11/10/25

Good morning! It’s Monday, November 10th.

Marine Corps Birthday.

That’s today. Today is the Marine Corps birthday. Which is why it was weird that Veep Vance shut down the 5 freeway and flew rockets over the freeway in my beloved Oceanside to celebrate last month.

Anyway, today is the 250th

And now, the news.

Before I start, if you’re watching on YouTube, a couple of quick things. Look, I’m sitting now! Also, I tried to fix my microphone and couldn’t, so in the meantime, I’m currently using this cute little one. Also, elephant in the room, this super embarrassing thing is because I am good at so many things and smart in so many ways, and yet was bested by a three-hole punch, and will now have the honor of wearing this for two weeks, my little thumb heals.

If you’re watching with your ears on the classic podcast apps – everything is normal. My thumb is fun. I’m good at three-hole punching. And now back to it.

Headline

-via Axios, The Hill, AP News, BBC, and Politico

Starting with the government shutdown.

It’s still shut down!

But it’s possible it’s almost not?

Last Friday, Chuck Schumer took to the floor of the Senate with the following plan to end the shutdown: extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for a year while negotiations continue and they’d be willing to vote on a continuing resolution that would fund the government through until January as well as a three-bill minibus of fill-year spending bill that were already a part of previous talks.

So what’s going on? Why, after Democrats swept last week’s elections, seeing huge wins in even so-called deep red states, is Chuck Schumer now saying they’re willing to go back to the table with basically the same things they’ve been talking about for 41 days?

Because this has always been able healthcare, and this pushes Republicans to either give Americans healthcare or be very obvious about the fact that they don’t want to give Americans healthcare (which they don’t. They’ve been obvious about it already.). It’s a win

That seemed to move the needle, and over the weekend, at least ten Senate Dems signaled that they were ready to sign off on a deal to reopen the government. The deal includes a December vote to extend ACA tax credits for a year and undo the layoffs Trump enacted during the shutdown.

Which is super confusing because… didn’t I just talk about how we swept all those elections last week, a couple of minutes ago? Didn’t I also just talk about how this whole thing has been about health care? Why are we giving up this one big thing? We can win! We’re going to vote in December? Great – we don’t have the votes.

What. On earth. Was the thinking here?

It now heads to the House – which has been closed since September 19th because Speaker Johnson doesn’t want to swear in the final member needed to make the Epstein files public. So I guess he needs to find the keys and unlock the doors, because the House will next need to take a vote.

Hopefully sooner rather than later, because as I’ve mentioned in every episode, and as has been leading literally all the news everywhere, SNAP benefits are not being paid out to their full amount, if at all.

However, some states, as well as nonprofits, are trying to make it happen by suing the administration to force Trump to release the billions of dollars in funding that is available for exactly a moment like this (Kelly Clarkson reference unintentional). Now, because those funds are available, because they were made for a moment like this (Kelly Clarkson reference totally intentional), and because it’s ethically the right thing to do – every judge has ruled in favor of release the SNAP funding.

But Donald Trump, unbelievably, but also believably because of who he is, is now demanding that states “undo” those payouts.

It’s unclear whether undoing those payments means the states must return the money to the program or, worse, if the individuals who received it will need to send it back.

And it’s just that kind of chaos surrounding SNAP benefits that the administration is looking for. But will it work?

To quote Wisconsin’s Governor Evers – “No.”

That’s in response to Trump’s demand that states send back the money.

No.

Maryland’s Governor Moore also had this to say about this SNAP chaos: “There is a chaos, and it is an intentional chaos, that we are seeing from this administration.”

That’s the same thing I said! Should I… be a governor? But of which state??

Flights are also being disrupted all over the country, as the FAA announced (per Trump) a 10% drop in flights in 40 of the country’s busiest airports. The 10% won’t be all at once, but gradual.

Great government! No notes!

Nancy Pelosi

-via SF Chronicle

And in other big political news – Nancy Pelosi, the first female Speaker of the House and genuinely the best who ever did it (I don’t care what you thought about her politically, unobjectively speaking, she truly is the best Speaker the House ever saw) announced that, after holding California’s 11th Congressional Seat since 1987 (1987!!), she will not seek reelection next year.

Really shaking things up, Pelos!

$2,000 Wishes and Dreams

-via ABC News

And finally… listen, I’ll just be honest – last week wasn’t amazing for me. Not my favorite.

Also not my favorite? This president.

But when two bad things come together?

We get this.

Over the weekend, Trump took to Temu Twitter to Tweet (so many Ts!): “People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS! We are now the Richest, Most Respected Country In the World, With Almost No Inflation, and A Record Stock Market Price. 401k’s are Highest EVER. A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.”

And I was like – okay! I’m still against the tariffs. Because I don’t want higher taxes on things I’m buying, it doesn’t feel like too wild an idea (again, tariffs are taxes against us, Americans – not enough of us know that yet, but these tariffs are super not a punishment against the countries Trump says they are).

That being said… lemme get that 2k.

So Trump’s out here telling people, "A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone."

And then, on Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke with ABC News’ “This Week” to clear things up this week and now says that 2K will come in many forms… "You know, it could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president's agenda -- you know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, deductibility of auto loans."

It’s so crazy that they really just can’t do anything right! Can’t be on the same page at all! It is incredible. President says everyone’s getting 2k, turns out… could just be in deductibility of auto loans. And this won’t even translate.

Because all his followers will hear is that they’re getting $2,000. And when we point out that they never got it, they’ll say we couldn’t possibly understand. Something about 3D chess.

What a mind that man has.

On that, we can agree.

And that’s it. That’s the news.

I’m proud of the Marines.

My Grandpa was a Marine. He would not understand this show at all, but he’d be proud I know about the news.

But more than the United States Marines.

Imagine! No no… more than vanilla cupcakes (it’s also vanilla cupcake day)… because you are also sweet and there could never be enough of you, and sprinkles make you even better… I’m proud of you.