For some reason the Republican party in the USA is championing some problematic personalities. This is not the ENTIRE party, but it is concerning for sure.
So much in the National Discourse as we start 2023.
The reason why decided to start with this topic for 2023 it is because it is concerning. There are a lot of personality-driven narratives that seem very distracting yet that warrant a second look. From all these I’ll focus on three particular topics: Trump’s Taxes, Tate’s alpha clout, and Rep Santos “padded” resume. Why am I talking about these? Well, first off, it is blowing up my feed on pretty much any outlet that I hear or see, like it or not. So, I figure it would help me just put some closure to it – at least understand what I am being exposed to. This will be a long-form article, but I plan on writing a dedicated article on each on of these men situations in the near them and go in detail why they are worth our attention.
I’ve said it before, blissful ignorance might seem like a good alternative to stay out of undue drama. But it is unfortunately not that easy, nor advisable. In fact, not understanding what could very much affect us just gives tacit consent to others to “explain” the situation without really understanding the context. My intent with this article is to bring awareness that these situations are happening, and then you can do your own research. Your opinion on each one of these topics will be your own. Just keep in mind though that the algorithm in whatever feed you do your research will likely pour a bunch of additional content on each topic.
This can be both good and bad. Good because there is a significant chance that you’ll see dissenting opinions on each topic, and this will help you make your own mind. Even if you go back and forth between opinions. Bad, because some of that can become annoying as content related to these guys will keep coming over and over. And I know that for a fact because I saw it to satisfy my curiosity, and now it is everywhere. So, since I’ve educated myself on the topic, I decided to give you all my analysis. But again, remember this is based on my perspective. I am sure that disagreements could be sprouting depending on the depth of proper context. I just want to say I am not emotionally attached to any of these personalities; therefore, I am being as pragmatic as I can be. I am not as worried about the person, more so than the message derived from each case.
Trump’s Taxes.
Like, love, dislike or hate this guy… well, the revelation about his taxes reached possibly the most anticlimactic conclusion to anybody paying attention in the last decade.
For anybody who was not aware, former U.S. President Trump refused to release his taxes prior, during and after his presidency. In fact, he pushed for legal action and even had his fans in Congress, and even one of his Cabinet Secretaries – particularly the one in charge of the IRS to prevent the disclosure of his taxes. And why should you care about Trump’s taxes anyway? Well, simple. It answers the question to the American people if the leader of the free world has any potential conflicts of interest.
For most positions, some might think that’s nobody’s business. But when it comes to working in government conflicts of interest are very important data points. I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, that as a U.S. Navy Sailor I have to disclose any conflicts of interests, and ensure that if do anything that could remotely raise an eyebrow, it has to be reported. And even if it not “controversial” in any way, we are still required to be forthcoming. For example, in my record I’ve mentioned this very site you’re reading this article, and my little company BeeZee Vision, LLC.
But it would the same way if I am making any income with other entities. For example, if am a landlord, or if I have a side job, a gig, a hustle… it is not like they are going to say “no” – but it is good practice to ensure we have checks and balances.
So, if a U.S. military service member is required to have a level of scrutiny as they are appointed to an office in the U.S. Government, should not the Commander in Chief or the Armed forces and head of the Executive Power be held at the very least to the same standard? Well, most presidents in U.S. History have agreed with that simple concept. Hence, they have released the taxes without needing to be prompted to do so. And no, nothing out-of-the ordinary was found with Biden. And if anybody asks “what about Hunter?” – Hunter Biden is not running for the highest office of the land. Otherwise, the same could have been asked of any child of the presidents in history.
Surprisingly, Trump might have been able to control the narrative about his taxes if he was more forthcoming, or at least if he did not boast so much about his supposed wealth. That latter did attract a lot of attention to anybody who understands conflicts of interest. A self-inflicted wound if you will. And unfortunately for him, running for the highest office in the land does require trust to go both ways. The president works for the people.
