 |
|
 |
|
Charles Jaco has written opinion and commentary pieces for dozens of magazines and newspapers. Each week, read and comment on a fresh on-line version. The discussion page enables you to share your view points world wide. If you would like to make a comment go to the " Join the discussion" link below. If you would like to view past editorials visit the Editorial Archive. Editorial 12/29/00 note: for links to information resources on the new Bush era, go to NewsBoom EENIE MEENIE CHILIBEENIE, THE SPIRITS ARE ABOUT TO SPEAK This column's spending the Reallenium with its' toes in the sand and will be back January 15 of the next thousand years. So for all of you who are seer suckers, some predictions for the new year before 2001 becomes nostalgia like 1984: Dubya will have a honeymoon shorter than the oily couple from Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire? It won't really be his fault, though. The GOP Knucklehead Brigade in Congress, led by Tom DeLay and Dick Armey, will do something stupid like trying to re-introduce slavery, and the Pres will feel obligated to support them. The ten year one point three trillion dollar tax cut is DOA. But Bush will be able to wiggle through elimination of the martiage penalty, some changes in the estate tax, and a marginal lowering of tax rates. Privatizing part of Social Security will make some headway. But only if Congress creates some breathing room by raising the retirement age, which is possible. Democrats will get in touch with their inner Bubba. Gore in 2004? Fuggidaboutit. The Dems will figure out who won the White House for them twice and drove their party toward the palatable center. They'll start talking, quietly but very very seriously, about running Clinton again in 2004.He'll figure getting elected in '04 and again in '08 will give Hillary enough time to finish two Senate terms so she can run in '12. John Ashcroft will be an effective Attorney General. It's a lot to say about a man who thinks life begins before conception and praises Jefferson Davis. But despite ideological vacations in woo-woo land, he's an honest, decent person with a moral center as deep as the Marianas Trench. Dick Cheney will have another heart attack. He'll be busy breaking contentious ties in the Senate. He'll be jockeying with Colin Powell and Donald Rumsfeld for control of foreign policy. He'll be acting as senior consigliore at the White House. The pressure will too much for a man with four infarctions under his belt already. At least one Supreme Court justice will retire. O'Conner and Rhenquist both held on with their fingernails until Clinton left office. Expect Bush to nominate the first Hispanic to the High Court. The Middle East peace process will fall apart completely. Terror will increase inside Israel. Extremist Palestenians might try to take out Yasir Arafat. The crime and unemployment rates will get worse, slowly. It'll mainly be due to consumer pessimism and soft earnings, but re-introducing 600,000 felons who've done their time back onto America's streets and job markets won't help much, either. Baseball will vanish come October. The owners will lock the players out when the current basic labor agreement ends at the end of the season. This shutdown could last two years, maybe three. When baseball returns, several major stars--McGwire, Griffey, Clemens--will have quit. Several cities--Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Tampa, Minnesota, and Oakland are good prospects--will lose their major league teams. They won't move. They'll just vanish, paring the game down to a managable size. A TV revenue sharing/salary cap combination will be in place. And the fans won't care anymore. But I could be wrong. Check back next century. |
Visit the Editorial Archive.
 |
|
[ News Views ] [ Coming Up ] [ Public Speaking ] [ News Boom ] |