Office of International Research Programs. Her leadership experience in this area and expertise on agricultural scientific activities make her uniquely qualified to serve in this new role at USDA. Dr. Jacobs-Young holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Wood and Paper Science and a B.S. in Pulp and Paper Science and Technology from North Carolina State University. She is also a graduate of American University’s Executive Leadership in Public Policy Implementation Program. Dr. Jacobs-Young will continue to be a valuable member of our leadership team in this role and help continue to push forward our commitment to create a safe, sustainable, competitive U.S. food and fiber system, and build strong communities through integrated research, analysis, and education.”