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.
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
As the media cycle moves fast, one important story gets buried. Former U.S. President Trump is nowhere near as rich as he claimed to be, why should YOU care?
Who owns his debt? Would they own the country?
Former U.S. President Donald J. Trump has always drawn a line when it came to people insinuating about his wealth. Why? Well, the answer is now very obvious, and it has been legally demonstrated – because he is not the billionaire he claims to be. He is a wealthy man, but he is cash poor. Not being exceedingly rich is not a bad thing, most people in the world are not billionaires, or even millionaires for that matter. The problem is the lies.
So, what if Trump exaggerated about his wealth? What’s the big deal? Glad you asked, because it matters a lot. For starters, if a person is shallow enough to pretend that they are richer than they are – it’s for mainly one of two reasons. First, because they either want to get better rates for loans and services, and use their allure of these riches as leverage. And that is fraud.
The other it is a lot sadder, because that means that they are in-fact lesser than THEY expected THEMSELVES to be – and instead of accepting the facts or moving towards that goal, they pretend they are richer than they are – perhaps to feel better about themselves, but the fact is that they will have to realize that their claims remain false, no matter how many people think these claims are true. Pretending you’re rich does not make you truly rich – might increase your debt though.
So, two problems – both are very problematic sides to the same coin. On the former because that means that they have likely used that leverage to do something that is illegal, and will have to forever watch their backs. And the second is because it is an exploitable factor. Especially if there is somebody with liquidity who would help them “maintain that façade” in exchange for favors and access. It has been reported Trump experienced both of those instances, many times over.
We know now for a fact that Trump has made a lot of very shady deals. He was civilly charged in New York for almost a half-a-billion dollars. He has been unable to pay for these fines. Or even find anybody who would actually lend him the money until he tries to appeal. And this is after Trump was granted an unprecedented break to only pay a fraction of the fine – still, he has been unable to pay any of his bills.
J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez Authoritarianism & Propaganda The Puppet Master Tools.
Stiffing others it’s Trump’s Modus Operandi (MO)
If you’ve been alive since at least the 80’s, and unless you were stuck under a rock you would have heard of Trump’s countless hassles (airlines, steaks, water, games, etc.). Many of which went under. Generally, via bankruptcy. I mean, for example his “savvy business man” went bankrupted not one but four times regarding his casinos in Atlantic City, NJ!
But he is also known for not paying his legal bills. Want examples? Sure Rudy Guiliani, and the entire entourage who was part of his upcoming criminal charge in Georgia for election interference were all hung out to try by Trump, owing millions in legal fees to support Trump’s claim of a rigged election. Something that not one of the many trials has been able to prove at all – no one in more than 60.
Right now, every donation that goes to the GOP, as it has Trump’s daughter in Law Lara Trump in charge of the RNC, if you’re a donor – well it is first going to pay for Trump’s legal fees – then to whatever is it that your campaign donation is supposed to do. And yes, donations have taken a plunge in the GOP, and Trump has also destroyed the Grand Old Party with a poignant civil war between so called MAGA Republicans and pretty much everybody else in the conservative universe.
Trump for years was hiding his taxes, and he was very controlling of any release of his finances – even directing his cabinet while being a sitting president to prevent this to be seen by the American people. Why do you think that it is important? Because we need to know if the leader of the free world, and the person in control of the nuclear codes does not have a loan shark from an adversarial nation.
Why? Because if they do, then they are in fact governing our country via Trump’s wallet – rather than the leader of the free world working for the American people. It should be common sense, but it needs to be spelled out. Why? Because right now, since nobody wants to lend trump money to pay his fines, this opens the door for foreign donors to buy influence on a presidential front runner. And yes, that is bad – because then the country gets governed by a loan shark. You don’t want that, do you?
Final thought, don’t get mad at me, rather keep digging for yourself and find out more context for what I’ve mentioned. Trump’s team is working hard to hide this information from you. The information that reaches your ears by his team is carefully selected, keep researching on your own. You’ll thank me later. HLC
Popularity does not always equal skill or competence. However, it can be quite exploitable when a particular brand loyalty can be highjacked to push an agenda.
The face of the movement is not always in charge.
On my book Authoritarianism & Propaganda the Puppet Master Tools I dedicate a sizable part to help people understand the mechanics of authoritarian propaganda. Often the “dear leader” is not even the one in charge, though it would certainly have some level of influence over the masses.
Most authoritarians need to borrow an existing clout and then transform it into a group of obedient fools who will heed their every word. What the useful fools fail to realize is that the words they actually hear are carefully redacted and chosen to gain their concurrence through faux outrage. This is a tactic as old as civilization itself, and it works!
Throughout history we’ve seen countless examples of people who thought they could “control” an authoritarian wanna-be, and use their influence as a catalyst to push a specific agenda. A classic example is when Benito Mussolini was invited to become the Prime Minister for Italy. There was a lot of division among the citizens circa that timeframe, and the arrogance spewed by Mussolini seemed to be the answer to the less-acute minds in charge. Well, the miscalculation ended in the creation of fascism. We are still dealing with that aftermath.
When you’re paying attention to a politician, you also must pay attention to the hearts and minds of their followers. Some of these followers will have exploited biases, which will cause them to perpetrate heinous crimes against humanity, while being convinced they are the morally superior crowd.
The goal post of what is acceptable, and what it is “now needed” will of course continue shifting. Generally, it does not start with genocide from the get-go, but rather by adding a level of frustration that is largely fictitious, but might seem very real inside a political base echo chamber.
J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez Authoritarianism & Propaganda The Puppet Master Tools.
They want you to ultimately fight alone (don’t be a dummy!)
An authoritarian wants you to fight ultimately alone, especially after you’ve alienated anybody else who would be in your team. That is why you will always hear the reality that an authoritarian only cares about himself or herself – everybody else is disposable. That loyal base they enjoy, and who worships them is ultimately disposable.
This is nothing new, it has happened time and time again. They will make their base believe they are part of a bigger team that is fighting “good against evil” – without realizing that they have already become the mirror version of whom they despise. I’ve mentioned in a previous article, it starts with a bias – it gets exploited, and from there it is very easy to control the crowd.
That is by the way one of the reasons why those controversial “outliers” seem to get so much traction in gaining prominence. There is marketability in controversy and demagoguery. For example, if you watch a movie with a very vanilla plot and no conflict, then it will be a snore-fest. But if you add some conflict, even if it is manufactured or too fantastical to be accurate, it will have a much higher chance of getting people to watch it.
Something similar happens to people when pushing an agenda – except that it will feel very real, as though they are the protagonist of their own movie or adventure. If a crowd or political base has already demonstrated a proclivity for falling for a certain narrative, they will be pointed in that direction – and enhance the echo chamber – creating this faux reality they are now convinced it is the morally superior way of life.
In reality, they were only afforded a fraction of the “truth” – but it was poignant enough to make them believe they are the smartest people in the room. They are not, they are being manipulated – and spoiler alert – we are all potential victims. That is why I advocate for pairing critical thinking with intellectual honesty. HLC
There is much to be said about group mentality whenever people feel they are part of a movement bigger than themselves. Yet it can evoke pride, or manipulation.
Is a rally a good or a bad thing?
Short answer, it depends on who is running this rally. For the purpose of this article, we are focusing on political rallies. This is nothing new, and we’ve seen people going out spending their time and often also their hard-earned money to support and view their candidate of choice.
Some people are extremely devoted, some are more pragmatic. You can usually see who is who by the level of merchandise and regalia they will carry. In the United States of America that support-through merch is most definitely prevalent on right-wing circles. That does not mean that left-leaning folks will also drape themselves in left-wing regalia; but for America at this point in history it is just nowhere near as the right wing-folks.
And this regalia is important for many different reasons. And, no, simply supporting a candidate by getting a bunch of merch is not the only metric that can be extrapolated from it. The biggest less-conspicuous one is the level of bias a person has regarding their perceived candidate – and whomever they seem to oppose. For example, is the supporter of a candidate also draped in vulgar or derogatory regalia that is actively depicting the candidate’s opposition? From an outsider looking in, how much information can we infer from this regalia-draped person? Let’s find out.
First the obvious, we can infer they “like” whomever is the candidate, but also, they are so enamored with this person that they are willing to become an insult billboard against another human being. From a purely monetary perspective, it can also show that the person either has disposable income to wear such a disparaging regalia, or if they don’t have disposable income, and still chose to purchase such garments – also shows they are not likely to make savvy money management decisions.
This is great news for manipulators paying attention, because it shows people who make these financial decisions could likely “go a little further” if need be – if they are convinced enough this “investment is on their best interest.” And that rhetoric to action might be very easily attainable.
Afterall, who else is going to buy that type of merchandise? Obviously, it is not targeted to the opposition. Yet for those attending that rally, this level of vulgar display could very well be something that “makes them feel popular” or “accepted” by some of those who find that level of vulgar rhetoric part of this group mentality – as though “something is calling it as it see it” – wow, they even had it in a t-shirt or hoodie form, who would have known? The people who are monetizing your biases, that’s who.
J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez Authoritarianism & Propaganda The Puppet Master Tools.
Why am I focusing on merch?
If it is was not obvious, because it is a reliable way to see if people put their money where their mouth is. Especially for a right-wing rally, you see people camping out hours if not the night prior their candidate of choice pops out – that’s especially true for Trump rallies.
The “uniforms” are disguised as political regalia, the time and effort to show up. I can include to this expense tally the time off work, the babysitting costs, the entry, and parking fees (even if the event is “free” -somebody is paying for it, the shared bathrooms, the possibility to come across some very weird people among the more moderate crowd – that metric can be easily and visually understood just by some quick math on how much they spent on regalia.
Let’s say for example, there is a couple going to the rally; they got their MAGA hats, shirts, hoodie, flags, signs, and maybe a couple of other trinkets. How much does it all cost this household? The hats seem to range anywhere from a few bucks to more than $40, let’s average for a cool $25, the shirts average $20, the hoodies average $35, the flags average $30, and trinket kits average $20. That’s $130 per person or $260 for this household. That does not count the time and expense to be there.
And no, I am not talking about admission fees. For what I’ve gathered, apparently admission is free, unless you want to purchase perks such as been a lot closer to Trump. In either case, remember that taking a day off from work is already an expense – even if not an obvious one. But if people want to support their candidate, that’s their choice.
