At This Point, I’m Basically A Black Belt Of Yelling At My Computer In Confused Terror, And Yet Somehow I’m Still Single, And Yes I Know This Is A Starbucks, Why Do You Ask? (Take 2)
Apologies if you’ve already received this, had a bit of an email issue this morning.
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Happy Friday, y’all! I don’t know about you, but this week felt like a million years and I only just now realized that the debate was merely two days ago. WOOF. But we’re in the home stretch, and there are miles to go before we sleep, and the world is still insane.
Mini-rant before we get to the long reads: So glad that, while the rest of the country was locked down, unable to see their dying relatives, or meet new babies, or go to prom, or have bar mitzvahs, and I was embarking on adventures in Zoom dating, which ISN’T GREAT, MMMKAY?, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows hosted a 70+ person wedding for his daughter with no social distancing, masks, anything… AT THE END OF MAY. I know somany couples who postponed their nuptials, because they knew the risk, and cared about the well-being of their loved ones. I think what infuriates me the most about this administration, other than the corruption, incompetence, racism, and creeping totalitarian tendencies, is the fact that they believe the rules that the rest of us follow in the name of public good do not apply to them. I know I’m preaching to the morning newsletter choir here, but COME ON, how much more on-the-nose Veep-style can these clowns get? ARGH.
OK, now that I have that out of my systems, let’s load up our Kindles for the weekend!
Emma Brown, Jon Swaine and Michelle Boorstein, Amy Coney Barrett served as a ‘handmaid’ in Christian group People of Praise (The Washington Post) - All I could think was the gif below when I read this, in addition to wondering if Margaret Atwood has commented on this, because this is some dystopia patriarchal insanity if I ever saw it. Because while Atwood did not base her book on Barrett’s group per se, I just want to know what her gif reaction is…
Jake Tapper, Why Americans Fall for Grifters (The Atlantic) - This took me back to college-era film theory and long evenings yelling about history and I am HERE FOR IT.
Amanda Becker, Has Susan Collins changed? Or have the rest of us? (The 19th) - A thorough examination of the arc of Senator Collins’s career, Becker walks us through the nuance of choices made by formerly (purportedly) rational politicians in the age of Trumpism. Lots of behind-the-scenes info and comparison of then-vs-now politics.
Sara Benincasa, Fred and Me (Medium History) - Benincasa, in addition to being one of the most lovely and entertaining humans ever on Twitter, is also an absolutely engrossing writer. This piece has twists and turns - and you learn some history! Yay!
Hannah Seligson, The New Unsexy Sexy Marketplace (The New York Times) - People are selling their, ahem, personal products on the interwebs and making a killing, and I know we’re all doing the best we can in this economy, and I’d never want to yuck anyone’s (consensual) yum but… used bathwater can’t travel well, amirite?
Be kind to each other. Be kind to yourself. Wear your mask. Wash your hands. Check on a friend. Phone bank. Text bank. Do something.
xoxo Amy