Tag: GOP

 

There are actual courts of law, and for some reason a more influential court of public opinion.  Former US President Trump is in court for many actual crimes.

 

This is not political – sorry!

If you are a fan of Trump, you might assert that he is being prosecuted and having his days in court as a political hit.  Well, it is not – the former US President at the time I am typing this article is going on trial for crimes that he committed well before he was even running for the presidency.  Justice, although very lethargic – is catching up to him.

Right now, Trump is sitting for his criminal trial in New York for the falsification of business records.  And these were problematic because these stem from a pathetically short and apparently unpleasant sex encounter with porn star Stormy Daniels in 2006.  Trump was allegedly trying to sexually score with Daniels while his third wife who was has recently given birth to their son Baron was at home.

In other words, Trump cheated on the lady who would later become former first lady Melania Trump.  But of course, Trump previously cheated on the first two wives also, so this is normal for Trump – but it was of course inconvenient for the subsequent 2016 presidential campaign.  Even though it took several years for this situation to come to light.  Stormy was on her late 20’s at the time of this dejected sex encounter, and Trump was already more than twice her age.

Trump is a trial because they paid off Stormy $130.000 for her silence, but the process they took to accomplish that transaction was very much mishandled – much like a lot of Trump’s legacy of business acumen, such as bankrupting more than one casino.  Let that sink in for a second – who bankrupts a freaking casino?!

 

Not stranger to controversy, but stranger to accountability.

Trump touts himself the “law and order” president, and candidate.  Except when there is scrutiny over the shady stuff that he has been doing for decades, which very much warrants a closer look – because it is illegal.  Then he calls it a “witch hunt” or whatever epithet akin to that.

Trump is facing 90+ criminal charges spanning four additional high-profile cases on top of the 30+ criminal charges for his current case that also happens to include the “hush money” to Stormy.  But remember the current case is really about falsifying business records, but the sex part is what makes people click on the headlines.

Again, let’s understand that the problem is not that Trump paid a porn star, is Trump’s falsification of the business records and how this was meant to prevent the American people from deciding with all the relevant data points that would speak to Trump’s character.  Trump knew at the time this would hurt his chances.  Fast forward to today, and his MAGA group is actually cool with all of it (the cheating-on-wife-sex and the actual business-falsification-crimes) – because no matter how bizarre Trump has gotten over the years, it has been just normalized on the MAGA crowd eyes.

This stuff that MAGA has normalized is not normal; it is very much flooded with red flags!  The star witness for this week is his ex “fixer” and lawyer Michael Cohen – who went to prison for the very same crimes Trump is facing right now.  Yes, because Trump directed him to do the stuff that got him in trouble, and like or dislike Cohen, he is bringing the receipts, and his testimony already were corroborated in the previous civil case in NY where Trump was found liable of fraud and still owes close to half a billion dollars.

Trump has not paid one red cent for that aforementioned fraud case or the other case where he was ordered to pay E. J. Carrol 83+Million dollars for defaming her after Trump was found liable for rape.  The reason for these court cases also happened a long time before Trump was in the campaign trial.  But Trump knows that if he gets a camera in front of him and repeats that it is a political prosecution, his acolytes and his fans will take that narrative at face value and parrot the same lie.

I don’t know what will be the end of this case, but it seems that Trump is getting more concerned about the very real possibility of going to prison.  It is not looking good for him, and yes those are the consequences of his actions in the last several decades.  I mentioned in previous articles on my Today in America Series that the GOP had a lot more choices in the primary than Trump – and that this legal baggage was going to come to bite them in the butt.  That is happening of course.  The GOP had a lot more choices in the primary, yet they chose the one with 90+ criminal charges as their front runner.

I’ve written other articles detailing all other crimes Trump is facing.  This article is more to capture the timeframe.  Trump is on his third week of trial; he has a gag order to prevent him from attacking the judge and jury – which Trump violated multiple times and has been fined for it.  And in case Trump does not understand, it is because like it or not Trump is very influential with some people who are willing to carry acts of violence against whomever dares to “be mean to Trump.”

There have been death threats, thwarted acts of violence, and some actual violent acts that came to pass because Trump made an incendiary statement, and some of their fans took it upon themselves to “seek vigilante justice.”  Hence the gag orders.  But this is limited to the scope of the current NY trial.  Trump can still say whatever he wants, even if it is inflammatory – so long it is not putting the live of the judge and jury in danger.  And the fact is that we know Trump is screaming his grievances through the rooftops on any platform he gets – because it is recorded AND broadcasted!

Let me end today’s article by inviting you to look at the actual facts.  The court documentation is available for public release.  Biden has nothing to do with this case.  Sure, that there are other criminal cases that the government is involved because it violates federal law – but this falsification of business records is derived from Trump’s unpleasant sex moment with Stormy.  All this is his own doing – and he is learning how different the rules are for a criminal defendant in a court of law in America, versus a demagoguery in the court of public opinion.  HLC

 

For the USA in our traditionally binary political construct third party candidates don’t usually have much traction, and RIGHT NOW, they can be disrupting.

 

Too late for Third-Party Candidates.

I’ll be the first one to tell you that the USA does actually need a third-party option, because the binary system we have is indeed flawed.  But that does not mean that RIGHT NOW is the optimal time for a third option, because it is not – and that is heartbreaking.  Then again, the political climate and lack of understanding of this process by the majority of the collective is what put us in this situation we are currently experiencing.

So, what is the problem?  The problem is that a third-party candidate won’t win, period.  But they could very well destroy the campaign of any left or right party candidates – depending on where these third-party candidates seem to pander towards on the political spectrum.  Yes, third party candidates can come from a high mixture of political leanings.  For example, a right-leaning person peppered with some left-leaning attributes, or vice versa – and anything in between.

But the fact is that RIGHT NOW in 2024 a third-party candidate, even if the candidate himself or herself is not aware of this – they can literally destroy our democracy.  Does it sound hyperbolic?  I wish it was.  In this case a third-party candidate would resonate with some of the more undecided, or least savvy group of the voting block – and even with some who just go third party “because they don’t like” either left or right option.

But guess where those third-party votes would go?  They go nowhere, except to decrease the number of votes from either left or right party candidate.  Yes, I repeat it on purpose.  Why?  Because at this point in our history YOU as a voter really need to understand what the GOP and Democrat candidate platforms are really about, and what are they actually advocating for.  I am not going to tell you how you should vote – I am telling you that your real options in 2024 for the USA are the ones from the larger parties.  And no, I don’t like it either.

 

This Point in American History.

