Impeached or Resigned
This is a reprint of the letter from the editor in Unwinnable Monthly Issue Eighty-Six, the Family issue. You can buy Issue Eighty-Six now, or purchase a one-month subscription to make sure you never miss an issue!
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Here’s the rules for a betting pool we’re doing at my New Year’s Eve party, as drawn up by my Call of Cthulhu group.
Each entry costs $20 (limit 2 entries – one impeachment and one resignation)
Entries will be accepted from December 31, 2016 to January 19, 2017. The eligible betting period runs from January 20, 2017 through December 31, 2017.
To enter, you must have voted. Belief that Trump will quit or be impeached is optional. If you didn’t vote, we’re silently shaming you.
You must select Impeachment or Resignation and a date, which will be entered along with your name on the official pool calendar. Dates can not be shared by players. However, a player may select impeachment and resignation for the same day.
The winner is the player who chooses the date closest to the selected event, provided that the event occurs on or before the player’s chosen date. Once the player’s chosen date passes, they are no longer eligible to win for that year.
Example: Bob chooses May 5 as Trump’s resignation day. Mary chooses May 3. If Trump resigns on May 2, Mary wins. If Trump resigns on May 4, Bob wins. If Trump resigns May 6, or is impeached, no one wins.
We are betting on the day of announcement not the day resignation/impeachment goes into effect. Therefore, if Congress announces impeachment on May 5 and, as a result, Trump resigns on May 6, then May 5 is the winning day.
Winner takes all.
In the likely event there is no winner by 11:59pm on December 31, the entire prize pool will be donated to a charity that represents marginalized people most affected by Trump’s first year, chosen by player consensus (likely candidates: the ACLU, Planned Parenthood or a good environmental watchdog group). Donations will be made in Mike Pence’s name, because we’re pretty sure he hates that.
My activist friends say you should get organized locally. I don’t have a lot of experience with that, by my hope is that this pool will be a small start for a large group of folks, that it will keep my less political friends more engaged throughout the year than they might otherwise be. Maybe it will encourage us to call their representatives, or vote in the 2017 election, or continue donating money to embattled organizations over the course of the year. Maybe, if there’s a secret Trump supporter among us, it will start a conversation that will eventually change their mind.
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This month’s theme is Family, which I think is an excellent way to round out the first year of Unwinnable Monthly. It may sound corny, but I think of Unwinnable, all of us, the editors, columnists, contributors, artists and readers, as one great big extended family. I spend my days with you. You make me happy.
Thank you all for your support through the year, from every quarter, for every subscription payment, for every retweet and like, for every kind word.
I would like to take a moment to thank the team: James Fudge, Harry Rabinowitz, Jason McMaster, Melissa King, Ian Gonzales, Ken Lucas, Chuck Moran, Ed Coleman and Jeremiah Cheney (recently departed to new adventures elsewhere), as well as Dana Cowley and our generous sponsor Unreal Engine 4. It was a bumpy year and those lovely folks invested huge amounts of time, energy and love to make sure the magazine got into your hands every month and the website kept chugging along every day.
So, hugs and high fives all around. Have a happy holiday season and I hope 2017 treats you well.
Stu Horvath
Kearny, New Jersey
December 19, 2016
