Reading List: Doesn’t Mean You Should Just Because You Can(cun) #sorrynotsorry
Poppets! It’s Friday and it’s still February the last time I checked. bBefore we get to our long reads, I would like to take a moment to observe the remarkable fail that was Ted Cruz’s brief sojourn to warmer climes, and the epic communications poopstorm he is now in over this. Now, before you engage in any form of schadenfreude of this man, please consider donating to an organization providing relief in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana (I just gave $100 to Front Steps, an organization serving Austin’s unhoused population that has started activating cold weather shelters.)
Ok, now let’s feast on this abject idiocy (and remember, I am in crisis communications, so…. WOOF.) Lowlights courtesy of my family group text (ht to my Mum for her eagle eyes) and other group texts because hoooooo-ey, this is a feast for the reward center in our brain:
The fact that he thought that heading to a Ritz Carlton in Cancun while his state faces one of the biggest humanitarian crises in modern times is yet another example of how the 2016 satire website Ted Cruz For Human President was never not true.
And how do we know it was a Ritz Carlton? Because someone on the Cruz’s neighborhood group chat leaked the damn thing to The New York Times (not all heroes wear capes, but also I really hope no one ever leaks how often I say OMG and LOL and ahhhhhhhhhhhh in group chats, lest I look dumber than I already do.) Also, I am HERE for the #FlyinTed hashtag.
BTW, the NYT is on every petty aspect about this, even interviewing political crisis comms professionals on the WTAFness of it all: What Crisis-Communications Experts Would Tell Ted Cruz
And guess what HE MIGHT HAVE LEFT HIS DOG IN HIS COLD HOUSE I am screaming. (Raw Story)
BuzzFeed is hooking it to our veins: Literally Just Photos Of Ted Cruz Flying Back To The US After Getting Caught Vacationing In Cancún.
And of course, Alexandra Petri at The Washington Post captures the essence of why we’re all reveling in this story amidst the devastation of what’s happening in the south: Ted Cruz honestly surprised so many people want him around.
And again, we are only taking pleasure in Ted Cruz’s self-inflicted PR misfortune. Otherwise, like AOC who raised $1M, we are donating and supporting our brethren in the American South while we remain flabbergasted by the actions of an awful social idiot.
Anyway, here are some longreads that I plan on reading alongside last week’s longreads, which I still haven’t read because I now permanently live in piles of empty moving boxes, artfully constructed in a yurt-style abode.
Bridget Read, The Nightmare Share She posted an ad for a roommate. What’s the worst that could happen? (The Cut) - This. Story. Is. BONKERS. After work today, curl up with a beverage of your choice and dive on in.
Sandro Galea M.D., The Limits of Moralism in Health (Psychology Today) - I’d be interested in responses from medical professional / epidemiologist / health communicator readers as to how best to change the national discourse on COVID and vaccines if, as Dr. Galea writes, “there is also real peril in a public health approach that is steeped in moralism.”
Reid J. Epstein, Adam Kinzinger’s Lonely Mission (The New York Times) - Normally I’m not a fan of patting people on the head for doing the bare minimum, but considering how much I’ve seen Rep. Kinzinger in the news sticking his neck out to do the right thing, we’d do well to support his efforts, if only to provide an example of how other members of the GOP can, indeed, choose to do the right thing.
Eileen Guo, He started a covid-19 vaccine company. Then he hosted a superspreader event. (MIT Technology Review) - I only have so many palms which which to smack my forehead. Sigh.
Stay safe! Wear that mask! Be kind to each other!
Xoxo Amy