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

  An authoritarian is only as powerful as their followers.  Every authoritarian in history ultimately fell, it is not sustainable yet it destroys millions of lives.  

YOU need self-esteem.  Yes, you read that right.

Authoritarians and propagandists thrive in fear.  They want you dumb enough to think you’re a perpetual victim, while endowing you with faux bravado.  And if you’re a so called “alpha” this article you’re now reading will sting, but you should be all right.  Afterall alphas are not thin skinned, are they?  If you get mad, then your entire alpha personality was just a veneer, and THAT is exploitable. The best way to make a person think they are in control is by convincing them they are “superior” to whatever is it that they are supposed to be against.  Enter the so-called alphas.  When you see any type of enraged people who are “taking aggressive action” against others, what type of personality do you think they have?  The self-proclaimed alphas.  Why do you think is that?  Because they are the “muscle” the authoritarian needs to push a divisive rhetoric into action. When people are emotionally driven to action, and think they can fight their way out of it, even if that means subjugating others.  That breeds a culture of dehumanizing people.  They will assume the role as “protectors” for their own group, and brag about being vindictive punishers for the dissention.  In fact, it is actually very easy to be an alpha, it is a primal [animalistic] instinct thing to try to assert dominance.  And the flip side to an alpha is not a “beta” – it is actually “maturity.” Think about it, if you were a school bully, how well did that play in actual grown-up society?  Not well, people might act as though they are intimidated to your face, but they are really laughing behind your back.  They do.  And that by the way creates a lot more friction, because in the so-called alpha’s mind, they feel they are being attacked.  Or worse, their dissenters are questioning their authority, which is usually also a veneer of the level of entitlement they feel towards others.  “How dare they not worship the alpha?” When this misguided level of emotion gets exacerbated, then authoritarians can move the rhetoric into action, and that happens via usually an emotionally-biased person who thinks they are right and everybody else is wrong.  If you’re a so called, alpha, did my words hurt your feelings?  Be honest to YOURSELF, not to me.  

The muscle to an authoritarian figure.

I wrote this article specifically on a provocative manner because I am proving a point.  If you’re not compromised, then you might actually laugh and nod in agreement remembering some alpha type you tend to laugh about.  If you’re an ex-alpha, then you’ll definitely laugh and appreciated the fact you’ve grown that phase. Because that is what it is, it’s a phase.  Much like teenagers have antics as they are trying to find the way they should fit into the world – the difference is that this can have regression, based on the way biases may be individually exploited.  That is why a few articles ago I spoke about biases.  Biases can wake up terrible feelings of inadequacy, and these can be very traumatic.  That leads to “overcompensating.” A lot of very aggressive people are simply a façade, they know they are not quite in charge, and hence they will go off the deep end if their “authority” is challenged – even a little bit.  The psychology of brainwashing alpha types is actually well documented and we can speak for hours on that.  But I’ll leave you with this. There are “alpha-training” groups who will charge other “alpha-men” to the tune of $18,0000 to $20,000+ to have a bigger self-proclaimed alpha yell at them while rolling up in mud.  The students are not military, no – they are business people who apparently achieving maturity was not good enough, and need somebody’s external validation. If you need to pay to become a so called “alpha-man” – your life is not that bad, but you are probably vulnerable to exploitation.  You need to learn to appreciate yourself before you try to gain validation for anybody else.  We all want to fit in, but don’t let the person living between your ears tell you you’re not good enough.  We are all capable of being better than the person we were yesterday. Real life has a lot more conflict, and it takes actual maturity and temperance to succeed.  This takes experience, and yes, the set backs are part of this learning process.  I can tell you that as a 20-year veteran in the U.S. Navy.  The “tough alpha crowd” folded like a deck of cards when push came to shove, the mature group were always more resilient.  That’s true strength – authoritarians don’t like the latter.  Because their volatile emotions are not exploitable as to become the muscle to a “strong leader.”  HLC

I put on my military uniform for the last time on February 9, 2024 until I retire at the end of April.  I finally get to spend quality time with my daughter.  

The wait is finally over!

Only about 1% of the population in the United Sates of America has earned the privilege to serve in uniform, and have been authorized to wear the cloth of our nation.  For a little over 20 years, I was one of those privileged few who have been authorized to serve.  For the longest time, staying in uniform was very challenging, not just because of the actual required sacrifices linked to the military service, but because there were some force-shaping tools that were hellbent in discharging as many service members as possible.

To be honest, a few times my name (like everybody else’s) was near the chopping block because of these manpower policies.  But based on my merit and performance I was able to make it above the cut.  While all this was happening, I kept moving up in rank and finally reached enough tenure to be eligible for retirement.  It is very humbling and almost surreal to see it from this perspective – as far as time is concerned.  There are literally thousands, if not millions of memories linked to my service, and it would take me 20+ years to recount them all.  But the coveted date finally arrived.

I joined the United States Navy when I was 24 years old, which is kind of late for many people who usually join after high school.  By the time I started basic training I was already 25, and at that point I did not know if I was going to make it a full career.  It was actually one evening while underway on my second ship USS LAKE ERIE CG 70, when my then-Commanding Officer was speaking with a few people in an area of the ship we used to call “Maine and Vine,” given by some novelty street signs we had placed in the ship.

The Captain was speaking with a few Sailors about reenlistments, and retirement, and asked me how old I was when I started bootcamp, and since I mentioned 25, making quick math he said, “so BeeZee (that’s me) can retire the Navy at the young age of 45…” and he was right.  I am 45 now.  So, in a way, ever since it was a goal of mine to reach the age of 45 and retire.  Afterall, I have recently gotten meritoriously promoted to Second Class Petty Officer.  And looking back, 20 years is a very long time, especially if you have been serving in the military.  And to be honest, I left a lot of interesting projects on the back burner because of my military duties.

Fast forward a few years, and I married Alicia and a year after Sammy was born.  I will be speaking in length about Alicia and Sammy in my articles, because there is so much to talk about them both… and they are indeed my whole world.  In fact, the reason why I decided to retire wherever 20 years of service got me was because I promised as much to Sammy.  Alicia, Sammy’s mom served for 24 years, but she retired from the Navy a couple of years ago.  Yes, she joined the Navy before me.  Being a dual military couple is very tough, especially on the family, and this of course means Sammy had to be very patient.

For so many years Sammy was patiently waiting for this quality time with either one of us.  We dedicated to her all the time we could, but the call of duty would take us away from home for extended periods of times.  In my case, for weeks and months at the time.  I would return home and Sammy already looked taller each time.  This was heart breaking for me as it was for her.  But I am happy that that time apart is finally over.

As I type this article, Sammy and I have been spending some quality time.  We have this nice couch in our house where she can pop a recliner, and we have been sharing a blanket as she is watching her favorite TV shows.  Whenever it's dinner time, she helps me enough, but I love seeing her clearing her plate.  She has a very good appetite.

She also likes playing with my newly grown beard, and when she does, I could not be happier.  We had developed a good routine, and the more time we spent together, the more I was amazed by how wonderful my daughter truly is.  She is such a fascinating child, and the more I get to hang out with her, the more I see how beneficial this closeness has been for both of us.  It was definitely well overdue.

 

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Becoming a stay-home dad.

After so many years of being away, and the countless times I saw my daughter looking at me from her bedroom window as I was leaving for work insanely early in the morning, I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am that those days are over.  Seeing Sammy’s saddening face as I was leaving every day was devastating.  Yet, whenever I used to come back home, she would receive me with a big smile.  I could see her smile behind the window from the street as I approached the house, she would then run to open the garage door for me, and wait for me to get out of the car to give me a big hug.  It was the happiest part of my day.

Fast forward to the time that I finally have a different level of control over my schedule – in other words, not having to commute to work anymore, it is so liberating.  But that does not mean that it is boring.  Not at all.  Although my house is very clean and well maintained, there are countless chores and other unfinished projects that I’ve been tackling little by little.  And there is so much more to do.  The good news is that they are no longer in the back burner, the bad news is that there are a bunch of items in my to-do list.

But every little line item I cross out makes me feel so much better.  Especially when it comes to some projects that were just lingering, even if they were minor projects, like changing the rubber gasket in a faucet, or reorganizing a closet.  These simple projects were put on the back burner for a long time, and finally I am tackling them down.  For example, I had to replace a light bulb for a while, but I just didn’t have the time to climb on a ladder to do so for several weeks, because the bulb was so high up.

But the best part of the day for sure is when I get to receive Sammy when she gets off her school bus.  The house becomes alive once again with her smile and her limitless energy.  This kid has a lot of energy, I only wish I was as energetic as she is… but I do my best to keep up.  But make no mistake, there is always so much to do at home, which makes me wonder how it is that I was able to do so much before I had this additional time.

The truth is that I never really had that much time, my catch phrase for years was “I’m busy” – that is still true today, but it is a “better” busy - if that makes sense.  When I put my post about my last day at work, I received a lot of love from my friends, and family – it was very heart-warming then as it is today.  I am so happy to be able to take care of my tasks without having to deal with a bunch of other stressors outside my control.

In fact, probably the most drama I have nowadays is when some people get rambunctious on the social media sites.  But as I am moving into this new phase in my life, engaging in social media is part of my new life as an author.  A lot of people I engage with are super cool, and once in a while I get a few people who clamor for a lot of attention, and some of those can be very frustrating to deal with.  But fortunately, at my age I don’t care about external validation, but still, it can be taxing trying to process some of the stuff that they are saying.  But fortunately, I can always look away and do something that makes me happy.

And to be honest, my house is super cool – I got all my cool gadgets and toys to enjoy.  And making my house even more cozy is one of my favorite things to do.  Having a nice comfortable home, or a place to work is always important to me.  I have many places where I can sit down and enjoy my time at home.  Either in front of my big TV, or in my bedroom, or the big jetted tub, or in my yard, or my home-office, my garden, or playing my musical instruments, or even painting what comes to mind on a canvas, it is awesome.  And of course, I get to write, and love writing.  And interesting enough, my favorite place to write is this… the very surface-pro tablet that I bought before my long deployment.  I love this thing.

At home, one of my favorite places to sit is on my big couch in my living room.  I have this “lap desk” where I prop my tablet and I can just type away, or design stuff where I don’t have to think too much while I enjoy my TV shows on my big TV.  It is a very good feeling.  I don’t really spend that much time outdoors because it is pretty cold out there right now, and the temperature inside my home is just perfect.  For years I’ve had to deal with weird temperatures – therefore I’m indulging now that I can finally do so, and it is a good feeling.

When Sammy is at school, I do all the things we cannot do together, so I can be more productive.  This includes errands, or other activities that are easier done without Sammy, such as phone calls, social media engagement, yard work, etc.  Then when she arrives, my attention turns to hanging out together and doing activities that are both entertaining and part of her development.  For example, we’ll do some combined chores, go for a walk, make dinner, fold the laundry, clean up the house.  Sammy likes to be part of those activities.  Then when we are done, we like to spend some time watching TV.  This is actually part of her development, because we use images as a way to chat and laugh together.

Most importantly, it helps Sammy know that I am here and I am not leaving – as has been the case for many years.  For years, Sammy was very patient while I had “to do something” – and I could not sit still for very long.  Now, we make a point that we can sit for a while, sip on our favorite beverages.  For instance, we have become big fans of fruit juices, and we like to try different flavors.  And of course, we enjoy our candy!  We have a cool tradition of opening a bag of jelly beans, or gummy bears, and we make a “shhh” sound, because usually mom does not like it when we have candy.  But this is like our little [open] secret.  And by the way, we don’t do that every day, but Sammy likes this tradition, so we keep it alive.

And no, this does not spoil her appetite.  Sammy can eat a gigantic NY strip in one sitting, and make all the sides disappear.  Not sure how she is able to pack all that food in such a little frame, but she does.  And I’m glad she is enjoying it, because she has a high metabolism and she is still growing.  That is good news, because she’s at an age that she can eat like a freight train and be ok.  I’m at an age that I look at a cupcake and I turn into a balloon.  But at her age I was able to eat an elephant and still be hungry.

And seeing this part of her is so refreshing.  For many years, I felt as though I’ve only got to see some glimpses from my child as the duties and responsibilities kept me away.  Sammy and I have always been very close, whenever I am around – but these long separations did create a lot of damage to her upbringing.  She patiently waited at the end of the pier until I returned.  She waited patiently when I had to finish projects for work even at home, she waited patiently when something work-related was robbing her the opportunity to spend time together.  And even when we were together, there would be something interrupting.  Being a phone call, text messages, etc.  Yet, she patiently waited, now my little girl does not have to wait any longer.

 

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How is life after the Navy?

Simple answer, it is great!  But with that said, I am grateful and would be dishonest if I said I did not enjoy my time in uniform.  True that this lifestyle is not for everyone.  And I’ll be the first to tell you that the military is not the right fit for everybody.  I won’t delve into all the reasons, because that can be its own article, or even its own book.  But what I can tell you is that I’m happy I joined and even happier that I crossed the finish line.

The part I like the most is that I don’t have to commute.  Yes, I can stay in my house, and travel the world via the internet if I wish to.  I do have a nice yard, and sometimes I hang out there, but most of the day is pretty cold, therefore I enjoy spending time indoors.  Also, because I do take different “chore breaks” – which is like a “reverse break” – what does that mean?  Well, it means that I am doing something I have fun with, or even watching a movie, and take little breaks to do stuff I wanted to get done.  It is fun, I recommend it.  I’ve actually gotten a lot done because of it.

And the truth is that for many years I haven’t really had a no-kidding vacation.  Every time I had off, or I was on leave, maybe I’ll have a day or two to just chill, but in reality, I had a bunch of stuff that I needed to address on that time when I was not “at work” – and that is another reason why some of those things have been accumulating.  And I knew for a fact I could not tackle them, because it would literally take a few hours to accomplish.  For example, I want to reorganize my attic.  That is going to take forever, so I am first doing little tasks that I can knock down quickly.

And THAT has been therapeutic.  How?  Well, it is instant gratification.  I do something, and it is done, and I don’t have to worry about it for a while.  It is great!  Other stuff does take longer, and I don’t’ believe in a “just get it done” type mentality.  Why?  Because that often does not really solve the problem, only patches it for a little bit.  I like my problem-solving sessions to yield long term solutions.  And that does take more time and effort.  And of course, you have to make a bit of a new mess before you clean up the old mess.  I know it sounds counterintuitive, but in my experience that is how it goes.

