12 Fearless 2025 Predictions

I looked back on my 2024 predictions and though I did nail that Joe Biden would withdraw from running for President. I did not guess correctly that Donald Trump would also withdraw and with a pardon. Despite my predictions, Twitter did not go dark and the Russia-Ukraine war did not end. I did not fare well in my sports predictions.

However, I am back with my 2025 predictions. My crystal ball looks a bit gloomy and stormy…

Image by AI
  1. With a cabinet with incompetent and mediocre appointees by President Trump, brace for turmoil during any emergency or major national issue. Expect significant mismanagement in response to natural disasters (hurricanes) or medical crises (epidemics), resulting in widespread public frustration and delays in assistance.
  2. I expect an unsatisfactory resolution in 2025 to the Ukraine-Russia war now that Trump is President. I anticipate a huge FU to our European allies who have made significant economic and financial sacrifices who have assisted Ukraine. My sense is that Europe and NATO will have little influence or say how the war is resolved.
  3. The mainstream press will continue to erode. Layoffs among journalists will rise, and investigative reporting will wane due to mounting fears of libel lawsuits. The result? A media landscape increasingly dominated by shallow reporting and sensationalism with declining viewership and subscription.
  4. With America’s collective attention span shrinking, network TV shows, many sports events (including the NBA), and news programs will see further declines in audience engagement. Streaming platforms and niche content will solidify their dominance as traditional formats struggle.
  5. Iran is poised for more liberal reforms. Humiliated by its ongoing struggles with Israel and diminishing influence in the Middle East, internal pressures will drive gradual social and political changes, signaling a shift away from strict authoritarianism.
  6. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will become engaged this year. Hedging my bets if this means they will get married.
  7. The 76ers will inch into the play-in round of the NBA Championship playoffs where they will lose in the first round. Joel Embiid will not play due to injury. Process #2 begins with the firing of Nick Nurse and the trade of Embiid after the season.
  8. Christianity in America will increasingly shift focus from spiritual worship to political and cultural conservatism. Expect legislation at both state and federal levels aiming to roll back rights on abortion, birth control, and civil rights for LGBTQ individuals, women, and racial minorities, with the Supreme Court playing a pivotal role.
  9. 2025 will bring further credible evidence of extraterrestrial activity. Governments worldwide will grapple with the implications, leading to heightened discussions about national security and military preparedness in the face of potential unknown threats.
  10. Neither current NFL favorites, Kansas City or Detroit will win the 2025 Super Bowl.
  11. There will be similar concerns about Donald Trump’s physical and mental decline similar to the experiences about Joe Biden. Joe’s issues were obfuscated by the First Lady, Jill. Trump will have not have similar cover from Melania.
  12. With increasing dissatisfaction among Democrats and moderates, a new third-party movement will gain momentum, fueled by widespread dissatisfaction with the two-party system, but it will face significant hurdles in gaining electoral traction.









What This Comedian Said Will Shock You by Bill Maher (Review and Notes)

I am a huge Bill Maher fan. I’ve been watching Politically Incorrect since it debuted in 1993. Maher could be considered the Will Rogers of today’s culture. But Maher is more cutting, dynamic, controversial and cynical than Rogers ever was. Plus Maher has met plenty of people he did not like. Maher’s style is more like H.L. Mencken. Maher and Jon Stewart are the rational minds and voices that Americans need badly.

I’d recommend Maher’s books of essays about politics, media, cancel culture, Trump, education and civil war etc. to anyone interested in current events, history and politics. But I understand that 40% of the country might prefer to listen to Greg Gutfield and The Five. Their loss! I find Maher to be a very fair interviewer on his show, civil and willing to give opposite views from him a fair hearing.

Read the varied essays at your leisure. Maher incorporates humor with his opinions and criticisms. Try it, you may like it…

I have posted some excerpts that caught my eye and mind…

A job in Congress is just so much better than racking the weights at CrossFit, which is what Marjorie Taylor Greene did before she set her crazy eyes on the prize. And once you get the gig, it’s yours for life. The re-election rate in the house for incumbents in 2022 was 95% – – that’s better job security than a pedophile priest has.

