LET'S TALK GRATITUDE TODAY And I'm going to make you work your gratefulness muscle as we talk about things we're thankful for. Cheesy? Yes, but I don't care. We spend an inordinate amount of time here complaining about stuff so let's do the opposite today.
IT'S A FREE FOR ALL FRIDAY When I first started my show I did Friday's where anything goes and we can talk about what you want, shamelessly ripping off Rush Limbaugh only cleverly calling it Free for All Friday instead. It's back today because I feel like I've been so consumed with Israel I'm missing other stuff that you may want to talk about so we'll do that today.
THE GUT BUSTING SEASON IS UPON US And our health and fitness guru Michelle Zellner is back to talk about some strategies for getting through the holiday season without packing on the pounds this year. If you want help for your company or yourself, find Michelle by clicking here. She also has a GREAT podcast you can find here.
MARIA LIBERATIS KNOWS GUT BUSTING RECIPES As the host of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Maria Liberati knows her way around the kitchen. She's on today to talk some Thanksgiving basics and tips from her fabulous cookbook The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays and Special Occasions. Find out more about her by clicking here.
GUNS AREN'T KILLING YOUNG PEOPLE LIKE FENTANYL IS And Secretary of State Antony Blinken said so when talking about China and the renewed push for diplomacy with the US. Here's the quote:
"In terms of actually making a difference in the lives of the American people, the number one killer of Americans aged 18-to-49 is fentanyl," Blinken said. "Not car accidents, not guns, not cancer, it's fentanyl."
I'm thankful that this is a priority for today's administration, but we've got to shut down the southern border too if we want to make progress on this deadly scourge. Dana Carvey's adult son just died of an accidental drug overdose so this cuts across all parts of society.
A BUNCH OF CAPITALIST SURE PAID BIG TO SUCK UP TO A DICTATOR A dinner that cost $40,000 a plate with Xi Jinping was inhabited by a bunch of CEOs who have made a fortune in a capitalist system despised by the guest of honor. CEO's like Tim Cook from Apple, the CEO of Boeing and Qualcomm and others clapped like trained seals before the Chinese leader said a word. Obviously salivating at the thought of unfettered access to China's billion consumers the CEOs did themselves proud while ignoring the human rights violations taking place right now in China. Of course they did, those prisoners are making their stuff. From the Wall Street Journal:
Talk about not knowing what time it is. Two decades ago, China appeared to be on a path toward economic reform and following the rules of global trade and order. At the time some Western executives found that meeting Chinese officials was an opportunity to explain their businesses and persuade Beijing to pursue more opening. Mr. Xi still makes occasional gestures toward welcoming foreign business, as when Beijing tried to court financial investors earlier this year.
It should be clear by now, however, that something else is happening. Mr. Xi has spent most of his tenure since 2012 tightening the Communist Party’s grip on the economy. This has come with a drive toward economic nationalism, such as the “Made in China 2025” industrial policy.
Mr. Xi has been happy to sacrifice foreign business interests to consolidate his control. His strangulation of Hong Kong’s rule of law has sent foreign businesses packing. Beijing’s repression of Uighur Muslims has created reputational dangers for U.S. manufacturers. Its military threats against Taiwan run the risk of a destructive war.
But business is business, amiright?
LET'S TALK PIE FOR A HOT MINUTE I will be making a cherry pie, a pecan pie, and we are getting a Costco pumpkin pie this year as Chuck wants one every year but there are never enough people to justify such a huge pie normally. This year my family is coming in so he's very excited about the giant Costco pie. This is a great article for those of you who want to order a pies instead and where you can do that.
AND WHAT YOUR FAVORITE SIDE DISH IS Because this story says Colorado is all about the carbs (well, duh). But our favorite side dish is...bread? What the what? Is it because no one eats ANY carbs during the year that we look forward to the bread the most? This is silly. What's your favorite side dish? Mine is definitely not bread.
