Damn this hurts ...

This is one of those rants that I desperately hope that I'm so full of crap that nobody will ever listen to me again. (Yeah, I know that that's something many of you would relish.) But I can't deny what I'm seeing and what I think is coming. These predictions are possibilities and in some cases they may be worst-case scenarios. I'll admit that. But they are still somewhat-to-high-potential results. I'll update them as things progress.

So grab the Tums jar and set yerself's down ... here goes.

Predictions

1.) The latest House Intel Committee memo will be released, and the President will try to use it to fire the Assistant Attorney General, appoint a replacement, and then have them fire Mueller. This will create a firestorm in Congress, and there will be a move towards impeachment which will not get enough Republican support to pass In progress
or
The Mueller investigation will eventually get a few convictions and try to send people to jail. Since there is no precedent for indicting a sitting president, it is unclear as to whether that can happen, but they'll probably try to do it. Nixon was an un-indicted co-conspirator, but was never actually indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. It was enough then for a Democratic congress to start the impeachment process ... but he resigned before it ever got going. Possible
Mueller will have convincing evidence of obstruction of justice. He'll forward it to the Department of Justice, which will refuse to prosecute, based on the fact that a sitting president can't be indicted.The report will also be forwarded to Congress. If the Democrats win the House and Senate this year, they will try to start impeachment proceedings, but they won't be passed. If on a fluke it happens to pass the House, the margin in the Senate won't be enough to convict. If the Republicans maintain control of one or both houses of Congress, it won't even get initial traction. To be determined
2.) The congressional investigations will be sidetracked and die before the November election with no output. Possible
3) Nothing will have been done to prevent election tampering and it will happen again, either through social media and 'fake news' or by actual tampering with the electronic voting machines (or both). Probable
4.) Trump will claim vindication in any case. If the Repubs keep the Congress, it'll be business as usual. If the Dems take control of one or both Houses, he'll run for reelection using a 'Do-Nothing Congress' as the foil to rev up his base and play the same populist games that he used in the last campaign. He'll win reelection. Almost certain either way
5.) Internally, the US will continue to be as divided as we are now, possibly even more so. Hate crimes against LGBTQ people will go significantly up, as will inner-city violence. A white backlash against virtually everything not white has started and shows no signs of abating. Almost certain
6.) The Congress will attempt to repeal Social Security, Medicare, and welfare programs. They will partially succeed. They will claim that it is necessary because of the massive deficit and debt that was incurred by the recent tax cuts. This will disproportionally affect senior citizens and disabled individuals on SSI. States will be forced to make drastic cutbacks in Medicaid support. Almost certain
7.) 'Religious freedom' legislation will allow businesses and medical professionals to discriminate and/or refuse to treat. This will affect the minority and and LGBTQ communities in a major way. I would not want to be an openly gay or transgendered person in the rural South seeking medical care. Almost certain
8.) The ACA (Obamacare) will be eviscerated if not repealed and millions of Americans will lose their health insurance. Possible
9.) Federal aid to education will become a voucher system, spelling the virtual end of the public school system in the US. Minorities will be the primary victims of this reduction. Privatization of public school systems will be a priority. Probable
10.) Environmental protections will be scrapped and the EPA will be toothless. Pollution and more 'Flint, Michigans' will happen as a result. Fracking will produce more water pollution and earthquakes. In progress, almost certain
11.) Federal lands will be opened up to a large increase in exploration, resulting in more roads into wilderness areas, mining pollution, and loss of habitat for wildlife. In progress, almost certain
12.) National parks will continue to suffer from neglect and low federal support. National monuments will continue to shrink in size and there will be a move to revert federal forests and land now controlled by the BLM to the states, who cannot afford to take any economic advantage of them. This will result in massive increases in logging of both managed and old growth forests, including clearcutting of large tracts. Probable
13.) The Illinois doctor will win his lawsuit, and federal mandates on abortion counseling will be repealed. Abortion counselors will no longer be required to give patients information on alternatives and providers willing to do abortions. Teenage pregnancy will begin to rise again. Highly probable
14.) The Department of Justice will refuse to prosecute civil rights cases, and will attempt to reactivate the War on Drugs. They will try to wipe out medical/recreational marijuana, and go back twenty years filling the prisons with smalltime dealers. Already in progress
15.) America's standing on the world stage will become approximately that of Finland, with a so-so economy and an isolationist bent. No power to influence world economies or affect international trade. The US funding to the UN will continue to shrink, and the country will become more isolationist, cutting significant amounts of foreign aid.Already in progress
16.) The stock market will take a 'correction' within the next twelve months, wiping out the significant numbers of 401's and Roth IRA's of millions of citizens, and doing the same for pension funds. Highly probable
17.) NAFTA will be cancelled, with Canada and Mexico joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership and totally bypassing the United States in terms of international trade. The US will have major trade wars with China, Japan, Mexico, Canada and the European Union. Consumer prices will increase significantly. Highly probable
18.) Manufacturing jobs will continue to be eliminated, primarily due to automation and robotics. More and more people will be forced onto public assistance, and will be unable to qualify for the jobs that do become available because of the lack of training or expertise. Already in progress
19.) DACA will be rescinded, and the ICE enforcement people will deport over a million undocumented aliens and refugees in the first year alone. The agricultural businesses in California, Arizona, Texas, and the Midwest will have a severe shortage of workers to harvest crops, process poultry, and raise beef. This will cost consumers big time, because our international imports of foodstuffs will increase significantly, and they'll charge more to us. Already in progress
20.) Israel will annex Gaza and the West Bank and become an aparthied state. The Arab world will react massively, and our allies in the region will become problematic. Probable
21.) Afghanistan will go back to its tribal ways and we will leave. The same for Syria and Iraq. Russia will solidify its relationships within the Middle East. Already in progress
22.) The US will back down and finally accept North Korea as a nuclear power. North Korea will apply pressure to the south for reunification. The US will make noise but won't do anything about either option. Highly probable
23.) The US will find a way to back out of the Iran Nuclear deal, but the other powers will keep the agreement, freezing America out of any future negotiations. Iran will eventually also become a nuclear power and continue to threaten Israel. Highly probable

