Watching the recent inauguration I was somewhat taken aback by the large crowds and the obviously happy people creating them. There was a distinct air of hope permeating from these millions of people. There was a fire in their belly keeping them warm as they stood in the cold awaiting the change about to take place on a distant podium. A new day was dawning and I believe everybody there realized it. Even Dick Chaney showing up in a wheelchair was a type and shadow of an old way about to be replaced by the winds of change.
Were these people ALL being deceived by this Obama character, this guy gifted with enough rhetorical power to entice the scales off a snake? Or were these people merely moving within the same vibe that lead Obama himself to that podium?
Are these millions of people willing to do what it takes to get this ship of State on course again or are they just looking for a savior to do it for them? Can this huge groundswell of support last when the day dims and their hope is put to the test?...as it surely will.
Who knows for sure, all any of us can do is hope. I am not too optimistic, but with all my being I hope this thing succeeds cause I truly believe this is the last chance we have to get our country back.
There is another crowd though, a crowd filled with people who are cold and fearful of the change this man is promoting. These people wear the compliment to hope, the yin to the yang and are to be expected. To them Obama is the anti-Christ himself.
This crowd feeds off the vibe of fear. Fear of the black man. Fear of the terrorist. Fear of change. Fear of seemingly everything that would vaguely change or reroute this highly touted capitalistic system they have created for themselves.
So, we have two distinct armies growing upon our landscape. The army of hope and the army of fear. Who will win? Don't have a clue, but for me and my house we will gladly and willingly take up the challenge of hope and stand behind our new president Barrack Obama the half-black senator from Chicago.
I have a friend who is one of Rush Limbaugh's (who's a commanding general in the army of fear mongering) most faithful ditto heads. To me this is quite alarming as I consider giving ones rational thought process to fearing anybody or anything is tantamount to defeat by choice.
I find this totally unacceptable and have told my friend so, but as his mind has been clogged by Limbauitis for the last twenty years, he has in essence become a bobble headed minion in Rushes army of nit wits.
So because of his inability to discuss anything beyond the party line I'm going to ask an open question across the internet to my many (4) readers.
What are you conservative right wingers afraid of anyways?
Can you not see that time has risen the oil to the top of our capitalistic system and (the oil) has been siphoned off by the rich and powerful? That because of greed this highly touted system is now out of the reach of the middle class? Can't you see that the rich patients have taken over the asylum and the playing field has become unbalanced?
It's not that capitalism is in any way responsible for the collapse of our financial/banking/real estate system. Capitalism is as as good as it gets in a nation of strong, hard working, citizens, but the fine line that keeps it afloat and viable has always by nature been close to the water line.
Now because of the weight of this overwhelming greed the boat is, even with all hands manning the pumps, slowly sinking towards the abyss and the only thing keeping it afloat at this time is hope.
Yet there are those amongst us who are doing their damnedest to see that we fail and the ship sinks . . .why?
Hope sets one free, fear keeps one in bondage. It's as simple as that.
The status quo is quite comfortable for the rich and the powerful in this country who have captured the whole pie and refuse to share with the rest of us. They don't go to bed hungry. They don't get laid off or lose their jobs. They don't see factories closing all around them. They see these factories merely moving to a different place off shore.
A place where they can forget about all the hindering pollution laws. A place where they can forget about unions and work stoppages and high wages. They merely move to a place where they can make MORE money. This makes sense to them, this is good business and it fits perfectly into their perverted definition of capitalism.
These people use fear like a cattle prod to keep us in line. They promise to protect us from the terrorist. They promise all sorts of shit, but in the end that's all we get . . . more shit.
These purveyors of fear remind me of the old mob in the Bronx selling protection to all the store owners. They walk in and promise you that for a fee of their choosing your store will be protected and if you comply with their demands you have a safe store, if not it gets blown up . . . simple. Reminds me of the insurance industry and this homeland security crap.
Like I said in my last entry. A rag tag army of terrorists is hardly worth 12 billion dollars a month when all it takes is an alert and well armed citizenry to drive them into the sea.
