Tom Clancy (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013)
It cannot be helped that the latest blog post are all US centric. First is the death of one of my favourite authors Tom Clancy. Tom Clancy wrote stuff that were extraordinary but possible. His stories had a ring of truth even though they were set in a situation which seemed a bit wild and out there.
The best story for me and which set of a lot of conspiracy theory is the great book Debt of Honor in which Jack Ryan becomes President of the USA after a disgruntled Japanese airline pilot flies a plane full of fuel into the Capitol Building, killing the President and most of the Congress, just after the President made Jack Ryan Vice President. Jack Ryan survived the terrorist attack and becomes President. The book was written in 1994 and has a remarkable similarity to the 9/11 attack some 7 years later.
Which brings me to the biggest poker game World politics has seen for a long time. At the moment a well financed insurgent group called the TEA Party (Tax Enough Already Party) have taken over the Republican Party and is holding the USA economy as a hostage unless President Obama gives in and get rid of Obamacare. At the moment President Obama is saying no and even though the TEA Party are suggesting that they release some ‘hostages’ out such as funding veterans activity.
The real player in this is John Boehner who is the patsy of the TEA Party. He will lose his job if he agrees to vote on a budget which he and his Republican Party drew up! However, he will have to do his duty and lose his job. John Boehner will propose a ‘Grand Bargain’ and sort out the present government shutdown, and, the debt ceiling level, because this nonsense cannot go on.
The TEA Party will go ballistic and John Boehner will lose his job as Speaker of the House. There is no other option to end the shutdown and sideline the TEA Party who want to bring down the government because they see the government as evil.
The only other option would be for President Obama to concede and give the TEA Party what ever they want.