The Woman Who Keeps Me Up at Night

The Heather Cox Richardson of the abortion beat.

[Today’s issue of America Eats! is not about food unless you think, as I do, that knowledge is nourishment and, like food, essential to our well-being. As a pushy person, I believe you should read on. As a hopeful person, I know you will because it supports one woman’s mission to unpack the most contentious and consequential matters facing all of us.]

I don’t remember how I found the newsletter, Abortion, Every Day. Like a lot of unsung publications on Substack, it’s not among their picks nor highlighted under politics. But I managed to, and now I’m a subscriber and, as the newsletter’s title warns, I receive it every single day. And every single day it gives me the opportunity to scream, throw up, and lie down. Like Heather Cox Richardson, Jessica Valenti sifts through all the mounting abortion legal challenges and political news centering on women’s lives and health and how they have become pawns in the conservatives’ and Christians’ agenda to throw half the human race in this country back into dark, dark times. She culls through national and local news to present updates on state and federal legislations, in-depth interpretation of anti-abortionist strategies, and, most effectively, reveals individual stories that illustrate the real-life effect that abortion bans are playing out in narrowing women’s rights.

Much like Richardson, Valenti does the work for the rest of us in revealing one of the most crucial, far-reaching issues we’re all facing. I really don’t know how she does the work and remains sane.

Please head over and subscribe. Valenti is a tenacious resource for this painfully huge and far-reaching subject. She also needs the support since Twitter has curtailed the reach of Substack and denying writers their First Amendment rights by limiting their abilities to communicate to a wider public and taking away their ability to enter into a conversation. By and large, this means Valenti has been robbed of the opportunity to widen the discussion to an audience that may not be fully aware of the scope of the damage and threats to women that occur every day.

Support Jessica Valenti’s efforts by clicking this little button NOW!

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I’m working on a story I hope to complete for next week about Vino Divino, a winery in Staten Island (yes, that’s right) that produces fine wines and runs a school where you can learn how to make your own. There’s a rich history of wine making in Staten Island, especially among the Italian’s who found enough land in the borough to establish their own little vineyards.

The winery is situated between a former medium security prison and a strip club that didn’t survive the pandemic. The owner possesses a deep knowledge and history of the industry and his winemaker has worked at some of the best Sonoma wineries. Really, it’s a great story!