Considering the recent decision by the illegitimate Supreme Court, and the unwillingness of the Democratic Party to meaningfully fight against it, it is more important than ever to get involved in the fight to provide free, on-demand abortions to anyone who wants one in the United States. Here is a good place to donate money. Here are some other places to donate money. Find your local activist groups and see what they are doing, if you’d like to get involved in more non-financial ways. If you’re anti-abortion, then unsubscribe and [redacted]. If you want to read up on some of the histories of women’s right to abortion/contraception in the United States, here are a few books of general interest:
Eugenic Nation: Faults and Frontiers of Better Breeding in America by Alexandra Stern, 2005
Fertile Matters: The Politics of Mexican-Origin Women’s Reproduction by Elena R. Gutierrez, 2008
Devices and Desires: A History of Contraceptives in America by Andrea Tone, 2001
I’ve Got to Make My Livin’: Black Women’s Sex Work in Turn-of-the-Century Chicago by Cynthia Blair, 2010
Choice & Coercion: Birth Control, Sterilization, and Abortion in Public Health and Welfare by Johanna Schoen, 2005
Conceiving the Future: Pronatalism, Reproduction, and the Family in the United States, 1890-1938 by Laura L. Lovett, 2007
Reproducing Empire: Race, Sex, Science, and US Imperialism in Puerto Rico by Laura Briggs 2002
Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology by Deidre Cooper Owens, 2017
The Known Citizen: A History of Privacy in Modern America by Sarah E. Igo, 2018
This website also hosts a lot of important information, especially about Jane a pre-Roe abortion access network.
I don’t have anything to say about the decision that hasn’t been said a thousand ways by a thousand smarter people. It’s fucked up, a loss of rights that will harm, and kill, millions of people. It is the culmination of decades of planning and work done by conservatives and a lack of Democratic Party will to stop it. Voting will not fix this. Outside of those basic facts, I don’t have anything original or useful to say. So, this newsletter won’t be about it. Sorry. Feel free to read something else.
I’m getting married in November. Next November. No need to panic. It may seem like a long time away, but that’s nice. It gives Sarah and me some planning time. It’s an old canard but planning a wedding is a lot of work. Venues, music, flowers, guest lists, and seating arrangements can all be a real hassle to get together. Especially if you have do it with a small amount of lead time. It becomes massively easier when you have over a year to prepare, however.
Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that I didn’t mention food in my list of things needed for a wedding. Trust me, that was on purpose. Food is one of the most important things at a wedding. Not having can lead to internet infamy, or worse, pissed-off grandmothers. No one wants a pissed-off grandmother.
That being said, Dang Dude’s main purpose in life is to be helpful. It may not seem like it at times, but that is the driving force behind this weekly missive. In the spirit of that ethos, I’ve derived the algorithmically perfect wedding menu. It will be helpful for everyone.
This of course will be controversial. How can one menu be perfect for all weddings? Surely, I must be mistaken. Incorrect, Dang Dude is never wrong. That’s the other guiding principle. This menu is perfect for fall weddings, spring weddings, winter weddings, weddings in Chicago, weddings in Rome, morning weddings, vegan weddings, and even weddings that take place on Mars.
This menu also fits weddings of every budget, formal weddings, casual ones, the works. While I haven’t been to a black-tie wedding, I’m sure this menu would be perfect for something like that. This menu wouldn’t be out of place at a wedding at the dang Taj Mahal. Hell, if you have the three Top Chef judges critiquing your meal they’d be satisfied with this menu.
So. The question lingers in the air, the elephant in the room to mix my metaphors. What is it? What is this menu? Wait no more!
Allow me to present the perfect wedding menu:
Appetizers:
Lots of them!
Sides:
Make sure there are enough!
Main:
Better have extra!
Dessert:
Why not just do some more? Better safe than sorry!
Does this seem like a cop-out? Because it’s not. The biggest problem that most weddings have, in my humble opinion, is that they don’t provide enough food. Of course, every wedding I’ve ever been to has been perfect and has had enough food. I’m not talking about the wonderful weddings of my friends and family. I’m referring to other people’s weddings. Naturally.
Lack of food at weddings is usually due to either the caterer under providing to try and squeeze a little more profit out of an event or due to budget concerns. The budget problem is the bigger thing here. Trust me I get it. I’m a grad student, everything is expensive for me. Weddings doubly so. Getting extra food can be a real squeeze on the wallet. And no one should go into debt for a wedding, I’ll sneak in a bag of chips if I’m hungry. But, if you have any extra cash, spend it on food! If the venue/caterer lets you, bring in some damn Costco chips. No one will care! They just want to eat.
As for caterers well you got to watch ‘em like a hawk. Order more than they say is necessary. Trust me. There will always be someone like me plowing through the passed apps. If you ever see me at a wedding, I will be watching the waiters like a hawk to make sure I don’t miss a single tasty nibble. I mean, who doesn’t love a passed app!
I hope this was helpful. If it’s not, well, fair enough.