However, not everybody finds this level of support the optimal way to help somebody. Although left-leaning rallies do happen, it is very unlikely to see the same folks who attend as many rallies as possible from town to town to support the candidate, even if it is very far away from their actual home address. In the USA, most left-leaning people will show their support either through voting, or if you’re lucky by sending some donations. Different approaches to support their candidates. One is more effective, which one do you think that is?
Well, if it was not obvious, the one that does not require a rally. Because they don’t need to hear it in a group mentality what they understand as their candidate’s policy. If they understand it, they go “ok, got it, I’ll vote on date such and such” – and they have been doing so. That $260 figure instead of buying shirts and merch, is instead freed up to donate it to their cause – if they wish to. Regardless of a rally, if people want to vote, they will go out and vote.
On that note, that is another debacle in its own right. If you’re an American citizen, don’t be deceived by the fact that some people who don’t subscribe to your political leanings don’t support their candidates in a way they find more effective. Some people love to be in a crowd with others chanting something that excites them. Others made up their minds about whether they support a candidate, and will support without purchasing the additional regalia or rally attendance. HLC
Today in America 03MAR2024 – Half Life Crisis www.halflifecrisis.com
There is so much occurring simultaneously in the national discourse that the truth tends to be muddied up. Today I bring clarity to these many issues.
This article will be broken down into a few parts in order to segment some of the craziness. It is going to be a bumpy ride, and although it will be a long article, this is the very top of the tip of the iceberg. An open mind is advisable to read these passages, because it will shed some light on information that tends to be redacted in some news outlets and from the voices of many pundits & other influencers.
The good news is that I am truly independent, therefore I have no political motivation. I am, however, very much against misinformation, because that affects us all – regardless of which side of the political spectrum we lean towards. Enjoy the ride!
Trump is not “that” rich.
In case this is the first time you see it, Trump had to admit via his attorneys that he does not have the amount of cash he used brag to the entire world he had. For many of us, realizing that Trump was nowhere as rich as he claimed to be it is not surprising. It might however finally dissuade a lot of his loyal followers in the MAGA base to finally leave him. The reason is because many MAGA followers just tolerated his antics because they thought he was a multi billionaire.
In case you were not aware, Trump recently lost two separate civil cases and was ordered to pay several million dollars in compensation. Most of his supporters still think it is a “witch hunt” perpetrated by President Biden. Of course that isn’t the case, and these problematic cases of sexual assault and fraud he was found liable in two separate courts, occurred well before the Biden Presidency or the Trump Presidency [for that matter] even started. Here is a quick synopsis of these two cases.
Both of these cases were handled by his attorney Alina Habba, who has been touted by her peers [meaning other attorneys] as highly incompetent. Whatever the case, she is to my knowledge the only attorney who has cost her client almost half a billion dollars.
Trump’s Civil Fraud Case.
Trump was fund liable from swindling many investors through the span of several years. Trump was directed to pay $355 million in penalties plus interests. But the total figure starts at $454 million because it also includes people in Trumps orbit, to include his two elder sons. The interest for the payments Trump owes each passing day he does not pay is $87,502 – and by the way the verdict took place on February 16, 2024. So, this figure just keeps climbing more and more.
This case of course found out that he was lying about his wealth and that he overinflated his assets to get loans, and undervalued them when it was time to pay taxes. The fact is that if he is unable to have this interest rate from rapidly accruing, that on its own is enough to ascertain that he simply does not have the cash to pay, or even to appeal the case. Trump said he was going to appeal, but he needs to post the money upfront to guarantee he will pay if he loses again. Which will likely be the case.
The fact is that neither banks, nor attorneys are lining up to support Trump. Trump also asked to pay only just north of $100 million [or a fraction of what it is required] to appeal. That was denied to him as it would have been denied to anybody in a similar situation. Trump went onto making some unusual fund-raising events, which included selling some hideous $400 golden shoes and a $100 cologne that by the way sold-out, but won’t be making it to their customers hands until the Summer.
Another thing that sprouted, even if by proxy, was at least one Go-fund me campaign, and people were contributing to pay the legal fees of this billionaire. There seems also to be some course of action of utilizing GOP campaign funds for his legal troubles. But my understanding is that would be highly illegal. Which by the way, there is another case under that premise – this time for paying hush money to a porn star.
Bottomline, Trump said via his attorneys that if he pays the entire amount [even as a bond], which is close to half a billion dollars penalty, he would have to start selling some of his real state. So, let’s put that in perspective. Trump was ordered to pay that amount because he was found that he defrauded a bunch of people. You know, as in taking their money, and now he does not have the money. In other words, it was spent – not properly invested to grow. This realization might finally be what turns off some of his base who considered him a financial genius.
Trump sexual abuse case.
On May 9, 2003 Trump was found liable for sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll in 1996. Trump was directed to pay $5 million. But this case is a lot more nuisance than Trump simply being found liable for sexual assault, which under the New York statutes it is just different language that in fact found Trump liable of raping Carroll. Yes, they found and were able to provide proof that Trump is a rapist.
What some people might not realize about this case is that the statute of limitations has already expired, and although Carroll was unable to go against Trump back in the 90’s – remember, these were very different times. We have come a long way to being able to speak truth to power. For some of us who were alive in the 90’s I can assure you that the world has moved forward by leaps and bounds, yet there are many who want to return back to the most short-sighted blunders in those years.
However, as the story re-surfaced, Trump started bad mouthing Carroll and made some very defamatory remarks against her. The case went to court, Trump kept making some very low brow and insulting remarks in true Trump fashion style against Carroll – many of these remarks from very prominent platforms. You know, double down and triple down. So, the case ended up going to court for defamation. This of course backfired on Trump, because not only he was stuck with a $5 million award payable to Carrol, but he also got all his sexual abuse past come to light. It did not end there.
As expected, Trump was not happy at all with this, therefore he double down, and disparaged Carroll again. And this once again backfired. Remember, the case was already settled that Trump raped Carroll. Adding to the miscalculation, Trumps attorney, Alina Habba managed to make things a lot worse for Trump, turning this $5 million original award into a whopping $83.3 million award, as Carroll won her case for defamation again. It is very likely that Trump was the master mind directing Habba to say whatever is it that she said in the trial. Of course, that was not a good strategy.
One thing is clear, Trump has not paid a dime yet for either one of these millionaire awards against him. Which makes you think, if he really was a billionaire, paying off and then appealing could be a lot easier than accruing all this additional debt in interests, not to mention all the negative media attention that it puts on his supposed fortune. For now, only some of his most fervent MAGA supporters are still onboard and will pay their hard-earned money to help a billionaire pay his legal obligations. Food for thought.
Credit the link below to the Associated Press (AP) who is tracking Trump’s many criminal and civil cases. They have a huge team of journalists who can do that in real time; it is only me writing for the Half Life Crisis site at this time.
Hunter Biden handed GOP House Representatives their own butts.
In a different part of our bizarre political discourse, the GOP have been hell-bent in an unsuccessful effort to impeach President Biden. Bottomline, they have zero evidence. If the evidence to impeach Biden existed it would have been plastered all over the planet, and there would be non-stop coverage of it. That has not happened, nor will it, because what the GOP members are alluding towards simply does not exist.
In an effort to find some compromising links to Joe Biden, the GOP has been very adamant on pursuing dead-end leads related to the President’s son, Hunter Biden. For context, Hunter Biden is a recovering addict, and in the past, he had done some shenanigans, and has gotten in some trouble before. However, he has always made a conscientious effort to keep his father out of the spotlight, because he understands how important this is to his father’s public service.
For context Hunter Biden was still a young boy when Biden was elected to his first term in Congress. Fast forward, there have been a lot of allegations trying to tie Hunter Biden to his father. One of those sources was a former FBI informant who also was recently arrested because he was working with Russian intelligence in a concerted effort to interfere in US politics. And yes, that was the GOP’s star witness.
For some time, the GOP have been trying to corner Hunter Biden in many insidious ways. Even having sexually explicit images of him shown in the House Floor by Georgia Representative Majorie Taylor Greene. Yes, that happened! She showed what could be best described as revenge porn showing nude photos of Hunter Biden engaging in sexual intercourse during an official hearing.
And to add insult to injury, the GOP controlled House of representatives wanted to have Hunter Biden testify in a closed-door session – even though they had made this matter public to the entire country as the story of the century. Well, this was originally rejected, and Biden even showed up to Congress when they were deliberating about holding him in contempt of Congress – yet the GOP rejected the option of Hunger to testify in front of the whole country right there and there. You know, calling their bluff.
Fast forward to last week, and Hunter Biden did show up to a closed-door session, and handed the House GOP butts to them. The transcript is pretty long, but it is worth reading. The GOP Representatives tried to spin it as though it was a win, but for anybody with a 4th grade reading comprehension, you would be able to identify what the reality of the situation is all about. And the fact that it was political theater came full circle.
All this waste of taxpayer money and congressional man hours was nothing but a gigantic waste of time many of us realized years ago. There is no actual evidence to impeach Biden.
I recommend reading the entire transcript on the link below. It’s pretty long, but it is worth it. It might make you mad, or laugh in a tragically hilarious manner.
Reproductive rights are being threatened in the country.
You’ve probably been familiar with the overturn of Roe vs Wade by the Supreme Court that occurred in 2022. This is of course one of Trump’s supposedly proudest moments. And yes, this was possible because the three Supreme Court Justices confirmed under Trump were very much in favor of overturning Roe vs Wade – even though they denied during their confirmation hearings to be inclined to do exactly that.
Just like many of us realized that they were going after Roe vs Wade making abortions illegal and a lot more restrictive depending on each state – the situation was not likely going to end there. How do we know? Because the indicators of moving a certain “theocratical” political agenda has been plastered on the wall all along.
There is a certain group of “Christian Nationalists” – which is not the same as Christians from all stripes. In other words, not every Christian is a Christian Nationalist. Many Christians actually disavow Christian Nationalists as extremists who happen to use Christianity as a platform to push a political agenda. And Christian Nationalists are not shy about expressing that they want THEIR version of Christianity to be the rule of the land. In other words, a theocracy based on their particular interpretation. And yes, many of them are elected leaders.