There are flickers of hope for liberals on both coasts, however.
North Carolina just threw out its gerrymandered House Districts.
California is fighting the EPA on the rollback of fracking rules.
Oregon just passed additional funding for its MedicAid program, to counteract the cuts that are coming from Washington.
New York is aggressively attempting to place regulations on banks and financial institutions to prevent consumer fraud from taking place.

But even if the Democrats manage to retake Congress and eventually the Presidency, it will take at least a decade to undo the damage that has been done just in the last year.

I fervently hope that none of the predictions come true. I'm not optimistic.
Somebody PLEASE tell me I'm wrong.

Damn this hurts ...

This is one of those rants that I desperately hope that I'm so full of crap that nobody will ever listen to me again. (Yeah, I know that that's something many of you would relish.) But I can't deny what I'm seeing and what I think is coming. These predictions are possibilities and in some cases they may be worst-case scenarios. I'll admit that. But they are still somewhat-to-high-potential results. I'll update them as things progress.

So grab the Tums jar and set yerself's down ... here goes.

Predictions

1.) The latest House Intel Committee memo will be released, and the President will try to use it to fire the Assistant Attorney General, appoint a replacement, and then have them fire Mueller. This will create a firestorm in Congress, and there will be a move towards impeachment which will not get enough Republican support to pass In progress
or
The Mueller investigation will eventually get a few convictions and try to send people to jail. Since there is no precedent for indicting a sitting president, it is unclear as to whether that can happen, but they'll probably try to do it. Nixon was an un-indicted co-conspirator, but was never actually indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. It was enough then for a Democratic congress to start the impeachment process ... but he resigned before it ever got going. Possible
Mueller will have convincing evidence of obstruction of justice. He'll forward it to the Department of Justice, which will refuse to prosecute, based on the fact that a sitting president can't be indicted.The report will also be forwarded to Congress. If the Democrats win the House and Senate this year, they will try to start impeachment proceedings, but they won't be passed. If on a fluke it happens to pass the House, the margin in the Senate won't be enough to convict. If the Republicans maintain control of one or both houses of Congress, it won't even get initial traction. To be determined
2.) The congressional investigations will be sidetracked and die before the November election with no output. Possible
3) Nothing will have been done to prevent election tampering and it will happen again, either through social media and 'fake news' or by actual tampering with the electronic voting machines (or both). Probable
4.) Trump will claim vindication in any case. If the Repubs keep the Congress, it'll be business as usual. If the Dems take control of one or both Houses, he'll run for reelection using a 'Do-Nothing Congress' as the foil to rev up his base and play the same populist games that he used in the last campaign. He'll win reelection. Almost certain either way
5.) Internally, the US will continue to be as divided as we are now, possibly even more so. Hate crimes against LGBTQ people will go significantly up, as will inner-city violence. A white backlash against virtually everything not white has started and shows no signs of abating. Almost certain
6.) The Congress will attempt to repeal Social Security, Medicare, and welfare programs. They will partially succeed. They will claim that it is necessary because of the massive deficit and debt that was incurred by the recent tax cuts. This will disproportionally affect senior citizens and disabled individuals on SSI. States will be forced to make drastic cutbacks in Medicaid support. Almost certain
7.) 'Religious freedom' legislation will allow businesses and medical professionals to discriminate and/or refuse to treat. This will affect the minority and and LGBTQ communities in a major way. I would not want to be an openly gay or transgendered person in the rural South seeking medical care. Almost certain
8.) The ACA (Obamacare) will be eviscerated if not repealed and millions of Americans will lose their health insurance. Possible
9.) Federal aid to education will become a voucher system, spelling the virtual end of the public school system in the US. Minorities will be the primary victims of this reduction. Privatization of public school systems will be a priority. Probable
10.) Environmental protections will be scrapped and the EPA will be toothless. Pollution and more 'Flint, Michigans' will happen as a result. Fracking will produce more water pollution and earthquakes. In progress, almost certain
11.) Federal lands will be opened up to a large increase in exploration, resulting in more roads into wilderness areas, mining pollution, and loss of habitat for wildlife. In progress, almost certain
12.) National parks will continue to suffer from neglect and low federal support. National monuments will continue to shrink in size and there will be a move to revert federal forests and land now controlled by the BLM to the states, who cannot afford to take any economic advantage of them. This will result in massive increases in logging of both managed and old growth forests, including clearcutting of large tracts. Probable
13.) The Illinois doctor will win his lawsuit, and federal mandates on abortion counseling will be repealed. Abortion counselors will no longer be required to give patients information on alternatives and providers willing to do abortions. Teenage pregnancy will begin to rise again. Highly probable
14.) The Department of Justice will refuse to prosecute civil rights cases, and will attempt to reactivate the War on Drugs. They will try to wipe out medical/recreational marijuana, and go back twenty years filling the prisons with smalltime dealers. Already in progress
15.) America's standing on the world stage will become approximately that of Finland, with a so-so economy and an isolationist bent. No power to influence world economies or affect international trade. The US funding to the UN will continue to shrink, and the country will become more isolationist, cutting significant amounts of foreign aid.Already in progress
16.) The stock market will take a 'correction' within the next twelve months, wiping out the significant numbers of 401's and Roth IRA's of millions of citizens, and doing the same for pension funds. Highly probable
17.) NAFTA will be cancelled, with Canada and Mexico joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership and totally bypassing the United States in terms of international trade. The US will have major trade wars with China, Japan, Mexico, Canada and the European Union. Consumer prices will increase significantly. Highly probable
18.) Manufacturing jobs will continue to be eliminated, primarily due to automation and robotics. More and more people will be forced onto public assistance, and will be unable to qualify for the jobs that do become available because of the lack of training or expertise. Already in progress
19.) DACA will be rescinded, and the ICE enforcement people will deport over a million undocumented aliens and refugees in the first year alone. The agricultural businesses in California, Arizona, Texas, and the Midwest will have a severe shortage of workers to harvest crops, process poultry, and raise beef. This will cost consumers big time, because our international imports of foodstuffs will increase significantly, and they'll charge more to us. Already in progress
20.) Israel will annex Gaza and the West Bank and become an aparthied state. The Arab world will react massively, and our allies in the region will become problematic. Probable
21.) Afghanistan will go back to its tribal ways and we will leave. The same for Syria and Iraq. Russia will solidify its relationships within the Middle East. Already in progress
22.) The US will back down and finally accept North Korea as a nuclear power. North Korea will apply pressure to the south for reunification. The US will make noise but won't do anything about either option. Highly probable
23.) The US will find a way to back out of the Iran Nuclear deal, but the other powers will keep the agreement, freezing America out of any future negotiations. Iran will eventually also become a nuclear power and continue to threaten Israel. Highly probable