Probably you have heard by now about some of the controversy surrounding third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) and his brain-eating worm.  That, surprisingly, is the least problematic part of his entire platform.  He has a lot of fringe views that are too extreme even for some of the most extreme voters from either side.  Yet, they resonate with some of those who are missing context on what it’s been proposed by RFK.  For example, his championing of anti-vaccination.

But let’s for a moment go back in history, when Kayne West threw his hat for the US Presidency in 2020 – he lost obviously.  But it was likely meant to persuade a lot of democrat voters to leave the party and follow him – even if Kanye never really realized that he was just another element on the presidential campaign strategies from his opposition.  In fact, to disrupt the larger opposition candidate.  For this we have to understand that political campaigns from the candidate and their opposition are very complex, and depending on how shrewd they are, their tactics can be mind-blowing indeed – for better or worse.

I’ll finish today’s article by saying this.  In the USA we have two choices for the 2024 election.  One choice is facing criminal charges – right now, and losing his case on the merits – and might get prison time.  And has 90+ other criminal charges, his previous cabinet disavowed him at various degrees, and a large number of his circle were found guilty of crimes.  The other option is the incumbent President and he has none of the baggage the other candidate is contending with.  It should be an obvious choice, but apparently that level of understanding still seems varsity-level for many voters.

Although Incumbent President Biden is not perfect (in reality nobody is perfect), the improvement in America is actually palpable, and many of the popular things right-wing leaders are taking credit for at all levels of government, are the exact same they voted against!  Don’t take my word for it, the voting record is open for anybody who wishes to review it.  Here, so you don’t have to google it (unless you want to).  This is for the US House of Representatives and this is for the Senate.  Find out if your favorite politician is lying to your face.

Spoiler alert, many are lying to your face – and insulting your intelligence.  By adding some third-party candidates who have a snowball chance in hell of wining allows these toxic elected leaders who are destroying your life to remain unchallenged – because mathematically they are erasing the competition by enabling these distracting candidates to syphon votes away from their opposition.  How?  Well, for starters you can see if a third candidate is being propped by a party as a” better choice” for their opposition.  Yes, it can be THAT obvious.

I’ll be writing more about this topic, and how this adds to the larger topic of Authoritarian Propaganda – because we are all stuck with it.  Even if you want to look away it does not matter, because this reality will engulf you too.  Meanwhile I invite you to read my book Authoritarianism & Propaganda the Puppet Master Tools, or my many articles, so you can see how history is repeating – and what YOU can do about it.  HLC

 

his article will be a snapshot to remember the events affecting US politics despite the news cycle potentially glossing over the stories for the sake of ratings.

 

We are inundated by noise, and short memories.

This might feel like a barbed piece against mainstream and independent media – and it is, because it needs to be said.  Clickbait, sensationalism, and trending seem to be a lot more important than substance.  The industry has evolved to be that way.  Sadly, it is all about the mighty algorithm, and this algorithm is people’s attention span.

Important stories get buried all the time in the national discourse, while sometimes incidental-at-best attention grabbers get national attention and go viral.  This is true for independent media as well as for mainstream media.  To be fair, that’s not everybody with a platform – but definitely the majority.  Even some with good intentions fall into this trap.

At Half Life Crisis I’ve been writing pieces and warnings about how authoritarian propaganda tactics are becoming more prominent.  That is why I am adamant about preventing this misinformation from continuing.  Though I have to admit it does feel like I am constantly screaming into a void.  Especially when we see a lot of misleading voices having a huge platform.

April 2024 in the USA.

There is a lot that occurred in April 2024.  The arguably most significant event is the ongoing hush-money criminal trial against former U.S. President Trump.  This trial is less about his infidelity and more about the misuse of campaign funds and hiding information about his character.  The substance on those would have been key attributes leading to the 2016 presidential election.  Yes, accountability for these criminal proceedings took many years to reach the bench!

On a related Trump situation, the US Supreme Court conservative majority seems to agree with awarding former US President Trump unlimited power through immunity!  Think about this for a moment, they actually are arguing giving the president the power of executing (as in murdering) political rivals, or anybody Trump would find inconvenient – as an official function.  And that insane rationale comes behind a myriad of demonstrable criminal charges against Trump.

Also, there is a civil war inside the GOP as they disagree on policy and personalities.  The so called MAGA Republicans have been losing traction over great swats of the country, but their loyal followers are still very vocal, and have been advocating for violence should Trump be defeated again. They are clinging to the “big lie” that perpetuates Trump’s inaccurate assertion that he won the 2020 election.  He did not, Trump pursued more than 60 court cases across the country and won zero, because there is simply no evidence for the 2020 election being rigged.

Also, the US Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson was saved largely by the Democrats from being kicked out by his own Republican party, an effort led by MAGA Republican Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.  Keep in mind that she was mostly against the economic support for Ukraine’s defense, which by the way it is a world-wide and National Security concern she at the very least does not seem understand, and many around the world pray she is not trying to directly sabotage.  By the way the GOP has a one-person majority on the House of Representatives right now, let that sink in.

Also, the impeachment investigation against incumbent US President Biden has unsurprisingly yield zero evidence against him.  The chairman of that committee Republican Representative James Comer has not been able to provide an iota of proof for a Biden-related crime, and despite that they continue to spend an undisclosed amount of tax payers’ money and elected representatives and staff man-hours every single day for the last few years.  Let that sink in too!

Finally, there the tensions at the geopolitical level, and the conflict is expanding exponentially – and has been already reaching American soil.  Perhaps not kinetically, yet, but the propagandistic narratives and indicators are in full swing.  From toxic masculinity, to rampant misinformation, to misleading distractions and dehumanizing rhetoric against several groups of people, and everything in between.  That is why I am writing so much about it.  We are losing sight of what is important, and that is convenient to those who want to divide us.

Meanwhile many prominent platforms seem to be more interested in chasing ratings rather than capturing what is truly important.  And that is understanding that our very futures are at risk as dark chapters in authoritarian history are repeating, while their core audience is asleep at the wheel.  HLC

 

Authoritarian chapters in world history are repeating, and the red flags have been waving for a while now.  However, it seems that many continue to dismiss them.

 

Authoritarian red flags are abundant.

Authoritarians tend to look as though they “suddenly” rose to power.  That’s not the case, they simply followed the path of least resistance to people’s biases.  This actually can take a long time in some instances, but it is based on normalizing the insanity of their rhetoric.  Soon enough, those who were not paying attention will realize they were asleep at the wheel.

I can ask right now many westerners, and that includes many Americans a simple question.  Who is the current, and duly elected president of the United States of America?  And a very high percentage of the population I’ve cited will give you the wrong answer.  By the way, it is President Joe R. Biden – and he has been the US President since he won the election in 2020.

