Predictions for 2007
By Adam Felber on January 1, 2007 at 1:59 pm
- Faced with the options in Iraq - Go Big, Go Long, or Go Home - President Bush will choose all three. A larger force will be sent in, many pronouncements will be made about “staying until the job is done,” and then, before year’s end, the “job” will be declared “done” and our troops will begin to come home.
- Nintendo will release an exciting new martial arts game for the Wii - “Super Extreme Blades of Honor Ronin Strike Force Revolution XL II.” Several Americans will die in its first week of release, Wii controllers embedded in their chests.
- The new Congress will authorize literally trillions of dollars in spending for 2007, prompting conservatives to holler for the heads of the spendthrift Democrats.
Anyone who goes off-script and points towards the 2.8 trillion dollars that found their way into the 2006 budget will be silenc- This will be an unconscionable waste of taxpayers money.
- Having “gotten the job done” in Iraq, some people will notice the country still seems to be engaged in an ever more violent civil war. Responding to the peoples’ demands, the President will then appoint an independent task force to determine what the “job” was.
- The big movies of the year will be the giant sequels involving juvenile wizards and guys with spider-like abilities. The religious right will angrily grouse that the media establishment all but ignored the simple, conflict-free beauty of “The Nativity Story 2: Born Again.”
- Nintendo will be forced to publish detailed warnings about its new game for its American customers: “While playing ‘Super Extreme Blades of Honor Ronin Strike Force Revolution XL II,’ do not plunge your Wii controller into your opponent’s chest. Actually stabbing someone through their ribcage and into their heart may result in injury and/or death.” Lawyers will call this warning “too little, too late,” and multiple class-action lawsuits will be filed.
- The album of the year will be “Batshit” by Kanye West, an album of duets with such legends as R. Kelly, Courtney Love, Whitney Houston, and Britney Spears. The all-star finale, “We Like Pudding (Holla for Pudding)” will become the official anthem of rehab centers and “spas” around the nation.
- The President’s independent task force will determine that “the job” in Iraq was to give the Iraqi people “every opportunity to live in freedom.” The White House will express its disappointment that the Iraqis “didn’t step up to the plate.”
- Ashlee Simpson, incensed at having been left off “Batshit,” will have a second set of breasts implanted on her shoulders.
- Exhausted by yet another lawsuit (”People with Wii Controllers Lodged in Their Nostrils v. Nintendo”), Nintendo will pull the Wii from the U.S. market, blaming “litigious idiots” for ruining everyone’s good time. A class action lawsuit will be filed to get the game maker to return the device to American shelves.
- Offering a clue as to their analysis of their ‘08 prospects, the Republican machinery will begin to push forward the nomination of “Bob Dole, or somebody like that.” By December, the campaign to “Take Back America in ‘10 (After It’s Taken From Us)” will be in full swing and looking for a catchier name.
21 comments
gillian
January 1, 2007 at 3:10 pm
1Ashlee left off of “Batshit”? It’s a shame, she seems like such a natural for inclusion.
waterfowler
January 1, 2007 at 3:13 pm
2I used to like pudding. Keep it up Adam. I thought the “A” bomb was “Asshat”.
Just Jay
January 1, 2007 at 4:25 pm
3In a fit of financial responsibility and finally realizing the unfairness of passing massive debts to the next generation, the Democratic Congress will raise taxes across the board to cover the cost of the continuing Iraq conflict. Suddenly faced with real pain, the vast majority of Americans who thought that those $5.00 Support the Troops magnets met their war obligations will rise in rightous anger and demand full investigations into how and why the war started. All this will, of course, provide no comfort to the families of the dead and wounded, and the energy will have been much better spent in figuring out how to end our involvement without leaving a failed state. The Russians tried that in Afghanistan in 1989, and we all know how well that turned out. Not very funny this time.
Happy New Year to all.
Jay
P.S. Am I the only one who thinks that the execution of Saddam Hussein was greeted with a large sigh of relief in some American households because now there will be less urgency in the investigation into and trial for atrocities that may have proven embarassing? I’m thinking of chemical warfare attacks that used American supplied equipment and expertise.
J
David
January 1, 2007 at 5:07 pm
4J,
I think that is precisely why it was important to off him quickly for a relatively minor (NOT minor for the victims) crime of revenge that historically would have won kudos, at least in the history texts I remember from before the momentary enlightenment set in motion in the 60s.
You mean those magnetic ribbons on those big-assed, usually black or dark blue urban attack vehicles with the little W- The President stickers don’t qualify as obligation met in full? Sheesh.
Fogward Ho, ‘07.
another Matt
January 1, 2007 at 6:37 pm
5I predict that some of the large class action lawsuits predicted by Adam will result in very generous payouts to the attorneys who filed them. The injured plaintiffs will also participate in the bounty extorted from the fiendish companies responsible for their grievous injuries, receiving coupons for discounts on their next purchase from said fiendish companies . . .
In this manner, we will all be kept safe from any harm that could come our way, for all eternity.
Rebecca
January 1, 2007 at 6:58 pm
6One of the lyrics for “We Like Pudding (Holla For Pudding)” should be something like “pimpin’ for pudding.” I like alliteration.
ginny
January 1, 2007 at 7:21 pm
7I predict that “Job #1 Done” will appear on a banner welcoming our troops home from Iraq, but somebody will forget to order the “Job #2 Done” banner for the guys in Afghanistan for some time to come.
Later, the banner will be quietly 86′d when bloggers make tasteless jokes.
