Dave Pell

California, slow your roll. Just days after it became the latest state to legalize recreational marijuana, Attorney General—and notorious weed wacker—Jeff (Don’t Beauregard That Joint) Sessions has moved to blunt the movement by “rescinding an Obama-era federal policy that provided legal shelter for marijuana sales in states that have allowed recreational pot.” It’s unclear whether federal prosecutors will actually pursue cases, and that uncertainty leaves many dispensary owners feeling as paranoid as their customers. (Related: Anyone have an update on the plans to fight the opiate crisis?)

It only took Donald Trump about 36 hours to make us nostalgic for 2017. The president rang in the new year with what The Atlantic justifiably called the most irresponsible tweet in history (and that’s a hell of a high bar): “North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.’ Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” Once you’ve secured yourself in an underground bunker, it’s worth considering that this nuclear threat isn’t the the top story of the day (it’s not even the top Trump story of the day). And therein lies the true meaning of this online balderdash. Even when it comes to what should be the most serious matters, the president’s words are no longer taken seriously around the world.

Happy New Year. Let’s take a (really) deep breath and get started with a comparatively light story that could have interesting ramifications in the year ahead. California rang in 2018 by making recreational pot legal. California is by far the biggest state to legalize marijuana and the next year will provide interesting clues about what such a move will mean for indoor farming technologies, investments in the space, alternative banking options for the mostly cash businesses, the sentence lengths for those currently serving time for pot-related incidents, and even tourism (the stores are welcoming out of state customers as well). We’ll also likely get a glimpse of which illegal drugs the cartels will push to make up for the loss in business, since there’s no way they’ll willingly cede a market this large. The only thing we know for sure is that NextDraft will definitely be funnier from here on out.

“I didn’t shake hands for like three years because I figured out that people were disgusting. And I just could not touch people. Most normal people in the world are just f-cking weirdos. I was disgusted by humanity when I left there. So many of my peers, same thing. We all left with horrible views of humanity.” It’s hard to argue that ugliness on the internet can still surprise us at this point. But it did feel like the lowest forms of discourse crossed a chasm this year. And that’s just what end-users saw. The really terrible stuff is intercepted by human content moderators before it gets in front of our eyeballs. And those moderators don’t escape unscathed. The Atlantic’s Alexis Madrigal on The basic grossness of humans. (That wouldn’t be a bad title for a review of 2017.)

It’s the end of the URL as we know it. These days, nothing on the Internet is neutral. So maybe it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the FCC has decided that the Internet itself won’t be either. By a 3-2 vote (because why shouldn’t the future of human communication come down to one person?), US telecom regulators voted to repeal net neutrality: “The rules, put in place in 2015, banned cable and telecom companies from blocking or slowing down any websites or apps. They also prohibited broadband providers from striking special deals that would give some websites or apps ‘priority’ over others.” The decision is bad news for consumers, small businesses, startups, and indie publishers (at least my publication is all text). Now that net neutrality is over, maybe I can get my broadband provider to throttle Trump’s Tweets.

Doug Jones narrowly beat out Roy Moore in what had to be the most closely watched Alabama senate race ever (the Iron Bowl got low ratings compared to this match-up). As you’d expect, we’re getting a whole lot of punditry and analysis about what this victory means going forward for Trumpism and the politics of hate. Nate Silver says, Republicans shouldn’t assume Roy Moore was an outlier. But before anyone gets too excited, I think it’s worth keeping this particularly unusual race in perspective. Roy Moore; an ill-informed, racist, misogynist, anti-gay, child molesting criminal who was shunned by many in his own party lost an election—and that was still considered an upset.

The other day I saw an in-store display that featured a model taking a selfie using a high-end digital camera with a flip up LCD screen. It struck me as the perfect metaphor for America in 2017. But, of course, I was being narrow minded. It’s really a perfect metaphor for the world. In an era when our regional cultures can feel increasingly isolated, it’s nice to know there’s still at least one characteristic that binds us: Self obsession. And Americans aren’t the only ones turning that obsession into a business. The New Yorker on China’s Selfie Obsession. “Internet celebrities themselves—the name wang hong means ‘Internet red’—are newly ubiquitous in China. The most famous of them rival the country’s biggest pop singers, and outrank most TV and movie stars, in recognition and earnings.”

