LET'S TALK CHRISTMAS MOVIES WITH CHRISTIAN TOTO! Everyone has their favorites and so do I. My top ten looks like this:
10.Planes, Trains, And Automobiles: Yes, it's technically a Thanksgiving movie but it reminds me so much of just trying to get home for the holidays when I was a flight attendant and it's one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.
9.The Santa Clause: Tim Allen is forced to become Santa Claus after Santa falls off his roof. It's so charming.
8.A Muppets Christmas Carol Because it's the first one I ever watched that didn't bore me to tears and it gets the message through just as well. Plus Michael Caine is a GREAT Scrooge and the music is wonderful
7.A Charlie Brown Christmas and if you even have to ask we can't be friends
6.Home Alone. Even though this is essentially the story of child neglect that adorable scamp Kevin makes the mayhem festive.
5.Christmas Vacation because this one is for all the dysfunctional families out there who still love the holiday.
4.A Christmas Story I absolutely love Jean Shepherd and this is his masterpiece out of everything he ever wrote and the film captures his writing so perfectly.
3.Elf because it makes me happy to watch it. Period.
2.Arthur Christmas This movie gets no love on lists I've seen but it's so, so good. It's about one of Santa son's who isn't chosen to be Santa and his quest to get a forgotten toy to one child before sunrise. GrandSanta has all the good one liners. It's lovely.
1.White Christmas I will never tire of this movie with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney and Vera Allen. The music and dancing are incredible and it always make me feel like Christmas. Don't @ me.
Christian Toto joins us at 1pm to talk all things Christmas movies! Find his great website and podcast by clicking here! Find Arod's by clicking here!
FATHER MIKE TESS POPS ON FOR THE REASON FOR THE SEASON TODAY As he's my favorite Episcopal priest. Follow him on Instagram for 60 second bursts of God by clicking here!
IT'S AN END OF THE YEAR ASK ME ANYTHING I will be in for New Year's Eve and I'm bringing the whole family in with me because why not, so make today the Ask Me Anything you've always wanted.
THE SIZE OF GOVERNMENT HAS EXPLODED UNDER GOVERNOR JARED POLIS And there is no denying he does not deserve ANY libertarian bonafides because he's been at the helm for this explosion of government growth. As Legislators gnash their teeth over the budget shortfall they created please don't fall for it. The "Big Five" agencies in government have grown by 45% in FOUR YEARS. From CBS4:
Meanwhile, the state has seen a number of departments grow in response to new commitments such as universal preschool and free school lunches. In a PowerPoint presentation legislative council staff wrote that, "Growth in Colorado's appropriated budget has been largely driven by growth in the largest 'Big 5' Departments combining for a 45 percent growth from FY21 to FY25."
That is insane and the reason is Democrats have been growing government and spending unchecked for too many years now. Period. Don't forget, we just added pregnant illegal immigrants and their children to the Medicaid rolls. It's only going to get worse.
THOSE CRIMINAL GANG MEMBERS ARE IN ICE CUSTODY And hopefully they will have more trouble getting back into the country after they are deported this time. Sixteen Venezuelans who are here illegally were involved in the kidnapping of another two illegal immigrants who were brave enough to call the cops. Now that we have a real police Chief in Aurora they are actually doing something to stop this. Good for Aurora and the rest of us!
I HOPE THE MAYOR IS RIGHT HERE Although I still don't think shoving homeless people into hotels is really "ending homelessness" but I guess it's much better than having people on the streets. The Mayor said he has "ended veteran homelessness" in Denver using the program. I hope he's right but I'm still doubtful. I do know that we have some of the most robust programs for veterans here in the Metro I've ever seen so this is possible, but I also know some veterans are suffering badly from mental health and addiction issues and are more adept at hiding themselves from the world than your average person. As I said, I sure hope the Mayor is right and I'm very excited that he has made this particular group a focus here. I have to say well done, Mayor Mike!
VIVA LA ROME NON STOP! I am super excited about this. United Airlines is adding a new non-stop to Rome, Italy next summer, along with some smaller destinations in the US. The Rome service will be mostly summer service as that is the peak travel time, but the other flights to places like Buffalo and Pensacola may be more permanent.
WE MAY SEE MORE ITTY BITTY CARS ON COLORADO ROADS So there are these itty bitty Japanese cars called kei cars, and they are tiny little shoeboxes that sell in Japan for less than 10k. Find out more about them here. Colorado was set the ban them because they don't meet the definition of a vehicle authorized on roads and highways but now they've backed off on that for some reason. Read more here, but don't be surprised if you see these things pop up around Colorado, especially old ones that can be grandfathered in and around the safety standards.
DEMOCRATS BLAME MUSK FOR THE FAILURE OF THEIR PORK FILLED BILL What a mess in DC and I'm here for it. After being called out on social media by Elon Musk, who I really feel is the Voice of the People right now, the massive pork filled Continuing Resolution is dead in the water. But this isn't just the Democrat's fault, there are a lot of Republican hardliners on the budget who voted no on the second "slimmed down" version of the bill because they want a proper budget procedure followed. One of them is Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who has been FIRE on this issue. He's right when he says this:
Listen to this where he shoves big spending Republicans under the bus and then suggests what to cut. I love him so much.