A big thing that I am doing with my new found free time is re-engaging in Half Life Crisis.  Particularly on the social media platforms.  Not all of them at the same time though, because engagement actually does take a long time.  It might not seem like much, but just tweeting alone can make time move really fast.  Not always in a fun way, but hey… I do get a lot of people to visit Half Life Crisis via Tweeter, so I guess it can’t be too bad.

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However, all the groundwork being done right now will be laying the stage for many things that I’ve been getting prepared for a long, long time.  And to be honest, a lot of the things I will be doing are in some form a continuation of my Navy days.  Except that I am no longer subject to the many rules and regulations.  For example, I haven’t shaven my face, and I am letting my hair grow.  I can finally put back my earrings and there is quite a story behind each piercing.  So, it is like bringing a tsunami of memories that make me remember who I was before I joined the Navy.

And that is a thing we don’t normally get to think about.  Who were we before a chapter in our lives took us in a different direction?  When I stop and think about it, the answer is both long and nostalgic.  And little by little I’ve been remembering this.  The other day I had the pleasure to have some conversations with childhood friends we have not spoken to in more than 20 years!  And in their memories of me, I realized how much of me has both evolved and changed.  Yet, I cannot help but realize the obvious.  Time has flown and there is so much more of me left behind than I realized.

As I wrap this article, I want to reiterate that I am in the process of moving forward a lot of projects that have been put aside.  I realize it will take a lot longer than I anticipated.  But that is ok, because everything I am doing is getting me closer to reaching that ultimate goal.  Meanwhile, I set myself a rule that when Sammy is home, she takes top priority on my span of attention.  I’ve been doing that, and it is working great for both Sammy and me!  HLC

No matter the dissenting opinions, we are Americans under the same sky - J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez

 

America is experiencing pivotal events in our history.  Whether you lean to the left or right side of the political spectrum, we must learn to work together.

 

The division in America is widening each day.

If you check most types of media outlets nowadays, the narrative is similar – “us against them.”  This is happening at an accelerated rate, and it needs to stop, because we are eroding America from the inside out.  And if this happens, we have to ask ourselves: Who wins if America fails?  The answer is simple, those who benefit if America fails.

And who is this cabal of anti-Americans?  You might or might not be surprised to learn that this group of people span the entire world, and yes – some are even inside our own borders – and they were born in America.  This later one is more nuisance, because even though they are American themselves, and might be operating under the impression that they are on America’s side – they are destroying the very fabric of the country at an accelerated rate.

It is sad but true that it is very easy to highjack the intrinsic goodness of people, and turn it against them.  Worst of all, some of those who had their best intentions highjacked can very well be convinced they are fighting the good fight.  This is happening around the world.  Some have already destroyed the fabric of their own countries, bamboozled under a faux outrage that misdirected their candor and ire against their best interests.

Are we next?  I would not quite say “next” – because that is very much happening right now in real time.  But before we explore this phenomenon, let’s talk a bit about this cabal of those who want to destroy America… or at the very least bump America off the number one spot as a world-leader.  Is it too bad being number two?  It is worse than most people would imagine.  And that is why this process of bumping the USA off the world stage has been executed for such a long time, and for many has been mostly unnoticed.  Afterall, if you’re number one, your place is forever secured right?  No, wrong.  But those who have something to win from that delusion will surely make you think that is the case.

American Exceptionalism – not always a welcome concept…

It is not unusual for Americans to call the United States “the BEST country in the world.”  How do you think people in other countries, even the ones we like us view and perceive that statement, and sentiment?  If your guess is that they feel super happy for the USA and they are super stoked about it, then you’re delusional.  The reality is that most people around the world, though they would agree that the USA is a world-leader, in fact resent the fact that Americans call themselves the best of the best in the world stage.

American exceptionalism is called by many other countries “American Arrogance” – and either if you agree or disagree with that narrative, that’s the opinion of a non-insignificant number of people around the world.  And if you’re an American, this might make you angry, or make you feel bad, sad, or perhaps even combative about their perception.  “How dare these many millions of people around the world not agree that the USA is the best nation in the world!”  And to be fair, America is indeed a leader in many, many facets.  Not all good, not all bad.

For example, from some of the not so good, we are number one in gun violence.  We are also number one in the most expensive health care system on the planet.  Oh, and we are also number one on incarcerating people.  Yet when it comes to education, we are nowhere near number one, when it comes to wealth gaps we are also pretty far behind.  And don’t get me wrong, the USA is a wonderful place, unlike no other.  But you see, I also have a very different vantage point than most of the world.

For instance, I’ve lived in the USA most of my life, and I’ve served in uniform north of 20 years.  Also, both my wife and daughter were born in the USA, and I have been afforded levels of trust by America that is only limited to very few people alive.  My love for the United States of America is beyond what anybody could quantify or even imagine.  It is vaster than the expanses of the known universe.  And that is why I have no problem speaking truth to power.

What makes the United States of America truly the most amazing place in the world is the AMERICAN PEOPLE – we have the most diverse demographics in the world.  There is representation of every corner of the planet who are American Citizens, and Permanent Residents.  But not only that, we also have people from all over the world who come and serve in our Armed Forces, in our agencies, and many other segments of our nation, expanding our scope of knowledge and understanding of what is needed to make us better each day.  This diversity is inconvenient to those who want to destroy America as we know it.

Is there room for improvement?  Of course there is!  Even the fanciest smart phone, which already does more mind-bending taskings that we ever imagined possible just a few short years ago has room for improvement.  We cannot live from past wins alone; this is a continuous journey.  Change is inevitable, otherwise it creates stagnation.  Following the cell phone example.  What if we had just settled for flip phones in the early 2000’s?  And if you’re old to remember those days, having a cool flip phone back then was a huge deal.  Today, if you can find those, it might as well be in a museum of obsolete technology.

That is what diversity brings, new ideas – new concepts – new innovations – additional points of view.  Some that will be welcome at first sight, some might be more challenging, if they seem to be disrupting the status quo.  Continue with the phones example, back in the day we used to have rotary phones… you know those with the big wheel with numbers you had to spin to dial.  Imagine for a second if we had kept those rotary phones and by doing so negate ourselves the possibilities to innovate to the technological advances we have today when it comes to telecommunications.

Some of the more cynical readers might think that I went on a tangent.  Starting from American exceptionalism to rotary phones.  Well, there is a reason why I frame it in such a way.  The minds of people are getting highjacked to become one-dimensional.  My writing style is meant to rebuild that abstract part of thinking in order for us to understand the bigger picture and stop being bamboozled.  I have to be a bit more on-the-nose nowadays, because sadly we are running out of time.  The adversary is winning, and we are losing ground.

So, let’s bring this back together to the American Exceptionalism.  There are regimes who are diligently capitalizing on the resentment people around the world have been brewing against the USA for several decades.  Meanwhile, they are positioning themselves as a better alternative to the USA.  If the USA – by its own hand destroys itself, they win by default.  It is even more insidious than that.  They will try to get the USA to join the “bad regimes” club, and create a division so massive inside our own borders that it will implode, and win by default.  Either way, they would win.

Sadly, I can only oversimplify on this article, because the entire premise alone is enough to write an entire book.  We don’t have time to go through all that.  But fortunately, I’ve written and released two books that help that effort.  And also, I’ve written a myriad of long-form articles that deal with this exact theme.  I wrote all this because I saw it coming, I’ve warned a lot of people – some took heed, many have no idea what is coming their way.

 

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Read the TODAY IN AMERICA series at Half Life Crisis.

 

In my series “Today in America” I add important turning points in our American History, and how this is playing a pivotal role in how we are been bamboozled into fighting one another, and for the rest of those who are unaware – to remain unaware, thus giving card blanche to an adversarial regime to take over their lives, as the unsuspected American segment of willfully ignorant people have given tacit consent to others to dictate their lives without as much as a semblance of awareness.

Are many Americans arrogant?  You can bet your full paycheck that many are, and that is the impression many around the world see of this otherwise great nation. There is a lot of merit for why the USA has become the de facto world-leader, but that does not mean that other countries do not feel that that situation rubs them the wrong way.  And before you think “well F-em” – think again, because – first that shows that you are indeed arrogant, and foolish.  People around the world have choices, even if they owe something to America.  Much like if you have a mortgage with a bank, and there is another bank that offers you a better rate – you might refinance.  In the strategic level of geopolitics, it is very similar.

 

Being a world leader.

You’ve probably heard the term “it is lonely on the top” – and indeed it can be if a person burned bridges and used others as stepping stones to reach to the top.  Politics, for better or for worse, have a huge role to play in the way we are perceived around the world.  Every time people in congress throw verbal feces at each other, somebody in a country who dislikes the USA uses that as a propaganda point to show that “the US system of government is flawed.”  That is a phenomenal gift on a golden platter to an authoritarian regime.

No matter if you are an American or not, rip the proverbial bandage right now, the USA has a lot of room for improvement, but it is right now (at the time I write this article) remains the best alternative for a myriad of reasons.  For better or worse, whatever happens in the USA will be followed by countries around the world as an acceptable status quo. If you are not from the United States, you might or might not like the USA – but regardless the USA remains a world leader in many respects that are beneficial to the entire world.

Has the system been abused by a few unscrupulous and opportunistic entities?  Absolutely yes.  Can it be fixed?  Yes!  But it is not an automatic process.  What makes the USA the USA is the PEOPLE!  And people need to have a full grasp and understanding of what is affecting them.  Especially the “boring and scary” parts that are usually left unattended.  I can ask many Americans right now about what is most important in the current news cycle.  Many will concede (and indeed when I asked them) that they “don’t follow the news” – but they can tell you the entire gamma of TV shows, movies, games, video games, and other entertainment with superlative detail.  That especially in 2024 – which perhaps is the most influential election year in our lifetimes is not a good trend.

With that said, MOST people in the USA are actually wonderful and caring people, no matter where you are.  Is there rampant misinformation that has been dividing us?  Yes, again – and that is what I am trying to change through my writing.  But I have to admit that this is not an easy task.  There is no shortage of people who are “talking” about what is going on – but I don’t see much “doing” about it.  This part of me “doing something” – but there is a lot more that I do, and that is engaging with any group of people I can interact with.  Especially if they have a point of view that has been highjacked by propaganda.

I’m happy to report that some people with whom we had conversations, eventually had an epiphany.  They did not agree with me at first – but I like to plant seeds that will be tumbling on a person’s mind for a while.  They eventually will find the correct answer.  Why?  Because facts don’t care about our feelings, the truth comes to light at some point.  It does not matter how hard we try to hide from it.  The problem is that the truth is not always as palatable as propaganda.  Propaganda is easily digestible; the truth can be a hard pill to swallow.  Especially if we were enamored with the incorrect narrative.

You’ve probably heard also this phrase: “The chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”  The propagandists and regimes who are hellbent in destroying America are preying on those weakest links.  The trick is that they will make them believe they are the strongest links in the proverbial chain.  It is very easy to do so in fact. People (in particular) with some unapologetic on-your-face alpha personalities can be very susceptible to running errands for an authoritarian.  Sorry, that’s what normally happens.  But non-alphas also have vulnerabilities that can be quite exploitable.  It takes different levels manipulation to target each segment.  This can result in the “us against them” reality I was speaking of at the top of this article.

And to bring it full circle – being a leading nation is not a matter of having only “a few good people who are good and well informed” does not help the collective from being a premiere nation.  For example, in countries where information is curtailed and controlled by the regime, there is no diversity, nor tolerance for different points of view – the perception of reality gets skewed to the point that the population has no recourse but to stagnate.  They will instead be waiting for whatever is being fed to them as far as thinking (and sometimes literally for sustainment).

Conversely, when there is a diversity of points of view, there will be more checks and balances.  That does not mean that you have to “agree” with every different point of view.  Some of those points of view (even your own) could very well be divorced from reality.  But even on those events, that is not an entirely negative situation, because you can also understand where there could be cognitive traps (cognitive dissidence).  Having people smart enough to realize that there are blind spots is a good place to start when searching for facts.

But I’ve said it before, and I will say it again – there is a sizable number of people who confuse facts with opinions.  A fact is logical, measurable, and demonstrable.  An opinion can very well be simple conjecture and divorced from reality.  The latter is of course very convenient for propagandists who want to implant a “plausible” version of events – even if when put in context it would not be plausible at all.  But of course, that is why those unsuspected people won’t be afforded the full context.  It is designed to be that way.

Although this situation certainly happens in the USA, we are far from being the only country in the world suffering from the same situation.  Tragically, due to the fact that the United States is such an important and influential country (like it or not), the collective dissidence affects the entire world (again like it or not).  And even if there are other countries around the world looking in awe, horror, or contempt that the USA is struggling – it also negatively affects THEM sooner or later.

Leadership is a privilege, not a right.  However, in places where they can still elect their leaders – the rules have been tilted in some superficially innocuous directions.  But the truth is a lot darker; political influence is not a single-country issue.  There are regimes who realize that the more global their influence, the more they can get away with other nefarious agendas.  Agendas that most definitely affect their own countries, but it also tilts the game at a much deeper level.  That is where things get a lot more complex – because it becomes abstract, and it is hidden in plain sight.

While the majority of people are busy living their own lives, the direction for which their road is being skewed happens beneath their own noses.  The changes are gradual – and as they continue in their life journey – however long it takes, the destination was already predetermined for millions of people.  That is why understanding history in proper context is so important.  I’ve said it a million times, and I will continue saying it – propaganda is meant to be palatable, and easily understood.  Of course, it is because it becomes the vehicle for subliminal marching orders – and these orders can very well be against the obedient person’s best interests.

So, if you’re an American – like it or not – what you do adds to the collective effort for the rest of the planet.  No pressure.  But that should not be a bad thing.  In fact, when we conduct ourselves in a good way that is meant to help each other out, the benefits are returned with high returns.  And no, I am not asking about donating, or giving stuff away for free.  But for example, if you have friends who own a restaurant, or that they provide a service, recommending their services or using those services yourself already contributes to the betterment of our society.

The problem is that most people now seem like a walking price tag.  And often asked to pay more than they can afford – especially if they are in the lower parts of the economic scale.  When Americans can’t work together, what is the message the rest of the world sees?  They would assert something along the lines “if the USA is no longer a world leader, then it is time for a different country (even their own) to be that leader.”  This can be very beneficial or polarizing to the world stage – but remember that at this time in history, where there is great power competition, there are some regimes that are far ahead of the curve.  And letting the USA out to dry (like it or not) is not the best answer.

