Again

Again we find ourselves in the lame duck period, or, as some may dress it up, the sunset of the Biden administration. Those feeling particularly doomer-ish may call this the end of capital-D Democracy as we know it. I kind of think of it as the start of the Biff Tannen timeline from Back to the Future II.

Again, I am not an American. Despite my assembly in California, it's a maple leaf on my passport, and a trillium on my driver's license. I have an outsider view, and I, like the rest of the world, must respect the will of the American electorate.

Again, we don't know exactly what's going to happen. Elon Musk (and Vivek Ramaswamy) will be running a department whose acronym is DOGE. Though, what more would you expect from a man who named his car models "S 3 X Y".

Again, these aren't the most subtle of people.

In a true act of non-subtlety, Matt Gaetz is slated to be the next Attorney General of the United States, avoiding all consequences for his (alleged) criminality. It's quite disturbing that we may never know whether or not he crossed state lines to fuck an underage girl or two. It's also very disturbing he's not at all qualified for the job, but that's beside the point I suppose.

We also have Christian Nationalist, war crime apologist, and future Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. He's a former Fox News host who, again, is greatly under-qualified to be in the position. He's also, of course, got a history of being investigated for sexual assault.

We also have returning champion Mike Huckabee is slated to be ambassador to Israel, the first Southern Baptist Evangelical Christian in that position, which doesn't necessarily make him unqualified, but the fact that Netanyahu's government is excited about it gives me pause. He's also a big fan of folks who commit sexual assault, too.

RFK is slated to be the person in charge of Health and Human Services. I have no words for this, outside of telling you I have asked myself how much worse the American health system can get, and I suspect we will all find out very soon.

Again, I don't say these names and link to these news articles simply to scandalize and shock, as scandalous and shocking as they may be.

Again, It's important to keep an eye on these people and remember things they do and things they believe as they shape the next four years of United States policy. With an absolute bingo on authority across the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government, very little stands in their way as they move to exert their will on the levers of power. It's our responsibility to, if nothing else, bear witness to our neighbors to the south as Canada moves into election season in the next few months.

Again, even though we must try to keep a positive outlook, it's shaping up to be a hard few years for folks, and it's only just starting.

Take care of yourself, everyone,

Matthew