Sunday Overnight Open Thread - December 7, 2025 [Doof]

Howdy Hordelings! Time for the Sunday ONT. Still plenty of time to get your Christmas tree - if that's a thing you do. If you don't have yours yet, go get it! Then you can get to "drinkorating" (H/T to our 'ette friend DDS for introducing me to that term).

Tree or no tree, step on in and see what awaits!

A Date Which Still Lives in Infamy

December 7 is Pearl Harbor Day. If Joe Biden were still POTUS, he'd likely try to quote the famous speech from FDR and say something like "December 7, 1941 - a date which - you know the thing!"

We do know the thing. But do you know that the original line from FDR was "a date which will live in world history"? If you didn't, you do now!

FDR’s “Day of Infamy” Speech - Crafting a Call to Arms

In the early afternoon of December 7, 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt was just finishing lunch in his oval study on the second floor of the White House, preparing to work on his stamp album, when his telephone rang.

The White House operator announced that Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox was on the line and insisted on talking with him. Roosevelt took the call.

The Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, just before 8 a.m. Hawaii time, Secretary Knox told the President. Harry Hopkins, a top aide who was with Roosevelt at the time, could not believe the report. But Roosevelt did. "It was just the kind of unexpected thing the Japanese would do. At the very time they were discussing peace in the Pacific, they were plotting to overthrow it," he said.

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Roosevelt decided to go before Congress the next day to report on the attack and ask for a declaration of war. In early evening, he called in his secretary, Grace Tully. "Sit down, Grace," he said. "I'm going before Congress tomorrow, and I'd like to dictate my message. It will be short."

Short it was. But it was to become one of the most famous speeches of the twentieth century, giving birth to one of the most famous phrases of the century.

"Yesterday, December seventh, 1941, a date which will live in world history," he began as Tully took down the words, "the United States was simultaneously and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

Biographer Nathan Miller recalls: "He inhaled deeply on his cigarette, blew out the smoke, and began dictating in the same calm tone he used to deal with his mail. He enunciated the words incisively and slowly, carefully specifying each punctuation mark and new paragraph. Running little more than five hundred words, the message was dictated without hesitation or second thoughts."

Tully typed up what Roosevelt had dictated, and the President went to work on this first draft by hand.

On draft No. 1, Roosevelt changed "a date which will live in world history" to "a date which will live in infamy," providing the speech its most famous phrase and giving birth to the term, "day of infamy," which December 7, 1941, is often called.

A few words later, he changed his report that the United States of America was "simultaneously and deliberately attacked" to "suddenly and deliberately attacked." At the end of the first sentence, he wrote the words, "without warning," but later crossed them out.

Thus that first historic sentence—the one that is usually quoted from the speech—was born: "Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

Check out the whole thing. Interesting to read more about the speech-writing process.

Happy Birthday to Two Sports Legends

One of the all-time greats from a totally different (and much better, in my opinion) era of baseball - Johnny Bench turns 78 today.

How many of you remember his kid-friendly show from Saturdays back in the day?

Or how about "no runs, no drips, no errors"?

Bench is an absolute legend for sure.

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Also - Happy 69th Birthday to "Larry Legend"

Commercials were better back then, too.

Florida Man

Dude, really?

Altamonte Springs Florida Man Arrested for Secret Bathroom Recordings

DUDE, REALLY?!?

According to the arrest report, Voke told deputies he would place his phone with the camera exposed on the floor of a bathroom stall, aiming it toward adjacent stalls in an attempt to record unsuspecting male victims. He stated the videos involved adults only.

Wow. Just wow.

Oh No - Reporter Has The Sadz

Repercussions of DEI-related grant cuts are surfacing in national parks

Seeds of native plants destined for national parks are sitting in a warehouse instead of being grown in fields. And across the West, National Park Service staff won’t know which birds are breeding in the parks this spring. Both of these problems stem from a deluge of grant cuts that halted nonprofit conservation work with the Interior Department earlier this fall.

It all started on the morning of Sept. 23, when emails began landing in the inboxes of at least six environmental nonprofit organizations. By the end of the day, 30 federal awards worth $3.5 million had vanished from one organization alone, including several from the Park Service, according to Melanie Gisler, southwest branch director for the Institute of Applied Ecology. The only reason given was that each project no longer “effectuates the priorities” of the federal government, Gisler told SFGATE.

Other groups, including the Institute for Bird Populations and the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, received similar notifications that day — halting long-term bird counts in national parks across the West and other bird studies. The Institute for Bird Populations received no explanation beyond the same vague language about the administration’s priorities; Bird Conservancy of the Rockies declined to comment.

Thus endeth the "just the facts" portion of the article. Now let's let the bias flow!

Online, Doug Burgum, the Interior secretary, attributed the changes to a cost-cutting initiative by the Department of Governmental Efficiency, or DOGE. “@Interior saved American taxpayers MILLIONS of dollars today by cutting nearly 80 grants for wasteful environmental groups,” he wrote in a post on X, resharing a news article accusing the groups of doing diversity, equity and inclusion work with federal funds. Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, and DOGE amplified the message.

But these environmental groups dispute that assessment: Simply put, they were growing plants and counting birds. “None of the grants we were working on involved [diversity, equity, inclusion and justice],” Gisler said. “It was on-the-ground conservation work.” The organization did make an action plan for a more diverse and inclusive workplace in 2021.

