For the USA in our traditionally binary political construct third party candidates don’t usually have much traction, and RIGHT NOW, they can be disrupting.
Too late for Third-Party Candidates.
I’ll be the first one to tell you that the USA does actually need a third-party option, because the binary system we have is indeed flawed. But that does not mean that RIGHT NOW is the optimal time for a third option, because it is not – and that is heartbreaking. Then again, the political climate and lack of understanding of this process by the majority of the collective is what put us in this situation we are currently experiencing.
So, what is the problem? The problem is that a third-party candidate won’t win, period. But they could very well destroy the campaign of any left or right party candidates – depending on where these third-party candidates seem to pander towards on the political spectrum. Yes, third party candidates can come from a high mixture of political leanings. For example, a right-leaning person peppered with some left-leaning attributes, or vice versa – and anything in between.
But the fact is that RIGHT NOW in 2024 a third-party candidate, even if the candidate himself or herself is not aware of this – they can literally destroy our democracy. Does it sound hyperbolic? I wish it was. In this case a third-party candidate would resonate with some of the more undecided, or least savvy group of the voting block – and even with some who just go third party “because they don’t like” either left or right option.
But guess where those third-party votes would go? They go nowhere, except to decrease the number of votes from either left or right party candidate. Yes, I repeat it on purpose. Why? Because at this point in our history YOU as a voter really need to understand what the GOP and Democrat candidate platforms are really about, and what are they actually advocating for. I am not going to tell you how you should vote – I am telling you that your real options in 2024 for the USA are the ones from the larger parties. And no, I don’t like it either.
Probably you have heard by now about some of the controversy surrounding third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) and his brain-eating worm. That, surprisingly, is the least problematic part of his entire platform. He has a lot of fringe views that are too extreme even for some of the most extreme voters from either side. Yet, they resonate with some of those who are missing context on what it’s been proposed by RFK. For example, his championing of anti-vaccination.
But let’s for a moment go back in history, when Kayne West threw his hat for the US Presidency in 2020 – he lost obviously. But it was likely meant to persuade a lot of democrat voters to leave the party and follow him – even if Kanye never really realized that he was just another element on the presidential campaign strategies from his opposition. In fact, to disrupt the larger opposition candidate. For this we have to understand that political campaigns from the candidate and their opposition are very complex, and depending on how shrewd they are, their tactics can be mind-blowing indeed – for better or worse.
I’ll finish today’s article by saying this. In the USA we have two choices for the 2024 election. One choice is facing criminal charges – right now, and losing his case on the merits – and might get prison time. And has 90+ other criminal charges, his previous cabinet disavowed him at various degrees, and a large number of his circle were found guilty of crimes. The other option is the incumbent President and he has none of the baggage the other candidate is contending with. It should be an obvious choice, but apparently that level of understanding still seems varsity-level for many voters.
Although Incumbent President Biden is not perfect (in reality nobody is perfect), the improvement in America is actually palpable, and many of the popular things right-wing leaders are taking credit for at all levels of government, are the exact same they voted against! Don’t take my word for it, the voting record is open for anybody who wishes to review it. Here, so you don’t have to google it (unless you want to). This is for the US House of Representatives and this is for the Senate. Find out if your favorite politician is lying to your face.
Spoiler alert, many are lying to your face – and insulting your intelligence. By adding some third-party candidates who have a snowball chance in hell of wining allows these toxic elected leaders who are destroying your life to remain unchallenged – because mathematically they are erasing the competition by enabling these distracting candidates to syphon votes away from their opposition. How? Well, for starters you can see if a third candidate is being propped by a party as a” better choice” for their opposition. Yes, it can be THAT obvious.
I’ll be writing more about this topic, and how this adds to the larger topic of Authoritarian Propaganda – because we are all stuck with it. Even if you want to look away it does not matter, because this reality will engulf you too. Meanwhile I invite you to read my book Authoritarianism & Propaganda the Puppet Master Tools, or my many articles, so you can see how history is repeating – and what YOU can do about it. HLC
his article will be a snapshot to remember the events affecting US politics despite the news cycle potentially glossing over the stories for the sake of ratings.
We are inundated by noise, and short memories.
This might feel like a barbed piece against mainstream and independent media – and it is, because it needs to be said. Clickbait, sensationalism, and trending seem to be a lot more important than substance. The industry has evolved to be that way. Sadly, it is all about the mighty algorithm, and this algorithm is people’s attention span.
Important stories get buried all the time in the national discourse, while sometimes incidental-at-best attention grabbers get national attention and go viral. This is true for independent media as well as for mainstream media. To be fair, that’s not everybody with a platform – but definitely the majority. Even some with good intentions fall into this trap.
