Last Call For 2014

I wanted to thank all of you for sticking with me for another year.  2014 wasn't all bad for me personally, I have a new job and I love it, but for the country as a whole, we've had better.

Here's hoping your 2015 is a good one.






And yeah, this one still gets me. Every time.

Zandar's 2015 Predictions

Not sure if I can beat 7-2-1 from last year, but I'll give it a shot.  Here are my ten predictions for 2015:

1) Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Rand Paul, and Jeb Bush will make it all official in 2015.  All of them will be in the race for the White House.  How far they get, well, that's for this time next year, isn't it?

2) Obama will have 25 or more presidential vetoes by the end of 2015.  Figure that's two a month, plus one for good measure.  Do not be surprised if it's less than this.  Mitch is not going to be able to get passed what he wants in the Senate.

3) The Supreme Court will strike down Obamacare subsidies in federal exchange states.  I'm not a lawyer by any stretch, but I know vindictive political backstabbing when I see it coming.  King v. Burwell is going to sorely test the GOP however.

4) Having said that, SCOTUS will also rule in favor of national same-sex marriage.  Hedge here that the decision may not come in 2015, but they'll take up a case to decide it before 2016. I just think Justice Kennedy wants this to be what he's remembered for.

5) Oil will close 2015 at under $60 a barrel.  Pretty huge hedge too, it'll probably be a lot lower.

6) Still feeling good about Marvel movies, so I'll say Ant-Man and Avengers: Age of Ultron will break $200 million.

7) Google Glass will officially get the plug pulled.  At least on the home version.  Watch for the business model to stay viable, however.

8) Apple iWatch will be huge.  Morgan Stanley says it could do anywhere from 30 million to 60 million, I'll peg my guess at 40 million worldwide in 2015.

9) My off the wall projection:  A US embassy in Havana will be in place, with ambassador, before the end of 2015.  It'll also be the end of Marco Rubio, but hey.

10) ZVTS will be here for another year.  Haven't lost on this one yet...

Have a safe New Year's Eve and 2015, folks.

Slow Down, You Move Too Fast, Gotta Make Extortion Last

New York’s Finest, at their finest.

NYPD traffic tickets and summonses for minor offenses have dropped off by a staggering 94 percent following the execution of two cops — as officers feel betrayed by the mayor and fear for their safety, The Post has learned.

The dramatic drop comes as Police Commissioner Bill Bratton andMayor Bill de Blasio plan to hold anemergency summit on Tuesday with the heads of the five police unions to try to close the widening rift between cops and the administration.

The unprecedented meeting is being held at the new Police Academy in Queens at 2 p.m., sources said.

Angry union leaders have ordered drastic measures for their members since the Dec. 20 assassination of two NYPD cops in a patrol car, including that two units respond to every call.

It has helped contribute to a nose dive in low-level policing, with overall arrests down 66 percent for the week starting Dec. 22 compared with the same period in 2013, stats show.

Citations for traffic violations fell by 94 percent, from 10,069 to 587, during that time frame.

So your brilliant, devious plan is this: you’re going to show the people who believe that the NYPD is full of power-hungry bullies and paramilitary goons what for by displaying to the country exactly how most of the collars you make are in fact wholly unnecessary exercises of petty microagression towards the citizenry you hold in open and rancorous contempt.

Okay then. Go with that plan, guys.

The Thin Blue Line, indeed.

StupidiNews, New Year's Eve Edition!

• Democrat Jim Webb, in 2016 presidential contention, is already facing questions over his PAC's payments to his wife and daughter of more than $90,000.
• As expected, the UN Security Council failed to pass a resolution on Palestinian statehood with the US and Australia voting no, and five other countries including Britain abstaining.
• The US will station around 150 armored vehicles in Europe for use by American forces for training purposes and increased ground exercises with an eye on Russia and Crimea.
• Nine are dead in Edmonton, Alberta as RCMP investigators are trying to determine if one of the dead men killed eight people in two separate homes and then took his own life.
• West Virginia is the latest state to take on teaching climate change in schools as the state school board has modified science textbooks that show "unfair negativity" to the state's coal mining industry.