"Elder Skelter" is a short story by Harry Turtledove. It first appeared in George in February 1997, and has not been reprinted or collected. "Elder Skelter" is set during a 21st-century presidential cabinet meeting in which the United States is trying to formulate a plan to deal with the Republic of Quebec's invasion of the Maritimes in light of the Twenty-Eighth Amendment, which forced a balanced budget and helped curtail entitlement programs.
Based on the ages of the President (born in 1963) and her cabinet members which include Generation Y'ers, it appears that the story is set in the 2020s.
