Symphony

Encore of Revival: America, March 15, 2021

The Court always rules in favor of the Court. When Chief Justice Roberts dissented against the other eight, he ruled against the court to preserve order in the Court. In this case, the students suing over free speech censorship probably don’t want to allow a private settlement to enable it to happen again. The concern at stake was whether the court can decide a real lawsuit after the basis is settled, but the injured party files suit for $1 anyway. Thomas thinks that $1 makes it real. Roberts doesn’t want judges giving opinions on problems that don’t exist—a judicial practice called “advisory opinion” that expired over 200 years ago. The problem is that this case is real, but it was privately resolved, thus the basis disappeared before the court had opportunity to rule.

The result is that anyone can sue anyone for $1 and SCOTUS could hear the case. That certainly favors the Court’s expanded abilities. The Court always rules in favor of the Court.

Europe isn’t happy about COVID-19 vaccines or the predicted third wave. Americans aren’t happy about how Democratic Governors Whitmer and Cuomo handled the pandemic. If nothing else, someone could sue them each for $1 and a Republican-appointed SCOTUS would get to decide their fates.

Law

Supreme Court: Bad GOP lawyering may have just saved the Voting Rights Act // Vox

Congress

Voting rights fight could move Democrats to finally end the filibuster // Yahoo News

More Democrats Join Effort to Abolish the Filibuster // NY Times

Pressures grows on Biden to take on the filibuster // WA Post

Washington as Usual

Democrats

Cuomo defiant as top New York lawmakers call on him to quit // AP

Republicans

Trump says he’ll campaign against Murkowski in Alaska next year // CNN

Trump sends cease-and-desist letters to GOP campaign committees // NBC News

CPAC: Trump targets Republicans like Liz Cheney, Mitch McConnell // USA Today

Violence, Radicalism & Terrorism

Boulder party on the Hill: Police looking to make arrests // NBC 9 Boulder

Security & Public Safety

Minneapolis on edge as the first officer charged in killing of George Floyd goes on trial // MSN News

Markets, Economy & GDP

China is sounding the alarm about a global market bubble // CNN

The Isles

Meghan Markle says she was ‘suicidal’ in bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry // Daily Mail

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Symphony

Encore of Revival: America, July 13, 2020

In the Supreme Court ruling on Congress’ subpoena of the president, everyone claims the ruling was in their favor. Democratic members of Congress point out the court’s statement that one branch is not above the law. Trump points out the court’s decision to return the pro-subpoena decision of a lower court decision as unfinished homework. The subpoena will not go into effect before the end of the session of Congress that ordered it. Trump is accused by the media of a meltdown for saying so and Democrats call their defunct subpoena a victory.

What in the Hill is going on? In the court’s decision to return the incomplete ruling, Chief Justice Roberts briefly quoted Hamilton from Federalist No. 71. Consider a fuller quote:

The representatives of the people, in a popular assembly, seem sometimes to fancy that they are the people themselves, and betray strong symptoms of impatience and disgust at the least sign of opposition from any other quarter; as if the exercise of its rights, by either the executive or judiciary, were a breach of their privilege and an outrage to their dignity. They often appear disposed to exert an imperious control over the other departments; and as they commonly have the people on their side, they always act with such momentum as to make it very difficult for the other members of the government to maintain the balance of the Constitution.

This is a problem as ancient as legislatures themselves. Congress can’t skip process when giving a subpoena, even to a president, anymore than one can be immune from a subpoena, even the president. Both tried, both failed, but only Congress lost something of substance. This Congress will end before a decision is reached and there will be no tax records shown before the election. Still, Congressional Democrats delusionally declared victory. What Hamilton described in Congress may be called “narcissistic rage” by psychologists today.

As seen in response to the pneumoniavirus, Democrats think that crippling the economy and forcing dependace on the State will boost their popularity. But, such measures wouldn’t be needed if Democrats were as popular—and Trump were as unpopular—as the media touts them to be. Given their apparent view of the world, this makes perfect sense.

Neither party in Congress speaks for the worldview of any large portion of the people. Republicans in Congress are largely elitist; the vast majority of their voters are not. Democrats in Congress speak for a small segment of their own votership as well—those few who are anti-life, who fear everything, whose action unchecked would kill everything, who nonetheless fear that anything could kill them, and who believe that everyone else thinks the same.

