It appears that Bush has won. It appears that the Republicans have control of the House and Senate. This is a complete victory for the Reds. I offer the following predictions: On the WOT: Iraq will slowly become an Islamic fundamentalist state. The U.S. will be largely out of there within a year and on to Pakistan. We'll get Bin Laden, but Islamic Fundamentalism will continue to fester and will rear it's head again in a decade or so. Bush will be seen as having won the WoT in the short term. You'll feel safe. You'll focus on domestic issues in the next election. Domestic: The economy will improve considerably as the security concerns wane. The social security nightmare looms. You will see safety valves that allow wealthy people to protect their savings from the coming cataclysm. If you are smart you will save as much as you can over the coming years. You'll see some barking about a flat tax. I don't think it will actually happen in this session. They are setting the stage for 2008. You'll get faster internet access, from freed RBOCs. You'll see hydrogen infrastructure appear in the odd place like electric car chargers are today. The health care situation will continue to deteriorate. I do not take the Republican's proposals on this matter seriously. I'm not saying they won't make a serious proposal. This issue is impacting our international competitiveness. I'm saying they haven't made a serious proposal yet. I predict that you will see an amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed within a year. I believe that several amendments will be passed within 4 years. Early: Gay Marriage Flag Desecration Later on: Abortion Ban Public (Read as Government) Display of Religious Iconography Prayer in School Maybe: Victim's Rights (Which is a misnomer. Read as "Plaintiff Right's" in MOST contexts. FYI this is the only one on the list that is bi-partisan. I say maybe because it has logical flaws you could fly a plane through, and it doesn't have widespread grassroots support.) You will see federal legislation passed in the next four years which contains a passage which says that its Constitutionality cannot be challenged in a Court. That law will be declared Unconstitutional by a Court. This will set the stage for what I would call the "big one." Once all of these amendments have been passed the amendment machine will be geared up to make significant changes to the way that government works. That change will entail limiting the power of the Courts as a check upon the Legislature and the Executive. I think thats where the vector points. I'm not going to say anything else about that. I don't think that anyone will propose it for several years. We'll talk about it then. Democrats: Its over. The Democrats have to significantly reformulate. I haven't figured out how I think they'll do it. One word I heard on CNN last night about what Blues are likely to feel in the face of this was alienation. On a personal note, I'm not impressed with the widespread support for the Gay Marriage ban amendments. Are we really saying that America hates fags? Why is this a central goal for religious people? Why do Christians focus on homosexuals, as opposed to, say, feeding the poor, or peace, or other things that Jesus was concerned with? Why do we care about this in particular? What does it say about who we are? What does it communicate about the values that are important to us? |