Better than Usual!
By Let’s try an oh-so-rare 2013 Predictions Progress Report:
World Series Champion: Cincinnati Reds
Number of new Venezuelan Presidents: 1
Academy Award, Best Picture: Lincoln
Afghanistan Coalition fatalities: 315 (+/- 15)
North Korean nuclear tests: 1
Sunsets on the Syria under President of Bashar al-Assad: 75 (+/- 7)
College Basketball National Champion: Louisville Cardinals
Heisman Trophy: Marcus Mariota
Israeli strikes on Iran: 0
Egyptian Military Coups: 1
Supreme Court vacancies: 1
2013 3rd Quarter GDP growth: 3.2% (+/-.2%)
Number of former Russian aircraft carriers delivered to Indian Navy: 0
Barack Obama approval rate, 12/31/13: 51.3% (+/- .3%)
By my standards, that’s pretty goddamn successful, assuming that the Norks don’t detonate another nuke, Maduro sticks for the rest of the year, and SCAF can manage not to launch another coup against itself. Of the rest, I’m very confident on the Israelis, Mariota is as good a choice as anyone at this point. The Reds aren’t a terrible bet right now, and while the Vikramaditya seems to be coming along, I’m sure the Russians will figure out some way to fuck it up.
The GDP growth numbers look pretty optimistic, as do the Obama approval rate numbers. The Afghan Coalition casualty numbers look way pessimistic. The Supreme Court… eh, with four people upside of three score and ten, it’s hardly impossible.