Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
14 can’t-miss predictions for 2017
14 can’t-miss predictions for 2017
Jan 20, 2026 8:58 AM

At the beginning of 2016, piled a list that included 1,034 predictions for ing year. I later went through and narrowed it down to the top 500 that I was absolutely certain would happen. Even after cutting the list down, though, I only managed to achieve a 67 percent accuracy rate. (Unfortunately, I forgot to post that list in public so it is difficult to verify. You’ll just have to take my word for it.)

This year, in an attempt to get 100 percent correct, I’ve cut my list of predictions to the ones that I’m absolutely sure e true. Here are 14 can’t-miss predictions for 2017:

• Agricultural subsidies e under increased scrutiny after the discovery that soylent green, one of the America’s most heavily subsidized crops, is people.

• A bipartisan coalition of Democrats and Republicans agree to filibuster a proposed bill only to discover that Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse was not introducing new legislation but merely reading the text of the U.S. Constitution.

• The mainstream media’s fascination with Pope Francis will finally end after they discover that the Pope is indeed still Catholic.

• An existential crisis brought on by constant criticism will cause the fact-checking organization Polifact to change it’s name to Pilatefact and its slogan to “What is post-truth?”

• A rogue architect will use dynamite to blow up the Cortlandt Homes housing project.

• The United Nations will be the subject of another scandal after it’s discovered that no-bid contracts were offered to Halliburton for the purchase of the UN’s fleet of Black Helicopters.

• Congress fails to pass an immigration reform bill. Hungry, job-less workers, with no discernible skills or ability to speak our language will continue to pour in from Canada.

•Donald Trump will copyright #MAGA and use the proceeds from the royalty payments to reduce the FY2017 budget deficit.

•Iraq will officially change the country’s name back to ‘Babylon’ in a successful attempt to freak out pre-millennial dispensational Evangelicals.

• After selecting “on fleek” as their Word of the Year, the Oxford English Dictionary pronounces the officialdeath of the English language.

• Peter Jackson will announce he’s begun filming a 12-hour version ofThe Silmarillion in order plete his lifelong ambition of ruining every book written byJ. R. R. Tolkien.

• Twitter will join with GEICO to sell an insurance policy that provides a year’s worth of e if you are fired because of something you posted on Twitter.

• Acton senior research fellow Jordan Ballor will win the 2017 Wolfgang Musculus Award for being the only person alive who has heard of Wolfgang Musculus.

• For the 64th year in a row, political activists will once again attempt to immanentize the eschaton.

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
EPA must examine climate change link
The Supreme Court ruled today (5-4) in the case of Massachusetts v. EPA (05-1120) “that the federal government had the authority to regulate greenhouse gases that may contribute to global warming, and must examine anew the scientific evidence of a link between those gases and climate change.” Toward the end of last year some were arguing that “this case is not about the science of climate change. There is no dispute that human emissions of greenhouse gases affect the global...
‘Reverse’ subsidies
A couple weeks ago the NYT magazine ran a piece by contributing writer Tina Rosenberg, which attempts to outline some of the ways in which “everyone in a wealthy nation has e the beneficiary of the generous subsidies that poorer countries bestow upon rich ones.” What does she mean? In “Reverse Foreign Aid,” Rosenberg asserts that there are five major forms of poor-to-rich international subsidy. The first is the tendency among poorer nations to build-up great reserves of hard currency,...
John Paul II: a Protestant tribute
Those who know me are not surprised to learn that I sincerely admired Pope John Paul II for many years. At first, like many Protestants, I saw him only as the pope, thus as a person standing in some kind of opposition to my own Christian faith. After I began to grasp what I believed about the Creed’s affirmation regarding “one, holy, catholic church” I found my heart melted to love all Christians everywhere. It was not hard for me...
A one-size-fits-all approach to charity regulation?
Anyone concerned with good governance in the nonprofit sector — and it’s independence — should read the updated draft report on “principles of effective practice” issued by Independent Sector. The group has been working closely with the Senate Finance Committee, which for the past two years has been investigating abuses in the world of charities and nonprofits. The abuses, which usually involve excessive pensation and lavish perks, pop up with dreary regularity. A good example of this is what’s been...
Global warming media day
It’s global warming media day at the NYT and elsewhere following the SCOTUS decision on Massachusetts v. EPA: Linda Greenhouse, “Justices Say E.P.A. Has Power to Act on Harmful Gases,” New York Times.Andrew C. Revkin, “Reports From Four Fronts in the War on Warming,” New York TimesEditorial, “The Court Rules on Warming,” New York Times“The Global Warming Survival Guide,” Time (HT: Zondervan>To the Point)“Warming ruling squeezes Bush from both sides,” MSNBCDavid B. Rivkin, Jr., “Discussion Board: Thoughts on Mass v....
Virtue and freedom in a culture of enterprise
Last week I participated in the inaugural “Culture of Enterprise in an Age of Globalization” symposium at the Cato Institute. The event, co-sponsored by Cato and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, is part of an ambitious new program that aims to encourage scholarly reflection on and greater awareness of those factors that contribute to the building and maintaining of a humane and vibrant economy—a “culture of enterprise.” The papers are available for listening or viewing at Cato’s site. If you observe...
Climate Conspiracy Theory (w/apologies to CS Lewis)
MY DEAR WORMWOOD, It is indeed fortunate that Our Father has seen fit to quech our appetites in another way and put you in a new role despite your losing in quite dramatic style your former patient to our Enemy. At least you have the good sense to continue our counsel together. I note what you say about your patient’s apparent obsession with things terrestrial and that you’ve been taking care that he sees a good deal of his apoplectic...
Faith-based organizations measure success
Here’s a mended read for anyone interested in measuring the effectiveness of a faith-based charity. The Heritage Foundation has published a special report titled, e-Based Evaluation: Faith-Based Social Service Organizations and Stewardship” by Patrick F. Fagan, Ph.D., Claudia Horn, Calvin W. Edwards, Collette Caprara, and Karen M. Woods — Acton’s former Director of Effective Compassion. Summary: e-based evaluation has the potential to engender a revolution of increased effectiveness in the mu­nity and to debunk skeptics’ claim that faith-based programs are...
New Call of the Entrepreneur website
is now open to the public. Stop on by for the latest updates on Acton’s new documentary, The Call of the Entrepreneur. You can view the trailer via YouTube or watch a higher resolution version via the “View the Trailer” tab. Find out where the premieres will be, or request to host a screening by visiting the “Premiere Information” tab. To see a little bit more about the people featured in the documentary, visit the “About the Film” tab....
A Psalm for Holy Week
Psalm 22 – A Cry of Anguish and Song of Praise – A Psalm of David 1My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? 2O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. 3But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. 4Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted,...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved