Wimpy President!

There is a worldwide panic about USA defaulting on her financial obligations if her deficit ceiling is not raised by August 2nd. A crisis made solely by the Republicans has now reached the climax of who will cave in first! I am expecting President Obama and Democrats to cave in as usual to the Republicans by agreeing to almost everything they asked for. Already a ‘balanced plan’ with revenue increases along with spending cuts, which the Democrats wanted, has been dropped as the Republican do not want to raise the taxes on the rich. I am disgusted and disappointed at the wimpy nature of President Obama (despite the killing of Osama)!

Cutting the nose to spite the face!

I am losing hope that the U.S. Congress will come up with a plan to increase its debt ceiling by August 2. Looks like a sizable minority in the Republican Party (know as Tea Partiers) are determined to stop any compromise which would allow it to happen. They just do not want to listen to any rational argument about the impact of a default and its ramifications to the economy of USA and the rest of the world. They have effectively tied down the hands of the Speaker John Boehner to come up with a compromise to avert this disaster. The only way out now is for the Democrats and President Obama to cave in, and accept a short term extension of the debt ceiling. That will allow Republicans to create another debt ceiling crisis in six months, in time for the Presidential elections in 2012. The economy will be in the tank by then as the interest rates will go up (US bonds will be downgraded if the solution is short term). This will assure that President Obama will not be reelected which is the ultimate goal anyway. Welfare of the American people be damned!

Shooting star

I am upset to hear the death of singer Amy Winehouse. I listened to some of her songs for the first time today, and am amazed at her soulful delivery and voice. And the lyrics of her songs, which she wrote herself, are so natural and touching. She was a true genius. Alas, she died so young. Like Mozart and Raphael, she was a shooting star who brightened the world in a very short time. May her soul rest in peace.

Timely suicides

I am fascinated with the the News Corp scandal (‘Hackgate’ ) unfolding in Great Britain. Everyday there are shocking revelations on the cozy triumvirate of politics, police and the press in England. Yesterday, the whistle blower of the scandal, Steve Hoare, was found dead. Amazingly, it is covered in a very low key manner in the press. The British police does not think there is anything suspicious about his death. They think it is just a routine suicide! A few months ago there was Dr. David Kelley a whistle blower on the British involvement in the Iraq war, committing suicide at a time most convenient to the British Government. Years ago, during the Profumo scandal , Stephen Ward a main figure in the case, had the same fate. Looks like the British whistle blowers have a tendency to commit suicides at the right time :)

Move along, people…there is nothing to see here!

I find that very few amateur artists can draw fingers well. So, I could not resist trying when I saw the picture of a clenched fist in the newspaper. Am pleased with the results although there is room for improvement :)

Cheers!