Tuesday Morning Update: 12/31/24

Chemo pill day 766

Looking back through my Facebook memories, I have to go all the way back to 2011 to find a year where I felt that the coming year might be better than the last one. I have no hope at all for 2025. My checking account is negative. The social security check likely won’t hit until Thursday or Friday. There are gifts that still have not arrived and may have to be completely replaced. Kat is taking some necessary time by herself at a cabin in Brown County and won’t be back until Thursday. The Recovery Room is a mess and will take most of the day to clean. Laundry is piled high. The coffee maker decided to just dump water all over the counter this morning.

My body refuses to cooperate. We’re now two months into a non-stop headache and I still can’t see a neurologist for another 30 days. I can barely stand long enough to take the dogs out. I’ve already given the kids notice that they’ll need to fend for themselves for meals. Fortunately, the fridge and freezer are stocked. There’s a pending problem with my left eye that I can’t yet explain. My mind is unable to focus; it takes almost three hours to create these updates each day. I have books I want to read but after a couple of paragraphs, I have to put them down.

Meanwhile, the US Treasury says Chinese hackers stole documents in a ‘major incident’. Desktops within the Treasury itself were compromised. We cannot assume that any digital information is safe anywhere. One might as well assume that someone, somewhere, has access to everything from your grocery list to your dreams.

The FBI is warning sports leagues about crime organizations targeting professional athletes. Homes are being burglarized during games. Both NFL and NBA players have been affected so far. If you are in the habit of buying things from pawn shops, swap meets, or flea markets, I would suggest that you stop. Chances are too high that you’re receiving stolen merchandise.

The Taliban says they will close all national and foreign nongovernmental groups employing Afghan women, but the global attack on women’s rights doesn’t end there. In Gaza’s crowded tent camps, women wrestle with a life stripped of privacy. There are plenty of people who want to strip American women of their rights as well. You elected most of them to Congress.

Nearly all of Puerto Rico is without power on New Year’s Eve. Problems maintaining heat and power exist all over the globe. Moldovans fear looming energy shortage as Russia halts gas supplies. The move could put several European countries in danger, sparking a global economic crisis.

Xi says no one can stop China’s ‘reunification’ with Taiwan but that’s not likely to happen without war and that, too, would create an economic crisis for which neither the US nor anyone else is ready. The chances of such a war being limited to Taiwan are almost nil as Japan stays positioned to defend the South China Sea. Should Japan become involved in a war with China, the US is obligated by treaty to become involved as well.

Norovirus cases are surging in parts of the US, CDC data shows. We’re not well. I’m not sure we want to be well. If predictions from the New York Times are any indications, our diets this next year are not likely to help the matter any. We already know that the incoming president is incapable of adequately handling any kind of large-scale disease outbreak, so we’d best take care of ourselves as much as possible.

The world population will be 8.09 billion on New Year’s Day. Remember, we surpassed the limit of the planet’s sustainability at the six billion mark. Whether Republicans like it or not, we need to stop having so many babies. There’s no longer a need for you to replace yourself. AI will take up the slack in employment and, increasingly, more children will be born into a life of poverty.

New Year’s Eve is often referred to as ‘amateur night’ because of the number of people at parties who only drink one or two times a year and are unable to hold their alcohol. The problem may not be as bad this year, though, as few people say they’re going out for the night. Why should anyone go out? There’s nothing really to celebrate. Sure, we’re leaving behind a really rough year but 2025 is only going to be better for the 1%. The rest of us are going to suffer and things that are bad now will only get worse.

Is there any good news as we shed the chains of one year for the heavier chains of the next? About the only thing I could find is news that Wallace & Gromet are making a comeback. Other than that, we’re pretty much screwed.

Happy Fucking New Year.