You’ve got the storms and the hurricanes. You’ve got the fires and the floods. And you’ve got a generalized (and not-unfounded) anxiety that 2017 has been coming for you—and that 2018 might be worse. In other words, it’s a good time to be in the survivalist food business. From Bloomberg: Delightful Holiday Dinner Ideas for the Apocalypse. “The scene evokes Willy Wonka’s factory in part because the workers are achieving Wonkian ends. As a kid, I spent hours imagining the sensations of Roald Dahl’s three-course chewing gum invention “made of tomato soup, roast beef and baked potato, and blueberry pie.” This, too, is an attempt to create an all-in-one meal that bears little resemblance to the foods it conjures—a product that when combined with a serving of hot water simulates a home-cooked dinner.” Just give me an everlasting gobstopper and some decent WiFi, and I’ll be fine…

It was, the “largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period.” So said Sean Spicer (still remember him?) even though the photos of the event told a different story. And so began a year in which photos, like all other forms of media, would play an even more dramatic role than usual. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But it’s got to be worth at least twice that in Bitcoin. And there’s no better way to review the year in news than by reviewing the year in images. Here’s a look back courtesy of InFocus:

This is not urgent. Don’t look at it while you’re at the family dinner table. Don’t glance at it from behind the wheel during your drive home from work. Even if you’re just sitting there doing nothing, there’s no rush. This can wait until later. Like most things on the internet, it can even wait until never. This is not breaking. But from what I can tell, it’s the only news that’s not. And so, after a year spent opening an unseemly number of browser tabs containing what felt like a nonstop onslaught of massive stories, this is my pick for the word of the year: Breaking.

“I started talking about Harvey the minute that it happened. Literally, I exited that hotel room at the Peninsula Hotel in 1997 and came straight downstairs to the lobby, where my dad was waiting for me, because he happened to be in Los Angeles from Kentucky, visiting me on the set. And he could tell by my face—to use his words—that something devastating had happened to me. I told him. I told everyone.” Among a multitude of other news stories that seemed to normalize abnormality, 2017 will be etched in history as the year when people finally started listening to what women like Ashley Judd were telling them. Time’s Person of the Year is The Silence Breakers: The Voices That Launched a Movement.

Russia has been officially banned from the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea after an IOC investigation found evidence of a long-running, extensive, state-sponsored doping program. From the NYT: “The country’s government officials are forbidden to attend, its flag will not be displayed at the opening ceremony and its anthem will not sound. Any athletes from Russia who receive special dispensation to compete will do so as individuals wearing a neutral uniform, and the official record books will forever show that Russia won zero medals.” Vladimir Putin will not take kindly to having Russia neutralized by the IOC (not exactly a pillar of ethics), and he might pull out of the games altogether. Like many Russian stories, this one is about Putin v the world (because the doping program came from the very top). This guy is at the center of just about every international story.

Neuroplasticity refers to the idea that your brain synapses and pathways can be altered by your environment or experiences. The most obvious examples are cases where a person suffers a major trauma that changes them (for example, PTSD). But what if experiences and environment can also change one’s brain for the better? That’s the idea behind Akili Interactive Labs’ video game that is getting very to close to becoming the first FDA-approved prescription video game. “In a study of 348 children between the ages of 8 and 12 diagnosed with ADHD, those who played Akili’s action-packed game on a tablet over four weeks saw statistically significant improvements on metrics of attention and inhibitory control.”

Michael Flynn was in court on Friday to plead guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. The plea is part of a deal, and according to ABC, Flynn has promised the special counsel “full cooperation” in the Russia probe. From WaPo: “Flynn’s admission to the charge Friday in federal district court in D.C. could be an ominous sign for the White House, as Flynn is cooperating in the ongoing probe of possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin to influence the 2016 election. His plea revealed that he was in touch with senior Trump transition officials before and after his communications with Kislyak — rebutting the idea that he was a rogue operator.” Here’s the latest from CNN and AP.