There are flickers of hope for liberals on both coasts, however.
North Carolina just threw out its gerrymandered House Districts.
California is fighting the EPA on the rollback of fracking rules.
Oregon just passed additional funding for its MedicAid program, to counteract the cuts that are coming from Washington.
New York is aggressively attempting to place regulations on banks and financial institutions to prevent consumer fraud from taking place.

But even if the Democrats manage to retake Congress and eventually the Presidency, it will take at least a decade to undo the damage that has been done just in the last year.

I fervently hope that none of the predictions come true. I'm not optimistic.
Somebody PLEASE tell me I'm wrong.

Damn this hurts ...

This is one of those rants that I desperately hope that I'm so full of crap that nobody will ever listen to me again. (Yeah, I know that that's something many of you would relish.) But I can't deny what I'm seeing and what I think is coming. These predictions are possibilities and in some cases they may be worst-case scenarios. I'll admit that. But they are still somewhat-to-high-potential results. I'll update them as things progress.

So grab the Tums jar and set yerself's down ... here goes.

Predictions

1.) The latest House Intel Committee memo will be released, and the President will try to use it to fire the Assistant Attorney General, appoint a replacement, and then have them fire Mueller. This will create a firestorm in Congress, and there will be a move towards impeachment which will not get enough Republican support to pass In progress
or
The Mueller investigation will eventually get a few convictions and try to send people to jail. Since there is no precedent for indicting a sitting president, it is unclear as to whether that can happen, but they'll probably try to do it. Nixon was an un-indicted co-conspirator, but was never actually indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. It was enough then for a Democratic congress to start the impeachment process ... but he resigned before it ever got going. Possible
Mueller will have convincing evidence of obstruction of justice. He'll forward it to the Department of Justice, which will refuse to prosecute, based on the fact that a sitting president can't be indicted.The report will also be forwarded to Congress. If the Democrats win the House and Senate this year, they will try to start impeachment proceedings, but they won't be passed. If on a fluke it happens to pass the House, the margin in the Senate won't be enough to convict. If the Republicans maintain control of one or both houses of Congress, it won't even get initial traction. To be determined
2.) The congressional investigations will be sidetracked and die before the November election with no output. Possible
3) Nothing will have been done to prevent election tampering and it will happen again, either through social media and 'fake news' or by actual tampering with the electronic voting machines (or both). Probable
4.) Trump will claim vindication in any case. If the Repubs keep the Congress, it'll be business as usual. If the Dems take control of one or both Houses, he'll run for reelection using a 'Do-Nothing Congress' as the foil to rev up his base and play the same populist games that he used in the last campaign. He'll win reelection. Almost certain either way
5.) Internally, the US will continue to be as divided as we are now, possibly even more so. Hate crimes against LGBTQ people will go significantly up, as will inner-city violence. A white backlash against virtually everything not white has started and shows no signs of abating. Almost certain
6.) The Congress will attempt to repeal Social Security, Medicare, and welfare programs. They will partially succeed. They will claim that it is necessary because of the massive deficit and debt that was incurred by the recent tax cuts. This will disproportionally affect senior citizens and disabled individuals on SSI. States will be forced to make drastic cutbacks in Medicaid support. Almost certain
7.) 'Religious freedom' legislation will allow businesses and medical professionals to discriminate and/or refuse to treat. This will affect the minority and and LGBTQ communities in a major way. I would not want to be an openly gay or transgendered person in the rural South seeking medical care. Almost certain
8.) The ACA (Obamacare) will be eviscerated if not repealed and millions of Americans will lose their health insurance. Possible
9.) Federal aid to education will become a voucher system, spelling the virtual end of the public school system in the US. Minorities will be the primary victims of this reduction. Privatization of public school systems will be a priority. Probable