But when it comes to a person put in charge, it does not mean that person is an actual leader.  There is a huge difference between the two.  And when we compound the millions of people collective in that country, and there are few awesome people and a bunch of non-awesome people, what is the average for the country?  Does that affect the collective average – you bet it does.  Why?  Because like it or not a majority of people can affect change for better or worse.  A population who is subpar in the manner they consume and understand information will be a lot worse off than a population who is above average in the proper understanding of the information they consume.  Why?  Because they will be able to understand if the information provided to them is accurate or if it is flawed.  In other words, they will understand the proper context.

 

Dummying down our world’s population.

This has been occurring at an accelerated rate, and in many ways, it is a world-wide phenomenon.  There is a reason why things that are more “fun” and “entertaining” are palatable and spread like wild fire.  They are designed to capture our interest and to teach us something in a very easy manner – often time to try to sell us something, or make us loyal to their brand.  But something similar also happens with propaganda.

Bottom line, the dumber a person is, the easier they are to manipulate.  Make this dumb person believe they are the smartest person in the room, and they will be kissing the rear end of whomever is making them feel so good – and accepted!  No matter how crazy the narrative might be, people want to belong – and propaganda makes it easier to create these bubbles that place people in a “community of like-minded folks” – while separating us from those who “seem to be” against us.

The reality is that we are more similar than different.  And that is very inconvenient to whomever wants to manipulate us.  In fact, that is another reason why they make their enticement so palatable and easily to assimilate.  They have realized that the savvier a person is, the less likely they are to ingest falsehoods, and the less likely they are to take something at face value without doing its due diligence.

Let me give you a quick example.  Let’s pretend for a moment you’re about to spend a pretty penny on a big-ticket item. Maybe a huge TV, or a new central air conditioning Unit, a vehicle, a new roof, an expensive musical instrument, or whatever that would cost a small fortune.  In those instances, people will tend to do a lot of research on the brand, the reviews (good and especially bad), and ask around, and find out if the item they are about to purchase or the company they will be dealing with is reputable, etc.  Those who fail to do so might go one of two ways.

1. They could get lucky and everything works fine.

2. They will find out that there was some merit in doing some research because now they are stuck with a bad investment.

Whatever the case, there was more to the story.  In the first instance, yes – sometimes we get lucky buying something on a whim and it turns out to be great.  But that is not always the case.  In some instances, what we think was good turned out to be a swindle.  Especially if the situation was too good to be true.  In fact, that is part of the marketing process – making it as palatable and enticing as possible for the consumer.  Hopefully, that will include good quality control if they are interested in the customer for coming for more.  Some other times it might be just enough to make a quick buck and for the swindler to disappear into the shadows.

When it comes to propaganda, the swindlers are going to give them nice little samples, but they are not ready for the big reveal.  Much like getting a buffet dinner in a time-share sale.  Sure, they are feeding you something, but the payout they are looking for is a lot bigger than what they are offering to get you through the door, and to keep you there – until you stay long enough to listen, and perhaps being enticed to sign up.

Well, the dummying down of the population is similar, but a lot more complex in scale and execution.  Why?  Because the payout is enormous.  Some people are more prone to take some false narratives at face value – if their biases have prompted them to blindly follow a person that they find enticing.  Make no mistake, those of us who want the best for you are going to ask you to look beyond your bubble and question everything – even what WE are telling you.  Why? Because we want you to expand your mind.

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Read the TODAY IN AMERICA series at Half Life Crisis.

People who want to control you or keep you dumb will make things “too easy” for you.  This might seem convenient to you at first, but the fact is that they are re-training your mind towards blind obedience.  Through my writing I am trying to change that trend.  But it is a team effort.  Thank you for spending this time with me!  HLC

 

 

The Muller report was a litmus test on how cognitive dissidence can be exploited for political purposes.  Many people are still confused about its importance.

 

The confusion perdures to this day.

The Muller Report is names after the Department of Justice (DOJ) Special Counsel Robert Muller, who was a prominent career law enforcement professional at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States of America.  He was appointed to conduct a thorough investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.

Among the targets of the investigation, was included the recently elected U.S. President Donald J. Trump.  The reason was because there were credible allegations that his campaign had close unduly communications with the Russian Federation, and that his campaign conspired together with Russian operatives to get an advantage against Trump’s presidential opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  Russia stated on record they favored Trump over Clinton as President of the United States.

Before I move on, please find below the link to the entire Muller Report, as released to the public.  Please keep in mind that some of the released Muller Report [enclosed] to the public have been redacted for reasons of National Security.

Mueller Report (link via CNN)

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is worth mentioning that when citing Russia in this report, and on this article, it is not referring to the entire country of Russia - nor it is a so called "Rusophobic" attack. But unfortunately, the people involved in this report were from Russia. Any country involved in a similar fashion would have been cited on a consistent basis if they were under the scope of the investigation Mueller conducted. It is worth noting also that most Russian people (like most people around the world) are actually super nice, and they might or might not have a say, knowledge, or condone what happens outside their immediate purview.

You are welcome to read the entire report now (all 400+ pages), or after you finish this article.  We will be touching upon some of the important takeaways from the report.  The report itself is written in legal jargon, hence for some people it might seem counterintuitive to understand what Muller is actually trying to say.  That’s the nature of the beast, legal writing is very different than normal everyday vernacular.

For this article I will be using down-to Earth vernacular to ensure it is better understood.  And I said, “better understood” – because in legal terms words and context have a much encompassing terminology.  That is why it takes years of going to law school and passing a bar exam to navigate the vernacular.  To put in context the bar exam alone takes about 12 hours and it is extremely grueling.  Some of us (who are not attorneys, but) due to the nature of our jobs just so happen to be acquainted with that language to “read it” – but not to “write it” – if that makes sense.  E.g. You might be able to distinguish the difference between a high-quality and low-quality steak when you eat it, it is a whole different ballgame cooking it.

If you do end up reading the full report (which I recommend), it is best if you read it in little chunks, and with an open mind.  The report is obviously very well written, but for those unfamiliar with the lingo, it will be interpreted like “scripture” (as in a bible or religious text) – and create a misperception that it is subject to some interpretations – especially if a person has a particular bias.  However, biases are not the case when writing the report – Mueller himself was a Republican.  But it is possible that some people might find ambiguity.  Remember, this report was not meant to be read by the people, but rather by legal experts.

This in no way is demeaning to the general public, it is just part of the area of expertise needed for that particular specialty.  Just like a bartender might have some specific language they use for some of their mixology, or just like us Sailors have a very specific vernacular when we talk about Navy stuff, or just how mathematicians communicate with complex formulas.  Somebody outside those specialties might find it confusing if seeing it from the outside in.

Same thing with the Muller Report.  It has a specific language, crafted by experts in that field.  Fortunately, just like any cryptic language out there, there is a key to understanding in everyday terms what the intent and purpose for that report means to the general audience.  There is a reason why I put this in context.  You will see what I mean by that as you continue reading this article.

The Muller Report is inheritably complex, because it addressed a very complex issue.  Further, it was unprecedented because it was the first time a sitting U.S. President was involved in the middle of this type of controversy.  And of course, the environmental factors (not as in weather) in the country, particularly on political divisiveness – was making an already incendiary issue all the more volatile.  There were a lot of entities who had a lot to lose based on the findings of this report.  And those who had a lot to lose were both inside and outside the United States of America.

What does this mean?  The Muller Report was never just about Trump, it was a lot bigger than that.  It was about the possibility that third nation was interfering with the American Electoral process, and potentially getting away with it.  Trump was largely anecdotal, but had to play also a center role for the investigation because he just so happened to be the President of these United States.

 

Understanding the Report’s Context.

The Mueller report was not about finding “Collusion” – why?  Because Collusion is not a crime.  It was about finding conspiracy to undermine an American Electoral Process.  However, as Trump became extremely combative, and largely [on the Right-Wing of politics], attacks against Muller started to percolate, the scope of the investigation had no choice but to add instances of obstruction of justice to the mix.  Cause and Effect.

What does that mean?  Let me illustrate with an example.  Let say person “X” is accused of beating up his spouse.  An investigation into domestic abuse will start taking place.  So, let’s say that while this domestic abuse investigation is going on, person “X’ decides to antagonize and threaten the police officers with violence, and incites others to antagonize and threaten these police officers – as they are conducting the domestic abuse investigation.   What do you think is going to happen?  If you assessed that an additional charge will be added to the domestic abuse charge, then you will be correct.

Further, antagonizing the police and threatening with violence while they are investigating domestic abuse – is not helping person “X” case, is it?  Use the same analogy, but just change the charges and names, and that is what happened during the Muller Report.  The fact that Trump and is acolytes were attacking, disparaging, and denigrating the character of Robert Muller, made it very evident that Muller likely found a lead Trump and his acolytes found very problematic (against them).

Robert Muller himself got death threats, much like many other Trump dissenters had endured in the last several years.  Especially those with a platform.  But the death threats normally come from a Trump acolyte, or somebody who feel vindicated to do so in their [Trump’s] base.  I should emphasize that issuing death threats onto anybody is a crime.  And yes, it is a crime no matter if you do that face-to-face, by email, by social media, or any other method of communication.

And bear this in mind because of the wide context of the report.  Remember, the report is a snap-shot in time, but the significance of this report is a timeless tool about glaring vulnerabilities in the very fabric of American society.  And yes, the exploitation of divisive vulnerabilities is designed to be like that – divisive and confusing.  That is why I said that in the beginning it became a litmus test regarding our political stability.

 

Finding Trump guilty in the Muller Report

The official name for the Muller Report is “Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election” – this report encompasses two volumes, and spans for 448 pages.  In other words, the scope of the investigation was to find the facts about Russian Interference, which is not necessarily the same as an investigation about Trump, although Trump was certainly a significant factor in the entire situation – because Russia was favoring Trump over Clinton.

For us to understand the significance of this report, we have to understand that using semantics to fight the merits of the issue is not a compelling argument.  It is a lot more abstract than that, because we are dealing with a strategic-level adversary levering personnel near to the sitting President of the United States, in order to push their [foreign country’s] agenda.  This report is not about finding collusion, it is about connecting conspiracy behind the mechanics for which the favoring for Trump turned into action favorable to Trump.

Hope this is making sense so far, because it is about to get more abstract.  It is designed to be that way.  The adversary is not going to put this complex issue in a black & white, Fifth-Grade level of understanding – instead, this topic is an all-stars varsity multi-level strategy being played upon the US via its own political intricacies.  Again, it is designed to be highly complex, and that is why the actual merits of the case will seem counterintuitive to a great swath of the population.  Again, this report was not meant to be read by the general public, it was meant to be read by the top Attorney in the Country – The Attorney General.

And this is an important distinction.  Because Muller and his team had to be impartial in their investigation.  Hence, Muller (who was in charge of the investigation) was not going to declare “Guilty” or “Innocent” – among other intricacies we’ll talk about – that was not his role.  His role was to find facts, write about them, and pass to the Attorney General to (for a lack of a better word) decipher what was presented to him on this report, and for him to make a recommendation as the top law enforcement person in the Federal Government at the time.

And at this particular juncture is where politics started to get from ugly to very dangerous.  For as long as we can remember in the American discourse, the partisan political climate has become more and more polarized.  It was not designed to be that way – it was meant to give a voice from different points of view; but through the years demagogs and other special interest powers have created a wider division among politicians.  All this division is extremely convenient to regimes leading nations who have poised themselves as adversaries against America.

Some politicians (hopefully unwittingly) tend to play and parrot propagandistic points that are specifically designed to polarize America more and more.  The reason for the division is incidental at best, but certainly politics is a very visceral vehicle that gets people enticed to perform actions that can very well go against their own best interests.  They just don’t realize it does, because it is designed to make those victims feel like vindicated heroes, whilst making them believe they are the smartest people in the room.  Sadly, that is a very prolific manipulation tool.

The damage created to discredit the Muller Report is causing negative effects even today!  And that report was released in 2019.  For that reason, it is worth understanding what the political climate was back during those days.  And the short answer is, that the ENTIRE U.S. Government, all three branches at the time were Republican.  The Executive power (President), The Legislative power (Congress with the House & the Senate), and the Judicial power with a conservative majority.

If you were a Democrat, you had no chance to push any legislation at that time.  That of course changed in the very next midterm election when the House Flipped to the Democrats, and the Republicans lost the majority.  But by the time this report came over, it was all Republican Controlled.  This was very important for many political reasons, and of course gave a very high advantage to Trump as far as how the narrative would be controlled to the rest of the Republican political base.

Sadly, that means that if Trump was found guilty of any wrong doing, there was a snow ball chance in hell of a probability the GOP (Republicans) would even hint on giving Trump any level of accountability, let alone prosecute him, recommend impeachment – or any punitive action whatsoever for that matter.  Why?  Because that would be political suicide, that is why.

Politics are strategic by nature, and sadly this strategy tends to leave constituents out of the equation.  A shrewd politician would be able to plan several steps ahead and bamboozle a base of voters to believe a false narrative with little to no scrutiny.  Yes, it is designed to be that way.  A happy constituent tends to be one who feels their political leader is reading their minds, and doing their will – as faithful representatives of their democratic process in Capitol Hill.  You could argue, THAT is EXACTLY why they were elected in the first place to do, right?

So, what does any of this have anything to do with the Muller Report?  A lot actually, that is why I say it is abstract, and might even see tangential.  Again, it is designed to be that way.  When we look at the Muller Report there is not one page which reads “guilty” except to demonstrate that somebody pleaded as such to previous proceedings – for example, George Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty to lying to investigators.  Papadopoulos was very close in Trump’s orbit – once he became inconvenient, Trump disavowed him.

Other big names in Trump’s orbit included Gates, Manafort, and Cohen.  The later was also known as “Trump’s Fixer” and better known for the case involving porn-star actress Stormy Daniels – when she engaged in what was described as a hilariously short and unpleasant, though consensual sex encounter with Trump – when his wife Melania was staying home with their still infant son Baron.  And I just want to add this part about the [if you can even call it] affair (which is factual by the way – however hilariously short). Because it adds to Trump’s character, and adds to why the overarching scope of his investigation is so important.  Lack of character is vulnerable to exploitation – and having the President of the United States of America having an exploitable vulnerability is very dangerous for the country.

Another big player is Michael Flynn, who also pleaded guilty for lying to the FBI about talks he head with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.  Note that in every mention of “guilty” was for already a person in Trumps orbit who have already been convicted.  It is important to pay attention to the fact that these individuals were very close to Trump - that is problematic.  Who wins if the President of the United States of America has people who have pleaded guilty to some very problematic allegations?  Regimes who are adversarial to America, that is who wins when this happens.