Authoritarian and adversarial regimes will want you to think that is not the case.  Or that he was not duly elected.  In fact, it is part of their official narrative.  As a rule of thumb, if you think that something might be against the USA, then listen to the state-sponsored propaganda from an adversarial regime.  If it matches the words coming out of the mouth of your favorite talking head, that should perk your ears up.

Authoritarians, “authoritarians-wanna” be, and their useful foolish acolytes are fairly easy to spot – surprise!  They will have any if not all of these attributes I’m about to mention, either as a person or as a collective.  Of course, an authoritarian is only as powerful as their followers, so if their acolytes subscribe to that behavior, then it becomes a multiplier – although it is a lot more fragile than they realize.

This is a non-all-inclusive list, but should get you started:

·       They are petulant, which will display their obvious narcissism.

·       They are wimps.  They will have a thin skin for criticism, and will retaliate ten if not million-fold for any little bit of criticism.

·       They will gaslight their own supporters, they will ask you not to believe your lying eyes or ears – and let alone do your own research.

·       They will “unify” their acolytes, but they will be very divisive with everybody else.  Even former acolytes who fell out of favor will be severely punished – even if through words or any other form of humiliation.

·       They are NEVER wrong – in their minds, and will do any types of mental gymnastics to justify their rationale.  Which usually lacks substance or merits.

·       They will have no shortage of legal trials or other history of somebody who has been F-in-the-A by them, literally and figuratively.  They will always claim innocence.

·       They will ask for immunity to do whatever they want, because they intend to do what they want without any limits or accountability.

·       They will insult their opposition, give them sophomoric nicknames, and generally surround themselves with people who are just as shallow as they are.

·       They will surround themselves by “yes men and women” – because they cannot take criticism, and this by the way is unsustainable, because then all these spineless people become a rubber stamp to their narcissism.

·       They will objectify men and women, and especially attractive people will be paraded more as trophies and a commodity, rather than a person.

·       They will dehumanize others outside their circle, and even their own insiders will be punished if for some reason they are outside the circle of obedience.

 

 

Are you placing yourself on the wrong side of history?

I can go on with my list, but hopefully that will help the mind-wheels to start turning.  In my book Authoritarianism & Propaganda the Puppet Master Tools I expand on this topic.  If you have fallen victim to this trend, don’t beat yourself up – for too long.  But do something about it.  This is what you can do:

Stop giving an authoritarian your undivided attention and loyalty, because you don’t mean jack-s-t to them already, and the very second you become inconvenient to them you’ll be fittingly disposed.  In fact, you’ve probably have seen many on their orbit who had a high position being disposed of, very unceremoniously, and often in a cruel manner to be “made an example” for others.

When somebody asks for unlimited loyalty, that is a red flag – because that means they will ask you do some stuff you will probably regret later.  If you don’t take heed and still keep doing whatever that you are doing to support the authoritarian despite the fact your life just got f-ked – well, they love that, because that means you’re exactly the kind of dumb muscle they need to keep their narcissistic existence from collapsing.

The catch is that authoritarianism is not sustainable.  Not one authoritarian in history has thrived forever, their circle of trust became a circle of obedience, and little by little it shrank to the point they were all against each other.  Yes, the same team who was first “against the rest of the world” – becomes a dog-eat-dog bunch.  How to defeat and prevent this from taking over your life is by paying attention to the red flags I mentioned.  HLC

 

As the media cycle moves fast, one important story gets buried.  Former U.S. President Trump is nowhere near as rich as he claimed to be, why should YOU care?

 

Who owns his debt?  Would they own the country?

Former U.S. President Donald J. Trump has always drawn a line when it came to people insinuating about his wealth.  Why?  Well, the answer is now very obvious, and it has been legally demonstrated – because he is not the billionaire he claims to be.  He is a wealthy man, but he is cash poor.  Not being exceedingly rich is not a bad thing, most people in the world are not billionaires, or even millionaires for that matter.  The problem is the lies.

So, what if Trump exaggerated about his wealth?  What’s the big deal?  Glad you asked, because it matters a lot.  For starters, if a person is shallow enough to pretend that they are richer than they are – it’s for mainly one of two reasons.  First, because they either want to get better rates for loans and services, and use their allure of these riches as leverage.  And that is fraud.

The other it is a lot sadder, because that means that they are in-fact lesser than THEY expected THEMSELVES to be – and instead of accepting the facts or moving towards that goal, they pretend they are richer than they are – perhaps to feel better about themselves, but the fact is that they will have to realize that their claims remain false, no matter how many people think these claims are true.  Pretending you’re rich does not make you truly rich – might increase your debt though.

So, two problems – both are very problematic sides to the same coin.  On the former because that means that they have likely used that leverage to do something that is illegal, and will have to forever watch their backs.  And the second is because it is an exploitable factor.  Especially if there is somebody with liquidity who would help them “maintain that façade” in exchange for favors and access.  It has been reported Trump experienced both of those instances, many times over.

We know now for a fact that Trump has made a lot of very shady deals.  He was civilly charged in New York for almost a half-a-billion dollars.  He has been unable to pay for these fines.  Or even find anybody who would actually lend him the money until he tries to appeal.  And this is after Trump was granted an unprecedented break to only pay a fraction of the fine – still, he has been unable to pay any of his bills.

Stiffing others it’s Trump’s Modus Operandi (MO)

If you’ve been alive since at least the 80’s, and unless you were stuck under a rock you would have heard of Trump’s countless hassles (airlines, steaks, water, games, etc.).  Many of which went under.  Generally, via bankruptcy.  I mean, for example his “savvy business man” went bankrupted not one but four times regarding his casinos in Atlantic City, NJ!

But he is also known for not paying his legal bills.  Want examples?  Sure Rudy Guiliani, and the entire entourage who was part of his upcoming criminal charge in Georgia for election interference were all hung out to try by Trump, owing millions in legal fees to support Trump’s claim of a rigged election.  Something that not one of the many trials has been able to prove at all – no one in more than 60.

Right now, every donation that goes to the GOP, as it has Trump’s daughter in Law Lara Trump in charge of the RNC, if you’re a donor – well it is first going to pay for Trump’s legal fees – then to whatever is it that your campaign donation is supposed to do.  And yes, donations have taken a plunge in the GOP, and Trump has also destroyed the Grand Old Party with a poignant civil war between so called MAGA Republicans and pretty much everybody else in the conservative universe.

Trump for years was hiding his taxes, and he was very controlling of any release of his finances – even directing his cabinet while being a sitting president to prevent this to be seen by the American people.  Why do you think that it is important?  Because we need to know if the leader of the free world, and the person in control of the nuclear codes does not have a loan shark from an adversarial nation.

