I’ll Be There for You

Entertainment 10 Minutes

Today is David Schwimmer’s birthday—Ross from Friends. People had an interesting article about things we may not know about the hit series.

From People:

No one really liked the theme song and opening sequence

The iconic theme song, “I’ll Be There for You,” accompanied by the six friends splashing around in a fountain and settling together on the burnt orange couch, has become synonymous with Friends. However, in a 2016 interview with BBC, Aniston shared that the cast of the show didn’t necessarily feel as fondly toward it. “No one was really a big fan of that theme song,” she said. She added that she found it “a little odd” that they were all dancing in the fountain.

Schwimmer originally didn’t want to play Ross

Though the role of Ross was created with Schwimmer in mind, he didn’t originally feel passionate about the part, according to former PEOPLE writer Kelsey Miller’s 2018 book I’ll Be There For You: The One About Friends. Co-creator David Crane said Schwimmer had had a negative experience working on a TV project and had resigned to a career in theater. Crane recalled during the 2021 reunion special having to “beg” and “beseech” Schwimmer to join the cast.  “[We] tried to get David, [but] David had quit television,” he said. “He had a miserable experience doing another show. He moved back to Chicago to just do theater.”Perry also almost didn’t play Chandler, as he had another pilot booked.

The creators originally wanted Cox to play Rachel

During Friends: The Reunion, Crane revealed they had a “hard time” finding the actress to play Monica, originally wanting Cox to play Rachel. “We met with Courteney Cox and she explained to us why she didn’t think she was a Rachel and that she, herself, was more of a Monica — and she was right,” co-creator Marta Kauffman added. “Courteney brought this incredible joy to the character.” “Everything Courteney brought to it made Monica so much richer than what we had originally intended,” said Crane.

The cast went to a casino before the first live taping to celebrate their last night of “anonymity”

Having a feeling that the show would blow up, director James Burrows took the young cast out to dinner in Las Vegas the night before the pilot premiered. “This is your last shot at anonymity,” he told them, according to Miller’s book. He added that they wanted to “do whatever it was that hot young television actors were supposed to do when they flew into Vegas on private jets,” sharing that they wrote Burrows checks so they could have money to gamble with.

‘Friends’ takes the credit for making the term “friend zone” popular

Now well-known in pop culture, the term “friend zone” refers to when a person does not reciprocate someone’s feelings but, rather, sees them only as a friend. While the phrase didn’t take off until the 2010s, it was originally coined by Joey in the season 1 episode “The One with the Blackout.” He tells Ross that he has waited too long to confess his feelings for Rachel and is now certifiably in the “friend zone.”

Monica was supposed to end up with Joey, not Chandler

While Monica was originally supposed to end up with Joey, the actors’ chemistry changed the outcome of the show. After Monica slept with Chandler in the season 4 finale of the show, the creators knew that relationship was there to stay. “When Monica and Chandler went to bed together the first time in London, the original plan wasn’t that they were going to then become a couple for the rest of the series,” Crane told Entertainment Weekly in September 2019. He added, “It was one of those things where originally the thought was, ‘Oh it was just a big, quick, funny mistake and how are they going to get out of that?’ Then the more we explored it, the more stories it provided and it really reinvigorated the show.” The audience also reacted so strongly, screaming loudly, that the creators knew they hit gold.

Set decorator Greg Gande found the iconic orange couch in a basement

Gande searched far and wide for a couch that would be the central meeting spot for the friends at their favorite café, Central Perk. He eventually found the perfect fit — a burnt orange, slightly torn couch — in the basement storage area at the Warner Bros. studio in Burbank, California. “Literally in the back corner, shoved under another piece, was this sofa with beautiful carved wood,” he told USA Today in September 2019. He recalled that he had to spruce it up before it could go on air. “I remember explicitly, there were network and studio notes because there was a rip in the back of the sofa and it was a little tattered on the arms,” Gande said. “I had to redo some of the fringe.”

Perry’s favorite episode was one where he spoke the least

Though Chandler was known for his signature sarcastic humor, Perry’s favorite episode was ironically one in which he had little dialogue. In season 1’s “The One with the Blackout,” Chandler is stuck in a vestibule with Victoria’s Secret model Jill Goodacre during a city-wide power outage. “The interesting thing about that episode was I didn’t speak much; it was mostly in voiceover,” Perry told Entertainment Weekly in 2004. “We prerecorded what I said, and I had to react.” He added in the interview that the fact that he was acting opposite Goodacre didn’t hurt.” Let’s face it: Jill Goodacre is hot, so it wasn’t that difficult,” he said, adding, “I [remember] spitting my gum out, and it stuck to the wall. It was my choice to just stay frozen in fear and embarrassment.”

The episode in which Ross and Rachel consummate their relationship has a unique title

Ross and Rachel consummate their relationship for the first time in season 2, with the episode aptly titled, “The One Where Ross and Rachel…You Know.” It is the only episode to include two characters’ name in the title. Ross and Rachel’s on-and-off relationship was a staple throughout the show, leaving off with the two of them finally getting together after a decade in which they welcomed a child and dated multiple times.

Perry had a crush on Aniston before the show started

When Perry first met Aniston, two years before the show started, he immediately had a crush on her, he told PEOPLE in October 2022.  “There was such severe indifference from her that I ended it,” he said jokingly. “I think everybody probably figured it out. I never said anything. And I hid it. But then she married Brad Pitt, and I was like, ‘I don’t think I have a chance here.’ “

Aniston and Schwimmer had crushes on each other

During the reunion special, Schwimmer revealed that he and Aniston both had feelings for one another at different points of the show, but nothing ever came of it. “I mean, the first season, I had a major crush on Jen. At some point, we were crushing hard on each other,” Schwimmer said. “But it was like two ships passing, because one of us was always in a relationship and we never crossed that boundary. We respected that.”  Aniston added, “Honestly, I remember saying one time to David, ‘It’s going to be such a bummer if the first time you and I actually kiss is going to be on national television.’ Sure enough, first time we kissed was in that coffee shop. So we just channeled all of adoration and love for each other into Ross and Rachel.”

