WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS MONDAY IS TAKING THE DAY OFF Because it's Veterans Day and I want to spend some time on three different distinct veteran related things.
SUPPORT A SOLDIER HELPS MAKE SOLDIERS VETERANS How? By providing equipment to soldiers serving in the field that helps bring them home. Support A Soldier is a wonderful organization and they truly need your help to keep up and running as their requests are FAR outstripping their resources. They will join me at noon to spend an hour talking about what they do and what our troops need. Please make a donation by clicking here!
HOUR TWO WE GO BACK IN TIME To World War II with author Stan Moore, whose new book Seesaw: How November '42 Shaped the Future. Stan is on at 1 to talk about how this pivotal year changed the world forever. Buy the book by clicking here.
VETERAN SUICIDE IS GETTING WORSE And you guys know Rob from his stellar performances on Of the Day, but he's also in the Army and a passionate supporter of several organization dedicated to tackling the veteran suicide epidemic. One of those is the Motorcycle Relief Project and I've got founder Tom Larson on to talk about veteran suicide and what MRP does to combat it. Please consider donating by clicking here! If you go to the Gala, which you can find here, I'll be there!
VETERAN SUICIDE IS GETTING WORSE Here is a column about it you should read.
FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T VETERANS It's almost impossible to understand a soldier's mentality. Most of us would not take the time to stand out in the freezing cold to make sure a fellow vet gets a proper send off, but these vets do. What a lovely story.
I'M ALL IN FOR NIKKI HALEY FOR PRESIDENT SOMEDAY And I am going to have Dave track her down for an interview about her new book. She was on CBS Sunday morning yesterday and I'm telling you, she could very well be the first female President. And first President of Indian descent, which checks some box that is important to some people. I just like her. Watch this.
DON'T JUST THANK A SERVICE MEMBER, TALK TO THEM Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to thank a veteran for his or her service because I mean it, but a survey showed that many veterans are uncomfortable with being thanked. One said he doesn't know what to say back. How about "you're welcome"? The bigger point here is that a pat thank you with no follow up isn't the way to go.
I'M NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING And military homecomings always gut me. But I share this to remind those of us who are exasperated dealing with our kids everyday that there are brave men and women who volunteer and then leave their families for months and YEARS at a time so we don't have to. I totally ugly cried this morning watching this.
THE NEW APPLE CARD DISCRIMINATES AGAINST WOMEN And I wonder how many times this happens with OTHER cards but we just don't notice because the discrepancy isn't that large. It seems that the Apple credit card offers men much higher credit lines, like 20 TIMES more credit, to men than it does women with equal income and job security. Hmmmmm.
NOW ELLEN MADE ME UGLY CRY WITH A MAGIC TRICK
IT MUST BE AMAZING TO LIVE IN SENATOR MICHAEL BENNET'S HEAD Because he's telling people that though he's polling at 1% in the crowded Democratic primary field, he still thinks he could win. Bless his heart. My question is, who is still funding this guy? For real, who is giving him money? And why? But hey, I'm a terrible prognosticator by my own admission so what do I know?
A SUBMARINE LOST SINCE WORLD WAR II HAS BEEN FOUND
YELLING AT DOGS DOES LONG TERM DAMAGE And dogs have worse health outcomes and higher stress levels when they are trained using aversion methods like leash pulling and yelling. Be nice to your pooches!
ALL YOU WHITE CAR PEOPLE LOOK ALIKE And that's because white is the most popular car color in the US. I'm a silver girl myself, because it doesn't show dirt as easily.
YOU'VE GOT A SONG STUCK IN YOUR HEAD? THIS WOMAN HAS YOU BEAT Because she has a condition called musical tinnitus where she hears the same song from her childhood OVER AND OVER again for YEARS. It's a rare case of what's also called musical hallucinations and just makes me wonder about how much stuff we don't understand about how our brains work.
THIS IS WHEN A CROSSBOW COMES IN HANDY A New Jersey 55+ community is overrun with wild turkeys and they are ruining the neighborhood. The silent but deadly crossbow is the perfect tool to solve this problem.
PRETTY SOON YOU'LL BE COOKING ON YOUR WOOD STOVE San Francisco has banned the installation of new gas lines for gas appliances. Thusly, I will never, ever, ever, ever move to San Francisco. This and the people poop problem have ruled that out. From now on, all appliances must be the inferior electric type.
A COMMON LANGUAGE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF SOCIAL COHESION And in America that language is English. Interesting column on why this is now controversial.