In Encore

Encore of Revival: America, March 8, 2021

Author SymphonyPosted on

The GOP is in a season of soul-searching. The party that’s all too happy to offer financial support to its candidates wants to use the name of the president some of its members voted against. It’s like the Little Red Hen, only if the rat had been fighting her the whole story. Maybe they should be called “rats” instead of “RINOs”.

Whether voters support or oppose Trump, we should all fear a party that allows its members to be so blatantly fork-tongued. Then again, purifying that party with new blood might not solve the problem. It just might make things worse.

Democrats are getting along a whole lot better than Republicans ever did, especially recently. The COVID-19 porkulous bill is sailing through Congress faster than lies from a used car salesman. Yet, the bigger topic of Capitol discussion is the sixty-vote requirement for non-budget bills. That’s part of the Senate’s current “Standing Rules” named after the late Democratic Senator Robert Byrd. So, they call it the “Byrd” rule. They made it, now they want to end it. That would look like a power grab.

You know how midterms go. Democrats ending their own “Byrd” rule might backfire. They seem bent on getting Trump elected in just four years. Obama took eight, so their efficiency is improving. If people can trust elections again, Biden may have to join Carter and HW in the great hall of one-term presidents. Maybe Biden will get lucky and have a dam named after him like Hoover, or maybe a vacuum cleaner.

Read More

In Cadence

Cadence of Conflict: Asia, March 1, 2021

Author SymphonyPosted on

China was fooled again. They thought Biden would be the same pushover he was as vice president. Oops.

Human Rights groups are amassing. Now the Beijing 2022 Olympics are a candidate for boycott. As if that’s not enough, the USS Nimitz can’t stop making headlines as it is supposed to return home in a month. It’s currently in China’s back yard pool, so to speak. The Chinese aren’t happy. But, when are they ever?

Even with Presiden Biden, Trump restrictions on China are still going into effect. China responds by banning imports on Taiwanese pineapple. But, the pineapple ban came too late. Just think how much better the world would be if China had banned those evil pineapple in a more timely fashion.

But, since the evil Taiwanese pineapple ban came too late, China had to take more drastic action. They arrested 47 people in Hong Kong who like democracy. It is rumored that they might like democracy almost as much as they like pineapple. While this can’t be confirmed, it could be that liking pineapple proved how dangerous those democracy-lovers really were. But, that is pure conjecture.

In case banning evil Taiwanese pineapple wasn’t enough to guarantee domestic safety, China also requires that clergy worship Chairman Mao. The Holy See isn’t sanguine, neither are those evil Taiwanese pineapple farmers.

Read More

In Encore

Encore of Revival: America, March 1, 2021

Author SymphonyPosted on

Trump is back in favor with the party that stabbed him in the back, and Washington is back to business as usual. I only took a month.

The latest porkulous bill, proposed at $1.9T, is being delayed. Democrats in Congress want to use budget reconciliation to double minimum wage across the nation. Rules of the Senate say “probably not”, though the vice president has the final say on rules, but two Democrats in the Senate also disagree, giving them the last say that matters. Without this theater on minimum wage, the porkulus lawmaking process would go more quickly, Americans would get their measly $1,400 more quickly, and other people would get bigger checks more quickly.

The Senate’s requirement of 60 votes to pass a bill is meant to protect the minority. Now, Democrats in Congress call this tyranny from the minority. Since when did Democrats side against minorities?

And, since when did Republicans in Congress support Trump? Why would Conservative voters trust the party that ignored their wishes at state legislatures?

America is past the point of insanity. Conservative and Liberal voters agree on so many things. But, they only use petty differences to scorn whoever sits opposite the fence. They never try to win peace or persuasion to overcome the many problems on which they agree. Now that the RNC has an enemy to complain about, and now that they can pretend to support the president they wouldn’t defend from dubious election stations, Republicans on Capitol Hill are as happy as pigs in their own poop. But, some Americans are waking up to what’s going on. Some are awake.

Read More

In Cadence

Cadence of Conflict: Asia, February 22, 2021

Author SymphonyPosted on

China is mixing its civilian population with military front lines. This new Sansha “City” probably should be called a province and not a “city”. Leave it to the Chinese and Taiwanese governments to garble province-level translation. It’s not anything the West considers a city. But, it was planted in the middle of international waters, is used as a basis for applying Chinese law in more places, is highly contested by neighbors like Vietnam, and has civilians.

At what point does a civilian population bear responsibility for the action of its government? Is it in supporting that government’s action? Is it in turning a blind eye to that government’s action, providing passive support? Is it in accepting one-sided gossip about other people they never met nor heard from? If so, all people across the world are guilty of every war.

China grew its power when Western consumers sent their jobs overseas to save pennies at the store. Western civilians built Sansha as much as Chinese civilians. When Sansha becomes a war zone, will there be such a thing as an “innocent civilian” anywhere in the world? All of us involve civilians in military matters; at least China is upfront about it.

Read More

In Encore

Encore of Revival: America, February 22, 2021

Author SymphonyPosted on

Drama and theater! The veil is lifting. Tech giants are useful, but they seem driven by parasites. The same can be said of legislative bodies, entertainment giants, and prosecutors going after the January 6 Capitol Insurrection.

Jessica Watkins has an interesting story to tell. Her defense of January 6 could convince the public that the prosecution is over-stating its case, looking to hang anyone and everyone possible as payback for the Capitol being breached. In acquitting those who occupied their legislative floor in 2014, Taiwan’s dignity far outshines that of America’s. To the US Supreme Court: You have a higher bar to reach, so to speak.

Social media takes a bumpy turn for the better. Australia’s social media law is somewhat vague, but mainly forces dialog. As understood by the Times, the Aussie law, along with the infamous ‘Articles 11’ of the EU law, aren’t aimed at the normal guy nor the pundit. Instead, they aim at huge tech giants who use AI to aggregate enormous numbers of new stories as one more added feature of their already behemoth-sized tech services. The infamous EU ‘Article 13’ law banning memes is another story. While Europe wants to tax links on Apple and Google, then ban memes for nearly everyone, Australia just wants Facebook and Google to have a conversation when they re-post part of a news story.

While the giants fight, originality steps up. In the approaching shadow of it becoming illegal to use any old music on YouTube, the need for original music spikes. Such laws were lobbied for by big entertainment companies; ironically it is big entertainment that now faces its fiercest competition from billions of ‘little guys’—who used to be their customers.

So, to the tech giants, tech-phobic lawmakers, copyright mongers, and prosecutors: Keep overreaching. Just keep overreaching.

Read More

In Tempo

Cadence of Conflict: Asia, February 15, 2021

Author SymphonyPosted on

The WHO probe into China over the pneumoniavirus pandemic doesn’t help ties. The team requested raw data; they were given a summary. China blames America. Joe Biden takes on China over Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Uighurs of  Xinjiang. Now, he is joined by Boris Johnson in criticizing China over the WHO.

Meanwhile, Taiwan has gone two days without a single new case—poster boy of the Pacific! When Japan had a 7.3 magnitude earthquake off Fukushima, Taiwan interrupted its holiday season to voice support.

Now, the New York Post revisits old news about the lady who found an SOS message in a box of Halloween decorations made in Xinjiang. Factory co-workers told the messenger that he was the cause of their trouble by sending a message. If people of a factory are so beaten down, and if the WHO can’t even get raw data on the pandemic that rocked the world, Western voters will wonder what else is going on in China. News reports and recent events spell bad luck for China. Worst of all is China’s reaction that only spells guilt in the Western mind.

Read More