At Half Life Crisis I’ve been writing pieces and warnings about how authoritarian propaganda tactics are becoming more prominent. That is why I am adamant about preventing this misinformation from continuing. Though I have to admit it does feel like I am constantly screaming into a void. Especially when we see a lot of misleading voices having a huge platform.
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
Insider threats can be witting or unwitting. But they both aid the adversary into achieving their goals. Today this is happening more often than people think.
Expanding on this topic.
On my previous article I mentioned that there is at least one elected leader who is repeating adversarial state-sponsored talking points verbatim. Sadly, that person is not the only one, and adversarial talking points are being parroted by too many people who have a significant level of placement and access in higher offices. And of course, this is music to the ears of those people leading nations who want to get rid of the United States of America as a premier world power.
What some people fail to realize is that they might have convinced themselves that they are actually working, or even sacrificing for their best interests, and the interests of their community. However, in reality they are being manipulated in ways they cannot begin to comprehend. And yes, it is designed to be cryptic enough for them to be confused. That’s also why this level of mass manipulation tends to be so effective.
We all have biases; some are more controllable than others. And based on the environmental circumstances, some of these biases might become invisible even to ourselves as we normalize certain traits – kind of like hiding in plain sight. This can be subtle enough that it goes unnoticed for years, sometimes it will be a bit starker, and an epiphany might follow.
For example, group mentality in their environment could prevent people from breaking their bias shackles. Instead, the desire to find the truth will be replaced with willful ignorance. Of course, the correct answer would be to warrant pragmatic analysis.
Make no mistake, the world is a lot more complex and intricate than what you and I (or any of us for that matter) are combined. And there are entities and people who are banking on the fact most people will feel so overwhelmed by even thinking about it that they will simply look away and let willful and blissful ignorance take the reins of their lives. That too its designed to be that way. There is no easier battle to win than the one the opponent forfeits.
But that is only one layer to the equation. The adversarial forces realized that it is easier to defeat their perceived foe if they are divided. And paradoxically, this division happens by “uniting” a core segment of those who will ultimately become divisive against everyone outside this “circle of trust.” The “circle of trust” will become a “circle of obedience,” and any outsider will automatically be viewed as a dissident, and from there things only accelerate exponentially.
AUTORITARAIANISM & PROPAGANDA The Puppet Master Tools – by J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez – www.halflifecrisis.com
It all starts with a Bias.
Biases are highly exploitable, and we tend to look at “other people’s biases” – and point them out – but we tend to be very lousy at seeing those very same biases affecting us when the mirror is presented in front of us. Why? Well, because it can be traumatic, it forces a person to see the reality of what they don’t want, or are not “quite ready” to confront yet.
This of course is wonderful for the propagandists who want to move your perception of what is acceptable or unacceptable. An insider threat can be witting, knowingly doing something bad. But often it is easier to persuade a person to do something stupid if they are convinced that they are vindicated to do whatever it is that they are persuaded to do. Even if this action is against others, or even their best interests.
People hate being pointed out that there is wrong, and that “egocentric” level of stubbornness can be extremely valuable to those who are manipulating us. A narcissist is paradoxically a person with very low self-esteem. And they can easily be manipulated if a bias – usually their own vanity gets stroked the right way. A certain compliment, a certain flattering “observation” – or whatever behavior or observation that can otherwise serve as a mechanism of defense for their ego should they be put on the spot. Those are incredibly powerful catalysts to move rhetoric into action.
How can this be achieved? It depends on the person, but if a person has an exploitable bias, then their proclivity to follow a charlatan’s lead will not be a bridge too far. In other words, if a person is already preempted to believe any sort of unfalsifiable narratives, doctrines, or even allegories – then by providing a fraction of plausibility for a more “defined” narrative it will be a lot easier to be accepted at face value. Even if the definition of this narrative is conjecture at best.
Pair that with the collective understanding or belief system from everybody else involved, and this will be a very easy transaction for any entity who wants to exploit the bias a person exhibits. The bias itself is almost irrelevant, it is more important for them to assess your willingness to accept something divorced from reality at face value. That’s how this insider threat manipulation starts. HLC
Adversarial propaganda does get repeated verbatim on mainstream media, and sadly enough, also by elected leaders. According to colleagues, MTG is one of those.
Repeating adversarial regimes talking points.
Representative (R-GA 14h District) Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG)is a figure who has gained notoriety in the American political discourse. She has found herself in the middle of many controversial issues since she got in office back in 2001. Even her colleagues in the GOP have very publicly taken exception to many of her views.