“We're fighting them there so we won't have to fight them here” is such a bullshit explanation I cannot even respond to it. Does anybody think in all reality that this country would have the casualties we have suffered over In Iraq and Afghanistan if we were fighting terrorism here in this country?
The towers went down for one reason, and one reason only. The complacency of those charged with defending us from this sort of thing. Using the laws in place and opening their fucking eyes was more than enough to keep us safe. They were asleep at the wheel.
If we started watching the borders. If we got our eyes off the pavement two steps in front of our feet and began to observe our surroundings instead of stumbling around the malls like sheep in a pen. If we actually began to take responsibility for ourselves, and our towns and our nation, the terrorist wouldn't stand a chance.
We need change. We need to wake up and realize this is a violent and uncompromising world we live in. We need to shove the purveyor of fear off into the night and we need to press forward into the light of day . . . and change . . . and hope.
I pray Obama can keep the vibe going long enough that the people can catch up because if this thing fails we all fail. If it succeeds we all succeed. . . cause in the real world we are the catalyst that will make it all happen. Obama can only lead the army, he can not ever BE the army.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
2009 predictions part 2
My previous post was pretty gloomy so lets look to the brighter side in this entry. And the brightest light I see in the coming year is president elect Barack Obama. This man has engendered more hope in me than any president in memory, even more hope than JFK did when I was a kid.
In the days of Kennedy though, we just expected the president to be a great man and do what was right. Well, the bums since then, and most of all the man who led this country the last eight years (who seemingly had as his tenth entry on his bucket list to become the LAST president of the United States of America.) have proven without a doubt these expectations were the stuff fairy tales are made of.
I am the first to admit Obama is a wild card, but if he can use his rhetorical ability to rally the nation into a renewing of the pride and initiative we once had by bringing the middle class back into balance, we are going to soar into the future on golden wings.
This is a huge calling because of the entrenched political machine and 'special interests' so I predict his “centrist” oriented programs will, after the short good will honeymoon tour, get bogged down in Congress by both factions, but I hope I'm wrong.
I am living at this moment on raw hope because everything I see taking place around me leads my minds eye in one direction . . . over the cliff previous administrations and, now even more so, Bush and his band of Pied Pipers have led us to.
I am not a political person, I am a realist. You can promise me all you want, but until I see the fruit of your promise you are just another bullshitter looking for a mark in my book. Show me what you got, don't try and brain wash me into believing your way is the WAY cause I will leave you at the starting gate.
I've been brainwashed at least twice in my life. Once when I was a young man serving my country. The other when I was an older man trying to serve my God for what I did while I was serving my country. Both times I was duped, misled and lied to by people calling themselves leaders with a plan for leading me to a promised land of peace and prosperity.
Well, I've long since jumped that ship and have no desire to get duped again. So for now, that's why I say Obama is a wild card. BUT . . . Obama is the last card we get in order to fill this inside straight. Tricky business, but had McCain succeeded in defeating him I would be busy writing our obituaries.
I predict, though Obama is decidedly a breath of fresh air and a spark of light in this dying country, he better get good security (he can trust) cause there are a lot of people who would love to see that light get blown out. And if it does . . . there is no need to predict what will happen in the streets of this country then, it's all pretty obvious.
EDUCATION: This is one huge factor in where we go from here. The Bush “no child left behind” program was pure politics, never worked and I doubt anybody in that crowd really cared anyways. They were too busy protecting us from the evil doers.
I am hoping for an Obama full court press when it comes to education. Not just fancy schools and computers in every closet, but schools that actually teach. Schools that have gone back to the old days of discipline and proper attire. Places where kids can not only learn their ABC's, but also the absolute necessity of being responsible for themselves.
Each kid in this country should have it ingrained in his head that he and he alone has the power to create his future by the thoughts he thinks in the present . . . and he/she damned well better start thinking right because this welfare state every body loves will be taught to show the reality of it's prison affect also.
Give each kid in this country an equal chance to succeed on his own merit, teach him properly, and I believe we will see the rise of a movement that will lead the world into doing away with a lot of this killing. Once the others see us really become the greatest nation, not just an expensive Wall Street ad campaign, they will join us.
