NATIONAL JUKEBOX DAY UPDATES
Put Another Dime In - I Don't Want To Hear That Song No More!
-President Biden celebrated his 81st Birthday on Monday as most 81-year-olds do: first, by making a point to Elon Musk by opening an account on Twitter/X competitor Threads (along with his wife, Vice President Harris and her husband, and the White House overall); next, by being the point person in working to broker a halt to the fighting in Gaza to allow hostages to be freed; finally, by pardoning two turkeys (named "Liberty" and "Bell") and heading to his home to celebrate Thanksgiving - a dinner, by the way, that contrary to pretty much every news report that has been reported, is actually cheaper by almost every metric (eggs, turkeys, ingredients, gas and airline tickets are ALL smaller, both in real price and related to the increased wages most American workers are enjoying).
-Not bad for an actual record of work, is it?
-The cheaper Thanksgiving dinner is a nice rebuke to Fox News and other right-wing sites who continue to incorrectly label this Thanksgiving the most expensive ever. Fox commentator Jason Chaffez, who claimed turkeys were now $90 - and they are, IF like Chaffez you buy a turkey from an organic farm and it is free-range (and why is a Fox commentator eating something so LEE-brul?????).
-Meanwhile, Biden's apparent 2024 Presidential opponent, Ex-President Trump XCI, continues to spend time in courts, wrapping up his defense in the NY criminal fraud trial that will determine what penalty will be applied for an already-declared guilty verdict and fighting the gag order applied to him in the DC trial involving his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection (arguing in essence that literally everything a Presidential candidate says, even threats to clerks and prosecutors, is protected speech - an argument not likely to fly).
-Trump also continues to use unabashed authoritarian language and Nazi rhetoric, aided by current allies that may have a prominent role in a potential Trump II Presidency. On that score, one person who oozed up to the top of the Trump muck is one Mike Davis, a former clerk of Neil Gorsuch rumored to be at the top of the list of what Trump is promising will be an Attorney General's office focused on persecution and punishment of Trump enemies. After MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan reported on Davis, Davis went on the authoritarian's favorite social media site, Twitter/X, to proudly announce Hasan was "on his list" to "indict ... detain ... denaturalize ... (and) deport," adding as only UltraMAGAts can that Davis will put Hasan "in the women's cell block" of the "gulag" with another Davis critic, Lincoln Project commentator Tim Miller (an ugly reference to Miller being gay).
-UltraMAGAts in the United States continue to celebrate the resounding election victory of Javier Milei to become the new President of Argentina. Milei is a charismatic, flamboyant commentator affectionately nicknamed "El Loco," who used Trump as an inspiration (and Grover Norquist as a paid strategist) to thunder past established political parties (and overwhelming support from men under the age of 40) using a chainsaw as his symbol. Milei, whose looks can be described as a cross between Wolverine and Chucky, openly obsesses over his cloned dogs, and proudly yaps about his alleged tantric sex abilities, has promised to attack Argentina's 143% inflation rate by ending all government programs, outlawing "woke" policies (explaining Trump's affection), and promoting human organ trafficking. Oddly, Milei is making the rest of the region somewhat nervous - because when has Argentina EVER had a bad experience with a charismatic, flamboyant and weird drama queen before?
-In one of the wildest tech stories in years, former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was named the new CEO of ... OpenAI! Altman, whose team released the uber-disrupting ChatGPT program earlier this year, had been fired by OpenAI's board late last week over an apparent dispute involving how the artificial intelligence programs being developed by the company would be developed and how many controls should be there. Altman then was hired by Microsoft, which has been a primary funder for the nonprofit OpenAI and its development programs. In turn, nearly all of the 700 OpenAI employees wrote a letter to the board promising they would follow Altman to Microsoft, which then led to the Board resigning and Altman being rehired to assemble a new board. There will be a quiz on the flow chart of this story at the end of this update.
-The Rolling Stones have announced a massive 2024 U.S. stadium tour - and, in a detail that would have been a decent Saturday Night Live joke 30 years ago, the American tour for the pushing-80 band is none other than the American Association of Retired Persons. In fact, if you are an AARP member, you can get one of the first chances to reserve tickets to see Mick, Keith, Ron and the band. (Insert whatever old people or product jokes you wish to here.)
-And in closing, HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Enjoy those after-dinner naps!
-On this date in 1942, Soviet forces successfully surrounded Nazi forces trapped in Stalingrad. On this date in 1955, Sun Records signed Elvis Presley to a recording contract. On this date in 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, TX. On this date in 1986, 20-year-old Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight boxing champion in history. On this date in 1990, Margaret Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister of Great Britain. On this date in 2005, Angela Merkel was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany. Notable premieres on this date: Mercedes' first car (1900), The Beatles' "White Album" (1968), TOY STORY (1995), DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002).
-Happy Birthday to Abigail Adams, Thomas Cook, George Eliot, Tarzan, Charles de Gaulle, Wiley Post, Hoagy Carmichael, Benjamin Britten, Rodney Dangerfield, Geraldine Page, Peter Hall, Robert Vaughn, Terry Gilliam, Tom Conti, Billie Jean King, Little Steve Van Zandt, Tina Weymouth, Greg Luzinski, Richard Kind, Jamie Lee Curtis, Mariel Hemingway, Boris Becker, Mark Ruffalo, Marjane Satrapi, Karen O, Shawn Fanning, D.J. Pierce, and Scarlett Johansson.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Arthur Sullivan, Lorenz Hart, Shemp Howard, Aldous Huxley, C.S. Lewis, J.D. Tippit, Mae West, Michael Conrad, Scatman Crothers, Sterling Holloway, Anthony Burgess, Michael Hutchence, Emil Zatopek, Pat Dobson, and Doug Jones.
-Feed the Worms: Oscar Pistorius entered Earth on this date. The pirate Blackbeard left Earth on this date.