Why?  Because if they do, then they are in fact governing our country via Trump’s wallet – rather than the leader of the free world working for the American people.  It should be common sense, but it needs to be spelled out.  Why?  Because right now, since nobody wants to lend trump money to pay his fines, this opens the door for foreign donors to buy influence on a presidential front runner.  And yes, that is bad – because then the country gets governed by a loan shark.  You don’t want that, do you?

Final thought, don’t get mad at me, rather keep digging for yourself and find out more context for what I’ve mentioned.  Trump’s team is working hard to hide this information from you.  The information that reaches your ears by his team is carefully selected, keep researching on your own.  You’ll thank me later.  HLC

 

The puppet master is the shadowy figure or entity that is actually controlling the entire debacle, even if this control is designed to be utter chaos.

 

The face tends to remain anonymous.

On my book Authoritarianism & Propaganda the Puppet Master Tools, I help you discover this Puppet Master.  And spoiler alert, it might be a bunch of puppet masters behind the scenes competing for power.  The catch is that most people will never really get to know who it is actually pulling the strings.  It is designed to be that way.

Every authoritarian in history has one thing in common, they are all insecure.  They disguise themselves as strong leaders.  If they are men, they will actually be wimps, and winers, and thin skinned pedantic loud creatures who far from being a “man version” – are really very insecure children trapped in a larger often loud-mouthed body.  These are perfect vehicles for the puppet masters to enact their agenda.  Why?

Let’s use for example a grown man who is a victim of toxic masculinity.  Anyone who thinks that being the loudest and foul-mouthed person is a sign of masculinity already lacks awareness to function as a person who enacts critical thinking and intellectual honesty.  In other words, it is very easy to portrait themselves as an aggressive asshole, or a fantastical macho-version.  In reality, it actually takes self-control to be able to maintain temperance.  You can call that maturity.  But maturity its inconvenient to a puppet master.

Authoritarians tend to lack that level of maturity – even if they are very calculating, and they gravitate towards others who follow suit.  Which it is an oxymoron, because they think they are in charge, yet they are perfectly okay to even pay money for someday to insult them – making them think that it is what makes a tough person.  Trust me, if your life is indeed complex and challenging, you don’t need to pay somebody to artificially induce more drama in your life.  If you do, then your life is already too shallow and meaningless.

That’s what the Puppet Master seeks.

The puppet master needs people who are shallow enough to be pretentious, loud, aggressive, obedient, and likely violent – but too dumb to realize they are actually puppets for somebody else.  The funny thing is that their ego will make it impossible for them to realize they are being manipulated.  And that it is also by design.

Whenever you see any movement in history where men and some women who were convinced that they were in charge under the clout of a dear leader, they will also be prompted to obediently follow directives that are incredibly disgusting and often criminal in nature.  However, since it was enacted “against another” group, they felt vindicated to perpetrate these crimes without thinking much about it, or the victims.

The problem is that we are seeing a rise on these toxic personalities who are actually very vulnerable, but in their minds, they think they are the strongest and most alpha type of vindicators, following a quest that it is bigger than themselves.  They are right it is bigger than themselves, because they are being manipulated.  And guess what?  They are disposable when they become inconvenient.

It is easy to fall for this trap, because sometimes these victims will act as though they have it all figure it out – and even persuade others to follow the same “lessons.”  But once you dig a bit – and I mean it won’t take long because they tend to be very shallow – you’ll realize that all the spewed bravado it is more of a mechanism of defense, because no matter how “good they are” – they never like themselves, because they are not being themselves, they are just being the version they think was acceptable.  The result is that they are always chasing that higher high.

What does that mean?  It means that if a person is shallow, it does not matter what they achieve it will never be enough.  Because they have never actually become the person they are meant to be, the puppet master’s mission is to prevent them from figuring out WHO they were actually meant to be, and keep them obedient to an agenda that it is not even on their best interest.  But perpetually convince them it very much is.  HLC

 

Popularity does not always equal skill or competence.  However, it can be quite exploitable when a particular brand loyalty can be highjacked to push an agenda.

 

The face of the movement is not always in charge.

On my book Authoritarianism & Propaganda the Puppet Master Tools I dedicate a sizable part to help people understand the mechanics of authoritarian propaganda.  Often the “dear leader” is not even the one in charge, though it would certainly have some level of influence over the masses.

Most authoritarians need to borrow an existing clout and then transform it into a group of obedient fools who will heed their every word.  What the useful fools fail to realize is that the words they actually hear are carefully redacted and chosen to gain their concurrence through faux outrage.  This is a tactic as old as civilization itself, and it works!

Throughout history we’ve seen countless examples of people who thought they could “control” an authoritarian wanna-be, and use their influence as a catalyst to push a specific agenda.  A classic example is when Benito Mussolini was invited to become the Prime Minister for Italy.  There was a lot of division among the citizens circa that timeframe, and the arrogance spewed by Mussolini seemed to be the answer to the less-acute minds in charge.  Well, the miscalculation ended in the creation of fascism.  We are still dealing with that aftermath.

When you’re paying attention to a politician, you also must pay attention to the hearts and minds of their followers.  Some of these followers will have exploited biases, which will cause them to perpetrate heinous crimes against humanity, while being convinced they are the morally superior crowd.

The goal post of what is acceptable, and what it is “now needed” will of course continue shifting.  Generally, it does not start with genocide from the get-go, but rather by adding a level of frustration that is largely fictitious, but might seem very real inside a political base echo chamber.

They want you to ultimately fight alone (don’t be a dummy!)

An authoritarian wants you to fight ultimately alone, especially after you’ve alienated anybody else who would be in your team.  That is why you will always hear the reality that an authoritarian only cares about himself or herself – everybody else is disposable.  That loyal base they enjoy, and who worships them is ultimately disposable.

This is nothing new, it has happened time and time again.  They will make their base believe they are part of a bigger team that is fighting “good against evil” – without realizing that they have already become the mirror version of whom they despise.  I’ve mentioned in a previous article, it starts with a bias – it gets exploited, and from there it is very easy to control the crowd.

That is by the way one of the reasons why those controversial “outliers” seem to get so much traction in gaining prominence.  There is marketability in controversy and demagoguery.  For example, if you watch a movie with a very vanilla plot and no conflict, then it will be a snore-fest.  But if you add some conflict, even if it is manufactured or too fantastical to be accurate, it will have a much higher chance of getting people to watch it.

Something similar happens to people when pushing an agenda – except that it will feel very real, as though they are the protagonist of their own movie or adventure.  If a crowd or political base has already demonstrated a proclivity for falling for a certain narrative, they will be pointed in that direction – and enhance the echo chamber – creating this faux reality they are now convinced it is the morally superior way of life.

