My 20th Annual Thanks/No Thanks List

Happy Thanksgiving. Regular readers and good friends know I've had a challenging year. For a blog that used to be weekly, you would think I'd have enough strife to write more regularly, but I haven't had the time and energy. Considering that this blog turns 20 next Spring, you'd think retrospection would come easily, too.

For my newer readers, every November since 2005 I've been writing a concise "thanks/no thanks" missive. Gratitude is something our society struggles with, and sometimes even I need to step back for a second and count my blessings.

What am I thankful for? What's left of my living family (my sister, and some scattered cousins) and friends that regularly check in. I feel a little less isolated when people reach out. I'm grateful that my 2014 Ford Focus hasn't fallen apart, though I'm closer to the end with that car than the beginning. I'm having drama with one of my school districts, so I'm thankful for my backup district giving me ample sub work. The Royals' playoff run this year, only their third in 35 years, was a much-needed distraction. Last but not least, you, the reader.

What am I not thankful for? Well... read most of my posts from the last year. There's a lot to catch up on.

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Mourning in America

Glad tidings to those of you who stuck around!

It wasn't just the electoral college-- he won the popular vote, too. Apparently, serious character issues, naked bigotry, and old age doesn't faze 51% of American voters. Trump galvanized the uninformed in 2016, and did so even more in 2024. In hindsight, now I see why Trump's Nuremberg-like rallies devolved into open mics and impromptu dance parties: he knew he had it in the bag.

Why did Kamala Harris lose? Exit polls suggest she lost support from Black men and especially Latino men, and never found footing with white men. Even though the economy improved under Biden and inflation gradually stagnated, it was hard to ignore the administration's overly patient approach to immigration, as well as a clumsy response to the Israeli-Hamas war. Progressives grew frustrated with Secretary of State Blinken (Biden's point man in the Middle East) in a no-win situation, but there's even more disappointment in Attorney General Merrick Garland. The administration's crown jewel, a sprawling infrastructure improvement program, will probably be left to rot. 

I had hoped that we were turning a chapter in American history. Instead, the worldwide pattern of totalitarianism has found footing where the international sport of soccer never quite has: the United States. In lieu of Messi, we have messy. I don't know what the next four years behold. On one hand, Trump is so notoriously distracted that he seldom follows through on threats and promises; on the other hand, he now has a legion of lapdogs that can do that for him. 

I've let the news settle in my head for over a week now, but it still feels noxious. To no one's surprise, most of Trump's cabinet appointments have been almost exclusively yes-men and bootlickers. If your instinct is to resist, keep resisting. The battle is lost, but the fight isn't over. 

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