2009 is almost here ... What can beat 2008 for excitement?

Well, a nuclear war for starters ...

I also heard some Russian historian predicting that the US will break into six pieces ... but he did give us two years to accomplish that feat.

And just about everyone is predicting lower level events like assassinations, world and regional economic collapses, major terrorist "events" in our large cities and the end of capitalism as we know it.

Being more realistic (and less sensational), I do see worldwide unemployment to at least challenge the late 1920s and early 1930s ... and yes there will be terrorist attempts at assassination and similar mayhem. On the good side, I believe that our intelligence resources and military strength will get us through the year and we can look back on this posting in December 2009 and smile benignly.

Oh for sure, Barack Obama will pledge more money to the large corporations (not just the Big Three in Detroit) and those banks still solvent today--dishing out over a two to three trillion dollars of tax payer money. However, such "rescue" efforts will be of no effect and America’s financial centers (the Fed, the paper and electronic balance at Treasury--just lots of zeroes and commas in the computers--and the US balance of payments deficit) will suddenly implode over the course of just a month or so--sometime around June or July 2009. This will come as a great shock to many of the dimwits in Washington, DC, but will be of no surprise to Mediawingnuts readers like yourselves.

And yes, India and Pakistan will make lots of noise, but no nuclear war on that front, at least. My years in Europe have me far more concerned about a resurgent Russia as we place missile defenses in Poland and elsewhere. I predict that this will be Hillary's big test.

But guess what? Come December 31, 2009 we will all sit back and LOL (laugh out loud) as Junior Senator Roland Burris (D. Ill.) submits a bill to employ 20,000,000 Americans as US Government employees working on "green" projects from Connecticut to Washington State and from Minnesota to the southern tip of Texas. Attacking the 15% unemployment will be a priority, but the situation with the homeless may have to wait until 2020 or 2011.

See ya in a year ... or so ... maybe US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald will have his case against Governor Rod Blagojevich (D., Ill.) organized and ready to go to trial by then.