In reality, they were only afforded a fraction of the “truth” – but it was poignant enough to make them believe they are the smartest people in the room.  They are not, they are being manipulated – and spoiler alert – we are all potential victims.  That is why I advocate for pairing critical thinking with intellectual honesty.  HLC

 

Insider threats can be witting or unwitting.  But they both aid the adversary into achieving their goals.  Today this is happening more often than people think.

 

Expanding on this topic.

On my previous article I mentioned that there is at least one elected leader who is repeating adversarial state-sponsored talking points verbatim.  Sadly, that person is not the only one, and adversarial talking points are being parroted by too many people who have a significant level of placement and access in higher offices.  And of course, this is music to the ears of those people leading nations who want to get rid of the United States of America as a premier world power.

What some people fail to realize is that they might have convinced themselves that they are actually working, or even sacrificing for their best interests, and the interests of their community.  However, in reality they are being manipulated in ways they cannot begin to comprehend.  And yes, it is designed to be cryptic enough for them to be confused.  That’s also why this level of mass manipulation tends to be so effective.

We all have biases; some are more controllable than others.  And based on the environmental circumstances, some of these biases might become invisible even to ourselves as we normalize certain traits – kind of like hiding in plain sight.  This can be subtle enough that it goes unnoticed for years, sometimes it will be a bit starker, and an epiphany might follow.

For example, group mentality in their environment could prevent people from breaking their bias shackles.  Instead, the desire to find the truth will be replaced with willful ignorance.  Of course, the correct answer would be to warrant pragmatic analysis.

Make no mistake, the world is a lot more complex and intricate than what you and I (or any of us for that matter) are combined.  And there are entities and people who are banking on the fact most people will feel so overwhelmed by even thinking about it that they will simply look away and let willful and blissful ignorance take the reins of their lives.  That too its designed to be that way.  There is no easier battle to win than the one the opponent forfeits.

But that is only one layer to the equation.  The adversarial forces realized that it is easier to defeat their perceived foe if they are divided.  And paradoxically, this division happens by “uniting” a core segment of those who will ultimately become divisive against everyone outside this “circle of trust.”  The “circle of trust” will become a “circle of obedience,” and any outsider will automatically be viewed as a dissident, and from there things only accelerate exponentially.

It all starts with a Bias.

Biases are highly exploitable, and we tend to look at “other people’s biases” – and point them out – but we tend to be very lousy at seeing those very same biases affecting us when the mirror is presented in front of us.  Why?  Well, because it can be traumatic, it forces a person to see the reality of what they don’t want, or are not “quite ready” to confront yet.

This of course is wonderful for the propagandists who want to move your perception of what is acceptable or unacceptable.  An insider threat can be witting, knowingly doing something bad.  But often it is easier to persuade a person to do something stupid if they are convinced that they are vindicated to do whatever it is that they are persuaded to do.  Even if this action is against others, or even their best interests.

People hate being pointed out that there is wrong, and that “egocentric” level of stubbornness can be extremely valuable to those who are manipulating us.  A narcissist is paradoxically a person with very low self-esteem.  And they can easily be manipulated if a bias – usually their own vanity gets stroked the right way.  A certain compliment, a certain flattering “observation” – or whatever behavior or observation that can otherwise serve as a mechanism of defense for their ego should they be put on the spot.  Those are incredibly powerful catalysts to move rhetoric into action.

How can this be achieved?  It depends on the person, but if a person has an exploitable bias, then their proclivity to follow a charlatan’s lead will not be a bridge too far.  In other words, if a person is already preempted to believe any sort of unfalsifiable narratives, doctrines, or even allegories – then by providing a fraction of plausibility for a more “defined” narrative it will be a lot easier to be accepted at face value.  Even if the definition of this narrative is conjecture at best.

Pair that with the collective understanding or belief system from everybody else involved, and this will be a very easy transaction for any entity who wants to exploit the bias a person exhibits.  The bias itself is almost irrelevant, it is more important for them to assess your willingness to accept something divorced from reality at face value.  That’s how this insider threat manipulation starts.  HLC

 

Adversarial propaganda does get repeated verbatim on mainstream media, and sadly enough, also by elected leaders.  According to colleagues, MTG is one of those.

 

Repeating adversarial regimes talking points.

Representative (R-GA 14h District) Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG)is a figure who has gained notoriety in the American political discourse.  She has found herself in the middle of many controversial issues since she got in office back in 2001.  Even her colleagues in the GOP have very publicly taken exception to many of her views.

Most recently, she has been the catalyst of a civil war battle between her and the incumbent Speaker of the United States House of Representative, Mike Johnson.  A man who also happens to be a hardliner GOP politician who gained notoriety for some very divisive views when it comes to policy that is very much aligned with theocracy.  That’s is not where MTG disagrees with – for her, Jonhson is not extreme enough on a myriad of other divisive issues.

Although MTG has been all but disavowed by her own Caucus, she is very much praised by state-sponsored media outlets which happen to be against the United States of America. Is that surprising?  Not really, unless you have not been paying attention to the geopolitical climate in the last several years… and by several years I mean since well before the Soviet Union went the way of the dodo.

 

The insider threat.

I’ve said this before, but it is worth repeating.  There are two main categories of insider threat – a witting and unwitting insider threat.  The former is the one that is very much aware they are working in favor of the adversary and are doing so wittingly.   That’s bad.

The unwitting is worse, because that means they are aiding an adversary, but they are too dumb to realize they are doing so.  Which one is MTG?  Who knows, but there is a valid reason why the adversarial regimes prop her rhetoric, not only from her mouth, but amplifying what she says on their propaganda efforts.  And I am not talking about some “liberal” – so called “woke” – soy-feed whatever epithet the right-wing folks like to disparage their opposition – This is a concern raised by the GOP leaders themselves.

And unless you’ve been living under a rock, then you would know that the GOP is struggling – and has been struggling.  The internal fight and polarization inside their party is worse than ever.  On one side you have the “traditional GOP” folks, and on the other extreme you have the many shades of the MAGA-universe.  And there are plenty of shades for the latter.  Not all MAGA are created equal, and that’s why many are now ex-MAGA.  Yes, there is a civil war among MAGA folks.

Spoiler alert, it will get worse – but as these division points occur, only one group comes up on top.  Who?  The adversarial nations who are hell-bent in “proving” that the American system of governance is not only flawed – but ineffective.  That’s what they are selling, and people like MTG are phenomenal mouth-pieces to amplify that message.

MTG might not be doing so wittingly, but there is a reason why the adversarial propagandists are propping up her misconceptions.  It should not take a Doctorate Degree in Strategic Analysis to understand why.  Although a lot of MTGs efforts have failed, they give credence to a different audience.  An audience that sadly most people in the USA don’t understand, or care to understand that it’s paying attention to its every move.

