Midday open thread: the back-channel U.S.-Cuba negotiations; protesting new oil leases in the Gulf

Today’s comic by Tom Tomorrow is The Incredible Trump:

What you may have missed on Sunday Kos …

• Nightmares on Elm Street​, by DarkSyde

• 'All for each and each for all’: Teddy Roosevelt's Square Deal, by David Akadjian

• Women voters: Their growing influence in politics and policy, by Sher Watts Spooner

• Voting for Bernie. Ready for Hillary, by Ian Reifowitz

• Bernie Sanders supporters must remain the alter ego of the Democratic Party, by Egberto Willies

• A Trump rally: My firsthand experience, by Armando

• Punishing the poor is not going to end poverty, by Mark E Andersen

• When fascism comes to America, it'll be wearing a bad toupee, by Mark Sumner

•Texas Gov. Ann Richards: 'She represented inclusion,' by Denise Oliver Velez

• Close but no cigar for the U.S. and Cuba, by Jon Perr

• The 14th Amendment is not enough: We must have an Equal Rights Amendment, by Susan Grigsby

• The past, present, and future of women and the NFL boys club:

To understand where the NFL is going when it comes to women—which is a better, more progressive place—you have to understand where it's been. You have to know that there are female heroes from the NFL past who shaped the NFL present. You have to hear the story of five naked players standing in a locker room, exposing themselves to a female executive.

That woman was Susan Spencer, and it was the late 1980s. Spencer is a little-remembered part of NFL history but was vital in that she was a bridge from the past to present, a period of massive positive change for women in the NFL. She was the vice president, legal counsel and acting general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles. To this day, she remains the only female general manager in league history.

• The crazy back-channel negotiations that changed U.S.-Cuba relations.

• Ten years ago today, Jack Dorsey sent the first tweet: Last fall, Margaret Cho used Twitter to talk about her sexual assault using the #12DaysofRage hashtag. For a New York Times feature on Twitter’s 10the birthday, she wrote:

Twitter is a good way to get your message out there – in a short format, in a democratizing one – we all have the same number of characters and the same delivery system. It forces you to home in on exactly what needs to be said. I think it’s probably like a haiku, but slightly less stringent – maybe like a fortune cookie. Less than a sonnet, more than a soundbite.

I think #12DaysofRage was helpful, but still difficult. It allowed people to vent their own anger and sadness about their abuse, but in a perishable and non-committal way – as Twitter is. Tweets are a moment – not necessarily permanent record – even though it really is, it still feels momentary and there is a good place for a revelation.

• RH Reality Check is now Rewire: The premiere site dedicated to “evidence-based news, analysis, commentary, and investigative reporting on reproductive and sexual health, rights, and justice” has a new look and a new name, with more to come.

• The Inherent Bias of Facial Recognition:

Facial recognition systems are all over the place: Facebook, airports, shopping malls. And they’re poised to become nearly ubiquitous as everything from a security measure to a way to recognize frequent shoppers. For some people that will make certain interactions even more seamless. But because many facial recognition systems struggle with non-white faces, for others, facial recognition is a simple reminder: once again, this tech is not made for you.

• Obama’s plans to allow more leasing in the Gulf of Mexico sparks protest:

Gulf Coast communities, Indigenous Elders and climate activists from around the country are refusing to sit by and let America’s energy policy continue down a doomed fossil fuel path that will bring more extreme weather and put them underwater with rising sea levels. In support of Louisiana and Gulf Coast communities, thousands are gathering on March 23 in New Orleans—organized by Rainforest Action Network—to stop the next generation of oil and gas leases, and unite with communities to claim a fossil fuel free future.

A larger scale action is being planned to surround the Superdome and call for an end to new drilling and new leases, and put forward a vision for a Gulf region powered by solar and wind energy.

• On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: Mom’s purse #GunFAIL strikes again. Greg Dworkin reminds us #NeverTrump only just barely has to work. Cato seeks new blood from old turnips. David Brooks might not be Joe Sixpack. Bernie makes a bid for those evil superdelegates. And it’s OK!

 On iTunes | On Stitcher | Support the show: Patreon; PayPal; PayPal Subscription