The US debt compromise is a disaster for everybody but the very rich. Obama, if he ever had any principles (and I never thought he did), has abandoned them.

 Most of the American population is going to suffer severely - and for a long time. But corporate returns will probably remain solid - so it technically won't be a depression - just a lot of very poor and desperate people.

A recent article in Reader's Digest carries an article on the Russian AK 47, claiming it is the biggest killer in history - beating out the bubonic plague, AIDS, moslem terrorism etc. It's a good example of the silly thinking that runs loose in the educated world.