IF YOU WATCH THE VOICE THIS IS EXCITING! If you don't watch The Voice you may not know it's a singing show. If you do watch, you've seen a kid named Bodie continue to make it to the next level and may know Bodie is a local guy! His mom Jill joins me today at 2 to talk about his career, The Voice and how nerve wracking it must be for her to watch her boy go through this. Jill Bevis is on at 1.
JON CALDARA HAS A PRESTIGIOUS AWARD TO GIVE Every year the Independence Institute gives out a very important award: Californian of the Year. It does to the person or entity trying to make Colorado into California. You can read who the big winner here is here, or you can wait for Jon at 2.
DOES HAVING SO MUCH DATA ABOUT ILLNESS HELP OR HURT? I was reading this article about which illnesses are circulating in the metro right now and had a thought. When I was a kid, when "a bug" was going around, you didn't really worry about it unless you or someone in your household picked it up, and then someone would say, "yeah, there's a bug going around right now" and if you needed to go to the doctor you went or you rode it out and got better. Now we have a never ending drumbeat of what's around, how many of us have it, and how many people are in the hospital from it. None of this was around when I was a kid and I think I liked it better. I understand that some people need to be cautious, but if you've got health conditions I hope you've gotten a flu shot anyway. I'm just wondering if maybe we can take it back a notch and still survive as it feels like they want us in a constant state of panic over illnesses that may suck but won't be a matter of life and death for most.
THERE IS SOME CRAZY STUFF HAPPENING AROUND THE WORLD RIGHT NOW I don't know if you missed the almost coup in Peru, or the plot to overthrow the German government and install a minor German aristocrat as king, but some weird stuff is happening. It feels like the world is teetering in a bad way and I have to believe that some of what is happening is related to the perception of our own instability from the last election, and yes, I meant to say instability. Many Americans brushed off January 6th while other Americans brush off the riots of 2020 but those images play around the world and they send a message of instability. Does that empower wackos? I have no clue but I feel we are in very interesting times and that's not always good.
WE NEED TO WATCH WHAT HAPPENS IN CHINA NOW As the leadership caved to protesters demands and have dropped the idiotic zero covid policy they have had in place for three years. Now people are rejoining the world and we can only assume they are miles away from herd immunity of any kind so lots and lots of Chinese people are going to get sick and one must hope whatever strain rips through the country is able to be handled.
WHAT IS THE WEIRDEST REQUEST YOU'VE EVER SEEN AT A WEDDING? I've been to weddings where everyone was to wear white, weddings where everyone was to wear blue, and a wedding where no one was to wear shoes (beach wedding, not redneck wedding) but this one caught my eye. It's an advice column letter with a completely delusional bride upset her fiance won't support her idiotic idea to make everyone be completely silent at the wedding AND reception. Why would anyone go? Seriously. Some of these bride's need a serious check.
BASKETBALL STAR BRITTNEY GRINER HAS BEEN RELEASED FROM RUSSIAN CUSTODY After a prisoner exchange for a Russian arms dealer. She isn't home yet, but is in US custody. Paul Whelan, an executive who has been in a Russian prison for four years, was not included in the deal, which I think is a major failure. I'm happy for Brittney, but sad for Paul Whelan and his family, because now his story will fade into the background again.
YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SCREEN "THE HOLLY" IN YOUR OWN HOME SOON And this is the documentary about Terrance Roberts, the former gang member turned peace activist who shot and killed a man at his own peace rally in 2013. Roberts is now running for Denver Mayor so you may want to watch this. You'll be able to stream it for about ten bucks in February.
JOE BIDEN JUST USED YOUR MONEY TO BUY OFF UNIONS After he forced a deal onto railroad workers he needed to show the unions how much he loved them, so he gave the almost always corrupt Teamsters $36 BILLION DOLLARS to shore up their failing pension fund. It's failing because of corruption and mismanagement and there is no indication that he will require different management of the funds so this is just a payoff for their continued support of the Democrat party. I wonder how much this will get Dems in campaign donations?
THE ARREST AFFIDAVIT HAS BEEN RELEASED FOR THE CLUB Q SHOOTER But it gives no light on motive for the horrible murders, though he has been charged with hate crimes. Read more about it here. I'd like to see the transcripts from the interviews done with this clown by police.
WHAT'S UP WITH THE HOUSING MARKET? DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ASK This is a good story (with one glaring error) about expectations for the housing market next year. Big banks and corporate I-buyers think the market will drop, while realtors have a rosier picture of what might happen. Our market in Denver is pretty stable,which is good news for us. The glaring error is with the line, "mortgage rates are now at historic highs". This is not remotely accurate. Mortgage rates went up to almost 19% in 1981. Yesterday mortgage rates were at 6.72%. The average rate 30 year fixed rate since 1971 is 7.76% so we're actually BELOW AVERAGE for mortgage rates. The problem is they have been artificially low for so long housing prices have been distorted on the high end and are now unaffordable when you put in an average mortgage rate.