For better or worse, this is actually a very unpopular stance – and in each and every one of the last several local, state, and national elections, the so called “pro-life” candidates have been defeated or severely underperformed at the ballot. Why is that? Because “Pro-Choice” does not equal “Pro-abortion.” In other words, the majority of Americans understand the difference, and how each case is unique. Further, they understand that the life and safety of the mother could be at severe risk with certain pregnancy complications.
And of course, most people are not onboard with forcing a woman to carry a pregnancy to full term, if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest. Especially considering that some young women get raped while they are still children themselves. For example, should a 13-year-old be forced to carry to term the child of her rapist? When Roe vs Wade was overturned, it now makes it illegal for this 13-year-old not be forced to carry a rapist child to term. Think about that for a second – what if that 13-year-old young lady was YOUR child?
The fact is that what we are observing is authoritarian rhetoric disguised as morality under theocratic rules. This situation is running rampant in America, and it has been largely normalized. Why? Because there are Christians all over the place, even though many fail to realize that their denomination is one of a few thousands in the world. Yes, there are several Christian denominations, and they don’t agree in a lot of their doctrines – hence they have their own denomination.
Although many Christian denominations agree on certain points, there is a lot more than they disagree with. Want an example? Sure, how similar are the doctrines between the Jehovah Witnesses and the Latter-Day Saints? How similar or different are the rituals between Catholics and Pentecostals? How about the guys who handle dangerous snakes during service, or those who worship in the nude?
Yes, those are all just a few examples of devoted Christians. Would you go to the nude service or the venomous snake-handling service? So, under that logic, then you might not be ok if “a particular” denomination of Christianity becomes the theocratic rule of the land. That is why there is separation of church and state I the USA. Also, why churches get a tax exemption as long as they stay off the political discourse. Although we all know that many churches are not only violating that law, but they are also very cavalier about pushing politics from the pulpit.
Some states have a higher concentration of politically charged religious following. One of these places is Alabama, where recently, In-Vitro Fertilization or IVF is under attack, because they’re considering the cells in a petri dish being already a person. Yes, this IVF has JUST become an issue – just a few days ago. And it is taking traction on other states – mostly red states. And if you think this is not expanding think again.
And by the way, there are many Christians who used IVF in order to become parents. Now, this IVF procedure is in jeopardy because some people interpret their scriptures differently, and want to force everybody to interpret them in the same manner. And yes, it is affecting also law-abiding Christians and non-Christians.
If you are a Christian – especially, if you’re a Christian, you might want to realize that there is a particular denomination which wants to take over the way YOU worship. Yes, I am serious. This is happening. If you want to call them false prophets, or swindlers or opportunists, that’s YOUR choice. And keep in mind that there is a segment of people who use religion as a way to prevent you from having ANY choice in the near turn.
For example, did you know that there is a bill being proposed in Virginia right now that is endorsed mostly by state-GOP legislators who want to make it a lot harder to get contraception over the counter? So, think about this for a moment, there are people hell bent in not only limiting your options should a person get an unwanted pregnancy, but they are also making it harder to not get pregnant in the first place!
In other words, they are somehow working towards legislating about sexual intercourse between consenting adults. I wish I was being hyperbolic, but just like Roe vs Wade and other indicators of theocracy working to replace our democratic system, this very much seems to be in the horizon. Of course, that most people might not want to see it as such, because when we talk about religion it tends to hit a nerve on a great segment of the population… because they think it is singling THEM out.
Well, that is not the case, the reality is that a few are trying to impose their version of religion onto all of us while using the very same religious protections to hide their agenda, which is to ultimately negate religious freedom to the rest of the country.
There is a lot more to explore on this topic, and I plan on writing a full article and perhaps other additional content on this, because it will become a lot more significant sooner than later. And if you think there are not people in high positions pushing for this to become the norm, think again.
The Supreme Court is perceived as MAGA-biased.
Lately the United States Supreme Court has been perceived as biased by a very large segment of Americans. The reality is that there is an evident power dynamic difference. If you have been paying attention, you’ll know that the great majority of the justices are very conservative. And as I mentioned, three of them were recently confirmed during Trump’s term.
This is a good time to bring current Minority Senate Leader, Mitch McConnell who was the de-facto catalyst to pack the court with highly conservative, and MAGA friendly justices. And McConnel is also the person responsible for denying President Obama from adding his nominated Justice to the Supreme Court, because that was during Obama’s last year in office. Yet, McConnel pushed a conservative judge in the last year of Trump’s office.
For any of us paying attention, we realized this tactic from the start. He was going to pack the courts, not just the supreme court but a lot of other courts in the country – to get a higher level of political advantage with like-minded people. Some might say that is an unfair assertion, yet the proof to this assessment has come through via many cases that have gravitated towards conservative goals. IVF is one such case. There are plenty more, but not many of those cases make it to the national headlines.
But the scrutiny of the conservative Justices has also gathered more momentum after their decision to hear the case for Trump’s eligibility to be in the Colorado ballot. This of course will put a delay on a resolution for other cases that are related to why the State of Colorado supreme court found that Trump’s election interference and role for the January 6 insurrection makes him ineligible to run for office.
And if you think for a few seconds about this concern to have Trump back in office, it makes perfect sense. Trump has 91 criminal charges spanning several court cases, has been very vocal about some very divisive rhetoric, he was found to be a fraud and a rapist – and that is just a fraction of the many red flags anybody who is paying attention sees about Trump. Hence, most Americans voted against him in 2020. The difference is that he has alienated a lot of his base from that time. And a lot of his supporters have not been afforded the full story either… so they might jump ship once the truth also reaches their eyes and ears.
Well, unsurprisingly the Justices who were appointed by Trump and other conservative justices are very much onboard with seeing Trump to run for another term, despite the myriad of criminal and civil cases against him. And this is not me – as the author of this article – trying to put the integrity of the US Supreme Court in question – as far as how objective they are when it comes to political discourse. This is the common consensus from many people reporting on this topic.
But what I will say is that the rulings and the precedent for each case do raise a lot of questions. And one of the fears most people have is that there is a clear bias towards one segment of the population and a disenfranchisement of another – an even larger segment of the same population. The proof is that the most “conservative” doctrines have not been popular at the ballot. It is especially noteworthy that the MAGA segment of the Republican party is dwindling. Even though, many remaining MAGAs are still very vocal.
I linked this article to tell you more about the particular case regarding Trump’s eligibility to hold office. Credit to the New York Times. Even if you don’t agree with them, fact check them with media sources from all political sides – you’ll see the pattern soon enough.
Conflicts continue to ramp up, and they are likely related.
And with the political discourse, we also have to realize that we have a very real linkage to the larger geopolitical stance of the United States on the world stage. What we have to remember is that what happens in the USA resonates with the rest of the world with ripple effects that are mind-bending to some, and very clearly evident to others who can see the links to these events from a different vantage point.
What does that mean? It means that even the situations who seen tangentially related at best, or totally unrelated are very much part of the same construct. They are just not as evident when seeing it from a particular vantage point. And that would not be a person’s fault, they are just not afforded that vantage point to see the big picture.
For an illustrative example let’s say you’re in a valley, and you are at the bottom of the valley inside a forest. You might not be able to see the mountains around you, or even what is just a few yards from your vantage point. But if you climb the mountain, you’ll have a much larger view of the valley and where everting seems to be located. From there, you will be able to further explore with ease each area because you will have a better idea of how the terrain is laid out.
In geopolitics it is very much the same. For people who are in their own echo chambers, or political bubbles – they will not be able to see how the events are laid out and how they relate to one another. The way you can ascend this illustrative mountain is by understanding context. This context raises your awareness of what is going on, and from there you can see the road leading to each event. Keep in mind that each stage is going to have an inherited level of complexity, and it is meant to discourage people from keeping on climbing.
When I wrote my book AUTHORITARIANISM & PROPAGANDA The Puppet Master Tools, I provided some tools on how to see this context in ways that will help you climb to a better vantage point. The geopolitical realm is complex, and it is also very contentious. And the end result of many adversarial nations is to negate the USA from remaining the premiere nation in the world – and give an open avenue for adversarial regimes to take the USA’s place. This has been happening for a while, and they will succeed unless we realize what its going on under our own noses.
I’ve said it before and it is worth repeating. There are insider threats integrated within the confines of the United States of America, and in many countries that are allied or partnered with the USA. Insider threats come in two big categories:
1. Witting Insider Threats:
These are people who are performing actions and supporting adversarial narratives and carrying out their desires willingly. In other words, they are very cognizant that what they are doing goes against the USA and its influence in the world. Even if they disguise themselves as patriotic.
2. Unwitting insider Threat
These are people who are too stupid to realize they are doing everything the witting insider threat is also doing, but they are just not aware they are complicit. This latter one is a lot more dangerous than the first one, because they are easily manipulated.
And it is worth repeating that there are a lot of people in Capitol Hill and in other prominent platforms who are repeating and parroting those adversarial talking points verbatim! I will be dedicating specific content to identifying how this works and how to defend against it. Remember that these insider threats tend to be wolves in sheep’s clothing. They will seem patriotic and even probably drape themselves in the regalia that screams USA – but they are repeating the points from their adversaries.
An easy way to see if that is the case is by looking at state-sponsored propaganda and news from an adversarial nation. How do you know it might be an adversarial nation? Well, if it is solely run by the state, then that means that the freedom of press is non-existent, and all narratives must concur with the government or be silenced. So that is already a good pointer, because the USA has freedom of speech [at least for now], and you’re able to speak your mind without the government coming to violently retaliate against you and everything you’ve ever loved.
We still have this freedom we are very much taking for granted and there are a lot of nations who have recently lost it. They didn’t pay attention to the same indicators I am mentioning, and it was likely there was somebody just like me trying to raise awareness, and he or she ended up screaming into a void. I’m trying to change that trend, and fortunately there are many who see what I am seeing – we are just not communicating together effectively. That is what I want to change through my writing. HLC
HLC J6 2024 – www.halflifecrisis.com Today In America
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.
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.
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
HLC Bipartisan Possible – www.haflifecrisis.com – Understanding History
It is rare in today’s political climate int eh USA. Usually, the votes are strictly divided over party lines, on THIS rare occasion we have bipartisanship!
Political parties can work together!