“At the pace at which technology changes, it’s not inconceivable to think that in a 20-year time frame everything in a cell phone could be put into a grain of rice. That could be put into your head in a minimally invasive way, and would be able to perform the computations necessary to be a really effective brain-computer interface.” MIT Tech Review describes the possible future of a more technological you with some help from a neurosurgeon who wants to connect you to the internet with a brain implant (which would give a whole new meaning to brain freeze). That might seem far-fetched. But consider that your mind (with a little help from social media and phone notifications) is basically already connected to the internet. At least having something the size of grain of rice inserted into your brain is an improvement on the future envisioned by my old NextDraft logo…

“While most Americans probably haven’t heard of Britain First and are unfamiliar with European radical nationalist movements, there are white supremacist groups in the US that follow the actions of these overseas operations quite closely. The president on Wednesday signaled that he watches them too.” President Trump’s insane Twitter habit entered new territory on Wednesday when he retweeted a far-right fringe group’s anti-Muslim videos (well, they were fringe until today). “Brendan Cox, whose wife, British MP Jo Cox, was murdered by a right-wing extremist who shouted Britain First before committing the act,” summed up the moment: “Trump has legitimised the far right in his own country, now he’s trying to do it in ours. Spreading hatred has consequences and the President should be ashamed of himself.” (Editor’s note: He won’t be.) Trump’s latest social media affront was so offensive that UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s office was compelled to issue a statement indicating it was “wrong for the president to have done this.” (The leader of America’s staunchest ally had to rebuke our president because of his tweeting. The pit has no bottom.)

This blurb’s title may not come as much of a surprise to you. And neither will the ads (in the unlikely event you actually see one in the wild) being produced and paid for by tobacco companies—in which they admit that smoking is deadly and that they knowingly worked to make them more addictive. “In 1999, the US Department of Justice filed a racketeering lawsuit against tobacco companies. In 2006, US District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that tobacco companies must pay for ads admitting wrongdoing. But tobacco companies held up the ruling through appeals, obtaining major concessions that, for example, let them avoid having to admit that they deliberately lied and manipulated in previous marketing campaigns for cigarettes.” After nearly two decades, the watered-down ads will finally run on network television (remember that?) and print newspapers (remember those?). Choosing this story as today’s lead may have been my crafty way of reminding you that big corporations tend to try to get away with exactly as much as they’re allowed to get away with; and that the self-regulation being touted as a panacea by some is probably a really bad way forward. But I won’t freely admit that. (Ask me again in a few decades…)

“Both sides agree that repealing or dialing back the Johnson Amendment seemed improbable at best as recently as a year and a half ago. That was when Mr. Trump’s surprising embrace injected new life into it, and helped spark an alliance that benefited his campaign and the religious right.” As the debate over the GOP tax plan kicks into high gear, one key bargaining chip is the potential repeal of “a 1954 law that bans churches and other nonprofit groups from engaging in political activity.” Basically, money that is currently given to political campaigns could be funneled through religion organizations, providing donors with a significant tax break. We’d have less separation of church and state…and likely more churches being formed solely for political purposes. Of course, these days, people are much more religious about politics than they are about religion.

FCC Ajit Pai announced plans to reverse Obama-era net neutrality rules intended to preserve an open and fair internet. “On the chopping block are rules established in 2015 that prevent broadband companies from charging more for internet fast lanes for certain content and from blocking or slowing certain content. Critics charge that removing the rules will hand ISPs control of the internet – allowing them to pick winners and losers by slowing some services while giving preferential treatment to those they favor.” Sorry consumers and indie internet businesses, but you’ve been taking advantage of your ISPs for long enough…

