Encore of Revival: America, January 24, 2022

COVID seems to be taking backseat headlines for Russia, which has become a big topic in Europe. A German vice-admiral resigned with Germany’s Defense Minister over some seemingly spineless friendliness toward Russia. He speculated about the buildup at Ukraine, that Putin probably just wanted respect and that Russia was a necessary Western ally against China. With Russia, Iran, and China beginning joint naval exercises in India’s backyard pool this week, the vice-admiral’s comments were obviously absurd. Germany’s PR fumble is a big deal.

A hand full of European nations want to move NATO military assets into the Ukraine. Because of technical complications, Germany must also sign off on the transfer, but has been hesitant from any military backing of Ukraine so far. With this seemingly wimpy statement from the German vice-admiral, Germany can’t keep riding the fence.

On smaller headlines like COVID, Taiwan had a whopping 82 new domestic COVID cases on Saturday. Urgent health measures go into effect, which are soft-handed and calm-minded compared to the bipolar reactionism throughout America, where COVID problems are much worse. American companies even hold optimistic speculation for Taiwan. Maybe some will figure out that the calm way is the higher way. Until then, it isn’t exactly a bad thing that something finally booted COVID from American top headlines.

Read More

Encore of Revival: America, December 13, 2021

Six states were hit by tornadoes: Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee. While the nation grapples with disaster, and families look for refuge and loved ones—many lost—Jeff Bezos posts about his latest space flight.

Greed is growing, but not just within American borders. Tensions with China rise, with the now-known Taiwan as the main poster boy. But, Russia looms in the background exploiting China’s self absorption as a distraction to take Ukraine. If Russia hit Ukraine, the US promises to respond. But, that would happen alongside a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. The US would have its hands full and the Communists of the East know it—Russia and China.

China wouldn’t be so provocative without backing. Russia is the real threat. Or, is the threat that America’s financial leaders are aloof? Or, is the threat that we got ourselves here?

Read More

Encore of Revival: America, January 27, 2020

The concept of an ongoing impeachment process against every sitting president isn’t that bad of an idea. In some governments, it’s the fourth branch of government called the “Control”. Perhaps Obama, Bush, and Clinton—all the way to FDR and Wilson—would have served the people better if they had an ongoing impeachment proceeding. It’s tempting, but, for now anyway, it looks like a big waste of time.

The president’s defense seems incredibly boring, but that won’t matter. The Democratic prosecution omits key evidence, but that won’t matter either. Every vote in the Senate has already been decided. These proceedings contain the platform for the other side to be added where there was only one side of what should be fair. Life isn’t fair, but drama stops at the Senate floor. As with Clinton, there is neither basis to remove Trump from Office. Impeachment is a big deal, but usually falls to the popular opinion; voting citizens are the jury. Both times, all the energy from the House was spent on the Senate, which just let the House wear itself tired.

While one proceeding moves forward for show toward a pre-agreed verdict, another investigation continues against the faction that wanted this impeachment in the first place. A network of unhappy people from the opposite side of the political spectrum, largely in cahoots with the FBI and beyond, tried to prevent a president from being elected, then tried to remove him from office for something that didn’t happen. In their view, justice is an illusion; they only do what suits them with whatever power they have. For them, might is morally right. Fortunately, democracies have systems in place to prevent power-defined morality touted by Leftist activists in America’s legal justice system—whether judges or FBI.

The strongest evidence in this impeachment trial is the phone call read-out between Trump and Zelensky. It only seems inditing when heard in small snippets by people who hate Trump anyway. To everyone else, it is acquitting. Calling witnesses would stretch on and on and, for Republicans, would only serve the purpose of exposing the swamp that the FBI was a small part of. Democrats gamble that the Senate won’t call witnesses, so House managers taunt the Senate about not calling witnesses. But, just how the president released the contents of the phone conversation by surprise, the Senate could decide to start the boring process of asking pre-written questions through the Chief Justice. The main purpose for Republicans would be to put accomplices on the stand. If that happens, expect at the top of the list the center of the phone call’s discussion: Joe Biden.

Read More

Encore of Revival: America, January 20, 2020

Current events are forcing everyone into a deep state of soul-searching. Some Iranians were angry after Trump’s drone strike, mourning the death of a leader they somehow admired. They didn’t blame Americans, except that they did. Once the Iranian government admitted to shooting down the passenger jet from Ukraine, Iranians en masse took to the streets, protesting the current government.

As Symphony explained last week, some leaders have yet to “grow up” more than others. Those with more growing up to go tend to invite resentment from those they lead. Iran was no exception. Authoritarianism led to the mistake with the passenger jet, but it also allowed certain leaders to rise in the first place, one whom was killed by a drone strike approved by President Trump.

In America, the doomed impeachment articles from the House were so evidently unpopular that their true purpose went on parade: a parade. Yes, it was only ever for show. So, when House Democrats were forced to give the Republican Senate what they did not want, they continued the show for their supporters’ own entertainment.

But, the show isn’t done yet. Irritation and aggravation will only rise higher and higher as the nation sees what’s really going on. That could be said for both Iranians and Americans.

Read More

Encore of Revival: America, January 13, 2020

The Iranian government’s alibi—or “explanation”, rather—of how it shot down a passenger jet from Ukraine is entirely believable. Barring some grandiose conspiracy, there would be no imaginable motive for any government—friend or foe, even a terrorist sponsor like Iran—to use government assets to kill civilians.

The Iranian military’s story is believable to any Westerner who has spend more than three years in a first-world or second-world country. Sadly, poorer parts of America have similar cultures, poorer White communities as well as minorities. Any autocratic, bossy, domineering culture can easily make severe miscalculations. They do it in Sunday morning congregations all the time.

According to CNN, according to Iran, their government was on high alert, then misidentified a plane from Ukraine as it turned toward a Revolutionary Guard base. In sum, that led to a snap judgment, what Iran calls “human error”. The Iranian government wants to put systems in place to avoid such miscalculations in the future. In the West, we call that “growing up”—learning how to not make rush judgements.

While Iran’s story is believable to any Western expat with experience in a developing country, most Americans don’t know the degree to which immature people run many governments of the world. Part of being a first-world nation means that people in the government need to be mature.

Iran learning from its mistake could be the most significant turning point where Iran’s government learns the “confident humility” needed to govern with maturity. If that happens, Sec. Mike Pompeo’s goal of Iran behaving “like a normal country” will come true. Iran claimed that their military was on high alert in the first place because of tensions surrounding the strike in Iraq. In short, killing Qassem Soleimani helped Iran.

Now, the task is for Americans to understand other people enough to understand why being immature cost the lives of 176 people. Whether at home, the office, or in government, immaturity is the source of much injustice—a lesson which Americans will learn, eventually.

Read More

Encore of Revival: America, December 30, 2019

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.

Read More