You Should Read - Sept 30
School Board Battlegrounds
As I've watched the growing right wing attacks on schools and libraries around the country, I was secure in the fact I live in one of the bluest counties in the bluest region of the bluest state. Those attacks would stay far, far away. I was mistaken.
About two weeks ago, someone posted in my community Facebook group that an unusual "trio" campaigning as a block of candidates for our local school board. Their campaign website looked innocuous, but I could see all the dog whistles of conservative attacks on local education. Then, it came out that there was another trio campaigning for the district high school board. One candidate had served on Trump's transition team. Another had a Twitter account filled with support for the Jan 6 insurrection and running over BLM protesters. A third had changed their Facebook profile picture to "Thin Blue Line" shortly after George Floyd's murder by police. Unusually large campaign donations for such a minor race were found to be coming in from outside the local area. And similar candidates were discovered to be running in neighboring towns.
While I'm dismayed that the coordinated campaign to undermine our schools is happening right here in my community, I am heartily encouraged that my neighbors were not fooled. They leapt into action, investigating the candidates' backgrounds and unmasking a stealth extreme right wing takeover of our school boards.
If you think this isn't happening in your area, you're probably wrong.
Wonkette A Polite Reminder That Rightwing Fanatics Are Coming For Your School Boards
Right Wing Watch The Dishonest and Harmful Right-Wing Attack on American School Boards
CALMatters Back to School: California Republicans Bet on Local Board Races
NEA How To Oust a Right-Wing School Board
Collected Ephemera
Stylist “Sorry, I Only Just Got This!” The Reality of Navigating Life as a Bad Replier: Why are some of us so bad at replying to our email and social media messages? And what does it say about us as people?
I'm a "bad replier" and I know exactly why. The "expert" advice in this article about how to change this tendency is horrible. "Take responsibility" is like telling a depressive to "cheer up". I'm glad the author shrugged that off and ultimately decided to forgive themselves and move on.
PC Mag Here's Why Craigslist Still Looks the Same After 25+ Years
More a profile of founder Craig Newmark than of Craigslist. We would all be better off if more entrepreneurs, and people, had his attitude about growth, money, and success.
SAVNT The Hoodie: A History Full of Rebellion, Controversy and Tragedy
It's Nice That The Creators of Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared Offer Us a Glimpse Behind the Puppets: “The goal was to keep the show small”: Joe Pelling, Baker Terry and Hugo Donkin on turning a cult web series into a Channel 4 TV show, without losing its uniquely confusing essence.
A huge hit with my teenage son and his Gen Z humor sensibility, this show is the very definition of "unsettling". That it's been picked up by a mainstream television network is beyond belief.
General Mills The History of Lucky Charms
Corporate propaganda, yes. But did you know the "marshmallows" started as circus peanuts?
Wikipedia Speedruns Given a starting and ending Wikipedia article, your goal is to navigate between the two using only the article links.
Wikipedia Operation Góral
Entirely speculation on my part, and without giving too much away, but it's possible this $1M heist by the Polish resistance in 1943 was the inspiration for a major plot point in this week's episode of Andor.
WIRED How to Buy Ethical and Eco-Friendly Electronics: E-waste, conflict minerals, and poor labor conditions are just a few issues blighting the tech industry. Here's how to shop more sustainably.
As this article points out, the most sustainable practice it non-consumption.
Creative Boom London Fire Brigade Gets a New Typeface That Nods to the Lettering of Vintage Fire Engines
This design is so great that I assumed "London Fire Brigade" must be some sort of hipster pop-up store, not the actual London fire department. I wish we had the same affinity for great civic design here in the US.