Sign of the Times

"And paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people..."

Set in 1971, The Post depicts the true story of attempts by journalists at The Washington Post to publish the infamous Pentagon Papers, a set of classified documents regarding the 20-year involvement of the United States government in the Vietnam War and earlier in French Indochina back to the 1940s.
The Nixon administration sues the Times, and a judge tempoarily stops the time from publishing more articles. The Washington Post, not named in the suit comes into possession of the papers and has to decide whether to publish or not.
Katherine Graham the owner of the Post, decides to publish at the risk of being held in contempt, is going to jail, and losing the paper.
The Post and Times appear before the Supreme Court to plead their First Amendment rights. In solidarity, other newspapers across the U.S. publish information from Ellsberg's documents. On June 30, 1971, the Supreme Court rules 6–3 in the newspapers' favor, vindicating Graham's decision. In response, Nixon bars the Post from ever entering the White House again.
Justice Black, concurring opinion, New York Times vs United States 1971
"In the First Amendment, the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors. The Government's power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the Government. The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government. And paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people..."

"Go Fuck Yourself"

The 2013 Shutdown:
Was due to Republicans wanting to strip funding from the newly passed ACA (Obamacare).
The 2025 Shutdown:
Is due to Democrats wanting to extend funding for the ACA (Obamacare) that will expire December 31st. The Big Beautiful Bill did not extend the funding.
In 2013, Republicans were not able to entirely defund the ACA, but as part of the negotiations, the Democrats conceded to stricter income verification rules for citizens accessing the health insurance exchanges. And the shutdown was ended.
I always liked the John Boehner (pictured left) quote from that shut down:
“We are [the Republicans] are standing our ground. Its Harry Reid [Democrats, pictured right] that isen’t moving.”
There is even a video of Boehner telling Reid to go "fuck himself"
Pretty funny, except its everyday hard working people that get hurt.
You might note that the Democrats, as part of a bargaining chip, did not start firing and laying people off.

On Hegseth's Meeting With The Staff

Remember when Longshanks tossed his sons Minister of War out the window in Braveheart? Someone should have done the same thing with ol' Longshanks.