Yes, you read that right! Bipartisan agreements in Congress did happen yesterday December 1, 2023. Yesterday was a historical day as the Republican U.S. Representative from New York’s 3rd congressional district, George Antony Devolder Santos was expelled from Congress in a Bipartisan vote.
As much as I agree that it was right to expel Santos from this exulted position, this is not necessarily a happy day in America. The real question is: How was he able to hold on to that seat for such a long time? (Or at all for that matter) Santos entered congress after falsifying – essentially pretty much everything. His education, his credentials, his income, his affiliations, and I can go on for hours on that. Seriously, this young man had quite the affinity for stretching the bounds of truth. Some of his lies were pretty petty too.
And despite the superficial perception, I am not trying to bash George Santos (although he also was not forthcoming with his name among many other things – and he did a stellar job at discrediting himself without any help). But rather I am trying to show how important it is for us to take politics seriously. At least seriously enough to ensure that whoever gains an exulted position is actually the person they are claiming to be. Later in this article I will list many of his red flags before, during, and after – and we’ll talk about what he is likely going to do next. He did leave Congress spewing a lot of choice words against his own party and of course against the democrats (in office and throughout the country).
I really want to discuss the situation on the merits, but unfortunately, Santos did become the face of this very case study. And I am sure scholars from decades to come will look at this time in our American history and talk about it – because it deserves the attention is getting. Of course, for a great block of voters (both Democrats & Republicans) this situation is possibly an oblivious fact. I know this for a fact, because I like to ask these types of things. And much like I said in my last article, the answers I tend to get are pretty frustrating.
Partisan politics galore.
In yesterday’s article I spoke about how there is political theater in the United States of America. And no, it is not the only country suffering from these types of performances – this is a systematic world-expanding problem. And to be honest, depending on the proclivity of different segments of the population, this political theater can range from non-existent to very enticing in the minds and hearts of actual voters.
Well, that is another problem, a lot of voters do not really want to learn about what is affecting their lives. And I can imagine this can be incredibly frustrating to many of us who in one way or the other depend on people voting in a well-informed manner. Why, because it affects all of us. But the fact is that for a long time, voting has become a visceral situation – it is about the feeling rather than the actual policy. This has been normalized, and many might be voting “their conscience” without actually scrutinizing the validity for that decision.
I also mentioned in yesterday’s article, as I have in the past, that the politician’s voting record is what ultimately matters. Because that ground truth is what will tell you if what they say is true or not. Sure, some will vote for terrible legislation and won’t be shy about it. Others will prefer not voting on better legislation because that becomes politically inconvenient at the time. There is actually an artform when it comes to that voting record. I don’t mean that it is good art, per say – but it is not (unfortunately) a straight forward process. And that is also very frustrating.
Why frustrating? Well, when you see it pragmatically – if a person is voting one way or the other just because they are required to follow a certain crowd, then they are [not] actually doing what is best. And of course, this has been very evident, especially in the last few years when voting on any legislation ends up split by party lines. Hence, whomever controls the majority – no matter how slim, will win by default. That is a problem, because that means that either the policies set forth to the floor are crap, or (and) that this partisanship is not sustainable.
I invite you to look at these. You can spend some time on those – because there is plenty to see. But the fact is that I want to show you that what I am speaking of does not come out of thin air. I am not a pundit – I am just a dude with a website who likes to state facts that are affecting us all. Division solely on party lines is not good. It creates gridlock and the actual substance of conversations that need to occur are pre-determined even before the vote comes to the house. Everything else is just lip service and sound bites. The decision was largely already made up before it had a chance to be properly heard.
And that brings us back to the fact that George Santos was kept in office despite the fact he had a rap sheet longer than the Pacific coast in the continent. But Santos had an ace under the sleeve, the House of Representatives was hurting for members. The “red wave” they predicted did not happen. The Republicans lost the Senate majority and gained only a very slim majority in the House of Representatives.
Santos, although he was drenched in controversy – kept a low profile as far as voting. He would show up, do his partisan game when it came to voting. And of course, bash Democrats any moment he could get a camera in front of him. That was convenient for the slim majority when pushing (or what many would rather call “stalling”) legislation. That is why he was voted to stay in as a sitting member the first time he was supposed to be expelled. However, he did become a political liability as the ethics committee validated the character most people (not politicians) both Republicans & Democrats had already assessed – not fit for duty as an elected leader.
Bipartisan Support to expel Santos out of Congress.
This is the first time in the history of the United States of America that a sitting legislator is expelled out of office – without being actually convicted of a crime. You can read the report in the link provided below. Court trials are forthcoming though.
However, Santos did not have a clear-cut vote to oust him. The troubled ex-legislator did get votes from several Republicans and even a few Democrats to prevent his ousting. However, mathematically it was already evident that Santos was not going to win this round. I will not focus on what each Democrat of Republican colleague said about him. Especially the more unflattering language. But I will point out that Santos was in the scorching end of the statements given by many of his fellow Republicans. And in today’s political climate that is very significant.
In the link about the voting record, you can see how each legislator voted. However, I will highlight that some of those you could expect to support Santos did vote to hold him in Congress, despite the fact of this scathing report and prelude. Among those are Gaetz, Boebert, Greene, Johnson (Speaker of the House) … and yes those are some I mentioned in the previous article. I will let you have your own reasoning about their decision. My intent is not to disparage anybody, but rather to show the connection points to spark deeper conversations.
To that end, let me just add a list of the things that have been deemed problematic by most people who had been aware of Santo’s antics; and why this has been problematic for the ousted member of the House of Representatives.
George Santos Lies & Controversies(short list until I get bored of talking about this gentleman’s controversies). But I figure this would make you understand why it is significant that 114 people voted to keep him as a member of the House of Representatives. Fortunately, 311 voted to oust him. Let’s see why I say fortunately.
Batch #1 Santos was charged with 23 counts.
– One (1) count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States
– Two (2) counts of wire fraud.
– Two (2) counts of making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission
– Two (2) counts of falsifying records submitted to obstruct the FEC.
– Two (2) counts of aggravated identity theft.
– One (1) count of access device fraud.
– Seven (7) counts of wire fraud,
– Three (3) counts of money laundering
– One (1) count of theft of public funds
– Two (2) counts of making materially false statements to the United States House of Representatives
In the second indictment Santos was accused of stealing his campaign donor’s identities! Using it for all kinds of selfish expenses to include clothes, sessions at Only Fans, and money back to his own bank account. This is donors’ money who did not authorize additional expenses – but he had their credit card numbers.
Adding to the list, in a superseding indictment, Santos was accused of loaning his campaign half a million dollars, as an effort to pad his campaign. This falsifying of finance reports is of course criminal in nature.
Even before these latest accusations, he had quite a few others. I wrote an entire article about him back then. But let’s do a quick recap of some of the many simply bizarre stories we had to deal with. I’ll just add some teasers about it, you are welcome to look more into it. You might find it entertaining and/or frustrating.
– Claimed to be a model for Vogue.
– Impersonated (Former Speaker of the House) Kevin McCarthy’s Chief of Staff to try to raise money from rich donors.
– Claimed to have lost four employees in the mass shooting at the Pulse night club.
– Made national news for alleged swindling a disabled veteran out of money to save his pet – the pet tragically died.
– Lied to his landlord about being robbed on the way to pay his rent.
– Accused by former roommates of stealing their belongings to include an expensive scarf.
– Being charged in Brazil for writing bad checks.
– Claimed to be connected to working with Goldman Sachs and/or Citigroup to use as leverage for a Ponzi scheme.
– Claimed to be a volleyball start champion in a college he never attended – or was even enrolled at for that matter.
– Claimed to have been victim of an assassination attempt in 5th Avenue in New York City.
– Claimed his mother died in 9/11.
– Claimed his niece was kidnapped by Chinese Communists as retribution.
– Claimed his Grandparents Fled the Holocaust.
– Claimed he was Jewish, and when he was confronted, he said he was Jew-ish – I know, cringe alert.
– Stole donors credit card numbers and made personal charges with them.
I can go on, but I got bored to be recounting these crazy antics – but there are plenty more. Sure, some of these stories are allegations – but the fact that he has actually been so prone to lying (and admitted himself he was a liar)– his credibility is not quite helping him with the benefit of the doubt.
This is a link to my previous article about him in case you want to see what I was already talking about earlier this year when we were introduced to this gentleman.
This was meant to be a relatively short article, because I figured my readers would like to review the information I enclosed. Case in point the Congressional voting record and the ethics report. And those can take a while to go through, but please feel free to bookmark this site as a quick reference point. Whatever time you invest reviewing the information provided in this article (to include the links) it will be time well invested. In future articles I will delve more in-depth into these political intricacies.
To close, you might be surprised to learn that I am not actually all that much of a fan of politics. Much like I am not a fan of getting a kick to the kidneys with soccer cleats. But in order to prevent that I have to have situation awareness to avoid that proverbial kick. The difference is that legislators make decisions that will affect our lives for generations to come. And if we don’t understand if they are up to the job, then we are actually at fault for not paying attention when the house is burning down. We are all in this together – like it or not. That is why this has been taking so much bandwidth in my attention span.
Please let me know in the comments (down in this site’s comment section) or any of our social media outlets about what other topics you would like me to talk about. Thank you for being with me through this journey! HLC
Republican US Representative, Mike Johnson, from Louisiana was elected as the 56th Speaker of the House on October 25, 2023.
I’ve been wanting to write this article for a few days already. Finally, today I got a chance to sit down and write about the significance of this event. This is another historical moment, although there is quite a disagreement if this is a happy or challenging moment in our American history. I will let you decide what is the answer to that question, but I must note that this is a far from straightforward issue. There are lots of twists and turns in this situation.
Let’s start with the fact that the mere reason why a new speaker of the House had to be elected is because the previous speaker of the House, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted in a coalition lead by Republicans themselves. In particular spearheaded by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). In case you were not aware, there was a sizable number of Republicans, not only in the House but across the country who had many choice words (not kind words at all) towards Rep. Gaetz for spearheading Rep. McCarthy’s ousting.
