Does 2023 Look Familiar To You?

 Well, hello 2023! A brand new year!

And yet...

I'll be damned if 2023 doesn't bear more than a passing similarity to 2022.

Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022 continues into 2023. despite not one damn thing going as Vladimir Putin expected.  Putin's ego is such that he's thinking, "I am a bad ass! Therefore Russia is a bad ass! Ukraine is lame! Ukraine run by comedian! Piece of cake!"

The war drags on because Putin cannot admit the cake is a lie. 

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky may have started off as a comedian and a sitcom star but damned if he hasn't been quite the role model for a leader whose country is under attack, resolute and firm in his defense of his country and it's people. I was very impressed with his impassioned speech to the US Congress.  

Yes, I watched that. Andrea and I were settled in to watch Jeopardy but CBS cut in with a special report to televise live Zelensky's speech.  

So Russia's attack on Ukraine in 2022? Still a thing in 2023.

Still a thing in 2023 for the god damn mother fucking 8th year in a row? Donald "God damn mother fucking" Trump.

So 2022 finished off with Donald "GDMF" Trump's tax returns being released. So everyone is going into 2023 wondering why did Li'l Donnie fight so hard for so long to keep them out of the public eye?  

A lot of people thought that Trump didn't want anyone to see his tax returns because they could point towards illegal or politically damaging behavior.

Let me save myself some typing and just cut 'n' paste what I wrote on this subject Monday, December 5, 2022

I doubt anyone should get their hope up for something like, "Charitable deductions to Russian oligarchs" or anything obvious like that. 

I mean we all know in our gut that Trump is up to sketchy shit but I somehow doubt that will be revealed in those returns.

So why did Donald Trump fight so hard against the question, "Can we see your tax returns?" 

I've commented on this before and I think it still applied that Trump is offended by the very question. He sees himself as a person of a certain level of rank and prestige afforded by his wealth and how dare anyone question him about anything.

And also of concern to Trump is those returns will put lie to his status as a  person of a certain level of rank and prestige afforded by his wealth if those returns reveal he does not possess the wealth he claims to possess or the canny business acumen to gather or increase his wealth.   

I expect the returns will reveal...

• he is NOT as wealthy as he says he is.
• he is NOT as successful as he asserts himself to be.

Guess what? I was right! 

Donald "GDMF" Trump loses a shit ton of money every year.  The alleged business genius with the "a very big a brain" doesn't seem to know how to make money.  

More bullshit from  Donald "GDMF" Trump from 2022 was his announcement he was running for President. Going into 2023, he still thinks this is a thing that can happen and is threatening to run as an independent candidate if the Republican Party doesn't suck it up and get behind their dear leader for 2024.

I expect this will come to just more of Donald "GDMF" Trump's typical bluster when one realizes how much heavy lifting the Republican Party did to keep afloat Trump's respective poorly run campaigns in 2016 & 2020.  

So in 2023, we're still not done with Donald "GDMF" Trump. 

One big story from 2022 was the Supreme Court's overturning Roe V. Wade unleashing a tidal wave of abortion restrictions from various Republican legislatures. I expect 2023 will see more of the same as states do their damnedest to turn women's reproductive rights into a dystopian hellscape.  

With the Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, look for efforts to institute a national abortion ban.   

Another big story in 2022 was a record number of mass shootings. Since effective yesterday,  half of America’s 50 states now allow people to carry handguns without first seeking a permit. So on the subject of mass shootings, 2023 will likely be more of the same. Or worse. 

Nutcases like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Bolbert who dominated headlines in 2022 with their their divisive and inflammatory rhetoric will only get worse in 2023 with their party in power in the House.   

I fear that 2023 will not be that much of a new year but will be burdened with a terrible familiarity.