Like any of it matters.

Charlie Kirk, 9/11 and the CPI Wall Into the Room…

There are weekends where the news cycle feels busy.

And then there are weekends where the news cycle looks like somebody dumped a box of live grenades onto the kitchen table and walked away.

This is one of those weekends.

We have the first anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the 25th anniversary of September 11, and—because apparently the universe has a sense of humor—the August Consumer Price Index dropping into the middle of it all.

Politics, tragedy, economics and enough arguing on social media to power a small country.

Grab your coffee.

We’re going in.

First: Charlie Kirk

September 10 marked one year since conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University.

Whatever somebody thought about Kirk politically, pretending his death wasn’t significant would be ridiculous. He wasn’t some obscure guy yelling into a podcast microphone with twelve subscribers. He built Turning Point USA into a major conservative political organization and became an important figure in the Republican movement, particularly among younger voters.

A year later, his death is still being used as a political and cultural dividing line.

Republicans are remembering him as a political martyr and movement-builder. Critics continue to point to the more controversial parts of his political record and rhetoric.

That’s probably going to continue for a very long time.

The Republican midterm convention in Dallas is marking the anniversary with a tribute, including a memorial video and speeches remembering Kirk’s influence. (AP News)

And that’s where things get complicated.

America has become exceptionally good at turning dead people into political symbols.

We don’t simply mourn anymore.

We build narratives.

We pick teams.

We make memes.

We argue with strangers who have profile pictures of eagles, flags, politicians, cartoon frogs or some combination of all four.

Then comes September 11.

Twenty-five years later

September 11, 2001.

Twenty-five years.

Let that sink in.

For anyone old enough to remember that morning, it doesn’t feel like history in the same way the moon landing or the Kennedy assassination might. You remember where you were. You remember the television. You remember the confusion before everybody understood what was happening.

Nearly 3,000 people died.

Thousands more first responders and others were exposed to toxic materials and have subsequently suffered or died from related illnesses. The attacks reshaped American foreign policy, national security, immigration debates, airport security and an enormous amount of American political culture. (Reuters)

And now we’re at the 25-year mark.

There will be ceremonies in New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.

Names will be read.

Bells will ring.

People will stand quietly.

Families will remember people who never got to see the world we live in today.

And, inevitably, politicians will talk.

That’s the part that makes me nervous.

Because September 11 should be about remembering the people who died.

Not turning their deaths into a convenient political prop.

Unfortunately, that’s apparently too much to ask in modern America.

And then there’s CPI

Because nothing says “solemn national remembrance” quite like the Bureau of Labor Statistics dropping an inflation report into the middle of the morning.

The August Consumer Price Index is scheduled for release today.

And Wall Street is going to care.

A lot.

The expectation going into the report is approximately a 0.4% monthly increase in headline CPI, with annual inflation around 3.4%. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, is expected around 0.2% for the month and 2.4% annually. (Reuters)

Those numbers might sound boring.

They aren’t.

CPI is basically the government’s giant receipt showing us what happened to the prices Americans are paying.

Gasoline.

Food.

Rent.

Used cars.

Medical care.

Clothing.

Services.

All the stuff that quietly reaches into your wallet and says, “Remember me?”

And yesterday’s Producer Price Index didn’t exactly make inflation look like it’s ready to pack its bags and leave.

PPI increased 0.4% in August, while annual producer-price inflation reached 5.4%. Energy prices were particularly ugly. (Reuters)

That matters because businesses don’t magically absorb every increase in their costs.

Eventually, somebody gets the bill.

And quite frequently, that somebody is you.

So what does this mean for the Fed?

Here’s where everybody starts yelling.

If inflation comes in hotter than expected, markets could start worrying that the Federal Reserve doesn’t have as much room to cut rates—or might even need to consider tightening policy.

If inflation comes in cooler than expected, investors can breathe a little easier and start dreaming about lower rates again.

And if the number comes in basically where everybody expects?

Congratulations.

We get to argue about decimal points.

That’s Wall Street.

A tenth of a percent can apparently determine whether the financial world is ending or whether everyone should buy technology stocks before lunch.

Meanwhile, the average person is standing in the grocery aisle wondering why six bags of groceries somehow cost $87.

That’s the strange part about this weekend

Three completely different stories are colliding.

Charlie Kirk represents the current political and cultural war.

September 11 represents one of the defining tragedies of modern American history.

CPI represents the painfully mundane economic reality of paying for life in 2026.

And yet they’re all connected by one thing:

People are pissed off.

Some are pissed off about politics.

Some are pissed off about inflation.

Some are pissed off about what America has become.

Some are grieving.

Some are scared.

Some are just trying to fill up the damn car without needing a small-business loan.

And somewhere between all of that, the internet is going to do what the internet does best:

Turn everything into a fight.

Maybe we could take one weekend off from that.

Just one.

Remember the nearly 3,000 people who died on September 11 without immediately turning their deaths into an argument about today’s political opponent.

Remember Charlie Kirk without pretending everybody who disagreed with him was evil—or that everybody who supported him was automatically right.

Look at the CPI number without immediately blaming whichever political party you already hated when you woke up.

Those things can all be true at the same time.

A person can disagree with Charlie Kirk and still recognize that political assassination is horrific.

A person can be deeply patriotic without believing every government decision made after 9/11 was perfect.

A person can support the president and still complain when groceries cost too much.

And a person can hate the president and still admit when the economy produces a good number.

That’s called having a brain.

It’s becoming a surprisingly controversial position.

So here we are.

September 11, 2026.

Twenty-five years after one of the darkest days in American history.

One year after another politically motivated killing shook the country.

And this morning, sometime around breakfast, we’re going to get another inflation number that will send traders scrambling to interpret whether the Federal Reserve should cut, hold or potentially raise interest rates.

Quite a weekend.

Take a breath.

Remember the dead.

Pay attention to the living.

And maybe, just maybe, don’t let the algorithm convince you that every person who disagrees with you is the enemy.

We’ve already had enough of that.