Because the pork filled bill failed, now Democrats, who shoved a whole bunch of stuff into that bill in agreement with Speaker Johnson, are SUPER mad about it failing and they are running with the line that Elon Musk is the President now. Okay, let's talk about that for a minute. Elon Musk is the Voice of the People right now and he's wielding that power to bring a bloated government to check on behalf of the People. I'm perfectly fine with that, though the incoming Trump Administration pushed back on that narrative here. They had this to say:
Karoline Leavitt, Trump's incoming White House press secretary, told Business Insider: "As soon as President Trump released his official stance on the CR [continuing resolution], Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his point of view. President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop."
I don't care if Elon Musk pushes Trump to do more on cutting spending than Trump initially intended, because it's GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY! We need this so badly and we've got a chance to reverse our inevitable decline that occurs when people start to vote themselves the Treasury. This is fantastic.
NOW THE PRESS DECIDES TO REPORT ON BIDEN'S DECLINE And for real I eye rolled when I saw this story yesterday in the Washington Post. Because we all KNEW it was happening and the press doggedly covered it up over and over again. Just this part shows how complicit the media was in allowing this coverup:
They issued a directive to some powerful lawmakers and allies seeking one-on-one time: The exchanges should be short and focused, according to people who received the message directly from White House aides.
Ideally, the meetings would start later in the day, since Biden has never been at his best first thing in the morning, some of the people said. His staff made these adjustments to limit potential missteps by Biden, the people said. The president, known for long and rambling sessions, at times pushed in the opposite direction, wanting or just taking more time.
The White House denied that his schedule has been altered due to his age.
If the president was having an off day, meetings could be scrapped altogether. On one such occasion, in the spring of 2021, a national security official explained to another aide why a meeting needed to be rescheduled. “He has good days and bad days, and today was a bad day so we’re going to address this tomorrow,” the former aide recalled the official saying.
How did all this go on and JUST NOW the Washington Post finds time to write about it? We all know the answer and it's about power, not about doing a good job for the country. At a bare minimum I hope every advisor that covered for him never gets to work in politics again.
NEIL CAVUTO HAS LEFT FOX NEWS Not particularly acrimoniously, but he's gone nonetheless as yesterday he said goodbye for the last time. Word on the street is he didn't want to take the new contract he was offered in a time of belt tightening going on in cable news. Here is his goodbye, it was lovely.
LIFE ADVICE FROM A 103 YEAR OLD this is so good.
LEARN HOW TO TAME YOUR ANXIETY This is yet another excellent interview on Diary of a CEO with Dr Martha Beck, whose neuroscience based techniques help people overcome anxiety and childhood trauma.
IT'S TIME TO FIGHT BRAIN ROT And brain rot is what happens when we mindlessly scroll through low quality videos online instead of doing something constructive. Read about it here.
A BIG DUMMY FINDS JESUS And then returned it to a fire station with a note of apology. The Baby Jesus has been returned to it's nativity in Fort Collins.
DON'T HIKE IN THE WINTER UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING After two bodies were covered in as many days near Boulder's Flatirons authorities are asking people to maybe forgo the winter hiking, especially alone, unless you are properly prepared for the weather and know exactly where you are going. Read more here.
DOES YOUR JOB HAVE PURPOSE? It's called "The Great Detachment" and it's the feeling that your job doesn't have a clear purpose. I think as more people work for corporations with Boards of Directors who have no clue what is actually happening on a daily basis at their jobs it is increasingly hard to find meaning in your work. That leaves workers feeling detached and not particularly wanting to work hard. It also has them looking for a new job. Read here about the reasons why and then print this article out and give it to your managers if needed. Secretly, of course.
SO DOES MANIFESTING WORK? Michelle Zellner does her Vision Board Party and my daughter even did one last year as part of the Big Manifesting Movement to help people reach their goals. The key to manifesting is actually DOING SOMETHING to make your dreams come true, not just wishing they will. Read more here.
WHAT'S KILLING US NOW? This list of the ten most common causes of death is LOADED with lifestyle related illnesses that we can largely prevent. Read it here, but then understand why I keep talking about health and fitness!
HOW MEN PLAN VS HOW WOMEN PLAN And this is SO ACCURATE! Watch below or click here.
AROD'S FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES
SOME FUN FACTS ABOUT ELF Watch below or click here.
WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE Bros are brutal. Watch below or click here.
NEVER, NEVER MICROWAVE PLASTIC Hooboy this is mindblowing and a good indication of how much we're poisoning ourselves on the daily. Watch below or click here.
HOW ANXIETY WORKS Completely coincidentally Arod sent me this snippet from the longer podcast above. So, so good. Watch below or click here.