Rep. McCarthy was voted out on Tuesday, October 5, 2023, and the race for getting a new Speaker of the House was contentious to be fair (backstabbing to be borderline hyperbolic). There were a few contenders for this position. Many of which most people would not be able to pick in a height line, but the most prominently recognizable was Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) – the guy that seldom wears a jacket and who speaks very fast. He tried repeatedly to get that post and ultimate failed to get elected even though Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives. In fact, there was a very vocal coalition against him. Then again, Rep. Jordan likely burned a few bridges during his tenure.
Rep. Jordan failed to reach the coveted speaker of the House gavel after three attempts. To add insult to injury, each voting round awarded him fewer votes than the last. Rep. Jordan has been viewed by many as a very polarizing figure in the American political discord no matter what side of the aisle you lean towards. Obviously, what many would qualify as a controversial record has not helped him out in reaching across the aisle to gain Democrats support either, especially when he keeps talking smack about The Left.
It is worth noting that when the House had an open voting, a lot of the fellow Republicans voted in support of Rep. Jordan but, on the secret vote – in his own caucus where the names are not recorded as far how each representative voted – Rep. Jordan’s support was far less than what is in the no-secret vote. Strange huh? This is important to note, because it shows potential baggage on how the voting record of each representative can affect their political stances and incumbency. Also, there were numerous reports of intimidation and downright threats to members of Congress and their families who openly voted against Jordan.
Blaming the Democrats.
It seems more like a talking point, a buzz word, or a trope for Republicans to discredit Democrats when it comes to some of the setbacks the Republicans in Congress have been facing in the past few weeks. To be honest, much like most of the country I am sick of this partisan “us against them” mentality that keeps permeating our political system. Votes seem to be going strictly down party lines regardless of the need for an actual dialog necessary to reach a win-win situation. And by that I don’t mean a “compromise;” I don’t like the word compromise because a compromise leaves stuff out of the table – somebody gets disenfranchised. I like a win-win situation. A win-win is attainable (there is precedent in Congress about that in the voting record), but it takes more than effort. That is why we elect people to positions of power to perform that demanding duty on behalf of ALL Americans.
So, I am sorry, but I will have to fly the bullshit flag when I see Republicans blame the Democrats for not voting in favor of the Republican caucus candidate. Are Republicans willing to vote in favor of the Democrat candidate caucus? No, they are not. Therefore, it is unreasonable to think that either side would be compelled to vote outside party lines. This needs to change, as I mentioned, but I don’t see an end in sight any time soon.
Republicans also have the majority in the House of Representatives at this time, however razor thin, so in either case the Democrats votes are less of those of the Republicans. Even if all Democrats voted unanimously over any issue, they are not going to win. Do I wish things would be different? Yes, of course, and I stated as much in the previous paragraph. But, once again, it is exceedingly naïve to ascertain that there is going to be a truly bipartisan agreement based on the obvious gridlocks that we’ve observed in the last several years.
Case in point, Rep. McCarthy and other Republicans blamed the Democrats for voting in favor of removing him as speaker of the House. I don’t know if this gaslighting that Rep. McCarthy and company are spewing works on anybody, but it is very patronizing to anybody who is actually paying attention. The Democrats were starkly opposed to having Rep. McCarthy as the speaker of the House in the first place. They did not vote to elect him and, given the opportunity to vote to remove him, what the hell would Rep. McCarthy think they would do? No Duh! I mean, historically, it took Rep. McCarthy the most amounts of votes to gain the speakership in the first place (15 tries), and that was only after giving severe connections to the more extreme parts of his party who ended up removing him from his post anyway. Like, nobody saw that coming. I did, even back in January.
Yes, the Democrats do have their choice for speaker of the House and his name is Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). For this last vote, unsurprisingly, Democrats casted all of their 209 available votes for him in every ballot while Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) got all 220 votes (of course) from the Republicans. Rep. Johnson, although a very obscure figure when compared to some other US Representatives who make headlines more often, is not without controversy.
For this article, I will not delve too deep into those controversies because I don’t want my words to be perceived as leaning towards favoritism or partisanship for, or against any personality. However, some of these facts will not be easy to read for some people who might have a political bias at this particular time in our history. If the person was a Democrat and had the same baggage, I would be writing the same things that I am writing now. To anybody with a political bias I would recommend them to check this same article in the future when the emotional factor is quelled. Yes, emotional factors are deliberately part of the political discourse. The good news is that facts are impervious to emotion. The bad news is that there are a lot of people who vote based on conjecture instead of facts.
Why am I talking about emotional factors? Simple, because our country political discourse is currently largely polarized based on emotions. We need to return to some adequate level of pragmatism to realize what are the facts and underlining issues. This is not the time in our history to be willfully ignorant, or to let our emotions take the best of us, especially whenever we face statements that [we] otherwise find challenging to our perception [of what we want to believe is true, even if it is not].
What is at stake?
Actually, a lot! For starters, the extension to prevent having the US government shutdown expires mid-November. We have been without a speaker of the House for over three weeks (22 days). That is also important because during that entire time a lot of other significant events have occurred- among other things, the attack on Israel by the violent extremist group, Hamas.
When Congress lacks a speaker of the House then a lot of legislation that will afford our troops the funding to conduct operations comes to a stand-still. It is worth mentioning that USA’s military role in this conflict is to prevent this situation from spilling and expanding away from the region. A lot has happened in the last few weeks, but that is a topic for another article. I have chosen not to write much about the Israel-Hamas conflict yet because of all the historical sensitivities that surround this struggle. But, for anybody who thinks that these are not correlated somehow, think again. There is a lot more than what meets the eye riding on these events. Anybody who has been paying attention to history in the last 70+ years will be able to explain to you why.
Which is a good segway to speak about why this new speaker of the House is significant during this time in our history. Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has openly spoken about how his decision making and governing style derivates directly from biblical doctrine. Is this a good or a bad thing? Well, it depends if you happen to be in the same Christian Denomination as Johnson, or you are anybody else [for that matter].
By the way, he seems to subscribe to one of the many Baptists sub-denominations. Aside from many specifically contentious theological doctrines, he also subscribes to an Evangelical segment that believes in a young Earth believing that the world is ~6,000 years old. This can be attested by his open support to the Young-Earth Creationist group answers in Genesis – meanwhile, the rest of the scientists agree that the world is 4.543 billion years old. For any eagled-eye mathematicians that means many people who make a living on several independent established and demonstrable sciences had independently concluded that our planet is 4,543,000,000 years old, or 4,542,994,000 older than what young Earth Creationists assert. I’ll let you be the judge of who is correct. But I think you can imagine which number I lean towards in this issue.
Among other things, House Speaker Johnson’s political career is built on the claim that the USA should be governed as a Christian country. There is a slight [euphemism for huge] problem that not everybody in America are Christians, and a follow up problem is that a lot of Christians do not agree in great swaths of their own doctrines. Hence, we have thousands of Christian denominations, although there is an estimated nine million Baptists (combining all branches for Baptists), and there is a further estimated 210 million Christians combining all denominations (including Baptists) in the USA. Of course, there are 332 million people in the country. So, let’s do a bit of quick arithmetic to show why this fact is significant:
332,000,000 US People
– 210,000,000 US Christians
__________
112,000,000 US non-Christians.
Are these 112 million people supposed to be mandated to convert to Christianity? If you are in the group that says “YES”, let’s discuss and please answer, “Then what Christian denomination should we all convert to?” House Speaker Johnson is a Baptist, so is every other Christian alright with following this denomination as the theocracy of the land? Let’s use quick arithmetic to ensure we are capturing this reality:
210,000,000 US Christians
– 9,000,000 US Baptists
__________
201,000,000 Other-than-Baptists US Christian Denominations.
I am not trying to start a religious contention in this article, but if we are talking about a democracy, and the House representing ALL Americans, then this is an important topic to understand if religion in politics is playing a central role. I was unable to discover how many exact numbers of Christian denominations exist in the US at this time. I tried, and there is a lot of information that does not actually narrows it down, but instead it bundles a lot of larger segments of Christianity and does not give an exact number.
However, there are about 45,000 Christian denominations in the world. So, under that metric, if we consider that the US is pretty much a microcosm of the world it is bound to have a similar number of Christian followers. For this experiment, we’ll divide people equally among Christian denominations in the world. Since Christianity should be world-wide, correct? Although these 45,000 denominations do not agree with their doctrines, if they did there would not be a need for divergence.
210,000,000 US Christians ÷ 45,000 denominations = about 3,889 people.
Why am I doing this? Well, simple. Christianity, when combined with the many denominations, is indeed a huge religion. But, when you put it in separated denominations, there are a lot of minorities (as you can see in this rough average) that are religious with a common theme. They diverge very drastically in doctrine and epistemology. In other words, it is very risky to proclaim only one denomination or religion as the law of the land. But, if you’re still in favor of this please consider the following if you’re willing to convert anybody to Christianity:
For example,
What if the “Christian US” was all Jehovah Witness? Or…
What if the “Christian US” was all Latter-Day Saints (Mormon?) Or…
What if the “Christian US” was all Catholic with Augustinian doctrines? Or…
What if the “Christian US” was all Pentecostal? Or…
What if the “Christian US” was all Christian Orthodox? Or…
What if the “Christian US” was all Southern Baptist? I can go on with all the 44,994 remaining Christian denominations but I hope this makes my point.
Hopefully, this makes sense as to why there is a separation of church and state in the United States of America. It actually PROTECTS your right to worship whoever, or whatever, you want which is freedom of religion. For example, if you are a Southern Baptist, would you be cool with being mandated under Catholic Doctrine? Which includes doing all the ceremonies and rituals under that doctrine? And, of course, adjust your epistemology accordingly? How about the possibility of instead of being allowed to practice your Southern Baptist faith, you are now required to be a Jehovah Witness? They are also considered Christian. Yes, I am very sure most Christians would not be cool with anybody imposing a denomination that is contrary to their current epistemology. Well the same is pretty much true for anybody else, no matter what their current belief (or lack-there-off) they have chosen to follow.
Why do you think we don’t have a requirement to be forced into a particular religion? Because otherwise we would not live in a democracy, or a republic for that matter, but rather we would be stuck in a theocracy. For example, countries who live under Islam have a theocracy and the Koran and Sharia Law are the law of the land. If you don’t agree with it, well too bad because it is the law in those countries. By the way, in Islam there is a death penalty for apostacy (or leaving the faith). Would you be OK if that happened in the United States, too, as a mandatory theocracy?
