Predictions for 2009

Given that I never would have predicted the biggest event of 2008 (namely, the media successfully anointing a socialist neophyte as our new president), the merits of my predictions are probably pretty small.  Nevertheless, I can’t resist the chance to get in my two cents (which is about all my predictions are worth).  Feel free to add your own:

1.  In 2007, the subprime markets collapsed.  In 2008, the money markets collapsed (hitting the really rich people who have the bulk of their wealth tied into the stock market).  In 2009, we’ll discover how important the really rich people are to our economy when, in the absence of their investment and tax dollars, the job market contracts dramatically.  2009 is going to be the year that sees ordinary people taking severe economic hits through widespread job losses.

2.  Israel will bomb Iran’s nuclear reactors — and may try to do so in the first two weeks of January, before Obama becomes president.  This initiative will, of course, be quite a challenge, because Israel is already fighting Hamas, but Israel will either (a) have a two front war against a single enemy (always Iran) or (b) abruptly abandon Gaza and focus all its energies on Iran.  In many ways, the fact that so many Arab nations are overtly or covertly supporting the initiative against Hamas is a good trial run for the support Israel can expect if it goes after Iran.

3.  Biden’s pre-election prediction will come true and — God forbid!  Truly, God forbid! — there will be a major terrorist attack against America, “testing” Barack Obama.  If this prediction comes true, I hope Obama passes the test.

4.  Congress’ approval rating will drop into the low single digits.  Sadly, Republicans will be a part of this sorry spectacle and will not obtain any bounce enabling them to take over in 2010.

5.  Traditional neo-Nazi groups will gain significant strength in Europe as the “men and women on the street” in Europe, frightened by the strength their liberal governments have given to Islamist groups, take refuge in organizations that they perceive as a strong bulwark against the the Islamification of Europe.  They’ll try to tell themselves that, once they’ve taken their cities back from the Islamists, they’ll then ratchet down the age old racially inflammatory rhetoric that powered the neo-Nazis to the forefront, but by then it will be too late.  They’ll merely have traded a frying pan for a fire.

6.  Obama, immediately upon entering office, will socialize a large part of the American economy.  He won’t raise taxes immediately, but he will use current tax revenue to have the government “rescue” (i.e., purchase) large segments of the economy.  He will do so despite the fact that the 20th Century repeatedly and graphically demonstrated that putting the government in control of an economy destroys it.

7.  Obama, aided by a complicit Congress, and an exhausted and frightened American population, will socialize medicine.  We will all then get the benefit of equally bad medical care.  As for me, I prefer a world where people can at least live in hope of qualifying for good medical care.

8.  England will see increasingly violent clashes between Catholics and Muslims, which, because of immigration from Central Europe and Pakistan and because of high birth rates, are the two largest growth groups in England.  The Pakistanis, who have been gearing up for this fight longer and are less bound by European cultural norms, will win this one over the long run.  (As I’ve noted, the rest of Europe will cluster behind neo-Nazis, but I think England has moved beyond that option.)

9.  Obama will not manage to walk on water, deeply disappointing his acolytes.

10.  Speaking of Obama’s acolytes, the Times will either file for bankruptcy or will be forced to become a public, rather than a family-held, corporation.

11.  Even as the public figures out that “global warming” is a scam, Obama will have so many true believers in high government positions, it will be too late to stop them from engaging in a variety of acts that will harm both America’s economy and her security.

12.  And my last prediction, which I’m absolutely certain will come true:  A Hollywood star will be in a car crash that involves substance abuse.

Your predictions?

Cross-posted at Right Wing News