This is interesting because the psychological behavior of “projecting” one’s own view onto others is a trait of Narcissistic Disorder. Thankfully, they are not the majority they think themselves to be, not even within their own party. It is ironic timing that psychology journals are reporting a condition being called “PTBO”, where people who are easily offended are clinically proven less effective in the workplace. We don’t need to say which political ideology the affected group of that study would likely fall into. Week by week, an ever greater majority of America wakes up to the insanity of Capitol Hill.

Trump

3 Key Takeaways from US Supreme Court Rulings on Trump’s Tax Returns // VOA

Supreme Court splits on Trump tax cases, potentially shielding returns until after election // Politico

Spin, spin, spin
Trump Reacts To Supreme Court Rulings On Financial Records // YouTube @ NBC News

Election

A Timeline of Kanye West Getting Political // Billboard

Biden-founded law firm, as well as a company tied to Pelosi, received PPP funds, docs show // Fox News

State & Local

Trump says he will pressure governors over school reopenings even as virus surges // CNN

Activism, Unrest & Protests

Frederick Douglass: Historic US black activist’s statue toppled // BBC News

Foreigners & International Relations

ICE tells students on visas they must leave US if schools go online-only // The Hill

Culture & People

The article: “PTBO”
You’re offended, I’m offended! An empirical study of the proclivity to be offended and what it says about employees’ attitudes and behaviors // ScienceDirect

Signaling virtuous victimhood as indicators of Dark Triad personalities. // PsycNET (APA)

Study Reveals That Easily Offended People Are Less Productive, Bad Employees : SocialJusticeInAction // reddit

Study Reveals That Easily Offended People Are Less Productive, Bad Employees // Summit News

The Isles

China ‘trying to influence elite figures in British politics’, dossier claims // Sky News

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Symphony

Encore of Revival: America, June 22, 2020

The Left is desperate and the Right is getting even moreso. With Chief Justice Roberts casting the deciding vote with Liberal justices, kicking back Trump’s move against DACA, Trumpists will lean in more than ever to fill upcoming Clinton-appointed vacancies with Conservatives.

Why would a million people reserve seats for a rally, then not show? Tump’s Tulsa rally seemed small, but there was more going on. Democrat-voting “influencers” are reported to have mocked the event—an act of desperation. How did they know? One doesn’t need to chide a president who is losing on his own. The social media platform TikTok was also reported involved—another act of desperation, and they are owned by the Chinese.

Surprisingly low turnouts are rare for Trump events. Mischief from the Left is suspect, squatter reservations and virus lock down policies among them. Low-turnout Tulsa won’t be overlooked in the Trump chronicles. And, it will rouse Republican voters while setting Democratic voters at ease to think the election is stacked in Biden’s favor.

While state and city police deal with protests, Trump steps back to allow local governments to work, yet he introduced some of the most sweeping police reform policy ever. Congress also is pushing for police reform.

As the looming election casts its normal shadow of question and concern, we are finally forced to deal with old problems which never should have been, just as much as no one found a way to escape them, let alone end them—until now.

Trump

President Trump holds rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, amid coronavirus spread concerns // YouTube @ Yahoo Finance

TikTok users troll the Trump campaign over Tulsa rally // CNN

Face a Black reporter, Lincoln: The interview with Harris Faulkner
Exclusive: Trump answers tough questions on state of US law enforcement // YouTube @ Fox News

Trump administration sues Bolton over book dispute // CNN

‘We’re thinking landslide’: Beyond D.C., GOP officials see Trump on glide path to reelection // Politico

Election

US election 2020: A ‘panic button’ moment for Senate Republicans // CNN

Law

DACA ‘unlawful’ despite Supreme Court ruling, acting Homeland Security chief says // Politico

DACA, LGBTQ decisions leave some conservatives with Supreme Court buyers’ remorse // Fox News

State & Local

Green cops protect predators
How DNR caught Michigan’s worst suspected wolf poacher // Detroit News

Activism, Unrest & Protests

Violent George Floyd protests at CNN Center unfold live on TV // YouTube @ CNN

Death & Taxes

Push the tax filing deadline to Oct. 15 // WA Examiner

Foreigners & International Relations

Roberts: lacks ‘a reasoned explanation for its action’
Supreme Court Upholds DACA, Ruling Against Trump Administration // NPR

Security & Public Safety

Full Text Of Senate Republicans’ Justice Act On Policing // NPR

Trump Signs Executive Order on Police Reform at the White House // YouTube @ Bloomberg QuickTake News

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Symphony

Encore of Revival: America, July 15, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9OeHzo2srM

Justice Roberts doesn't believe that the citizenship question in the upcoming census is about voting rights. He's right, it probably isn't. A more believable reason might have been to confirm the accuracy of immigrant statistics from other Federal reports. A better census question would have been multiple choice: citizen, green card, other visa, and entry not requiring visa—nothing incriminating about that. Putting the question on a separate form from the rest of the census form would skew the data to protect privacy. But, SCOTUS wouldn't allow the question as presented for the reason as defended.