Obama instinctively knows this. I predict he will succeed somewhat in his endeavor, but money for change will be hard to come by as the status quo is not really bright nor caring enough in their own right to realize this principle. All they know is portfolios and bank accounts and will die that way. This is future stuff.
TERRORISTS: I have just a short thought and prediction on terrorism. We have spent a zillion dollars feeding a huge military/industrial complex so they can chase these dudes all over the world. We have gotten ourselves into a hundred shit storms with our allies doing so . . . why?
We laid around on our fat asses when we should have been watching the perimeter and allowed them to knock down a couple of our prime buildings. What have we done since? Cowering in fear and giving up everything we hold dear for what? Security? To keep them from coming here?
Here's my prediction when it comes to terrorism (this is an IF prediction)
Since 911 our “ I'm a wartime” president has filled us with the need for security at the cost of our freedom and led us down a meandering road to nowhere that will only end in bankrupt court and Chinese occupation.
I simply say “Bring it on!” to the terrorist. What the hell is everybody so afraid of? Wake up!
Beef up the borders, put the country on alert . . . and let them come. I guarantee the only waves they will be making will be the ones they make while drowning in the sea of pissed off Americans who have thrown them into it.
MARRIAGE: I PREDICT THAT IF YOU MAKE A NEW YEARS RESOLUTION TO BE MORE KIND AND THOUGHTFUL TO YOUR WIFE SHE WILL MAKE THIS YEAR A VERY HAPPY ONE FOR YOU!
In the days of Kennedy though, we just expected the president to be a great man and do what was right. Well, the bums since then, and most of all the man who led this country the last eight years (who seemingly had as his tenth entry on his bucket list to become the LAST president of the United States of America.) have proven without a doubt these expectations were the stuff fairy tales are made of.
I am the first to admit Obama is a wild card, but if he can use his rhetorical ability to rally the nation into a renewing of the pride and initiative we once had by bringing the middle class back into balance, we are going to soar into the future on golden wings.
This is a huge calling because of the entrenched political machine and 'special interests' so I predict his “centrist” oriented programs will, after the short good will honeymoon tour, get bogged down in Congress by both factions, but I hope I'm wrong.
I am living at this moment on raw hope because everything I see taking place around me leads my minds eye in one direction . . . over the cliff previous administrations and, now even more so, Bush and his band of Pied Pipers have led us to.
I am not a political person, I am a realist. You can promise me all you want, but until I see the fruit of your promise you are just another bullshitter looking for a mark in my book. Show me what you got, don't try and brain wash me into believing your way is the WAY cause I will leave you at the starting gate.
I've been brainwashed at least twice in my life. Once when I was a young man serving my country. The other when I was an older man trying to serve my God for what I did while I was serving my country. Both times I was duped, misled and lied to by people calling themselves leaders with a plan for leading me to a promised land of peace and prosperity.
Well, I've long since jumped that ship and have no desire to get duped again. So for now, that's why I say Obama is a wild card. BUT . . . Obama is the last card we get in order to fill this inside straight. Tricky business, but had McCain succeeded in defeating him I would be busy writing our obituaries.
I predict, though Obama is decidedly a breath of fresh air and a spark of light in this dying country, he better get good security (he can trust) cause there are a lot of people who would love to see that light get blown out. And if it does . . . there is no need to predict what will happen in the streets of this country then, it's all pretty obvious.
EDUCATION: This is one huge factor in where we go from here. The Bush “no child left behind” program was pure politics, never worked and I doubt anybody in that crowd really cared anyways. They were too busy protecting us from the evil doers.
I am hoping for an Obama full court press when it comes to education. Not just fancy schools and computers in every closet, but schools that actually teach. Schools that have gone back to the old days of discipline and proper attire. Places where kids can not only learn their ABC's, but also the absolute necessity of being responsible for themselves.
Each kid in this country should have it ingrained in his head that he and he alone has the power to create his future by the thoughts he thinks in the present . . . and he/she damned well better start thinking right because this welfare state every body loves will be taught to show the reality of it's prison affect also.
Give each kid in this country an equal chance to succeed on his own merit, teach him properly, and I believe we will see the rise of a movement that will lead the world into doing away with a lot of this killing. Once the others see us really become the greatest nation, not just an expensive Wall Street ad campaign, they will join us.
