It's January 1, 2010.  As per our long-standing, two-year tradition, it's time to make some predictions about the year to come.  As we disclaimed last year, we don't really know if these things will happen, but given our 7.5 out of 10 track record from our 2009 Score Card, it's possible at least 75% of the following will come true.

1.  Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security and former Governor of Arizona, will step down, return to Arizona, and run for Senate against four-term Senator and former GOP Presidential Nominee, John McCain (R-AZ).

2.  The decline in the commercial real estate market in 2009 will turn out to be just the beginning of the devastation for commercial properties, as commercial tenants fail and major commercial developers declare bankruptcy.

3. The stock market will dip significantly again, trending toward 8,000, before it begins to regain lost ground.

4. The "call it twenty-ten" movement will catch on and, by the end of the year, 2010 will be ubiquitously referred to as "twenty-ten" rather than "two-thousand-ten" or "oh-ten." As a side note, oh-ten would make the year 20,010, which is a really long time from now.

5. Voters will declare the 2010 elections a time for new representation in Washington, which means the Republicans will gain significantly in both the House and the Senate, as incumbents are run out of office by the dozens.

6. Wealthy families all over the country will take in and provide for needy kids as Baltimore Ravens star, Michael Oher's, story inspires people to reach out and care for kids who would benefit from having a family and stability in their lives.  If you aren't familiar with his story, see the movie Blind Side, which tells the true story of the Tuohys, the Memphis family who adopted Oher when he was in high school.

7. Health Care Reform will stall as the discussion between the House and the Senate devloves into an old-fashioned, knock-down, drag-out debate over abortion.

8. More and more Americans will begin to stock pile ammunition, guns, food, and water as concerns over the decline in the social fabric lead citizens to a survivalist mentality, where they believe they have to take basic survival matters into their own hands.  This will make already hard-to-find ammunition and guns virtually impossible to buy.

9.Because we still believe we were right on this one, but just slightly off on the timing, we are repeating this 2009 prediction: Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen will regret firing Head Coach Mike Shanahan when Shanahan is picked up by another NFL team, beats the Broncos, and makes it to the playoffs in his first year with his new team.

10. Churches and other places of worship will see increased attendance as people seek solace from the economy (which will continue to decline) and unemployment (which will continue to increase). 

There they are, friends.  Ten predictions for 2009.  Of course, if you have any of your own predictions, let us know.

Be great in twenty-ten. And, always develop your skill on par with your talent.

Happy New Year from the Rudy Syndrome!