If that gives you pause, even a little, then the same feeling goes for anybody who does not agree with your own particular denomination. That is why we have religious freedom. The separation of church and state protects every religion and prevents any one denomination from becoming the mandate of the land.
I am spending some time on this religious leaning of the speaker of the House because he is so adamant about governing under his religious interpretation. It worries me that under that metric not all Americans are being represented equally. In other words, believe what you want, dude, but don’t force it onto anybody else. Nobody is stopping him from being a hard-core Baptist. If that works for him, cool – but that does not give him authority over imposing his religious doctrines onto everybody else from the third highest office in the land. In other words, please respect all other 323,000,000 non-Baptists in the country. Want examples about the world-views he wants to impose? Sure:
He is very vocal against LGBTQ+ people. He wants it to be criminalized. He is on record stating as much, and how he disagrees with what he considers as “a choice.” Being LGBTQ+ is not a choice, much like being straight is not a choice. You are either straight or not. So, if you’re in that 7% of the US population, he has made some pretty inflammatory comments about you. My position is simple; love the person you love and spend your life with them if it is mutually consensual.
Among the same misunderstanding he believes that LGBTQ+ leads to bestiality. For example, erroneously stating LGBTQ+ would be inclined to marry their pets. That is a very slippery slope that dehumanizes people.
He has a very deep misunderstanding of evolution, and to add insult to injury he also based that on some public statements he has made regarding school shootings (look it up but it might make you mad).
How did we get here?
Yes, that begs the question, how is it that we ended up with House Speaker Mike Johnson? Well, it might be by design. There were two other candidates for speaker of the House who gained the majority nomination to run by the Republican caucus, but they voluntarily stepped down. The most recent example is Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn). He was the Majority Whip, and his voting record does show bipartisan participation. He resigned even before the vote came to the floor, and only four hours after his nomination.
Rep. Emmer, however, did not enjoy former President Trump’s good graces. Trump had called Emmer, among other choice words, a “RINO”- or Republican in Name Only- which is some sort of insult that conservatives throw at each other if they are “not conservative enough.” What is interesting to me is that it’s likely that Rep. Emmer could have gained political support from the Democrats to be elected as speaker of the House because his voting record already reflected a willingness to work across the aisle on certain key issues. As a political strategy that would have been very inconvenient to the Republican’s narrative that theDemocrats are not willing to work with the Republicans on electing a Republican Speaker of the House.
Of course, that was very true with candidates such as Rep. Jim Jordan, and it was true with Rep. Mike Johnson, but although we will never know how it would have been with Rep. Emmer- because the vote did not come to the House floor- I have a feeling that Rep. Emmer might have been able to get at least a few votes from some of the Democrats. In fact, that would have been a wise move for the Democrats because that would undermine any narrative that they are unwilling to work with the Republicans to reach agreements across the aisle. Selecting Rep. Mike Johnson was very likely to prompt the all-so-common voting we see segmented by party lines.
As I mentioned before, the voting record is designed to be a tool for good, but it can also be politically compromising, especially when it comes to lobbyists or other special interest groups. Most Americans won’t care much about the voting record a politician cast for whatever legislation reaches the floor, but those who fund campaigns do pay attention to that closely. I am not necessarily talking about grass-root donors but instead, those who have a lot more money to spend. And, no, that kind of spending money in politics is not just altruistic, but there is an expected return on investment.
Far from implying that, House Speaker Mike Johnson is coming with a nefarious agenda, and I am just stating the obvious. There is a valid reason for why House Speaker Johnson was selected to take this role. Although Johson is far less vocally-famous than more polarizing figures such as Rep. Jim Jordan, House Speaker Mike Johnson’s voting record and career have spearheaded several issues that have been very contentious in the American political discourse. Let’s list just a few for your information:
He is pro-Election Denial, in asserting that former President Trump won the election (this is a very important factor, and I’ll expand more on that shortly). In fact, he was one of the architects of this narrative that is now better known as “The Big Lie.”
He blamed the last mass shooting on “the human heart.” In case you were not aware, the last mass shooting was in Maine and is the deadliest one in 2023, and 2023 has already experienced 565 mass shootings. And, yes, that is more than previous years. It just keeps getting worse and worse. He is very much against common-sense gun regulations which by the way the majority of Americans support (which is not the same as confiscation of firearms, by the way – a lot of liberals also love their guns and some tend to own quite the collections).
We already discussed his issues against you if you happen to be a LGBTQ+. He was in favor of criminalizing what consenting adults do in the privacy of their own bedroom. Not sure why anybody should care what consenting adults do in their bedrooms no matter if they are straight or LGBTQ+ – just staying, that’s creepy.
He wants to impose his religious views onto the rest of the country, which is what he did before being elected to Congress. He was an attorney who fought in favor of some controversially-charged religious issues.
His voting record goes against climate and clean energy policies.
And I can go on, but if you do a quick Google search you will find enough material to read for hours so I will leave it at that for now. I mostly want you to have a timeframe of reference in case you want to do more research in the future. But I will return to the one that I find most contentious, and that is the election denialism. Let me explain why this is such an important issue.
Why is election denial dangerous?
First, a few facts. Former President Trump did not win the 2020 election. There have been multiple lawsuits to contend the election results and they all failed. Many other criminal charges have been levied against Trump and some of his followers that categorically demonstrate that his narrative of a stolen election were found false. In fact, a few of his attorneys who were pushing this narrative flipped on him now that they are face-to-face with serious criminal charges. But there is a more important issue, and it is that this narrative of a stolen election is convenient to countries who do not want America to remain the shiny city on the hill. What does that mean?
Well, simple. There are a lot of authoritarian countries out there who are bidding for becoming the number one nation in the world. That would mean that whatever narrative of authoritarianism they spew would become the new normal. America does have room for improvement, but we are not in a political climate whereas if you speak out of turn the government will drag you out of your house and make you “disappear.” But those disappearances, or violent repercussions, do happen in other countries where elections are actually a sham.
The election in 2020 was the most secure election thus far. Trump lost the popular vote and the electoral college in 2020. In 2016, Trump lost the popular vote but won the electoral college. There are simply fewer people who wanted to have Trump remain President of the United States. So, it should be a credit to Trump that under his watch the election was not rigged, yet he is somehow telling the world that he was presiding when election fraud occurred. Such a gigantic problem would actually not be good optics for his ability to govern, just saying. Yet, in the same election, a lot of Republicans did win a few races and they did not contest those results, including Mike Johnson’s ballot. Bizarre, huh?
Anyway, claiming election fraud in the US would make other countries in the world seem “acceptable” to have rigged elections. In other words, “if the US has rigged elections being the leader of the world, then it would be normalized to the rest of the world.” Now, that is a convenient narrative to all of those authoritarian countries. But, fortunately, the merits on the evidence do not hold any water. Let’s explore.
Commonly you hear the trope that President Biden did not hold big rallies like Trump as the smoking gun for why there was election fraud. So, let us dispel this very quickly. Democrats do not really go to rallies, and if they vote they will vote but that does not mean they will be wrapping themselves with their candidate’s regalia while spending copious amounts of money to support their candidate of choice. They will just show up and vote, and perhaps donate some money to their campaigns, but otherwise they do not make a big fuss over it.
For example, it’s very unlikely that you will see Democrats buying hats, shirts, hoodies, flags, merchandise, and stay in line for a rally hours before any of their people speak. Instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on that, they would instead donate to a campaign up to whatever is the allowed amount. Instead of spending on merchandise, they will listen or read what they have to say in the platforms that they consume. For example, instead of going to a rally to view the candidate as they speak, they will login to a website and hear what the candidate has to say from the comfort of their own home. Also, 2020 was smack in the middle of COVID-19 and Democrats preferred to stay home and social distance than going out to rallies and, by doing so, minimize the chance of getting infected with COVID. And, yes, many of them also listen to Right-wing news, they just don’t agree with their narrative.
However, these factors have mostly been forgotten by some of the Right-wing voters. Some don’t even know what happened on January 6, 2021, and that is already startling. By the way, that is the day of the insurrection and assault on the Capitol in Washington D.C. and what caused former President Trump to be impeached for the second time. There are many criminal proceeding and charges against Trump because of that, even though it took more than two years for the indictment to come to light.
The point is that a lot of otherwise very caring and good people who are currently supporting some of the more extreme policies were simply not afforded the full story by their outlets of choice. In other words, Republicans and Democrats can and have worked together, even if they don’t agree on everything. But there is a lot more of what makes us similar than different. That is not convenient to some people who want to push a certain agenda. We have politicians who repeat adversarial talking points verbatim and their constituents parrot them as well. Some people will follow this agenda because they have been lied to while others do so because they are willfully trying to deceive their base.
I have heard the point of views of many so called MAGA Republicans, and they are indeed good decent people, very patriotic, and have a lot of love for the country. But I say this with a lot of love in my heart; they have not been afforded the full story and, yes, I have told them as much in person while giving them an opportunity to see the full context.
It is actually very startling to see how much Republicans actually agree with Democrats on some common denominator policies. In conversations with both sides I’ve noticed they were onboard with certain doctrines BEFORE they knew that those were political policies that they thought they were supposed to dissent upon. It’s fascinating! I find it very disturbing that good people are being utilized by certain politicians to spread misinformation. If you are a MAGA Republican, it will do you well to read and listen to news that are not from your usual “trusted” outlets- both, from the US and internationally. You will discover the obvious, and that is that some of the key information is not making it to your ears. Some of that misinformation is forcing your vote, but this vote is actually against your best interests.
Whether you love or hate Trump is not the issue, here, but the fact is that he has 94 criminal charges and several civil lawsuits. He is also not winning on any of them. Understand that some of those judges were appointed by Trump himself. And any person who was his supporter but had to dissent- well, Trump disavowed them exceedingly fast.
It is worth mentioning that if you file even ONE charge for a case (for example pertaining to an indictment or a lawsuit) [especially] against a high-profile figure that means that actual evidence exist in order to bring said case to court. Especially in high profile cases attorneys would prefer not to risk losing their bar license for bringing a frivolous case to trial – especially if it cannot be won on the merits. The US Government is not in the business to bring a trial they don’t think they can actually win – and if they bring a case will be armed with evidence they gathered well before goes to trial. This realization can be very traumatic for people who have a deep level of devotion towards Trump (or anybody else who enjoys their devotion for that matter).
