11/11/25
Good morning! It’s Tuesday, November 11th.
Veterans Day
Today honors everyone who has served this country. Those who looked at America saw the potential of it and wanted to be a part of pushing this country forward, towards that potential. And it is celebrated on this day because on November 11th, 1918, World War I ended. Originally, it was a day to honor those who died in what was then known as the Great War (calling it World War I would have been a huge spoiler). Thus, Armistice Day was born.
In 1945, a World War II veteran suggested expanding the day to honor all Veterans.
And now, the news.
Government Shutdown
-via NY Times, BBC, and CBS News
Starting with the government shutdown.
Sunday night saw the Dems caving, I mean voting, to bring a measure to the floor that would reopen the government.
As you may recall, this entire shutdown has been about healthcare. And as you may also recall, the democrats just swept last Tuesday’s elections, showing wide-ranging support throughout the entire country for the things the democrats are fighting for.
So of course it makes perfect sense that, after holding out for more than a month, this deal includes a promise that the Republicans will vote on extending ACA tax credits… in December. A vote that Democrats will lose, because they do not have the majority in the Senate.
“I don’t know, Kim, that sure doesn’t sound like it makes perfect sense.”
You wouldn’t understand. It’s a secret.
Good stuff! 42 days of shutdown for… well, it says here: nothing!
AND it will only fund the government through January.
Well fear not everyone, this incredible deal made of stellar patience and negotiating has made it through the Senate. If Mike Johnson can find the keys to the House, which has been closed for business since September 19th, they will take a vote and this whole mess will be over.
Meanwhile, as flights continue to be cancelled, Trump is now demanding that air traffic controllers return to work without pay. But he also told them now they have a negative mark in his mind. Oh no!
In this post about all of this, he also added that, for those who haven’t taken any time off, he was recommending a $10,000 bonus. But – “If you want to leave service in the near future, please do not hesitate to do so, with NO payment or severance of any kind!"
(He can’t do that. He has no control over air traffic controllers’ pay at all.)
Kim Davis
-via NBC News
In “Why Should I Change My Name? She’s The One Who Sucks” news…
Kim Davis, who has been married four times but that’s neither here nor there because the reality is that marriages are private, has had her Supreme Court case turned down by the Supreme Court! Not only that but she will now need to pay $260,000 in attorney fees.
We love to see it.
She brought this case on a 1st Amendment violation, which means I now get to do one of my favorite things… this should be a segment. This will be a segment! I just need a couple minutes of free time to make a graphic and some fun little music. So in the meantime, pretend like that just happened and that led us into a new segment called… Kim explains the 1st Amendment.
Here’s the deal - you have a First Amendment to your religion. Okay, fine, great, I for sure don’t agree with a faith that leads you to be so filled with hate that you would deny the love of two consenting adults, but everyone’s got their thing, I guess. It’s still her right to have that faith.
However. That right does not supersede the right of the couple who came into the Kentucky county clerk’s office for a marriage license. Because the thing about the 1st Amendment is that it’s fairly simple – you have the right to say whatever you want, but not without consequence. However, it’s also not that simple, and therefore it’s often misunderstood. Because tucked into the First Amendment are the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause.
The Establishment Clause means that the government must be neutral towards religion. Not every religion bans same-sex marriage.
The Free Exercise Clause means you can practice your religion as you see fit, but not when it conflicts with the rights of others.
Your right to make a fist ends at my face.
Okay, fine, don’t give someone a marriage license. I don’t get it, not for me to get. But your right to the Free Exercise Clause doesn’t supersede that couple’s.
Just like how your right to use the First Amendment to open your mouth and file this obnoxious, cruel-for-the-sake-of-being-cruel suit, I can use mine to say this:
Get a life, you absolute 100% up to your eyeballs in it, hate-filled loser. Have the life you deserve. I’m glad you lost your case. You’ll learn nothing and remain irrelevant, but at least you’ll go down in history books as a hate-filled loser who lost.
See? First Amendment.
The first time I covered this, I brought this quote out, too, but I feel compelled to do it again. To quote the singer Ethel Cain after Trump was elected a second time: “I hope that peace never finds you. Instead, I hope clarity strikes you someday like a clap of lightning and you have to live the rest of your life with the knowledge and guilt of what you've done and who you are as a person.”
All they want to do is get married. That’s all. No one is asking Kim Davis to be the officiant. In fact, all she had to do was say, “my co-worker has to help you.” Still a lame move but that could have been the end of it.
Instead, she saw the opportunity and caused real emotional harm for hundreds of thousands of people all over the country, who saw their marriages threatened and, once again, their very existences belittled simply for doing what most humans want – going around, falling in love, and trying to make that love work for a lifetime. It’s hard enough without Kim Davis’ making it worse.
FDA Removes Warning for Women
-via AP News
And in, “that’s okay, we don’t really need our health anyway,” news…
On Monday the FDA announced that hormone-based drugs used to treat menopause symptoms will no longer carry a bold warning label about stroke, heart attack, dementia, and other serious risks.
That’s okay. We don’t really need our health anyway.
So here’s the thing…
The FDA Commissioner, as well as some doctors, point to studies that suggest hormone therapy, when started before age 60 and within 10 years of menopause symptoms, is safe.
Many doctors and even pharmaceutical companies say the warning discourages people from using the therapies that might help them.
But we’ve entered a very dangerous arena here, because this is a move that is also backed by Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr (cursed sentence), who said: “We’re challenging outdated thinking and recommitting to evidence-based medicine that empowers rather than restricts.”
And, and I want to be very clear that I’m not being political here, but simply practical – because he has said such genuinely out-of-pocket and dangerous lies in the past, it’s hard to know who to trust here.
So, as always… if you are considering starting hormone therapy for menopause, talk to your doctor. Not the guy who chopped the head off a whale for fun.
Trump’s Pardons
-via AP News
And finally… Trump has issued “full, complete, and unconditional” pardons for dozens of Trump allies who tried to overturn the 2020 election with him.
It’s mostly symbolic (the symbolism being, of course, my annoyance) because this only applies to federal charges, and none of these dummies ever were charged with anything federal.
This is a cow’s opinion.
Don’t let this make you mad.
All he’s trying to do is act like the 2020 election wasn’t legitimate. It was. He lost. Something he should be accustomed to, as he is, in fact, a loser.
In a comment, every single one of the pardoned co-conspirators said, “Oh buh buh buh but I didn’t want Joe Biden to win! I wanted my favorite to win! And then I was sad and didn’t know how to properly express my emotions, and I don’t want consequences for actions.”
They all had the same response. Wild.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
I’m proud of… Veterans. We are a great experiment but we only get to continue to keep trying, to keep attempting to improve, because there are people willing to spend their lives in service of this country. And many of those people are veterans.
I’m also proud of ice cream sundaes. Not more than veterans! I didn’t say more than. I said also. It’s also National Sundae Day. On a Tuesday?
Life, uh, finds a way.
But more than sundaes. The treat and the day.
Because you’re a treat every day of the week… I’m proud of you.