I'm back, with predictions

Yeah, so I kinda took a seven-month hiatus from blogging. Sorry about that. Long story short, things got a little crazy and blogging got relinquished to the back burner. The way way way way back burner. It actually got taken off the burner completely. But I digress.

Anyway, it's one of my New Year's resolutions to get back into the habit of writing. So I'll do the best I can to blog more regularly, i.e. at least once a week, about the various happenings that raise my ire. Given the incoming administration, that shan't be a problem.

Just a few passing thoughts on recent events before I get to my predictions for 2009.

First up, Chip Saltsman. For those uninitiated, Chip Saltsman is running for Chairman of the Republican National Committee. He recently got himself into a little P.R. trouble for distributing a Christmas greeting that included a comedy CD that included a song of an impersonated Al Sharpton singing about "Barack the Magic Negro."

Now, I've heard the song several times. Rush Limbaugh plays it on his show with some regularity. There is nothing racist about it. It makes more fun of Al Sharpton and the L.A. Times (the paper in which the term "Magic Negro" originally appeared) than it does Barack Obama. The race between some Republicans to see who can be the most offended in the least amount of time was pretty embarrassing. Some were "shocked and appalled." There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. It was pathetic. If there's one problem with the current Republican party, it's the complete lack of backbone and utter willingness to shamelessly pander to any and every interest group.

That said, Chip Saltsman is a moron for associating himself with it. I'm as politically incorrect as the next guy, don't get me wrong. But I'm not running for Chairman of the RNC. When someone is trying to become the leader of an entire political party -- a political party with the recent misfortunes of the Republicans, no less -- it would help if they weren't absolutely politically tone deaf. Is the song racist? Any fair-minded, rational person would conclude that it is not. Should people lighten up and be able to take a joke? Absolutely. However, it's reasonable to assume that people might be offended by a white guy distributing a CD by another white guy impersonating a black guy that prominently uses the word "negro." The Republicans will have no chance of winning new voters if their time is ostensibly dedicated to saying to those voters "Oh come on! I was just kidding! Can't you take a joke?!" Moreover, it's simply unbecoming of a man seeking an office with so much responsibility. So, Chip, you're done. Thanks for playing. NEXT!

On to Cynthia McKinney. Personally, I was surprised she was still alive. I thought I'd heard something about her being mauled to death by a pack of rabid raccoons. Maybe that was just a dream I had. At any rate, I cannot effectively put into words the rage this woman brings out of me. She continues to be an embarrassment to her state, her country, and human beings in general. Actually, I'll go a step further. She's an embarrassment to all land mammals. Even the three-toed sloths of the world don't want to be associated with such a race-baiting anti-Semite. But again I digress.

Ms. McKinney was apparently incensed that her boat was turned away while trying to deliver aid to Gaza in the midst of the current military operation going on there. She also seemed bewildered that Israel was using weapons produced in America, and called on President-elect Obama to "say something about the humanitarian crisis that is being experienced by the Palestinian people, by the people of Gaza" and "discontinue the transfer of weapons of mass destruction used by Israel."

Right. Just a couple of points. First, did it ever occur to Ms. McKinney that Israel might object to an unchecked civilian ship sailing into a war zone? I suspect it did not. I mean, what's the worst that could happen, right? Second, this might come as news to Ms. McKinney, but Israel is actually an American ally. Allies generally share weapons. As far as the "Weapons of mass destruction" claim, the only difference between the weapons used by Israel and those used by Hamas is that Israel's weapons actually work. Unfair, I know. Third, I don't know what she expects President-elect Obama to say. To my knowledge, he's never taken a firm stand on much of anything, let alone one of the most volatile issues in politics. But she can dream, can't she?

Anyway, on to my predictions for 2009:

- Obama's approval rating will be below 50 percent.

- The auto companies will receive a bailout, won't restructure themselves, and will continue to lose money to each car they make.

- Benjamin Netanyahu will become Prime Minister of Israel and will take out Iran's nuclear facilities after Iran announces it has manufactured a nuclear weapon.

- The House Republicans will start getting their act together, but the Senate Republicans will remain impotent and ineffective.

- The Obama administration will be more frustrating for the media than the Bush administration.

- The average temperature of the planet will not increase.

- The Senate will be without a Kennedy for the first time since 1962.

- The DOW will go under 8,000.

- Oil will go under $30 per barrel.

- The dollar will lose value.