The cast hated working with Marcel, the monkey

A staple in the show, Marcel was Ross’ pet for points in the first two seasons. However, the cast revealed during the reunion that they hated working with the monkey — especially Schwimmer.  “I love animals. I love primates. I have nothing against animals, I’m an animal lover. However, here was my problem,” he said. He continued, “The monkey — obviously, it was trained and it had to hit its mark and do its thing right at the perfect time— but what inevitably began to happen was we would all have choreographed bits kind of timed out, and it would get messed up because the monkey didn’t do its job right. So, we’d have to reset, we’d have to go again because the monkey didn’t get it right.”

Bruce Willis starred on ‘Friends’ after losing a bet to Perry

Friends had a number of famous guest stars, including Bruce Willis, who worked alongside Perry in the 2000 comedy The Whole Nine Yards. “Bruce hadn’t been sure the film would work at all, and I’d bet him it would — if he lost, he had to do a guest spot on ‘Friends,’ ” Perry wrote in his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. The movie went on to become the no. 1 movie in the U.S. for three straight weeks, leading Willis to appear in Friends for three episodes in season 6 as Paul Stevens, the father of a college girl that Ross dated. He also had a brief relationship with Rachel. Willis’ performance even earned him an Emmy for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series.

Gunther’s bleached hair was an accident

James Michael Tyler, who died in October 2021, originally was only on the show to play an unnamed barista to make the café look more realistic. However, over time, he built out his character, Gunther, to have a personality and undying love for Rachel, no matter how bad of a coworker she was. He became known especially for his eccentric, dramatically bleached blonde hair — which turned out to be a result of an accident. “I had a friend who wanted to be a hairdresser and wanted to practice bleaching someone’s hair, so I offered what hair I had left at the time,” Tyler told BuzzFeed in 2014. “It came out white and that was the night before I was called in for the first day of shooting the first season.” “I bleached my hair every week for 10 years,” Tyler said. “I did it myself after a while. It was just easier instead of coming in early to do it. I would just do it the night before.”

The turkey in “The One With All the Thanksgivings” was not real

In one of the most beloved Friends episodes, the six friends each shared their worst Thanksgiving memory. For Joey, it was when he got his head stuck in the turkey Monica was preparing as a meal — that Monica later got stuck in herself. Luckily for the cast, the turkey was a prop. “That is absolutely not a real turkey,” Crane told Entertainment Weekly in November 2016. “I think there are so many health issues about actually putting a turkey on someone’s head.”  “We wanted — I especially wanted — a real turkey. Just because I wanted Matt to have to put his head into a turkey,” writer Greg Malins added. “The prop department did their due diligence, but it didn’t exist.” He continued, “The biggest turkey ever for sale is not big enough to fit a human head. I remember them coming to us and saying, ‘We have to build it.’ So we made it out of foam.”

Kudrow’s pregnancy was written into the show

When Kudrow discovered she was pregnant near the end of season 3, she told creators Kauffman and Crane right away. Crane explained he hadn’t wanted to do the classic TV stint of hiding her behind objects for the duration of her pregnancy, so decided to go against the grain and write the pregnancy into the show. The two came up with the idea of Phoebe going through IVF to become pregnant with her brother’s children and serve as a surrogate for him and his wife. However, when they first presented the idea to Kudrow, she was hesitant. “It’s really early on. I understand that this serves the story really well, but if, God forbid, something happens to my pregnancy, I’m still stuck playing a pregnant woman,” the creators recalled her saying, per Vulture. Kauffman and Crane assured her they could easily switch the storyline should anything go wrong, and they went forth.

The show was filmed in front of a live audience that would sometimes have to be swapped out if filming went on too long

In an effort to always stay true to their audience, Friends filmed in front of a live crowd, adapting and changing the lines to fit what led to the best reactions. The creators didn’t shy away from continuing to make tweaks as often as necessary, sometimes leading shoots to go on as late as 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. When they went for so long, they would switch out the audiences to keep them as fresh as possible, per Vulture. “They would sometimes laugh at setups to jokes, ’cause they knew the characters so well. They were ahead of us, more than not,” Kauffman said.

Kudrow asked Perry’s permission to do a scene the way Chandler would

Kudrow recounted in a 2020 Actors on Actors Variety special with Aniston that one of her favorite scenes to shoot was when her character discovered Monica and Chandler were hooking up while she was at Ross’. Phoebe saw them start undressing across the street (the apartments faced each other) and had a drastic reaction — which she said she asked Perry’s permission for as it was inspired by his sarcastic humor. “[I’m like], ‘My eyes! My eyes!’ That’s how Matthew Perry said things. I actually asked his permission before we shot it,” she said. Kudrow continued, “I was like, ‘I don’t know if you’ve seen the rehearsals, but I’m saying ‘My eyes! My eyes!’ the way you do. So I just need to know that that’s OK with you. If not, I’ll say it a different way.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, go for it.’ “

Kudrow did not enjoy playing Ursula

Throughout the show, viewers got to know Phoebe’s estranged identical twin sister, Ursula. However, as Kudrow didn’t actually have a twin, she played both roles, with her real life sister stepping in as a body double. Director Kevin Bright told Entertainment Weekly in September 2019 that Kudrow actually disliked shooting the scenes, especially having her sister in the role. “Lisa really did not have a good time doing them,” he said. “She did not like acting with a double, and in a way she might have made it more difficult for herself because her double was her actual sister, [Helena].”