Letting Trump get away without prosecution, despite the findings of the Muller Report is what has prompted a lot of the cognitive dissidence that has endured to this day.  And this is really the crux of the matter.  Cognitive dissidence occurs when we let our biases control the narrative despite the facts.  There is always a lot more to the empirical facts behind the superficial context of a situation.  Some of the facts can certainly be obscured by misinformation, and lack of understanding of the full context.

In other words, when we are presented with a situation out of context, and we don’t have enough datapoints to ascertain the validity of those facts, then our assertion to those facts will be flawed.  Hence the correct answer will feel counterintuitive, despite the facts being against their core argument.  Again, it is designed to be that way.  And a lot of people have fallen into that trap.  It is not really their fault; a trap is designed to capture those unsuspecting souls.  Much like a con artist tends to be charming and engaging.  The difference is that with propaganda this is executed at a much larger scale and level of complexity.

 

Was Trump found Guilty?

Yes, he was found guilty of conspiracy of getting aid from a foreign government to help him with the election, and of obstructing justice and making all kinds of public acts of intimidation that among other things included death threats to Muller himself.  The key word is “found” – that is not the same as “declared” guilty.  Doing so gets into a semantic game that fosters cognitive dissidence.

This is how they differ.  Finding instances of guilt does not necessarily mean that a person is going to be held accountable.  For example, if you’re driving 20+ MPH over the speed limit, but there are no COPs around to pull you over, and issue you a citation for reckless driving – then you’re not getting accountability.  You (should) know that what you did is highly illegal and can put you in a pumpkin suit, and there are several witnesses to your misdemeanor.  Mainly every other car that you zoomed by – but they don’t have the authority to pull you over and give you a citation.  But it is very obvious to all witnesses that you were breaking the law.

Somebody being declared guilty, that means that somebody who has the jurisdictional power to give you accountability is acting upon those findings.  Following in the example, if a cop does pull you over and issues you a citation – the cop can start the accountability process, but not finish it.  It would be up to a judge (in traffic court) to give the verdict on the infraction.  Some judges might be lenient and let the speeder go with a warning, others might impose a heavy fine, others might send the driver straight to jail.  I’ve seen cases like this all the time – it largely depends on how repentant the person placed in front of the judge is.

So, let’s bring this into context.  Mueller (as the example being the cop on the above example) was gathering the information and writing the ticket.  But it was going to be up to the attorney General (as the judge in the previous example) whom was required to make the determination about if the president was found guilty or not.  The Attorney General at the time was Bill Bahr, and he gave the press a very misleading version of what Mueller described in the findings.  The point being that Bahr likely wanted to try to make this problem disappear.  Particularly because of the heavy political baggage it carried.  Finding Trump guilty would make the Republican party implode.

How so?  Well, the obvious thing is that if Trump was found guilty, then a lot of legal actions - none of which were convenient, nor had a precedent, would inevitably snowball out of control.  There was a lot of appetitive for the entire report to be released.  The GOP fought tooth and nail against it, but eventually it came out.  But it took a long time.  During that time there were countless attacks against Mueller himself, and many more death threats not only to him, but to other people who were in favor of releasing this document.  So, the fact that you can read it (even on this site) was a gigantic undertaking that was being prevented by the highest levels of government at that time.

There was an important caveat.  Because Trump was a sitting President – regardless if he was indeed guilty – he was NOT to be prosecuted.  Those were the guidelines at the time, because it was meant to protect against people from attacking a President as a political eruption… with the pretense that the President was indeed an innocent person.  Well, this is not very much the case in the Muller Report.  Although he does not call Trump with the words “guilty” he did say that he was not exculpated from wrongdoing.  And I said before, he was to present the facts, not to issue a guilty or innocent plea.  But rather point if there was culpability.  There was gargantuan evidence of guilt.

Using a “big word” such as not “exculpated” probably muddied the water – even though it is an accurate term.  “Exculpated” means “acquitted” – Trump was not acquitted, if we put it in non-thesaurus terms.  Muller went on to say that if Trump was not a sitting President he would have indeed been prosecuted.  So, what does that mean?  It meant that as long as Trump was President, then he was able to run that suspended guilt until he left office.  But once he was gone, then accountability would follow.  What would Trump’s next logical move be then?

Obviously, it was in Trump’s best interest to stay in power as long as possible!  For one, because the statute of limitations would run out on this – and besides he did so much other crazy s—t after this event that the Muller Report will seem like small potatoes in comparison.  But that does not mean it is any less significant, because this started a snowball effect for a lack of accountability to any sitting President.

Let’s talk about this snowball effect, this is a non-exhaustible list.

1. It forced the GOP to truly play ball and become Trump acolytes by choosing party over anything else Trump was able to get away with.  Doing otherwise would be political suicide.

2. It empowered other adversarial nations to flood the USA with propaganda.  The same type of divisive propaganda that has continued ever since – because it proved to be effective.

3. Fostered cognitive dissidence.  It is convenient for other nations when we are divided, and if there is a communication breakdown.  This first step was a proof of concept for adversarial nations as far as how people get lost in semantics rather than understanding the overall context.

4. The enemy is hidden in plain sight – who is the biggest enemy?  Our own biases are being manipulated by our own misperceptions.  It is designed to look black & white – but in reality, it is a very dynamic gradient.  Hence, even people with good intentions will not see the true depth of the issue – it is designed to be that way – much like an illusionist only shows you what they want you to see, but the mechanics of the trick are out of sight to the general audience.

5. If Trump was able to get away with this, then he was going to continue pushing boundaries until he would get push back.  He sure did, and hence he got impeached twice – and he is currently facing 90+ criminal cases, and a myriad of civil cases.  Accountability started after he left the office – and the investigation into the merits for these cases already started the process before he left the presidency.

6. A lot of people got turned off by Trump, but also a whole bunch of them got ignited their new found passion for Trump.  The Republican partly itself is very fragmented.  Some of Trump’s more vocal supporters are Republicans themselves; though the hate and attacks from MAGA Republicans are often directed to more “obvious” challengers – which are the Democrats.

7. Trump started a very dangerous precedent that made people around the world distrust the United States of America.  Who do you think wins when America gets isolated from NATO or other partner nations?  It is not the USA; it is the countries who want to get the USA to lose its primacy in the world.  By getting away from interfering with our political candidates’ process, this helps other countries who do not like America to perceive that the US candidates are for Sale.

8. Propaganda Points from other countries flooded the political discourse, and created an enormous social engineering campaign to find out which minds are more exploitable and obedient to Anti-American talking points, disguised as ultra-patriotic.  Yes, it sounds like an oxymoron – that is why I say it seems counterintuitive to many.  I wrote an entire book about it [AUTHORITARIANISM & PROPAGANDA The Puppet Master Tools], because it is affecting us all.

Authoritarianism & Propaganda: The Puppet Master Tools by J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez | BookBaby Bookshop

9. The entire world was watching the proceedings about the Muller Report, and caused a worldwide mistrust in the American legislative process.  If the USA is not considered a reliable intrinsic arbiter of justice, then the rest of the world will start seeking for a “better alternative” to follow.  There is no shortage of adversarial nations who want to set that standard.  And if the USA is not holding their leaders accountable, then that becomes the norm for the rest of the world.  Like it or not, the USA can either set the standard for equal accountability under the law, or yield that option to any other nation who wants to impose their political agendas onto the rest of the planet.

10.    Interpreting the Muller Report on “semantics” rather than substance is a very fertile ground for Information Operations campaigns by adversarial nations.  In other words, they get to realize how naïve particular segments of the population are based on their lack of reading comprehension – and turn them into obedient parroting assets.  More importantly, by providing these out of context talking points, they will feel vindicated as though they have “won” a battle of wits with somebody else – when in reality they have not been afforded the entire context.  Plenty of people who are cynical about complex issues, but get hung up on semantics, are very much off-the mark on the actual substance of the matter.  And yes, that is extremely convenient and exploitable by adversarial nations.

 

Moving Forward, and Deprograming Compromised Minds.

It might sound idealistic, but there is a way to straighten up this slew of propagandistic campaigns pouring over the USA.  I use the Muller Report as an example, but there are hundreds if not thousands additional examples linked to Trump alone.  But he is not the only one who enjoys a cult following, many of his acolytes also benefit from that clout.  And even those who say that they don’t support him could very well be misled by thinking that “giving him a perceived fair” shot is a valid argument - when in reality, Trump was indeed guilty – hence, giving a “perceived fair shot” after he already has tilted the system on this favor is in fact a win for America’s adversaries.

What do I mean by that?  Lately, as I became an author, I had to start learning the intricacies of the social media world.  Not that I am super stoke about that, and I only hang out on the different platforms whenever I have some downtime.  Which is not that much time actually.  At this point in time, I am either checking my social media accounts while I am taking mini breaks during actual stuff I need to do in the computer – of if I so happen to be in a waiting room – as I have to sit and stay put prior to a scheduled appointment.

But no, debating people on Twitter (X) in 280 characters or less, or in Threads in 500 characters or less is not the only thing I have to do with my day.  Especially if the cognitive dissidence from somebody drowning in a glass of water that they poured themselves off proves it is too much of a waste of time for me to spend my scarce time dealing with them.  I’ve met all kinds of people, from super nice human beings, to well-intentioned confused people, to incredibly nasty individuals.  During the less desirable interactions, I am afforded the opportunity to use it as a metric on how this cognitive dissidence has taken a foothold in the propagandistic realm.

Generally speaking, some people who seem to fall into a certain category (being left or right), tend to trail a very particular pattern of biases.  All of which are very exploitable, and they have been exploited in spectacular fashion (even if they think they are winning an argument – thus prompting them to perpetuate that behavior).  To figure out if they have been deceived, sometimes it is as simple as doing a quick check by looking at their feed, their vernacular, their answers to other tweets, the memes they post, their level of misguided arrogance, etc.

It is similar but more complex when we validate and assess how some people (to include those I mentioned) have easily been manipulated by adversarial nations Information Operation campaigns, and other methods of exploiting their biases.  These are synonyms for propaganda.

And if you think only Trump supporters fall for this, think again.  Even those who are against Trump can be vulnerable to unwittingly support those who want to see Trump back in office.  And yes, it will seem counterintuitive to them as well.  I mentioned earlier in the article that this level of propaganda is at a high varsity level.  Most people sadly will read tweets, or read important talking points at a very elementary level.  Then it is very easy to hide gargantuan amounts of misinformation on a semi-superficial level of veracity.  Again, it is designed to look legitimate.  Especially to target those who superficially think they have it all figured it out.  There is plenty of room to add visceral responses in whatever falls through the cracks.

But for us who have been afforded a different vantage point, and have dedicated our lives to understanding these intricacies – the falsehoods stand up like a sore thumb.  Once you see it, you cannot unsee it.  It does not make us “better than anybody” – what it does, however, gives us a level of awareness that is otherwise hidden in plain sight.  Again, that is why I wrote an entire book about authoritarian propaganda [AUTHORITARIANISM & PROPAGANDA The Puppet Master Tools}.  And, it is also the reason why I keep writing these long-form articles.  Riding just ahead is extremely important, and many people are oblivious to that fact.

Authoritarianism & Propaganda: The Puppet Master Tools by J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez | BookBaby Bookshop

The political discourse is full of misinformation, and when something important comes to light, it quickly loses the spotlight to another event – suddenly this previously important event becomes forgotten, and the facts for the argument become misconstrued.  In other words, it is easy to help a person you don’t like win, just by misconstruing the facts -even if in your mind you think you’re attacking this person, or “just letting the system” run its course – without really understanding if the system perhaps has been compromised.

I keep saying it, and will keep repeating it.  It is designed to be that way.  It can be frustrating at times when I talk to some people in Twitter, or other social media outlets and they are clearly confused about something, but in their minds, they think they are spot on, or that they had a sick burn on me or whomever they are debating.

Let me make this entirely clear.  First, I have a lot better things to do that debate somebody who clearly has not made their homework; and to build on that statement – they are just not ready to make the argument because their understanding has plot holes large enough to fly jumbo jets through it.  But in their mind, they might think they have it all figured it out.  Again, propaganda is designed to be that way.  There is always a lot more than what meets the eye, and a semantic battle is often non-compelling to the actual merits of a situation.

The Muller report found Trump guilty, but won’t not say guilty.  It found what it needed to find, which was conspiracy from a foreign country to interfere with our elections, and obstruction to investigate said obstruction.  That begs the question.  Why did Russia (in this case) wanted Trump to win over Clinton?

Think about it for a moment, and this will [hopefully] give you the “ah ha” realization about why the Muller report is so important.  Why did Russia favored Trump over Clinton to the point they would interfere with our election process?

The answer is obvious, but it is complex.  The obvious part is because Clinton would have been inconvenient to Russia.  That’s the obvious part (yes, I said it twice).  The complex part is the thousands of reasons for why this was the case.  And no, it is not just because Clinton was better prepared (like her or dislike her) than Trump for president between both candidates.  Learning the intricacies of government is not something that you can do in a short amount of time.  To put it in context, even our turnover whenever we have one military member taking the EXACT job we are performing, despite the fact they arrive highly trained for whenever they come from one unit to the other is a very thoroughly complex process.

The less obvious part is Trump’s character, and the character of people in his orbit – and how this can erode the trust of our institutions and the divisiveness that was going to create in the USA for years to come.  In that sense, it was a huge win for them (America’s adversaries).  Not only did democrats and republicans further polarized, it also destroyed in the internal political parties inside their own ranks – and further radicalized people (from either side) who think they are the only ones holding the truth – so long it is dissenting with the other side.

By enabling Trump to essentially get away with a bunch of problematic issues as they were found in the Muller Report (and his many controversies), makes it extremely convenient for America’s adversaries to push all kinds of other divisive rhetoric – and find a fertile ground to keep dividing us.  And yes, they are doing that even as we speak.  You’ll be surprised how many “patriots” and other unwitting acolytes repost a lot of propaganda points that are against their own interests – and most definitely against the interests of the United States of America.

Fast forward to 2024, and some people still think that the Muller Report found Trump innocent.  It didn’t, many people in his orbit went to prison because of it.  Trump would have joined them in a pumpkin suit IF he was NOT a Sitting President.  That is why, of course, it is worth mentioning why Trump will continue seeking the Presidency.  Because if he is not a sitting president, he is liable to prosecution.

