This entire post will be about politics, so if you don’t like to hear me talk about such things, feel free to skip this post. I’m going to say at least 2 controversial things, though. Maybe more!

I don’t feel like I can write fiction until I’ve processed some of this unfortunate non-fiction, so let’s get into it.

As I’m writing this, I’m processing the news that Chuck Schumer secured a deal with The White House to separate Department of Homeland Security funding from the rest of the funding bill, which means that the government doesn’t have to shut down while the Democrats fight the Republicans over DHS funding.

Here, then, is the first controversial thing I have to say: Chuck Schumer did a good job.

I don’t particularly like Chuck. I think he’s been a weak opposition leader, mealy-mouthed and capitulating. He’s prone to snatch loss after loss out of the jaws of victory. He squanders advantages. He seems complicit.

In this case, though, this is the best deal we could have hoped for. It means that DHS (and ICE) will continue to be funded for the next 2 weeks, and during that time, Democrats can push for reform and guardrails, in defense of the 1st and 4th Amendment rights we’ve already seen ICE violet over and over.

Shutting down the government wouldn’t have helped. We’ve already seen the Dems fail to negotiate from that position. This really is the best deal we could have hoped for, so good job, Chuck.

Now it’s time for the second, even more controversial thing for me to say: The Epstein files don’t really matter.

I’m not saying they shouldn’t be released. They should. I’m saying that it won’t change as much as some people seem to hope.

At this point, who really believes that Trump isn’t a pedophile? Only people that have been living under a rock, or people that have so much of their faith wrapped up in him that they’re unwilling to believe their eyes.

Trump seems to have had exactly one friend in his life, and that was Epstein. And the things that have been released so far are, quite honestly, enough. Trump’s a pedophile and a rapist, and he shouldn’t be in office.

What will the release of the Epstein files do, then? People that are already convinced aren’t going to change their mind in the face of even more evidence. And people that believe Trump is innocent will say the documents are fake, or twist themselves into knots saying that it doesn’t matter.

The people that can impeach him already have access to the files and they haven’t done anything. And the courts aren’t going to do anything until he’s out of office, so… what then?

I would love to see the victim’s receive justice, but I don’t honestly think the release of the Epstein files will deliver it.

So… for those still beating the drum for the release of the files, keep going. Just think of the end game and have some realistic expectations about what happens next.

Once again, I will say that this is why I don’t want to write any more Mel Walker stories. The final one is set in the summer of 2024. By 2029, I really hope my science fiction is out, so I can focus on that.