Internationally, if Israel plans to strike Iran's nuclear facilities, then look for it to happen sometime between mid-March and mid-May. The Israeli government is rapidly testing new missile defense systems and is also planning major national civil defense drills before March. President Obama was recently overheard telling the Chinese that he can't hold back Israel much longer. If Israel strikes there will be severe worldwide consequences and you can probably disregard the rest of my predictions.

Despite all the commercials, now is not the time to buy gold. While world events could temporarily push the yellow metal and it's sisters, silver and platinum, a bit higher, the risk of the gold bubble bursting this year is too great. If you've made decent gains on your gold investments it might be time to dump most of it. Hey, if the U.S. dollar collapses, you would be far better off with things you can barter like food, water, fuel, and other everyday items.

Speaking of the economy... continued high unemployment numbers will cause Wall Street to finally realize that the consumer is not going to rescue things. A high number of small business failures will also be a source of concern. Expect a major correction in the stock market, probably this spring. Dow 8,500 is likely and 7,500 is not out of the question.

The sixty-four-thousand-dollar question in politics is whether the tremendous anti-incumbent sentiment now in play continues thru until November. If so, look for the GOP to pickup up a minimum of four U.S. Senate seats with a possible net gain of six. In the U.S. House, Republicans garner a minimum pickup of twenty seats with an outside shot at thirty-five. If the Democrat's healthcare takeover bill passes, then Republicans have a shot at reclaiming a majority in the House.

In Georgia the state budget will be front and center. The Republican leadership has made it clear they will not increase taxes on Georgian's struggling thru this recession, so that means more cuts in state spending. Look for a strong effort by conservatives to dismantle and abolish some outdated government programs and agencies, and the consolidation of others. Additional ethics reforms will pass quickly, but the big enchilada is transportation and I'm not sure the legislature can put together a plan that will pass House and Senate... and satisfy Governor Perdue. A failure here will seriously taint this session and could impact statewide races in November.

In the race for Governor, Roy Barnes gets the Democrat nod with Dubose Porter dropping out of the governor's race to run instead for Lt. Governor. For the GOP it's a lot murkier... Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine is still the frontrunner, but I see Karen Handle gaining some strength, Nathan Deal losing momentum, and the dark horse to watch is Eric Johnson. Johnson is steadily banking campaign contributions and has a network of key players around the state in his corner. Two of these four end up in a runoff... Probably Ox and Handle or Ox and Johnson.