J. Michael Andresen

Entry deadline is 3:30 p.m. CST on  Saturday, January 16, 2016 . Send fifteen answers and one tie-break to jmandresen at gmail.com. Anyone with an email address is welcome to enter! 1. Freedom (January) Freedom House is an international organization that studies democracy and freedom in the world, publishing an annual report on how many countries it calculates to be free, partly free, or not free. The 2015 report calculated that 89 of the world’s 195 nations were free in 2014. Will freedom advance, stay stagnant, or retreat in this year’s report, covering 2014? Note: the nine  worst  free countries (with the highest likelihood of being downgraded) are Botswana, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Lesotho, Montenegro, and Peru. The fifteen  best  partly free countries (with the highest likelihood of being upgraded) are Albania, Bolivia, Ecuador, Georgia, Indonesia, Mexico, Moldova, Paraguay, Philippines, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, ...

9. Storms (November 30) Hurricane season in the Atlantic runs June 1 to November 30. There were six hurricanes in 2014, a paltry two in 2013, ten in 2012, seven in 2011, twelve in 2010, three in 2009, eight in 2008, six in 2007, five in 2006, and an all-time record fifteen in 2005.    How many Atlantic hurricanes will there be this season? a. 4 or less b. 5-6 c. 7-8 d. 9-10 e. 11-12 f. 13 or more It was a slow year for hurricanes, vetoes, and deaths in 2015. Though we inched toward answer B (which was my personal choice), we ended the season with just 4 hurricanes, meaning the answer to Question 9 of the 2015 Prognostication Quiz is  A. 4 or less .  Grant M. Chris M. Miriam S. Todd C. 10. Vetoes (December 31) In his first six years of his Presidency, Barack Obama has vetoed precisely two bills. How will that change in the upcoming 114th Congress, with Republican majorities in both houses? Up to now, Obama has not had to deal with most bil...