Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my precocious poinsettias! How are you? Well, it looks like the slush and the slop are going to be with us for awhile. That’s right girls; the men are spending more time indoors. No, tee-hee, oh my, I was just joking. If I remember correctly, we had more snow at this time last year, so I guess we’re ahead of the game.

Speaking of games, did you see our glorious and delirious Packers lose the one last Sunday? Oh my, oh my! That final quarter, those final minutes, that final second! I believe that the laws of gravity were momentarily suspended for the Steelers’ Mike Wallace’s touchdown catch. There are not too many who could accomplish such a feat, but there are a few. If my suspicions are correct, then it would only be fair to give the Packers more blatant help than I have previously. Just keep an eye on our boys this coming Sunday. I’m sorry if you are a Seahawks fan, but someone has to bear the brunt of Zoltar’s wrath!

I received an email this week from the illustrious Mr. SER, who wrote:

Dear Madame Zoltar,

In Racine there is a burning question, “Will our former Mayor spend time in prison?”

We know he has done some plea bargaining and some charges have been dropped!

With that said, no matter what the agreement is, Judge Stephen Simanek, who is presiding over this case, is not bound by that and can make his own decision regarding whether Becker will spend time in prison or on supervision, and how long that sentence would be.

My question is, Do you foresee if Judge Simanek will have the “steelys” to put him in prison?

Dear Mr. SER, to clarify for our readers, they should know that you submitted your question on December 20, three days ago, before Mr. Becker appeared in court yesterday. We now know that Mr. Becker pled guilty to two of the charges, while six others against him were dropped. All of those charges are felonies. Interestingly, the charges that were dropped included those that had mandatory sentencing requirements.

In the comments on the last JTI blog about Mr. Becker (http://www.jtirregulars.com/2009/12/becker-to-enter-plea.html), you, Mr. SER, said:

“Here is my read on the situation:

“5 years in prison – STAYED
Plus
Time spent in jail and time spent wearing a GPS device
Plus
5 years probation

“Combined will be his punishment. Becker was arrested Jan. 13, which now is almost 1 year so he is already down to 4 years left.”

After reading that, my first thought was, “How did he know?” It seems you also are a psychic in this case, Mr. SER, because your prediction is right on. Judge Simanek is retiring, so there’s no political fallout in letting off Mr. Becker easy.

Of course, we both could be wrong. The reason for that is that the future is not set in stone. What I predict is the highest probability at that given moment in time. Things happen in time. Time changes things. The further in the future the predictions are, the less accurate they are likely to be. I can see more events related to this coming up, beyond the sentencing hearing, but now is not the time for that.

Ugh, pardon me while I wash out my mouth. I don’t want to talk about such garbage anymore. It is Christmas this Friday and I’d like to take a moment to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Happy Hanukah! Cool Kwanza! Festive Festivus! I love all of my JT Irregulars and regular readers. I hope you all have very happy holidays. I still have so much more to do before Christmas. I better sign off and get busy. For those of you with a little more leisure time, here’s “Pluto's Christmas Tree,” a 1952 Walt Disney cartoon:



Don’t forget to send your Christmas lists and New Year’s resolutions to: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Everyone please enjoy yourself in the coming days and weeks. Spend some time with those you love. Please remember those less fortunate than you. And also remember: be smart, be safe, be careful. Castoria!