things i’d like to see in 2026

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2025 sucked, don’t even try to tell me otherwise. 2026 has the potential to be better, though it could implode at any moment. Nothing is certain. However, in a feeble attempt to be optimistic, I’ve make a list of things I’d like to see in 2026. I don’t expect to see any of them, but hey, there’s no harm in hoping.

Anyway, in no particular order, I’d like to see:

  • local municipal police officers arresting ICE agents for violating the law. These assholes are running wild in the street and ain’t nobody holding them to account. Arrest them, cuff them, give them a fair trial.
  • sensible legislation limiting e-motos. I’m talking about these stubby bastards. They’re sold as ebikes, but they’re not intended to be ridden like bikes. I don’t have anything against them as a mode of transportation, but the sad reality is a LOT of these e-motos are ridden by assholes. Assholes ruin everything.
  • speaking of bikes, I’d like to see more people dressed in normal clothes on bikes. This isn’t a dunk on folks who wear lycra and ride road bikes. I’d just like to normalize cycling as transportation, not just as a form of exercise.
  • women in US films & television shows that look like actual women wearing actual women’s clothing with sensible shoes instead of models in high heels. Give me more Sarah Lancashires, more Olivia Colmans, more Susan Wokomas, more Lesley Manvilles. Give me women who can act, not just look good. (Okay, we have Merritt Wever in the US, who is fucking amazing; give me more Merritt Wevers too.)
  • Donald J. Trump in handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit…in a coffin.
  • quiet spaces. Deliberately quiet spaces, both indoors and outdoors, both public and commercial. Not silent spaces; just quiet. Spaces where you can have a conversation. Coffee shops, pubs, restaurants, and other businesses that commit to quietness should be given tax breaks.
  • Brett Kavanaugh busted for DWI.
  • a mini-series based on Ellen Kushner’s novel Swordspoint. Or any of her novels, really.
  • billionaires taxed out of existence. There’s no reason for billionaires to exist. Nobody has any real use for that much money. Every dollar somebody ‘earns’ over a billion dollars should be taxed at 100%. I mean, c’mon, if you spent US$100 thousand every single day, it would take you more than 27 years to spend a billion dollars. That’s just nuts.
  • more dedicated infrastructure for bicycles and other forms of mobility. I’m talking about bike lanes and secure bicycle parking. We should really make it safe and easy for not just cyclists to get around, but also folks in wheelchairs (and we should subsidize motorized wheelchairs to a much greater extent). We should drastically decrease car dependency (and the operative term there is ‘dependency’).
  • much much much more funding for the Arts. All sorts of arts, and especially weird esoteric arts, even if we don’t like them. Hell, we should encourage people–ordinary people–to take up any form of expression. I’d go so far as to support accordion players and mimes. It would make people happier, and lawdy, we need happier people.
  • also, Trump’s name removed from the Kennedy Cen…well, from everything.
  • capes for mail carriers. These people are fucking heroes; they deserve capes.

Okay, that’s enough. None of these things will happen (although I think there’s a decent chance Comrade Trump will go toes up in the next 12 months), but they’re still it’s nice to think about. Oh, wait. I forgot one.

I’d like to see the patriarchy smashed into tiny shards, those shards ground into the finest dust, that dust buried deep in the earth, and the earth above it salted so that nothing will grow there for a thousand years. Or so.

There. Done.

Editorial Note: By the way, the illustration is a wood engraving by Frederick Sandys from the early 1860s. It’s called ‘The Old Chartist.’ Chartism was a British working class movement that called for 1) the vote for every man aged twenty-one years and above (women, of course, were totally fucked), 2) secret ballots, 3) no property qualification to be a Member of Parliament, 4) payment for Members (so working men could temporarily leave their regular employment to work in the public interest), 5) annual elections. These were radical wishes unlikely to occur, much like my wishlist above.

12 thoughts on “things i’d like to see in 2026”

  2. Happy New Year to you Greg, and wishing you all the best things for 2026. I have really enjoyed reading your thoughts through 2025. I don’t comment too often, but I do read most things.

    On the subject of ‘quiet spaces’, I fully and enthusiastically concur. More of them, everywhere. On that subject, you might enjoy this piece from my sound & music blog Hummadruz:

    https://hummadruz.wordpress.com/2023/10/03/sound-and-fury/

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  3. Here’s hoping for a better 2026!”I’d like to see the patriarchy smashed into tiny shards, those shards ground into the finest dust, that dust buried deep in the earth, and the earth above it salted so that nothing will grow there for a thousand years. Or so.”Did you get the card I sent?

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    • Hyla, yes yes yes, I did get your card on Friday. That’s so thoughtful of you. I can’t tell you how pleasantly surprised and delighted I was to find it in the mailbox. Thanks so much. It’s sitting on my desk right now.

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  4. You just listed 3 awesome English actresses. How do you even know about Sarah Lancashire? The other two are international but I didn’t think Sarah was. Leslie Manville is really very, very good and under rated. Olivia is just the person you would love to live next too. Imagine the parties. She’s insanely funny. You missed one national treasure who most certainly never followed any beauty directive and could act her way out of Guantanamo if needed. Dame Judy Dench. She’s ancient now. But she is awesome. She’s also a tiny little woman and I once had to wear a hired costume for Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest. I’m 5’10”. She’s probably 5’3″? The grand outfit was perfect for the role and had her name stitched into the back of it. Our wardrobe mistress had to add a few layers of satin and lace ruffles to the bottom to make it look right on me.

    While on the subject of funny, do you get the chance to see the Graham Norton show? He’s been on air for donkey’s years and his format is wonderful for getting the best out of his guests. Olivia has triumphed on there. If you can’t get reruns of it, watch the YT clips. There are thousands and every one of them will make you laugh.

    As for your other hopes, I feel the same, but the real affinity comes with the hope that Trump will see trial and be convicted and then die.

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    • Sue, Sarah Lancashire is brilliant. I’ve only seen her in a few things, but she’s an astonishingly good actor. And I didn’t include Judy Dench because she’s SO well known. There are lots of incredible British & European women actors who look like real people…and they’ve ruined American television for me. I can’t bring myself to watch US shows in which all the women look like they came from a fashion catalog.

      I’m aware of Graham Norton, but I watch relatively little television (rarely more than two hours a day), so I’ve never seen his show. I did see a clip from something in which Olivia Colman sang…and that was delightful.

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  6. “No capes!” Check with Edna from the Incredibles, she had a whole speech about it. But they are heroes.

    And I’d add to the list, since we’re dreaming, fix the SCOTUS so that it is actually impartial and shows some respect for precedent.

    And let Jack Smith finish the job he started. He has the receipts, he just got stuck in a headwind against a corrupt judge. Judge Cannon should be debarred for it.

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    • Okay, I was forced to track down the scene you mentioned on YouTube, and I was reminded of an unpleasant encounter I had with a Rottweiler when I was a working PI…and could envision how badly that could have gone had I been wearing a cape. So I may have to amend my support for capes.

      I read Jack Smith’s deposition, by the way. It was devastating. No wonder the GOP doesn’t want him to testify in public.

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