Everybody keeps asking, how could a guy (George Santos) like this happen?” I’ll tell you how: because no one cares anymore about substance. It’s all tribalism. The only thing that matters is “is he on our team?” Is he doing our schtick?” Santos is just the first one to realize you could do both sides’ schtick and get away with it because people have completely tuned out anything that doesn’t already fit their narrative.

Americans are far too dim and distracted to responsibly make a (voting) choice in just weeks or even months. Americans actually think it’s a brag to say that they’re cynical about politics and therefore don’t follow it. Don’t flatter yourself. Cynical comes when you know too much; you, on the other hand, haven’t bothered to learn anything.

This country simply has no education standards anymore – – they will let you out of a public high school and give you a diploma and you don’t have to actually know anything. Which used to be a mission of schools: knowing things.

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok – – these are not places to read in the sense of garnering real and valuable information; they are what replaced reading so you’d have more time to take pictures of your dick. Sorry, but staring at your phone doesn’t make you a reader anymore than watching fireworks makes you an astronomer, or getting a tramp stamp makes you ass a museum.

Trump calls the Mueller report “the crazy Mueller report, “and in a way he’s right, because it’s over 400 pages detailing terrible crimes by a corrupt president, yet Mueller doesn’t prosecute. If Dostoevsky had written this report, it would be called “Crime and no Punishment.”

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump nicknamed his penis “Mike Pence” because it’s not hung like it should be.

Our economy no longer creates a middle class, it sucks it dry. Sometimes “middle class” just means you’re poor but you don’t do meth. And remember, this is the good economy, where 40% of Americans can’t afford a $400 emergency expense and 50 million have nothing saved for retirement. Sorry, but it is not middle-class when your retirement plan is a lotto ticket.

When did the American business model switch from honestly selling you a product to tricking the consumer who doesn’t read the fine print? You ever wonder, “Why is my cell phone contract longer than a CVS receipt?” If you forget to turn off “data roaming” and you go to Vancouver for the weekend, Verizon gets to keep your children. This is the way we do business, and it’s all based on the cynical premise of you fucking up: that they can wear you down, confuse you or count on you to forget.

Before we tackle any of our daunting specific problems here in America, we have to figure out how a country can solve any problem if so, many of its people are so intractably,, astoundingly, mind numbingly stupid. And I’m not saying that as hyperbole or just out of frustration. I mean this country just might be empirically, verifiably too fucking dumb to continue as an ongoing enterprise.

Colleges have turned into giant, luxury daycare centers with overpaid babysitters anxious to indulge every student whim.

Every year at graduation time we witnessed the ritual of commencement addresses, when America’s overrated, gas bags, and wisdom-free celebrities are invited by star fucking universities to come to their school and tell a bunch of spoiled, stoned, debt laden brats things like “You’re only limit is your own imagination” and The world will be a better place for having you in it.”

Before the Internet, you only had to put up with your wingnut uncle on Thanksgiving. Now he’s forwarding you proof that Trump won Arizona and Epstein was murdered by the QAnon shaman. The street corner nut with the sandwich board used to be laughed at; now he’s linked to.

Do you know the reason why advertisers in this country love the 18 to 34 demographic? Because it’s the most gullible. A third of people under 35 say they’re in favor of abolishing the police – – not defunding, but doing away with a police force altogether, which is less of a policy position, and more of a leg tattoo. 36% of millennials think it might be a good idea to try communism.

Is there anything more self-defeating than not using old people as a resource? Not taking advantage of their accumulated knowledge? Everywhere else in the world elders are sought for guidance. In America, elders are sought for TikTok pranks.

Now, I get it, Christians love to feel persecuted – – it’s part of their origin story. But it’s been a long time since anyone was getting eaten by the lions in the Colosseum. 64% of the country is Christian, not to mention every president we’ve ever had, so please don’t tell me, in what universe does it make sense when Sean Hannity says, “The liberal media’s war against religion is alive and well.”

Mental Defragmentation

Sorting through various and disparate ideas in my mind…

Friends disappoint, strangers rarely.

***

The greatest gift one can provide to another person is their attention.

***

Generally the people who urge the banning of certain books rarely (or can’t) read.

***

Too many Americans can’t read between the “lies’ much less read between the “lines.”