Just pay attention to some of his rhetoric [especially the days circa when this article was written] asking for unabashed immunity for potential crimes.  Such as when his lawyer was asked if hypothetically Trump should be prosecuted if he directed Seal Team #6 to assassinate a political opponent – and he asserted that he would be ok, unless both he gets impeached and convicted by Congress… But keep in mind that even if that ever happens, then the political opponent is already dead in this case.

This is what the Muller Report found, that Trump has proclivity to do some certainly illegal actions – and use the limitations in the legal system to get away with it.  And the startling thing is that the partisanship in the system has enabled him to get away with all of this.  The Muller Report is only the dress rehearsal for a lot more than followed.  And it is worth reminding that the entire US Government was Republican led at that time, so there was no way they would hold Trump accountable or impeach him, because for the GOP, that would be a win to the Democrats – when in reality it would be a win for America, because it would hold every person equal under the law, regardless of party loyalty.  That course of action was convenient to adversarial nations too.

How can we solve this situation?  It starts with each and every one of us.  I cannot change your mind, I can only give you the facts, and spark that curiosity needed to continue researching the exceedingly deep levels of context affecting this situation.  I’m doing my part by writing from an objective perspective.  If it was a left-wing candidate doing the same stuff I would be writing about, and condemning them too.  Each person owns their own life, but their actions can positively or adversely affect collective lives if they cling to propagandistic blind spots that cloud their judgement.  HLC

  Three years ago, today Capitol Hill was assaulted by thousands of MAGA supporters.  Because of that I started my series “Today in America.”  Let’s talk about it.

Three years later, the “big lie” continues.

I remember it like it was yesterday.  The horrific images of a mob assaulting Capitol Hill, fighting Capitol Police, smashing the windows, the gallows along people chanting “hang Mike Pence” – who was Trump’s Vice President at the time. These images were broadcasted live on TV around the world, as they were also live streamed by many insurrectionists themselves.

As the events were unfolding, I was writing my first “Today in America” article as a chronicle of what I was witnessing in real time.  I invite you to read the article at the following link if you haven’t seen it yet - before you continue with the current article.  If you decide to read it later, that is fine also – but by reading it, it will give you more context as I update about what has been going on in these last three years in connection to that dark day in American History.

https://www.halflifecrisis.com/2021/01/today-in-america-06-jan-2021/

As I was reading back my words from that day – my sentiment has not changed at all.  I was just as disappointed that day as I am today.  In fact, perhaps I am even more disappointed today because there is a copious number of voters who: a) have no idea about what happened that day, and b) they know what happened, and think it is very much justified.

And that either one of those is not good news at all for our country.  But it is very convenient to other regimes who do not want America to remain the number one nation on the world-stage.

The denial of the 2020 presidential election is commonly referred by the “Big Lie” – and that is likely the way it will be designated as in future history books.  The 2020 election was not “stolen” and it was not “rigged” as Trump and his supporters would assert.  And they have tried it in numerous ways to set forth that narrative.  In every legal case the claims about the 2020 election from being stolen, and legitimizing Trump as the winner has failed.  That includes cases were Trump-appointed judges around the country ruled against him.

Did Trump get the most votes of any sitting US President ever?  Yes, he did.  But there were millions more voters who voted him out of office.  And that includes copious amounts of Republican voters.  Despite all the legal cases, lawsuits, investigations, recounts, etc.  Trump was never able to proof election fraud to be the cause for his defeat.  However, there have been thousands of cases combined against him and his followers in connection to try to change the outcome of the 2020 election.

At some point, no matter how fervently we like a person (like Trump fans), the numbers are simply not on their favor.  And think about this for a moment.  Many MAGA Republicans (please note that not all MAGA are fully convinced of this lie, and not all Republicans are MAGA) were perfectly ok about not contesting electoral fraud on elections they won.  But they were very much calling foul for elections and they were defeated.  Conversely, all blue-contenders who were defeated in that election conceded.  Keep this in mind as we continue this dialog.

The critical question we should arrive to is: “Who has the most to lose if Trump was not to be elected?”  The country “survived” and even thrived under the Biden administration – regardless of whether you like the guy or not.  It has even been good for business.  It is not perfect – there is plenty left to do.  But I for one am very happy not having to wake up to a twitter storm.  And yes “mean tweets” against targeted private citizens is not acceptable coming from the highest office on the planet.

So, the question remains.  Who had the most to lose if Trump lost the 2020 election?  Well, that is actually an easy answer.  Trump himself.  And he knew it.  There were plenty of legal cases pending against him before he was to leave office.  Many of those cases were not prosecuted while he was a sitting president (such as the findings on the Mueller report) because that was a guideline set forth by the federal government.  By the way, he was found guilty under the Mueller report – he was not convicted because of the guideline I mentioned, and the at-the-time Republican controlled House and Senate saved Trump from being kicked out of office.

After the House of Representatives flipped in favor of the Democrats, Trump was impeached – twice for two additional high crimes and misdemeanors; and saved by the at-the-time Republican controlled Senate - twice!

 

No stranger to controversy.

For many people who had been paying attention objectively, the Trump Presidency was bizarre at best, and extremely polemic at worst.  And by polemic, I mean that there was never a day were a career-ending scandal did not dominate the headlines.  It became so common place that people got oversaturated with negative information about Trump.  Trump and his acolytes also used this as a catalyst to excite his base – the higher the polemic, the more he would double or triple down.  This perceived “martyrdom” is a very powerful tool to exploit certain biases.

But objectively, if Biden or anybody else for that matter would have done 1/1,000,000th of what Trump was getting away with – the entire right-wing media ecosystem that favors Trump would have called Biden (or any other dissenter) out on that.  But for the court of public opinion, redacting particular stories is simply the status quo nowadays.  Many people don’t tune in to watch something that disagrees with their world-view.  The loyal eyeballs are more interested in getting more of what they come to accept as true – regardless of if it is factual or not.

And this is why it is important to understand the MAGA mentality at this point in history.  Trump is NOT who is leading the MAGA movement, contrary to what many would think.  There are a lot of other interested parties who are using Trump as the figure head who will spout all kinds of things that excites the base.  THAT base, THAT is what they are after.  The MAGA Republicans are divided in two main segments.  And from those there are a lot more subtleties.  But that would take me days to go through.  So, this is a good starting point.  Let’s explore:

  JAN 6 2021 gallows capitol hill  

Types of MAGA Republicans:

If you have read my articles for a while, then you have likely seen that I am not a fan of treating anybody with disrespect.  That includes MAGA Republicans.  I’ve met a bunch of them, and they do have their heart in the right place.  We can disagree on policy, but we can generally agree on what is good for the country.  Others are just very unsavory people, and have more of a “debate me bro” attitude than actually trying to find a solution that is good for the country.

What they have in common is that for some reason they find Trump appealing.  With that context let’s delve into what we are seeing here.  This is my own analysis, and I illustrate it in a manner that is intended to make better sense to the reader.

MAGA Type 1 - Honest to goodness Patriotic good people who actually want the best for the country.

We all have biases.  It is part of being human.  However, if those biases are exploited, then somebody can take advantage of our otherwise good intentions.  If that ever happens to you, don’t feel bad – it is designed to be that way.  And those perpetrators are very good at what they do.  And what they do is turn good values into a narrative that is actually self-destructive.

Before I continue, let me emphasize that this variety of MAGA is less likely to remain loyal to Trump.  Why?  Because at some point they realize that some of the narratives sent their way are not as accurate as they were led to believe.  In other words, they feel betrayed and their devotion turns on its head and suddenly they become very vocal dissenters from Trump.  What causes them to turn against Trump?  Depends on the person.  But the common denominator is that they will be as vocal against MAGA as they were vocal in support of MAGA once they decided they are out of that club.

Being MAGA does not mean that a person is unintelligent, but they do have a proclivity to choose one side a lot more fervently.  For example, very unlikely you will see a person being draped head to toe with Biden merch.  Sure, you might see a few, but never at the scale and scope as you see MAGA regalia all over the place.  And that MAGA merch tends to be expensive.

I have to emphasize that many ex-MAGA started their journey out of that movement once they stopped listening to what Trump or his acolytes were saying – and pragmatically started “challenging” what the non-MAGAS (including other Republicans) were advising.  Which as simply “hey, there is a lot of official information posted in the public domain, read it and find out what they are saying.”

Many who (albeit reluctantly) actually read through the paperwork realized the obvious.  A lot of important details were [perhaps] conveniently left off on any of their outlets or choices.  Being TV, pundits, influencers, podcasters, whatever.  And as they attempted to refute that information objectively, they realized that there was so much more data that was contradicting a lot of the narratives fed to them for years.

This is not an easy process for anybody to accept.  Actually, it can be very traumatic.  That is why whenever a person “hits a nerve” on during a conversation with a MAGA republican, they tend to more from the defensive into the offensive very quickly.  Often using name calling, condescending epithets (such as cupcake, honey, sweetie, etc.), and suddenly shift towards a non sequitur to state “what about this or the other” – often unrelated to the topic at hand – and coincidentally, a repetition of a buzz phrase that they were fed before as an argument point.

However, when those arguments cannot be held to scrutiny, this will be very traumatic to them.  It is meant and designed to be that way when the information was implanted on their minds in the first place.  People hate to be told they are wrong, and will immediately gravitate towards their echo-chamber to regain that “sanity check” they desperately need as part of a confirmation bias, they might not see it as such, but that is exactly what is happening.  “Somebody said something I agree with, I’ll use this as a narrative counterpoint” – I’ve seen it thousands of times.

I’m not intending to change their minds, but when the conversations happen in a public forum such as social media – other people do pay attention to the narrative, and they can see by proxy how valid or flawed an argument really is.  Most people will just look, but rather not comment, or even react with a heart, or like or whatever.  But the crux of the argument resonates with them.  Even if it takes a while for the argument to settle in their minds.  Especially if this argument is now rocking their world.  People need time to process.

This segment of MAGA has and will likely flip against Trump if they are afforded the opportunity to make decisions based on the merits, and not just limited to the strategically cherrypicked talking points deemed convenient by those in the second group as described below.

MAGA Type 2 - Opportunistic people who are actively pushing a nefarious agenda that is actually eroding the country from the inside out.

Some of those who belong to this group do so wittingly, others unwittingly.  I would argue that the second group is more dangerous, because they have convinced themselves that any dissenting option should be discarded outright, regardless of factual merits.  These become the perfect vehicle to become the muscle and loyal soldiers to run with a narrative.  What they have not realized (yet) is that this devotion is indeed disposable.

The witting group definitely know that what they are doing or advocating for can be clearly divorced from the truth and in many cases illegal.  There is a reason why Trump has 90+ criminal charges against him.  And no, it is not because of the mean tweets.  Although that type of sophomoric behavior is also well below the prestige of the Office of the Presidency of the United Sates of America.

Surprisingly or unsurprisingly to some, Trump himself is likely not part of the higher echelons of his own MAGA movement.  Some people would say that is nonsensical – but as I mentioned before, Trump is the figure head – but strategy is not his strong suit, but he is surrounded by people who can directly or indirectly take a full advantage of his clout.  Despite what anybody might have perceived in the MAGA universe, Trump is not a one-man show.  There is a gigantic team who help him drive the MAGA narrative.  Trump himself is disposable.

What Trump was able to forge is a movement that is way bigger than him.  For better or worse, it has not been without controversy.  Why do you think that is?  Well, if all the indictments, the impeachments, and the many controversies tell you something – it is obvious that he is not going to play by the rules (to include the rule of law).  And that is [sadly] very enticing for a big segment of his base.

People on this group might end up being disloyal to Trump at some point – but they will be very loyal to the ideology behind MAGA.  Trump himself has set that standard.  He had disavowed hundreds of supporters whenever they became inconvenient.  We have seen that on live television, on his “mean tweets” and many other platforms – such as the rallies.

Do you think he is able to orchestrate all those events by himself?  Obviously not, he has teams to put that together.  So, there is a vested interest in getting MAGA as a strong brand.  There is plenty of money to be made for each and every one of those appearances.  And the crazy amounts of merch are only a small fraction of everything else.

Just do yourself a favor.  Google “MAGA Merch” and see how much all that cost.  Then do a “Biden Merch” – and you will see plenty of MAGA merch being disparaging to Biden.  Who do you think buys all that stuff?  Obviously, a Biden supporter is not going to spend the 40 bucks on a sweatshirt that is depicting him in a disparaging manner.  Also, by the way – a lot of that merch is actually made overseas.  Even though some might have a “Made in USA” label.

I’ve never attended his rallies, but from people who attended – I’ve been told they are not free.  And can range somewhere around $50 to $4,000 depending on what access you can afford to get.  Add these costs, and it gets to be pretty penny to support him.  If you attended a Trump rally, can you confirm this?

Perhaps some people think, how is it all relevant to January 6, 2021?  Well, it is very much related because what I’ve described is the context that helped bring rhetoric into action.  And despite what many would say to the contrary, January 6, 2021 was the date that marked an extremely violent insurrection.  Some would call it a “guided tour” – and I realize it is very hard to listen to that type of narrative without wanting to understand how much misinformation and spin was needed in order to help them reach that [extremely erroneous] conclusion.

 

Bringing it full circle to January 6, 2021.

As much as it pains me to say this, January 6, 2021 was a day of insurrection against the United States of America.  And it pains me, because it did get worse after that, despite all the accountability that was embarked via law enforcement and other legal resources to bring those who desecrated Capitol, and committed acts of violence to justice.

Over 730 people pleaded guilty, with about 170 convicted, and two acquitted (the latter only by a judge, but not by jury trial) in connection with the January 6 insurrection.  That alone negates the “guided tour” narrative some have floated around.  Trump himself is facing criminal charges due to his involvement in January 6, and of course is the reason why he got impeached for the second time – just days before he was supposed to leave office.  Ever since, a lot of his allies have turned their backs on him.  Afterall, for the first time ever in our lifetimes, we did not have a peaceful transfer of power in America.

But Trump did not act alone, he had huge teams working towards this particular goal – months in advance.  For anybody paying attention, during his rallies, tweets, and other events, Trump would assert that the 2020 election was going to be rigged.  Of course, there was no proof of that, but he did say that he would only accept the results if he was declared the winner.

Then it makes perfect sense why before the assault to Capitol he hosted the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington DC.  What do you think a name like that would prompt into attendees who travelled from all corners of the United States to see him speak?

