Hey Everyone -
I’m a pretty organized person by nature (just look at the drawers in my kitchen and you’ll get a feel for my true self). But one of the things that happened in my dying era was I got WAY behind on the admin of life. Turns out when you have a severe brain disease it’s very hard to organize your inbox and fill out forms.
I have had a lot of emotions tied up in getting all of this cleaned up, it’s funny how our bodies work, how we assign weight and meaning to things that are just tasks like any other. I don’t know if it’s shame related to not responding to emails or just a light ptsd related to the dying - that this reminds me of all that, and (frankly) it’s something I’m trying to forget.
But regardless, it’s felt really really good to get everything under control - though it’s not done yet.
—> I’m going to shift gears and then weave them back together; stay with me.
I went to a climate conference this week and one of the topics of conversation was AI. How do we, as people who care deeply about the environment, talk about AI in the public square? Messaging consultants on the left will say - JUST FOCUS ON DATA CENTERS. Which, yes, data centers are a hardcore winning issue that should be amplified and examined six ways from Sunday (it's good politics and policy. A win-win.)
However, one of the traps the messaging consultants have brought Dems into is the idea that you can just talk about what you want to talk about, and you don’t need to engage in the growing discourse around other topics. The reality is, AI is a facet of our lives, and despite calls from the far left to boycott all of it, the vast majority of people want to and will use it. And far-left cancellation efforts (essentially calling anyone who admits to using AI evil) will serve to alienate people from the movement, people we need. Like most things, the best answer lies somewhere in a combo of regulation and moderation. How do we regulate AI in a robust and meaningful way (did you see the story of the AI agent breaking free and HACKING another company WITHOUT HUMAN PROMPTING?!?!), and how do we make people realize that the environmental impact of all this technology is real and must be accounted for?
I think these conversations are really hard and nuanced, but as a political comms issue - I think we have to be a bit more logical about talking about AI. I have found ChatGPT to be really, really useful in analyzing my medical results while I wait weeks to hear back from my doctors. (I will never forget getting a cancer diagnosis via MyChart and not hearing from the doctor for 5 weeks. Obviously, in the interim I found and met with a different doctor.) I also LOATHE the AI customer service agents and how my doctor’s office has seemingly been handed over to agents. These things can all be true.
→ to close the loop: I started using Town to help me triage my inbox, and it’s been really useful. The reality is, I am not able to deal with the hundreds of emails that I’m getting per day. Technology has created a situation that my human brain cannot resolve on its own, and so I don’t think seeking a solution from tech is a bad thing.
I also don’t think Sheryl Sandberg’s ham-fisted efforts at telling women the glass ceiling is AI usage is anything useful. (ALSO I READ CARELESS PEOPLE and you should too!!) But anyhow, I get to use these letters to tell you what I’m thinking about, and this has been on my mind this week.
I hope you all take some times to clear a (figurative or literal) drawer this weekend, and that it lightens your load even just a little.
Thanks for being here, and sticking with me.
—> DON’T FORGET TO ENTER THE BOOK GIVEAWAY
210 Mayors Tell Congress: Reverse the SNAP Cuts. (Stateline) More than 4 million Americans have already lost SNAP benefits; more than 200 mayors from both parties, leading cities from Baltimore to Oklahoma City to Muskegon, Michigan, asked the Senate agriculture committee this week to undo the cuts in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. They are also asking for delayed implementation of a new requirment set to start in fall of 2027 that will punish states for over/underpayments (not fraud). Trump Ag secretary responded exactly as you’d expect.
Red Missouri Just Restored Voting Rights to 40,000 People. (Bolts) Republican Governor Mike Kehoe signed a GOP-sponsored elections law that, among other things, restores the vote to an estimated 40,000 Missourians on probation and parole, and makes restoration automatic going forward. The champion was a Republican legislator who met a disenfranchised man while knocking doors. There are carve-outs (about 20 percent of the parole and probation population is excluded), Virginia votes this fall on becoming the 24th state to have similar legislation.