Rodney Siegel, the executive director of the Institute for Bird Populations, said they did not have an explicit DEI policy. “I have no idea what they are referring to,” he said.

Federal agencies, including the Park Service, regularly work with nonprofit partners to do important work like monitoring wildlife populations or replanting burned areas. The Interior Department provides the funding, and in turn, groups like the Institute for Applied Ecology plan and execute the details with even more contractors: in this instance, crews collecting seeds, replanting them in fields, growing them and harvesting even more seeds. Federal funds prop up work that otherwise wouldn’t get done by limited Park Service staff.

How dare the funding get cut! Lemme see if I get this right. Just because an organization has a DEI plan in place and places importance on DEI things - doesn't mean the WORK is DEI-related. Did I do that right? Oh, and check out the whole article to get the author's super objective take on how "important" this work is.
Anyway, apologies for the lengthy blockquotes there. The article just really bugged me so I figured I'd see if it bugs you too.

'Ette Couture (Courtesy of Piper)

It's that time of the week - when we turn the ONT over to our good friend Piper for a bit. Here's this week's fashion pr0n.

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With Christmas lights twinkling brighter than fireflies on a July night, our First Lady has been serving up looks that are equal parts elegant and evergreen. She knows exactly how to dress for the season!

The week kicked off with a bang when Melania unveiled the breathtaking 2025 White House Christmas decorations: 51 trees, 75 wreaths, and enough gold stars to make the Milky Way jealous. It’s all a loving nod to American traditions and the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary. But let’s talk about the coat that stopped us in our tracks. Melania stepped out in a stunning Burberry Bird Button Cashmere Wool Military Coat—first in a rich military green, then in sleek black for the official preview video. That structured silhouette, gleaming gold buttons, and perfectly cinched waist? Swoon! She paired the green version with her Christian Louboutin Eleonor Botta 100 suede boots in Brown Sweater and a dark brown Ralph Lauren Collection cashmere turtleneck. It’s the kind of look that says, “Yes, you may absolutely wear your fanciest wool coat with boots for a weekend stroll.”

Those same Louboutin boots made another appearance when Melania thanked the Presidential and First Lady correspondence volunteers, travel volunteers, and Executive Residence staff. This time she wore them with a grey melange Ralph Lauren double-faced wool shirt jacket, the same dark brown cashmere turtleneck, and tailored brown leggings—effortless, polished, and ready for anything. This is Melania’s magic: letting the season take center stage while she glows quietly beside it. It’s understated glamour we’d all love to channel at our own holiday open houses—practical enough for wrangling kids (or Secret Service), yet pretty enough to turn heads at the punch bowl.

The National Christmas Tree Lighting was pure enchantment under the Ellipse lights. Melania wore a timeless double-breasted coat from Chanel’s Fall/Winter 2017-2018 Airspace Collection. Some critics might call it “safe” (pish-posh—haters gonna hate), but it was festive without fuss. She stood there radiating that megawatt smile, every inch the gracious hostess.

Friday, Melania visited patients and their families at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., reading stories to the children. If that’s not the spirit of the season wrapped in wool, I don’t know what is. She wore a striking black calf-hair Nour Hammour Althea belted coat with Christian Louboutin Kate 100 Red Lizzy pumps—a pop of holiday red.

And just when we thought we’d reached peak fabulous, Melania attended an intimate evening performance by Andrea Bocelli in the East Room. She glided in wearing a black Valentino tulle-trimmed, scalloped silk-crepe midi dress paired with Roger Vivier Trompette patent-leather pumps with metal buckles—sleek sophistication personified.

Whew, what a whirlwind week for our First Lady. Whether you’re decking your own halls or simply daydreaming over eggnog, take a page from Melania’s book: keep it classic, keep it kind, and always add a dash of dazzle

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Thanks, Piper!

DJ Doof - Guess The Theme

Difficulty level 3 out of 5

What's the common thread / common meaning / common leitmotif?

Weekly commenter stats for week of 12-7-2025

AoSHQ Commenter Statistics:
Number of posts: 113
Number of comments: 25848
Number of unique hashes: 2044

Top 10 commenters:
1 [574 comments] 'Bulg' [81.51 posts/day]
2 [549 comments] 'Sponge - F*ck Cancer'
3 [378 comments] 'TheJamesMadison, seeing life through the shadows with Otto Preminger'
4 [367 comments] 'Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere '
5 [338 comments] 'whig'
6 [335 comments] 'toby928(c)'
7 [330 comments] 'BurtTC'
8 [305 comments] 'm'
9 [272 comments] 'ShainS -- The Neo-Jacobins: Anarcho-Terrorism & Assassination Culture Since 1789 '
10 [271 comments] 'the way I see it'

Top 10 sockpuppeteers:
1 [183 names] 'Penguin Pool Petey' [25.99 unique names/day]
2 [161 names] 'Quarter Twenty '
3 [112 names] 'Not every parent deserves kids'
4 [55 names] 'the Wretched Panhard'
5 [36 names] 'Abolish The Federal Government Already'
6 [35 names] 'Intercepted Reddit Transmissions brought by the Intrepid AoS Liaison'
7 [31 names] 'Moron Analyst'
8 [31 names] 'The Grateful - Acta Non Verba'
9 [29 names] 'Duncanthrax'
10 [28 names] 'pookysgirl, still Protestant'

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