***

The most thoughtful commentary and analysis of our political and cultural discourse are often found in comedy. (See SNL openings, Doonesbury, Bill Maher etc.)

***

The most preposterous, unintentionally comic and inane commentary and analysis of our political and cultural discourse are often found from the mouths of politicians, pundits and government officials.

***

For me, gambling ads on social media, television and websites are as morally and ethically repugnant as cigarette ads decades ago.

***

If you can’t stand up to a dictator in your own party, why should anyone trust that you would stand up to a dictator in another country?

***

Home prices, gasoline, food, cars and other hard assets continue to inflate, good judgement, rationality and truth continue to abate.

***

Regrettably there is no one-shot vaccination against one of our major contagions, stupidity. Worse, the ones who are most infected would refuse to take it.

***

Three unappreciated occupations dealing with unrealized expectations and public disdain: Detroit Lions head coach, convenience store cashier and public school teacher.

***

Pennsauken High School has an 81% graduation rate. However only 26% can pass a reading proficiency test; only 6% can pass a math proficiency test. How low is the bar to graduate from Pennsauken High School? Which business would take a chance to hire a graduate from PHS based on those statistics?

***

Coincidentally Pennsauken voters will be voting on a bond referendum that includes funding for a new indoor pool. Makes sense as a lot of Pennsauken students are already drowning in terms of their education and future.

***

We live in a country where many people believe professional wrestling is real, the 2020 election was stolen, Joe Rogan is a better health expert than Dr. Fauci, vaccination mandates are totalitarian, the Capitol takeover on 1/6/2021 was: justified/a liberal plot/a peaceful demonstration of American patriots/not instigated by Trump. So much for American exceptionalism!

***

Menckenians

Listed below are my “Menckenians,” my observations and aphorisms about politics, sports and life in general… It is a homage to H.L. Mencken who was a renowned columnist, writer and critic of politics, religion, culture and business from 1920 to 1950. His observations from almost a century ago can be applied today. He was that era’s Hunter Thompson, irreverent, caustic and cynical.

—–

If John Paul II can be canonized  a saint and Rush Limbaugh can be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, then Pete Rose can be inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame.

***

If a huge asteroid was hours away from devastating earth, Amazon would still be delivering orders, conspiracy theorists would be posting anti-science Facebook and social media posts, the S&P would rise 5% and Congress would be deadlocked in funding a military operation that would destroy the asteroid.

***

If all our problems and issues could be tidied up and resolved just like all those at the end of a Hallmark movie.

***

To document the decline in American “exceptionalism”, compare the behavior, sacrifice, leadership and patriotism of American citizens in 1942, after Pearl Harbor with our national leadership and citizenry today during covid.

***

Are all Facebook friends, “friends?”

***

I would not tell a religious person that there is no god with the same consideration that I would not tell a young child there is no Santa Claus.

***

Alex Trebek worked almost to the moment of his death as host of Jeopardy because he valued education. Donald Trump has played golf, thrown Christmas parties and wasted money on ridiculous court challenges as thousand of Americans die from covid daily. Two men, only one worth the praise and support he is receiving.

***

Does one become an author when one drafts and publishes a book or essay or until someone reads it? (If a tree falls in a forest, does it make a sound if no one is around?)

***

Sin? Does it exist anymore?

***

For Eagle fans excited about Jalen Hurts replacing Carson Wentz, I have the following words for you, A.J. Feely, Bobby Hoying, Mike Boryla, Koy Detmer..

***

2020: Winners and Losers

2020 has and continues to be a tumultous year politically, economically, financially and culturally. Here is a list of some winners and losers so far…

WinnersLosers

Karma

Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO

Wall Street

Netflix

Zoom

Fake News

NBA, NHL

Peloton

Mitch McConnell

Health Care and Essential Workers Covid Response

Dr. Jill Biden

Conspiracy theories

Philadelphia Union

Rudy Giuliani, Jerry Fallwell Jr.

Amazon warehouse workers

Main Street

AMC, Regal movie theaters

Commercial Real Estate

Science

NFL, MLB, NCAA

Planet Fitness, gyms

Donald Trump

U.S. Congress and Executive Branch Covid Response

Melania Trump

Reality

Philadelphia Eagles
2020 Winners and Losers