There were a lot of people interested in playing Ugly Naked Guy

Perhaps one of the most iconic — yet nameless! — Friends characters, Ugly Naked Guy made a number of off-screen appearances in the show as the unattractive nude man in the apartment across from Monica and Rachel’s. The friends would often see him across the street going about his day, in the nude. Though he was mainly not shown, in the few instances he appeared on camera without even his face visible, the crew admitted they had no issue finding someone to play him. “Surprisingly, there are people who want to play ‘Ugly Naked Guy.’ They do,” Kauffman told EW. “It’s just [shot] from the back, they don’t have any lines, it wasn’t an audition — it was just about, physically, what do we imagine?”

SOURCE: PEOPLE.COM

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Published by pat frederick

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120 thoughts on “I’ll Be There for You”

  1. Morning All!
    only 32* this morning…brrrrrrrr
    might have to bring in more firewood today. hubby had a wonderful fire going last night and I sat in my chair to read and fell right asleep…lol…so cozy!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Morning, Pat! Only one degree of separation – 33 here this morning but the skies are clear since I can see the stars! That will change soon, I expect. The usual with Wheezer this morning. Ah, the good ole days! I used to love watching Friends.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Morning Filly!
        some of it was hysterical!!!
        we have it on dvds and enjoy it again and again.
        we are currently watching #rd Rock from the sun–about aliens from another planet coming here and trying to fit in…that’s funny too

        Liked by 1 person

    1. What is “The Union Print Shop?”

      It was Founded by our friend, Francisco Heredia, the CEO of FieldCorp which is an AZ based company currently under investigation for printing fraudulent registrations in PA.

      Maybe the internet will look into it 🤔https://t.co/G3VTBqoG9u https://t.co/f1hOAhU3Di pic.twitter.com/YxApmRNNLO
      — Caroline Wren (@CarolineWren) November 1, 2024

      Like

  5. Just The News: “House Speaker Mike Johnson says Republicans have an ambitious plan to reshape and shrink federal government if they win the election. That vision includes a plan to deport tens of thousands of federal bureaucrats from Washington and relocate them to middle America.

    In a wide-ranging interview this week with Just the News, Johnson said he and other GOP leaders wants to move federal agency offices, personnel and assets from the nation’s capital to bring them closer to the people they serve and farther from the monied special interests that often hijack policy and spending.

    “There’s a lot of talk about uprooting, you know, these entrenched bureaucracies and putting them out elsewhere around the country,” Johnson told the John Solomon Reports podcast.

    He explained such a re-invention of the monstrous federal bureaucracy with more than 2 million federal workers and contractors would integrate with former President Donald Trump’s plan to name billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk to lead a government efficiency office and also tie to fiscal conservatives’ vision to eliminate federal bureaucracies and send monies to the states in the form of block grants. 

    The Louisiana Republican said the deportation of Washington bureaucrats would also create a natural shrinkage in the size and cost of government,

    “That accomplishes a lot of important goals but the first would be that you don’t have all these career civil service law protected bureaucrats,” he said. “Some of them have been camped out of these agencies for decades. They’re nameless, faceless. We don’t know who to hold accountable,” he said.Congressional vision

    Johnson continued, saying “The idea is, if you move the agency to, you know, northern Kansas or southwest New Mexico, or wherever it is around the country, then some of the swamp dwellers they will not desire to follow the job to the new, less desirable location,” he added. “They love the swamp. You know they want to stay. They’ll turn them into lobbyist or something to stay in D.C.” The mass transfer and departure of bureaucrats then leads to a “business reorganization proposition” for federal government, he said.

    “You’ve got agencies that you can scale down because you have empty cubicles and … almost all the agencies are bloated and inefficient,” he said.  “So you can scale that down. And then in the cubicles that you do need to fill, we’ve had America First Policy Institute and some of our other think tanks that have been working to develop a notebook full of highly qualified, previously vetted, limited government conservatives who have expertise in these areas.”

    Johnson’s comments were the most sweeping he’s made about a congressional vision for shrinking the budget and reshaping the budget. He said the process would take a “blowtorch” to the regulatory state and align government agencies in the aftermath of a historic Supreme Court ruling this summer that reversed a decades old “Chevron doctrine.” Under the new ruling, federal bureaucrats can’t make up or interpret their own regulations and simply must enforce those authorized by Congress.

    “We have a once in a lifetime, yeah, once in a lifetime opportunity to really claw back article one authority to the legislative branch under the Constitution and have an administration that is in tune with that whole agenda. So look, I just think there’s almost unlimited potential in front of us, and we’ve got to seize that moment,” Johnson said.

    If Republicans do win a majority in the House and Senate, it is likely to be slim, meaning Johnson’s government reorganization ideas would have to appeal to conservatives and moderates alike in his caucus.

    One of the leading voices of the House conservative wing, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told the “Just the News, No Noise“ television show Friday that he likes Johnson idea, but with some important caveats like first getting stay-at-home bureaucrats to come back to the office.

    “Well, I would prefer an idea where we actually eliminated the bureaucracies and the agencies that need to go away. But here’s the thing: until you stop the telework epidemic the federal government has, it won’t work. So you’re gonna have to first stop that, then you then you can send them out,” Biggs said.Right-to-work states

    He also cautioned Congress not to send unionized federal workers to right-to-work states that give workers and employers more freedoms. “They’re unionized,” he said of federal workers. “And that means, let’s say you’ve stuck something in Arizona, which is a right to work state, you’d be sending in all these unionized leftist federal bureaucrats to our state, and it would make it even harder to maintain.”

    “So if you’re going to send them out, just send them out to a state that’s already deep blue. Send them to California for mercy sakes or or something like that,” he added.

    On other issues, Speaker Johnson made clear a GOP-led Congress would be in lockstep with Trump’s already stated agenda to close the border, deport illegal aliens, reduce inflation, renew the Trump tax cuts that expire next year and rapidly improve national security in a turbulent world.

    “I think within the hour of President Trump taking this oath of office, he’ll issue an executive order to secure that border,” Johnson said. “We’ll come behind that with legislative action to secure it, seal it up, and then we’ll work on having to deal with the fallout of everybody who was allowed in, and that’s a whole agenda thing.