Fortunately, some of us are paying attention and writing about it.  I’ll keep adding small articles to keep awakening THIS important context by exploring each element.  Just keep in mind that there is indeed a much larger context, and we’ll break it down into little, more digestible chunks.  HLC

Today in America 03MAR2024 – Half Life Crisis www.halflifecrisis.com

 

There is so much occurring simultaneously in the national discourse that the truth tends to be muddied up.  Today I bring clarity to these many issues.

This article will be broken down into a few parts in order to segment some of the craziness.  It is going to be a bumpy ride, and although it will be a long article, this is the very top of the tip of the iceberg.  An open mind is advisable to read these passages, because it will shed some light on information that tends to be redacted in some news outlets and from the voices of many pundits & other influencers.

The good news is that I am truly independent, therefore I have no political motivation.  I am, however, very much against misinformation, because that affects us all – regardless of which side of the political spectrum we lean towards.  Enjoy the ride!

 

Trump is not “that” rich.

In case this is the first time you see it, Trump had to admit via his attorneys that he does not have the amount of cash he used brag to the entire world he had.  For many of us, realizing that Trump was nowhere as rich as he claimed to be it is not surprising.  It might however finally dissuade a lot of his loyal followers in the MAGA base to finally leave him.  The reason is because many MAGA followers just tolerated his antics because they thought he was a multi billionaire.

In case you were not aware, Trump recently lost two separate civil cases and was ordered to pay several million dollars in compensation.  Most of his supporters still think it is a “witch hunt” perpetrated by President Biden.  Of course that isn’t the case, and these problematic cases of sexual assault and fraud he was found liable in two separate courts, occurred well before the Biden Presidency or the Trump Presidency [for that matter] even started.  Here is a quick synopsis of these two cases.

Both of these cases were handled by his attorney Alina Habba, who has been touted by her peers [meaning other attorneys] as highly incompetent.  Whatever the case, she is to my knowledge the only attorney who has cost her client almost half a billion dollars.

 

Trump’s Civil Fraud Case.

Trump was fund liable from swindling many investors through the span of several years.  Trump was directed to pay $355 million in penalties plus interests.  But the total figure starts at $454 million because it also includes people in Trumps orbit, to include his two elder sons.  The interest for the payments Trump owes each passing day he does not pay is $87,502 – and by the way the verdict took place on February 16, 2024.  So, this figure just keeps climbing more and more.

This case of course found out that he was lying about his wealth and that he overinflated his assets to get loans, and undervalued them when it was time to pay taxes.  The fact is that if he is unable to have this interest rate from rapidly accruing, that on its own is enough to ascertain that he simply does not have the cash to pay, or even to appeal the case.  Trump said he was going to appeal, but he needs to post the money upfront to guarantee he will pay if he loses again.  Which will likely be the case.

The fact is that neither banks, nor attorneys are lining up to support Trump.  Trump also asked to pay only just north of $100 million [or a fraction of what it is required] to appeal.  That was denied to him as it would have been denied to anybody in a similar situation.  Trump went onto making some unusual fund-raising events, which included selling some hideous $400 golden shoes and a $100 cologne that by the way sold-out, but won’t be making it to their customers hands until the Summer.

Another thing that sprouted, even if by proxy, was at least one Go-fund me campaign, and people were contributing to pay the legal fees of this billionaire.  There seems also to be some course of action of utilizing GOP campaign funds for his legal troubles.  But my understanding is that would be highly illegal. Which by the way, there is another case under that premise – this time for paying hush money to a porn star.

Bottomline, Trump said via his attorneys that if he pays the entire amount [even as a bond], which is close to half a billion dollars penalty, he would have to start selling some of his real state.  So, let’s put that in perspective.  Trump was ordered to pay that amount because he was found that he defrauded a bunch of people.  You know, as in taking their money, and now he does not have the money.  In other words, it was spent – not properly invested to grow.  This realization might finally be what turns off some of his base who considered him a financial genius.

 

Trump sexual abuse case.

On May 9, 2003 Trump was found liable for sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll in 1996.  Trump was directed to pay $5 million.  But this case is a lot more nuisance than Trump simply being found liable for sexual assault, which under the New York statutes it is just different language that in fact found Trump liable of raping Carroll.  Yes, they found and were able to provide proof that Trump is a rapist.

What some people might not realize about this case is that the statute of limitations has already expired, and although Carroll was unable to go against Trump back in the 90’s – remember, these were very different times.  We have come a long way to being able to speak truth to power.  For some of us who were alive in the 90’s I can assure you that the world has moved forward by leaps and bounds, yet there are many who want to return back to the most short-sighted blunders in those years.

However, as the story re-surfaced, Trump started bad mouthing Carroll and made some very defamatory remarks against her.  The case went to court, Trump kept making some very low brow and insulting remarks in true Trump fashion style against Carroll – many of these remarks from very prominent platforms.  You know, double down and triple down.  So, the case ended up going to court for defamation.  This of course backfired on Trump, because not only he was stuck with a $5 million award payable to Carrol, but he also got all his sexual abuse past come to light.  It did not end there.

As expected, Trump was not happy at all with this, therefore he double down, and disparaged Carroll again.  And this once again backfired.  Remember, the case was already settled that Trump raped Carroll.  Adding to the miscalculation, Trumps attorney, Alina Habba managed to make things a lot worse for Trump, turning this $5 million original award into a whopping $83.3 million award, as Carroll won her case for defamation again.  It is very likely that Trump was the master mind directing Habba to say whatever is it that she said in the trial.  Of course, that was not a good strategy.

One thing is clear, Trump has not paid a dime yet for either one of these millionaire awards against him.  Which makes you think, if he really was a billionaire, paying off and then appealing could be a lot easier than accruing all this additional debt in interests, not to mention all the negative media attention that it puts on his supposed fortune.  For now, only some of his most fervent MAGA supporters are still onboard and will pay their hard-earned money to help a billionaire pay his legal obligations.  Food for thought.

Credit the link below to the Associated Press (AP) who is tracking Trump’s many criminal and civil cases.  They have a huge team of journalists who can do that in real time; it is only me writing for the Half Life Crisis site at this time.

Tracking the criminal and civil cases against Donald Trump (apnews.com)

Hunter Biden handed GOP House Representatives their own butts.

In a different part of our bizarre political discourse, the GOP have been hell-bent in an unsuccessful effort to impeach President Biden.  Bottomline, they have zero evidence.  If the evidence to impeach Biden existed it would have been plastered all over the planet, and there would be non-stop coverage of it.  That has not happened, nor will it, because what the GOP members are alluding towards simply does not exist.