Women’s Tennis Is Now Genetically Testing Women. (The 19th) The WTA has become the first major women’s sports league to require genetic sex testing: women must be screened for the SRY gene to compete. The scientist who discovered the SRY gene opposes using it this way, and the IOC and World Athletics will require the same screening for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Your Blueberries Have a Secret. (ProPublica) After a year reporting on crimes against farmworkers who came to the US legally, Max Blau tries to figure out if his blueberries come from farms where workers were harmed? What he finds is that there is essentially no way to know. However, he notes that a fix exists, the Fair Food Program’s green sticker, but almost no blueberry farms participate. Of more than 75 brands, grocers and chains he contacted, only one responded.
* Note: this is a really visually interesting article; I suggest clicking in. Just from the perspective of the changing shape of journalism, I remain impressed with ProPublica!!
The Government Is Recruiting Immigration Judges With a Dystopian Comic Book. (The 19th) At a time when Immigration officials are literally shooting people in the streets, the Trump Admin is literally using a character from a dystopian comic book set in an authoritarian police state to recruit “deportation judges.” Not shockingly, the character is supposed to be a bad guy. The administration just onboarded the largest class of immigration judges in history (192 hired this fiscal year, matching the previous three years combined) while more than 200 sitting judges have been fired or pushed out, including three women now suing over alleged race and gender discrimination.
Are wood or plastic cutting boards better? Experts weigh in on microplastics, bacteria and how to care for each, and there isn’t a clear answer for what should touch most of your food. Read more here.
My favorite summer dish. I’m sure I’ve posted this link before, but I LOVE the deb perelman zucchini pasta. Find the recipe here.
A record number of women are running for governor. New CAWP data counts 85 women running across 36 states, obliterating the old record of 69 set in 2022. Fifty-one are Democrats, also a record, and Deb Haaland could become the country’s first Native American woman governor. Read it here.
The reef everyone thought was dead is thriving. Scientists sent underwater drones down to a reef off the coast of Benin that was written off as dead 60 years ago and found a deep-water ecosystem packed with corals and reef fish. Look at this.
The hand towel mini skirt of my dreams. I’m planning a trip to the italian coast and this is at the top of my to-buy list. Shop it here.
A work shirt that actually works. OKay this is $$ but it’s Japanese indigo chambray and a little longer in the back and it’s the perfect balance of light and air and full coverage. I feel very Ina Garten. Shop it here.
Vouri DUPE bike shorts. I purchased these to wear under the button down. Super soft. Shop them here.
Dining chairs that are chic. Rarely do I put furniutre recs on here but I looked EVERYWHERE for comfortable, well made, solid wood, performance fabric, artsy-modern chairs, and Quince delivered these at a price reasonable for a set of two. Shop them here.
The crossbody that works. I’ve had this a couple years and it works for work, fun and fancy. Handwoven Italian leather that holds all my shit. Shop it here.
The styling mousse THAT ISN’T FOR SALE YET. sorry. I’ll send out the proper link when it goes live, but I’m finding this stuff makes my hair MUCH CURLIER than when I let it air-dry naturally. Cute!! Shop it here.
*all links are affiliate!
Every week I give away a book to paid subscribers (US only). This week I have a copy of Amy Chozick’s With Friends Like You, the debut novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Chasing Hillary. Emily is a new mom in Manhattan, exhausted, broke, and obsessed with finding Daisy, the college roommate who vanished years ago after taking a job dancing at a strip club. The search drags her from new mom message boards into a world of secrets and a high-end escort service for billionaires, and then Daisy reappears. They launch a new moms’ group in a vacant luxury skyscraper (matcha on tap, vibrators on offer), and it all gets deliciously darker from there. Chozick is already adapting it into a movie.
→ COMMENT FRIENDS down below for a chance to win.
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