Arizona senator, Jeff Flake, tilting the scales as at present.

          Will of Heaven finally had its word in terms of a supplemental background investigation by the FBI into the current credible allegations against Judge Kavanaugh no later than a week from this day.

          True to a proverb in my vernacular language, Tamil, that goes : ” You’ll most likely get what you don’t want;  and you’ll most likely not get what you want “.

          While the proverb held true for the Republicans, the Democrats have every reason to feel happy that it didn’t in their case, eventhough the timeframe and the limited scope of the investigation may not be enthusing.

          Whether Judge Kavanaugh comes morally uncontaminated and wins his spurs to sit on the Supreme Court ultimately;  whether Christine Blasey Ford’s case comes out uncertain, unclear, and unclean ultimately; – the  ‘Winner’  finally is the transformational power of  “Women”  that is already on the rise and set for a great leap.

          As a  ‘common man’  I am strongly tempted to place the frank encounter, the two women (allegedly suffered assaults in their lives though not pertaining to this case directly) had with the Arizona senator, Jeff Flake, in the elevator on his way to the Judiciary Committee room in the morning of 28 September 2018 as the event that triggered the historic order for the Supplemental investigation by the FBI.

Lady questioning senator Jeff Flake in the elevator.

          Their words, specially, “Sir, you’ve children too. Are you prepared to accept a tainted individual to sit on the Supreme Court?”  are the  “voices”  of the hearts of women as a whole.

          That probably was ringing, and moving almost every cell of the Senator, Jeff Flake, to change his decision firmly, finally.

          The Senate Judiciary Committee examined the accuser and the accused with their faces and words during the hearing, but could probably have missed their hearts and minds really, which possibly will be revealed in clearer terms from the Supplemental Investigation. ( I mean any extra evidence supporting or otherwise of accusations from anyone, anytime, from any place through the investigation.)

          That character is the most difficult thing for a human to recover makes the task of FBI all the more onerous in this case.

          Both Judge Kavanaugh and Christie Blasey Ford must have already lost a lot in terms of trust, reputation, words of praise, and recognition – specially during the last two weeks – that the results of FBI supplemental investigation assumes the role of a ‘fortuneteller’  in their lives.

          Hope is their bread now.

          Notwithstanding the outcome and the final decision of the Supreme Court nominee in a week from now,  Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona and the two ladies who interrupted him in the elevator on his way to the Judiciary Committee room  should  be credited with bringing about the transformational change in the  Voices of Women in future while assigning a special pride of place for them that will likely grow faster than the speed of sound from now on.

     “Dieu avec nous”

     Saturday, September 29, 2018  –  3.09 p.m. (IST).

     Tidbit :  ”  women’s thumb may have a man under it”.

Scene of the lady questioning senator Jeff Flake in the elevator.

Brett M Kavanaugh, Supreme Court nominee.

          News regarding accusations of sexual assaults against the U.S.  Supreme Court  nominee,  Brett M Kavanaugh, in the last couple of weeks is more than just disquieting.

          Senate Judiciary committee hearing is to begin in 3 hours from now. Christine Blasey Ford will be heard first followed by Brett M Kavanaugh.

          Leadership in Government is perhaps the highest form of  ‘Leadership’  as it deals with all citizens. “Government by the people, of the people, for the people’ – said Abe Lincoln.

          Hence, there is this special need for strong commitment to arrest the elevation of tainted individuals (if confirmed) to power in Politics  (Executive, Judiciary, and Legislature) where the potential to set trends in behaviour and actions among people is high.

          Political leaders and leaders holding venerable positions in government should hold the highest standards of moral, ethical, and cultural characteristics that their citizens will demand and can be proud of – in any country.

          Every ordinary citizen in the country in one way or the other, at any one particular point in time one way or the other,  needs to have interaction with the Government for a ‘service’.

          Tainted leaders are a source of hindrance and discouragement as their credibility is in question.

          Many assaults go unreported for a variety of reasons;  chief among them being the ‘Socially Damaging Consequences’  resulting from such reporting.

          As for the perpetrator(s) of such serious misconduct it is the mere sense of superiority – power, position, wealth, strength, network – that promotes the courage to indulge in such acts in society.

          We talk of inclusivity in all government programs.  As a victim, the lady (Christine Blasey Ford, CA) needs all the moral support at this juncture.

          This is what will signify inclusive culture with respect for women.

