And here we are at the second Friday in July!

As a long-time resident of Western Washington state (I came to live here as a teenager way back in 1976), I am well aware of the fact that summer weather doesn’t typically arrive here until July 11. Many locals joke that it is July 5, mostly because people remember how many 4ths of July were overcast and/or rainy, and that sunny weather arrived sometime after Independence Day, but statistically it isn’t the 5th, it’s the 11th. I mention this because all this week a lot of local news blogs and such have been hyping the fact this this year year has seen the coolest first week in July in Seattle since 2002. Since I’m a person who basically melts into a puddle of Unable-to-do-anything whenever the temperature gets about 80º Farenheit, I’m not exactly complaining, mind you.

Which means that this must be the Friday Five. This week I bring you:the top five stories of the week, five stories about the pandemic, five stories about deplorable people, and five videos (plus notable obituaries and some things I wrote).

Stories of the Week:

Froth, Feathers, Fluff: The History of the Boa.

Follow The River, No Matter Its Rapids, No Matter Its Turns .

The Study That Debunks Most Anti-Abortion Arguments – For five years, a team of researchers asked women about their experience after having—or not having—an abortion. What do their answers tell us?

Why LGBTQ Children’s Books Aren’t Just for LGBTQ Families.

Elton John says ‘racism and bigotry’ are hindering the fight against HIV/AIDS. “We can achieve an AIDS-free generation in America—but only if we design a system of care that embraces Black people and marginalized communities, and tackles structural racism head-on.”

This Week in the Pandemic:

US reaches 3m confirmed Covid-19 cases as Pence pushes for schools to reopen – as it happened.

California sets record for most coronavirus cases in a single day.

Health official: Trump rally ‘likely’ source of virus surge.

Large antibody study adds to evidence herd immunity to COVID-19 is ‘unachievable’.

Study: Lower COVID Risk for HIV-Positive People on Antiretrovirals.

This Week in Deplorables:

Ted Cruz mocked for tantrum about Gorsuch siding with Native American rights: ‘Way to channel Andrew Jackson’.

Billionaries, lobbyists reap PPP loan windfall.

Fox News regrets ‘mistakenly’ editing Donald Trump out of photo with Jeffrey Epstein.

Drivers target Black Lives Matter protesters in ‘horrifying’ spate of attacks.

Republican candidate brags about pulling her daughter out of college for supporting LGBTQ rights.

In Memoriam:

Nick Cordero, Broadway actor who battled COVID-19, has died at age 41, wife says.

Ennio Morricone, Oscar-Winning Composer of Film Scores, Dies at 91 – His vast output included atmospheric music for spaghetti westerns in his native Italy and scores for some 500 movies by a Who’s Who of directors.

Ennio Morricone, Prolific Italian Composer for the Movies, Dies at 91 – Renowned for scoring Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Westerns, the Oscar winner also produced the sounds and music for ‘Days of Heaven,’ ‘The Mission,’ ‘Cinema Paradiso’ and ‘The Hateful Eight.’

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update on the Fifth of July.

That monument doesn’t belong here.

Speech without consequences isn’t free….

Gentlefolk, Start Your Rockets, er, Hugo Ballots!

Videos!

Cooper: Trump says US in a good place. His experts say otherwise:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Bounty:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Rep. Moulton on Russia bounties: ‘This is treasonous behavior’ from Trump:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

POOR DEPLORABLE TROLL – A Randy Rainbow Song Parody:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Wrabel – since i was young (with kesha) [official audio]:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)