In an effort to find some compromising links to Joe Biden, the GOP has been very adamant on pursuing dead-end leads related to the President’s son, Hunter Biden.  For context, Hunter Biden is a recovering addict, and in the past, he had done some shenanigans, and has gotten in some trouble before.  However, he has always made a conscientious effort to keep his father out of the spotlight, because he understands how important this is to his father’s public service.

For context Hunter Biden was still a young boy when Biden was elected to his first term in Congress.  Fast forward, there have been a lot of allegations trying to tie Hunter Biden to his father.  One of those sources was a former FBI informant who also was recently arrested because he was working with Russian intelligence in a concerted effort to interfere in US politics.  And yes, that was the GOP’s star witness.

For some time, the GOP have been trying to corner Hunter Biden in many insidious ways.  Even having sexually explicit images of him shown in the House Floor by Georgia Representative Majorie Taylor Greene.  Yes, that happened!  She showed what could be best described as revenge porn showing nude photos of Hunter Biden engaging in sexual intercourse during an official hearing.

And to add insult to injury, the GOP controlled House of representatives wanted to have Hunter Biden testify in a closed-door session – even though they had made this matter public to the entire country as the story of the century.  Well, this was originally rejected, and Biden even showed up to Congress when they were deliberating about holding him in contempt of Congress – yet the GOP rejected the option of Hunger to testify in front of the whole country right there and there.  You know, calling their bluff.

Fast forward to last week, and Hunter Biden did show up to a closed-door session, and handed the House GOP butts to them.  The transcript is pretty long, but it is worth reading.  The GOP Representatives tried to spin it as though it was a win, but for anybody with a 4th grade reading comprehension, you would be able to identify what the reality of the situation is all about.  And the fact that it was political theater came full circle.

All this waste of taxpayer money and congressional man hours was nothing but a gigantic waste of time many of us realized years ago.  There is no actual evidence to impeach Biden.

I recommend reading the entire transcript on the link below.  It’s pretty long, but it is worth it.  It might make you mad, or laugh in a tragically hilarious manner.

Hunter Biden Full Transcript House of Representatives closed door session. www.halflifecrisis.com

 

Reproductive rights are being threatened in the country.

You’ve probably been familiar with the overturn of Roe vs Wade by the Supreme Court that occurred in 2022.  This is of course one of Trump’s supposedly proudest moments.  And yes, this was possible because the three Supreme Court Justices confirmed under Trump were very much in favor of overturning Roe vs Wade – even though they denied during their confirmation hearings to be inclined to do exactly that.

Just like many of us realized that they were going after Roe vs Wade making abortions illegal and a lot more restrictive depending on each state – the situation was not likely going to end there.  How do we know?  Because the indicators of moving a certain “theocratical” political agenda has been plastered on the wall all along.

There is a certain group of “Christian Nationalists” – which is not the same as Christians from all stripes.  In other words, not every Christian is a Christian Nationalist.  Many Christians actually disavow Christian Nationalists as extremists who happen to use Christianity as a platform to push a political agenda.  And Christian Nationalists are not shy about expressing that they want THEIR version of Christianity to be the rule of the land.  In other words, a theocracy based on their particular interpretation.  And yes, many of them are elected leaders.

For better or worse, this is actually a very unpopular stance – and in each and every one of the last several local, state, and national elections, the so called “pro-life” candidates have been defeated or severely underperformed at the ballot.  Why is that?  Because “Pro-Choice” does not equal “Pro-abortion.”  In other words, the majority of Americans understand the difference, and how each case is unique.  Further, they understand that the life and safety of the mother could be at severe risk with certain pregnancy complications.

And of course, most people are not onboard with forcing a woman to carry a pregnancy to full term, if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest.  Especially considering that some young women get raped while they are still children themselves.  For example, should a 13-year-old be forced to carry to term the child of her rapist?  When Roe vs Wade was overturned, it now makes it illegal for this 13-year-old not be forced to carry a rapist child to term.  Think about that for a second – what if that 13-year-old young lady was YOUR child?

The fact is that what we are observing is authoritarian rhetoric disguised as morality under theocratic rules.  This situation is running rampant in America, and it has been largely normalized.  Why?  Because there are Christians all over the place, even though many fail to realize that their denomination is one of a few thousands in the world.  Yes, there are several Christian denominations, and they don’t agree in a lot of their doctrines – hence they have their own denomination.

Although many Christian denominations agree on certain points, there is a lot more than they disagree with.  Want an example?  Sure, how similar are the doctrines between the Jehovah Witnesses and the Latter-Day Saints?  How similar or different are the rituals between Catholics and Pentecostals?  How about the guys who handle dangerous snakes during service, or those who worship in the nude?

Yes, those are all just a few examples of devoted Christians.  Would you go to the nude service or the venomous snake-handling service?  So, under that logic, then you might not be ok if “a particular” denomination of Christianity becomes the theocratic rule of the land.  That is why there is separation of church and state I the USA.  Also, why churches get a tax exemption as long as they stay off the political discourse.  Although we all know that many churches are not only violating that law, but they are also very cavalier about pushing politics from the pulpit.

Some states have a higher concentration of politically charged religious following.  One of these places is Alabama, where recently, In-Vitro Fertilization or IVF is under attack, because they’re considering the cells in a petri dish being already a person.  Yes, this IVF has JUST become an issue – just a few days ago.  And it is taking traction on other states – mostly red states.  And if you think this is not expanding think again.

And by the way, there are many Christians who used IVF in order to become parents.  Now, this IVF procedure is in jeopardy because some people interpret their scriptures differently, and want to force everybody to interpret them in the same manner.  And yes, it is affecting also law-abiding Christians and non-Christians.

If you are a Christian – especially, if you’re a Christian, you might want to realize that there is a particular denomination which wants to take over the way YOU worship.  Yes, I am serious.  This is happening.  If you want to call them false prophets, or swindlers or opportunists, that’s YOUR choice.  And keep in mind that there is a segment of people who use religion as a way to prevent you from having ANY choice in the near turn.

For example, did you know that there is a bill being proposed in Virginia right now that is endorsed mostly by state-GOP legislators who want to make it a lot harder to get contraception over the counter?  So, think about this for a moment, there are people hell bent in not only limiting your options should a person get an unwanted pregnancy, but they are also making it harder to not get pregnant in the first place!

In other words, they are somehow working towards legislating about sexual intercourse between consenting adults.  I wish I was being hyperbolic, but just like Roe vs Wade and other indicators of theocracy working to replace our democratic system, this very much seems to be in the horizon.  Of course, that most people might not want to see it as such, because when we talk about religion it tends to hit a nerve on a great segment of the population… because they think it is singling THEM out.

Well, that is not the case, the reality is that a few are trying to impose their version of religion onto all of us while using the very same religious protections to hide their agenda, which is to ultimately negate religious freedom to the rest of the country.

