Friend,
Here are five things that caught my attention:
Looking Back and Ahead: As we hit the end of the year and reflect back, I am immensely proud of the actions our board has taken – historic investments in mental health and substance abuse, $100 million plan to tackle the opioid crisis, significant steps to build out our regional parks and separate efforts to connect people to those parks, and so much more. And over the last four years, it is without question that we have changed county government! While I eagerly look ahead to my second term as Supervisor, it is time to elevate the next generation of leaders for the role of Chair of the Board. In January, I will be nominating Supervisor Nora Vargas to serve in that role – she will do great. I joined Fox 5 news to talk about this, what my future might hold, and the toxicity in politics today! Check it out!
Soured on Social Media: I’ve never been the biggest fan of social media, and it is just because we get a daily stream of messages like this one (that never seem to violate any “standards”). It is deeper. The brains of an entire generation have been hijacked by an addictive product and pointed in a dark direction for the sole purpose of making money. This 60 Minutes piece outlines how Facebook knew it was pushing young girls to dangerous content around eating disorders. The DEA is having to take action against platforms surrounding the distribution of fentanyl. The insurrection on January 6th was organized and carried out via social media. Any efforts to protect our kids are met with immediate legal action by the folks profiting off of their pain. I recommend this piece in the Atlantic, “The Age of Social Media Is Ending” and Ezra Klein’s, “The Great Delusion Behind Twitter”. It feels like we might be at an inflection point when market forces combined with enough outrage of parents could usher in real accountability on these platforms.
The Bible on Climate Change: Evangelicals are now saying the Bible demands action on fighting climate change according to a new report from the The National Association of Evangelicals. Their 50-page report entitled “Loving the Least of These: Addressing a Changing Environment,” starts by declaring that protecting the environment is a biblical mandate: “care for creation, love our neighbors and witness to the world.” Let's see if the elected officials who depend on this conservative voting block listen to them. Or the Bible.
Score One for the Judge: Most court proceedings are not high drama, and rarely are they funny. This exchange between a judge, a prosecutor and a federal agent made me laugh -- clearly only the judge knows who Biggie Smalls is. Kids these days. Come on.
Our Nation’s Capitol: Caleb got all the attention last week with his new suit and extended conversation with President Biden. But we had a great trip to Washington DC. We hit up all the monuments and checked out a few of the Smithsonians: the new(ish) National Museum of African American History and Culture, Air and Space, Natural History, American History. A shoe getting caught in the escalator at the U.S. Capitol cut into our tour there, but nothing stopped us from going to the top of the Washington Monument – which is the world's largest stone structure. That means there are no beams or rebar or anything – just stones stacked on top of one another and held in place by gravity more than 500 feet into the sky. (I think the one trip to the top up is good for me.) And of course, we observed the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery and there is no way this Marine would not swing by the Marine Corps Memorial! A great trip.
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Have a great weekend!
Best,
Nathan
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