08/20/25

Good morning! It’s Wednesday, August 20th.

National Radio Day

The radio, kids, is like… imagine Spotify but if you couldn’t pick the songs. And now imagine if my voice preceded, and sometimes bled into, your favorite song. And it always happened when you were trying to record it because you wanted to make the perfect mix, and that was the only way to do it.

We call that… the good old days.

And now, the news.

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

-via ABC News, BBC, and AP News

Starting in Ukraine where, just one day after Ukraine’s President Zelensky was in the White House and Trump said he’d orchestrated an upcoming meeting between Zelensky and Putin – Ukraine’s air force reported the largest attack on the country in weeks from Russia. An attack that included 270 drones and 10 missiles (including those that were intercepted) and caused large fires to break out, since oil refineries and gas facilities were attacked.

Quite the timing. Bummer of a consequence, I’m sure.

Also on Tuesday, Trump said he would not be sending US troops to Ukraine (notable since it kind of left that possibility open on Monday), but then he also said that Ukraine’s chances of regaining Crimea and joining NATO are both “impossible.”

Whose side are you on man?

Jkjk… we know!

We. Know.

Trump says he spoke with Putin, calling it a “very good, early step for a war that have been going on for almost four years,” but Putin has not yet said he’s agreed to the meeting with Zelensky. On Monday, Trump was aligned with European leaders, but now here he is – advocating for Putin’s points.

I don’t know… I’m starting to think we can’t trust that guy.

 Trump also said the conflict was “a tough one” and adding about Putin “it’s possible that he doesn’t want to make a deal.” Which just… oh now you think it’s a tough one? Now you’re willing to admit it? It’s finally befuddled your big brain??

Known worldwide for his brains and quick ability to read the room, Trump is the first person to note that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is quite the pickle.

Dunce.

Epstein Files

-via CBS News

Sorry, but we’re talking about the Epstein files again. Just for a minute though. I mean, listen – we’re gonna talk about it if we need to talk about it but at a certain point it’s like… is the president being in the child sex trafficker’s files the distraction from the fascism or is the fascism the distraction from the president being in the child sex trafficker’s files?

On Tuesday the House Oversight Committee announced that they intend to release some of the files that the Department of Justice has on Epstein. The committee is expected to receive them on Friday, after which they will review them, redact anything needed, and then release them.

On Monday, William Barr testified before the committee, but it was behind closed doors. Best we can do is guess what they asked him about. Famously, his glasses are very round… I wonder if that came up.

Trump Revokes Security Clearances

-via AP News

In a memo posted by director of national intelligence (somehow) Tulsi Gabbard, 37 current and former national security official have had their security clearances revoked, accusing them, in the memo of having engaged in the “politicization or weaponization of intelligence” to advance partisan goals and “failure to adhere to professional analytic tradecraft standards.”

Many of those who have their clearances revoked only learned about it from this podcast. No no (maybe. We don’t know. We have no way of knowing. And if we can’t definitively say no, we can technically say it’s possible). Anyway, some of these officials are considering taking legal action, since this goes against settled law meant to preserve access to sensitive information for intelligence professionals but this was done specifically for political retaliation.

Political retaliation? In this administration? That can’t be right.

ICE Raids

-via AP News

We haven’t talked about the ICE raids in a while, and that’s on me (obviously. It’s literally my show.) I decide everything about it – that’s why I had the whole rant about Dean Cain the other day and why I talked about how there’s zero doubt in my mind that Mandy Moore’s going to get an EGOT one day (and now I have to talk about how much it sucked saying those two names in the same sentence. Very sorry! That’s gotta be the first time someone’s ever done that. Cool to make history though! No one’s ever combined those names, but yuck… never to be done again)

Anyway! It’s very clearly my show because any professional producer would have cut all of that out.

I haven’t talked about ICE raids in a while, and I’m sorry. They are still happening. I want to draw your attention to one specific one, because you need to know how out of control things are getting. In Maine, a police officer was arrested by ICE.

ICE officials were told that the officer is legally permitted to work in the country. The arrest was not warranted. It was an error. The town submitted information via the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify program prior to his employment, so he’d be all good.

Then, the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security accused the town of “reckless reliance” on the department’s E-Verify program.

He was allowed to be here. He was allowed to be working here. He was working at a police officer. They filed this with the Department of Homeland Security…. And now, apparently, this is the town’s fault for relying on the department not to screw up?

Officer Evans is leaving the country to return to Jamaica on Monday.

Rep. Nicole Collier

-via Texas Tribune

And just a quick update on Texas House Rep Nicole Collier. She spent Monday night trapped in the capitol building, after Texas Republicans refused to let her leave without signing a permission slip to be monitored, ensuring that she will return to work today. Assume that, by the time you hear this, she will have spent Tuesday night there as well.

Today is a big day for Texas – the new special session begins and best believe first up on the docket will the a vote for the gerrymandered maps that started it all.

Tuesday day brought protests to the capital, and chants of “Don’t mess with Texas women” could be heard throughout the rotunda.

Let me tell you something. You heard this little cherubic voice coming to you through your car speakers or earbuds or however else you listen?

In 2013 Wendy Davis stood in that same building for 13 hours to filibuster an abortion bill that she knew would pass. She knew it would pass but she knew she couldn’t do nothing. And so she stood and fought. And fought and fought and fought.

And there are a million lessons to be learned from that day in June, but among them is this – don’t mess with Texas women. You are ill-prepared in every single aspect.

These maps will pass. They will think they have won.

Remember that scene in Enough when J. Lo’s training, and her trainer tells her, “He's standing over you. He thinks he's won. And as sure as he's a coward, he will try to kick you. But because you know what he'll do, you're smiling inside."

They’ll pass those maps. They’ll celebrate and cheer. They’ll think they’ve won. But don’t mess with Texas women. Standing there quietly, but smiling inside.

Because remember that other line from Enough: “How do you win?” “I attack.” “And what do you do after you attack?” “Nothing.” “Why nothing?” “Because I never stop attacking.”

Sure as Texas Republicans are cowards, they’ll think that they’ve won. But those five seats aren’t guaranteed, and all they’ve done now is unleash a fight for turnout. Texas is 1% more democratic than it is Republican. This is whole turns on turnout.

Don’t mess with Texas women.

And that’s it. That’s the news.

I have to go watch Enough now, I think. It’s so good. Also, believe women.

I’m proud of… god, Texas women. Something fierce.

And the radio. Not the same amount, relax! Remember trying to record that new Blink song and trying to get it exactly right, without catching a commercial in it?

But more than a commercial, because you are all hits and commercial-free… I’m proud of you.