Most recently, she has been the catalyst of a civil war battle between her and the incumbent Speaker of the United States House of Representative, Mike Johnson. A man who also happens to be a hardliner GOP politician who gained notoriety for some very divisive views when it comes to policy that is very much aligned with theocracy. That’s is not where MTG disagrees with – for her, Jonhson is not extreme enough on a myriad of other divisive issues.
Although MTG has been all but disavowed by her own Caucus, she is very much praised by state-sponsored media outlets which happen to be against the United States of America. Is that surprising? Not really, unless you have not been paying attention to the geopolitical climate in the last several years… and by several years I mean since well before the Soviet Union went the way of the dodo.
J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez Authoritarianism & Propaganda The Puppet Master Tools.
The insider threat.
I’ve said this before, but it is worth repeating. There are two main categories of insider threat – a witting and unwitting insider threat. The former is the one that is very much aware they are working in favor of the adversary and are doing so wittingly. That’s bad.
The unwitting is worse, because that means they are aiding an adversary, but they are too dumb to realize they are doing so. Which one is MTG? Who knows, but there is a valid reason why the adversarial regimes prop her rhetoric, not only from her mouth, but amplifying what she says on their propaganda efforts. And I am not talking about some “liberal” – so called “woke” – soy-feed whatever epithet the right-wing folks like to disparage their opposition – This is a concern raised by the GOP leaders themselves.
And unless you’ve been living under a rock, then you would know that the GOP is struggling – and has been struggling. The internal fight and polarization inside their party is worse than ever. On one side you have the “traditional GOP” folks, and on the other extreme you have the many shades of the MAGA-universe. And there are plenty of shades for the latter. Not all MAGA are created equal, and that’s why many are now ex-MAGA. Yes, there is a civil war among MAGA folks.
Spoiler alert, it will get worse – but as these division points occur, only one group comes up on top. Who? The adversarial nations who are hell-bent in “proving” that the American system of governance is not only flawed – but ineffective. That’s what they are selling, and people like MTG are phenomenal mouth-pieces to amplify that message.
MTG might not be doing so wittingly, but there is a reason why the adversarial propagandists are propping up her misconceptions. It should not take a Doctorate Degree in Strategic Analysis to understand why. Although a lot of MTGs efforts have failed, they give credence to a different audience. An audience that sadly most people in the USA don’t understand, or care to understand that it’s paying attention to its every move.
Fortunately, some of us are paying attention and writing about it. I’ll keep adding small articles to keep awakening THIS important context by exploring each element. Just keep in mind that there is indeed a much larger context, and we’ll break it down into little, more digestible chunks. HLC
Today in America 03MAR2024 – Half Life Crisis www.halflifecrisis.com
There is so much occurring simultaneously in the national discourse that the truth tends to be muddied up. Today I bring clarity to these many issues.
This article will be broken down into a few parts in order to segment some of the craziness. It is going to be a bumpy ride, and although it will be a long article, this is the very top of the tip of the iceberg. An open mind is advisable to read these passages, because it will shed some light on information that tends to be redacted in some news outlets and from the voices of many pundits & other influencers.
The good news is that I am truly independent, therefore I have no political motivation. I am, however, very much against misinformation, because that affects us all – regardless of which side of the political spectrum we lean towards. Enjoy the ride!
Trump is not “that” rich.
In case this is the first time you see it, Trump had to admit via his attorneys that he does not have the amount of cash he used brag to the entire world he had. For many of us, realizing that Trump was nowhere as rich as he claimed to be it is not surprising. It might however finally dissuade a lot of his loyal followers in the MAGA base to finally leave him. The reason is because many MAGA followers just tolerated his antics because they thought he was a multi billionaire.
In case you were not aware, Trump recently lost two separate civil cases and was ordered to pay several million dollars in compensation. Most of his supporters still think it is a “witch hunt” perpetrated by President Biden. Of course that isn’t the case, and these problematic cases of sexual assault and fraud he was found liable in two separate courts, occurred well before the Biden Presidency or the Trump Presidency [for that matter] even started. Here is a quick synopsis of these two cases.
Both of these cases were handled by his attorney Alina Habba, who has been touted by her peers [meaning other attorneys] as highly incompetent. Whatever the case, she is to my knowledge the only attorney who has cost her client almost half a billion dollars.
Trump’s Civil Fraud Case.
Trump was fund liable from swindling many investors through the span of several years. Trump was directed to pay $355 million in penalties plus interests. But the total figure starts at $454 million because it also includes people in Trumps orbit, to include his two elder sons. The interest for the payments Trump owes each passing day he does not pay is $87,502 – and by the way the verdict took place on February 16, 2024. So, this figure just keeps climbing more and more.