Some people very well understand this conflict-of-interest struggle, some are not very aware of that. That’s ok if somebody is on the latter, that’s why there are people who specialize in every imaginable position in this great nation. Also, for those who are experts on their field, they will be able to identify if somebody is trying to sell them some b-s miles away.
I’ll give you an example, if you’re an architect and somebody wants to give you lip about stating that foundations are not important when building a house, then you can ascertain that that particular person is not quite qualified to have that argument with you. Same thing when Trump ran for office and boasted about his wealth. This will elicit questions of where this wealth actually comes from, and if there is so much wealth, then why so many little side hustles? – Many of which were not necessarily legal, and a lot of litigation was required to settle that matter. This is an important factor for anybody doing opposition research, and they will ask the relevant questions. As they should.
When confronted with releasing his taxes, Trump would assert that he was under audit, and condescendingly mentioned that his taxes were so complex nobody would understand them. I know, right? Like there are no tax attorneys that handle the exceedingly complex billionaire accounts in the richest country on the planet, right? By the way, the truth was that Trump was not under audit as he claimed. And despite any reason to justify him, why would he lie unless he did not want anybody to see the taxes?
This is actually an interesting point though, because when then Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney was refusing to release his taxes, Trump was all over Romney. We all have to be very careful what we say on record, unless we are willing to be subject to the same level of scrutiny. The good news, is that if you always tell the truth then everything falls in line automatically, you don’t have to remember “narratives” – the truth is the truth. It’s liberating. I always recommend being honest, because no matter how exhaustively a lie is fabricated, the math won’t add up somewhere.
And if you don’t want undue attention to something, then it is possibly best not to try to brag about it. In Trump’s case, boasting about his wealth was a very large part of his brand. I remember after he came down the escalator and had his first presidential campaign for the 2016 cycle… he stated in so many different ways how supposedly rich he was. Well, in case you haven’t realized by now, the taxes already revealed that although rich man, Trump is nowhere near to the level of wealth he bragged about. Also, he was not at all as charitable as he mentioned he was. And yes, there were some very significant concerning international bank account connections.
Again, for a private citizen, this is a very different dynamic. But if you work in government, there are different rules and responsibilities. And yes, the higher in the food chain the higher the level of accountability. I said at the beginning these are anticlimactic revelations, and it is because most of us already realized why he was so adamant about not releasing his taxes in the first place. There is plenty more to talk about this, so look forward for a full article on this topic. More information keeps becoming public; therefore, we’ll be able to expand on to these topics.
Tate’s alpha clout
Much like Trump, Andrew Tate is somebody who has quite the cult of personality. Love or hate the guy… he has been in the public discourse for a while. The first time I came aware of him was by a youtuber who was making fun of Tate’s (rather disagreeable) views on women. This YouTuber did not need much help to cast him in an unflattering light. He only showed some actual video of Tate speaking, and this was off-putting enough – and by the way Tate’s own words and context validated the point this YouTuber was making.
Needless to say, I do not agree with Tate’s points of view. In either case, I didn’t think much again of this gentleman until there were news that he was arrested with alleged charges of human sex trafficking in Romania. As of the time I’m typing this post, details on the arrest and charges are still coming out. The reason why I find this concerning is because there is a particular segment of the young-male population who seem to emulate, or even idolize Tate’s, lets’ call it doctrines. In either case, agree or disagree with his points of view (which I don’t), he did make it a lot harder for any defense attorney to defend him about any of these allegations. Why?
Well, because he has literally tons of content where he essentially incriminates himself to potential motives and methods of this allegation. And now, like it or not I’m getting so much stuff in my feed about this dude. I find this annoying actually, and concerning at the same time. The concerning part is because there are a lot of young men who really think his advice is solid. And I’m sorry to say, it is not. I can understand why it can seem appealing to many young men. However, I can tell you that what he’s advocating for is neither sustainable, nor it is a positive message. I’m oversimplifying right now, but I’ll let you do your research on his case – if you so desire. And you can look forward to an article that will speak more in-dept about my concern. And the concern is toxic masculinity. Why should I care? We’ll because I am a husband and a dad to a young lady, and I am concerned about what confusion is taking traction with a lot of young men out there.