    “But immediately after the border is secured, we go to the economy, because the cost of living is unsustainable, unaffordable, and we know how to fix it … Then we’re going to do that and then somewhere you’re going to have an extension of the Trump era tax cuts,” he explained.

    Of course, all of that must be preceded by Republicans winning the Senate, House and White House and Johnson winning another term as Speaker in a fractious GOP caucus. The answer those questions will be decided this month.”

    Liked by 1 person

  6. EXCERPT: “The final employment statistics released before Tuesday’s election not only soured economists, it exposed an unmistakable trajectory of the Biden-Harris economy: private sector jobs are slowing while government work keeps growing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics report Friday disclosed the U.S. economy added only 12,000 jobs in October, well below the expected gain of 100,000.

    While public sector employment kept humming, manufacturing and service sector jobs plummeted in a blow to Vice President Kamala Harris’ efforts to sell her economic vision to undecided voters. In addition, the agency reported it also deducted 100,000 jobs from the prior month’s tally.

    “This was a really, really bad report,” economist and former Trump advisor Stephen Moore told the John Solomon Reports podcast. 

    “When you look at the revisions from previous months, you know, we lost 100,000 jobs. So that’s number one,  that is including the jobs created in October, minus the jobs that they overestimated from previous months, it’s 100,000 lower than we thought,” Moore said. “Second of all, the private sector, the overall job level was 12,000. That is the worst jobs report we have had in three and a half years.” 

    Trump’s campaign immediately seized on the news as it barnstormed battleground states during the final weekend of the 2024 election….”

    https://justthenews.com/nation/economy/government-jobs-gains-obscure-economic-weakness-jobs-report-presents-hurdle-harris

    Liked by 1 person

  7. GGGGGggggrrrrrrrrrrr

    November 2, 2024 7:25 am

    The Biden-Harris Govt Is Helping China Buy Land Near U.S. Bases.
    The Biden-Harris government’s Department of Agriculture is quietly reclassifying numerous property developers and other companies in what appears to be an effort to work around restrictions on Chinese land ownership near U.S. military bases and installations. The move comes despite continued warnings from the U.S. intelligence community and other agencies in the Biden-Harris government that China poses an increasing national security risk and is actively opposing U.S. interests through domestic and foreign counter-intelligence actions. At the center of the Department of Agriculture controversy…

    September, Walton Global—after an extensive lobbying campaign—convinced the Department of Agriculture to reclassify much of its U.S. landholdings as not being Chinese-owned. The decision comes even though Walton owns at least 14 properties with some degree of Chinese investment, all within 15 miles of a U.S. military base or installation. Concerningly, the company has even touted its proximity to American military sites in advertising campaigns aimed at Chinese investors.

    https://thenationalpulse.com/2024/11/01/the-biden-harris-govt-is-helping-china-buy-land-near-u-s-bases/

    Like

  8. SMDH – the non-apology apology….nope – NOT WORKING, ASSWIPE!!!

    Just The News: “Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban on Friday attempted to apologize to women who work for former President Donald Trump, after he faced backlash by claiming that Trump did not surround himself with “strong, intelligent women.”

    The billionaire made the comment on Thursday when responding to a question on “The View” about why former Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley was not asked to join Trump on the campaign trail. 

    “Donald Trump, you never see him around strong, intelligent women. Ever. It’s just that simple. They’re intimidating to him. He doesn’t like to be challenged by them,” Cuban said. “Nikki Haley will call him on his nonsense with reproductive rights and how he sees and treats and talks about women. I mean, he just can’t have her around. It wouldn’t work.”

    Cuban tried to clarify his comments in a post on X on Friday, claiming that the comment was not about “Trump voters, supporters or employees. Current or former.” 

    “When I said this during the interview, I didn’t get it out exactly the way I thought I did. So I apologize to anyone who felt slighted or upset by my response,” Cuban said. “I set myself up for the 6 sec soundbite. No excuses. Can’t nail every interview. My skin is thick enough.”

    He went on to criticize the response he’s received from the interview, claiming that a lot of the responses, both for and against him, tend to include an insult of some kind.

    “I’m not blaming anyone. We are where we are,” he continued. “Here is hoping that changes at least a little bit in a week. In the spirit of joy… I have to add that all the AI memes of me with the long hair crack me up. So there is a positive.”

    The comment was heavily criticized by the Trump campaign on Thursday.

    “This is extremely insulting to the thousands of women who work for President Trump, and the tens of millions of women who are voting for him,” Trump Campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “These women are mothers, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders and they are, indeed, strong AND intelligent, despite what Mark Cuban and Kamala Harris say.”

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Oh, FFS! These people are worse than cartoon characters!!!

    Just The News: “Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes on Friday announced an investigation into former President Donald Trump’s comments about former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and whether they broke the law.

    Trump made headlines on Friday over remarks suggesting that politicians might not advocate for foreign wars if they had to fight themselves, though major media outlets ignored the broader context.

    “She’s a radical war hawk,” Trump said of Cheney. “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her. Okay, let’s see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face.”

    “You know, they’re all war hawks when they’re sitting in Washington, in a nice building saying ‘oh gee, we’ll — let’s send let’s send 10,000 troops right into the mouth of the enemy. But she’s a stupid person,” he continued.

    “I have already asked my criminal division chief to start looking at that statement, analyzing it for whether it qualifies as a death threat under Arizona’s laws,” Mayes told NBC affiliate 12NEWS.”

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Oh, my – he not only walked off the set but he quit WAPO completely!!!

    Just The News: “Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt resigned from the Washington Post as a contributing columnist after abruptly leaving a live discussion on Friday. 

    During a segment about a judge agreeing to a Republican National Committee and Trump campaign request to extend in-person voting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Jonathan Capehart asked on-air guest Ruth Marcus: “Is it me or does it seem like Donald Trump is laying the groundwork for contesting the election?”

