Archive for 'Predictions' Category

Is BP preparing to reduce presense in Gulf as soon as well is killed?

Last May, barely a month after the “Deepwater Horizon” exploded off the coast of Louisiana, Right Wing cranks were already dismissing the expected environmental impact of the “spill” (see my video: “Where’s the oil?”). Now that the well has been capped (but not plugged or killed) and all that toxic dispersant has reduced the appearance [...]

The Amazing Mugsy’s Predictions for 2010.

Okay, maybe calling myself “The Amazing Mugsy” is a bit of a stretch. So sue me. It’s the final Monday of the first decade of the new millennium (though technically, 2000 was the last year of the 20th Century). Every year at this time, I like to pause to make my predictions for the coming [...]

1.2.3. What are We Fightin’ For? Obama to send more troops to Afghanistan.

Special Edition Country Joe & The Fish said it best in their famed anti-Vietnam War song: “1.2.3. What are We Fightin’ For?” A question I’ve been asking myself since President Obama took office.     Last night, President Obama addressed the nation from the West Point Military Academy to tell us he was sending another [...]

Thoughts on the Afghan War Prior to Obama’s Speech

This will be a short commentary preceding President Obama’s address to the nation Tuesday night regarding sending additional troops to Afghanistan. It is expected that President Obama will announce plans to send between 32 and 35 thousand additional troops to Afghanistan, slightly less than the 40,000 General Stanley McChrystal reportedly asked for last September. What [...]

Wait for it: Some Republican hypocrisy I see coming down the pike. (UPDATED)

Benjamin Franklin famously said: “Only two things in life are certain: Death and Taxes.” If I may be so bold as to try and improve upon Poor Richard’s sage observation, we can add “Republican Idiocy” to that list. The “Stimulus Bill” has already provided us with multiple examples last week. Republicans in both the House [...]

Mugsy’s Predictions for 2009. (seven for 12 in ’08, so you can trust me)

(Before I start, I would like to follow up on my 12/17 story of the potential disastrous consequences of the Fed cutting interest rates to 0% earlier this month. Nothing I write here would be as good an analysis of the current meltdown on Wall Street as Joseph Stiglitz’s “Capital Fools” story in this month’s [...]

“October Surprise”? – Fringe benefits for the Neocons from the crisis in Georgia you might not have considered.

This is one of those obscenely complicated and convoluted subjects that is difficult to explain without sounding like a ranting lunatic. And like any complicated subject, it takes a while to explain, so get comfy while I take this step-by-step (I’m getting this report out early because, after working on it for nearly a week, [...]

Mugsy’s Predictions for 2008. (I’ll try to do better this time.)

Last year was my first attempt at making political predictions for the coming year. I’m not sure what the typical batting average is, but my “2 out of 10: 20%” success rate is arguably above average: God told Pat Robertson that the United States would be hit by another terrorist attack in 2007. This would [...]