10.) Environmental protections will be scrapped and the EPA will be toothless. Pollution and more 'Flint, Michigans' will happen as a result. Fracking will produce more water pollution and earthquakes. In progress, almost certain
11.) Federal lands will be opened up to a large increase in exploration, resulting in more roads into wilderness areas, mining pollution, and loss of habitat for wildlife. In progress, almost certain
12.) National parks will continue to suffer from neglect and low federal support. National monuments will continue to shrink in size and there will be a move to revert federal forests and land now controlled by the BLM to the states, who cannot afford to take any economic advantage of them. This will result in massive increases in logging of both managed and old growth forests, including clearcutting of large tracts. Probable
13.) The Illinois doctor will win his lawsuit, and federal mandates on abortion counseling will be repealed. Abortion counselors will no longer be required to give patients information on alternatives and providers willing to do abortions. Teenage pregnancy will begin to rise again. Highly probable
14.) The Department of Justice will refuse to prosecute civil rights cases, and will attempt to reactivate the War on Drugs. They will try to wipe out medical/recreational marijuana, and go back twenty years filling the prisons with smalltime dealers. Already in progress
15.) America's standing on the world stage will become approximately that of Finland, with a so-so economy and an isolationist bent. No power to influence world economies or affect international trade. The US funding to the UN will continue to shrink, and the country will become more isolationist, cutting significant amounts of foreign aid.Already in progress
16.) The stock market will take a 'correction' within the next twelve months, wiping out the significant numbers of 401's and Roth IRA's of millions of citizens, and doing the same for pension funds. Highly probable
17.) NAFTA will be cancelled, with Canada and Mexico joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership and totally bypassing the United States in terms of international trade. The US will have major trade wars with China, Japan, Mexico, Canada and the European Union. Consumer prices will increase significantly. Highly probable
18.) Manufacturing jobs will continue to be eliminated, primarily due to automation and robotics. More and more people will be forced onto public assistance, and will be unable to qualify for the jobs that do become available because of the lack of training or expertise. Already in progress
19.) DACA will be rescinded, and the ICE enforcement people will deport over a million undocumented aliens and refugees in the first year alone. The agricultural businesses in California, Arizona, Texas, and the Midwest will have a severe shortage of workers to harvest crops, process poultry, and raise beef. This will cost consumers big time, because our international imports of foodstuffs will increase significantly, and they'll charge more to us. Already in progress
20.) Israel will annex Gaza and the West Bank and become an aparthied state. The Arab world will react massively, and our allies in the region will become problematic. Probable
21.) Afghanistan will go back to its tribal ways and we will leave. The same for Syria and Iraq. Russia will solidify its relationships within the Middle East. Already in progress
22.) The US will back down and finally accept North Korea as a nuclear power. North Korea will apply pressure to the south for reunification. The US will make noise but won't do anything about either option. Highly probable
23.) The US will find a way to back out of the Iran Nuclear deal, but the other powers will keep the agreement, freezing America out of any future negotiations. Iran will eventually also become a nuclear power and continue to threaten Israel. Highly probable

There are flickers of hope for liberals on both coasts, however.
North Carolina just threw out its gerrymandered House Districts.
California is fighting the EPA on the rollback of fracking rules.
Oregon just passed additional funding for its MedicAid program, to counteract the cuts that are coming from Washington.
New York is aggressively attempting to place regulations on banks and financial institutions to prevent consumer fraud from taking place.

But even if the Democrats manage to retake Congress and eventually the Presidency, it will take at least a decade to undo the damage that has been done just in the last year.

I fervently hope that none of the predictions come true. I'm not optimistic.
Somebody PLEASE tell me I'm wrong.

possibilities[/b] and in some cases they may be worst-case scenarios.

I'll admit that. But they are still somewhat-to-high-potential results. I'll update them as things progress.

So grab the Tums jar and set yerself's down ... here goes.

