Don't worry, be happy

You would think that a list stating 2023's happiest cities in America won't lead to fist fights (2023 equivalent, sprouting hatred on a medium run by the dumbest bigot in the world, initials ERM), think again...Good old California is back doing what it does best, annoying the living daylights out of that nurturing brand of earthlings that he'll woke, snowflake at everything that alters their 1950s segregated fantasy world. Freemont, CA was named happiest city to live (refer to WalletHub), being a suburb of San Francisco (5th happiest) has led to outrage from the confederacy. How dare this "homeless cesspool" part of the country be better to live in than southern states that lack healthcare and worship guns.

Now, the other highlights from the list. Madison, WI (third happiest) proves that a city with real winters (averages 53 inches/134.62 cm of snowfall per year) is no deterrent to quality of life. Okay, time to go off on a tangent, haters of Chicago, go ahead and poke fun at its 74th placing. There is of course a silver lining, many arrogant southerners from Florida and Texas think they're all that (somehow they think their humid weather, low tax base and Saudi values gives them the right to preach), however, Chicago ranks above Orlando (75), Jacksonville (111), Dallas (124), Houston (129), San Antonio (145). For good measure, as a Chicagoan I like to throw out this line to make those that lack a sense of humour: with all our gangland crime we still defeat the redneck paradises with their gods and guns fetish.

For good measure, LA is 76th, so much for perfect weather and being home to the "happiest place" on earth, Disneyland. New York City, with its infestation of rats places higher than the City of Angels at 57. 

To those not living in these United States, shame on you! Seriously, you're not missing out, unless of course, you want to be part of a nation that regards healthcare as a right and not a privilege. I can just see it now, non-Americans all over the globe scrolling this list feeding their Uncle Sam fetish. Even sadder, sharing it on American social media sites, and we all know many of you haven't even spent 1% of your life on American soil. 

The world's greatest frozen global city

It's time to take a break from all things geopolitics and advertise the winter wonderland that is Chicago. This is a follow up to episode 13 of the GE podcast https://www.iheart.com/podcast/53-global-editorial-100285719/ 

Rest assured, the 262 seconds you're about to witness will freeze your ears, not burn them.

Entrée to the snowy main course that is Chicago

Debuting the first of many snowy vlogs on the shores of Lake Michigan. Warning: this is another off-the-cuff, unscripted rant. Once again, apologies to all the talking heads that read off teleprompters and rely on a team of writers. All natural, non-manufactured out of control content, much like my hair! If you can spare 434 seconds of your precious life to witness a fellow earthing speak their mind, then all power to you.

Part I - Lake Michigan flowing in December, Climate Change is real!

Part II - Which xenophobic nation will lift the most corrupt trophy in sports.

F-grade voter turnout

 Here at GE, we're all about going beyond the surface and taking a different tack on elections results. Yes, the midterm mayhem got people all over the globe hot and bothered, even though just over half of registered voters in the land of the free took part. Funny, many of the states that had less than 40% turnout are places that bang on about freedom (China is beaming over the turnout in good Ol' Mississippi). Here's a suggestion to earthlings outside the US: don't stress over America Votes, as you can see from the map (click on for a larger view), Americans are not fans of democracy.

Listeners of the GE podcast will know about the key ballot measures that took place, you're welcome to lend your ears at anytime if you need to doze off to proposition mayhem. 

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/53-global-editorial-100285719/

Now, for the historic takeaways from the madness. Warning: this might cause a ruckus in countries that Americans have never heard of, in other words, every country outside the US. 

Alabama (AL) - Katie Britt, first elected female Senator from AL.

Arkansas (AR) - Sarah Sanders, first woman elected Governor of AR. Leslie Rutledge, first woman elected Lieutenant Governor of AR.

California (CA) - Alex Padilla, first elected Latino Senator from CA. Shirley Weber, first elected black Secretary of State of CA. Rob Bonta, first elected Filipino-American Attorney General of CA. Robert Garcia (emigrated from Peru), first out LGBTQ immigrant elected to Congress from CA.

Colorado (CO) -  Yadira Caraveo, first Latina elected to Congress from CO.

Connecticut (CT) - Stephanie Thomas, first black woman elected Secretary of State of CT.

Florida (FL) - Maxwell Frost (DOB: Jan 17, 1997), first Generation Z elected to Congress.

Illinois (IL) - Della Ramirez (Chicago's own), first Latina elected to Congress from IL. Eric Sorensen, first out gay person elected to Congress from IL. 