This case of course found out that he was lying about his wealth and that he overinflated his assets to get loans, and undervalued them when it was time to pay taxes. The fact is that if he is unable to have this interest rate from rapidly accruing, that on its own is enough to ascertain that he simply does not have the cash to pay, or even to appeal the case. Trump said he was going to appeal, but he needs to post the money upfront to guarantee he will pay if he loses again. Which will likely be the case.
The fact is that neither banks, nor attorneys are lining up to support Trump. Trump also asked to pay only just north of $100 million [or a fraction of what it is required] to appeal. That was denied to him as it would have been denied to anybody in a similar situation. Trump went onto making some unusual fund-raising events, which included selling some hideous $400 golden shoes and a $100 cologne that by the way sold-out, but won’t be making it to their customers hands until the Summer.
Another thing that sprouted, even if by proxy, was at least one Go-fund me campaign, and people were contributing to pay the legal fees of this billionaire. There seems also to be some course of action of utilizing GOP campaign funds for his legal troubles. But my understanding is that would be highly illegal. Which by the way, there is another case under that premise – this time for paying hush money to a porn star.
Bottomline, Trump said via his attorneys that if he pays the entire amount [even as a bond], which is close to half a billion dollars penalty, he would have to start selling some of his real state. So, let’s put that in perspective. Trump was ordered to pay that amount because he was found that he defrauded a bunch of people. You know, as in taking their money, and now he does not have the money. In other words, it was spent – not properly invested to grow. This realization might finally be what turns off some of his base who considered him a financial genius.
Trump sexual abuse case.
On May 9, 2003 Trump was found liable for sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll in 1996. Trump was directed to pay $5 million. But this case is a lot more nuisance than Trump simply being found liable for sexual assault, which under the New York statutes it is just different language that in fact found Trump liable of raping Carroll. Yes, they found and were able to provide proof that Trump is a rapist.
What some people might not realize about this case is that the statute of limitations has already expired, and although Carroll was unable to go against Trump back in the 90’s – remember, these were very different times. We have come a long way to being able to speak truth to power. For some of us who were alive in the 90’s I can assure you that the world has moved forward by leaps and bounds, yet there are many who want to return back to the most short-sighted blunders in those years.
However, as the story re-surfaced, Trump started bad mouthing Carroll and made some very defamatory remarks against her. The case went to court, Trump kept making some very low brow and insulting remarks in true Trump fashion style against Carroll – many of these remarks from very prominent platforms. You know, double down and triple down. So, the case ended up going to court for defamation. This of course backfired on Trump, because not only he was stuck with a $5 million award payable to Carrol, but he also got all his sexual abuse past come to light. It did not end there.
As expected, Trump was not happy at all with this, therefore he double down, and disparaged Carroll again. And this once again backfired. Remember, the case was already settled that Trump raped Carroll. Adding to the miscalculation, Trumps attorney, Alina Habba managed to make things a lot worse for Trump, turning this $5 million original award into a whopping $83.3 million award, as Carroll won her case for defamation again. It is very likely that Trump was the master mind directing Habba to say whatever is it that she said in the trial. Of course, that was not a good strategy.
One thing is clear, Trump has not paid a dime yet for either one of these millionaire awards against him. Which makes you think, if he really was a billionaire, paying off and then appealing could be a lot easier than accruing all this additional debt in interests, not to mention all the negative media attention that it puts on his supposed fortune. For now, only some of his most fervent MAGA supporters are still onboard and will pay their hard-earned money to help a billionaire pay his legal obligations. Food for thought.
Credit the link below to the Associated Press (AP) who is tracking Trump’s many criminal and civil cases. They have a huge team of journalists who can do that in real time; it is only me writing for the Half Life Crisis site at this time.
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 Muller Report www.halflifecrisis.com American History
The Muller report was a litmus test on how cognitive dissidence can be exploited for political purposes. Many people are still confused about its importance.
The confusion perdures to this day.
The Muller Report is names after the Department of Justice (DOJ) Special Counsel Robert Muller, who was a prominent career law enforcement professional at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States of America. He was appointed to conduct a thorough investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.
Among the targets of the investigation, was included the recently elected U.S. President Donald J. Trump. The reason was because there were credible allegations that his campaign had close unduly communications with the Russian Federation, and that his campaign conspired together with Russian operatives to get an advantage against Trump’s presidential opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Russia stated on record they favored Trump over Clinton as President of the United States.
Before I move on, please find below the link to the entire Muller Report, as released to the public. Please keep in mind that some of the released Muller Report [enclosed] to the public have been redacted for reasons of National Security.