Predictions:

Yes . . . 1.) The latest House Intel Committee memo will be released, and the President will try to use it to fire the Assistant Attorney General, appoint a replacement, and then have them fire Mueller. This will create a firestorm in Congress, and there will be a move towards impeachment which will not get enough Republican support to pass In progress

or

No . . . The Mueller investigation will eventually get a few convictions and try to send people to jail. Since there is no precedent for indicting a sitting president, it is unclear as to whether that can happen, but they'll probably try to do it. Nixon was an un-indicted co-conspirator, but was never actually indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. It was enough then for a Democratic congress to start the impeachment process ... but he resigned before it ever got going. Possible

No . . . Mueller will have convincing evidence of obstruction of justice. He'll forward it to the Department of Justice, which will refuse to prosecute, based on the fact that a sitting president can't be indicted. The report will also be forwarded to Congress. If the Democrats win the House and Senate this year, they will try to start impeachment proceedings, but they won't be passed. If on a fluke it happens to pass the House, the margin in the Senate won't be enough to convict. If the Republicans maintain control of one or both houses of Congress, it won't even get initial traction. To be determined


No . . . 2.) The congressional investigations will be sidetracked and die before the November election with no output. Possible


No . . . 3.) Nothing will have been done to prevent election tampering and it will happen again, either through social media and 'fake news' or by actual tampering with the electronic voting machines (or both). Probable


Yes . . . 4.) Trump will claim vindication in any case. If the Repubs keep the Congress, it'll be business as usual. If the Dems take control of one or both Houses, he'll run for reelection using a 'Do-Nothing Congress' as the foil to rev up his base and play the same populist games that he used in the last campaign. He'll win reelection. Almost certain either way


Possible . . . 5.) Internally, the US will continue to be as divided as we are now, possibly even more so. Hate crimes against LGBTQ people will go significantly up, as will inner-city violence. A white backlash against virtually everything not white has started and shows no signs of abating. Almost certain


No . . . 6.) The Congress will attempt to repeal Social Security, Medicare, and welfare programs. They will partially succeed. They will claim that it is necessary because of the massive deficit and debt that was incurred by the recent tax cuts. This will disproportionally affect senior citizens and disabled individuals on SSI. States will be forced to make drastic cutbacks in Medicaid support. Almost certain


No . . . 7.) 'Religious freedom' legislation will allow businesses and medical professionals to discriminate and/or refuse to treat. This will affect the minority and and LGBTQ communities in a major way. I would not want to be an openly gay or transgendered person in the rural South seeking medical care. Almost certain


Yes . . . 8.) The ACA (Obamacare) will be eviscerated if not repealed and millions of Americans will lose their health insurance. Possible

Possible . . . 9.) Federal aid to education will become a voucher system, spelling the virtual end of the public school system in the US. Minorities will be the primary victims of this reduction. Privatization of public school systems will be a priority. Probable


No . . . 10.) Environmental protections will be scrapped and the EPA will be toothless. Pollution and more 'Flint, Michigans' will happen as a result. Fracking will produce more water pollution and earthquakes. In progress, almost certain


Possible . . . 11.) Federal lands will be opened up to a large increase in exploration, resulting in more roads into wilderness areas, mining pollution, and loss of habitat for wildlife. In progress, almost certain


No . . . 12.) National parks will continue to suffer from neglect and low federal support. National monuments will continue to shrink in size and there will be a move to revert federal forests and land now controlled by the BLM to the states, who cannot afford to take any economic advantage of them. This will result in massive increases in logging of both managed and old growth forests, including clearcutting of large tracts. Probable


No . . . 13.) The Illinois doctor will win his lawsuit, and federal mandates on abortion counseling will be repealed. Abortion counselors will no longer be required to give patients information on alternatives and providers willing to do abortions. Teenage pregnancy will begin to rise again. Highly probable


No . . . 14.) The Department of Justice will refuse to prosecute civil rights cases, and will attempt to reactivate the War on Drugs. They will try to wipe out medical/recreational marijuana, and go back twenty years filling the prisons with smalltime dealers. Already in progress


No . . . 15.) America's standing on the world stage will become approximately that of Finland, with a so-so economy and an isolationist bent. No power to influence world economies or affect international trade. The US funding to the UN will continue to shrink, and the country will become more isolationist, cutting significant amounts of foreign aid.Already in progress


Possible . . . 16.) The stock market will take a 'correction' within the next twelve months, wiping out the significant numbers of 401's and Roth IRA's of millions of citizens, and doing the same for pension funds. Highly probable


Possible . . . 17.) NAFTA will be cancelled, with Canada and Mexico joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership and totally bypassing the United States in terms of international trade. The US will have major trade wars with China, Japan, Mexico, Canada and the European Union. Consumer prices will increase significantly. Highly probable


Yes . . . 18.) Manufacturing jobs will continue to be eliminated, primarily due to automation and robotics. More and more people will be forced onto public assistance, and will be unable to qualify for the jobs that do become available because of the lack of training or expertise. Already in progress


Yes . . . 19.) DACA will be rescinded, and the ICE enforcement people will deport over a million undocumented aliens and refugees in the first year alone. The agricultural businesses in California, Arizona, Texas, and the Midwest will have a severe shortage of workers to harvest crops, process poultry, and raise beef. This will cost consumers big time, because our international imports of foodstuffs will increase significantly, and they'll charge more to us. Already in progress


No . . . 20.) Israel will annex Gaza and the West Bank and become an aparthied state. The Arab world will react massively, and our allies in the region will become problematic. Probable


Yes . . . 21.) Afghanistan will go back to its tribal ways and we will leave. The same for Syria and Iraq. Russia will solidify its relationships within the Middle East. Already in progress


No . . . 22.) The US will back down and finally accept North Korea as a nuclear power. North Korea will apply pressure to the south for reunification. The US will make noise but won't do anything about either option. Highly probable


Yes . . . 23.) The US will find a way to back out of the Iran Nuclear deal, but the other powers will keep the agreement, freezing America out of any future negotiations. Iran will eventually also become a nuclear power and continue to threaten Israel. Highly probable


There are flickers of hope for liberals on both coasts, however.

