2022 the Year That Was
It was the best of years, and it was the worst of years. Russia invaded Ukraine, causing massive death and suffering, but Ukraine fought back and at the end of the year seems to have the advantage over Putin’s poorly armed and trained horde. The U.S. enjoyed record low unemployment and high job growth, but high inflation caused hardship for many. A bivalent vaccine provides high levels of protection from Covid, but thousands continue to die of Covid every week due to low uptake and anti-vaxxer misinformation. Election deniers were nominated to high office by the GOP, but they mostly lost in the midterms in swing states where they could’ve messed with the 2024 presidential election. The Supreme Court stripped the constitutional right to abortion from women, but voters struck back to protect abortion rights in surprising places such as Kansas and Kentucky. Major legislation such as the IRA, Respect for Marriage Act, and the $1.7 trillion omnibus budget act passed, but the GOP gained a slim majority in the House starting next year. Oathkeeper terrorists and hundreds of other insurrectionists were convicted, but Trump remains unindicted, even after hundreds of classified documents he stole were seized from Mar-a-Lago. What will 2023 bring?