Trump finally addressed the crowd at noon, but before that time his loyal supporters were listening to a bunch of speakers who were revving their discontent – and validating “the importance” that brought them to the capital that day – after traveling from all corners of the United States – largely at their own expense.  Yet there were some Trump campaign donors, and even Alex Jones pledged $50,000 to the cause.  But it is obvious that 50 grand is not near enough to make a dent on the gigantic amount of resources January 6 took collectively.

Some quick math considerations: -Lodging in D.C. (generally three figures a night) -Transportation to DC either driving or getting there (flights, caravan, whatever).  Parking is not free most everywhere in D.C. -Transportation Inside D.C. from wherever their hotel or lodging was arranged -All the Trump regalia they draped themselves with (flags, shirts, hats, hoodies, etc.) -Meals -Time Off from work (vacation time / sick days / etc.) -Childcare (back home) for whomever that is commuting from out of area.  And even if they brought their kids – they still need a place to stay while they attended the event.

I can go on, but hope this makes the point.  So, even thinking about the logistical nightmare that would be for loyal Trump MAGA supporters – imagine what it would be if those storming the capitol were “posing as MAGA” as some conspiracy theorist seem to assert.  I can tell you that it is hard enough for Democrats to go out and vote, unless they feel it is very-very important to do so.  They would not go out of their way to invest all that time in effort just to discredit Trump.

You can see more about the timeline of events for January 6, 2021 at the following link.  Credit to NPR for that report.

A timeline of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack — including when and how Trump responded : NPR

 

But again, bringing this full circle.  Democrats and many other Republicans simply did not want to give Trump another chance to sit in the Oval Office.  The country was not better off when he was President – it might have seen like it was from the outside in like it was good, but working for the U.S. Government when he was in Office, I can tell you that we had to do a lot of damage control every time he would go on a Twitter rampage. Although the current administration has plenty of room for improvement, at least I am not worried about what the next scandal will be.

And about scandals – there were so many under Trump, that even before we got a chance to process one, the next two were already making headlines.  I’ve mentioned it before, and it is worth repeating.  This creates a media oversaturation that hides in plain sight important indicators to a larger issue.  Some of us who like to pay attention to that, then can identify when these “hidden issues” percolate and appear.  That is one reason why I am not surprised about the geopolitical events that occur.  That includes our domestic policy.

Fast forward three years, and Trump has won absolutely zero cases regarding his narrative of the election been stolen.  60+ cases spearheaded by Rudy Guiliani as his former lawyer.  Guiliani not only lost every case – he had to file for bankruptcy due to a lost case for defamation.  And to add insult to injury Trump never paid Guiliani for all his legal services on Trump’s behalf.  Also, his legal team flipped on Trump, and will be witnesses against him in criminal court in the next few months.

Fox News had to pay a 787 million dollars settlement for reporting that the election was stolen, and blaming Dominion for this alleged irregularity.  Whenever Fox News had to prove in court that what they were reporting was factual.  They could not, because it was not true.  Other far right news outlets were also required to fact-check themselves on air in order to avoid the lawsuit.  Why did they concede to Dominion if they (these far-right news outlets) had actual proof?

The answer is obvious, there was no proof that the election was stolen.  It has been recounted a bunch of times, and researched to exhaustion.  The only thing proven was that this was in fact the most secure election thus far.  And that would actually give credit to Trump, because was technically under his watch.  Therefore, talking about the election been rigged is actually a hit on his own record, because that would mean he did not do his due diligence to have a secure election.  In other words, he is searching for a lose-lose solution.  But fortunately, the facts are what they are.  This was a fair election – and Biden defeated Trump.

It is worth repeating what I said three years ago.  Republicans are perfectly fine showing up to rallies and buying tons of merch.  Democrats generally do not do that type of stuff.  They will show support by reading what’s available and showing up to vote in any convenient way available to them.  Sometimes it’s in person – but during the pandemic the mail-in-ballot option was a lot more attractive to them.  Hence, they voted in troves by mail.  Trump could have taken advantage of mail-in-ballots, but he preferred to ask his followers to go out and vote in person.  And that is exactly what they did.

They showed up to the polls in person - at least the ones who were not either dead or sick with COVID during election day.  The Biden campaign probably already realized that advertising on any right-wing outlet – especially those MAGA consume was just going to be a waste of money.  So instead, they advertised in outlets that would target democrats and undecided voters.  It worked, the popular vote for Biden superseded Trump’s tally by more than seven million votes.

However, these optics make it counterintuitive for a lot of right-wing voters to ascertain that Biden had a following.  Because obviously he did not appear on their television screens.  Why should he?  Was he going to be able to change any MAGA Republican Minds to vote for him in 2020?  There was a better chance for a cargo ship to navigate on top of a bunch body-builder squirrels marching in unison on a residential street than for a Trump voter to vote for Biden.  Hence, Biden chose places where he would be better received.  It is a commonsensical strategy when you think about it.

Trump has never won the popular vote, but was able to win the Electoral College in 2016.  Democrats learned their lesson, because they were losing seats in the previous elections.  And many could [rightfully] argue those were self-inflicted wounds.  In either case MAGA Republicans endorsed by Trump did not perform very well in the polls in subsequent elections.  That is of course a harsh reality many MAGA Republicans would prefer was not true.  Sure, that is normal, nobody likes to be defeated.  And as I said earlier, some of them really thought the country was going to be destroyed - yet, here we are – there have been some records of how well it has been going – although there is plenty of room for improvement.

For many people in the United States of America, sadly today is not a very significant date for them.  For some of us who are paying attention to what is going on (sometimes on their behalf), we’ve realized already what many who got turned off by Trump eventually realized.  The difference is that we did not have to either go behind bars, or lose a lot of time and money to become aware of it.

 

Food for thought, and cult of personality advisory.

This applies to Trump followers, but it could very well apply to any person to whom we develop a cult of personality.  Trump can be charming and even funny to some.  He might sound like he is “authentic” and even caring about others.  But is he though?  The same can be said about any person with whom you had a relationship of any kind that enjoyed your attention and devotion.

There is no shortage of people who have disavowed Trump, and I’m not talking about “Liberals” or “Progressives” or “Never-Trumpers” – I’m talking about hard-core MAGA Republicans.  If you are a MAGA Republican reading my words right now, YOU might not be feeling that way towards Trump right NOW (and maybe even resent me for the time being).  But it could very well be sooner or later that you will change your mind about him.  Why?

Let’s do a quick parallel example to illustrate.  Remember a time whenever you were hanging out with a person who had a lot of baggage and your loved ones were warning you against hanging out with this person?  What happen in the end if this person was indeed full of crazy baggage?  Hopefully you realized what your loved ones warned you about time and time again.  Yet, if you are a living-breathing human being, there is a non-zero chance you blew off all your loved ones and decided to hang out with this person who was clearly not good for you.  It could have taken days, months, even years sometimes.  But eventually, you got to see for yourself what everyone warned you about.

At some point, the indicators are just too many to ignore.  No matter how much you truly adore and admire a person – the facts are what they are regardless of their love and devotion to them.  For an extreme example, if your child goes and murders somebody in cold blood – you might still love your child, but you will have to come to terms with the fact that your child did something that cannot be condoned, no matter how much you want to justify it.

To a much larger extent, because blood has been shed by people who want to protect Trump’s rhetoric – yes, there are people with proclivity to violence who are just waiting for marching orders.  That should be very disturbing to any person.  The only group who wins if we descend into a civil war are adversarial regimes who want to defeat America.

Sure, that there is a lot of emotional baggage every time indictments, lawsuits, impeachment inquiries, criticism, and so much more is being directed at Trump.  But that is not YOUR baggage, that is Trump’s baggage.  Bluntly put, it is cause and effect.  The difference is that it is put in black and white, and he is getting a level of accountability that did not occur in the entire time of his Presidency.  Fast forward to today, and there is a huge number of people who understand the dangers of putting him back in the office.  And I am not talking about Democrats saying this – this is coming from Republicans.

There is no shortage of Republicans who have a lot of following all over social media disavowing Trump, and encouraging others to do exactly that.  In fact, there are some who are even rooting for Biden on this election, because they feel that is the best course of action at this point in our history, and for our country.  You’re welcome to agree or disagree with them about this.  But the question should be “why are they going through such lengths?” If [on first impression] handing the steering wheel to the Democrats is not “on their best interest.”

Well, this is the truth, party loyalty is not everything.  The best interests of the country are nonpartisan.  Sadly, there is a very real threat of a non-insignificant number of MAGA Republicans who have a proclivity for violence.  Most of the countries prefer not to give power to those few people who could do great amounts of damage to the rest of the country should they get unlimited power.

January 6, 2024 is a wakeup call that has been snoozed for three years.  It is a call for people to understand what is truly affecting our political discourse, and if whomever is enjoying our loyalty, devotion and affection is the right fit for ALL Americans.  Some might think that only “certain” Americans are to be in a privileged position – then that is not America – America is a land of equal opportunity and accountability for everybody based on their merits and their character.

I will finish by saying that the rhetoric of a 2024 stolen election by the Democrats is already floating around in the national discourse – mainly promulgated by Trump himself.  Much like he did for 2020.  That is propaganda, it is not true.  The voters will decide in the end if Trump is given a second chance.  That is if he can pass the Supreme Court case that is reviewing the Colorado decision to get him off the ballot.  The case is going to be heard in the near future.  And yes, Trump was removed from the Ballots in those states because of the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

I don’t want to think too hard on what the future will hold, but what I can tell you is that nothing that is happening has surprised me.  I have my suspicion of what the US Supreme Court will rule – We’ll see if I am still right.  My hunch is that it will be voted by party lines letting Trump stay in the ballot, thanks to the Conservative SCOTUS majority.  If that is not the case, I would be very surprised.  But if he is disqualified, I can only begin to imagine how divisive the next several months will be.  HLC

Get your copy of "AUTHORITARIANISM & PROPAGANDA The Puppet Master Tools"

  Authoritarian propaganda is on the rise in the United States of America, and around the world.  Some people have not noticed it yet.  Hence, I write about it!  

It is no secret that I am a huge advocate against misinformation.  And misinformation thrives in propaganda.  Propagandists are in the business of dividing people into two groups: Obedient fools and anybody who dissents with their “approved” rhetoric.

 

Politics are irrelevant – yes really…

I’ve said it before, and I say it again.  Authoritarians and propagandists do not give a crap about your politics.  That is incidental at best.  It is more valuable for them to understand what your biases are so these can be exploited.  Either they will have you fight on their court (by coercion or otherwise gaining your volunteering candor), or put you in the dissenting camp.  Depending on how powerful you are on the dissenting side it could affect if these dynamics will turn violent – and no, more power does not necessarily mean fewer attacks.

My last article I wrote about how pleasantly surprised I was with this new “Threads” app from Meta.  I’m not alone, most people I’ve had the pleasure to interact with in threads feel the same way.  Actually, talking about how rough the “X” Twitter neighborhood has gotten there seems to be a common trend with the Threads crowd.  And deep inside I start to worry that inadvertently this great new app will become another matter of division between one “political stance” against another.

We saw something similar during COVID between mask or no mask, and vaccine or no vaccine.  Clearly although there is a level of diversity for politics in “X” there is a lot of contention in any comment section.  In threads it is actually not like that – not that I’ve seen at least for the most part.  I’ve had some wonderful conversations from people from all walks of life, and this keeps validating my point that we are more similar than different.

But remember, this is not convenient to a propagandist.  I feel very strongly about this, that is why I wrote two books that speak about how propaganda has been weaponized throughout history, and how this is affecting us right now.  Right now, a non-insignificant part of the population is blissfully and willfully ignorant of how a dark chapter of history is repeating – except that in this century the destruction would be exponential.

Authoritarianism & Propaganda: The Puppet Master Tools by J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez | BookBaby Bookshop

Woke & Proud: The Charlatans' Inconvenience by J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez | BookBaby Bookshop

 

And this is happening already, there are major armed conflicts in strategic geographical choke points RIGHT NOW!  Also, there is no shortage of people gaining seats of prominence around the world who are prominently displaying indicators for this dark period.  Sure, that a lot of that is not “news” worthy to some – but it is happening.  Sadly, news stories and even a lot influencers covering geopolitics are still tethered to an algorithm that would either gain or lose an audience.  The algorithm IS the audience – and the fact is that the audience usually prefers not to hear about something that is going to scare the s--t out of them in a non-fiction manner.

Trust me, I am an analyst – it depresses the living s--t out of me too… but not for the reason you might think.  It depresses me because I feel like 90% of the time I am screaming into a void, but only a small fraction is reacting to what we try to do to save their very lives.  I understand the concepts are abstract and it will seem hyperbolic to many people.  It is designed to be that way.  Please don’t feel bad if you’ve fallen victim to that – propaganda is a sinister art form, and it is subtle enough to become part of a person’s own identity.

People who have a strong political, religious, organizational, or any other type of bias also have more proclivity to being exploited by a propagandist pushing for authoritarian rhetoric.  In fact, for the targeted audience, it will feel counterintuitive to agree with anybody other than their “dear leader.”  Again, it is designed to be that way.

Good people, patriotic people, people of faith, people of good “moral values,” people who are [actually] altruistic are also prone to be victims of this reality.  Yes, I know, right? – Counterintuitive.  When people and their community feel that they are vindicated over a particular world view – no matter how destructive – it will not matter to the person who has fallen into this echo chamber.  Suddenly this becomes an “us against them” situation.  And it works, and it has worked for years.  That is why I wrote my books, to shed some light on that reality that is hidden in plain sight.

 

How do you know if you’re being bamboozled?

There are many ways to realize if a person is getting bamboozled.  And I’ll be honest, I’ve been dealing with a few swindlers and scammers even very recently.  I identified that in the first moments of our interaction – but it is fascinating to see how they operate.  So, I let it go for a while.  First because I want (perhaps naïvely enough) to see if me being the better person is going to wake up that conscience inside them.  Yes, that does happen.

And second, because I like to see firsthand their tactics – and what type of language they use.  How they use “sugar” to bring us closer – and slowly moving from altruism to a [covert] scam.  They will appeal to your better nature, learn from you, and use this against you, try to guilt you into something.  And continue to try to manipulate you.  I can see this in the first seconds of an interaction.

When somebody is lying, no matter how well they try to craft a lie, the math is not going to add up somewhere.  I on the other hand am forthcoming.  And I am true to my principles, so I will treat everybody the same – give everyone the benefit of the doubt.  That does not mean that I am not tracking what is actually going on.  And I don’t lie… but I will walk away.  These swindlers come more often than you might imagine.  Sadly, for years I’ve seen these attempts.  Some are more sophisticated than others.

