Predictions for 2010

Happy New Year 2010! This the post where I lay it all on the line and make predictions for the New Year. You can check my predictions in previous years here. Predictions are for entertainment purposes. Some predictions are things I hope will not happen but predict will happen. I try to cover local, state, national, entertainment, politics, economics, and anything that might be of interest to you. I also try to go out on a limb to make it interesting, but still use some inside knowledge, or insight, to try to increase accuracy.

Here we go:

1. Scott Walker will easily win the Wisconsin Governor’s race. Comment: Mark Neuman will drop out by February of 2010. If he does not drop out, he will be political toast for the rest of his political life. Tom Barrett will run a vicious campaign, through surrogates, and still lose.

1. Some major incident in the Middle East will drive a barrel of oil over $138.00 a barrel at some point in 2010.

1. Gold will reach $1,500 an ounce at some point during 2010.

1. Test scores for the 8^th grade class in MF will be the highest in our recorded history. Comment: Those that make test scores a political issue will continue to think test scores are declining. Those who took the ostrich approach to test scores will remain oblivious. Those who really care about academic performance will be cautiously optimistic that recent measures are starting to bear fruit.

1. Israel will attack Iran to destroy their nuclear weapons program. Comment: Same prediction as last year. Also, I believe Iran’s government is as weak as it has been in 8 years. Israel may hold off an attack until they believe a regime change is not possible.

1. Tommy Thomson after many dozy-dos, will finally enter the race against Russ Feingold for U.S. Senator. Comment: Even a late entry will not deter Thomson from raising huge amounts of money in a relatively short period. Wisconsin, tired of Feingold delivering nothing but worthless campaign finance reform, which he himself circumvents, will elect the less tiresome Thomson, who was the biggest spending Governor in Wisconsin until Doyle made him a candidate for visits from the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. If Tommy wants to spend, the Senate is the place to be.

1. Menomonee Falls will not gain a fine dining establishment and may lose one, due to non-support. Comment: While many wonder why the DeRosa’s, Bartolatas, and Mo’s, do not open restaurants in the Falls, they could not describe the inside of any restaurant that closed.

1. Brett Favre will play another year of football with the Vikings. Their coach will not. Comment: The Vikes will not go to, or win the Super Bowl this year.
2. The media, public, and students of Wisconsin will wake up and figure out that Jim Doyle is a total bag of Milorganite for promising (with our money) to provide a paid college education, in the UW system, for students that studied hard, stayed in school and wanted to go on to college and then shutting the door on their fingers when it was time to pay up (with our money).  Comment: More on this in January.

1. The Falls Indians Basketball team will go to state and take the Championship home with them. Comment: Take this to the bank even after back-to-back loses.

1. MF citizens will realize the Four Year Old Kindergarten program will end up costing taxpayers money instead of generating revenue: in new facilities (when it was supposed to partner with existing day care centers), salary and benefits costs, diverting resources away from programs that have more impact on student learning, restricting cost saving measures like closing buildings, or leaving other schools intact. Comment: I will still be blamed for voting for this program when, in fact, I was the only board member to emphatically vote against it (for the very same reasons stated in my “prediction”).

1. “High Speed” rail will fail to move forward in Wisconsin in 2010. Comment: The saner people of Wisconsin will prevail over the hypothetical argument: when you are having trouble coming up with lunch money for your kids, it is not the best time to buy a Cadillac Escalade. Nevertheless, Jim Doyle’s legacy for what he did to Wisconsin’s business climate will be identical to General Tecumseh Sherman’s impact on Georgia’s infrastructure. BTW Wisconsin High Speed rail compared to Europe, China and Japan's HSR will be less than half the "high speed."

1. Iron Man will set a box office record for biggest opening day.

1. Koss Corporation will survive through the very unfortunate and fascinating embezzlement story but will be under new ownership before the end of 2010. Comment: This story is one that has many potential layers of things not yet exposed-but will be. The stock price will implode when it resumes trading (if it ever does) leaving Koss’ future in doubt. A sad situation for a very cool company.

1. The government program, designed to stop home foreclosures, will save few from losing homes they never could afford in the first place. Comment: The program will be blamed for prolonging the housing crisis, declining home values, and hindering investment in rental units by artificially depressing occupancy rates.

1. The Packers will go to the Super Bowl and lose to the New England Patriots. Comment: Don’t take this to the bank, but the Pack is going all the way this year. Why not? Stranger things have happened in 2009…