March 28th – The Day’s Most Fascinating News

“Why would I?” That was Devin Noones response to demands that he recuse himself and step aside as the head of the House probe into possible connections between Russia and the Trump administration.

+ To answer his question, here’s a review of the the Devin Nunes wiretapping saga.

+ WaPo: “The Trump administration sought to block former acting attorney general Sally Yates from testifying to Congress in the House investigation of links between Russian officials and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.” (When Yates indicated she still planned to testify, the public hearing was canceled…)

“We were stuck in the room. We had to stay. We couldn’t leave.” From the LA Times: Is Islamic State luring U.S. coalition forces into killing civilians in airstrikes?

+ “We go out of our way to always do everything humanly possible to reduce the loss of life or injury among innocent people. The same cannot be said for our adversaries and that is up to you to sort out.” Those comments from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis are very likely true. But the loose talk from the White House is making it harder for the Pentagon to convince the country and the world that there’s been no change in airstrike policies.

+ There are the political and military stories. And there’s the human story. Sometimes the latter is best told through photos. From the NYT: Engulfed in Battle, Mosul’s Civilians Run for Their Lives.

“When InterContinental summons the InterPersonal to sell its hotel rooms (or when Cadillac summons the same to sell cars; or when Expedia airs ads celebrating the aiding of refugees; or when Honey Maid, maker of graham crackers, airs spots promoting cross-cultural understanding; or when Panera, the fast-casual purveyor of Bacon Turkey Bravo® Sandwiches, adopts as its tagline, ‘Food as It Should Be’), what is being invoked is not merely blithe aspiration, cultural ideals fit to be transformed into corporate profits. The ads are, instead, profoundly political. And they are explicitly moral. They are making claims not just about what we should buy, but about what we should be.” The Atlantic’s Megan Garber on an interesting trend in advertising: Selling What They Preach. (This will come as news to podcast listeners who might be under the impression that marketers are only trying to sell us mattresses and Squarespace sites.)

+ One reason why ads are a bigger deal than ever: People trust them more than they trust the news.

“This factory growth, after the long, painful demise of the region’s textile industry, would seem to be just the kind of manufacturing renaissance President Donald Trump and his supporters are looking for. Except that it also epitomizes the global economy’s race to the bottom.” Bloomberg’s Peter Waldman with a very interesting look at the pros and cons of new factory jobs in America. Inside Alabama’s Auto Jobs Boom: Cheap Wages, Little Training, Crushed Limbs.

I get a lot of emails from people who want more news that can distract them from all the nonstop political craziness. This one ought to do the trick: Spiders could theoretically eat every human on Earth in one year: “Spiders are quite literally all around us. A recent entomological survey of North Carolina homes turned up spiders in 100 percent of them, including 68 percent of bathrooms and more than three-quarters of bedrooms. There’s a good chance at least one spider is staring at you right now, sizing you up from a darkened corner of the room, eight eyes glistening in the shadows.”

+ Not your thing? Try this variation on the theme: “In South Florida, cane toads are so numerous that they seem to be dropping from the sky. They’re overtaking parking lots and backyards, can weigh almost six pounds, and pack enough poison to kill pets. Why the surge?” Frogpocalypse Now. (If neither of these stories is enough to shift your attention, I’ll try to find something about locusts.)

“It’s still the film he’s still best known for; in fact, to this day, it’s the only film he’s known for.” From NY Mag: “Danny Rubin wrote the beloved movie and, 24 years later, the musical. In between, he lived it.” When Every Day Is Groundhog Day.

“How did an obscure artist who survived the Cultural Revolution become a viral sensation and suddenly the surreal, sexy center of Fashion Week? And what, beyond those well-defined pecs, can he tell us about eternal youth and vitality?” GQ’s Michael Paterniti spills the Secrets of the 80-Year-Old Chinese Runway Model. (This gives me an excuse to put off working out until I’m 79.)

First, a reminder that Salesforce has a free webinar for NextDraft readers: Are Spreadsheets and Manual Processes Holding Back Your Growth? (I need one of these for open browser tabs.) It’s happening on Weds morning, so sign up now.

+ And I’m getting close to a pretty cool subscriber milestone. So do me a solid and share NextDraft on Facebook. (As a bonus, your friends will be smarter.) If you’re not the Facebook type, please give NextDraft a shoutout on Twitter or Slack.

“We have politicians yukking it up everywhere from The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live to Funny or Die’s absurd Between Two Ferns. Along the way we’ve had comedians become politicians (hi, Al Franken) and politicians throw stand-up into their stump speeches. Comedy is now politics. Politics is comedy.” From Wired: The Anger-Fueled, Social-
Media-Driven World Of Humor In The Trump Age. (In fairness, social media and comedy have always been pretty angry…)

+ After 141 Years, Baseball Finally Chooses an Official Hot Dog. (I don’t like hot dogs, but I can’t wait for opening day…)

+ The Winners of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.