Propaganda is very similar.  I’ve mentioned this before – no matter what political figure you favor (especially if you’re an ultra-fan of this person); I’m willing to bet that if somebody talks smack about this person who enjoys your devotion, you’ll be prone to be defensive or go on the offensive.  Why is this happening?  Because this person of your devotion has become a reflection of you – with all your virtues and idiosyncrasies.  Let this go uncontrolled long enough and it becomes a cult of personality.

But these cults of personality can become extremely dangerous, even if the authoritarian wanna-be does not actually end up being elected.  These seeds are planted and another opportunist will be able to harvest them later.  That is why it is so important to differentiate truth from bulls--t. That is why you won’t see me go on the attack to any left-or-right leaning person as a person – but I will address the merits of issues I find problematic.

The division of our people (all over the world) is rampant.  In some authoritarian countries, the dissenting has been quelched and people who were once free to speak their minds – they are very aware of what is the punishment for speaking “out of turn” on this current homeland.  Yes, this could happen in the United States of America if we are not careful.  And yes, we are trending that way – fast – and it is extremely disturbing to see.  That is why understanding who we elect to an office of influence is so important.

If somebody is pushing propaganda, it is actually very easy to identify.  They are divisive towards somebody else.  Equality only applies to a group, but there are repercussions, particularly very harsh repercussions to anybody who dares go against the grain of the like-minded-folks.  Otherwise, good and well-intentioned people are prone to fall for this trap.  If a propagandist is making you a useful fool, consider the divisiveness of their rhetoric.

This is happening all over the world, there are even some “copy cats” who emulate not only mannerisms, buzz words, but even hair-cuts!  There is a reason why this works so well, because it creates a visceral response on people who feel that “finally somebody is doing something about this thing I am supposed to be mad about.”  And I am not saying that disagreeing is bad, in fact it is important to listen to dissenting points of view in order to come up with a better solution.

In fact, diverse opinions – even conflicting ones are part of any venture’s planning process.  Furthermore, not having dissention tends to bring a project towards failure because it was planned in a vacuum.  But dissention does not equal anarchy; however, the factors to be considered in a planning process must be factual – unfounded opinions will become time-wasters and people will start chasing elusive shiny objects in lieu of actual solutions.  Facts are logical, measurable, and demonstrable.

That means that they can be held to scrutiny and no matter how you feel about it, the fact will be what it is – like it or not.  For example, if you’re holding a paper cup – it does not matter what you want to call it, it is still a paper cup.  No matter if you use it for a different use than its designed intended purpose – it is still a paper cup.

I cited a paper cup because it is the closest object in front of me.  But the fact is that no matter how I view it, or show it, or demonstrate it, or measure it, or weight it, or x-ray it, or take a photo, or pour liquid on it, or spill the liquid from it, or draw a puppet on this cup… it does not matter… it is still a paper cup, there is no viable dissention.  A propagandist will try to convince you that this paper cup is a champagne flute or anything else for that matter.  And in fact, you may even pour champagne on it – but even with that – the reality is that this reception remains a paper cup.

I’ll be as blunt as to say that I am sick and tired of this division among otherwise good people.  I have reached people with larger platforms than mine – not everybody has been very receptive – some have not even answered at all.  But there are enough who are listening and we (Half Life Crisis) will be featured in more outlets in the coming weeks.  I won’t give up because I don’t want the dark pages in our history to repeat and sit idle as I see the world burn down.  And yes, so many places around the world are burning down.  Even some people in my reader’s audience are surviving in places where the conflict they are struggling against (right now) found them.

I’ve said it so many times before, but it is worth repeating.  Please help me spread this message.  I wrote my books in order to speak about that in detail.  Admittedly, some of the people who have read my book stated that they found it a lot more eye-opening than they thought at first.  I’m happy to hear that, because that was the intent.  The books are thought-provoking and designed to unmask the propaganda hidden in plain sight.

If you have a platform, all I really ask you is to please give it a chance and read some pages (even if it is the preview in any of the outlets available).  My books are non-fiction and the topics are extremely emergent.  Things are continuing to deteriorate around the world very rapidly – and that includes these United States.  We can stop authoritarianism on its tracks – together.  I’ll continue doing my part shouting it onto any platform I can find.

Thank you for spending this time with me.  I will close by reiterating that the reason why I have been emphasizing these topics is because this is affecting us all – no matter where in the world you are today.  We are all in this together, and much like the “Threads” app, there are a lot better people out there than bad ones hijacking the narrative.  We can regain control - together!  HLC

 

Authoritarianism & Propaganda: The Puppet Master Tools by J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez | BookBaby Bookshop

Woke & Proud: The Charlatans' Inconvenience by J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez | BookBaby Bookshop

I make it very clear every time I get a platform to speak about this; I am concerned to see America getting divided and more eroded from the inside out.

 

The adversary wants a divided America.

Where can I even start?  2023 is nearing its end by being one of the most bizarre years in American History.  This is supposed to be a feel-good article - but there are realities we need to address.  Why? Because I love America, that is why.  Yet this weirdness is not very evident to great swaths of Americans – and many other world citizens.  Yet, in a curious twist this madness is designed to be that way.

Yes, it is largely meant to be that way.  Let’s start with the greatest catalyst – our political challenge and its congruent widespread apathy.  Not necessarily by politicians – but by a large segment of people who are not at all interested in the political realities.  I don’t blame them; politics can range from boring to exasperating.  Neither of those extremes make it any more palatable.  And yes, it is designed to be that way.  Because that way a lot of decisions enacted by politicians happen unnoticed while in plain sight.  Bizarre!

If you have been a reader of mine for a while, then you know I love to throw a couple of pop quizzes here and there.  Don’t worry, there is no letter grade required on these questions I pose.  But the correct answer to the crazy stuff I ask is still important.  And the reason is because what I ask directly affects our lives – collectively.  To be honest, sometimes I wish I could just look away and let things happen without a second glance.  And once in a while I do – for a little bit.  For sanity’s sake.

But the problem is that by letting things happen without our situational awareness, we tend to miss important indicators.  For example, although there is plenty of political theater going on in Capitol Hill right now, there is also no shortage of the correspondent aftermath that affects our very lives.  These could be in the form of taxes, changes to entitlement programs, legislation that messes up with our way of life, etc.  Some laws pass without an audience understanding how different their lives are about to become.

Further, some of the politicians have staff who seem very incompetent.  And I mean this is glaringly evident by the number of gaffes that occur on a regular basis when elected officials are questioning people during many hearings.  It would be tragically amusing if it was not so disturbing.  Some of these staffers should probably pay more attention to the facts before their Representative or Senator spews information that is totally divorced from reality.  Unless that is the intent.  I am hoping it is incompetence – but I would not hold my breath on that possibility – if this benefit of the doubt was supposed to be a bet.

 

Political Theater in Capitol Hill.

So, let’s do a quick pop quiz to my American Citizen readers.  How many U.S. House of Representatives and US Senators can you name?  From those, what are their platforms?  And what do you like or dislike about each?   How many can you name?  10, 15, more?  If you did, that would be awesome!  There are 100 U.S. Senators and there are 435 members in the U.S. House of Representatives.  I bet you most people only recall some of those names who seem to be appearing in the news a lot.  And quite a few of these politicians do appear (or are cited) repeatedly, although not usually for good reasons.

Yet these representatives do vote on legislation that affects our entire country.  It is true that some have not introduced actual legislation to the floor, and also a significant number of these politicians seem to be divorced from reality.  That does happen quite a lot – unfortunately.  Let’s talk about a few to see if you are familiar with them.  You’re welcome to like them or dislike them – that is not the intent for today’s article.  But what I want to do is point out how likely we are to hear some clout in a very small number of politicians while many others are largely unknown to the majority of the country.  Yet their voting record can be less than stellar, and hidden from view – in plain sight.

I’ll just mention the names, I won’t go into if they are either good or bad.  But if you recognize the names, just think about – why do you like them, or why do you very much dislike them?  In order for this exercise to make sense, your opinion over them cannot simply be because of what your favorite news outlet or pundit tells you, but rather on the understanding of their actual platform and voting record.  That official participation is what really speaks for them.  That voting record is what really counts regardless of what anybody says on TV or any other media outlet (to include independent outlets).

The following U.S. House Representatives are listed in no order in particular:  Alexandra Ocasio Cortez (AOC), George Santos, Kevin McCarthy, Lauren Boebert, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, Matt Gaetz, Majorie Greene, James Comer, Steve Scalise, Jamie Raskin, Omar Ilhan, Antony D’Esposito, Tim Burchett, Jim Jordan.  How do you feel about each of those mentioned?

 

Here is the entire list: How many of them can you recognize? https://www.house.gov/representatives

The following U.S. Senators are listed in no order in particular:  Corey Booker, Bill Cassidi, Susan Collins, Christopher Coons, Tom Cotton, John Fetterman, Lindsey

Graham, Chuck Grasley, Tim Kaine, Robert Mendez, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio, Charles Schumer, Tommy Tuberville, Elizabeth Warren, Rick Scott, Berny Sanders.  How do you feel about each of the Senators I mentioned?

 

Here is the entire list: How many can you recognize? https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm

 

Please don’t feel bad if you cannot recognize them all.  That is true for the short lists that I put in the paragraphs above or the full lists linked to this article.  Unless the ones you cannot recognize are your own state senators and district house of representatives – then yeah, you probably should have known who they are.  Why? Well, for example when people become Naturalized U.S. Citizens they take an oral civics test, and THIS question is asked.  And yes, you’re required to answer correctly.  I know I was asked this very question (among others) when I became a Naturalized U.S. Citizen.  And understanding civics does make sense when becoming a citizen.  I am sure you would agree to that.  Should not natural born citizens be held to the same standard?  We are all Americans after all.

I am sure most of my readers actually know the correct answer to this question I just asked (who is your House Representative and State Senators?).  But unfortunately, that is not true for everybody else.  In fact, just in the last couple of days I did my own unscientific poll asking random people about this very question – this included natural born U.S. citizens and Naturalized citizens.  Which group do you think was most likely to answer these questions correctly?  Why you think is that?  (The answer was the Naturalized Citizens group by the way).

This priming question also helped many (not all) understand some of the intricacies about how legislation moves through Congress, and what is the relationship between the Legislative power in contrast and conjunction with the Judicial and Executive powers.  Once we understand how the system works, then it is a lot easier to understand if a Senator or Representative is actually working for the good of their constituents (and by extension the country), or are they just occupying a seat in that exulted position but only fanning the flames of political theater.

Why do you think I picked up all those names and listed them in random order?  Notice that I did not put their political affiliation (either Republican, Democrat, or Independent).  Well, for two reasons:

First.  Because chances are that you might recognize some of those names – because they do appear in the news a lot, and some were even presidential hopefuls, or held a very high ranking or influential role in Congress.  Some are very good people; some others are awful – I won’t go on to say which one is what.   A quick google search can give you plenty of information (good or bad) about each. Depending on what outlet you choose your information from.  This is of course an invitation to spark your curiosity about each politician I listed.  And of course, on hearing favoring and dissenting views on each of these political figures.

Second.  Because they have been the catalyst to either moving or stalling important legislation, and the have been covered in the mainstream media quite a lot in the political discourse during important turning points in recent American history (when it comes to politics – for better or worse).  Yes, those listed have different political affiliations.  And many of them are not good at playing as a team.  Further, some will be very incendiary in their remarks and partisanship – and quite a few of them are somehow involved in at least one major scandal.

By the way, I do plan on writing about the historical bipartisan vote to expel George Santos from Congress today.   I've written about him before, and the inevitable happened today.   Please come visit us again this weekend for that conversation.

Also, in separate articles I will delve into each of them as they are individually and collectively relevant.  It won’t be in this article because otherwise this will turn into a book.  There is plenty to talk about and some of that talk will be pretty intricate.  Instead, my intent with this article is to spark your curiosity.  True that some of these politicians are featured in the airways very often – but are their words in front of the camera actually matching their voting record and their actual service to the American people – or are they falling short on that commitment?

What I can tell you, and it is demonstrable, is that many of those I listed had repeated adversarial [to the US] nation propagandistic talking points verbatim. And this parroting of adversarial talking points might be unintentional, that does not make it any less stupid.  This legitimization of adversarial talking points both bolsters adversarial nation’s influence and alienates the U.S. from actual allied nations.  Does that sound hyperbolic?  It should not… let me explain you why.

When adversarial nations show that the “Shining City on the Hill” is not only imperfect, but it is actually being portrayed as unhinged – this gives the adversarial nations ammunition to validate [even if falsely] that THEIR regime governing system is the way to go, as though the U.S. was too flawed to be a viable model in the world stage.  Every time our elected representatives throw feces at each other, adversarial regimes rejoice.  We are making it a lot easier for them to discredit the U.S. by our own mouths.

For the rest of the world, particularly countries who are not necessarily an adversary to the U.S. – but rather they might or might not have undivided loyalty towards the great U.S. of A. – seeing the US lose ground in the world stage will make an impression to them as though there is a “more viable” option.  In other words, start leaning towards other nations who are not the US or US allies!  These nations who are on the fence can very well choose to go for another “world leader” – who does not seem to be in disarray.  Understanding that I am not talking about world politicians moving their fondness away from the USA – I am talking about everyday citizens of the world who might start seeing the USA influence as a lesser choice.

 

American influence in the world stage.

Not everybody out there is very savvy on global geopolitical intricacies.  And why should they? – It is a very large world out there.  Mathematically the task is daunting at best.  But if a country at any point in history is the #1 most influential nation, then it does not matter who is #2, #3, or #47 for that matter… The #1 nation for better or worse will set a certain status-quo (like it or not) that normalizes what is or is not acceptable in the world stage.  And with this I know that a lot of people around the world does take exception with the assessment of touting the U.S. as the #1 nation in the world.  Actually, that statement alone makes a lot of people cringe (mostly outside the USA).

And that is a whole topic in its own right.  I know many Americans will not necessarily like to hear that there is not unmitigated positive perception about them outside our borders.  And yes, some of that perception is not a fair assessment.  But as I said this is a very sensitive and actually quite complex issue – therefore it deserves its own dedicated article (at the very least).  What we will discuss is quite eye-opening no matter how you feel about it.