There is a lot more to explore on this topic, and I plan on writing a full article and perhaps other additional content on this, because it will become a lot more significant sooner than later.  And if you think there are not people in high positions pushing for this to become the norm, think again.

 

The Supreme Court is perceived as MAGA-biased.

Lately the United States Supreme Court has been perceived as biased by a very large segment of Americans.  The reality is that there is an evident power dynamic difference.  If you have been paying attention, you’ll know that the great majority of the justices are very conservative.  And as I mentioned, three of them were recently confirmed during Trump’s term.

This is a good time to bring current Minority Senate Leader, Mitch McConnell who was the de-facto catalyst to pack the court with highly conservative, and MAGA friendly justices.  And McConnel is also the person responsible for denying President Obama from adding his nominated Justice to the Supreme Court, because that was during Obama’s last year in office.  Yet, McConnel pushed a conservative judge in the last year of Trump’s office.

For any of us paying attention, we realized this tactic from the start.  He was going to pack the courts, not just the supreme court but a lot of other courts in the country – to get a higher level of political advantage with like-minded people.  Some might say that is an unfair assertion, yet the proof to this assessment has come through via many cases that have gravitated towards conservative goals.  IVF is one such case.  There are plenty more, but not many of those cases make it to the national headlines.

But the scrutiny of the conservative Justices has also gathered more momentum after their decision to hear the case for Trump’s eligibility to be in the Colorado ballot.  This of course will put a delay on a resolution for other cases that are related to why the State of Colorado supreme court found that Trump’s election interference and role for the January 6 insurrection makes him ineligible to run for office.

And if you think for a few seconds about this concern to have Trump back in office, it makes perfect sense.  Trump has 91 criminal charges spanning several court cases, has been very vocal about some very divisive rhetoric, he was found to be a fraud and a rapist – and that is just a fraction of the many red flags anybody who is paying attention sees about Trump.  Hence, most Americans voted against him in 2020.  The difference is that he has alienated a lot of his base from that time.  And a lot of his supporters have not been afforded the full story either… so they might jump ship once the truth also reaches their eyes and ears.

Well, unsurprisingly the Justices who were appointed by Trump and other conservative justices are very much onboard with seeing Trump to run for another term, despite the myriad of criminal and civil cases against him.  And this is not me – as the author of this article – trying to put the integrity of the US Supreme Court in question – as far as how objective they are when it comes to political discourse.  This is the common consensus from many people reporting on this topic.

But what I will say is that the rulings and the precedent for each case do raise a lot of questions.  And one of the fears most people have is that there is a clear bias towards one segment of the population and a disenfranchisement of another – an even larger segment of the same population.  The proof is that the most “conservative” doctrines have not been popular at the ballot.  It is especially noteworthy that the MAGA segment of the Republican party is dwindling.  Even though, many remaining MAGAs are still very vocal.

I linked this article to tell you more about the particular case regarding Trump’s eligibility to hold office. Credit to the New York Times.  Even if you don’t agree with them, fact check them with media sources from all political sides – you’ll see the pattern soon enough.

Supreme Court Poised to Rule on Monday on Trump’s Eligibility to Hold Office – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Conflicts continue to ramp up, and they are likely related.

And with the political discourse, we also have to realize that we have a very real linkage to the larger geopolitical stance of the United States on the world stage.  What we have to remember is that what happens in the USA resonates with the rest of the world with ripple effects that are mind-bending to some, and very clearly evident to others who can see the links to these events from a different vantage point.

What does that mean?  It means that even the situations who seen tangentially related at best, or totally unrelated are very much part of the same construct.  They are just not as evident when seeing it from a particular vantage point.  And that would not be a person’s fault, they are just not afforded that vantage point to see the big picture.

For an illustrative example let’s say you’re in a valley, and you are at the bottom of the valley inside a forest.  You might not be able to see the mountains around you, or even what is just a few yards from your vantage point.  But if you climb the mountain, you’ll have a much larger view of the valley and where everting seems to be located.  From there, you will be able to further explore with ease each area because you will have a better idea of how the terrain is laid out.

In geopolitics it is very much the same.  For people who are in their own echo chambers, or political bubbles – they will not be able to see how the events are laid out and how they relate to one another.  The way you can ascend this illustrative mountain is by understanding context.  This context raises your awareness of what is going on, and from there you can see the road leading to each event.  Keep in mind that each stage is going to have an inherited level of complexity, and it is meant to discourage people from keeping on climbing.

When I wrote my book AUTHORITARIANISM & PROPAGANDA The Puppet Master Tools, I provided some tools on how to see this context in ways that will help you climb to a better vantage point.  The geopolitical realm is complex, and it is also very contentious.  And the end result of many adversarial nations is to negate the USA from remaining the premiere nation in the world – and give an open avenue for adversarial regimes to take the USA’s place.  This has been happening for a while, and they will succeed unless we realize what its going on under our own noses.

I’ve said it before and it is worth repeating.  There are insider threats integrated within the confines of the United States of America, and in many countries that are allied or partnered with the USA.  Insider threats come in two big categories:

1. Witting Insider Threats:

These are people who are performing actions and supporting adversarial narratives and carrying out their desires willingly.  In other words, they are very cognizant that what they are doing goes against the USA and its influence in the world.  Even if they disguise themselves as patriotic.

2. Unwitting insider Threat

These are people who are too stupid to realize they are doing everything the witting insider threat is also doing, but they are just not aware they are complicit.  This latter one is a lot more dangerous than the first one, because they are easily manipulated.

And it is worth repeating that there are a lot of people in Capitol Hill and in other prominent platforms who are repeating and parroting those adversarial talking points verbatim!  I will be dedicating specific content to identifying how this works and how to defend against it.  Remember that these insider threats tend to be wolves in sheep’s clothing.  They will seem patriotic and even probably drape themselves in the regalia that screams USA – but they are repeating the points from their adversaries.

An easy way to see if that is the case is by looking at state-sponsored propaganda and news from an adversarial nation.  How do you know it might be an adversarial nation?  Well, if it is solely run by the state, then that means that the freedom of press is non-existent, and all narratives must concur with the government or be silenced.  So that is already a good pointer, because the USA has freedom of speech [at least for now], and you’re able to speak your mind without the government coming to violently retaliate against you and everything you’ve ever loved.

We still have this freedom we are very much taking for granted and there are a lot of nations who have recently lost it.  They didn’t pay attention to the same indicators I am mentioning, and it was likely there was somebody just like me trying to raise awareness, and he or she ended up screaming into a void.  I’m trying to change that trend, and fortunately there are many who see what I am seeing – we are just not communicating together effectively.  That is what I want to change through my writing.  HLC