Oh hello. I’m in the last few weeks of writing my book and I look like the mom of a newborn - unwashed hair, running around in what might as well be maternity pants and growling at anyone who gets too close. So be very happy that you’re reading this newsletter instead of interacting with me IRL. 

DON’T @ ME

Conservatives’ current beef with Rep. Ilhan Omar is some selectively edited video where she talks about the danger of white men and we should profile them. What she was actually saying, of course, was how stupid profiling is, and imagine if we actually focused on the demographic who perpetrates the majority of domestic terrorism - white dudes. Anyway, she was making a very nuanced point about the problem with profiling, but I want to just take a minute to say - especially in the wake of the latest shooting that left a 6 year old dead, likely committed by a white supremacist - that I don’t really have a problem talking about profiling men like this.

Young white men are being radicalized online in misogynist, racist spaces and we don’t do nearly enough talking about how dangerous that is. Maybe it’s because I’m writing my book and spending a lot of time thinking about this generation of boys growing up in forums that say women shouldn’t vote and immigrants are a disease, but I really think you’d be hard-pressed to find an issue that’s in more need of urgent intervention.

It’s almost as if the “boys will be boys” excuse that’s been used to dismiss sexual violence for so long is now the default reaction when young men spend all their time online getting more and more disaffected. Anyway, HAPPY MONDAY!

WHAT I’M COOKING 

Last week I went to eat at Altro Paradiso with my husband and we had a fennel salad that looked totally unassuming but blew us away. Literally the next day I was determined to recreate it but I didn’t have to because THERE IS A RECIPE ONLINE. (And this v cute accompanying story.) Anyway, highly recommend, and it’s a really nice light flavorful meal for this hell weather. I took some pictures but they were garbage so enjoy the one above that I stole from Bon Appetit. 

WHAT I’M EATING

Have you ever had Torres potato chips? We picked some up at Stinky’s in Brooklyn for the car ride up to Woodstock - THEY WERE IBERIAN HAM FLAVORED. We nearly lost our minds and apparently the truffle ones are even better. Bougie as fuck? For sure. Do I care? Not one bit.

WHO I’M READING

The Baltimore Sun with this *chef’s kiss* editorial; Irin Carmon with a deep dive into Jeffrey Epstein; and - as a salve for my shattered brain and heart - this story about a group of people in Tennessee who protected their neighbors from ICE.

WHAT I’M WRITING

There’s been so much news about the “dangerous” Dem squad of congresswomen, no one is talking about the actual group of women who are a threat to America: Women for Trump. I took a look at some of the advisory board, and let’s just say they have...some baggage. 

CURRENT OBSESSION 

So if you follow me on Instagram you might know that I have a puzzle problem. We do them *a lot*. We’ve figured out that a 500 piece puzzle is our sweet spot - big enough to be fun and challenging, but reasonable enough to finish in a day so it doesn’t sit on our dining room table all week. By far, the best company with the brightest most beautiful puzzles - a must if you’re trying to get a nine-year old to join in - is Eboo. This one of theirs (pictured above) is my current fave.

(This is what happens when you have a kid and don’t drink anymore. It’s the best.)