Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice, Vol 4, Res 16: KOSA, Covid Resources, & a Bonus Funsie
This is a public issue of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice. Feel free to share it!
Hi friends! This week was my second episode returning on All the Books! and it feels good to be back. We got our modest collection of house plants back from our friend and I’m happy to have them home with us. A couple already have new leaves and I take that to mean they are happy too. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m trying to cling to every bit of joy I can find. Monday we went back to my hometown for another funeral and work was a bit tumultuous this week so joy is extra-welcome right now. Updating my logo and working on some projects have also been bright spots lately.
I’ve not shown my face here in a while so, here ya go. Hi. I'm surviving.
It’s resource week so let’s get to it!
Resource #1: The Internet Is About to Get a Lot Worse by Charlie Jane Anders
Alright folks! It’s past time for straight people to step up beyond just wearing a rainbow flag button or having one in front of your house or on your car or your mask or whatever. Things are really, really bad for us who are in the queer and trans communities and they’re consistently getting worse. We are very, very scared. A woman was recently murdered here in California for displaying a Pride flag at her shop (article).
The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is anti-queer, anti-trans legislation that they are disguising as pro-family. I specifically want to point you all to Charlie Jane’s recent newsletter issue to learn about KOSA. Please call your senators, yes, even the Democrats. This shit is A MESS. Here is a link to a call script by Celeste Pewter. I’m sorry it’s on Instagram and that it’s an image. I’ve reached out to the person who wrote it to see if there’s a more accessible version.
UPDATE: A wonderful reader has transcribed the image into text (Thanks Chris!). Again, credit for this script goes to Celeste Pewter.
CALL SCRIPT RE: S.1409 · KIDS ONLINE SAFETY ACT
YOU: Hi, my name is (NAME]. I'm calling from [Zip Code].
YOU: I'm calling on [MOC] to vote no on S. 1409, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Despite the bill's revisions between the 117th and 118th Congress, the fundamental challenges of the bill remain. Having one of the mechanisms for enforcement center around states' attorney general absolutely opens the door for political abuses of power.
YOU: We've already seen how certain state governments are politicizing LGBTQ+ content and anything related to race, using (and abusing) their power to ban books and materials, limit what can be taught in the classroom, with the threat of legal action should their orders not be followed. KOSA would further empower them and put them in the position of being able to dictate what content platforms can show to minors.
YOU: And while the bill claims that the attorneys general would have to work in tandem with the commission, as well as potentially take guidance from the Kids Council, there is no clarity on the supposed experts that would be involved in any of these groups.
YOU: While the intent of the bill might be good, the likely outcomes would not be. Congress needs to rethink how they approach technology and related issues, and not try and legislate with such broad mandates.
Resource #2: Huge, FREE covid safety resource list by Violet Blue
I am grateful for this Covid safety resource list that Violet Blue put together and wanted to share it here. There is currently a spike in cases and while some of us have never stopped masking when out and about, if you are in the group of people that has you should really consider starting to mask up again.
Bonus resource for funsies: Template Maker
Templates for what? For boxes and containers and 3D shapes in whatever dimensions you need! Most of the images portray these things made out of perhaps a thick paper or card stock. I’m not even going to get into all the customizations you can make. Just take a look for yourself at the heart box template as an example. You can access Template Maker here: https://www.templatemaker.nl/en/
That’s it for this week! You can shop any books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481. If you are a subscriber and would like for me to send you some happy mail, feel free to give me your address.
If you enjoy this newsletter, here are ways to show your support for my writing and resource curation (other than upgrading your subscription and spreading the word, of course!):
That’s it for this week! You can shop many books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. In fact, any Bookshop, Amazon, or Etsy links in this newsletter are affiliate links so if you shop through those, it helps support my work. Or you can leave me a tip on Ko-fi, Paypal, or Venmo.
If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481.
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