    Marcus said that Trump has been “laying the groundwork” to contest the election for months. Hewitt pointed out that Bucks County violated the law. “Bucks County was reversed by the court and instructed to open up extra days because they violated the law and told people to go home,” he said, referring to voters in line being turned away early.

    “We are news people, even though we have opinions, and we have to report the whole story if we bring up part of the story. So, yes, he’s upset about Bucks County, but he was right and he won in court. That’s the story,” Hewitt added.

    Capehart shot back at Hewitt. “I don’t appreciate being lectured about reporting when, Hugh, many times you come here saying lots of things that aren’t based in fact.”

    In response, Hewitt said, “I won’t come back, Jonathan, I’m done.” He took off his earpiece and walked away from the camera shot. “This is the most unfair election ad I’ve ever been a part of,” Hewitt said.”

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Just The News: “A Pennsylvania judge on Friday ordered Erie County to Board of Elections to remedy and reissue new absentee ballots to over 17,000 voters after the original ballots went missing.

    The Pennsylvania Democratic Party sued the competitive swing county on Wednesday over the issue, after it found that only 52% of ballots in Erie County had been returned as of Monday, which is significantly lower than the national average, and is one of the lowest in the state, according to Politico.

    Court of Common Pleas Judge David Ridge ordered the election’s board to fix the issue, after the vendor admitted that it could not confirm the status of 13,000 to 17,000 absentee ballots, and 1,200 voters out of state said they had not received their absentee ballot so far. Another 365 voters received duplicate ballots that had barcodes that matched other voters, Reuters reported.

    Ridge outlined a remedy that included keeping the elections office in the county courthouse open for longer hours, overnighting ballots to out-of-state voters, and providing voters with new ballots if theirs is missing.

    Voters in the state who have not received their mail-in ballot so far can track its status online here. More than 25,000 voters have cast their ballots in Erie County so far, which has 177,000 registered voters. Over one million residents in the state have voted so far.”

    Liked by 1 person

  14. GGGGGggggrrrrrrrrrrr
    GGGGGggggrrrrrrrrrrr
    November 2, 2024 8:06 am

    Europe’s Greens ask Jill Stein to pull out of US election to prevent Trump victory

    Green politicians from across Europe on Friday called on U.S. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein to withdraw from the race for the White House and endorse Democrat Kamala Harris instead.

    “We are clear that Kamala Harris is the only candidate who can block Donald Trump and his anti-democratic, authoritarian policies from the White House,” Green parties from countries including Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland, Estonia, Belgium, Spain, Poland and Ukraine said in a statement, which was shared with POLITICO ahead of publication.

    https://www.politico.eu/article/europes-greens-tell-jill-stein-to-pull-out-of-us-election-to-defeat-trump/

    Direct link to the PDF here:

    Click to access US-elections_-European-Greens-call-for-Jill-Stein-to-step-down_clean.pdf

    Liked by 1 person

  20. “Bombshell Revelations in Daniel Penny Trial Turn Entire Prosecution on Its Head”

    By Bonchie | 9:01 PM on November 01, 2024  

    AP Photo/John Minchillo

    “While the current election is justifiably dominating the news, Daniel Penny’s trial for allegedly killing Jordan Neely on a New York City subway has begun, and a new revelation has turned the prosecution on its head. 

    As RedState reported, Penny initially subdued Neely after the latter began to act erratically, including lunging at and threatening women and children on the train. Neely would go on to perish and Penny was arrested and charged with manslaughter by infamous Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg. 

    At the time, the facts of the case were already called into question after a video taken on the scene showed Neely still breathing for a significant period after the altercation. Further, Penny put Neely in the “recovery position,” suggesting he had no intent to cause permanent harm. At the time, I asked whether Neely was still breathing when first responders arrived. 

    Secondly, you can see Neely’s chest still moving (and his leg even appearing to move) in the video at multiple points, which again suggests that Penny let him go with the expectation that he was subdued, not mortally wounded. Was Neely still breathing when the paramedics got there?

    That question has now been answered thanks to newly released bodycam footage. Not only was Neely breathing when the police arrived, but they refused to give him mouth-to-mouth, instead sticking him with Narcan assuming a drug overdose was involved. 

    Two police officers confirmed that Neely still had a pulse when they arrived. 

    ‘I got a pulse,’ one said. A second police officer confirmed that he too felt a pulse. 

    Neely was unconscious, lying on the subway car floor.  

    When asked how Neely ended up there, Penny replied: ‘I put him out.’ 

    Despite initially detecting a pulse, they issued Narcan – the drug used to reverse opioid overdoses – to Neely – and started CPR at 2.38pm.

    An NYPD police sergeant, who testified on the first day, said that responding officers did not give Neely mouth-to-mouth because “he seemed like a drug user” who might give them “hepatitis.”

    Among witnesses on the first day of evidence was an NYPD Sergeant who testified that none of his team performed mouth-to-mouth on Neely because he was a ‘drug user’. 

    ‘He seemed to be a drug user.. he was an apparent drug user. He was very dirty. I didn’t want them to get… hepatitis.

    ‘If he did wake up he would have been vomiting. I didn’t want my officers to do that. 

    ‘He was filthy. He looked like a homeless individual. You have to protect your officer.

    ‘I wouldn’t want my officer to get sick if the person throws up,’ he said. 

    Would Neely be alive today if the police had taken immediate action to save his life? Did the shot of Narcan contribute to his death? Questions like those are going to complicate the prosecution’s attempt to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Penny was directly responsible for Neely’s death.”

    Liked by 2 people

  21. I agree, Filly, and good morning. This is the first thing I read this morning. I fell asleep after reading the US and Israel voted against discontinuing sanctions on Cuba, of all places. Why do the US and Israel align on this strange grudge against this little island, which was the first place Christopher Columbus landed in the New World?

