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The Recommentunde Newsletter

For the week that began December 15 2019

Image of a statement often said by Dr. Edward F. Meehan, whose memorial service I spoke at last night.

Tonight in all 50 US states there are impeachment rallies to demonstrate public support for the House’s actions. I’ll be attending in Times Square. I hope you’ll join in your area. Visit impeach.org or text the word “rally” to 21333.

Last night I attended the memorial service for my therapist, friend, and mentor Dr. Edward Meehan. He passed after a 10 month bout with pancreatic cancer. He was full of wisdom and joy and weirdness, and it felt good to come together with his family, colleagues, and fellow clients to share and honor his memory. His daughter spoke, sharing something he had said to her a few months ago, and it feels right to share it with you:

My compassion has to be greater than my resentment. Resentments always start small. We usually point to outside variables as their cause, and yet they always start with I statements, and if you just say them out loud, usually they’re resolved. He believed that honesty was a revolution,

I hope these words serve you in whatever capacity is most meaningful and relevant.

And now, back to our regularly-scheduled content.

“Davis wondered how a man who was so intellectually curious that he learned Norwegian to better understand a novel, who went out of his way to learn an Aboriginal wooden instrument called the didgeridoo, could be so unaware about segregation patterns in his own city." From...

• Inside Pete Buttigieg’s years-long, and often clumsy, quest to understand the black experience | The Washington Post.

• I also recommend the Post Reports podcast episode which features Mayor Pete’s interview on this topic.

“This is what nerds are now: a volunteer army of PR freelancers for the biggest media companies in the world, shouting down anybody who refuses to read “BLACK WIDOW EQUALS FEMINISM” or “BABY GROOT IS AWESOMESAUCE” off a cue card held by a dancing Spider-Man.” From...

• Superhero Movies and Comic Book Nerds Won the 2010s | GEN

I'VE BEEN BUSY ON INSTAGRAM

• Dramatically reading the articles of impeachment with color commentary

• Talking with Roxane Gay, Rick Kittles, and Julie Johnson about race, medicine, and genetics

• and reflecting on the noise machine that is POTUS and celebrating the civil servants that keep our democracy semi-functional

An unplanned 1, 2, 3 series on women…

1. I’m a 37-Year-Old Mom & I Spent Seven Days Online as an 11-Year-Old Girl. Here’s What I Learned. | Medium

2. “First, You Have to Do These Things I Say”: Inside Roger Ailes’ Twisted Game of Mind Control | Vanity Fair

3. She’s 16 and Wants to Be President: Meet the Teenagers Planning Their Campaigns | The New York Times

Yes, Europe is fragmenting, but not without a fight.

• Italy’s New ‘Sardines’ Movement Packs Piazzas to Protest Far-Right Leader | The New York Times

The US war in Afghanistan was run on an ever-expanding basis of lies and likely delivered just what Osama Bin Laden hoped for in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. According to information released in the Afghanistan Papers

• U.S. officials misled the public about the war in Afghanistan, confidential documents reveal | Washington Post

There are lots of retrospectives coming, but this feels like the only one worth linking to just now.

• 2019: The Year in Climate Change | The New York Times

TREAT

• Kumail Nanjiani Wrote A Refreshingly Honest Caption About How He Got Jacked | Buzzfeed News

SIGNING OFF

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Peace and Love.