          This is what will determine the way the leader makes decisions (leads in effect), and the “brand”  one wants to build in government (Supreme Court in this case).

          For any leader, the ‘value’  he/she holds is the most important aspect. From ‘value’ arises the passion to create work environment, relationships, skills, knowledge, actions, and not the least the decisions that are taken.

          These are what will help judge the individual’s authenticity and credibility.

          Senate and Congress may perhaps see the wisdom in adopting this incident (in this millennium) as an opportunity to bring about necessary changes to make it encouraging for the citizens to firmly repose faith in Political Leadership.

          The Democrats for their part are sending a clear message of lack of tolerance of inappropriate behaviour and disrespect to women in general.

          Overlooking this aspect of behaviour is akin to overlooking the nation’s culture in holding the diverse categories of people well knit.

     ” Dieu avec nous”

     Wednesday, September 27,  2018 –  3.29 p.m. (IST).

     Tidbit :  ” No one is a greater leader of men than woman”.

     P.S.  Commonsense perspective, not an expert view.

          Exactly a year ago, this day, I lost my mother with whom I spent 23 years supporting her with Confidence building measures. The thoughts that went through my mind at that time didn’t quite happen in reality.

          I thought I will become more confident, but I only became more tremulous;  I thought time will heal the sorrow and affliction,  but it only grew more;  I thought I’ll begin life afresh quickly,  but I couldn’t move on comfortably.

          I am now left with more anxiety, more emotional instability, and feelings of more helplessness. But yes, I have to begin my life afresh seeking a different trajectory.

          All of one’s own making, it would seem and perhaps rightly so. Huh ..huh.  hmm.

          Everyone, near and dear, knows that I am in the last phase of my life. Memory has already become a seive;  energy completely depleted;  self-confidence thoroughly shaken;  decisions going wrong mostly;  and sense of insecurity looming large with more questions than answers.

          How do I plan my last phase ?  Who do I really trust most ?  How do I gain self confidence back while most organs of the body fail to respond?  How and when do I sleep permanently ?  How do I embrace the ultimate reality ?

          I ponder,  ponder,  …  …  …  ponder . ever !

          I am one in the family who is trained by the mother more than the father both in my childhood for 18 years, and later in life as someone fulfilling her needs for 23 years,  something that none of my brothers and sisters can speak proudly or confidently.

          Mother had only school education;  but as a home builder she excelled in decisions vital to the needs and wants of everyone.

          It was also the time when culture and customs;  means of living;  roles of individuals in family & society;  and household enhancements were just beginning to change in our society for the first time since independence. Beginning of the First Home Revolution, as I prefer to term.

          ‘Respect and Connectedness’  within family have been the two main ingredients that made our family pride stick.

          I vividly remember the occasions at dinner every weekend when she would first ask me to cite and describe the best incident/event that happened in school that week. That sowed the seeds for my debating skills and such other competitions even when she was not asking me with that intent.

          She has been creative without ever having a grasp of what good it can do to her children.

          This has been the best attribute of attraction that we as children characterised in her. This was how she played a positive role in the family. This was how she built the image of our family which many in our complex soon started following.

          She carried the light in all our lives.

          To me, specially, she is the mother’s role model in many  middle-class, intelligent, and hardworking south Indian families.

     ” Dieu avec nous”

     Tuesday,  September  25, 2018  –   6.19 a.m.

     Tidbit :  ” No good bye;  I want to join you soon, mother. ”  –  SR

          US  President Donald Trump has been served two well crafted  ‘bouncers’  scraping his helmet and racing to boundaries with the audience sitting on edge(s) of their seats looking shocked and shattered in the last couple of days.

          Reference here is to highly  reputed  writer/journalist, Bob Woodward’s book that reveals the  ‘crazy town’  atmosphere in White House,  and  NYT’s  anonymous op-ed  piece   –  ” I am part of the Resistance”  by a senior official.

           That President Donald Trump has been pushed aside for quite sometime is a fact, though it was not clearly visible to all common men.  He has been leading the country dangerously – is the opinion of a major chunk of analysts, intellectuals, media personnel, experts, past administrators, opponents, and even ordinary citizens. Few are out to get him out of the position he holds now for his flawed strategies and bad decisions – justifiably or otherwise.

          1.  President Donald Trump wanted to transform the normal order of governance. (It requires great amount of sacrifice and changing aspects that people hold dear to their hearts in terms of privileges and benefits. It requires a new kind of adaptation to life that is often detested or resisted by individuals. People seem to be unwilling at this juncture.)

