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| And there it is ... 2014 January 1st, 2014, Kansas City: And another year has begun |
| Now, there it is, the year 2014. Just like 2012 or 2013, it begins with fireworks. Which is quite usual for new years. And it begins with a lot of hope and fears, which is also quite usual for new years. So, lets see, what is on the list for 2014? Obamacare. Of course, because Obamacare is always on the list. 2014 is the year, the new plans should cover all Americans. Only the technical problems are not under control, only 2.1 million people enlisted and thus, there are still millions out there without insurance while millions more are about to lose their old insurance when the Obama quick fix runs out right after the elections in November. So, the old Democratic strategy to lure people in voting for them and to hit them afterwards over the head is obviously still well and alive. Which is basically the only thing well and alive with Obamacare as it is right now, at the New Year's Day of 2014. Because, you know, all your data, you entered on their website probably has made it safely to the NSA data centers. Alas, it hasn't made it to the insurers. Which means, if you break a leg today and go to an ER, they can't check whether you are actually insured and therefore have to treat you for now as uninsured anyway. And even if you are one of the rare people with a new card already ... since you got the "affordable" Bronze-Plan, your deductibles are high and you end up most likely with a co-payment of about $1000 because the usual broken leg without any surgery needed costs about $2500. More x-rays of course add up to it. Well, broken legs are relatively cheap, so lets hope, you don't need for example a gall bladder removed, than you are in for $10,000. Additionally to your premiums. And those are higher than for your old insurance. So the Obamacare drama isn't over yet, it will haunt us the whole year 2014, which is only fair because it will haunt the lives of millions of American people forever. Not that is was a bad idea to get health insurance for the people. The failure was not in the basic wish, the failure was in the way it was done. Which proves once more, the opposite of "well meant" is "well done" What else? Oh yes, Syria. This civil war is far from over. The Obama adminsitration didn't get their way to go to war there. Instead, the C-weapons are destroyed. Does that end the problem for us, in America? No, it doesn't. There will be new attempts and just like the Carter administration, so has Obama's administration defined basically everyone who fights the government there defined as "good". Well, we know how thing worked out with Carter's decsions in the long term. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban were the results. And at least Al-Qaeda will profit even more from any military intervention in Syria, especially of the kind, that doesn't allow any control, what is going on on the ground and therefore will play the remaining weapon's arsenal of the dictator in the hands of those who can move the fastest on the ground. Just like in Libya. That's the downside of limiting action to air strikes. Still, I guess, Obama will come up with another attmept to jump in the fray, especially if he faces more domestic problems and needs a distraction. Looking on my list, I see, Winter Olympics in Sotchi. People like Winter Olympics, there is nothing like seeing a ski racer smashing with 120 mph into the slope fencing, isn't there? That beats even a good NASCAR crash. So, a few weeks of joy, fun and harmony | ... well yeah, except for the usual disturbing factors.
 A new year ... same old, same old!Gays will complain about Russia's anti-gay laws. They should but maybe they can find a more appropriate time? Most people watch the Olympics for the sport and regardless what you may think, analsex is no sport! Which means, most people will not care anyway and feel, your actually rightful complaints will make you look like a bunch of pissed fairy divas. Which not, how you want to look ... I guess? Political activists. Those will use the Olympics as platform to yell at us about Syria, human rights in Russia, the bad state of the population of the Andalusian Juice Snail and about two dozen other things. Newsflash: You people yelled so much, there aren't many people listening to you anymore. So, you can save the energy and if you find a more appropriate time, maybe you find a wider audience. Especially if you yell less and talk more. People are not stupid, you know? They only get tired of being yelled at from all directions. And then, we have the dangerous ones, the terrorists. Now, this time, they will probalby come from Dagestan and Chechnya. They wil think, they fight and die for some "freedom" or "righteous cause". And they will think, killing innocents is entirely justified by this cause. Lets be honest here: No terrorist organization, how rightful or not their cause ever was, has won any conflict by mere terrorism and attacking the innocents. You can look in the history books. All, terrorism does is strengthen the resolve of your targets to live on and give you nothing. You could have been better adivsed to call out a truce during the games and send some athletes. Even if they wouldn't have won medals, they would have won sympathies. But then, most of those causes have not much to do with being reasonable to start with, right? So, we know, there are terrorists out there bent to spread murder and mayhem, we know, it is technically impossible to make the Olympics a safe place because while it is possible to protect the event sites, one can't protect all hotels, malls, bars and tourist attractions in the wider area and check points produce usually long queues - the perfect target for suicide bombers. So, chances are, the terrorists will go for it and kill some people. And thus, they will unite the bigger part of the world in spending applause when the Russians afterwards bomb your sorry reas to your Djehennah ... which is where you will end up because you violated the Qa'ran. Hey, read the thing occasionally, guys. Preferrably before you blow people up in Allah's name. What else? Iran? The negotiations go on and they will lead to some kind of result. The Iranians can't give up their program entirely, but the Obama administration needs success stories, how faked and surrealistc they may be. And Russia for example will like any solution that allows them to sell more nuclear technology to the Mullahs, they need the money. So, Iran, predictable, boring, and if people sit at a table who all want everything, but not really talk about the real problem, from where should a real solution come? | Basically, the same can be said about 2014 and Egypt. They will get a Constitution. General al-Sisi will run for President and feel quite uncomfortable about it. The Muslim Brotherhood will gun innocent people at voting booths and every left-leaning government in the world will still cry, Mursi was the democratic elected President (only the elections were before anyone else had time or money to organize anything like a campaign). It won't change a thing. Egypt needs stability and that is what they will get, at least partially, in 2014. Egypt is a great country. People there have written World history since almost five-thousand years. What we see there is not more than a glitch compared to that long time. And other people, tourists, will come back and spend money to see the witnesses of this long history as soon as there is a reasonable assumption of safety for them. Which consequently won't solve all of Egypts economical problems but will help a lot. 2014, it is also an election year in the US. Democrats are hampered by the Obamacare disaster, but basically, that was true for the last two elections too. As you remember, in 2010, Republicans took back the House but in 2012, Obama was re-elected. So, for the Democrats things depend on how successful they can make people forget the Obamacare disaster, their riding to war in Syria attempt, and, most important, how critic-free they followed always the Democratic whip in Senate, Harry Reid in the person cult about Obama. It is not sure, they will lose the Senate and it is not certain, they will remain Minority in the House. But for the Democrats to make it a victory in House and Senate, they have to prove, they have an own identity and are more than just Obama's cult followers. For the Republicans ... they are hampered by infighting and some of them, namely Boehner, have defended NSA spying on the American citizens once to often to be electable any longer. Add to that for example Lindsay Graham, politeness dictates to call his problems "medical", Republicans could be up for a bad hangover after the elections. A way to avoid that would cater less to the religious fringe and more to the wider voter spectrum of conservatives without religious affilitaions. But those are the ones, you would expect from the Republicans finally to stand their ground and don't do more deal with a President who has as of yet broken all deals. Bottom line: 2014 will be an interesting year. A lot of things are going on and for a lot of things, we know already, they won't work out, regardless how fervent the promoters tell us, everything is fine. A lot of things will hit us and hit us hard, especially in the US. Today, 1.3 million Americans run out of unemployment benefits. Means, they will not be counted as unemployed persons anymore but will join the already 27 million Americans, the Obama administration is hiding from the statistcs in order to look good. But those people will need welfare instead and so, they still cost money. It will be interesting to see, where the administration will get this money. All together we will live in 2014 in interesting times. Not without reason, the Chinese have a curse to their worst enemies "may you live in interesting times". Because actually, interesting times suck! - PB - |
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