    New York has gone Squirrely, as has the rest of the world.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Good morning, Katharine! Nice to see you! NYC is a liberal shithole, IMO. Both times I visited, I couldn’t wait to leave! It’s awful! Upper NY state, OTOH, is gorgeous.

      OK, Cuba is a lot more complicated than just a little island, I just gotta say. Considering how close it is to our country, it’s wise to be wary. Realistically, why does it really matter where Columbus first landed? I mean, he claimed it for Spain anyway….

      Liked by 1 person

  22. I can’t remember any more what’s been posted and what hasn’t….about ballot issues in Lancaster Cty:

    “Monroe County District Attorney said the fraudulent voter registration forms were traced to FieldCorps whose clients included Biden-Harris, Mark Kelly and Arizona Democrats. Calls to the number listed went unreturned and the FieldCorps website was mysteriously taken down.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. it’s happening in a lot of PA counties. fraudulent registrations not ballots as far as i know. the signatures don’t match, missing info–all being tied to AZ and that democrat’s company

      Liked by 1 person

  23. Oh, my! I just looked outside – super foggy now & 32 – it always drops a couple of degrees just before the sun comes up but no sun today! Humidity is waaaay up – guess I can turn off the humidifier for a while.

    Liked by 1 person

            1. my SIL stacked 3 cords for us when they were here in Sept. nobody stacks it like he does! the girls loaded the truck bed with the cords we had delivered and hubby drove it up into the wood shed and then we handed the logs to him. he didn’t have to bend and he stacked it tight and high. then they took down 3 dead tress and chunked it up. hubby’s working on splitting that now.

              Liked by 1 person

  24. EXCERPT: “…..The ad my colleague Bob Hoge wrote about is hilarious in its insanity about the fear they are trying to whip up and what they envision will happen in the future. They theorize President Trump dying, JD Vance being made dictator for life, and demonize Elon Musk as wanting to put people in concentration camps. It’s that insane. 

    They’ve targeted not only Trump but Musk as well. But he’s been willing to stand up to protect the country and free speech. 

    One of the things that has helped President Donald Trump in this election is simply to have a level playing field on X, where people have been able to post and not be suppressed as they were in 2020. 

    Elon Musk has also come out in support of Trump because of his desire to protect free speech and push back on the Democrats as the censors. He stood with Trump when Trump returned to the spot of the assassination attempt in Butler. He’s been going all in to encourage people to vote, and he just promoted a great ad that summarized the case for Trump and what was on the line in this election. The comparison between the insane ad that Bob wrote about and this simple, good vision for America in the face of adversity is striking.

    Think about all they’ve done to Donald Trump.

    First, it was hoaxes, witch hunts, and impeachments. 

    Then it was FBI raids, court rooms, and mug shots. 

    Finally, it was bullets in a Pennsylvania field. 

    And after all that, this man stood up, with blood draining down his face, pumped his fists in the air, and told us to, “Fight, fight, fight!” 

    “America’s future will be bigger, better, bolder, brighter, happier, stronger, freer, greater, and more united than ever before,” Trump declares, as helicopters fly over with the American flag and he salutes. “And we will make America great again!” 

    “We know what they think of us,” he says, as it plays Joe Biden saying the “only garbage he sees floating out there are his supporters.

    “So if Donald Trump can get through all of that, we can get out to vote,” the narrator says. 

    Not such a big task in the face of all that could befall us if we don’t.”

    https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2024/11/01/elon-musk-posts-trump-ad-n2181399

    Liked by 1 person

  25. I will be sooooo grateful once election day is over and the ads go away! Of course, I am seeing the Fischer & Osborn ads in every single break. Fox even ran that prick Osborn’s ad twice in the same break, FFS!!! He is SUCH a liar! Originally said about the illegal immigrants: “Just give ’em SS cards already!” but now is saying “SS for illegals? Who would be for that?” before quickly moving on with more lies. I need a nerf ball to throw at the TV!!!! At least with my DVR, I can FF thru them all but it’s still nauseating. Fischer is no jewel, no doubt, but he’s a straight-out socialist!!!

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Oh, they get it somehow – I get them, too, in spite of repeated attempts to block them via the DNC list, which is why I don’t answer ANY call from an unknown #.

        Liked by 1 person

  27. thinking about that squirrel. many folks feed wildlife–maybe not make them pets, but still. raccoons–kea posted videos of a guy feeding them hotdogs on his deck. we feed deer corn blocks–some feed all kinds of animals. hardly seems right to kill a squirrel.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Especially when he’s been with him for that long!!! My Sis sent me a comment claiming that he had bitten someone but I’ve not seen anything about that. Even so, it depends on the circumstances. Any “wild” animal will react quite different with strangers. It is a fact that they can never be taken for granted but still…..just shameful.

      Liked by 1 person

  28. “Bright Brief – Bicameral Garbage: The War for the American Mind on the Eve of the Inflection Election”

    Burning Bright, Nov 02, 2024

    EXCERPT: “Bright Army! Welcome to another Brief, which will surely live up to its name … in an ironic sort of way. No preamble this time. Let’s get right into the bullshit.”

    Shenan-Agains (aka. The Actual)

    No doubt you can sense that there’s a lot of mass psychological tension in the air, and while I suppose that’s understandable, given the respective build-up by any and all sides on the sociopolitical game board, I’m actually feeling pretty good on the eve of the latest mass inflection point—an engineered event that, while seismic in some ways, is not likely to solely determine the outcome of a Shadow War, an Info War and of course, a War of Stories that’s been going on for longer than any of us have known any more than any of the other individual chapters in this grand saga of awakening have.

    When it comes to mass hype on the eve of November 5, a date that has lived in infamy since the infamous steal of 11.3.20, it’s difficult for some of us to get as wholly invested as either side would like us to be, and that’s owing to the massive Electephant in the room that my friend 

    Chris Paul talks about more consistently than anyone in the Info War, and that is the simple truth that, without full faith and trust in the US election SYSTEM, there can be no faith and trust in the election results.