North Carolina just threw out its gerrymandered House Districts.

California is fighting the EPA on the rollback of fracking rules.

Oregon just passed additional funding for its MedicAid program, to counteract the cuts that are coming from Washington.
New York is aggressively attempting to place regulations on banks and financial institutions to prevent consumer fraud from taking place.

But even if the Democrats manage to retake Congress and eventually the Presidency, it will take at least a decade to undo the damage that has been done just in the last year.

I fervently hope that none of the predictions come true.

I'm not optimistic.

Somebody PLEASE tell me I'm wrong.

whitnebrat,

Got up and had myself a Guinness Beer before reading your "Predictions" . . . Didn't need Tum's . . .

7 Yes's, . . . 13 No's, . . . and 5 Possible's . . .


Great, Very Good Predictions for America . . . Praying for some of them , . . . but spot-on the issues and argumentation . . .
# 15. Will never happen. We would have to be bombed by North Korea to have that happen . . .

First of all your "Probably" going to be called a "Racist," "White privileged" and a anti-Infanticide person by the radical liberal Democratic left subversive resistant, Snow-Flake, Wing bat, "Trump Syndrome," regressive party loons . . . on this Forum . . .

So let their liberal "One liner insults" begin. They only have the thought capacity for hypocritical truth's, empty rhetoric devoid of any real factual substance and full of regurgitated dendrite compost opinions.

Expect it, . . . and then they want you to defend your opinions with their facts and liberal opinions and "Wacko" comments.

Damn this hurts ...

This is one of those rants that I desperately hope that I'm so full of crap that nobody will ever listen to me again. (Yeah, I know that that's something many of you would relish.) But I can't deny what I'm seeing and what I think is coming. These predictions are possibilities and in some cases they may be worst-case scenarios. I'll admit that. But they are still somewhat-to-high-potential results. I'll update them as things progress.

So grab the Tums jar and set yerself's down ... here goes.

