What a shit show. Are you kidding me?

I don’t know whether to lead with the “good points” or the “bad points.” Both seem fraught.

Let’s start with the bad because I’d rather end on a high note.

The 2024 election is currently shaping up to be a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Well, we’ve done this before – and Trump lost. Since the election of 2020, Trump has managed to alienate a stunning number of voters with his unhinged rhetoric. Meanwhile, Biden has managed to achieve the lowest approval rating of any incumbent in history.

A super majority on the left don’t want Biden to run. A super majority on the right doesn’t want Trump to run. Isn’t that fun? Are you all feeling good about this yet?

There are viable candidates on the Republican side – DeSantis and Haley for example. They would have broad appeal even among independents – if they were ever actually allowed to run. Unfortunately for the Democrats, there is no other candidate other than Joe. In any case, it appears right now that neither side is going to throw the “front runner” over the bridge and take a new tack. This is – of course – because both parties have the best interest of the country front of mind – but you already knew that.

The bad things that happened in 2023 are:

The campaign of Ron Desantis appears to have hit the rocks. I really don’t know why.

The Ukraine war also has hit the rocks – the offensive didn’t go as planned – and the money (and reasons for the money) seem to have run its course.

Hamas attacked Israel – and Israel responded – Oh horror of horrors – Imagine if the United States had responded to the Japanese Empire after Pearl Harbor! What a shit show that would have been! Killing kamikaze pilots for attacking us? The entire world would be stunned – at such brutality. Fortunately, this was all handled in the most humane way possible – we killed them – and we kept killing them – and then we dropped two atomic weapons on them – and then they got a clue. I know, it sucks, but sometimes you have to make a point and get the attention of the enemy. I don’t think Hamas has learned this little history lesson yet – which is surprising to me because they’ve been around for a while.

The whole college campus blow-up is another I didn’t see coming. Really? Do you clowns think the Jews only moved “back from Europe” in 1948? Of all the things I hold the most contempt for in 2023, here are two: The fucking clowns that tore down posters of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas on 10/7, and those that know no history before 1967 – or 1948 (take your pick). You have to be a low-life beyond description to tear down posters of kidnapped children. I honestly don’t care what your politics are. I really don’t. You will walk by posters of missing dogs in your neighborhood and not think a thing of it – you leave them up. But you have to tear down posters of children who have been kidnapped. You are a special kind of evil. Local missing dogs are cool – but not children? That you?

Well – if you are on a college campus – it probably is. The year in review has shined the light on some pretty high-level dirtbags. The “president” of Harvard as – we all now know – is exempt from all rules regarding plagiarism. And – it would appear – exempt from any rules regarding qualification. We learned this year that skin tone and sex are the only standards by which our major educational institutions are judged. Nice. You people paying big money for a degree from Harvard might want to re-evaluate that cost-benefit analysis – hey – just saying.

[Editors Note: OK Gads – you’ve spent 600 words on the bad side – anything on the good side?]

Well – yes.

Here in the state of Washington, Inslee has utterly failed to convince anyone that his “carbon tax” is anything other than a revenue generator for the state – it does nothing other than drive up fuel costs and put that money into the state coffers.

Joe Biden has completely failed to convince anyone that the economy is actually good. His “Bidenomics” bandwagon has fallen flat – the American people know better – we know our costs are up (across the board – power bills, grocery bills, cost of gas, cost of housing). Biden keeps saying “Things are good – inflation is down” but we know better – the American public isn’t buying this bullshit – and that is a good thing.

On that topic – Biden’s BS – the border also isn’t so good. It’s wide open and Biden is letting everyone in like a floodgate. We ain’t buying that either Joe.

Old Joe’s foreign policy isn’t doing too well either. I could go on for paragraphs about that – but suffice it to say that the American people aren’t buying that either.

So, while the signs (many of them – admittedly) may be ominous, We The People aren’t buying it – not by any measure. And that, my friends, is a good thing.

Keep your powder dry, your friends close, and your enemies closer. I write this on Christmas Day 2023, and I truly hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your friends and family – and wish you a joyous new year. My heartfelt thanks to all of you who subscribe (Old Gads will never give your email address to anyone).

In this holiday season thank you,

Gadsden1

Please check out my website Gadsden1.com. Please check out “The Group” for RSS feeds to some of my favorite writers and podcasters. Thank you for reading! And – I’ve started a store on the website – mostly for friends but you may be interested – check out the Gadsden Store. I have also added a PayPal option to my home page that allows you all to buy old Gads a beer – if you are so inclined.