Weds Blogcast: Happy Thanksgiving!; Ukraine peace? Death clock; Beer!

November 26, 2025

Just One Thing: Be Thankful

It's easy -- too easy -- these days to be dragged into feeling down about a lot of things going on in the world, whether political, military, economic, social, etc. And, yes, there are things to be concerned, even upset, about. But don't let it make you forget that there's never been a better time to be alive. A lower-income person in America has more comfort, better health, and plenty of other things in life that a Renaissance king could not have imagined.

I hope you will, and I know I will, take a few days to think about and celebrate the many gifts of being alive in America in 2025.

Even if you have to eat turkey.

p.s. This is kinda cool, and good for Thanksgiving thoughts: Six-Word Memoirs

Today's Guests

Steve Carleton is an addiction and mental health counselor with Porch Light Health and a private practice counselor as well.

We'll talk about men’s mental health, why speaking out is not weak, and how to talk to someone if you think they might be struggling.

This may sound like a downer of a topic on Thanksgiving but this, and the final guest, were chosen intentionally to represent things we should truly be thankful for even if it's not obvious at first. In this case, my focus is not on the fact of existence of mental health challenges but on the wonder evolution of our culture to the point where it's OK to talk about it and to seek help.

Steve Carleton | Porch Light Health

Ryan Edwards is co-host of KOA Sports (weekdays 3 PM - 6 PM here on KOA). We'll preview Sunday's night Broncos game in DC against the ~~Redskins~~ Commanders and talk a bit about Thanksgiving football.

Mile High Morning: ILB Alex Singleton details cancer diagnosis, recovery on 'Good Morning America'

Next-Day Notebook: Broncos return from bye week eager to improve in 2 key areas

NFL futures: Rams leapfrog Eagles for Super Bowl favorite status - ESPN

Denver Broncos Injury Status - ESPN

Brent Franson is the creator of the "Death Clock" app. Death Clock recently launched, which uses artificial intelligence to offer predictions on your approximate date of death, life expectancy, biological age, and health scores compared to peers, as well as projections on how long you might live with changes in lifestyle.

And, again, sounds like a downer but really it's a wonderful way to think about what you might do to live a longer, healthier life.

‎Death Clock: AI Health App - App Store

Other Stuff

Burt Meyer, inventor of toys of my youth, RIP

Toy inventor Burt Meyer, who dreamed up Lite-Brite and Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots, dies age 99

Burt Meyer, 99, Dies; Made Lite-Brite and Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots - The New York Times

The situation surrounding a Russia-Ukraine peace deal seems very dynamic and much better than a few days ago when it was clear that Steve Witkoff was going to try to push Ukraine into a surrender deal worse than anything I suspect Zelenskyy could have imagined. The outcry against the deal was massive and international and now they've back off, reworked the deal, and at this point the most likely thing seems to be that Zelenskyy agrees (again) and Putin balks (again). Remember, Putin is a sociopath with no desire for peace. Ukraine has its problems but the US does have a real interest in Russia not scoring a significant victory. In fact, when the outrageous surrender "peace deal" was first foisted on Ukraine, Trump gave them until Thanksgiving to agree to it. Now he's acting like none of that ever happened, and as if the first draft was just a framework for the purpose of beginning negotiations. It wasn't. It was what Witkoff tried to do to Ukraine. It was what Trump tried to do to Ukraine, a gift he tried to give Putin, a man he remains infatuated with.

Steve Witkoff gave advice to the Russians on flattering Trump to get Trump to go along with the horrendous deal: Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump - Bloomberg

Live updates: Ukraine agrees to peace proposal according to US official | CNN

US official says Ukrainian delegation has agreed with US on terms of potential peace deal - ABC News

Just the other day, the wife of the police officer killed by the man who attacked the Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs in 2015 was asking the legislature to change Colorado's idiotic law that requires judges to free criminals who are found incompetent to stand trial. It's hard to imagine a law this stupid having gotten through a legislature and having been signed by a governor.

Now, at least for this killer, we don't have to worry about him going free, though still the law should be changed as quickly as possible: Planned Parenthood shooting suspect dies in custody | FOX31 Denver

The real estate market is strange. Volume of sales are down yet prices are, so far, not falling very much. Sellers are yanking their homes off the market as delistings jump 28%

Nobody should be surprised:

How X's new location feature exposed big US politics accounts

X's location feature sparks frenzy over political accounts' origins

New X feature exposes foreign pro-MAGA accounts | CNN Business

Nerdy but interesting, regarding which companies are winning the AI battles, which are probably the biggest dollar-value battles in the history of business, if you can imagine that:

Nvidia shares tumble on signs Google gaining upper hand in AI

Nvidia-Google AI Chip Rivalry Escalates on Report of Meta Talks

But will they recover the loot? Four more arrested in connection with Louvre heist, Paris prosecutor says

Congrats! Denver Summit FC on pace to break attendance record for women's professional sports

This is so stupid...by both sides: FBI launches probe into Democratic lawmakers over video on illegal orders

Speaking of Trump changing his mind, how about this whiplash?

About a week ago: Chances for ACA subsidy extension mostly dead (Axios.com )

About 4-5 days ago

Trump to push new Republican plan on ACA subsidies

and

President Trump set to propose health care plan to fix Obamacare subsidies

Now: Trump plan for Obamacare subsidies on hold after GOP pushback