Rep Santos “padded” resume
It does not matter if you lean to the left, right or center of the political spectrum. This is a very concerning case. NY Republican George Santos got elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and will be sitting in office this year. In the event you were not tracking this is concerning because he lied in very significant ways. I won’t enumerate all the ways on which he lied for this article, because I plan on making an article just on his case. Also, because there are a lot, and I kind of get angry when I revisit them.
Another reason why I am waiting if because there is still some information that is coming out, and I want to make sure I put that in context for my article. With that said, it is still very important to be following this case because it sets a very disturbing precedent. We all have heard the trope that politicians tend not being very forthcoming on all issues. However, there are still some checks and balances that are required – because they will hold a position of influence which affects the entire country. Elected officials are bestowed a gigantic level of influence and power.
This level of influence and power is tied to the understanding that the person in question is being honest. Even if you disagree with their policies, opinions, doctrines, etc. However, if a politician cannot even ascend to the baseline level of scrutiny on their resume, that’s already a huge red flag. Say what you will about any other people in congress right now. Some had conflicts of interest, or have some questionable doctrines, but nobody has made the mistake of lying in such an amateurish way.
Just to enumerate a few of the red flags, he claimed being college educated in universities he never attended; claimed he had properties when he did not own any; claimed Jewish ancestry when it was if anything quite a hyperbolic narrative; there seems to be some concerns on how he went from no money to a log of money as he was running. Again, I’ll be talking more about this case in detail. But right here, hopefully you can understand the concern. And this concern is not once-sided. And just the fact he’s lying in the first place about such issues is a huge red flag to me.
How did the democratic opposition researcher not catch this during the earlier part of the campaign? This is very low hanging fruit. And taking for granted that this candidate would not get to the finishing a race like this is definitely a huge oversight. And this of course speaks volumes on the way our political discourse has been damaged. First, by the level of quality of candidates we’ve been getting. If you were paying attention in this last mid-term elections, we dodged several bullets. However, many of those were dogged by a very low margin. And this is not if you care about being left or right. Personality I don’t lean either side, I’ll hold each side accountable for their shortcomings, and will praise both sides for any successes. You know, like a functional adult.
What will not do is compromise my principles for an artificial affinity to a particular side. I have lived through a lot of different political extremes, and I can tell you firsthand that where we are heading is not a good trend.
As a person who has seen a thing or two – or too many; in the last few decades… I feel it makes sense to use any small platform I get to create awareness. I created Half Life Crisis (this site) to speak about what’s on my mind. However, it is never my intent to preach to anybody. I will have my say, because it is something that has worked well for me, or has yielded a viable lesson learned. At the same token, I don’t think I can just be an expectator in history when I have a seat to the show. Meaning that I exist, and I am responsible for the next generation I brought to the world – in other words my daughter. And I would be remiss if I didn’t try to bring attention to issues that are going to affect her future. And quite frankly are affecting her present.
The three men I spoke of in today’s article found themselves as part of the political and national discourse for different individual reasons. However, they all have a common denominator. They all have the same political leaning. This on itself is not a bad testament of their political affiliation, but it does speak about the trend that party has been moving towards. More importantly, I’m not the only one who has noticed this. The party in question has realized the same thing I am saying. In fact, if you’ve been paying attention the party itself is very fragmented when it comes to condoning or condemning the men we spoke today. I will be making an entire article about that, because that’s a very interesting dynamic on its own right. This is important because the only thing in life is change, and I foresee changes coming in 2023. Let’s keep the conversation going, what you do you think? Is this change for the best or for the worst or somewhere in between? HLC