VIDEO: Who's going to win? A state-by-state prediction

Bill O'Reilly goes over the latest numbers in each battleground state with ace pollster Robert Cahaly.

Mr Cahaly seems to be biased in favour of President Trump, but that doesn't mean he's wrong. I think you should take note of his comments on Philthydelphia and Maricopa County. The factor that makes this race extremely hard to call is the extent of electoral corruption in those places along with Clark County NV and Fulton County GA. 

The Democrats were dumb enough to choose the Worst. Candidate. Ever. But they're not stupid when it comes to voting the graveyard (Hello! Cook County IL) and the dark arts of rigging the polls. Walt wholeheartedly endorses Trump/Vance, but for the first time in history is not taking bets.

VIDEO: Is the collapse of America overdue?

 According to this visionary, the world's great empires -- Persia, Rome, Britain and others -- was about 240 years. The United States of America celebrated its 240th anniversary in 2016. It will be 250 years old in 2026. 

Portents of imminent collapse are to be seen everywhere, especially in America's big, Democrat-run cities. See "Lady Gaga’s Father Joe Germanotta Blasts ‘Filthy’ New York City", Breitbart News, 10/2/22. Every real news story suggests America is broken. The question is: can the country be repaired?

Walt's lifetime average: .989

Fearless predictions for 2023

Ed. has chastised me for saying farewell without giving at least a hint of my reasons for my pessimistic view of the future of our society. So...

I see a bad year ahead. The woke AABC countries and western Europe are one gigantic insane asylum, and the craziest inmates are in charge. Things will get worse unless one of the following predictions comes true.

I predict that at least one of the three following heads of government will be out of office by Christmas, as a result of resignation, revolution or death.

"Pope" Francis

Demented Joe Biden

Justin "F*ck" Trudeau

The ousting of any one of them would not necessarily make things better in their domain. In fact it would be followed by a period of instability verging on civil war, from which a better church or country might emerge. 

Let us pray for our countries and the Church. I'll be back if, as and when.

VIDEO: Canuck groundhog predicts early spring

 Well, it's Groundhog Day again.../// Well, it's Groundhog Day again.../// Well, it's Groundhog Day again... but you saw the movie right, so enough with the reference. 

If you're from some other part of the world and have no idea what I'm talking about, the residense of northeastern North America have a superstition that if a groundhog (aka woodchuck, as in "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?") sticks his head out of his burrow on February 2nd and sees his shadow, he gets frightened, goes back underground, and we'll have six more weeks of winter. If he doesn't see his shadow, it'll be an early spring.

Three groundhogs* have attained a degree of international fame [notority? Ed.] over the years, the best-known being Punxatawney (PA) Phil, featured in Groundhog Day, the movie. Walt, however, prefers Canada's Wiarton Willie. He lives so far north that he's white! OK, the original Willie was white; he died a couple of years ago and his successor appears to be the usual mousy brown. Anyway, he's better-positioned than Phil to notice the advance or retreat of winter weather. Watch this.

* Who's the third one (I hear you ask)? That would be Shubenacadie Sam, who lives way Down East in central Nova Scotia. If you want to go to wherever for next year's festivities... we should live so long... Walt recommends Wiarton. It's just down the road from Tobermory ON, at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula and therefore the Bruce Trail, the longest hiking trail in one state/province. You'd be unwise to try hiking the Trail in the dead of winter, but there you go...

And here's a follow-up from Blazing Cat Fur...

Wow! That's so ironic!

Funny (both "funny haha" and "funny strange") item kicking around the Net today. Here's the tweet from the Irvine Royal Academy in Ayrshire, Scotland.

Wouldn't you think they'd have seen that coming? But noooo...

Poor Len Canayen's Stanley Cup predictions

Ed. here. The National Hockey League regular season ends in a couple of weeks. We haven't heard a whole lot from our National Hockey Analyst, Poor Len Canayen, presumably because "his" team (the Montréal Canadiens) have been atop the Atlantic division most of the year, so we call on him now to explain why Les Glorieux will win the Stanley Cup... or not. Len?

Thank you, Ed. Here is the view from Ste-Thérèse, or Centre Ice, as she is known en anglais. Although the final standings are yet to be finalized, the picture of which teams will make the playoffs is pretty clear. I'll run it down for you, so you'll know which way to bet. First, the four contenders in each division.

Metropolitan Division
A much stronger division than could have been expected at the beginning of the year, thanks to an amazing run by the Columbus Bluejackets, backstopped by Sergei Bobrovsky, who looks to have a lock on the Vezina Trophy.
Washington Capitals finish in first, followed by Columbus, Pittsburgh Penguins and, just to make up the numbers, Tampa Bay Lightning.

