Happy Tuesday, October 27th! One week, people!
FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.
I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS like the one below :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?
And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏
REMINDER: We’re doing a fun new format until Election Day (and maybe a bit after, depending on what happens!). Back to our regular programming on the other side :)
I stumbled upon the (admittedly very obvious) realization that I am capable of some level of flooding the zone myself by just re-posting and re-sharing all the voting content that I like. AND we’re at the moment where I think (I hope) everyone’s pretty cool with it! So, with just under 7 days to go, my recommendation at this moment is simply to amplify every piece of voting content that sparks joy.
I will flag two that I really, really liked. The first was the video from Ken Eurich. I really appreciated that she acknowledged that she’s been putting off voting early but knows it’s important and is prioritizing it – very real and enjoyed the no-judgement vibes!
The second is this quick one from Trinity from Love Island with A+++ use of audio:
This section is actually going to be about someone else’s thought: Max Levy, who writes The Short Answer, wrote this really excellent piece entitled “Will people read Democrats’ texts after Meta suspends their accounts?”
His points about how Democrats are playing (and have always played) the short game when it comes to just burning through lists of donors with text and email fundraising asks and making people really irritated are incredibly salient. I want to acknowledge that I’ve 100% been in the position where it feels like you have to play every card in your hand at that moment and that you would regret not doing so. But I also have watched, over the last several years, how that does much more harm than good, even to your own cause at that very moment (almost everyone who ends up getting elected… is going to run again for something).
The memes about fundraising messages from Democrats abound, but beneath them sits a real frustration. We’ve all probably seen this NumberBarn poll that’s making the rounds, one of the scariest implications, of course, being that some groups being super aggressive make it much more difficult for anyone to engage authentically and raise money.
And I fear that we can’t have this conversation without noting that, while Democrats do far better on this than the other side, voters, especially more vulnerable ones, can be at risk of becoming unwitting cash cows because of our digital fundraising tactics.
All this to say, as this cycle winds down and the next one pretty much immediately begins, there will be a very small window to take a step back and think bigger picture. Max gestures to one very significant potential harm: what happens if Dems get thrown off or silenced on social media and they no longer have text or email as a means of meaningful communication because they’ve burned all their lists through fundraising? That, and the many other implications of what it means if we’ve pissed people off so much that we’ve effectively lost entire modes of communication (and yes, I do still think that can be the case even if some money is still rolling in), is something that must actually be interrogated. This ball can only be kicked so far down this road.
How the Supreme Court Is Shaping the Midterm Elections (WSJ gift link, 10/25)
This Boom Looks a Lot Like the Housing Bubble (OP-ED, NYT gift link, 10/25)
Halloween candy sales are off to a slow start amid high chocolate prices and affordability concerns (AP, 10/24)
DARVO is now in the dictionary. That’s a win for abuse survivors (Salon, 10/26)
Parts of California’s coast are vanishing 70 feet at a time (SF Chronicle, 10/27 – free version)
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders take legal action against My Chemical Romance over onstage costumes (NBC News, 10/24)
Extra Credit 🤓
Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌
Mailers from “Progressive Alliance of Wisconsin” linked to GOP operative in Oklahoma from Judd Legum of Popular Information
Will people read Democrats’ texts after Meta suspends their accounts? from Max Levy of The Short Answer
Sneaky Links
TL;DR I’ve inexplicably started receiving codes to stuff… here are the things I actually like :)
My BNTO code for October is 3FBFAF for $20 off (if you know me IRL, you know my rant about the Nuulification of the 20-something city dweller)
I also have a code for CampSnap??? And I do love my CS8 camera from them but like I don’t think I said that online? Either way, it’s L-RITZMANN10 for 10% off (we got bumped up from 7% woohoo!)
That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Friday!