Obama instinctively knows this. I predict he will succeed somewhat in his endeavor, but money for change will be hard to come by as the status quo is not really bright nor caring enough in their own right to realize this principle. All they know is portfolios and bank accounts and will die that way. This is future stuff.
TERRORISTS: I have just a short thought and prediction on terrorism. We have spent a zillion dollars feeding a huge military/industrial complex so they can chase these dudes all over the world. We have gotten ourselves into a hundred shit storms with our allies doing so . . . why?
We laid around on our fat asses when we should have been watching the perimeter and allowed them to knock down a couple of our prime buildings. What have we done since? Cowering in fear and giving up everything we hold dear for what? Security? To keep them from coming here?
Here's my prediction when it comes to terrorism (this is an IF prediction)
Since 911 our “ I'm a wartime” president has filled us with the need for security at the cost of our freedom and led us down a meandering road to nowhere that will only end in bankrupt court and Chinese occupation.
I simply say “Bring it on!” to the terrorist. What the hell is everybody so afraid of? Wake up!
Beef up the borders, put the country on alert . . . and let them come. I guarantee the only waves they will be making will be the ones they make while drowning in the sea of pissed off Americans who have thrown them into it.
MARRIAGE: I PREDICT THAT IF YOU MAKE A NEW YEARS RESOLUTION TO BE MORE KIND AND THOUGHTFUL TO YOUR WIFE SHE WILL MAKE THIS YEAR A VERY HAPPY ONE FOR YOU!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
2009 Predictions
Alright! I finally got a blog. Now I can make a list of predictions like every other crackpot on the internet does.
So here we go. As I gaze into a very foggy future and snatch a meandering thought . . . (drum roll). It is now time to predict.
First I would say to everybody who works for a living, you all better start taking this social/economic depressive thing for real and begin in earnest to prepare for you and your families survival. It has already gotten much worse since I started this blog and its going to get a lot more worse in the coming year.
By now, it's too late to think about getting out of debt, you just gotta realize if your in over your head that your (and a zillion other Americans) credit rating is going to tank this year. Work on the debt with high interest and save the no interest medical bills for last. They have been ripping you off for decades anyways.
To those of you buying SUV'S cause the gas prices are down a bit my advice is to save room in it for your sleeping bags cause that lovely new gas hog will soon be your bedroom as you boot scoot across the State trying to evade the shaggy headed repo Dog (till you run out gas that is.)
Pssssttt . . . Don't forget the backpack for when you do cause well, no offense, but there is no hope for you, you are dead meat anyways. You have been culled by natural selection. Sorry. When they said,”duck!” you thought they meant the kind that flies, right? . . . wrong!
If you do happen to still have a boring office job 2009 is not the time to start thinking of a career change. Wanna be foot loose and fancy free like us carpenters have been all our lives? Just stay where your at, you'll be free from it all soon enough.
ECONOMY : It's going to get a whole lot worse for the yuppie crowd who have sold their souls to the company store so they could have more “stuff” on credit.
Guess what? You are going to be the big loser this year.
I predict that the credit card industry is about to tank alongside their buddies.
I predict we will run out of bail out money and those financial industries living on the hand outs will tank also.
Auto industry . . . going down!
Manufacturing industry . . . going down!
Building Industry . . . going down!
Health care industry . . . up for the haves, down for the have nots!
To the back-to-the-landers. (and the Amish) You are by far going to be the winners! Yeah!! (except, for the very wealthy who caused this whole thing and never lose, of course)
You will hardly know the difference as being broke has been a way of life for so long you'll not much feel the economic crunch. Grow a larger garden this year and plant potatoes, beans, corn, and squash. Enough to feed yours, and some extra to share with your down and out yuppie neighbors who are suddenly realizing the joy of corporate living.
To the vast most-in-the-middle. Watch it! (and read my first entries in this blog over)
I make my economic doom and gloom prediction for our economy because of only one thing . . .
