Monday, March 26th, 2018

1

The Kids Are On Your Lawn

We passed the baton. Or maybe they took it. Either way, the teen-led march that became a movement over the weekend was a significant moment in the debate over America's gun laws. But it was about a lot more than that. My quick take: What This March Is Really About.

+ "If this had been tightly scripted, made-for-TV viewing it's unlikely Samantha Fuentes, one of the Parkland survivors— overcome with emotion and nerves—would have stopped halfway through her poem, titled Enough, to throw up behind the podium." Dahlia Lithwick: What we saw on Saturday afternoon in Washington, DC, was stunningly original.

+ Photos from the March for Our Lives.

+ "In the six weeks since the young survivors of Parkland, Florida, jump-started a vibrant new movement for gun control, its leadership has managed to broaden the locus of concern beyond mass shootings at comfortable suburban schools like Marjory Stoneman Douglas, to gun violence in urban neighborhoods as well." Margaret Talbot: The Extraordinary Inclusiveness of the March for Our Lives.

+ "A doctored animation of González tearing the US Constitution in half circulated on social media during the rally ... In the real image, González is ripping apart a gun-range target." WaPo: Where the Parkland teens are villains.

+ Vanity Fair: Inside the secret meme lab designed to propel #neveragain beyond the march.

2

Magazine Sub

Last night I suffered the embarrassment every man dreads. My kids walked in on me watching 60 Minutes. What did we actually learn from the interview (other than the fact that Trump allowed himself to be spanked with a rolled up MAGAzine)? The New Yorker's Amy Davidson provides an overview.

+ In what might have been a disappointment to some, the interview's most titillating aspects had to do with Trump's legal tactics. David Frum: The president is used to getting his way by bluster and intimidation, but the strategy that once worked for him is now working against him.

+ The other thing we learned is that Stormy Daniels is as good at attracting a TV audience as Donald Trump. It was 60 Minutes' most watched episode in nearly a decade.

+ As with most videos related to the adult film industry, you're probably better off just watching the highlights.

3

Get the Red Out

"It was the strongest action that U.S. President Donald Trump had taken against Russia since coming to office." In a show of unity with Europe, the US announced that it will expel more than 60 Russian diplomats to protest the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain.

+ Twenty-one countries have aligned with the UK, expelling more than 100 diplomats.

+ "Putin and his guys aren't going to care unless you eff with their money in London." Buzzfeed: European spooks say expelling Russian diplomats is all well and good, but it's not how you really hurt Putin.

4

With Friends Like These

Last week was bad for Facebook. And this week isn't starting off all that great as the FCC is investigating the social giant over its use of people's personal information.

+ "I'm sorry we didn't do more at the time. We're now taking steps to make sure this doesn't happen again." Over the weekend, Facebook took out full-page newspaper ads to address the controversy. (We finally found the business model for old media: Publishing apologies from new media...)

+ This isn't about sorry. Making it about apologies leaves the solution up to self-regulation. But the regulation must be driven from the outside -- and that goes for Facebook and many, many other internet companies. Siva Vaidhyanathan in the NYT: Don't Delete Facebook. Do Something About It. "If the people who care the most about privacy, accountability and civil discourse evacuate Facebook in disgust, the entire platform becomes even less informed and diverse. Deactivation is the opposite of activism."

+ "Will you add your name to the petition asking Facebook to change its app permissions and ensure your privacy is protected by default?" My excellent sponsor, Mozilla, invites you to tell Facebook: this can't happen again.

5

Kinetic Tac Toe

"As General James Mattis, then-commander of U.S. Central Command put it in 2013, if the State Department budget were to be cut, 'I have to buy more ammunition.'" Well, the State Dept definitely has a lot fewer staffers. But it's more than just that. Professor Duffy Toft on the shift from diplomacy first, and armed force as a last resort, to armed force first – or kinetic diplomacy. "While U.S. ambassadors are operating in one-third of the world's capitals, special operations forces are active in three-fourths."

6

Snow Job

"Okemo employs more than 400 instructors, who run 'a really wide gamut,' according to Chris Saylor, the school's director. So when a 74-year-old retiree applied for the gig a few years back, Saylor didn't think much of it. The man skied well and had a friendly, patient demeanor. He also seemed to embody the company's core values: safety, service, sustainability and teamwork. At some point, Saylor scanned the former employers on the man's resume, and a couple names stuck out right away. Henry Kissinger… Donald Rumsfeld… " Fifteen years after the invasion of Iraq, Task and Pupose catches up with Paul Bremer, Ski Instructor.

7

Close Counts

"Are you affected? Most likely. Consider the most recent meeting or lecture you attended: did anyone have their smartphone out on the table? Think about the last time you went to the movies, or went out with friends, read a book, or played a game: was your smartphone close by? In all of these cases, merely having your smartphone present may have impaired your cognitive functioning." Harvard Business Review: Just Having Your Smartphone Nearby Takes a Toll on Your Thinking.

8

The Grass is Greener on the Other Side

"Coleman marveled at how much the stadium had changed since 1994, when he last worked for the team. As he took in the sights, legendary head groundskeeper Roger 'The Sodfather' Bossard came over and embraced Coleman in a quick hug. 'I saved your spot for you,' Bossard said. 'I knew you'd be back.'" Chicago Tribune: After 23 years in prison as an innocent man, former White Sox groundskeeper returns to his old job.

9

Fortnitus

Last night my niece introduced me to the term Fortnitus. She was referring to the kids in her junior high who stay home from school so they can play a game called Fortnite. It turns out the kids who go to school are playing the game too. From Kotaku: Teens And Teachers Say Fortnite Mobile Is Destroying Some Schools.

10

Bottom of the News

Guillaume Rey was fired from his waitering gig at a Canadian restaurant for being "aggressive, rude and disrespectful." Now he's filed a complaint, arguing that his firing was an act of discrimination against his culture. (He's French.)

+ Meet The People Who Can Control Their Goose Bumps.

+ GQ: There's Something Funny About Tiffany Haddish.