THE INCOMPETENT DENVER SCHOOL BOARD DECIDED TO PAY ITSELF The level of absurdity here is off the charts. The districts most dysfunctional school board decided what they needed to bring themselves together was a salary. So they voted last night to pay future board members $33,000 a year to run the district into the ground. Listen to this claptrap from Director Scott Esserman:
“We owe it to the voters of Denver; we owe it to the schoolboard; we owe it to our teachers, to our faculty; we owe it to our students to make sure that we remove the barriers that prevent a school board that looks like and reflects them,” Director Scott Esserman said before the vote.
No, you "owe" it yourself. No other local boards pay their members, just this dumpster fire of a board. Well done.
DEMOCRATS ARE COMING AFTER YOUR MONEY IN THE SPECIAL SESSION And using the idiotic term "backfill" when talking about money to local governments THAT THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE YET. They are going to "equalize" TABOR refunds, which means even though I pay a crapload more in taxes they are going to give my TAX REFUND to other people instead of me. I may sue over that one. Read about what they are planning here, but this is why I am beginning to hate living here. This story does a better job of explaining what Republicans want, which is real tax reform.
HEADED TO DIA THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND? You'd do well to heed this advice put out by the airport. Be prepared for security lines that curl all the way around the building for starters. If I were flying next week I'd get to the airport no less than three hours ahead of your flight and I am not joking about this. I hate running to my gate.
THIS MADE ME CRY THIS MORNING Because it's just so dang sweet. Thanks to listener Tyler for sending it. Ladies, just remember, if he wanted to, he could. Say goes for us. This is what commitment looks like because Korean is hard as hell to learn. Watch below or click here.
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TIKTOK GETS ONE RIGHT AND CENSORS BIN LADEN CONTENT And this is good news for the young idiots making themselves look like idiots by praising the dead terrorist and the letter the America he sent out. TikTok is saving dumbasses from themselves by "aggressively" removing pro-Bin Laden content. Of course they are because China sees Muslims as a threat wherever they are. I don't mind this one though.
MEXICO THINKS TEXAS GIVES A CRAP WHAT THEY THINK This is HILARIOUS. As President Biden won't do a damn thing about the border Texas has decided to take matters into it's own hands. They are set to pass Texas Senate Bill 4, which adds a slew of new laws about illegal immigration to state law. Mexico has responded and it's hilarious:
The Mexican government on Wednesday responded to the Texas Legislature’s passage of Senate Bill 4 — which creates a state crime for entering the state illegally from Mexico and allows state and local authorities to deport undocumented immigrants — saying it “categorically rejects” Texas’ latest proposal to arrest and deport immigrants to Mexico.
Who gives a crap, Mexico? Not Texas. Read about it here.
COLORADO IS A HOTBED OF ADULTERY According to cheating site Ashley Madison. THREE Colorado cities made the top 20! THREE! Read more here but maybe we all need to work harder on our marriages here.
LEANNE MORGAN'S HUSBAND IS JUST LIKE CHUCK This could have happened in my house, for real.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF THANKSGIVING They say "southern" thanksgiving but these fit everywhere, don't they? BRING WHAT YOU SAID YOU WERE GONNA BRING.
TRYING TO HOST THANKSGIVING This feels very accurate. I just went through this with my family.
PLEASE TELL ME THIS ISN'T REAL I would run away from home.
A BUNCH OF HARVARD PROFESSORS ARE MAD THEY CAN'T BE OPENLY ANTISEMITIC Why any Harvard alum would continue giving them money is beyond me. A group of 100 professors signed a letter complaining because the President FINALLY came out against anti-Semitism. Harvard has a LONG history of anti-Semitism that goes back to 1922 when the first limited the number of Jews they would allow to be admitted to their halls. Now it's back and the professors are SUPER mad that they can't hang their Palestinian flags and call for the extermination of Israel by chanting "from the river to the sea" and other such claptrap. Read the letter here.