A Substack year in review

Going back to my monoblogue days because it's hard to believe all that I write about here.

Photo by MJH SHIKDER on Unsplash

It takes me awhile to compile, but I’ve always been fascinated by how many subjects my ostensibly political website actually touches on over the course of a year. (Imagine how it was when I posted daily back in the day. Three times a week here is pretty much a perfect pace as far as I’m concerned.)

In this case I’m not going to count odds and ends, most of the MER, or Monday memories as part of the review. This will be on the topics I delved into, subdivided by month as an activity log of sorts. Feel free to review the year as I do.

January

I began the year by seeing the lack of promise of the upcoming Delaware General Assembly session, then detoured into a quick look at surviving J6 this time before returning to Delaware to talk about the lady briefly in charge.

Someone who should have more of a role but doesn’t is our local Sheriff, but the same people who wouldn’t give us one rejected this good idea, too. Yet the month also marked the end of an error.

February

Our shortest month wasn’t short on commentary, nor was it short on change in just a couple weeks of Donald Trump. I then talked about the unrealistic expectations our state has when it comes to green energy but the real danger of their passing assisted suicide. Then I pondered dependence on government, with the idea of depending on God instead.

Also in the month I did a two-part deep dive into Delaware employment but took the time to complement some of my local representatives on a bill that should have passed, one withdrawing us from RGGI. Alas, its failure is a product of the same voters who gave us our Three Stooges.

March

For a moment we thought we might have peace in Ukraine, but instead their leader got the bum’s rush right out of the White House. I then turned my attention to the prospect of nuclear plants in Delaware and called out the lack of townhall meetings from its elected federal representatives, who voted for the first possible #SchumerShutdown that month before he chickened out.

I then looked at our 2024 election from the perspective of an entire peninsula before critiquing the first of many Leftist temper tantrums that would mark the warm-weather season. My little tantrum came in certain bills the Delaware General Assembly was primed to pass that would cheapen life.

April

I began the month by considering the not-so-foolish Newt Gingrich and his lofty opinion on President Trump. But then I considered Trump’s possible impact on our summer travel season given our proximity to the Beltway before noting that many of those same people were out wasting a nice Saturday. Later that month I suggested they were out to bottle up true progress.

As a corollary to the bills that would cheapen life from the DGA, I looked at possible changes to our state Constitution, then laughed at the Leftists who wanted to tell me they were protesting on behalf of our national one. Meanwhile, companies lined up to leave Delaware and various groups on the Right pined for their own states.

May

This began with my modest proposal on immigration but quickly moved into another look at the Trump administration as a one man show thanks to a do-nothing Congress. On the state front, it was barely noticed that Governor Matt Meyer talked about scrapping the EV mandates.

Unfortunately, Salisbury mayor Randy Taylor wishes people had barely noticed his proposal to get rid of a rainbow crosswalk and replace it with real art. Then I took a moment to discuss my own political evolution before talking about a lack of representation for some local residents before reposting that I wouldn’t be a candidate for that or any other political job. I wrapped the month by looking at political temper tantrum part two.

June

I began the month with a lament that no one really wanted to cut federal spending before talking about what became a big, messy compromise. I also delved into a two-part series on home ownership before what turned out to be a two-part series of sorts on No Kings and its inevitable comparison to the Army’s 250th anniversary parade. It was also the month my Substack turned three.

July

The month started with my description of a messy compromise but worked its way from there to asking the question for the Independence Day holiday: are we worthy of blessing? I then looked at activity on both ends of the political spectrum before pondering if there’s room for a party in the center.

The first of my two book reviews for the year came just days after the anniversary of the event which inspired it, but then I looked local with a deep dive into a pivotal election and took my own deep dive into introspection for a moment. I ended what is traditionally the hottest month of the year with a look at the fiction of manmade climate change.

August

Speaking of introspection, I began my own personal journey in August, one which hopefully will come to a resolution in the next few weeks. I discussed a loss for common sense, then posted my three biggest posts of the year in terms of readership about Texas redistricting, a Congress that won’t do its job, and my own Maryland redistricting map. (Don’t need one for Delaware.)

It turned out through subsequent events that the Supreme Court missed its chance for redemption, nonetheless, I weighed in on the Cracker Barrel controversy then (much more importantly) called for revival on the Sunday of an early Labor Day weekend.

September

My first post of the month talked about the upcoming Constitution Day, then looked at another upcoming event featuring a bunch of jokers trying to usurp it by maintaining government power.

I returned to the question of housing again thanks to my junior Senator, then shared my thoughts on perhaps the year’s biggest news item, the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Free speech was a hot topic for the next week or so, as Jimmy Kimmel found out.

And it’s not just Republicans who act like cats in need of herding - sometimes it extends to small parties like my current Constitution Party home.

October

I began the month by revealing my Delaware Accountability Project interim report, then surely touched a nerve by asking what else we didn’t know about J6. Of course, it was the month of the government shutdown so I chimed in on that too.

I also came up with some Constitutional ideas and talked about the success of “no kings” - haven’t had one in almost 250 years. The changing of tastes was my next topic, which slid into the idea of wasting another pleasant Saturday as the Left likes to do. It was wrapped up with a review of my friend Jack Sotallaro’s ideas for next 100 years.

November

It was time for an update on my journey toward new knees, but after that I looked at the scourge of sports betting and an AWFL election. A little better news came from a repaving project in a nearby town that upset the Rainbow Mafia, good news which was needed as Delaware has botched several Special Sessions this year by addressing unnecessary items.

And then we have Indivisible whining more about how their government shutdown turned out. But as we began the transition into the holidays, I discussed how I was thankful for Substack and announced a new book project.

December

Finally, I talked about the “Seditious Six” before looking closer to home at a couple key legislators who will call it a career after next year’s session. I took a fun look at how inflation affected my Chick-Fil-A habit before putting up my second book review of the year.

The year wrapped up with ideas on how to address affordability in housing and the War on Drugs before finally expressing my wish for a Merry Christmas then wrapping things up with a special Monday Evening Reading summary and this post.

I’m looking forward to a lot more fun writing about all sorts of topics in 2026!

In the meantime, though, you can Buy Me a Coffee, since I have a page there.