NO JOBS. . . that's it. I ain't smart enough to read the charts or to understand the money managers. I AM smart enough to read the fear on the faces of most of the people I run into these days though. Fear of finding a job mostly(cause the one they had is already gone)
FACT: All the kings horses and all the kings men (along side Obama) cannot put Humpty Dumpty back together again cause they lost the glue needed to do so. They have, in a few short (Republican greed inspired years), destroyed the foundational manufacturing power of this country when they sent the jobs overseas.
The strongest industrial base the world has ever known that was created during WW2 has been disabled, torn apart, and shipped to China/Mexico/and others in the name of free trade. Whats left has been antiquated by CEO short term skimming. And guess what? Nobody thought of replacing any jobs. They all thought enslaving the ex-worker with a welfare system would kill two birds with one stone, I guess.
OK the economic predictions are kinda gloomy, let's try the military ones. We're the bad ass of the world . . . right? Well..........
MILITARY: How long can this country remain a military powerhouse when we have to import our supply's and borrow money to fight our duel wars from a future enemy? No need to predict that one.
How long can we afford to spend 12 billion bucks a month fighting a rag tag army of “evil doers” who can create a low cost IED quite capable of blowing to hell our highly sophisticated, highly expensive, road driving equipment? No need to predict that one.
How long can we continue to use large scale battle plans in a gorilla war environment? Ask anybody (except the Pentagon of course) how well that worked for us in Vietnam. No need to predict that one.
How long can we keep our professional mercenaries fighting until the old days of the citizen soldier are reawakened because of need and lack of funds? And boy thats going to open up a bucket full of shit for todays little darlings. (and put an end to this preemptive business as well)
I predict that we are going to need to make drastic changes in our war think if we are ever going to be able to defend ourselves in the future against North Korea or Iran or China or Russia if taken on alone let alone if they team up against us.
We have the most highly evolved killing machine the world has ever know, but this machine is being run by political hacks and perfumed princes (David Hackworth quote concerning the general staff). The future bodes poorly for us as is.
Today we are more concerned with feeding the huge military/industrial complex that Eisenhower warned us about than actually fielding an army that understands the enemy and knows how to, and what it will take to defeat it. Something the Chinese know and have been taught for centuries.
WARNING: China is at this moment having huge problems in their country as their foreign markets are drying up and their goods are piling up on the export dock. That is NOT a good thing and could very well begin their (I'll bet) plan on starting an end around assault on the oil fields of Saudi Arabia (and others in that region)
Think we are safe from their armies because of our oceans? Why would they even try for the US (haven't you heard the Mexicans are even going back home?) when the oil wealth is merely a short march through Pakistan into Iran (who may both become future allies of China)
The only thing stopping them at this point is the fact that we are their largest market and they would have to confront us somewhere along the way. Once we weaken? Fogetaboutit! Unless you believe everybody loves the US, that is. “we're the greatest country in the world by damn!” stops at the twelve mile limit.
Militarily we are quickly getting in way over our head and it behooves us to remember our allies before it's too late. I believe Obamma will do this. If not, we are toast because the US could never take a casualty count in the tens of thousands while fighting a war of aggression such as Iraq.
LESSER PREDICTIONS: The Arts.
Painters: With endowments getting cut across the board the arts are in big trouble. But in my opinion they deserve it cause art these days suck overall anyways. The artist has forgotten that no matter how different and inspired his work is, it only works if others can interpret it. Scribbles and runs don't get it for a lot of us.
Music: Holy shit! What happened to music? I love music . . . go to sleep every night with my mp3 player going through headphones. Thank God for 60's music and the golden oldies. What they pass for music these days truly sucks. Rap?! . . . AHHH! The belly button, crouch to show your crotch female brigade?! . . . AHHH! What ever happened to dresses and a little bit of class? These girls remind me of (me sucky, fucky GI long time.) . . short time hookers. We need to get back to the necessity for PRACTICE before we become a rock star.
Writing: There are some great writers out there, but Dr Phil and Sylvia Brown seem to have cornered the publishing market. You will find the real writers on the internet slugging it out for their share of the self published market. The big publishing houses long ago gave up on anything but profitability.
