It’s been quite a while since anything has been posted here, so let’s change that. Now the timeline has progressed to Valentine’s Day, 2026, and things have been… interesting.

The USA appears to be in the grips of a national crisis—its standing on the world stage has diminished due to both actions taken and opportunities ignored. Internal strife and conflict are frequent, and widespread malaise affects the population. It isn’t yet clear if the stagnant economy (at least the one experienced by the vast majority of citizens) will result in an actual contraction or if it will be narrowly avoided.

Many of the predictions from 2024 have come to pass, with farmers being hard hit by foreign workers either afraid or unable to work. Affordable housing is still unavailable and remains unbuilt, and costs remain high for basic goods. Federal agents roam major cities; the official position is that they are attempting to extradite undocumented immigrants, but the result is widespread terror, with shootings and injuries to both citizens and non-citizens being all too common.

The promised tariffs are in place, on and off, seemingly at whim regarding duration, target, and rate. Current estimates hold that 90% of the costs (roughly $1,000 per household) are being paid by US consumers and businesses.

NATO and other alliances are at risk, with the United States threatening to annex Greenland (of all places), as well as continuous sniping with Canada, Mexico, and just about anyone else considered an ally. The good news, if it can be considered that, is that China hasn’t yet made any major military advances, and Russia remains weak due to its ongoing war with Ukraine.

It remains to be seen how this will actually play out. The Dude can’t even imagine an author in the grips of the most intense fever dream imaginable coming up with this narrative.