    To wit, we’ve already seen the bullshit beginning, with viral videos demonstrating technological ‘irregularities’ on digital ballots and ‘accidental’ early results posted on local affiliate channels purporting to show the projected results of the election.

    These are just tests, of course, and yet, they never seem to favor our favored candidate, now do they?….”

    https://burningbright.substack.com/p/bright-brief-bicameral-garbage

    Liked by 1 person

  29. Wow! I thought Randy Travis was dead!!!

    EXCERPT: “After the late September devastation in Western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene and the heroic rescue and recovery efforts, the region continues to be given a shot in the arm, thanks to Americans locally and from across the country stepping up. This past month has seen the creative and innovative ways they have helped to bring this area and its people back to life. 

    This week’s Feel-Good Friday spotlights the particularly awesome ones!

    On Saturday, The Concert for Carolinas was held at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. The event attendance was over 82,000, and featured performances by James Taylor, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, Billy Strings, Bailey Zimmerman, Scotty McCreery, Chase Rice, The Avett Brothers and Parmalee, with some surprise appearances by Urban’s wife, actress Nicole Kidman and a cameo by Randy Travis, who is recovering from a debilitating stroke that he suffered earlier in 2024. North Carolina natives Luke Combs and Eric Church organized this in less than a month, and it raised $24.5 million toward hurricane relief. 

    The really smart move: Combs and Church designated the recipients of the charity would be North Carolina-based institutions, not just those name charities that put three-quarters of their operating budgets toward executive salaries, while one-quarter actually goes toward relief….”

    https://redstate.com/jenniferoo/2024/11/01/feel-good-friday-the-resurrection-of-chimney-rock-nc-is-america-at-its-finest-n2181408

    Liked by 1 person

  30. “President Trump, the rising tide”

    Adam Molon, Nov 02, 2024

    This is my latest piece, published in American Thinker. Please share and get out the vote for President Trump!

    The full text is below, and can also be read here:  https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/11/president_trump_the_rising_tide.html

    “This election season, the country has never been more polarized between left and right, as well as between out-of-touch elites and rank-and-file American workers — both blue- and white-collar. 

    During the past four years, the wealthiest Americans, who are often executives in industries like law, tech, and finance, have toed the Harris-Biden administration line for green energy policies; increased immigration; and unfair, non-reciprocal trade billed as “free trade.”

    In contrast, blue-collar Americans, who dominate the manufacturing, services, and construction sectors, have been disenfranchised by Kamala Harris’s Green New Deal, skyrocketing inflation, open borders, and more trade that is “free” rather than fair and reciprocal. 

    The time for pretentious posturing — hitting all the right notes for an algorithm-friendly “woke” LinkedIn post, while ignoring basic realities — is over.  There is only one presidential candidate who can meet the needs of all Americans. It is vitally important that both blue- and white-collar workers — as well as elites who have awakened to reality — show up to vote for Donald J. Trump on Election Day.

    Today, there is a serious disconnect between the worlds of the wealthiest Americans and rank-and-file workers.  However, that disconnect is being reduced as the comfortable bubble of affluent elite enclaves — and the option for the blissful disregard that they afford — is increasingly encroached upon by realities of economic and social turmoil under Harris, Joe Biden, and the Democrat party. 

    As Dr. Peter Navarro, Trump White House director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, observes in a recent opinion piece, under Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, “too many Americans are being forced to choose between food on the table, medicine in the cabinet and a roof over their heads” as they “are seeing their real wages squeezed or losing their jobs.”

    Two-thirds of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to pay for basic living expenses like gas and groceries in the face of record-high inflation.

    Elite Americans have argued that the economy is strong, citing rising stock markets and observing the concentration of well off people who can be found in the suburbs of cities like Philadelphia and New York City. These fortunate few may not yet acutely feel the weight of high inflation or unfair trade as do their fellow Americans who depend on regular paychecks earned through labor — rather than on investments and passive income — for income and survival. 

    But if the problems we see today persist for four more years — as would be likely under a rudderless and incompetent Harris-Walz administration — social stability will further erode as levels of crisis increase, and the ship of our nation will be at serious risk of capsizing.  If this happens, no one will be immune. Assets previously relied upon for passive income will be at fundamental risk, and communities that are today strongholds of wealth and privilege amid a wasteland of communities swamped by corrupt and incompetent governance under Harris and Biden will themselves be under siege.

    Former president Trump’s economic policy proposals not only will help protect blue-collar jobs, but will make all American families prosperous.  For example, Trump’s universal baseline tariff proposal will generate more than $4,000 in additional real wages for every American family, while creating about three million jobs. Trump has even suggested utilizing tariffs to fund federal spending, as the United States has done in the past, and ending the federal income tax, which would be a monumental boon to American workers and consumers.

    Some corporatist and globalist opponents of tariffs have tried to assert that tariffs increase the price of goods for American consumers.  But, as Dr. Navarro notes in a concise primer on tariffs, “the Trump tariffs did not cause inflation during his presidency.  They will not cause inflation in Mr. Trump’s second term.  When America imposes tariffs on major trading partners such as China or Germany, the Trump tariffs force these trading partners to reduce the prices of their goods sold to us.  The American market is too important to their export-dependent economies for them to try to pass along the full tariffs to American consumers.” Both consumers and producers would benefit from Trump’s tariffs.

    A rising tide of patriotic Americans voting for Trump this election will lift the boats of citizens from all backgrounds and walks of life.  A vote for President Trump — no matter where you are socio-economically — is a vote to keep the great ship of the United States afloat and power forward toward a more prosperous future.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s good for you! I’m pretty convinced that my overall good health all these years was at least partially the result of staying so physically active. Hard work is good for the body as well as the soul!

      Liked by 1 person

  34. H/T M – Tweets:

    Praying Medic: “If this election wasn’t crazy enough for you, Trump just issued remarks on the state of New York murdering an innocent squirrel.”

