Sunday September 14th

The tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk forces us to confront an uncomfortable truth about America right now. He embodied the courage to speak openly, debate honestly, and stand firmly for his beliefs—qualities our country desperately needs but too often lacks across the political spectrum.

Political debate is the lifeblood of democracy. Yet, it has become nearly impossible to argue in good faith without anger spilling over into hatred—and now, into violence. If we have reached a point where a man can be murdered for holding convictions different from someone else’s, then America is not the place we imagine it to be, nor the place it must become.

Let’s be clear: if you celebrate the murder of another human being simply because their worldview doesn’t match yours, that is not victory—it’s complete moral failure. All Americans, regardless of faith, party, or ideology, must do better. It is entirely acceptable to be a conservative. It is equally acceptable to be a Democrat. It is acceptable to be Christian, or not to be. What is not acceptable is a culture where disagreement means dehumanization.

We must reclaim the space for vigorous debate, mutual respect, and the pursuit of common ground—even while knowing America will never be perfect, never fully satisfy either side, and never deliver utopia. The loss of Charlie Kirk is devastating, not only for those who knew him, and his family but for the country itself. And unless we face this moment with humility and resolve, America risks losing far more than one man—it risks losing its soul.

This Week in Stories Fighting for Relevance:

Tariffs are quietly turning into a cash cow—August alone brought in $31.4 billion, the fattest monthly haul of 2025. Meanwhile, the Trump administration wants rate cuts, but NEC Director Kevin Hassett insists the Fed should stay “independent.” Translation: Wall Street will do what Wall Street wants.

On Main Street, it’s a different story: 74 bank branches shuttered in just six weeks this summer, leaving more Americans without local access to their own money. And just when you thought the COVID saga was over, Anthony Fauci’s secret emails surface—yes, the ones marked “delete this after you read”—raising fresh questions about what Americans were told.

There’s a little good news: mortgage rates just saw their biggest drop in a year, giving some breathing room to homebuyers. And in healthcare, a shortage crisis might finally ease as Walmart and McKesson strike a deal to ramp up domestic production of amoxicillin, the antibiotic most families know by heart.

America Decides:
In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death, some corners of social media didn’t just cross the line — they sprinted past it, cheering and praising a tragedy. It’s sickening, it’s dangerous, and it raises the question: is it finally time to fight back and hold these people accountable?

When a guy who cut his teeth at Lehman Brothers — yes, the Lehman Brothers — says we’re in a “national housing emergency,” you know it’s bad. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent all but confirmed the Trump administration might slap the “emergency” label on housing this fall, and honestly, it’s about a decade late. Homeownership has gone from “white picket fence” to “just picket signs” as hopeless buyers are locked out of the market. Politicians of both parties have ignored the problem for years, and now the bill has finally come due. The so-called American Dream? These days, it looks more like an Airbnb with a three-night minimum.

Bank of America says small business hiring is down 6.7% year-over-year, and gee, what could possibly be behind that? Maybe the fact that tariff payments by importers are up 170% this year. That’s right—Main Street is getting hammered by higher costs while trying to find workers who actually want to work. The result? A hiring freeze that feels less like “slowing down” and more like “ice age.” Politicians brag about record tariff collections, but for small businesses, it’s just another reminder that D.C. is cashing in while they’re cashing out.

The New York Fed says Americans are now less confident about finding a new job than at any point since tracking began in 2013. Translation: if you lose your job today, good luck — the odds of landing another just fell to 44.9%, down nearly six points in a month. The decline cuts across every group, but high school grads are getting hit the hardest. In a so-called “booming economy,” people apparently believe the only thing easier than finding a job is losing one.

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Turns out JPMorgan Chase wasn’t just Epstein’s bank — it was his personal cash pipeline, processing over $1 billion for the convicted s$x offender even after compliance officials waved enough red flags to fill a stadium. According to a New York Times bombshell, bank leaders overrode internal warnings four different times in five years, even helping set up accounts for young women at Epstein’s request. Now the bank calls it a “mistake.” Sure. Most “mistakes” don’t last 15 years and generate a billion in business. But hey, when the profits roll in, who cares if the alarms are blaring?