Atlantic Division
After the first 11 games of the season, I figured the Montréal Canadiens would run away with the division, the Eastern Conference, and maybe the entire NHL. I didn't think they'd have to struggle to finish first. But they did and they will, provided Carey Price stays healthy and happy under Claude Julien. The Toronto Maple Leafs, with three great rookies, look to be in the playoffs, as do the Ottawa Senators, making possible a three-cornered battle to advance.
Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto and New York Rangers should be the final four, but I'm hedging my bet with a little money on Boston Bruins.

Central Division
The Chicago Blackhawks dominate the division and the Western Conference, with all-star forwards and fine coaching from Joel Quenneville. The Minnesota Wild (stupid name -- what's wrong with "Moose" or some other animal?) deserve to finish second.
Chicago, Minnesota, Nashville Predators, and St. Louis Blues. Only the first two matter.

Pacific Division
Two more Canadian teams look like going to the playoffs. Well, one, anyway -- the Edmonton Oilers. The Anaheim Ducks (formerly Mighty Ducks) and San Jose Sharks are the ones to beat. Bet on the Calgary Flames to squeak into the playoffs, only just.
Anaheim, San Jose, Edmonton, Calgary.

Now for my fearless predictions.

Quarter-finals

In the Metropolitan Division, I see the Caps choking, as usual. You can have a great goaltender (Braden Holtby) but you need more than one guaranteed ace scorer. If you have one, you're got a chance, which lets Columbus out. Winner: Pittsburgh Penguins.
If they do make it into the playoffs, Rangers won't go beyond the first round in the Atlantic Division. "King Henry" Lundqvist is past his best-by date. I'd love to see Montréal and Toronto clash, for the first time in many years. The Maple Laffs have been unable to beat the Habs since, errr, 2014, so that's a no-brainer. If it's Montréal vs Ottawa, you pick 'em. Winner: Montréal Canadiens.

Calling the Central Division is easy. The only question is how many games it will take Chicago to dispose of Minnesota. Winner: Chicago Blackhawks.
When it comes to the Pacific Division, I'm going to forget the analytics, and perhaps common sense too. Calgary will be lucky to be in the playoffs at all, but could be spoilers. My hope is for the Oilers to face off against the Sharks or the Ducks and surprise them, with the series-winning goal to be scored by... wait for it... little David Desharnais! Winner: Edmonton Oilers. [I'll take that bet. Ed.]

Semi-finals

Eastern Conference - I can only avoid statistics, analytics and common sense for so long. The Canadiens have the Greatest Goaltender in the World (TM) in Carey Price, but not one single forward that you can count on to score. The Penguins' goaltending is suspect, but with Sid the Kid and at least two other certified scorers, I don't see how they can lose. Pittsburgh over Montréal in 5 games, or 6, tops. Sorry.
Western Conference - Following the same reasoning, I don't think it matters much who wins the Pacific Division. The Blackhawks have the size and the speed, plus adequate goaltending and a bunch of guys who can find the back of their opponents' nets. Chicago beats Oilers in 5, or (if I was dreaming back there) Sharks in 7.

Stanley Cup Finals

That sets us up for another Chicago-Pittsburgh match-up, which would be a terrific contest between two evenly-matched teams, both of whom have hoisted Lord Stanley's silverware recently. My bet would be Chicago, in 7 close games. Lifetime pct .985.

Prognostications for 2013

Making predictions about what will happen in the future is a mug's game. Rather than put my sterling track record (lifetime pct .988) on the line, let me tell you (mostly) what's not going to happen in 2013.

America will not fall over the fiscal cliff, at least not all the way. Absent an agreement in the Senate, taxes will (effectively) be increased and spending will be cut, as planned. Most Americans will still be able to get by. No-one will be selling apples of Wall Street or Main Street USA.

Haiti will not be repaired, rebuilt or reconstructed. Billions of dollars in aid money will continue to be poured down the rathole with no apparent effect. Michaëlle Jean will continue to be invisible, at least in her native land.

Hellery Clinton will not announce her candidacy for the presidensity. The campaign will move ahead anyway, with the support of the lamestream media and Democrats living overseas who don't actually have to cope with the Obama maladministration.

Zimbabwe's dictator, Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe, will not lose an election to Zuma wannabe Morgan Tsvangirai or anyone else. Indeed, it's quite possible no election will be held. The zimkwacha (Zimbabwe dollar) will not be reintroduced, as remaining supplies are used up as toilet paper.

Pope Benedict XVI will do nothing to lead the Roman Catholic Church back to the traditional Faith of our fathers. But nor will he abdicate, for fear of the fight that would ensue between Cardinal Bertone -- the man who would be pope -- and the thousands of good Catholic clergy and laypeople who think Bertone is the Antichrist whose arrival is imminent.

Bumbling, horse-faced Peter Mackay will not be Canada's Minister of Defence a year from now. The stench of mismanagement and opacity enveloping the proposed purchase of F-35 fighters for the Royal Canadian Air Force won't go away. At least one head must roll, and Machackey's contains nothing but air, so off it comes!

