Ranting Out Loud: An LGBTQ+ perspective on life, love, politics and chaos

Of all the scary things this Halloween — food diarrhea, measles, a market crash, disappearances, Senator Tim Scott as Mushmouth, five-minute press secretaries and more — we ALSO have an election coming up!

We're talking political horror, campaign fatigue, Lady G, questionable endorsements, serial killers, Halloween candy paranoia, and why the real monsters aren't wearing costumes.

Plus, Mike wants nothing to do with trick-or-treaters, Chad is dressing as Smee, and Lee is ready to take souls to the polls.

🎃 Happy Halloween. And GO VOTE!

Election anxiety? Check. Halloween anxiety? Check. Billionaires who think they own the world? Oh, honey, CHECK.

This week, a political campaign drags a survivor's childhood trauma into the mud, the outrage machine promptly gets outraged about the outrage, and the billionaire class keeps demonstrating that obscene wealth and common sense apparently aren't a package deal.

Meanwhile, politicians are glitching, crowds are mysteriously missing, gotcha questions are backfiring, and even some lifelong Republicans are looking at their own party and saying, "Yeah, I can't do this anymore."

The bottom is somewhere down there. And the President might just be staring at it.

Beef is too expensive? Just pick another protein! Political campaigns are out here serving up AI-generated embarrassment, politicians keep stepping on rakes, and our phones may be planning our next vacation without asking permission.

There's unnecessary celebrity outrage, subscription fatigue, and the usual cavalcade of political nonsense and cringe. This week needs a rewrite. And a new press secretary. Oh, OH!

Come have a Rant with us. The circus is open, and the clowns are self-funding. 😂

Michael Myers has a knife. The people running the country have "policy ideas" that somehow make them richer and you poorer. Honestly, which is more terrifying? 🔪😱

This week, we contemplate a world where public executions are now entertainment, billionaires may have their eyes on your kid's piggy bank, and some political makeovers look like the makeup artist has a personal vendetta. And just when you need a break from reality, you revisit the original Halloween and discover that the real horror is how many times someone can trip, drop the keys, and make the absolute WORST decision possible.

Fictional monsters. Real-life nightmares. And a whole lot to scream about. You still better vote though!

Some days, you just have to sit back and watch the rake hit the face.

This week, political chaos meets spectacular incompetence, campaign panic, economic WTFery, and the growing realization that maybe checking the facts before unveiling the big gotcha is still a useful strategy.

It's another Rant about the state of things, the people trying to run them, and what happens when the "gotcha" moment turns into a very public rake-stepping incident. 😂

Come Rant with us.

We're tired. The country is tired. And apparently even our voter rolls aren't safe from getting dragged into the chaos.

So naturally, we spent an episode ranting about elections, presidential ego, the Electoral College, Dolly Parton, AI presidents and whether living on a cruise ship might actually be a better retirement plan than assisted living.

Because when reality gets this ridiculous, sometimes all you can do is laugh, rant, and yell:

HANDS OFF MY VOTER ROLLS!

The FBI is lowering hiring standards to allow anyone who's engaged in bestiality. Yep. You heard that right. But that's not the worst thing that's happened. The Kennedy Center can't have you-know-who's name on it so it must be torn down apparently. Speaking of petulance, an Epstein alumnus and pro football team owner has a hissy fit over comments so we're all forced to discuss Ed Sheeran vs. Macklemore vs. the world of "both sides"-ism. Psst: CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION REGULARLY because the biggest clowns in the biggest circus could whip up some dirty tricks for November!

It's one of those episodes where you start out remembering, reflecting and trying to make sense of the world and somehow end up wondering whether Fort Knox became Fort Knocked Off when we weren't looking.

There's nostalgia, Halloween outrage, convention absurdity, a little existential dread, and the growing realization that maybe the biggest problem isn't that reality has gone off the rails but that nobody seems to know where the rails are anymore.

Come have a Rant with us.

What happens when you look back at COVID and think, "Honestly, not that bad?" Remember when a president wearing a tan suit was considered a scandal? Yeah. We'd like those problems back, please.

Meanwhile, Dallas is preparing for a presidential visit with enough security to guarantee it won't be reimbursed by the RNC for the cost. There's also a giant monument-sized ego project looming over the landscape in D.C., surveillance cameras watching more than anybody asked them to, and a growing concern that some of the progress we thought was permanent really isn't.

So, basically: everything is fine. Except it really, really isn't.

After a week away, Chadrick, Lee and Producer Mike catch up on the latest political chaos, Texas shenanigans, Trump's upcoming Dallas convention, and the increasingly bizarre things happening when politicians realize their time in the spotlight might be running out.

But then there's Dolly.

As politicians scramble to claim Dolly Parton's legacy for themselves, the gang takes a closer look at the woman behind the legend and why Dolly's actual record of kindness, generosity, literacy, and letting people live their lives makes her a pretty terrible mascot for anyone trying to tell other people how to live.

Plus Lake America, political grifting, Nashville airport naming rights, the future of the Democratic Party, and the question nobody seems willing to ask: Would Dolly approve? Probably not.