Maryland (MD) - Wes Moore, first black Governor of MD Aruna Miller, first Asian-American Lieutenant Governor of MD.   Anthony Brown, first black Attorney General of MD.

Massachusetts (MA) - Maura Healey, first out lesbian Governor in US history. Andrea Campbell, first black woman elected Attorney General in MA.

Michigan (MI) - John James, first black Republican elected to Congress from MI. Shri Thanedar, first Indian-American elected to Congress from MI.

New York (NY) - Kathy Hochul, first elected female Governor in NY history. George Santos, won the first House election between two out gay candidates. 

Oklahoma (OK) - Markwayne Mullin, first Native American Senator from OK in nearly 100 years.

Pennsylvania (PA) - Austin Davis, first black Lieutenant Governor of PA. Summer Lee, first black woman elected to Congress from PA. 

Vermont (VT) - Becca Balint, first woman and first out LGBTQ person elected to Congress from VT. 

Note: AR and MA are the first states to have women serving concurrently as Governor and Lieutenant Governor. Bizarre stat, as these two states have nothing in common. MA consistently ranks as one of the best states in the union, AR the worst (they don't believe that healthcare is a right).

There you have it, you have no excuses to fail that best-selling board game: New faces coming to DC in 2022. Less than two years before America votes again on Nov 5, 2024, and there's a distinct possibility that we'll see a sleepy oldie born Nov 20, 1942 take on a xenophobe (you know, a racist that's the product of immigrants) born Sep 14, 1978. Let the hullabaloo begin, and to anyone not living in the US, please recommence losing sleep over a nation that doesn't give two hoots about your livelihood. 

Bizarro World

Lately, Europeans are getting back to their 1939 roots (you'll know this reference if you're an avid follower of GE). What is even more mind-boggling is that not only are some countries openly channeling fascism, but they're doing it via the fairer sex. Some would say feminism has come a long way, where women now have the chance to act like neanderthal men. More important than ever we raise our daughters right, the last thing we need is them acting like men, the sex that has ruined the world consistently for millennia.

As highlighted in the GE podcast, https://www.iheart.com/podcast/53-global-editorial-100285719/ the UK and Sweden are losing the plot under female leadership. Not only is Mary Elizabeth Truss an incompetent adulterous political hack, she allowed the worst kind of racist (one that is a product of immigration, yet spits on migrants) to remain as Home Secretary. Remember the name, Priti Patel, for some reason she hates newcomers, yet her parents of Indian heritage somehow made it to England from Uganda. Then you have Magdalena Andersson, advertises herself as a social democrat, but has hate towards asylum seekers - did someone say Sweden was the land of equality? Earth to Eurovision: kick these nations out of your song contest, might be the only way to deter the xenophobia. Oops, there's more...

Italy is also joining the party. After the recent election, both the Chamber of Deputies and Senate will have a hard right majority. The new PM is a sycophant banging on about love for Mussolini, hatred towards migrants and all that nonsensical religious purity claptrap. No, the creep Berlusconi is not back, it's his clone in the form of a 45-year-old female, Giorgia Meloni (she loves to highlight what a high and mighty Christian she is, yet is unmarried with a child with a domestic partner - typical of hypocrite family value types). If Italian was the world's default language, Italy would now be considered a no-go zone, people will be calling for boycotts, but the American obsession is such that only American racists are outed. It's time to eradicate racists equally, let's not pick and choose which nation can get away with it. Meloni is just a figurehead, but her maniacal party, Brothers of Italy, are the equivalent of the KKK. Don't be fooled by its exterior, Italy is pretty much Mississippi disguised with beautiful scenery and good food.

If you need further proof that the world is drowning in its own vomit, the question posed in the GE pilot podcast (Should murderers receive royalties?) has been answered. The Jeffrey Dahmer Story that launched on Netflix on two weeks ago has proven my point. After its first week it already reached nearly 200 million hours of collective viewing, only season 4 of Stranger Things can say it got off to a bigger start. Netflix is officially open to its love of rewarding carnage. Dahmer's dad is still alive, how about they reward him for raising the world's number one posthumous celebrity.

I can see the disclaimer before viewing, part of your subscription fees will go towards the Dahmer family, after all, it's because of Jeff that you can devote ten hours of precious life to his devouring of humans. To add insult to injury, Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes will be released on Friday. Get the popcorn out, your feet up and enjoy aiding and abetting the serial killer industry. Netflix is indeed the Amazon of entertainment, I advise everyone to stream for free as a means of giving the middle finger to a company profiting from bloodlust.