A lot of people like to make predictions on what is going to happen. Too few of us take responsibility for their successes and, yes, their failures. Here is what I forecast on December 23, 2011 followed by what actually happened and my report card:

I am so tempted to write the words “I told you so” over and over again up to the 500 word limit allowed for a commentary in this newspaper. It would be so easy to gloat about how liberals won and conservatives lost. It would make me giddy to point out how Arizona is so out-of-touch with the rest of the Left Coast.

OK, so who got the bounce from the conventions? Obama-Biden did. Initially, they received a national ratings bump of about 4 percent. As of a week later, the bounce had increased to the high single digits.

What's with Ann Romney addressing us as “You People?” On July 19, presumptive GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, while reinforcing her husband's refusal to make public several years of tax returns, told ABC News “we've given all YOU PEOPLE need to know” about the family's finances. She went on to further denigrate us people by stating that “You know, you should really look at where Mitt has led his life, and where he's been financially.” Duh ... That's why we are asking for full disclosure on his finances, Ann.

June has proven to be a strong month for the Obama campaign. The president’s support for same sex marriage, his executive order on immigration reform and the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Obamacare has put Team Romney on the defense as evidenced by Romney’s flip-flop on whether the individual mandate in Obamacare is a penalty or a tax.

I had my stitches removed this morning. It has been two weeks since I had major surgery for malignant cutaneous desmoplastic melanoma on my upper back/lower neck. Sounds ominous right? It is. The surgery took five hours. The surgeon removed an area about 3 inches in diameter and about an inch deep. The incision is about 8 inches wide. This has been the biggest health challenge of my life.

I had my stitches removed this morning. It has been two weeks since I had major surgery for malignant cutaneous desmoplastic melanoma on my upper back/lower neck. Sounds ominous right? It is. The surgery took five hours. The surgeon removed an area about 3 inches in diameter and about an inch deep. The incision is about 8 inches wide. This has been the biggest health challenge of my life.

I had my stitches removed this morning. It has been two weeks since I had major surgery for malignant cutaneous desmoplastic melanoma on my upper back/lower neck. Sounds ominous right? It is. The surgery took five hours. The surgeon removed an area about 3 inches in diameter and about an inch deep. The incision is about 8 inches wide. This has been the biggest health challenge of my life.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed its lawsuit against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the sheriff’s department and Maricopa County on Thursday, May 10, in Los Angeles.

Each Easter our HOA puts on an Easter egg hunt in the park located in our community's common area for all the children. The kids love it. This year we put out over 1,200 eggs in addition to stuffed monkeys, balls and color wheels that spin in the wind. It is quite a wonderful event. Our community is a reflection ofChandler's great diversity. Red, yellow, brown, black and white. They are all precious in our sight. We love all the little children of the world.

Once again, the nageling nabobs of negativism, or as they would like be referred to — the tea party — are once again screaming in the media about how evil the federal government is and how un-American it would be if all citizens were forced into purchasing a private health care plan under Obamacare. The coercion. The heavy handedness. The death panels. The costs.

Once again, the nageling nabobs of negativism, or as they would like be referred to — the tea party — are once again screaming in the media about how evil the federal government is and how un-American it would be if all citizens were forced into purchasing a private health care plan under Obamacare. The coercion. The heavy handedness. The death panels. The costs.

Wow...did you hear the president's voice last week when he sang the first lines of "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green? This is one cool dude. In addition to being the "Leader of the Free World" and the "Commander in Chief" of the United States of America, he can also sing, not to mention his hoops skills. How do ya think Jennifer, Randy and Steven would judge the Prez if he stepped out on the stage in the first round. I'm thinkin' that he's goin' to Hollywood!

According to Amazon.com, sales of Jan Brewer's book "Scorpions for Breakfast" have gone up a whopping 150,398 percent over the past 24 hours since her heated discussion with President Obama took place on the tarmac at Williams-Gateway Airport. What this means is that nobody was buying her book before the incident that appears to have been staged. You can buy the book today for $15.78. The price has steadily dropped since the book was released, which is code for "no good." The most succinct review of her book that I found referred to it as total "crap."

It was nauseating to witness the lineup of presidential wannabees at Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's offices in downtown Phoenix last fall looking to be anointed by the unholy one as the heir apparent to John McCain as the Party's 2012 nominee. Michelle Bachman, Herman Cain and Rick Perry all came looking for Arpaio's endorsement. They were tripping over each other attempting to one-up the other as the meanest and toughest candidate to earn Arpaio's blessings. Herman Cain went as far as to suggest the use of machine guns to mow ‘em down at the Border. Why not moats with alligators, or maybe steel traps? After all, the Justice Department uncovered evidence that Arpaio had systemically referred to them as "animals." Why isn't Arpaio in jail and, frankly, who cares who he endorses for president?