          2.  President Donald Trump talks about the growing economy, low unemployment, deregulation,  tax reforms, and military build up as some of his accomplishments since he took charge.  ( These may hold good in short-term;  these may also be viewed as camouflaging the real big mistakes impacting the society in the long-term.)

          3.  President Donald Trump, as one leading the change, has been treading the path of thorns without being oblivious to the threat to his power and position. His leadership style and character (tweets, insults,.  …  …  heaped on opponents to his policies and opinions) have been under constant attack, more so during the last eight months, to the risk of even losing his support base and with potential to distract from his proclaimed goal of nation’s security and prosperity.  (Result has already started manifesting in disorder and disequilibrium making the leader further more vulnerable to attacks.)

          4.  What he does, perhaps,disturbs the status quo;   what he does, perhaps, makes people feel more insecure combining a sense of personal and collective loss;   what he  does, perhaps, causes uncertainty requiring levels of adaptation that seem unwarranted and unworthy by most citizens.  (People who have prided themselves in their customs, means, and habits possibly could feel the change difficult.)

          5.  President Donald Trump tries to do things at his own command with rigid plans and programs hoping to bring about disruption in governance. (The real world of today is far removed from the effectiveness that can be brought about by the above method. Keep allies and foes closer to you is today’s dictum. Malaise ought to be erased quickly.)

          Will the following three things open a strategic window in tackling the criticism and assault while making amends ?

          1.   Saying what he means  :  Convince aides and other people, those beyond his own constituency, that you really mean what you say in respect of programs and people. Each program will have plans of actions and courses. As one walks through the programs unforseen elements are likely to show up contrary to what is anticipated in implementation and peoples’ reactions. The implementer (agency) and people benefiting/impacted by the program will need to make some changes in behaviour, lifestyle, and social interaction. Leader needs to keenly watch if the actions are encouraging his broader perspective or otherwise. This is where the leader needs to excel in  ‘communications’  reflecting his attitude to embrace the change himself and alter the plans suitably to fit the needs of society. This is what will signify saying what one means.

          2.   Faults are thick when love is thin :  Avoid/minimise tweets and insults;  instead embrace the gracious act of  acknowledging responsibility for what goes wrong setting a new standard that people on both sides of the aisle would feel proud to follow. You may feel disappointed, but it has the tremendous potential to seek the same behaviour from the people in return to boost the leader’s plans, actions, and programs to a new level. It also sends a clear signal that you are ready for changing your image while spending less time, energy, and effort on unwanted criticisms and conflicts. You will also protect yourself from attacks of various hues undermining your authority and style. Your disadvantages turn to become advantages even while the opponent’s negative potential converts itself into a positive agent. Hope and not fear engages people. It is imperative that you seek to relax the constraints that may have already engulfed the minds of those who want to play a significant role in defending you.  Your faults will be dismissed easily as people start loving you.

          3.   Little said, sooner mended :  Answer with facts and less in time to questions,  and concentrate more on  work and problem solving. President Donald Trump has been in position and authority because of his promises to people on, (a) enhanced quality of Life, and  (b) a change in the way of Governance. Whether the economic growth witnessed is a continuing sequence of the earlier policies, or of his own – President Donald Trump is in a situation where he can deliver what is promised. Rather than risking the narrative to slip into a tit-for-tat rebukes and counteraccusations,  reorienting the primary task to solving people’ problems;  getting Canada on board in his new deal with Mexico replacing NAFTA;   and scripting development strategies for mid-term elections vigorously can take the heat away from the wound inflicted now. A small identified group can engage in defusing the bomb with other damage control measures to bring a sense of order. Highlighting prominently the strategic partnerships that US has forged with India in the last couple of days ( Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo;  US  Defense Secretary, Gen James Mattis;  with  Indian Foreign Affairs Minister, Ms Sushma Swaraj;  Indian Defense Minister,  Ms Nirmala Sitaraman )  may well serve as the mithridate in this context.

          These above will make clear that the present environment is apt to concentrate on work in progress and not for indulging in distractions resulting in distress and disaster to people and the nation. These will constitute the real answers to any and all charges.

          P.S.  This is not an expert view, this is just a common-sense view for info/edn.

     “Dieu avec nous”

     Friday,  September 7,  2018 –  7.29 p.m. (IST).

     Tidbit :  ” The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.”  –  Theodore Roosevelt.