Predictions

1.) The latest House Intel Committee memo will be released, and the President will try to use it to fire the Assistant Attorney General, appoint a replacement, and then have them fire Mueller. This will create a firestorm in Congress, and there will be a move towards impeachment which will not get enough Republican support to pass In progress
or
The Mueller investigation will eventually get a few convictions and try to send people to jail. Since there is no precedent for indicting a sitting president, it is unclear as to whether that can happen, but they'll probably try to do it. Nixon was an un-indicted co-conspirator, but was never actually indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. It was enough then for a Democratic congress to start the impeachment process ... but he resigned before it ever got going. Possible
Mueller will have convincing evidence of obstruction of justice. He'll forward it to the Department of Justice, which will refuse to prosecute, based on the fact that a sitting president can't be indicted.The report will also be forwarded to Congress. If the Democrats win the House and Senate this year, they will try to start impeachment proceedings, but they won't be passed. If on a fluke it happens to pass the House, the margin in the Senate won't be enough to convict. If the Republicans maintain control of one or both houses of Congress, it won't even get initial traction. To be determined
2.) The congressional investigations will be sidetracked and die before the November election with no output. Possible
3) Nothing will have been done to prevent election tampering and it will happen again, either through social media and 'fake news' or by actual tampering with the electronic voting machines (or both). Probable
4.) Trump will claim vindication in any case. If the Repubs keep the Congress, it'll be business as usual. If the Dems take control of one or both Houses, he'll run for reelection using a 'Do-Nothing Congress' as the foil to rev up his base and play the same populist games that he used in the last campaign. He'll win reelection. Almost certain either way
5.) Internally, the US will continue to be as divided as we are now, possibly even more so. Hate crimes against LGBTQ people will go significantly up, as will inner-city violence. A white backlash against virtually everything not white has started and shows no signs of abating. Almost certain
6.) The Congress will attempt to repeal Social Security, Medicare, and welfare programs. They will partially succeed. They will claim that it is necessary because of the massive deficit and debt that was incurred by the recent tax cuts. This will disproportionally affect senior citizens and disabled individuals on SSI. States will be forced to make drastic cutbacks in Medicaid support. Almost certain
7.) 'Religious freedom' legislation will allow businesses and medical professionals to discriminate and/or refuse to treat. This will affect the minority and and LGBTQ communities in a major way. I would not want to be an openly gay or transgendered person in the rural South seeking medical care. Almost certain
8.) The ACA (Obamacare) will be eviscerated if not repealed and millions of Americans will lose their health insurance. Possible
9.) Federal aid to education will become a voucher system, spelling the virtual end of the public school system in the US. Minorities will be the primary victims of this reduction. Privatization of public school systems will be a priority. Probable
10.) Environmental protections will be scrapped and the EPA will be toothless. Pollution and more 'Flint, Michigans' will happen as a result. Fracking will produce more water pollution and earthquakes. In progress, almost certain
11.) Federal lands will be opened up to a large increase in exploration, resulting in more roads into wilderness areas, mining pollution, and loss of habitat for wildlife. In progress, almost certain
12.) National parks will continue to suffer from neglect and low federal support. National monuments will continue to shrink in size and there will be a move to revert federal forests and land now controlled by the BLM to the states, who cannot afford to take any economic advantage of them. This will result in massive increases in logging of both managed and old growth forests, including clearcutting of large tracts. Probable
13.) The Illinois doctor will win his lawsuit, and federal mandates on abortion counseling will be repealed. Abortion counselors will no longer be required to give patients information on alternatives and providers willing to do abortions. Teenage pregnancy will begin to rise again. Highly probable
14.) The Department of Justice will refuse to prosecute civil rights cases, and will attempt to reactivate the War on Drugs. They will try to wipe out medical/recreational marijuana, and go back twenty years filling the prisons with smalltime dealers. Already in progress
15.) America's standing on the world stage will become approximately that of Finland, with a so-so economy and an isolationist bent. No power to influence world economies or affect international trade. The US funding to the UN will continue to shrink, and the country will become more isolationist, cutting significant amounts of foreign aid.Already in progress
16.) The stock market will take a 'correction' within the next twelve months, wiping out the significant numbers of 401's and Roth IRA's of millions of citizens, and doing the same for pension funds. Highly probable
17.) NAFTA will be cancelled, with Canada and Mexico joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership and totally bypassing the United States in terms of international trade. The US will have major trade wars with China, Japan, Mexico, Canada and the European Union. Consumer prices will increase significantly. Highly probable
18.) Manufacturing jobs will continue to be eliminated, primarily due to automation and robotics. More and more people will be forced onto public assistance, and will be unable to qualify for the jobs that do become available because of the lack of training or expertise. Already in progress
19.) DACA will be rescinded, and the ICE enforcement people will deport over a million undocumented aliens and refugees in the first year alone. The agricultural businesses in California, Arizona, Texas, and the Midwest will have a severe shortage of workers to harvest crops, process poultry, and raise beef. This will cost consumers big time, because our international imports of foodstuffs will increase significantly, and they'll charge more to us. Already in progress
20.) Israel will annex Gaza and the West Bank and become an aparthied state. The Arab world will react massively, and our allies in the region will become problematic. Probable
21.) Afghanistan will go back to its tribal ways and we will leave. The same for Syria and Iraq. Russia will solidify its relationships within the Middle East. Already in progress
22.) The US will back down and finally accept North Korea as a nuclear power. North Korea will apply pressure to the south for reunification. The US will make noise but won't do anything about either option. Highly probable
23.) The US will find a way to back out of the Iran Nuclear deal, but the other powers will keep the agreement, freezing America out of any future negotiations. Iran will eventually also become a nuclear power and continue to threaten Israel. Highly probable

There are flickers of hope for liberals on both coasts, however.
North Carolina just threw out its gerrymandered House Districts.
California is fighting the EPA on the rollback of fracking rules.
Oregon just passed additional funding for its MedicAid program, to counteract the cuts that are coming from Washington.
New York is aggressively attempting to place regulations on banks and financial institutions to prevent consumer fraud from taking place.

But even if the Democrats manage to retake Congress and eventually the Presidency, it will take at least a decade to undo the damage that has been done just in the last year.

I fervently hope that none of the predictions come true. I'm not optimistic.
Somebody PLEASE tell me I'm wrong.

Damn this hurts ...

This is one of those rants that I desperately hope that I'm so full of crap that nobody will ever listen to me again. (Yeah, I know that that's something many of you would relish.) But I can't deny what I'm seeing and what I think is coming. These predictions are possibilities and in some cases they may be worst-case scenarios. I'll admit that. But they are still somewhat-to-high-potential results. I'll update them as things progress.

So grab the Tums jar and set yerself's down ... here goes.

