Here Comes 2010

Man-Oh-Man! It's a lot harder to get back into the swing of blogging, than I thought it would be. It's not that I don't have any ideas, it's more like I have too many ideas and dunno where to begin.

I guess i could do a "Year in Review" kind of thing, but I guess that everyone already knows what happens or they are so disinterested that there is no need in informing anyone on any issues now. And by the way, Michael jackson did die and is still dead as near as I can tell...

So I guess that leads to a "Year in Preview" edition of The Self-Inflicted Blog. And like usual, I will just jump right in:

For the year 2010, I have a few predictions, that may or may not happen. I have no claimto any inside information and do not "back up" any predictions, as I am generally not very accurate on these things. But the beauty of this "Preview" is that I am only a critic and have nothing invested and nothing to lose; not to mention that no one will remember the predictions that I get wrong, and I will only remiond everyone of the guesses, I mean predictions that I am accurate in my prognostications. So without further adieu,

In the sports world, I predict that the Arizona cardinals will lose to the San Diego Chargers in the Superbowl. I take the Washington Capitals over the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup, and the Yankees to buy a championship, I mean beat somebody, for the championship of baseball in the World Series. Yeah, I know there is some bad grammar in that last sentence, but it's the only way I could maneuver the "buy a championship/win a championship" thing.

Other sports forecasts, Brett Favre will retire/unretire/leave a team hanging/so on and so forth. None the less, he will cost another coach and GM a job. I look for more of the same from Urban Meyer, minus the coach aspect for obvious reasons. I predict that the Rams will win 4 games next year, the Blues will fire Andy Murray before February 1st, Iowa will play Iowa State seven times this year in college football, or so it will seem, and that I will continue to root against Notre Dame, Alabama, Oklahoma, Detroit Red Wings, and the Niners...

In the world of economics, I predict that the dollar will drop drastically in value. I predict inflation to occur ala Carter years. Unemployment will rise to close to 20% by Autumn and there will be a 30% plus default on credit card debts. And i predict that this will all be Bush's fault. Either one of them, maybe even Jeb.

I hate to be pessimistic, but I just don't like the signs of the economy. And I do have a semster of Econ 101 under my belt; or I would have if I would have finished that semester. But that is another lesson for another day. Bottom line, I look for the massive government spending to affect global economies and for our national economies to be negatively affected. The DOW will prob hang around the 6500 range for those interestd in the markets, not that the DOW really means anything.

So I do not think anything good will happen in the economic realm. I'm not thinking Great Depression stuf, but it will be darn close. But good things can still come of it. Wew may find out where Americas strength really is; and it won't be in our banks or checkbooks....

In the political realm, I think that this will be the year of the taxes. Everything will be taxed, and I mean everything. It will be the price we must pay for health care, crime, "green" lifestyles, organic food, and flu vaccines. But do not fret, it will be spun to reflect how caring we are and how much we love to sacrifice for those around us. As we are taxed to death, we will have the luxury of knowing that we are not moral or ethical in our hearts, but in our checkbooks and our bank accounts.

This taxing death to death will contribute to the economic failure. Instead of focusing on consumption, tax breaks for business, and tort reforms we will increase taxation as we increase the role of our government. As we learned under the Clinton administration, we do not really care about the moral climate, just long as the check doesn't bounce. And only about a third of you reading will understand what I am saying, but now it is time to reconcile the statements; the piper is knocking on the door wanting his salary. We can not stay a step ahead of the wolves by our checkbooks any longer; the birds have come home to roost. And feel free to insert any overused cliche here, I have.

In other economic/political predictions I think we will be exposed to the word, "Keynesian" entirely too much. I feel that we will still hear about Hurrican Katrina as if it was the only disaster we have ever experienced in our nation. I think people will still read Krugman's junk as gospel, and that this will be still be Bush's fault. Any of them.

And I predict that I am running my predictions togethere and that everyone will wonder why I don't invest in some ADD medications. My excuse, I'm rusty...

Other random predictions, This will be the year that populism begins to come back in vogue, the phrase, "in vogue" will become dated, Harry Reid will publish his memoirs under the title, "Milquetoast", and another celbrity will have an affair or die or do both. I think Obama will break promises that he hasn't even made and that the Democrats will continue to screw things up. I predict that the Republicans will point fingers and "tattle-tell" on the Democrats like a bunch of third graders under the guise of "caring for our best interests". I predict that people are tired of the two parties and of their politics. We may hit a low point this year, but we will probably have to have things get worse before they can get better.

And now putting all of the predictions aside, I will share something that you can absolutely take to the bank: God will still be in control and He will love us even when we are unlovable.

I hope you enjoy my guess for the happenings of 2010, but mostly I pray that you remember the prvious paragraph; and know that regardless of what happens this year, we can still have peace and hope!