    GrrrGraphics: “I did not have the NY goon squad, raiding peoples homes and kidnapping and executing their pet squirrel on my 2024 Election Bingo card…did you? RIP PEANUT”

    Liked by 1 person

  35. Long but really good – this guy worked for Rand Paul from 2019-2022 and was his Military Legislative Assistant. He writes with a clarity that even I can understand.

    “Free Trade at All Costs Is Not What Will Create “World Peace”

    Demri Scott Greggo, Nov 02, 2024

    “When your options are Vice President Kamala Harris, who was endorsed by Dick Cheney, architect of the Iraq War, and President Donald Trump, who has brought together a spectacular coalition of anti-war advocates crossing the entire political spectrum, it is abundantly clear who anti-war advocates should support.

    Unfortunately, conservatives with some historically good policy proposals are falling victim to Harris’ political propaganda. These critics are painting an unfair doom and gloom picture about President Donald Trump’s proposals to increase tariffs on countries like China. These critics argue that President’ Trump’s proposals will unite foreign adversaries and harm the American consumer, an argument that couldn’t be further from the truth.

    It’s important to remember that trade is a multi-way street. Even if the United States doesn’t impose tariffs on foreign goods, other countries have already imposed tariffs on the United States, and did so even well before President Trump’s first term.

    The truth is that we are not living in a truly free market and we never will because other countries have not adopted a free market approach. China, for example, has imposed tariffs on American goods for decades, and doesn’t seem eager to stop anytime soon.

    These critics may be surprised to find out that the European Union, a block of countries that are largely military allies, imposed tariffs on the United States well before President Trump was inaugurated in 2017.

    If tariffs prevent peace and promote war, how do you explain that there are countries that are U.S. allies yet still impose tariffs on our goods? And why is it that our allies can impose tariffs on our goods, but we can’t impose tariffs on theirs?

    Even if tariffs do prevent war, the United States is not the world’s police and it is not our sole responsibility to ensure world peace. Just like neo-conservatives view it as our duty as a superpower to provide foreign aid and military assistance to countries around the world in the name of “world peace,” the argument that “free trade” prevents war puts the onus squarely on the United States, when it was never our burden to bear.

    It’s also convenient that the studies that many of these free trade advocates use to support their critical viewpoints routinely neglect to account for the negative externalities that occur due to their twisted version of “free trade.”

    ”Free trade” is not free. It may initially feel great to buy a widget from China at a low cost, but not if it is a dangerous counterfeit. Purchasing a counterfeit purse may not immediately harm a consumer, but what if they purchase counterfeit drugs, airbags or cigarettes? Many of the studies that analyze “free trade” fail to address the human costs of their policies.

    Most importantly, “free trade” doesn’t address the key question of how we will prevent job loss and bring millions of jobs back to America. A study published by Coalition for a Prosperous America found that the United States has lost 3.82 million total jobs since 2001 due to the trade deficit with China, with a vast majority of them being manufacturing jobs.

    Look at Kentucky, a state with two U.S. Senators that support “free trade.” Since 2001, Kentucky has lost 48,204 jobs, with 80% of them in the manufacturing sector, due to the trade deficit with China. That is 48,204 Americans who lost their livelihoods and can no longer support their families, all in the name of cheap junk from China. American leaders can’t expect to stop the bleeding if we continue down the decades-long policy of free trade at all costs.

    The reason why President Trump’s message resonates with so many in middle America is because he’s listening to them, something that politicians have failed to do for decades.

    The truth is that “free trade” panders to the people in America who have the least by fear mongering about prices, while propping up special interests and big corporations who thrive on cheap labor in China.

    If leaders are concerned with creating “world peace,” they should first focus on ways we can create peace at home first, and part of that peace is ensuring that middle America has jobs in the years to come.”

    Liked by 1 person

  36. “Radicalized Squirrels In MAGA Hats Begin Uprising”

    U.S. · Nov 2, 2024 · BabylonBee.com

    Article Image

    U.S. — After government authorities seized and executed the beloved squirrel known as “Peanut”, squirrels across America donned tiny MAGA hats and launched a mass uprising.

    “For Peanut!!” shouted the squirrels as their forces stormed government buildings. “Vive la révolution!”

    Anti-government sentiment had steadily risen among squirrels over the past decades, creating a powder keg of anger ready to ignite. “Peanut’s death lit the match,” said organizer Squeaks O’Hoolihan. “Too long, we squirrels have stayed dormant, losing our freedoms to the government inch by inch. No more. Today, we stand and fight, fight, fight! The fires of revolution shall spread across the nation like a cleansing balm.”

    The uprising began in New York, where government commandos busted into Peanut’s humble abode and killed the kindly squirrel. “Within hours, there were tens of thousands of squirrels gathered in Central Park, each wearing a MAGA hat,” said police officer Darryl Smith. “The squirrels were prepared, organized, and unbelievably disciplined. We’re in real trouble.”

    At publishing time, a squirrel army had been seen heading for the Capitol with a contingent of buffalos.

    Liked by 2 people

  37. Freedom Ring

    November 2, 2024 2:13 pm

    Ruby must have transferred

    🚨 BREAKING: Outrage is ensuing after Fulton County, Georgia is reportedly not allowing poll watchers to observe “special” weekend operations in the deep-blue area.

    Elections official: “There are NO WATCHERS approved for ballot drop off! Do not let them in.” pic.twitter.com/kMH8lhwG4g

    — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 2, 2024

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Truth – I well remember the artificial energy scarcity – gas lines – of the Carter years and inflation of the Carter and Clinton years.

      Democrats make the worst administrations – Clinton’s would have been a lot worse except for Newt Gingrich saving his butt.

      Liked by 2 people

  41. “Do it for Peanut!! Make America Sane Again!”

    “We are not Garbage”

    “Father, issue a statement about the squirrel. Trust me.”

    “The hero we deserve.”

    Liked by 1 person

  50. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

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