Today's Kibitz features the value of saying Goodbye/Good Riddance and why Immigrants are not the boogeymen. We also review our 2018 predictions, and boldly post what's going to happen in 2019!
Good Riddance Day! What could be a better idea for the closing moments of 2018? This has become a tradition in NYC Times Square, where the public is invited to write down what they most want to say 'Sayonara' to. Then, after being posted briefly for everyone to read, these thoughts are placed into a shredder and away they go! Yes, good riddance and it's so therapeutic; if only it could be that simple.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nydn-people-shred-their-2018-bad-memories-at-good-riddance-day-in-times-square-20181228-photogallery.html
Vying for the top spot of The Daily Kibitz's own 'Good Riddance' note is Fox News and specifically Tucker Carlson. In a year that featured a Fox fleet of supertanker's worth of BS being broadcast every day, Carlson finished the season strong with his recent comments about immigrants. They "are making our country poorer, dirtier and more divided" was a just-in-time-for-Christmas feel-good statement. And before there is any question, Carlson spoke of Immigrants. No "illegal" or "undocumented" qualifiers.
Stay with me here, it may sound crazy but it just might be that Tucker Carlson and his like-minded friends at Fox are simple-minded, nationalist racists. If they aren't, they are broadcasting messages that connect with a simple-minded, nationalist racist audience. You know, the Trump base.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/12/15/tucker-carlson-said-immigration-makes-america-dirtier-so-an-advertiser-took-action/?utm_term=.31624a0ce056
The overwhelming majority of economists agree that we need immigrants. Our country consistently experiences significant socio-economic churn. Our population ages. We need a constant labor and brain supply to fill the gap of what we can't provide on our own. Immigrants represent the needed "in-take" for our economic engine to expand and thrive. Cutting them off would be like pinching off the gas line of your car. Here's what our friends at the Brooking Institute have to say about this issue:
https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/in-defense-of-immigrants-heres-why-america-needs-them-now-more-than-ever/
Immigrants come in all colors and classes. From Laborers to CEOs. When we place an "Immigrants Not Welcome" sign at our door, well... guess where the next generation of non-American doctors, engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs, etc. are NOT going to go. Our colleges are a major destination for overseas students - for now. But other countries have great colleges too and will be seen as more welcoming. This "No Immigrants Allowed" idea has been a policy goal within the Trump Administration since ever (see Steven Bannon and Stephen Miller). It's nothing new for hard right wingnuts who want a White Christian Nation.
As you may recall, at this time last year I went into a trance and uttered out a brief series of events/scenarios called The Daily Kibitz 2018 Predictions. Let's take a quick peek at what kind of prognosticating skills I have:
-- Trump is not impeached, but may not remain in office past early 2019. His criminal culpability will be revealed. There may be an arrangement made for him to just go away...
-- Jared Kushner and Donald Jr. are toast. Ivanka cuts a deal and skates.
-- Congress does not act to impeach because some GOP-ers are complicit with Russian money, influence and "kompromat". Republican leadership is "circling the wagons" to prevent damning details from emerging.
-- November Mid-Terms will be tumultuous and see Democrats winning back the House by a slender margin. Senate remains Republican by one vote. There will be enormous problems with voter suppression and tech-based voting "glitches". Epic long lines of people waiting to vote. Russia continues its bot and disinformation campaign in service for the GOP.
-- Threat of war in North Korea (there may even be a coup that ousts Lil' Kim), but the real action takes place in the Persian Gulf region.
-- Many more present and past Members of Congress revealed as sexual harassers/predators... both parties. In fact, the whole #metoo movement will upend virtually every corner of American life. Long overdue!!
-- More drought out West, working its way to the East. Ocean and Air Temps continue to rise.
-- The Chicago White Sox finish last in their division in 2018, but will win the Wild Card in 2019.
OK... not bad. A little wobbly here and there, but what the hey. Some of these happened and others may yet occur. I continue to think that Trump won't be impeached, but he won't finish his term, either. Kushner and Jr. will face a judge at some point, and Ivanka will not.
What I didn't see coming was how a Supreme Court nominee confirmation process could distill the #MeToo movement into a month of outrage, galvanizing both bases which resulted in a historic 40-seat Blue Wave in the House of Representatives.
Another event not foreseeable was the super fun Trump-Putin Helsinki summit. Spending hours with Putin with just a translator - no records were kept and no review of the meeting was ever released - was bad enough. But when The President took Putin's side against all 14 U.S. intelligence agencies... well, I can't imagine any other President remaining President for very long. But then, he had a complicit Congress to protect him.
Oh, I could bore you for hours about other events transpired that were unforeseeable... but instead, let's turn to future unforeseeables - The Daily Kibitz 2019 Predictions!
-- There will be a major reveal through the Mueller investigation that makes everyone say, "huh". By mid-year or so, we see that Mueller, the SDNY and other investigations have plenty on Trump, but he is not the primary target.
-- Chief Justice John Roberts will disappoint the GOP this year. Watch him "manage" Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.
-- There will be some sort of Bump between militaries in the South China Sea, near the artificial islands that China has been constructing.
-- As the US exerts more pressure against Iran, there might be some retaliatory Iranian/Russian cyber shenanigans involving US infrastructure.
-- More Cabinet members will get canned. Likely next on the block: Dr. Ben Carson of H.U.D.
-- There will be a tumultuous confirmation process for Bill Barr as Attorney General. He will get confirmed, but it will be a Pyrrhic Victory with no trust or confidence in his actions or office.
-- The U.S. economy goes into serious wobble mode by Halloween.
-- Another record year for high temperatures world-wide. More droughts here and more rainfall deluges there. Greenland will continue to be in the news as its ice blanket melts. The House of Representatives will hold high-profile hearings on climate change and the immediate socio-economic negative impact it brings.
-- The 2020 primary season kicks in after Labor Day. Trump keeps others out of the GOP race. It's his party. The Democrats squabble and scrabble, looking for messages and candidates. By the end of year, it's Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Beto O'Rourke, Cory Booker and Amy Klobucher at the head of a crowded pack.
-- The Chicago White Sox will finish last in their division. Injuries and front office screw-ups keep them from progressing. This prediction is on repeat.
Wow. That's a lot going on for 2019. I won't even tell you what I see happening in 2020, because you wouldn't believe me... and I don't believe it, either. Regardless, we're in for a helluva ride this next year. Hope it's safe and healthy and fun for you, and - as always - thanks for reading!!
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