Sure, every time you go online you’re inundated by a relentless barrage of fake news and hate speech. But at least that nasty spam problem was solved. Right? Well, as you may have noticed, reports of spam’s death have been greatly exaggerated: From The Outline: Spam is Back: “It’s 2017, and spam has clawed itself back from the grave. It shows up on social media and dating sites as bots hoping to lure you into downloading malware or clicking an affiliate link. It creeps onto your phone as text messages and robocalls that ring you five times a day about luxury cruises and fictitious tax bills.” The old spam threatened to overwhelm your inbox. From buzzing in your pocket to engaging you in an online fight, the new spam wants to overwhelm your whole life. (And yet, in this political climate, it will still be preferable to most Thanksgiving dinner conversations…)

Max Deutsch is a self-described speed learner. And he recently gave himself one month to learn to play chess…well enough to take on the world champion. “The unlikely series of events that brought him to this stage began last year, when Max challenged himself to a series of monthly tasks that were ambitious bordering on absurd. He memorized the order of a shuffled deck of cards. He sketched an eerily accurate self-portrait. He solved a Rubik’s cube in 17 seconds. He developed perfect musical pitch and landed a standing back-flip. He studied enough Hebrew to discuss the future of technology for a half-hour.” Did Max beat the world champion? That’s the wrong question. It’s about the journey. From Ben Cohen in WSJ: A Chess Novice Challenged Magnus Carlsen. He Had One Month to Train. (I once gave myself a month to update the contacts in my address book. That was in 1999, and it’s still a work in progress.)

Reduce stress. Stay active. Maintain strong social connections. If you’re among the oldest people in the world, pretty much everyone you meet will ask you the same question: What’s the secret to living a long life? The answers given can vary from “morning walks and chocolate” to eating bacon every day. (I’m guessing being an Amazon Prime member will ultimately be a prerequisite.) But as those answers suggest, living a long time doesn’t necessarily make you an expert on longevity. While anecdotes and life tips are nice, what researchers really want is DNA. If you’re only 108 or 109 years old, you need not apply. But break 110 and scientists will be coming for your blood. From the NYT’s always interesting Amy Harmon: The Secret to Long Life? It May Lurk in the DNA of the Oldest Among Us.

“I’d spent months reporting on Anglin, trying to understand who he was and how he’d built such a following, as well as how serious a threat he and the rest of the alt-right actually posed. Anglin’s path to white nationalism was disturbing, and more circuitous than I could have imagined. But it fit a pattern that scholars have identified, in that he seems to have been driven, at least initially, more by a desire for status and belonging than by deeply held beliefs. Anglin wanted to be somebody, and the internet gave him a way.” The Atlantic’s Luke O’Brien with a detailed and disturbing look at the making of an American Nazi. Part of the story is about timing: “Anglin and his ilk like to talk about the Overton Window, a term that describes the range of acceptable discourse in society. They’d been tugging at that window for years only to watch, with surprise and delight, as it flew wide open during Donald Trump’s candidacy. Suddenly it was okay to talk about banning Muslims or to cast Mexican immigrants as criminals and parasites—which meant Anglin’s even-more-extreme views weren’t as far outside the mainstream as they once had been.”

“Millions of people saw their computers shut down by ransomware, with demands for payments in digital currency to have their access restored. Tens of thousands of employees at Mondelez International, the maker of Oreo cookies, had their data completely wiped. FedEx reported that an attack on a European subsidiary had halted deliveries and cost $300 million. Hospitals in Pennsylvania, Britain and Indonesia had to turn away patients. The attacks disrupted production at a car plant in France, an oil company in Brazil and a chocolate factory in Tasmania, among thousands of enterprises affected worldwide.” Those are just a few recent cyberattacks that all have one very disturbing factor in common. The tools used against companies, individuals, and governments were all developed by the National Security Agency. And at this point, we’re more certain that there will be more attacks and less certain that we’ll find who stole the cyberweapons (or whether or not there are still high-level leakers inside the agency). As you can imagine, it’s not a particularly fun time to be working at the NSA. From the NYT: Security Breach and Spilled Secrets Have Shaken the NSA to Its Core. “Morale has plunged, and experienced specialists are leaving the agency for better-paying jobs — including with firms defending computer networks from intrusions that use the N.S.A.’s leaked tools.” (A subtext to this story is the extent to which the migration from traditional to cyber warfare has erased some military advantages and leveled the playing field.)