DaveD
January 2, 2007 at 4:23 am
8Hey J,
It’s more likely that when that majority of Americans rises up in anger it will not be to demand investigations into the war rationale, but rather in protest against those damn ‘tax and spend’ Democrats who always *raise* our taxes. They will of course be goaded on in this regard by the likes of O’Reilly, Limbaugh, and Coulter who will insist that it just proves that when you vote for Democrats you vote for taxes.
Harold
January 2, 2007 at 8:34 am
9I predict a new Wii game will be released called “U.S. Army Pre-Basic Training.” Players will be put through grueling calisthenics and weapons training simulations, using the Wii controllers to get the actual feeling of the muscle movements and to learn proper handling techniques. In order to unlock the coolest features players will need to fill out an extensive registration form and return it to the Office of Selective Service. High-scoring players can report their progress online and will receive a special surprise on their 18th birthdays.
cooper
January 2, 2007 at 9:53 am
10Funny you should mention the upcoming “The Nativity Story 2: Born Again”, as I’m currently sporting my Northern Sun bumper sticker - “Born Okay the First Time”. My daughter loves it; the rest of the Bible Belt populace here remains noncommittal.
Murray
January 2, 2007 at 4:02 pm
11I got to hear a lot of the eulogy for Jerry Ford today.
I watched back in ‘69 as he crowned our home coming queen. I also read the reply letter he sent to my brother who was in the Michigan National Guard in ‘70. Cal sent him a letter mentioned that part of the reason for the killings at Kent State was that the guards were being trained to fight students, and he gave several examples from his commanding officer, including how “if you are in a Jeep waiting for a light and Hippies come and start chanting anti war stuff, the regulations say wait for the light to turn and drive off. I say get out of the vehicle and beat the shit out of them.”
Cal went on to say that the Michigan National Guard needed to be examined before a similar incident happen there.
Ford replied with what looked like the “Kent State form letter” Which said “Thank you for your concern about the troubles at Kent State, I agree with you that the students need to be prosecuted for endangering the lives of our brave guardsmen. I will lead the charge to bring them to justice. Vote for me in November”.
It was hard to believe that the two letters were talking about the same thing. It was my first introduction to politics.
Jerry Ford was picked because he wasn’t that smart, he was a very loyal Republican who didn’t look like much of a threat to Nixon.
He was fairly honest and unassuming, a minor president, but next to our current one, he was a giant.
It's Pat!
January 2, 2007 at 4:52 pm
12President Ford did the infamous “cut and run” in 1975, and as a then 19 year-old, I thank him.
I don’t agree with the current Ford legacy statement that he saved the country from a terrible burden by pardoning Nixon. He saved the Republicans from a burden. The country would have been stronger for allowing the system to work. The system worked in Clinton’s impeachment. It should have done so for Nixon.
Here’s something else to wonder about - what if Reagan would have beaten Ford in the 1976 primary, as he almost did? What if Reagan had won the general election with a solid Democratic majority (which could have happened). Both Bushes would never have won (#2 never would have gotten sober unless Poppy had a chance to be the president). I think it would have caused the shift to so far right to have been moderated.
Oh hell, what’s the difference. Anyone up for a draft? Not the beer type.
SeattleDan
January 2, 2007 at 5:51 pm
13As the parent of a teenager who owns a Wii, I appreciate the predictions about the Ronin Strike Force. I will try to divert the young man’s attention to something else, once that game is released. But what to divert him with, aye, there’s the rub. Any suggestions are welcome.
cooper
January 2, 2007 at 6:53 pm
14SeattleDan, how about a good book?
Anybody else watch tonight as Keith Olbermann gave an impassioned plea to the President to not go ahead with the now leaked plan to have a surge of military personnel into Iraq? It may be several hours before his Special Comment makes it onto the internet, but certainly worth your time when it does.
SeattleDan
January 2, 2007 at 9:24 pm
15Coop, whenever the boy asks for a book, we get it for him. He’s not the reader his parents are, though he’s getting there. He’s a visual kinda guy, and reading for pleasure doesn’t come easy to him.
The Olbermann is up at CrooksandLiars and well worth watching.
tess
January 3, 2007 at 1:15 am
16SeattleDan,
It’s funny that you mention that your boy is a visual sort of a guy because there’re all these great books out there with all sorts of pictures and stuff. I think they’re called comic books, and Bush2 will probably have most of them in his presidential library. Something along the lines of “Mallard Fillmore” strips. Not the fancy-schmancy intellectual stuff like “Superman” or “Rose is Rose.”
Hell, give him “Sandman” graphic novels. At least he’ll be read up on most of his obscure mythology by the time he hits college and might take a course on classic mythology.
cooper
January 3, 2007 at 10:33 am
17My son, Adam, is a senior in HS and currently reading The Stranger by Albert Camus. Since the president read the book on summer vacation, perhaps he and Adam can become pen pals, so they can discuss the nuances of French Existentialism and absurdist fiction. Or not.
another Matt
January 3, 2007 at 3:05 pm
18GW read the Classics Illustrated version.
Mostly the pictures.
SeattleTammy
January 4, 2007 at 10:41 pm
19OOO-ooh. Roxanne has a page of the diary!
David
January 5, 2007 at 6:39 pm
20Tammy,
The comic absurdist picture is now complete. Thank you.
scott
January 8, 2007 at 9:43 pm
21ok, I laughed out loud at ” Holla for Pudding”. That’s going right into the Felber sourced lexicon with The Great Lobster.