I predict that the arts will continue to mirror the culture that spawns them. It's a shame because there are so many really great artists out there who never get a chance because of their lack of marketability.
I also predict this will all change after the depression. Especially in the folk/country genre as people simplify their lives.
Internet: It will remain free and clear of governmental restraint mainly because they are too dumb to figure out how to regulate it. . . unless Al Gore takes charge that is . . . cause he invented it, right?
OVERALL:
Overall the coming year is going to be a very exciting time to be alive. With all that will be happening, both good and bad, people will be hard pressed to cry BORING! Any time soon. But as anybody who has ever been in shit up to their chins knows, it's much more fun to sit in a bar and brag about it after the fact than actually going through it.
So get on your waders folks it's all gonna be very interesting . . . some of you may even make it to 2010 alive and well . . . IF YOU USE THE BRAINS GOD GAVE YOU! Very important.
Stay tuned for predictions 2009 part 2
So here we go. As I gaze into a very foggy future and snatch a meandering thought . . . (drum roll). It is now time to predict.
First I would say to everybody who works for a living, you all better start taking this social/economic depressive thing for real and begin in earnest to prepare for you and your families survival. It has already gotten much worse since I started this blog and its going to get a lot more worse in the coming year.
By now, it's too late to think about getting out of debt, you just gotta realize if your in over your head that your (and a zillion other Americans) credit rating is going to tank this year. Work on the debt with high interest and save the no interest medical bills for last. They have been ripping you off for decades anyways.
To those of you buying SUV'S cause the gas prices are down a bit my advice is to save room in it for your sleeping bags cause that lovely new gas hog will soon be your bedroom as you boot scoot across the State trying to evade the shaggy headed repo Dog (till you run out gas that is.)
Pssssttt . . . Don't forget the backpack for when you do cause well, no offense, but there is no hope for you, you are dead meat anyways. You have been culled by natural selection. Sorry. When they said,”duck!” you thought they meant the kind that flies, right? . . . wrong!
If you do happen to still have a boring office job 2009 is not the time to start thinking of a career change. Wanna be foot loose and fancy free like us carpenters have been all our lives? Just stay where your at, you'll be free from it all soon enough.
ECONOMY : It's going to get a whole lot worse for the yuppie crowd who have sold their souls to the company store so they could have more “stuff” on credit.
Guess what? You are going to be the big loser this year.
I predict that the credit card industry is about to tank alongside their buddies.
I predict we will run out of bail out money and those financial industries living on the hand outs will tank also.
Auto industry . . . going down!
Manufacturing industry . . . going down!
Building Industry . . . going down!
Health care industry . . . up for the haves, down for the have nots!
To the back-to-the-landers. (and the Amish) You are by far going to be the winners! Yeah!! (except, for the very wealthy who caused this whole thing and never lose, of course)
You will hardly know the difference as being broke has been a way of life for so long you'll not much feel the economic crunch. Grow a larger garden this year and plant potatoes, beans, corn, and squash. Enough to feed yours, and some extra to share with your down and out yuppie neighbors who are suddenly realizing the joy of corporate living.
To the vast most-in-the-middle. Watch it! (and read my first entries in this blog over)
I make my economic doom and gloom prediction for our economy because of only one thing . . .
NO JOBS. . . that's it. I ain't smart enough to read the charts or to understand the money managers. I AM smart enough to read the fear on the faces of most of the people I run into these days though. Fear of finding a job mostly(cause the one they had is already gone)
FACT: All the kings horses and all the kings men (along side Obama) cannot put Humpty Dumpty back together again cause they lost the glue needed to do so. They have, in a few short (Republican greed inspired years), destroyed the foundational manufacturing power of this country when they sent the jobs overseas.
The strongest industrial base the world has ever known that was created during WW2 has been disabled, torn apart, and shipped to China/Mexico/and others in the name of free trade. Whats left has been antiquated by CEO short term skimming. And guess what? Nobody thought of replacing any jobs. They all thought enslaving the ex-worker with a welfare system would kill two birds with one stone, I guess.
OK the economic predictions are kinda gloomy, let's try the military ones. We're the bad ass of the world . . . right? Well..........