A lot of people like to make predictions on what is going to happen. Too few of us take responsibility for their successes and, yes, their failures. Here is what I forecast on Dec. 22, 2010: 

I met Joe Arpaio at a Paradise Valley Chamber of Commerce Breakfast in 1983. He and I were two of six candidates running for the Phoenix City Council from the newly formed District 1. He stood at the podium with his hair greased back wearing horned rimmed black glasses spending the next 10 minutes bombastically touting his service for the Drug Enforcement Agency in Central America — how he had taken out drug dealers and all. It was gross. He finished fourth. Wrong guy, wrong office, wrong time.

"Tin soldiers and Nixon coming. We're finally on our own own. This summer I hear the drumming. Four dead in Ohio."

A Perry for President spokesperson announced recently that the Texas governor and Republican presidential wannabe Rick Perry might be done debating. Frankly, I thought he was done in his first debate.

The covert assassination of American-born and high-ranking member of al-Qaida, Sheikh Anwar Al-Awalaki, marks another victory in America’s war on terrorism. In addition to taking out Osama bin Laden, President Barack Obama has demonstrated a determined commitment to the security of our nation. By “terrorizing the terrorists,” he has turned the war on terrorism abruptly around. Now it’s the terrorists who are on the run and fearing for their worthless lives.

Jon Beydler

Jon Beydler

Jon Beydler

Jon Beydler

Jon Beydler, guest commentary

Guest commentary by Jon Beydler

Jon Beydler, guest commentary

Guest commentary by Jon Beydler

Jon Beydler, guest commentary

Guest commentary by Jon Beydler

Jon Beydler, guest commentary

Jon Beydler, guest commentary

Jon Beydler, guest commentary

Jon Beydler, guest commentary

Jon Beydler, guest commentary

Jon Beydler, guest commentary

Jon Beydler, guest commentary

It was one of those incredibly beautiful Arizona January morns. I had just finished up a 9 o'clock meeting with a client from Montana who was in town for the BCS championship game when I got behind the wheel of my SUV only to learn of the horrible tragedy in Tucson. Later that same day, my client called me wanting to know "What was wrong with Arizona." Seems like every time he turns around something really bad comes down.

Jon Beydler, guest commentary

Jon Beydler, guest commentary

During the summer of 2010, we watched as Joe Arpaio re-election ads ran on television even though he isn’t up for election until 2012. Turns out he was up to his old tricks of pushing the envelope to put the political dagger in the back of Maricopa County attorney Rick Romley.

After the shellacking that the Republicans put on us Democrats a couple of weeks ago, I may need a “recommendation” from my doctor for the 5 ounces of medical marijuana each month provided for in Proposition 203 to relieve my life-threatening anxiety! That should be enough since you can roll about 14 joints per bag which computes to 60 a month... make that two joints per day please. Thank you.

Believe it or not, most people don’t like politics — or politicians for that matter. In fact, the majority of people would rather have a root canal than spend time talking politics or listening to a politician.

During the 2008 presidential primaries when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were running neck and neck for the Democratic nomination, I wondered if Obama would be progressive enough or tough enough or possessed the ability to work the aisles of Congress to get ground-breaking legislation passed. After all, I was a huge Clinton supporter and considered her to be the right stuff at the right time in American history to become our first female president.

The following voting guide has been prepared by yours truly as an another point of view for your consideration.

I’ll never forget that Arizona morning the day after the 1980 presidential election where Americans voted into office the former movie star and king of the Borax commercials, Ronald Reagan, as president of the United States.

For the past several years I had been denied access to the same health care coverage benefits as my wife and children due to a pre-existing condition.

Wednesday was a kind day -- the kind that one does not long forget.

Political wisdom suggests that a sitting governor with a 19-point lead in the polls with less than 12 weeks left in the campaign has no incentive to debate further. As Gov. Jan Brewer stated last week, she has been in Arizona politics for 28 years; people know who she is and where she stands. And, furthermore, why would she want to help "redefine" Attorney General Terry Goddard at this stage of the campaign?

The state of Arizona continues to spend money it doesn’t have — or as John McCain says, “like drunken sailors and the bar is still open.”