Give Me House Plant Supplies, or Give Me Death.
Dearests! I’m back from Canada, where it was indeed snowing not unlike this amazing video sent in by our friend Colin (yes friends, winter IS Calgary.) So unless you’re deep into wondering how in all hell a pith helmet was included in FLOTUS’s travel wardrobe for Nairobi—because nothing screams diplomacy in 2018 like sartorial nods to colonialism!—let’s get to the reading.
A Google research slide deck on how they tackle issues of online speech and censorship was leaked. Those of us in tech—and especially tech policy—will see a lot of the topics we debate on a day-to-day basis, but it’s still amazing to see Google so plainly ask itself “Can Google protect free speech and police harmful content?” A wee communications aside: as someone who believes we should dance like no one is watching but write like everything is going to be leaked to Breitbart, I would have advised the authors of this deck to avoid words like “police” when talking about free speech, but what can I say, I’m sensitive like that.
From WIRED: “”How about we add an explosive in the steering wheel?" Brilliant. That's exactly what we will do. We will put a bomb in the car and it will save lives.”
Max Boot, a conservative writer who of late has considered what being socially liberal but fiscally conservative means in the Trump era, published an excerpt from his new book in The Washington Post titled The dark side of American conservatism has taken over. I know I have (at least a few) conservative subscribers: what did you all think of his piece? Do you agree or disagree with his perspective on the current moral state of the conservative movement? I’d love to share your thoughts (anonymously, of course.)
And finally, please consider contributing to my “Matreon, The Patreon Platform for Emotional Labor.” Once again, McSweeney’s cuts right to the quick.
Be kind to each other, won't you?
xoxo Amy