Predictions

1.) The latest House Intel Committee memo will be released, and the President will try to use it to fire the Assistant Attorney General, appoint a replacement, and then have them fire Mueller. This will create a firestorm in Congress, and there will be a move towards impeachment which will not get enough Republican support to pass In progress
or
The Mueller investigation will eventually get a few convictions and try to send people to jail. Since there is no precedent for indicting a sitting president, it is unclear as to whether that can happen, but they'll probably try to do it. Nixon was an un-indicted co-conspirator, but was never actually indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. It was enough then for a Democratic congress to start the impeachment process ... but he resigned before it ever got going. Possible
Mueller will have convincing evidence of obstruction of justice. He'll forward it to the Department of Justice, which will refuse to prosecute, based on the fact that a sitting president can't be indicted.The report will also be forwarded to Congress. If the Democrats win the House and Senate this year, they will try to start impeachment proceedings, but they won't be passed. If on a fluke it happens to pass the House, the margin in the Senate won't be enough to convict. If the Republicans maintain control of one or both houses of Congress, it won't even get initial traction. To be determined
2.) The congressional investigations will be sidetracked and die before the November election with no output. Possible
3) Nothing will have been done to prevent election tampering and it will happen again, either through social media and 'fake news' or by actual tampering with the electronic voting machines (or both). Probable
4.) Trump will claim vindication in any case. If the Repubs keep the Congress, it'll be business as usual. If the Dems take control of one or both Houses, he'll run for reelection using a 'Do-Nothing Congress' as the foil to rev up his base and play the same populist games that he used in the last campaign. He'll win reelection. Almost certain either way
5.) Internally, the US will continue to be as divided as we are now, possibly even more so. Hate crimes against LGBTQ people will go significantly up, as will inner-city violence. A white backlash against virtually everything not white has started and shows no signs of abating. Almost certain
6.) The Congress will attempt to repeal Social Security, Medicare, and welfare programs. They will partially succeed. They will claim that it is necessary because of the massive deficit and debt that was incurred by the recent tax cuts. This will disproportionally affect senior citizens and disabled individuals on SSI. States will be forced to make drastic cutbacks in Medicaid support. Almost certain
7.) 'Religious freedom' legislation will allow businesses and medical professionals to discriminate and/or refuse to treat. This will affect the minority and and LGBTQ communities in a major way. I would not want to be an openly gay or transgendered person in the rural South seeking medical care. Almost certain
8.) The ACA (Obamacare) will be eviscerated if not repealed and millions of Americans will lose their health insurance. Possible
9.) Federal aid to education will become a voucher system, spelling the virtual end of the public school system in the US. Minorities will be the primary victims of this reduction. Privatization of public school systems will be a priority. Probable
10.) Environmental protections will be scrapped and the EPA will be toothless. Pollution and more 'Flint, Michigans' will happen as a result. Fracking will produce more water pollution and earthquakes. In progress, almost certain
11.) Federal lands will be opened up to a large increase in exploration, resulting in more roads into wilderness areas, mining pollution, and loss of habitat for wildlife. In progress, almost certain
12.) National parks will continue to suffer from neglect and low federal support. National monuments will continue to shrink in size and there will be a move to revert federal forests and land now controlled by the BLM to the states, who cannot afford to take any economic advantage of them. This will result in massive increases in logging of both managed and old growth forests, including clearcutting of large tracts. Probable
13.) The Illinois doctor will win his lawsuit, and federal mandates on abortion counseling will be repealed. Abortion counselors will no longer be required to give patients information on alternatives and providers willing to do abortions. Teenage pregnancy will begin to rise again. Highly probable
14.) The Department of Justice will refuse to prosecute civil rights cases, and will attempt to reactivate the War on Drugs. They will try to wipe out medical/recreational marijuana, and go back twenty years filling the prisons with smalltime dealers. Already in progress
15.) America's standing on the world stage will become approximately that of Finland, with a so-so economy and an isolationist bent. No power to influence world economies or affect international trade. The US funding to the UN will continue to shrink, and the country will become more isolationist, cutting significant amounts of foreign aid.Already in progress
16.) The stock market will take a 'correction' within the next twelve months, wiping out the significant numbers of 401's and Roth IRA's of millions of citizens, and doing the same for pension funds. Highly probable
17.) NAFTA will be cancelled, with Canada and Mexico joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership and totally bypassing the United States in terms of international trade. The US will have major trade wars with China, Japan, Mexico, Canada and the European Union. Consumer prices will increase significantly. Highly probable
18.) Manufacturing jobs will continue to be eliminated, primarily due to automation and robotics. More and more people will be forced onto public assistance, and will be unable to qualify for the jobs that do become available because of the lack of training or expertise. Already in progress
19.) DACA will be rescinded, and the ICE enforcement people will deport over a million undocumented aliens and refugees in the first year alone. The agricultural businesses in California, Arizona, Texas, and the Midwest will have a severe shortage of workers to harvest crops, process poultry, and raise beef. This will cost consumers big time, because our international imports of foodstuffs will increase significantly, and they'll charge more to us. Already in progress
20.) Israel will annex Gaza and the West Bank and become an aparthied state. The Arab world will react massively, and our allies in the region will become problematic. Probable
21.) Afghanistan will go back to its tribal ways and we will leave. The same for Syria and Iraq. Russia will solidify its relationships within the Middle East. Already in progress
22.) The US will back down and finally accept North Korea as a nuclear power. North Korea will apply pressure to the south for reunification. The US will make noise but won't do anything about either option. Highly probable
23.) The US will find a way to back out of the Iran Nuclear deal, but the other powers will keep the agreement, freezing America out of any future negotiations. Iran will eventually also become a nuclear power and continue to threaten Israel. Highly probable

There are flickers of hope for liberals on both coasts, however.
North Carolina just threw out its gerrymandered House Districts.
California is fighting the EPA on the rollback of fracking rules.
Oregon just passed additional funding for its MedicAid program, to counteract the cuts that are coming from Washington.
New York is aggressively attempting to place regulations on banks and financial institutions to prevent consumer fraud from taking place.

But even if the Democrats manage to retake Congress and eventually the Presidency, it will take at least a decade to undo the damage that has been done just in the last year.

I fervently hope that none of the predictions come true. I'm not optimistic.
Somebody PLEASE tell me I'm wrong.