Meet George Watson, a 77-year-old Georgia man who’s lived in his townhome for more than two decades — until his HOA decided pressure washing was worth more than property rights. After developing a mail phobia during the pandemic, Watson stopped checking his mailbox and unknowingly racked up thousands in fines and legal fees. Now the HOA wants his house. Only in America can you pay off your mortgage but still risk losing your home because Karen on the HOA board didn’t like the moss on your siding.

Royal Caribbean got more drama than it bargained for when passenger Jey Gonzalez-Diaz allegedly ditched his $16,710 casino tab the hard way—by jumping off the Rhapsody of the Seas as it docked in San Juan. According to the affidavit, his “all-inclusive” week at sea was mostly spent at the blackjack table, until reality came calling. Forget the house always wins—the cruise line always collects. Gonzalez-Diaz? He learned the old-fashioned lesson: gambling debt is one thing, but gravity always gets paid first.

Turns out the “booming labor market” wasn’t booming after all. The Bureau of Labor Statistics just revised U.S. job growth down by 911,000 for the past year — a rounding error, if you live in D.C., but a gut punch if you’re one of the people who couldn’t find work. The government calls it an “annual benchmarking process,” which is bureaucrat-speak for: we were off by nearly a million, but trust us this time. For everyday Americans, it’s just another reminder that the jobs report is more spin cycle than science.

Trump’s tariffs keep squeezing the economy, but Americans may finally get a lifeline: wholesale inflation actually fell 0.1% in August, surprising Wall Street and nudging the Fed closer to cutting rates. Don’t cheer too loudly — producer prices are still up 2.6% year-over-year — but in D.C. math, that’s “progress.” Translation: the economy’s still hurting, but at least it’s hurting slightly less.

Elon Musk just got knocked off the billionaire throne by none other than Oracle’s Larry Ellison — yes, the guy you probably forgot still existed outside of yacht parties. Thanks to a 42% surge in Oracle stock, Ellison’s net worth ballooned by $101 billion overnight, hitting $393 billion. Musk now trails at a measly $385 billion. Translation: the billionaire shuffle continues, proving once again that in America, one great earnings call is worth more than a lifetime of hard work.

Don Lemon hit the streets of New York hoping for a viral takedown of Trump’s tough-on-crime stance. Instead, he got served a cold dose of reality when an immigrant from the Dominican Republic told him she supports stronger policing — right there on camera. Lemon’s face? Pure sour grapes. Turns out when you actually ask people who live with crime every day, they’re not begging for more “community dialogues” — they want safety. Someone should tell the media bubble the Bronx isn’t buying what they’re selling.

Klarna, the Swedish “buy now, pay later” giant, made its Wall Street debut with shares surging 30% out of the gate. The stock priced at $40, opened at $52, and slapped the company with a $15 billion valuation — not bad for a firm that basically invented credit cards for people who can’t get credit cards. CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski says he wants to give retail banks “a tough match.” Translation: Klarna’s betting Americans will keep swiping today and worrying about the bill tomorrow.

America is teetering on the edge of something ugly. The politics, the violence, the constant cycle of reaction — it’s a dangerous road, and if we keep sprinting down it, we may not like where it ends.

So here’s the challenge: take a hard look at yourself. Your words. Your actions. How you treat people who don’t think like you, pray like you, or vote like you. Have you been building bridges or burning them? Because fixing this country won’t come from Congress or cable news — it’ll come from the everyday moments when we choose decency over division.

Buy a stranger’s coffee. Hold the door. Call the family member you haven’t spoken to in years. Not because they’re Republican or Democrat, but because they’re human. Hate only breeds more hate. But kindness? It spreads like wildfire too. America’s got big problems, no doubt — but maybe fixing them starts with the little things.

And it starts with us.