Orb-Pondering Follow Up

To be honest, I’d forgotten about even having made predictions for 2024 last year. But a quick search turned up that, yes indeed, my idle orb-ponderings were in fact posted exactly one year ago today.

Fair enough. I made the calls. Now the time has come to see just how accurate they were.

Testing the accuracy of each prediction in the order I made them …

Pope Francis’ Health Worsens

But to the frustration of MadTrads online, the Supreme Pontiff will hang on despite intensifying medical woes. Perceiving their window of opportunity closing, the subversive elements within the Church’s hierarchy will attempt to ram through a magisterial document that advances their agenda.

They will succeed – partly – in passing the kind of reversal the fake news media and Catholic Twitter thought Fiducia supplicans was. However, the dimming of their intellects due to sin will provide a resolution to the crisis. The turgid Church-Speak in which it will be written will make the document unintelligible, unenforceable, self-contradictory, or all three. These deficiencies will be compounded by the fact multiple older and higher magisterial decrees overrule it, making the new doc null and void.

Look for this doctrinal mess to pivot away from the gay stuff, which flopped last year, for yet another attempt to get a foot in the door on the women’s ordination front. As others have observed, no one has cared much about the womynpriest – AKA cosplaying witch – issue since the 70s. But with a dwindling yet still powerful contingent of the hierarchy still stuck in that decade, look for them to approve “deaconesses” or some such anachronism.

Folks like Bishop Barron and Jimmy Akin will clarify that the expanded liturgical role for women is a lay ministry separate from Holy Orders. They will be right, but high-profile sacramental abuses will happen anyway. Most bishops will just ignore the document’s guidelines, and life in most parishes will go on.

Result: Pretty spot-on, if I do say so myself. It is a sad fact that the Holy Father’s health has indeed declined over the past year, and we should all keep him in our prayers. An uproar did break out from the usual suspects about some ecclesial funny business - and the subject was women’s ordination, as expected. In a happy turn of events, this prediction’s only demerit was giving the pro-witch lobby too much credit. While they tried their best at the synod, all that could be managed was yet another FDS outbreak due to yet another misrepresented off-the-cuff remark by Pope Francis. So, all told, business as usual.

The Housing Crisis Gets Better

Rents and home prices will finally trend downward in the first quarter of this year. Millennials who’ve been clawing to get into the housing market will get some relief. But heartless megacorps like Black Rock will take advantage of the better rates to swoop in and scoop up even more once-privately owned land.

Because in the words of Lex Luthor’s dad, “It’s the one thing they’re not making any more of.”

Again, I’m crediting myself with more than moderate accuracy on this one, as well. Year-on-year housing prices did go down 3.5% in the fourth quarter of 2024. Anecdotally, I know at least one person who was able to snatch up a decent home at that time for a steal. But, the caveat to my prediction also materialized, as average home prices for the year ended up at +3.4%. So Millennials will have to keep waiting for that milestone.

The GOP Keeps Control of Congress

Congress’ job approval ratings may be at historic lows, but if the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that public opinion doesn’t matter in a democracy.

After blowing what should have been a red wave election by their obstinate refusal to give their voters what they want, the GOP was left clinging to a congressional majority by its fingernails. Despite lurching from one politcal disgrace to another, Republicans will keep or increase their control of the legislature this November.

How? Simple math, for the most part. Constituents win reelection close to 90% of the time. This year, about twice as many Democrat lawmakers are retiring as Republicans. Many of those seats are expected to flip, which should drag the GOP across the goal line.

If you want to get even more cynical, those who follow the Global American Empire’s foreign meddling warn that the war machine has been put in standby mode till after the elections. Since the GOP’s main role in the two-faction ruling class is to be the War Party, expect them to consolidate their majority so they can bomb some goat country on behalf of the powers that be.

Yeah, gold star on that one. Not that predicting it took Nostradamus-level foresight.

And the grand total is 3 out of 3 for New Years’ predictions I forgot I made. I’m as nonplussed as you, to be frank.

Anyway, I’m curious about what you guys think is in store for us in 2025. Post your predictions below.