'Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold........'

It has been a busy week. Economies are cratering. London is in flames, the Texas Governor got religion, the RAF converted to Islam, Navy Seals were targeted and beer in the UK is watered down. Is it not time to start over?

As for cratering economies, it all began a long time ago when Western politicians learned that putting their hands in the national till felt warm and comfortable. Now, they can't keep away from it. Spending is out of control. And, for our sins, S&P just downgraded our credit rating. O is said to have been outraged. He took it personally and is now recorded in history as the first American president to endure such a humiliation. One officer from S&P explained, on Fox News, that the action was taken because Republican lawmakers cut spending. The fight over Keynesian Economics continues to rage over the big question of whether we can spend our way out of a recession. Many think we can and of those, some are quite willing to incur considerable debt to make their point. My homespun economic reasoning whispers: balance your budget and live within your means. The bottom line is America has been severely chastised and O is smarting from a sharp smack like an errant schoolboy.

Tottenham does not photograph well just now. Too much red. One gets the impression that London is aflame. We have too little news to make a call on precipitating events. It certainly looks, however, that the natives are restless. Could there be a link between them and the activities surrounding the Arab Spring. Are citizens looking for a voice, recognition, attention? It is increasingly difficult to deal with irate masses when our leaders are covered in scandal, bogged down in corruption and complicit with the media in spreading propaganda. One very interesting aspect of the demonstrations, riots and looting is the role Twitter played as a social media in rapidly expanding awareness of what, when and where the riots were taking place. There are lessons to be learned from all this as we are undergoing another technological revolution. Twitter and the like hold greater credibility and authority than the DT, BBC, and Downing Street.

Our dear leader, Governor Rick Perry, has just announced his participation in a faith rally to be held in a giant stadium in Houston. I am not entirely sure what he and his minions are rallying for. Perhaps it is a combination of things beginning with rain. Our Native Americans claimed victory with such tactics, why not Ricky? If successful, his chances for winning the Republican nomination will be substantially enhanced. Word on the street is that he will announce his candidacy late this month. His chances of winning are about as good as Ronald Reagan resurrecting. Perry is stuck to the political wall by a piece of sticky tape. He cannot survive the fray. He and his supporters are only deceiving themselves. Normal people want to distance themselves from Perry. He has a bad reputation here as being too involved in profitable ventures. He looks plastic and groomed by professionals. His oratory skills are sophomoric.

Now for the RAF. Shame. Who in their right mind would appoint a convert to Islam as head of studies at your RAF equivalent to Sandhurst? Has the UK military gone completely bonkers? As one of the few UK institutions the world still respects, it is a sad day when the RAF trainer-in-chief opines about the effectiveness and indeed tactics of NATO air strikes in Libya. In the process of publicizing his views, he also exposes himself to suspicions of loyalty, especially in light of his earlier beliefs that the NAZI gas chambers were nothing more than British propaganda. Wow. Interestingly, America's Air Force Academy has been criticized and reprimanded a few years back for force feeding Christianity to its cadets. The fundamentalists gained control over the curricula, or at least part of it, and then began to challenge the principle of separation of church and state.

Finally, and perhaps most important, is the recent decision to lower the alcohol content in your beer. Soon, your pilsners, stouts and ales will be as weak as ours here in America. Tourists will be forced to visit the Continent for a decent pint. Billions will be lost in tax revenue. When authorities wake up to what is happening, there will be a momentary hue and cry followed by a Parliamentary inquire composed of a select bipartisan committee. Members will include reverent Muslims, representatives of the Temperance Union, and a teetotaler or two. Five years later, a report will be published, but by then, the public will have grown accustomed to low alcohol beer and the issue will have died for lack of interest.

We all have to live with our shame. The weeks and months ahead for we Yanks will not be easy. Political squalls are transforming into tempests. It will be difficult for O to maintain his cool. Racial accusations and counter accusations will play a role. We need some relief from our economic woes to avert consuming our own flesh. To date, plans toward that end have been anemic at best. Positive and dramatic action is required of a nature that America was capable of in the last century. I hope we are not losing that identity.