11/19/25

Starting in Saudi Arabia. That’s right. That’s how you know big stuff happened, when we’re starting there.

Starting in Saudi Arabia, well no actually starting in the White House but I felt like if I said the White House you’d think I was starting with a different story… I’m messing this all up. Let me start all over.

Starting in the White House, but not like you think, where President Trump met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in his first US visit since 2018.

Why 2018?

In 2018, as determined in a US intelligence report that was made public in 2021, the crown prince, who is also known as MBS, approved of a plan to capture or kill a man named Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was a resident of the US, and a journalist for the Washington Post.

And he was murdered.

Dozens of Saudi officials faced sanctions for his murder, while MBS basically got away with it. But everyone knew.

And again, in 2021, that report was released and it confirmed that fact.

Which is why we were all a little shocked when, on Tuesday, Trump sat right next to that man, in the White House, that you and I pay rent on, and, when asked about Khashoggi’s murder, first said: "A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about.” Also, "You don't have to embarrass our guests."

And in the middle of those two things, on the topic of the murder itself… “things happen.”

Things. Happen.

What else happened? A deal was formalized to sell Saudi Arabia F-35s. Fear not: per Trump, “Israel’s aware and they’re going to be very happy.”

I don’t know if that’s true. Israeli officials have said that they’re not necessarily opposed to the idea of Saudia Arabia having the F-35s, as long as they normalize their relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords.

The Saudis, however, have said they would only join the Abraham Accords after there is a credible and guaranteed path to Palestinian statehood. A position that MBS repeated in Tuesday’s meeting.

As I mentioned in Tuesday’s episode – that is not a part of the peace deal that was brokered between Hamas and Israel.

I wonder if that’ll come up in conversation.

In return for all of this, the crown prince said Saudi Arabia would be increasing its financial commitments to America from the $600 billion they announced in May to $1 trillion.

How? Can’t say. Unknowable. Didn’t feel like offering up any details.

Donald J. Trump: The Art of the Deal.

Epstein Bill Goes to Trump

-via CNN

And okay fine, yes Epstein.

Because it is a big story. And it does matter.

On Tuesday both the House and the Senate agreeded to release the Epstein files.

In the House it passed 427-1. There were non-voters, which is just as embarrassing as the one, but imagine being the one.

The one is Clay Higgins of Louisiana. And that will be his legacy because he’s done nothing else except say: no I want to protect a pedophile.

In the Senate, what they did there is just… with unanimous agreement (did you even know the Senate could do that? Honestly, I was starting to think it was against the rules or something!)… unanimous agreement to send it to the president’s desk for signature.

The president says he’ll sign it.

What’s next? We don’t know. We’ll see. The president may try to find a way to block it. I’m sure he’ll pretend to keep his hands clean so expect someone else to carry that water for him.

But let Tuesday matter. Let Tuesday have happened.

On Tuesday, the House and the Senate finally voted, with near unanimous numbers (except for a few absolute losers in the House) to give voice to the survivors and make it clear that it does not matter how much money or power you have… you are not above the law when it comes to things like this.

As for what’s next… like I said, who knows. I’ll tell ya who doesn’t know. All these talking heads who are just running their mouths (some of whom I like and listen to!) on 24-hour networks… gotta make those ad sales, baybee.

We will see how this unfolds. We really genuinely don’t know what’s coming.

Texas Maps Ruled Down

-via Texas Tribune

And finally… we end in Texas on an up.

That’s right! The Lone Star State shines bright for democracy. Can you believe it?

I have a Texas tattoo with a little voter checkbox in the middle… trust me, I can believe it.

On Tuesday a federal court ruled, in a 2-1 decision, that Texas’s congressional maps, redrawn in the middle of the decade to give Republicans a perceived advantage in the House, as requested by the president of the United States, in a move that kicked of a series of congressional redrawings all around the country, and here in California our own, voter-led, reconfiguration… was cannot go into effect ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Well. Well. Well.

This will go all the way to the Supreme Court, and you can expect that it’ll do so on an emergency application. The emergency? Texas has, since 2013 and Chief Justice Roberts’ first giant crack into breaking apart the Voting Rights Act, always been the first to disenfranchise voters and if they don’t hurry up, voters might actually have their voices heard in the midterms and they do NOT like how the Republicans are acting. So they’re probably not going to vote for them in overwhelming numbers, so they better make sure those votes against them don’t count.

It's… an emergency.

If it goes on an emergency application, Historical Badman Justice Thomas will likely take the case since he is assigned to emergency cases in that area.

I wonder how he’ll rule….

So this fight is not over yet.

But if you’re looking for a laugh, here is how Governor Abbott justified this redraw: “the Legislature redrew our congressional maps to better reflect Texans’ conservative voting preferences — and for no other reason.”

So… to cheat. You did it to cheat. You just said you did it so that Texas Republicans have a better chance. You are so dumb! You suck.

Texas… babe… I love you so much. Again, I have a Texas tattoo and not just because you gave up Kelly Clarkson and Beyonce. You are filled with magic and potential. You deserve better.

Treat yourself better.

Please.

Anyway, this IS a win. This is a win.

We take our wins where we can get them and this is one of them.

Because any time that voters are reminded that their voice matters, they are only further encouraged to use it. Empowered to cast that ballot.

And while there are many, many ways that we are going to fight back against this awful, tyrannical, cruel regime… none of it matters if we don’t show up at the polling booths.

Of course your vote matters. Why do you think they try so hard to silence it?

But Tuesday was a win for voters, and that’s not nothing.