However, setting a positive standard for USA is that among other beneficial things; the fact that the federal government is not going to kill you and everything you loved if you speak against the government – that is not something every nation in the planet enjoys unequivocally.  Also, the peaceful transfer of power.  That latter did not happen in 2020 – For the first time in U.S. history we did not transfer power peacefully.  That was wonderful news to the adversarial nations – the world takes notice of that.  I bet you there are plenty of Americans who are unaware of the nefarious January 6, 2021 insurrection in Capitol Hill.  Or at least some people don’t quite understand the significance of that day.  I know that for a fact, because I like to ask these kinds of things.  And some of the answers can be quite frustrating.

Also, gaining the title of who is the #1 nation in the world is actually a lot more subjective than most people can imagine.  And that perception is quite exploitable by propagandists.  So, let’s put some #1 place when it comes to the U.S. in order to spell-out what does it mean.  Some are good, some are not so good (as in not good at all).

Some of the USA #1 categories - Largest Economy in terms of gross domestic product - Largest Military force by far - Most mass shootings by far (tragically) - Most diverse country in terms of ethnicity, culture, art, etc. Because the U.S. Population (to include American Citizens and Permanent Residents) do span the entire planet. - Largest Oil, Natural Gas & Coal reserves. - Largest Beef production

And I can go on… but I must also mention we are pretty far behind on other areas such as: Access to medical care (not the same as how good the doctors are in USA; it does not do a sick person much good if the doctor is excellent but prohibitively unaffordable), pragmatic equity, our wealth gap is gigantic.  While some people can barely make a living, 1% of the country has more wealth than the rest of the 99% combined.  And no, I am not asking for wealth redistribution in this article – I am just stating a fact.  The amount the private wealth of a small percentage of the U.S. population is mind-bending.  Moving on, our education system is not necessarily the best – it depends largely on several factors.  Also, the higher the education level, the more exponentially expensive it gets.

Also, our manufacturing is very far behind on the world stage and incredibly expensive.  If you have a “Made in America” product – you are going to have to pay pretty-penny for it 9 times out of 10.  And of course, that creates a vicious circle of trying to get products from other places – because they are a lot more affordable.  But in the end, it destroys the sustainability of a viable long-term economic model for the USA.  It makes it harder to compete with the rest of the world in manufacturing.  There are many American companies who found it cheaper to produce stuff overseas and ship it to the USA for sale.

And of course, a lot of the distribution channels will need to make some compromises on the quality of the products given to consumers.  Let me give you an example, a lot of the produce (fruits and vegetables) we consume are not all that tasty.  Why?  Because it needs to be strong enough to survive the gigantic distances it needs to cover in order to be available nationwide – ensuring it won’t turn into mush will also kill a lot of the flavor.  A lot of our food does have a lot of “help” to not go bad in transit (preservatives and particularly bio-engineered to sustain that arduous process).  In smaller countries – for example Italy, a regular tomato will have a much different taste (as in amazing) than a regular tomato in USA.  But the same delicious tomato would not survive the trip from origin to your plate.

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Quick author sidebar:  Shoutout to Italy – another country I love so much.  I know that for a fact that Italy is a country like no other, I spent four glorious years living in Italy – and I left kicking and screaming among when it was my time to leave.  Among other things because the food in Italy is beyond wonderful.  If you haven’t gotten a chance to visit Italy, you’re missing out.  Save up some money and bring a big wallet because the experiences you’ll enjoy are unforgettable.  I’ve been from the southern-most point in Sicily to the northern regions in the country, the coasts, and everywhere in between - every place is unique and indescribable.  I will be writing a lot about Italy in future articles.  Meanwhile you can see some awesome shots in my Instagram from my last visits to Italy.

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The good in USA.

But back to the USA.  USA is my home, I am an American Citizen, I dress in the cloth of this nation and have been serving on active duty in the United States Navy for 20 years.  My love for the great USA is beyond what words can describe, and I am chatty A.F. but even then, I am at a loss for words when it comes to speaking about what the USA means to me.

And for that I will have to dedicate an entire book – seriously.  My mother brought me to the USA in 1995 and this country not only opened her arms to me, but adopted me as one of their own.  This is my home, my Wife and Daughter are both American-born, I’ve lived here more than two thirds of my entire life.  I’ve visited the world, but my adopted country is my home.

I’ve been to 47 out of 50 states in the USA, and several U.S. Territories around the world.  And the common denominator of what makes the USA wonderful is their people.  Sadly, some people (fortunately very few in the great scheme of things) are advocating for dividing our population in an “us against them” manner.  That is why I am so adamant about trying to write content that will help us come together.

Unfortunately, chaos and bad news and sensationalism is what drives the clicks and the attention.  I am lucky that I was able to create Half Life Crisis as a means to express my mind in an unfiltered manner.  At this exact point in time, I am not as worried about SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Marketing, or other stuff that would be just looking after monetizing what I do.  To me it is about the message.  I created Half Life Crisis so I could rant… a lot… about things I feel are meaningful and that deserve having a platform.  And these will be immortalized without fear of being censored by any outside special interests group ruling Half Life Crisis – because it is really only me typing and editing all this stuff you see presented in my articles.

I do intend to include and feature more stories that hopefully will be inspiring to our readers.  I don’t want to type sensationalistic content just to search for clicks, although I do want my words to travel as far as possible – because my message is meant to bring us together.  But in lieu of sensationalistic topics I want to continue writing content that is thought provoking.  I appreciate all my readers as I look at the analytics of my site to see that they are enjoying this type of narrative and they are hanging out long enough to read these words.

To all my readers, I want to thank you again because I don’t take for granted any visit to my site.  I have already been gratefully surprised at how far this little platform has been growing.  True that I have not gotten the bandwidth nor the savviness to make it a mega project.  Not yet anyway – but as I say on my site’s front page.  I am playing this whole thing by ear and you might be as surprised as I am at how far I might be able to take this project.  And my intention is to do so by staying true to my principles.  Even if it takes a little bit (or a lot) longer.

There is plenty we need to address in our beloved USA.  We cannot bask in old successes and think that is enough to keep this good thing going.  It takes the attention to detail to the generation who will be in the driver’s seat to maintain and make it better for everybody.

For these days I am trying to focus more on positivity, because the truth is that the world is actually a scary place and it is getting scarier.  But sulking in a corner sucking our thumb is not going to fix the situation, what can fix it is the people – and for that it takes individual introspection to understand what needs to be addressed.  But talking too much about negativity brings people down, and defeats the will to fight, especially if the fight seems distant from the battle space.

The first step is introspection, and by this, I mean it is important to understand what is being fed to us by elected leaders.  What is true, what is noise?  And there is plenty of noise and conjecture taking over facts.  That is dangerous, because things can and will get worse – unless – we the people decide to be part of the collective solution.  And it is as simple as understanding what this noise is being propagated onto us, and to separate facts from falsehoods.

In order to achieve this goal, what it takes is bringing our natural curiosity and comparing the facts with the reality.  For politicians, looking at their voting record in the links I gave you is a pretty good start.  Start with your incumbent Senators and representatives. I promise you it will be time well invested, even if it is an acquired taste.  But those are the people who are making decisions on our behalf and some of them don’t have any business being in those exulted positions.  Good news, elections are coming near!

As always, I want to thank you for spending this time with me.  I don’t take for granted the fact you chose to read my words.  I would love to hear from you, we can always continue this conversation in the comment section on this page – or in any of our social media platforms.  Thank you for being with me through this journey!  HLC

My second book is a nonfiction historical analysis on how the term "woke" has been weaponized by authoritarian propagandists.  Are you "woke?" Is that good?

 

An important life milestone.

I can hardly believe it, yet it is true!  My second book “WOKE & PROUD The Charlatans’ Inconvenience” eBook version is ready for preorder in all major bookstores!  The official eBook release date is Wednesday, December 6, 2023.   And the Paperback will be released on Monday, February 5, 2024.  Both dates have a lot of symbolic meaning.

December 6th will be the 498th anniversary of the founding of the city of San Francisco de Quito.  That is the city where I was born in Ecuador.  Also, I will be having an interview on that day at 2pm EST.

February 5th will be my grandmother’s (who raised me as a mother) birthday.  And to a different extent it is the first day I checked onboard to my very first U.S. Navy, the now decommissioned ship USS SEATTLE AOE-3. This is the ship where I met my wife, Alicia.

 

WOKE & PROUD – my second book.

I decided to write the manuscript for “WOKE & PROUD The Charlatan’s Inconvenience” earlier this year for a lot of reasons.  The first one is because the terms definition became extremely elusive.  This of course became an incendiary catalyst to a lot of opportunists and [not surprisingly] charlatans.

The question then becomes: Is “woke” a good or a bad thing?  Since the term itself has become a parody of itself in some circles, demonized in others, and used as a tool for propagandistic divisive rhetoric by many – hence, it made sense to me to find the ground truth and present it in an organized manner.  A few months later I started typing this book, and it is finally available for the world to enjoy.

As with everything that I write, my intent is to transmit a unifying message.  There is plenty of division out there.  That is the whole reason why I wrote this book along with my debut book “AUTHORITARIANISM & PROPAGANDA The Puppet Master Tools.”  But as the polarization based on propagandistic methods was ramping up around the world – and especially in USA – I realized that my book “WOKE & PROUD The Charlatans’ Inconvenience” was sort of a relevant spin-off from my other book.  But an important stand-alone topic.

These books are meant to be read in series (no matter which one you start with), yet they are designed to be worked as a stand-alone.  When I was working on “WOKE & PROUD” – my intent was to bring that level of introspection that some of my readers have come to enjoy.  The way I write is the way I talk.  My Sailors seem to enjoy this manner in which we can talk about complex topics in a way that paints the different discussed factors in their minds – leading them to the see the full picture in context.

For example, I was just talking today with one of the Sailors in my ship who got my debut book from Apple Books – “AUTHORITARIANISMS & PROPAGANDA,” and he stated that it has expanded the way he was understanding the world and saw of the things that were hidden in plain sight that until there were not very evident.  He also realized what I intended with the book which is the following: It is intended to be a short reading, but it is meant to be read several times.  And each time you read it you will find something new.  The same is true with my second book “WOKE & PROUD.”

Why did I design my books that way?  Well, the reason is simple in principle but complex in dimension.  What does that mean?  I value my readers’ time; time is the one thing no matter how rich you are you can never get to buy back the time you lost.  Hence, I wanted to push the message as fast as possible, with added strategic redundancy, while sparking the reader’s curiosity.  Every person is unique; therefore, their experience will be unique as they read these words.  Then as they read the book again (even if at random), the layers hidden in the book will continue to expand on the context.

I was very happy to hear from my readers that they have been experiencing my debut book in the manner I envisioned.  This next book will be similar, with the only difference that it is meant to be a shorter initial read.  Yet, much like the previous one it is meant to be read a few times.  There are hundreds of easter eggs hidden in the pages, much like there are hundreds of easter eggs hidden in everything I do.  Happy egg-hunting!

  WOKE & PROUD The Charlantans' Inconvenience - Book Cover with Author J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez and BeeZee Vision, LLC and Half Life Crisis Logos

ORDER THE BOOK HERE - WOKE & PROUD

Why am I releasing these books in such rapid succession?

Quick answer: Because the topics in these books are emergent, and the sooner the message is out the less damage we can prevent.  Of course, I am only one guy with a couple of books.  But it is thanks to you my dear reader that my little platform has been growing each day!  I don’t know how far my words will ultimately travel, but I want you to know that I am very grateful to you for being at the beginning of this journey.

Even before I was got to gain any platform or have gotten discovered – I was just a U.S. Navy Sailor growing every more concerned about all the madness going on in the world; to include the United States of America.

I would type these manuscripts at the end of every workday after all my tasks were done for the day.  I finished writing four manuscripts in all and have a few other manuscripts in the works.  While some people onboard would enjoy different activities (deservingly so) such as watching movies, video games, reading, studying, playing card games, etc., my goal was to put what was in my mind in manuscripts.  All of us onboard had “other than duty” goals we wanted to accomplish; writing was mine.  Not because you’re onboard 24/7 means that you are at “work” 24/7 – that would drive a person insane.  And that would be a vulnerability by the way.

As I finally returned to land, I started researching on how to publish my books.  I had saved some money over a determinate period of time in order to fund these projects.  I figured that having a manuscript living in my computer’s hard drive without its intended purpose was not an acceptable course of action.   Therefore, I chose from my finished manuscripts the succession for release.   Even though I did not actually write them in the order I am releasing them.

For instance, my debut book “AUTHORITARIANISM & PROPAGANDA” was my third manuscript, yet it was released first.   “WOKE & PROUD” was actually my fourth manuscript and released after this book.  The next book I will release is titled “LEADERSHIP Understanding the Human Factor” – yet that was the second manuscript I wrote.  My fourth book release details will be published after I retire in April 2024 – even though it was the first manuscript I wrote while deployed onboard USS COLE.

Every book is meant to be unique – although they are formatted in a similar manner.  But it is all part of the entire package.  For example, and among many other levels of symbology “AUTHORITARIANISM & PROPAGANDA” paperback version was meant to be in matte finish as it also represents the hidden world in plain sight of propaganda.   But “WOKE & PROUD” will have a glossy finish because it means to be bright as an awakening.   Whereas that “LEADERSHIP” will be hard cover and it is also a much longer read with 25 unique chapters.

For any of my readers who are more familiar with my writing style – I did not want to be like everybody else.  Because I am who I am.  I enjoy writing, and I love the fact that I can tell a different story with each piece.  Being this piece a book, an article, a video (script), or even other types of media such as paintings, photographs and more.   There is so much I like to add for my readers to discover.  I hope you have been able to see what is hidden underneath.  Even my idiomatic blunders.  At the very least you know for sure that what is written in my platforms did not come from an Artificial Intelligence (AI), but rather from [this] air-breathing – imperfect human being.

Also, I should probably make another shameless plug to my Patreon page. In my Patreon I can write about some additional topics, beyond the scope of this site, for a yet a different level of conversation.  Also, my top tier supporters get to read my entire books before they are released once they are in the process of production.  They are posted there right now.

I will keep adding more stuff on our social media, but as I said – I am just one dude with a couple of books and a site.  I do want to share whatever little bit of knowledge I’ve gathered through the years with my readers.  Perhaps selfishly, I just want a safer world for my daughter.  Right now, I see the world getting more and more volatile.  I’m just doing my best to be a good dad – as a person who has some say while being the generation in the driver’s seat.

As always, I want to thank you for spending this time with me.  I don’t take for granted the fact you chose to read my words.  I would love to hear from you, we can always continue this conversation in the comment section on this page – or in any of our social media platforms.  Thank you for being with me on this journey!  HLC