NEED HELP WITH YOUR BALLOT? You can find my voter guide here.
WERE ELECTION DAYS ALWAYS LIKE THIS? I'm asking my older audience members for their recollections of yesteryear's election days. Were you always exhausted and just happy that it was going to be over? At this point a big part of me doesn't even care who wins, I just want it over. Either way, the United States of America is gonna be fine-ish.
THOMAS FREY IS ON TO TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE And today we're discussing if robots will replace children someday, which seems counterintuitive if we want to continue the human race but okay. Read his column on it here.
WHAT TO DO ON ELECTION DAY This is a really good column about what to do and how to act today, from thanking the poll workers to how to watch election results without losing your mind. Or you can do what I do, just go to bed at a reasonable hour and find out what happens in the morning. It won't change the results, trust me.
WE REALLY DON'T KNOW IF OUR VOTING SYSTEM IS SECURE As was evidenced by a hearing yesterday in a case brought by the Libertarian party against Jena Griswold. Read the details, but experts testified under oath the the length of time the passwords were online was plenty of time for someone to have messed with machines. They are asking for a hand count in all affected counties. This could be a really big deal, but the judge has to rule TODAY. Like now.
YES, BIG AL IS GONE And I'm deeply saddened by this as I love Alfred Williams and will miss hearing his voice on the way home from work. Read it here. Just as a point of order, this was not a performance related thing, this business is brutal and factors we have no control over often come into play. This is why you need to follow me on social media just in case it's me someday. BK and Michael Coover were also let go as well. This business sucks sometimes.
NEVERMIND THE NICE THINGS I SAID ABOUT SARAH PARADY The Denver City Council member recently pushed to defund the Street Team that is out making contact with homeless people because they weren't very effective in getting homeless people to accept services. I applaud that. Now she's tried to cut over a million bucks out the Denver Police budget which was thankfully shot down by wiser heads on the Council. Why did she want the cut? I'm still not sure but it seems like she is concerned about the fact only 60% of recruits make it through the class. Not sure how cutting the budget is going to help that. Thankfully cooler heads voted her down.
THE REAL TOLL OF CANNABIS The Great Pot Experiment started here in Colorado and contrary to what you may have heard it's not going as well as we'd like. Vince Bzdek wrote a column about a story printed in the New York Times which was reprinted in yesterday's Denver Gazette though I'll be danged if I can find it in their online edition now (hey Editorial board, why not include a link in your online editorial like I do here?). I found it here but it may be paywalled so I'll use Vince's column as a reference. The numbers of people using pot daily, young people using pot when their brains are still developing and other stats are pretty scary and need to be addressed. I've battled for years against the "it's no big deal, it's just a plant" nonsense and even though I believe in freedom to choose there is a lack of good information about the long term effects of pot usage (other than the fact Willie Nelson is still kicking) that we need to talk about. The real upside to legalization is that we can do these studies and have these conversations. Informed choice is the right kind of choice.
STOP FEELING STRESSED ABOUT THE ELECTION And I mean it. Almost 70% of Americans say they are stressed about the election and today I'm going to talk you off the ledge. Trust me, I've got you.
TGI FRIDAYS FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY And I'm not going to lie, this brought back sad memories of the day Bennigan's packed it in. I still miss Bennigans so much. Kids today have no idea what a delight it was to get that 12 pound menu dropped on the table. Maybe we'll talk about restaurants we miss today, idk.
HEIDI KLUM IS THE AGE DISCRIMINATION WARRIOR WE NEED Heidi Klum doesn't give a crap what you think about her skimpy outfits at age 51. She looks great and says she likes showing off her body and always has. If you look great at any age, why not wear a miniskirt or show some cleavage? The "look great" part is of course important as well, no one wants to see mutton dressed up like lamb when they can't pull it off.
WANT CHEAP TICKETS FOR THE WINTER PARK EXPRESS? You can find out how to buy $19 tickets here.
WIND PHONES HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE GRIEVING And I love this notion so much. Read about people installing telephones to nowhere so they can talk to dead loved ones here. What are some of the things you guys have done to help move through the grieving process?