We have two big issues with this ruling. First, if census questions are too invasive, people won't answer them, then the data is less accurate. Second, remember: The Supreme Court always votes in favor of the Court, more than Right or Left politics, more than constitutionalism or idealism. And, as we should expect from hard-working law school grads, supreme justices love to penalize sloppy homework.

If we wanted to know Roberts's politics, the defense should have provided a better defense. Trump shouldn't have let his lawyers give lame reasons for relevant questions because the true reasons are good enough: The government wants to know the accuracy of other reports. Now, those other reports will be collected, collaborated, and cross-referenced instead, which might have been a better rout in the first place.

The Democrats enjoyed the younger generation of voters accusing anything and everything of being about racism, even when it wasn't. It came in handy as a wild carded, one-shot-for-all silver bullet for rebutting opposition to Obama. It helped them get elected under the auspices of fighting a never-ending battle that had to continue. But, when one such young person got elected, it messed with the non-democratic rank-and-file culture of the so-called Democratic party. Now, Pelosi and AOC are in a cat fight. The problem is that people care. It's not news, it's just politics as usual. Maybe it's a nice wake-up call to what is usual in Washington.

Just as usual is the scandalous underbelly of Washington, including Epstein. When he was caught up in scandals with Democrats, he didn't matter. Now that they can't keep their underage pimp afloat, the salvage operation in the Washington spin-control department wants to tie Epstein to Trump to at least get some return for their great loss. They'll have to find someone to replace him now. And, they'd at least like to say the same for Trump, but they can't.

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Symphony

Encore of Revival: America, November 26, 2018

The US faces politics within and without. President Trump refers to judges appointed by a president; Chief Justice Roberts rebuts, effectively, that judges aren't owned by presidents. Trump never said they were, he was referring to who appointed them. Who makes an appointment is relevant, even in a court trial. Unless the question, "Who appointed you?" has never been answered by a plaintiff or witness in court, Roberts' misunderstood. It would be best that the chief justice accurately understand the commander-in-chief's "original intent". As for Roberts' claim that courts are impartial, that certainly is what we all hope for. Trump's predication is that perfection is a humanly unreachable destination, which is why we need courts in the first place.

At the border, Mexico allowed the so-named "caravan", now reported at over 8k people, to march through its country seeking immediate help, instant protection, urgent safety, emergency respite from political persecution—or some other timely need that is required to receive "asylum". Asylum is not a fun thing to receive and often means never being allowed to leave the country once inside. Edward Snowden wasn't allowed to walk from Hong Kong to Moscow, picking and choosing which country he could seek asylum from; he had to get it right where he was, before leaving the international terminal. If anyone in that caravan can prove that the kinds of protection an asylum specifically grants could not be provided by the many countries they marched through for many weeks, then they should be granted an asylum. They would also need to prove that they would never return to their home country to visit family, no matter what. That's a tall order. But, if they can do it, they deserve it, but only if.

The Russianewsgategate scandal scandal is still barking and honking, predicting drama and awe, while quietly reminding audiences that there will probably be no indictment. 'Tis no more than theater at this point, but an act that needs to be kept up so that the cast won't be accused of having been pretending the whole time. After Kavanaugh's unfair trial dubbed a "hearing", avoiding the appearance of fakery in DC theater is important these days.

Whatever is going on in the US is a lot better than what's going on in Europe. We are witnessing ancient, Biblical prophecy fulfilled in our day: The winged lion of Daniel 7:4 had the eagle's wings removed and has now been given the sane mind of a human. While eagle's wings internationally represent America's mascot, the lion represents Britain's. While Prime Minister May gave her speech about the Brexit status, she stood behind the crest of Britain's lion. It is clear from her speech—by leaving the EU, Britain is no longer part of the madness festering in Europe.

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