Symphony

Encore of Revival: America, October 25, 2021

Democrats are playing the Fool as perfectly as they always do—lots of posturing, promising, talking about the big wounds Republicans ignore, and then doing everything to make everything worse while their voters praise them for help. It irritates and excites the Republican base, opening the seas to welcome a Trump type who will actually get things done.

That’s how the Republican base sees things. The Democratic base keeps singing the lyrics from Tupac, “Still, I see no changes,” then still keeps on voting for entertainment to continue.

But, Senator Joe Manchin has about had enough. He and Bernie are against the bankrupt-us package of $3T pushed by POTUS and the entertaining Democratic Party. Mother Jones needs a lot of money fast, but broke the story on how Senator Joe might leave the DNC in order to not harm the party. Caught off guard, Joe Manchin arrived at the public position that it would be to save face for everyone—but even that had no takers from any of the ever-entertaining Democrats.

While Democrats bicker, Trump blows up Wall Street. The stock market literally had to shut down when he made a business move. Mainstream news—which is anything but profitable these days—would still have us think that Trump doesn’t matter, no matter how much Wall Street knows he does. Could the term “histrionic” apply somewhere?

Remember the good old days when Trump’s Twitter account was talk of the town? This is what happens when a president gets censored in a country with free speech.

Trump

Trump SPAC skyrockets as much as 1,657% since deal was announced // CNN

Analysis: Trump is again upsetting the US system of checks and balances // CNN

Washington as Usual

Democrats

Biden hosts Manchin in Delaware at critical juncture // Politico

Joe Manchin, polarising Democrat at heart of Biden bill negotiations // Financial Times

Opinion: ‘Torpedo Joe’ Manchin is blowing up Biden’s agenda // The Globe and Mail (CA)

Scandal, Graft & White Collar Crime

Alec Baldwin could face liability in shooting of Halyna Hutchins: legal experts // NY Post

Before Alec Baldwin pulled the trigger, two film-set workers handled gun on set // MSN News

Prices, Rates, Oil & Food

Waiting To Unload: Global Supply Chain Disruption Visible From NASA Satellites // SciTechDaily

China Power Crisis Boosts Coal Imports From Indonesia to Record // Bloomberg

The Isles

Alarm Over Queen Elizabeth’s Health Reveals a Harsh Royal Truth // Yahoo News

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Symphony

Encore of Revival: America, February 10, 2020

https://youtu.be/TfNq7TwobhI

Trump's acquittal did not come because of party politics or friends in Washington. It came because he stood fast—he held his ground in a party that tried to denounce him early on. He had many good friends helping, but it was Trump himself that empowered their efforts and directed the flow.

The Republican Party is not what it seems. They hated Trump when he didn't do things in their failing manner, but now they acquit him and act like they have always been BFF from the beginning. Any disagreements in Trump's early days don't matter anymore, even though that's not the tone they used at the time, though a number of those Republicans are out of office.

It's typical. The Republicans held their noses while Reagan gave them success. They passed Democratic-oriented, anti-Conservative laws during the W. Bush years viz the Patriot Act. They objected to Conservative voices in media during the 2005 "Build a Fence" movement viz Senator Lott. Thanks to Trump's inability to be railroaded, they are being gifted more success and clout than they ever didn't earn before.

Senator McConnell stayed true to the colors he flew, which is more than can be said for the late Senator McCain or Senator Romney, who took his unofficial place as "Republican Senate maverick". Senator Romney's departure from the fold could make him a one-term Senator—and not from lack of RNC backing. Senator Graham and many others took their stand for law, order, facts, evidence, process, and truth. The Republican Party stood behind their president, this time. Had former House Republicans not been card-carrying members of the metaphorical "never Trumper" movement, Republicans might still hold the House and none of this ugly impeachment would have happened.

Justice came from Republicans this time; don't get used to it. While Democrats are the party of hate and failed "we wanna' help you" platitudes, the Republicans are the party of treachery. Democrats stand together while Republicans usually don't. It was a strange week in Washington. Things will be fine through the Trump years because they will depend on him. But after that, buckle up.

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Symphony

Encore of Revival: America, December 30, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jha-dJDcul8

The Trump trials are exposing what is broken about our political culture. Politicians don't know how to talk to people. They can schmooze and beat around the bush. They can use a thousand hours and a hundred thousand words to do nothing in a way that appears like hard work. But, they don't know how to talk to people so that something actually happens.

To a business man, the phrase "I need your help" is a polite way of making a request easier to turn down. In politics, asking for "help" is code for bribery. The two aren't at all related. When Trump told the Ukrainian president he wanted "help", he was being polite. But, the swamp in Washington mistook Trump for speaking their evil language of bribery. In psychosemantics, the term is "projection".

Trump's impeachment is purely along party lines. Statistics and figures agree. If you're a Democrat, you think his call to Ukraine was wrong. If you're a Republican, you think his call to Ukraine was somewhere between necessary and excusable. Any exceptions are marginal. This is pure party politics, which means that we can't debate the ethics of Trump's phone call among fellow Americans with any more success than we can debate guns, abortion, and redistribution of wealth. Now, impeaching the incumbent president for whatever lame reason we can contrive has been added as one more topic in a party-politics worldview.

Most rules that Democratic politicians object to are rules that the same Democrats created to use against Republicans just a few years prior. This new precedent won't be any exception. It might even come in handy one day, one way or another.

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