WHAT VOTING IN A RIGGED ELECTION IS REALLY LIKE I hope this isn't paywalled but if it is you should just subscribe to The Free Press to keep getting content like this. After growing up in Russia where there were NO free or fair elections, this newly minted US Citizen has some words about our system vs. theirs. I love this part:
I won’t pretend to be thrilled about the candidates in this race. Neither Kamala Harris nor Donald Trump inspire particular enthusiasm in me as the next leader of the free world. But as anyone who has lived under an autocratic regime can tell you, there’s a world of difference between a poor choice and none at all. Americans who complain about how long it takes after the election to determine the winner should try learning the results before reaching the voting booth. The fact that no one genuinely knows the next occupant of the White House until after the ballots are counted is a marvel of the American system. It means, on the most fundamental level, that those ballots, and the voices behind them, still count.
Some may contend that those ballots only count in a handful of swing states, and that in a deep-blue state like New York, where I live, a typical ballot holds as much power to change the outcome as it would in Moscow. But a predictable outcome does not mean a predetermined one. New York stays blue because most New Yorkers vote blue—not because the results are decided by others.
And that’s the point, as obvious as it is underappreciated: The purpose of voting is not only, or perhaps even primarily, to get your preferred candidate into office. It’s about the functioning of the system itself.
So today participate in the functioning of the system and cast your ballot!
THE SUBTLE SIGNS OF COLON CANCER And these are from a 31 year old woman who was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. Find her advice here, but if you see blood in your stool or urine you need to go get that checked out, period.
MILK, COOKIES AND LEGOS FOR 90 GRAND A YEAR Y'all I remember when Georgetown University was an elite school. It currently cost just under $90,000 PER YEAR to attend and they apparently want to make the softest, most pathetic adults they can. Students at the McCourt School of Public Policy, where ostensibly the next generation of diplomats are being created, are being offered a self care suite in case they are upset by the election. Check out this schedule of events:
10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.: Tea, Cocoa, and Self-Care
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.: Legos Station
12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.: Healthy Treats and Healthy Habits
1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.: Coloring and Mindfulness Exercises
2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.: Milk and Cookies
4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.: Legos and Coloring
5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.: Snacks and Self-Guided Meditation
This is a UNIVERSITY, not a kindergarten and yet the schedules appear oddly similar. This is shameful and if you went to Georgetown I hope you'll fire off a saucy email about this stupidity.
SOME BIG NAMES ARE COMING TO BALL ARENA NEXT YEAR And you better get your tickets early because they will cost a fortune! Check them out here.
BRITISH KIDS TRY OUT HALLOWEEN CANDY And of course Reese's was loved by all.
J
WHAT HAVE YOU STOPPED BUYING BECAUSE IT'S TOO EXPENSIVE A lot of these are things we use every day. For us, it's merely the amount of times we eat out. We still spend way too much money on a lot of this crap.
THE FASTEST WAY TO GET DEMENTIA This is fascinating on dementia and Alzheimer's.
ELON MUSK WAS ON JOE ROGAN And I haven't watched it yet but here it is.
HOW PORN WENT MAGA This is super interesting but not really surprising when you think about It's the Economy, Stupid. Porn stars, not exactly a natural demographic as a GOP voter, are turning out for Trump. Why? They want to keep the money they earn no matter how they earn it.
IT'S TIME TO TAKE THAT GOLD MEDAL IN BOXING BACK As a leaked report showed that Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is actually biologically a man. He has XY chromosomes, testicles, and a micropenis. He suffers from a condition that stymies the development of sexual organs, but he's a dude. He needs to give his gold medal back and the IOC needs to make some changes NOW.
AM I RACIST IS A DOCUMENTARY SMASH And our pal Christian Toto writes about how it killed at the box office with very little promotion and zero promotion in the traditional sense.
TOP TEN THINGS TO BUY AT COSTCO THIS NOVEMBER Just in case you need to get some Christmas shopping done.
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LILY TANG WILLIAMS MAY GO TO THE HOUSE Lily Tang Williams used to live here but moved to New Hampshire where she is running for the Senate against Jake Sullivan's wife and Lily RIPPED HER UP in a debate. The polling still shows the Dems leading but you never know. Watch this:
I'LL LET SCOTT JENNINGS HAVE THE LAST WORD ON THE ELECTION