But it will, just like breaking up with a significant other that sometime in your past gave your butterflies in your stomach. The facts in the end will dictate how that relationship will survive. Some of the people who flipped on him [Trump] felt that their relationship with him was not as positive as they originally envisioned. You might be one of them, too, in the future. Who knows? The fact is that, although very vocal, the MAGA voter just happens to be dwindling for the very reason I just mentioned, and I have met a bunch.
They loved Trump, and they tried to prove somebody else wrong before they found out the [verifiable] truth available pretty much everywhere else, except their usual go-to media outlets. Then they got mad at Trump, and now they are not MAGA Republicans anymore. Still pretty awesomely patriotic Americans, though. Some others (who did not particularly like nor dislike Trump) already realized some that otherwise freely available information before giving Trump a chance to galvanize his power over them. That is why Trump would call anybody else “fake news” – even outlets he previously endorsed if they said something critical of him at some point. It would be counterintuitive if he didn’t – obviously he does not want his fans to hear anything that could be considered disparaging.
A pretty sizable segment of the MAGA Republicans are indeed very patriotic and spirited but we also have to remember that all MAGA or non-MAGA are also required to understand that the world is a lot more complex than what is being afforded in many outlets. I am willing to bet that MAGA Republicans will not be very happy with Trump if they actually figure out that not everything relevant for their decision making and devotion has being percolated in the rallies and their outlets of choice. There is simply a lot that whomever are controlling the narrative are not telling them [MAGA supporters].
How do I know? Well, I have been looking at a lot of MAGA outlets and I can tell you that there is a lot of pertinent information that is being left out. This information could indeed change a MAGA mind. I’m not even kidding. Don’t take my word for it. The factual and official information is available to you. That includes information about the topic within Today in America. And, yes, I have met a lot of ex-MAGA people who were not super happy with Trump after they learned about the full context. Try to prove me wrong. The information exists and it only requires critical thinking and intellectual honesty. Look at the official records that are posted for public consumption. I have even posted some on this site. I only write facts so you’re welcome to prove me wrong, but that means you will have to do some research outside of your usual outlets. In the end, you’ll be happy to embark on that research adventure. Please let me know in the comments how it went. Happy research! HLC
HLC Govt Shutdown – www.halflifecrisis.com – Today in America
You might or might not find it surprising that anytime there is a controversial event in Capitol Hill, somehow the same faces keep appearing front and center.
The looming of yet another U.S. Government Shutdown is all too real.
On Sunday ,October 1, 2023 the U.S. Government could once again shut down as the Republican-led House of Representatives had failed to come to a resolution. Yes, really… This is the 14th Time the U.S. Government has shut down since the 1980’s. And yes, both parties have been responsible for these shut downs before. And yes, each time this was also a huge deal!
I won’t delve to much on each reason for the previous shutdowns for this article, because it will be long enough just as it is. But what I will say is that regardless of the politics in Capitol Hill, it is our entire country who suffers when our elected representatives fail to work for the good of the people.
Here is a quick snapshot of the previous U.S. Government shutdowns for your reference:
20 NOV 1981 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 2 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Republicans
30 SEP 1982 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 1 day
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Republicans
17 DEC 1982 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 3 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Republicans
10 NOV 1983 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 3 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Republicans
10 NOV 1983 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 3 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Republicans
30 SEP 1984 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 3 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Republicans
03 OCT 1984 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 1 day
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Republicans
18 DEC 1987 – Under President Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Shut down for 1 day
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Democrats
05 OCT 1990 – Under President George H. W. Bush (Republican)
Shut down for 3 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Democrats
13 NOV 1995 – Under President Bill Clinton (Democrat)
Shut down for 5 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Republicans
Control of the Senate: Republicans
15 DEC 1995 – Under President Bill Clinton (Democrat)
Shut down for 21 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Democrats
Control of the Senate: Democrats
30 SEP 2013 – Under President Barack Obama (Democrat)
Shut down for 16 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Republicans
Control of the Senate: Democrats
19 JAN 2018 – Under President Donald Trump (Republican)
Shut down for 2 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Republicans
Control of the Senate: Republicans
28 DEC 2018 – Under President Donald Trump (Republican)
Shut down for 34 days
Control for the House of Representatives: Republicans/Democrats (Democrats won midterm elections)
Control of the Senate: Republicans
Next possible shutdown – 01 OCT 2023 – Under President Joe Biden (Democrat)
Shut down for (who knows how long as of 30SEP2023)
Control for the House of Representatives: Republicans
Control of the Senate: Democrats
Let’s discuss about it.
What are your thoughts as you see these historical times? Regardless of what the issues are in the floor that leads to a shut down, these shut-downs are politically weaponized to force a particular political dissent to go through.
In other words we have to understand an entire fucking year was wasted as politicians have collectively failed to reach an agreement that is viable for the United States – the entire United States. And yes, usually these disagreements tend to cling onto some “wedge issues” that hold the entire country until the eleventh hour. Yes, holding the entire country hostage while these differences or compromises are reached. It is bad for the economy, it is bad for the people, and it is really bad for the rest of the federal government. Let’s explore more.
How do I know what I am talking about? Well, because I will be retiring from the U.S. Navy in a few months… and that implies that I have worked for the Federal Government for two decades. I’ve seen several shutdowns in my time in uniform. A few times, military members such as myself were spared in some previous actual and potential shut downs, but not always. Even if we do get “reimbursed” after Congress finally reaches an agreement, the damage is done in several ways.
First off, a lot of people working for the Federal Government (to include military families) do leave paycheck to paycheck. This puts a lot of strain on any person, especially if they have a family. For example, let’s say that a family cannot afford to pay their bills, what are they supposed to do? Some of the more cynical people not-directly affected by this would state that they should use a “credit card.” Which is also not a viable option, even if they have a credit card – for several reasons. I’ll mention a few. First off, because the money in our credit cars is not our money… anything charged in a credit card must be repaid. And we need money to repay that card… and a lot of those cards also charge interest. So that means pay the card and the interest. And for that you need actual money.
Another reason all too common are families who are already struggling. You might have met a few, and they probably have already charged their credit cards and are already paying interest. So if they have to add to that balance, their interest goes up, their debts goes up, and their credit score goes down – which incidentally further drives their interest up (having to pay even more), and that is if they are not already over their credit limit.
But there is another part that makes it even more insidious. Did you now that when a person gets paid in the federal government is AFTER they completed their work obligations? So for example, in the military we get paid twice per month. Usually at the beginning and mid-point of the month.
So, for example if I would have not received my paycheck at the end of this month – along all my brothers and sisters in uniform, that would have meant that we had already preformed our duties and responsibilities without pay. Fortunately, we did get paid for this end of the month (September) – but our paycheck for October is what will suffer.
To draw a parallel, it is not unlike walking off a restaurant without paying the bill after eating there. Even if you go after the fact to pay the bill, that does not negate the fact that it is at the very least an inconvenience to the restaurant and the staff.
Also, it is part of our contract to be paid, because on this planet you cannot live without a salary. But that is only one part of the problem when the government shuts down. Even if people are sent home because they cannot work without money, the entire country’s economy suffers. For example, a lot of contracts and other purchases needed for the function of government also get on hold.
You know who wins? The regimes who do not like America, those regimes are the ones who win when the U.S. Government shuts down. These adversarial nations will most definitely also use our failure to keep the Government open as a propaganda point to imply that the U.S. Government is not able to run routine operations. In case it was not obvious enough, that means that dangerous regimes will bolster as the “safe” method of governing a country. That should be a wake-up call to Capitol Hill.
And to be honest, some of those operations now scheduled to stall will also represent either a “show stopper,” or at the very least a “show delayer” to our posture in the world. But even if some segments of government didn’t quite stop the operations from occurring, they will still have sand on the gears of progress. Why? Because for operations to flow, it needs a lot moving parts already as part of the government. Some are obvious, some are less obvious but that does not mean that the unintended consequences won’t sprout everywhere. And what is more dangerous, is that those along with other hidden vulnerabilities will exacerbate other segments of our economy and the country at large.
You might be thinking, well I am not citing any specifics. I will in a bit, but you also have to realize that this puzzle is not just a few bullet points, instead is a gigantic gradient. That is why people are elected to represent us, so they and their staff can solve these complex puzzles in a way that will help ups all not destroy our lives if they fail to do so. That is why if you elect a moron to a seat in Congress, it can slow down the entire country, even if he/she (the moron elected) doesn’t realize they are part of the problem. Let’s see how that works.
21 (R) REPs who voted against extending the deadline to prevent Goverment Shutdown
Every shut down has a face behind it.
You don’t have to take my word for it. You can independently verify that by looking at the links below to refer at the bills the House of Representatives is supposed to be working on. Here is a quick Congress 101 – and how your elected officials are supposed to support the country.
The House of Representatives introduces legislation: The Representatives with the help of their staffs introduce legislation. The U.S. Representatives and their staff are supposed to speak for their district constituents. Hence, they are required to introduce legislation that will voice the concerns of their constituents, and balance these concerns with what is best to for the rest of the country. These concerns are introduced through what is known as a “bill.” Some of these bills are very good, some are utter garbage. Yes, really… you can see it for yourself.
The House of Representatives votes and debates: A debate is not supposed to be shit-show, it is supposed to be an intellectually driven process where the best ideas will raise to the top by holding each other’s feet to the fire. In other words, ensure that whatever the plan moving forward is ultimately good for the ENTIRE country, not just a particular segment of the population. Each representative will vote on the proposed bill. And yes, you can see how they (each Representative) voted – that is what is called as the “voting record.” So, if a politician of your devotion is telling you lies, you can fact-check them here. And you can also do the same regarding politicians you don’t particularly like.
The Senate approves or denies the bill before it goes to the President to sign it into law. In the event a bill passes, then they Senate will also debate and decide if it will make it to the U.S. President’s desk to be signed into law. The president then has the power to either sign the bill into law, or veto it. That would trigger other options, mainly send it back to Congress so they can try again.
