Happy 20 6-7! Er…2026!

One thing you can say about the year that just was: it sure was a year.  

So as you gear up for/wind down from the evening’s festivities (I’m not sure what time zone you’re in, or when Ed’s going to run this article), it’s a good time to take stock of all the things we’re thankful for this past year, and all the things to look forward to in the year to come.  

Other than thanking God for another trip around the sun in His creation, of course?

For starters?   You can be thankful you were not an “early adopter” of the surveillance state:

The craziest scenes caught on the kiss cam – A Thread 🧵

1. During Coldplay’s Boston concert, the kiss cam caught Astronomer CEO Andy Byron & HR chief Kristin Cabot in a steamy moment—leading to their resignations & talks of a lawsuit! 😱
pic.twitter.com/tq6bG9qRML

— Earth_Wanderer (@earth_tracker) August 28, 2025

Unless, of course, you were. 

You can be thankful that this was the year that proved that American technology was so ahead of the world that we could make “becoming an astronaut” easier than running the shake machine at McDonald’s:

first video of katy perry floating in space pic.twitter.com/zqytfDvS99

— 2000s (@PopCulture2000s) April 14, 2025

(Although not so far ahead that you’d be able to reliably catch a ride to the launch pad)

🇺🇸 SAN FRAN BLACKOUT – WAYMO FROZE, TESLA DROVE

Waymo’s robotaxis got a little too real last night – by completely shutting down when San Francisco’s power outage knocked out traffic lights.

Meanwhile, Teslas on FSD? Kept rolling. No drama, no headlines – just handling chaos… pic.twitter.com/8FinYpAOcB

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) December 21, 2025

It was a year, like so many before, when satire was in fact the best journalism:

‘This Is A Both Sides Issue,’ Says Side That Assassinated Charlie Kirk, Shot President Trump, Tried To Assassinate Kavanaugh, Tried To Assassinate Trump Again, Murdered Schoolkids In Minnesota, Shot Steve Scalise, Firebombed Governor Shapiro (cont’d) https://t.co/jee8BIjTVA pic.twitter.com/ZhozJeAzad

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) September 21, 2025

Although some actual journalism did actually happen:

Here’s the clip of @billglahn on Fox Business Channel discussing Minnesota fraud. https://t.co/XF4xADm7rs pic.twitter.com/Gt9AQ9EMcE

— Ashley Boldin (@TechniGal_Ash) December 2, 2025

And while every year with Donald Trump in the White House is a memorable one, no matter what side of the aisle you dwell on…

🟡 HAPPENING NOW: Donald Trump is sworn in as the President of the United States. Biden, Harris and other former presidents clapped and cheered despite accusing Trump of being a fascist and a “danger to democracy.” pic.twitter.com/ahY9M6BKuV

— red. (@redstreamnet) January 20, 2025

…as you try to wrap up your New Year’s Eve party, at least we now know it is possible to get uninvited guests to leave. 

This should be front page news everywhere but the legacy media will never cover this so we have to make it go viral on X!

For the 4th month in a row, ZERO illegals were released into our country!

May: 0
June: 0
July: 0
August: 0

INCREDIBLE pic.twitter.com/pcNi1NpAso

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 16, 2025

But enough of 2025…

Happy New Year 2026 #2026 #memes #2025 #newyear #funny pic.twitter.com/Toari1jSDG

— Memedroid (@Memedroid) December 23, 2025

…because I want to focus on what’s to look forward to in 2026?

Other than 15 more identical “Marvel Universe” movies, I mean?

Well, for those of you who miss the Windsor nuptials, you may just get a royal wedding:

taylor swift and travis kelce are officially engaged pic.twitter.com/IfV4ClIU6I

— tayvis throwbacks (@lolatayvis) August 26, 2025

And hey, Travis Kelce will have all kinds of time in the off-season to help plan the wedding, since the Chiefs got shut down harder than Chuck Schumer shut down the government:

Chuck Schumer says “no one likes a shutdown.”

Then why did he vote 15 times for the longest shutdown in American history? pic.twitter.com/hBNumC4v2m

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) December 11, 2025

But what if they turn out to be just another ordinary couple?

Who cares – the longest-running soap opera in American politics is still churning right along!

🚨 5.2 MILLION Epstein case pages. 400 lawyers. And suddenly… everyone is moving overseas?

The Justice Department is now reviewing 5.2 MILLION pages tied to the Epstein files which is a far larger number than initially reported. They’re reportedly bringing in 400 lawyers to… pic.twitter.com/UKh0mw50Wl

— David Nino Rodriguez (@ninoboxer) December 31, 2025

And if you live in a Blue state and have a yen to do some reporting, you may just get a chance to dig into some of the same sort of Medicare/Medicaid/Daycare/Non-Emergency Medical Transportation/food aid/housing assistance/autism treatment fraud…

Arizona Medicaid Fraud

A group of sober living homes in Phoenix has been charging Medicaid for services they never provided. “Received more than $560 million for services that were not provided”

This is one city in America with one company. Imagine the fraud total nationwide,… pic.twitter.com/PLnAoQZkBV

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) July 1, 2025

🚨BREAKING: Maine whistleblower alleges a Medicaid fraud scheme similar to the one in Minnesota, accusing a Somali-American–owned company of defrauding the state’s Medicaid program of millions through falsified billing.

Whistleblower Christopher Bernardini, a former program… https://t.co/wuKSjSzr1M pic.twitter.com/6P38eDKd25

— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) December 9, 2025

🚨 Massachusetts businessman caught in a $30 million medicaid and medicare fraud scheme.

Republicans are not just making this stuff up, there is a reason everything is getting audited.

Is this what you want taxpayer dollars going towards? pic.twitter.com/pnnfqaUNXB

— Rep. Wesley Hunt Press Office (@RepWPH) February 24, 2025

Over $9 billion was potentially stolen through Medicaid fraud in Minnesota. Taxpayers were ROBBED while Tim Walz looked the other way.

Wisconsinites should be able to see if welfare fraud is happening here too, but @GovEvers won’t release the data. https://t.co/8GY6JjmH9o

— Rep. Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) December 19, 2025

California Rep Carl DeMaio whistleblowing, he says Gavin Newsom’s welfare fraud far exceeds Minnesota Gov Tim Walz

– 3 out of every 20 benefits managed by Newsom’s administration for food stamps completely fraudulent
– Newsom allowed $30 billion in fraudulent welfare payments to… pic.twitter.com/VtNY9NhAgI

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) December 3, 2025

…that’s given David and I so much material this past couple of years!

Of course, if you’ve been waiting for that “Escape from New York” theme park you used to dream about in the ’80s, that might be getting a step closer tomorrow:

“We will prove that there is no problem too large for government to solve, and no concern too small for it to care about.”

Chilling excerpt from Mamdani’s victory speech

— The Redheaded libertarian (@TRHLofficial) November 5, 2025

And some are taking the “escape” part seriously:

Real estate agent says just one day after Mamdani was elected, she spent the entire day scheduling new showings for listings with clients from NYC.pic.twitter.com/v0sjIZhdQN

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) November 6, 2025

If it kinda makes you want to have another nightcap after the party?  Well, me too!  Don’t mind if I do!

But not until I wish you and yours thanks for spending this past year with us here at Hot Air, and a happy, blessed, and sane 2026.  

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