MILITARY: How long can this country remain a military powerhouse when we have to import our supply's and borrow money to fight our duel wars from a future enemy? No need to predict that one.
How long can we afford to spend 12 billion bucks a month fighting a rag tag army of “evil doers” who can create a low cost IED quite capable of blowing to hell our highly sophisticated, highly expensive, road driving equipment? No need to predict that one.
How long can we continue to use large scale battle plans in a gorilla war environment? Ask anybody (except the Pentagon of course) how well that worked for us in Vietnam. No need to predict that one.
How long can we keep our professional mercenaries fighting until the old days of the citizen soldier are reawakened because of need and lack of funds? And boy thats going to open up a bucket full of shit for todays little darlings. (and put an end to this preemptive business as well)
I predict that we are going to need to make drastic changes in our war think if we are ever going to be able to defend ourselves in the future against North Korea or Iran or China or Russia if taken on alone let alone if they team up against us.
We have the most highly evolved killing machine the world has ever know, but this machine is being run by political hacks and perfumed princes (David Hackworth quote concerning the general staff). The future bodes poorly for us as is.
Today we are more concerned with feeding the huge military/industrial complex that Eisenhower warned us about than actually fielding an army that understands the enemy and knows how to, and what it will take to defeat it. Something the Chinese know and have been taught for centuries.
WARNING: China is at this moment having huge problems in their country as their foreign markets are drying up and their goods are piling up on the export dock. That is NOT a good thing and could very well begin their (I'll bet) plan on starting an end around assault on the oil fields of Saudi Arabia (and others in that region)
Think we are safe from their armies because of our oceans? Why would they even try for the US (haven't you heard the Mexicans are even going back home?) when the oil wealth is merely a short march through Pakistan into Iran (who may both become future allies of China)
The only thing stopping them at this point is the fact that we are their largest market and they would have to confront us somewhere along the way. Once we weaken? Fogetaboutit! Unless you believe everybody loves the US, that is. “we're the greatest country in the world by damn!” stops at the twelve mile limit.
Militarily we are quickly getting in way over our head and it behooves us to remember our allies before it's too late. I believe Obamma will do this. If not, we are toast because the US could never take a casualty count in the tens of thousands while fighting a war of aggression such as Iraq.
LESSER PREDICTIONS: The Arts.
Painters: With endowments getting cut across the board the arts are in big trouble. But in my opinion they deserve it cause art these days suck overall anyways. The artist has forgotten that no matter how different and inspired his work is, it only works if others can interpret it. Scribbles and runs don't get it for a lot of us.
Music: Holy shit! What happened to music? I love music . . . go to sleep every night with my mp3 player going through headphones. Thank God for 60's music and the golden oldies. What they pass for music these days truly sucks. Rap?! . . . AHHH! The belly button, crouch to show your crotch female brigade?! . . . AHHH! What ever happened to dresses and a little bit of class? These girls remind me of (me sucky, fucky GI long time.) . . short time hookers. We need to get back to the necessity for PRACTICE before we become a rock star.
Writing: There are some great writers out there, but Dr Phil and Sylvia Brown seem to have cornered the publishing market. You will find the real writers on the internet slugging it out for their share of the self published market. The big publishing houses long ago gave up on anything but profitability.
I predict that the arts will continue to mirror the culture that spawns them. It's a shame because there are so many really great artists out there who never get a chance because of their lack of marketability.
I also predict this will all change after the depression. Especially in the folk/country genre as people simplify their lives.
Internet: It will remain free and clear of governmental restraint mainly because they are too dumb to figure out how to regulate it. . . unless Al Gore takes charge that is . . . cause he invented it, right?
OVERALL:
Overall the coming year is going to be a very exciting time to be alive. With all that will be happening, both good and bad, people will be hard pressed to cry BORING! Any time soon. But as anybody who has ever been in shit up to their chins knows, it's much more fun to sit in a bar and brag about it after the fact than actually going through it.
So get on your waders folks it's all gonna be very interesting . . . some of you may even make it to 2010 alive and well . . . IF YOU USE THE BRAINS GOD GAVE YOU! Very important.
Stay tuned for predictions 2009 part 2
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