Check this link to see the voting record for each U.S. Senator U.S. Senate: Votes
These are all of course official sites that form part of the public record. Again you are more than welcome to use these resources in order to fact-check those politicians you like and those you dislike and see what is the truth behind what they say to your face on in front of the camera. The truth being what they (politicians) put on record as far as voting in regards to legislation. And yes, sometimes what they told you to your face and what their voting record states does not match. Surprise!
So to recap, the House of Representatives introduces a bill, debates it, and if it passes it moves to the Senate. The Senate debates the bill again and if it passes it goes to the U.S. President to sign into law. The President could sign and establish this law, or veto (not sign) the bill (and all that work could become pretty much just a waste of time). By the way the President needs a damn good reason to veto a bill.
So, understanding the process, we can clearly see what is going on at this moment. I said at the top of this section that usually a shut down has a name and a face behind it, which holds the entire country hostage. Where are we stuck right now? Glad you asked, it is still at the House of Representatives. Who is in charge of the House you ask? Well, the Speaker of the House is Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy.
If you looked at the voting record (either in the link I provided, or in C-SPAN, or any other outlet showing the official voting count), probably you noticed it that any legislation is divided by party lines. The Republicans right now hold the majority (however slim this time around) in the U.S. House of Representatives. And that means that the Democrats are pretty much powerless to pass any bills, because as the minority they will be voted out in the debate against the Republican majority .
But it gets more complex than that. The Republicans are themselves very divided in the house. There is a group that is known as the “MAGA” Republicans, who are very much aligned with Former President Trump’s rhetoric. What you might not know is that their proposed bill is flawed (to put it nicely, read it yourself) in the sense that it has a lot of language that it just so happens to be VERY beneficial to America’s adversaries.
I am not saying these Representatives are willingly trying to weaken the United States, what I am saying is that their staff should be better versed in how these proposals actually sets back our country in so many ways. I actually wrote a book about it – and I will announce the publishing date on this very site www.halflifecrisis.com when it comes out.
Meanwhile, these congressional staffs should really pay attention to the foreign and domestic policy, great power competition, and a lot more in order to advise their Boss (the Representative) not to destroy the country by mistake. Afterall, no matter how much you like or dislike a Representative, they are only one person, that is why they have a staff. Why am I saying this? Because a lot of Representatives make fools out themselves in the Congressional Chamber when they speak – missing a lot of facts. That is a failure on the staff not ensuring their Representative is ready to state their case and get it recorded in the pages of American History.
But in the meantime, please understand why I emphasize that these elected Representatives need be very well versed on how their power can affect the entire country, even if they don’t understand how. For example, this just happened. McCarthy instead of working for the people he did have a session over the long weekend further delaying the process to the brink of shutdown. And as recent as Thursday, the Republican majority House spent several hours on a non-productive impeachment inquire against the incumbent President Biden – with no evidence! Meanwhile the entire country is wondering if the country will shut down.
Spoiler alert, there is a bill already created by the Democrats that would keep our government open, and this is already pre-approved by the Democrat-led Senate, and the U.S. President stated he would sign it right away to prevent our government to shut down. I briefly explained before how the shut down actually affects PEOPLE, millions of Americans!
Further, there was another vote to extend the deadline for the Government to Shut down, and give enough wiggle room for the Republican-led House to unwedge their head off their ass so we can come with a solution that is not holding hostage millions of Americans and shutting our government.
Unsurprisingly, this option to keep to extend the deadline to help the dialog without destroying the lives of millions of people who will be affected directly if the government shut downs had a lot of support by both Democrats and Republicans… except for a few (21 in-fact). So, if the government does shut down, and we suffer all the terrible unintended consequences because of it, you can thank the following U.S. Representatives. And yes, you can use the sites I gave you to look at their voting record during their time in office.
All these are Republican Representatives and are in favor of Shutting Down the Government. They also voted on Bocking Funding to Keep the Government Open until the situation can resolved without making all the people who work for the government suffer and forced to work for free or being furloughed (of course Congress is exempt and will keep drawing a Salary, to include these 21 Representatives). And yes, they all so happened to be Republican, I would have also listed them if they were Democrats.
(R) Andy Biggs – AZ
(R) Dan Bishop – NC
(R) Lauren Boebert – CO
(R) Ken Buck – CO
(R) Tim Burchett – TN
(R) Eric Burlison – MO
(R) Michael Cloud – TX
(R) Eli Crane – AZ
(R) Mat Gaetz – FL
(R) Paul Gosar – AZ
(R) Majorie Taylor Greene – GA
(R) Wesley Hunt – TX
(R) Nancy Mace – GA
(R) Mary Miller – IL
(R) Cory Mills – FL
(R) Alexaner Mooney – VW
(R) Barry Moore – AL
(R) Troy Nehls – TX
(R) Andy Ogles – TN
(R) Matt Rosendale – MT
(R) Keith Self – TX
So, if you or your loved ones suffer because of the upcoming Government Shutdown, you can thank these Representatives I listed above. Especially if they are in your own district and they affect your own people. And if you happen to receive any funding from the Federal government in the form of a salary, contracts or any other service that derives from the government and this becomes unavailable for the foreseeable future, you know who put you in that situation. Yes, there is a solution and it is ready to be signed, but the process won’t work unless people are willing to work together.
The reality on the ground.
It is easy to politicize something when we leave the people who suffer out of our minds. But the reality is a lot different on the ground for those who get affected. As a military member, we actually received some “guidance” on how to cope with this looming shut down. And we were supposed to communicate this forced policy our Sailors and provide them guidance. And the 14-page document essentially says “sucks to be you” if you have an essential role serving, you’re the U.S. in a civilian of military capacity. What do I mean by that?
To summarize very quickly, this government shutdown is forcing all our military members to work with no pay for the foreseeable future. Still work every day, and do all the usual sacrifices PLUS more work because of all the civilian people who will be furloughed and would provide any of the many supporting roles. So, yes military members will have to do MORE WORK WITH NO PAY, because a lot of deemed “less essential” civilian workers won’t be allowed to come to work.
A lot of those “less essential” workers will be either forced to take vacation days, or no get a paycheck at all. Because they are not allowed to work. Some would argue, “well at least they can find a temporary non-government gig” until the government opens.” Now, think about that for just one minute and think how stupid that argument is (by the way somebody did propose that idea out loud). Just imagine any of us essentially losing their job for now… but you don’t know how long this shut down will last. How can you even predict when you’re going to start for this gig, or if you will be forced to return to work because you are “more essential” but not get paid for it.
Meanwhile, if you work for the Government, how are you going to pay all your bills, or will you be forced to use your savings (if you have any – not everybody has savings) to hold on until the elected representatives stop playing games with our lives. Sure, there is supposed to be some payback for time lost (with many caveats), but the main problem is that financial obligations have a timeline, and if this timeline is disrupted it can create a lot of consequences. The gravity of each will depend on every person, and for some these will be very grave.
Very disturbingly, for us in the U.S. Navy – I was directed to ensure my Sailors knew about some resources while they are working for free. For example utilizing something called the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society. Which is a charity organization that among other things gives interest free loans to Sailors and Marines for certain emergencies. Key word – LOANS, that means these have to be paid back. And this pot of money is also finite. But even if some Service Members can “defer” some of their payments for their mortgage or other bills a bit to the right, that means that when the bill comes due it is going to be a lot higher, and it will take a lot of “manual” coordination for every account.
Want examples? Sure: Utilities (water, electricity, gas, etc.), car payments, rent, mortgages, insurance, cell phone, subscriptions, internet, Home Owners Associations fees, etc. And that does not include all the other purchases we need to make anyway such as food, gas (for commuting), tolls, etc.
Now, think about all these Sailors and other Service Members deployed, or that are underway or doing whatever is it that we are assigned for the security of our Nation. They are not only asked to work for free… They are also asked to have their families to jump through hoops so they don’t get behind their bills, and that is still not guaranteed. Just think for a moment how insidious this entire situation is. And that is a very superficial view to the gigantic ramifications of this shut down. Now just imagine trying to coordinate all those bills while being away, it is exceedingly hard to do so, I know that for a fact.
Who wins with all this Political Theater?
I said it before, but it worth repeating. The only winners when the U.S. Government shut downs are the regimes who want to diminish American positive influence int eh world. When our elected leaders (in a Democracy) fail to work together and hold hostage the entire country’s population; even if this negatively affects segments of the population in different manners, it is a collective loss. This struggle is used as propaganda to bolster these adversarial regimes “message” to the rest of the world. Their main message is “we (insert adversarial nation) have shown we can do better than America, see, their political system does not work; we ain’t the ones shutting down.” Stuff like this help them bolster their authoritarian political style where any dissent or debate become a moot point.
I know this is more abstract than what meets the eye. And that is why politics, domestic and foreign policy are complex topics. That is why we trust elected Representatives to be very smart and well-prepared people so they are not just doing political theater and letting unintended consequences to percolate under their watch.
This message was obviously lost on the 21 Republican Representatives I listed. I have been following their record for a long time now. But they did not my help to be identified as the people who are de-facto shutting our government. Their names are forever recorded in the American history archives. It was THEIR decision to support those dangerous policies that are affecting millions of people. Their legacy is going to translate to the struggle that millions of people will have to endure because they are short-sighted. They are killing an entire forest to save a single tree. Don’t take my word for it, read the bill they are supporting yourself. Be intellectually honest, and you’ll come to the same conclusion most people have come to.
Meanwhile, it seems that Republican Representative Ken McCarthy, as speaker of the House could find himself to be be forced to support a Democratic introduced bill. But there is more… if he does that – the same cadre of Republicans who are shutting down the government are threatening McCarthy to force him out of the role of Speaker of the House. What is McCarthy going to choose? Will he choose the well-being of the country or cling to his fragile grip to the House or Representatives. If it was a strong grip, we would not be having this conversation. We will find out for sure what will McCarthy choose… the country or his current position.
I will write another article as a follow up to the government shutdown. Sadly as I type this, the writing is on the wall, coming on tomorrow Sunday, October 1, 2023 -which is the beginning of the fiscal year 2024, the U.S. Government will shut down for the 15th time as a political weapon that takes all federal government workers to include the military. Except for Congress – yes, the House Representatives and Senators will continue getting paid while your military and every essential civilian worker will have to work for free. Yet the decision for them not to get paid started by these 21 Republican Representatives I listed. If you didn’t know, now you know. HLC
JAN 6 2021 gallows capitol hill