Gary Bettman, the Jewish American lawyer responsible for the Americanization (hence destruction) of hockey, will not be head honcho of the National Hockey League at this time next year. He has the outward support of a majority of NHL owners, but look for someone to check him into the boards shortly after he presents the Stanley Cup.

Christians (in name, at least) will continue to be persecuted, imprisoned and murdered by Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia [We're running out of space! Ed.], and by Communists in China, North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, [Enough martyrs! Ed.] The Church and Western leaders will continue to say we must show tolerance to our poor misunderstood enemies, learn to accommodate them and celebrate diversity!

Note from Ed.: Walt has scribbled a note at the bottom of his manuscript: "That's all I can stands. I can't stands no more!" Hmmm. Well, in spite of his less-than-rosy forecast, Walt and I wish you a New Year filled with peace and prosperity.

Walt Whiteman's World year in review

It's the time of year when there's not a lot of news. Nothing happens between Christmas and New Year's. So the media (Phil Space, Prop.) have to fill space [geddit? Ed.] With retrospectives on the year that was. WWW is better than the lamestream media, but not that much better. So, over to Ed. for a look back at developments in Walt Whiteman's World.

Thanks, Walt. Here's a quick summary of your blog's readership for 2012. Let me throw some numbers at you. 35%. 55%. 80%. That's right! 80%!! Daily readership of WWW did not increase by 80%!! But it did increase.

Most popular post, again this year: "Where next? Swaziland next?" Can't figure out why people in places like Russia, Turkey and India keep hitting this. I also wonder why no-one ever comments. Perhaps typing with one hand is too difficult.

The video sequel, "Swazi girls doing the reed dance -- VIDEO!", has just now started getting a lot of hits. As nearly as I can see, no-one from Swaziland has ever looked at either of these posts.

New record for most hits in one day: "Learn this new Christmas song...and pass it along!",  which rode the crest of the wave of backlash against politically correct "Happy Holidays". Bookmark it for next year.

Most popular foreign language post: "Charles DeGaulle warns about Muslim immigration". As we ran the text of le Général's prescient prediction in French, we didn't think many people would read it, mais nous avons tort.

Related post that's being circulated in the USA, Canada and not-so-Great Britain: "How can we be silent in the face of Islamization of our country?"
Surprise of the year: the continuing popularity of "Death by cactus: a prickly situation", posted on 26 June. I figured this would be a one-day story, maybe a week at best, but it has been one of the top three most-viewed items for the last six months, sometimes beating even the Swazi girls. Why do people read this? Or are they just looking at the picture of the saguaro cactus?

Where you are: Walt has regular readers all over North America, Europe (including Russia), and parts of Asia (including Russia). South America and Africa, not so much. Top ten countries (as of today) are: USA, Russia, Turkey, Canada, India, UK, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, France, Australia.

How you look at us: The big three browers are the ones you'd expect, but the order of finish tells a story: Chrome (31%); Firefox (30%); Internet Explorer (25%). And Safari is now in fourth spot, Opera in fifth.

Your operating systems are: Windows (far and away the leader -- 78%), Linux (See? It still exists! -- 11%), with Macintosh, Android, iPad and iPhone not even at the three-quarter pole. Big question for the future: Will the advent of Windows 8 make any difference? Walt's prediction: No, because no-one's going to buy it if they don't have to. Lifetime pct .987.

Worst new technological development: Google's new and useless user interface for Blogger. Another proof of the old adage: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I keep thinking about changing platforms to WordPress but am just too lazy.

Coming soon, maybe even tomorrow: Walt's predictions for 2013.

Will the world end tomorrow?

NO!

Lifetime pct .984.

REMINDER: It's five days until Christmas! Learn this Christmas song... and pass it along!

Walt's call

Walt doesn't want to be accused of wimping out by failing to predict the winner of today's presidential election. At the same time, I don't want to put my near-perfect lifetime average (.990) on the line without careful thought, due consideration, and all that. And I don't want to bet from the heart either. Betting on emotion is for losers.

I have duly consulted with Vince the barber. He's giving 4-5 on Obama. At least I think that's what "quattro cinco" means. The donut shop "hole poll" has Romney ahead -- donuts with red sprinkles outselling those with blue by about, errr, 5 to 4. However, over at Starbucks, the chattering crowd has the Prez as the prohibitive favourite. "Romney is such a savage," I hear them lisping.

Around the stroke of midnight, Walt heard a rumour that a tsunami was going to inundate the southeast corner of Pennsylvania, leaving Philthydelphia underwater and the rest of the state for Romney, but an award-winning sports cameraman in the vicinity tells me otherwise.

Ohio, then... the inevitable Ohio. Will the state that's round at the ends and high in the middle go for the Inevitable Mitt? `Fraid  not.

Obama over Romney, just barely... and (allowing for challenges in Florida) only when the votes are actually cast in the electoral college. The popular vote, however, will be for Romney, just barely. Two predictions for the price of one. Walt would be happy to be wrong about the first one.