HOW THEY MADE ELF This is super cool behind the scenes of the movie Elf. There is some super cool movie making nerdiness in this.
CELINE DION HAS AN INCURABLE NEUROLOGICAL DISEASE And this sounds horrible. She announced she's been diagnosed with Stiff Persons Disease where a person's muscle contract uncontrollably and eventually leave them locked and unable to move or talk. There are treatments to slow down the disease, but no cure. I hope her doctors are able to help. She has cancelled her European tour and one must wonder if she will perform again.
EYE-RAN KILLS A PROTESTER And I fully expect them to execute others who are demanding an end to the Islamic regime. Dozens of other protesters have been arrested and charged with crimes related to the protests, and those charges will likely lead to death. The courts in Eye-ran are pretty much kangaroo courts anyway. The sister of Eye-ran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is calling for the overthrow of the regime, calling him a "despotic caliph who ignored the voice of Iranians". Add this to the "things are weird around the world" folder.
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO JIM CROW 2.0? Obviously the changes to the Georgia voter laws weren't so complicated that Black Georgians couldn't figure out how to cast their ballots. Many of them likely voted in a race that pitted one black man against another, with the Democrat coming out on top. This editorial writes about the death of that tired slam on Georgia.
IF YOU LOVE FLAVORED COFFEE CREAMER, DON'T WATCH THIS Or maybe you should. Click here if it doesn't load.
THE NEW AVATAR MOVIE IS GETTING RAVE REVIEWS Even our Christian Toto said this on Twitter:
And the reviews that are coming out are really positive. Maybe I'll have to watch the first one now.
THE MOST GOOGLED WORD OF 2022 IS Wordle. It seems that lots and lots of people googled the word trying to find the puzzle game. It beat out "election results" and "Betty White" for the win.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MILE HIGH STADIUM? That is the big question with new ownership likely to decide on some changes or even a new stadium in the near future. Now is NOT the time to be asking Broncos fans for a new stadium, but talk is already beginning about several possible options, including building the stadium in Northeast Aurora closer to the airport. Nothing is firm in any way, but Mayor Michael Hancock says he's been advocating for the field to stay downtown.
EVEN AN ADDICT DESERVES CARE WHEN IN JAIL And a Weld County mother of three who was an addict was one of them. She was denied proper medical care because nurses at the Weld County Jail thought she was faking. In reality, a bag of drugs she either swallowed or inserted broke and her system was flooded with meth. Had she been given timely medical care she may have survived and now her sister and children are suing. I don't blame them.
WHEN A TREE IS ALL THAT'S LEFT You carry six buckets of water up a hill daily to help it survive. At least that's what one man who lost almost everything else in the Marshall Fire is doing. Read this moving story here.
AMERICANS WHO LIVE TO BE 100 DON'T EAT LIKE MOST OF US This story is interesting to me, because they share two very southern recipes and southern cuisine is not the healthiest. The researcher who writes on Blue Zones where good numbers of people are extremely healthy and long lived found that American Blue Zone diet consisted of:
Buettner found that 65% of dietary intake in blue zones came from complex carbohydrates, and these foods are “the five pillars of a longevity diet on four continents”:
Whole grains like corn, rice and oats (complex carb)
Greens
Tubers, including potatoes and yams (complex carb)
Nuts
Beans (complex carb)
Not a lot of meat in there. Read more here.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WORKING MAN? I continue to ask how people are living if they aren't working and this story kind of asks the same questions. Mike Rowe says the decline of 7 million American men in the workforce is "chilling" but I'm not sure it's THAT bad. I do think men are choosing to be stay at home dads now than ever before, and that's not a bad thing if they do a good job of it. However, this paragraph jumped out at me:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce surveyed Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic and about a quarter said federal aid incentivized them to not actively look for work, while about half aren’t willing to take jobs that don’t offer the option of remote work. Over a third of younger respondents said they were focusing on learning new skills and prioritizing their personal growth before re-entering the labor force.
Half won't take an in person job? Again, how are they living? Who is enabling them? What the hell? As one who is a very hard worker no matter the jobs I've had, this is beyond my comprehension and frankly I'm judging them.
I DON'T BLAME MARGOT ROBBIE ONE BIT As she says she improvised a kiss with Brad Pitt in her new movie with him because she didn't know if she'd ever have a chance to kiss Brad Pitt again. Seems legit to me.
TAKES ONE WEIRDO TO KNOW ANOTHER As this Detroit Lions clip shows. Click here if it doesn't load.
NO WONDER ROBERT DOWNEY, JR STRUGGLED WITH DRUGS FOR SO LONG His dad gave him a puff on a joint when he was six. SIX. He's lucky he's not dead now. His father is. His dad took the "cool parent" thing too far.
AND NOW, MORE DONKEY NONSENSE I have no idea why this entertains me so.
EVERY MOM IN DECEMBER Put it on your Christmas list.
I WANT TO JUMP ON THE WORLD'S LARGEST TRAMPOLINE NOW And I'm bringing six friends.