2016 has been one hell of a strange year. No one can dispute that.
Mother Nature has been in a bit of a snit. We have seen massive wildfires throughout the Southwest and the Southeast. Temperatures are going to be brutally cold this weekend. Louisiana and West Virginia suffered devastating floods. Here in Brunswick, Ga, which never has tropical storms, in a little over a month, we had two tropical storms and a hurricane. Earthquakes are showing up in odd places, like Oklahoma; seemingly, fracking is not such a good idea.
Flint, Michigan and Corpus Christie, Texas have had contaminated drinking water issues that have proven costly and time consuming to solve.
Terrorism has hit here again and again, most notably, the dumpster bomber in NY and the shootings at the gay club in Tampa. Europe has been hit much harder. Yet still, both here and throughout Europe, immigrants, unscreened and unscreenable, continue pouring in.
Heroin use and over doses have become a National disgrace.
More and more, in large American cities, homeless people are filling the streets, and many, many of them are kids. Again, a disgrace.
Those of you who signed up for Obamacare are about to get nailed with higher premiums and higher deductible. Cheer up, that will be going bye-bye soon, although, no one seems to have a clue what's going to replace it; maybe nothing.
The last election is now almost two months passed and still, the Democrats are whining like little brats and the Republicans, the old timers in Congress, don't have a clue about their future course. After the nastiest campaign I can remember, Trump is almost to his inauguration, and I'm still not quite sure what his plans are, but at least it will be something different.
Across college campuses, political correctness has hit the point of total absurdity, Any mention of Christmas seems to have become akin to felonious assault. Gender identity is a huge issue and colleges are issuing guides telling students how they should address, in as gender neutral a way as possible, their classmates.
Racial issues have reached a crescendo, with rioting erupting in several cities, the rise of the inane Black Lives Matter movement, and the growing hostility between Whites, Blacks, Native Americans, Hispanics, and Muslims.
Let me offer a few predictions for the New Year.
Trump will have a hard time, even with a Republican Congress, getting his Cabinet approved, his immigration issues dealt with, and getting trade laws passed. He will get Obamacare removed and taxes cut, many regulations removed, and very likely will get his way on rearming the military. He will not get any change in education issues, or environmental issues, and, no, he will not build a wall.
Racial trouble will grow worse. About the best we can hope is that the various divisions will simply ignore each other and live mostly separate lives. Not good, but better than riots.
Our interminable wars in the Mid East will drag on for a while, appear to end, and then explode. The trigger points will be (pick one) Libya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jorden, Tunisia, Somalia, or Lebanon. A major confrontation will occur involving Russia, Turkey, and Iran, possibly relating to the continuing Kurdish problem. Israel will jump in, hoping to stick it to Iran and we will jump in hoping to stick it to Russia. This will be a major, tragic war. It may not break out in 2017, but this is the year the stage will be set.
Rampant deregulation will lead to an economic windfall, for a while. Then something will stick a pin in the bubble and it will all fall down. Again, maybe the bubble will not burst in 2017, but the stage will be set, so live it up while you can.
Religion will become a major point of contention. Devout Christians and Jews will become almost outcasts in many circles.
And, last, the Climate will get weirder. Yes, the climate is changing and changing very quickly. No, humans are not the sole cause, but we better get a grip on what's going on and make necessary changes as soon as possible. Instead, we will spend useless hours haggling over issues that may not matter in just a very few years.
So, that out of the way, Happy New Year. Have some fun while you can, because the ride going to get a trifle bumpy.
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