Mueller Report Article -Report on the investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election – www.halflifecrisis.com
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is worth mentioning that when citing Russia in this report, and on this article, it is not referring to the entire country of Russia – nor it is a so called “Rusophobic” attack. But unfortunately, the people involved in this report were from Russia. Any country involved in a similar fashion would have been cited on a consistent basis if they were under the scope of the investigation Mueller conducted. It is worth noting also that most Russian people (like most people around the world) are actually super nice, and they might or might not have a say, knowledge, or condone what happens outside their immediate purview.
You are welcome to read the entire report now (all 400+ pages), or after you finish this article. We will be touching upon some of the important takeaways from the report. The report itself is written in legal jargon, hence for some people it might seem counterintuitive to understand what Muller is actually trying to say. That’s the nature of the beast, legal writing is very different than normal everyday vernacular.
For this article I will be using down-to Earth vernacular to ensure it is better understood. And I said, “better understood” – because in legal terms words and context have a much encompassing terminology. That is why it takes years of going to law school and passing a bar exam to navigate the vernacular. To put in context the bar exam alone takes about 12 hours and it is extremely grueling. Some of us (who are not attorneys, but) due to the nature of our jobs just so happen to be acquainted with that language to “read it” – but not to “write it” – if that makes sense. E.g. You might be able to distinguish the difference between a high-quality and low-quality steak when you eat it, it is a whole different ballgame cooking it.
If you do end up reading the full report (which I recommend), it is best if you read it in little chunks, and with an open mind. The report is obviously very well written, but for those unfamiliar with the lingo, it will be interpreted like “scripture” (as in a bible or religious text) – and create a misperception that it is subject to some interpretations – especially if a person has a particular bias. However, biases are not the case when writing the report – Mueller himself was a Republican. But it is possible that some people might find ambiguity. Remember, this report was not meant to be read by the people, but rather by legal experts.
This in no way is demeaning to the general public, it is just part of the area of expertise needed for that particular specialty. Just like a bartender might have some specific language they use for some of their mixology, or just like us Sailors have a very specific vernacular when we talk about Navy stuff, or just how mathematicians communicate with complex formulas. Somebody outside those specialties might find it confusing if seeing it from the outside in.
Same thing with the Muller Report. It has a specific language, crafted by experts in that field. Fortunately, just like any cryptic language out there, there is a key to understanding in everyday terms what the intent and purpose for that report means to the general audience. There is a reason why I put this in context. You will see what I mean by that as you continue reading this article.
The Muller Report is inheritably complex, because it addressed a very complex issue. Further, it was unprecedented because it was the first time a sitting U.S. President was involved in the middle of this type of controversy. And of course, the environmental factors (not as in weather) in the country, particularly on political divisiveness – was making an already incendiary issue all the more volatile. There were a lot of entities who had a lot to lose based on the findings of this report. And those who had a lot to lose were both inside and outside the United States of America.
What does this mean? The Muller Report was never just about Trump, it was a lot bigger than that. It was about the possibility that third nation was interfering with the American Electoral process, and potentially getting away with it. Trump was largely anecdotal, but had to play also a center role for the investigation because he just so happened to be the President of these United States.
Understanding the Report’s Context.
The Mueller report was not about finding “Collusion” – why? Because Collusion is not a crime. It was about finding conspiracy to undermine an American Electoral Process. However, as Trump became extremely combative, and largely [on the Right-Wing of politics], attacks against Muller started to percolate, the scope of the investigation had no choice but to add instances of obstruction of justice to the mix. Cause and Effect.
What does that mean? Let me illustrate with an example. Let say person “X” is accused of beating up his spouse. An investigation into domestic abuse will start taking place. So, let’s say that while this domestic abuse investigation is going on, person “X’ decides to antagonize and threaten the police officers with violence, and incites others to antagonize and threaten these police officers – as they are conducting the domestic abuse investigation. What do you think is going to happen? If you assessed that an additional charge will be added to the domestic abuse charge, then you will be correct.
Further, antagonizing the police and threatening with violence while they are investigating domestic abuse – is not helping person “X” case, is it? Use the same analogy, but just change the charges and names, and that is what happened during the Muller Report. The fact that Trump and is acolytes were attacking, disparaging, and denigrating the character of Robert Muller, made it very evident that Muller likely found a lead Trump and his acolytes found very problematic (against them).
Robert Muller himself got death threats, much like many other Trump dissenters had endured in the last several years. Especially those with a platform. But the death threats normally come from a Trump acolyte, or somebody who feel vindicated to do so in their [Trump’s] base. I should emphasize that issuing death threats onto anybody is a crime. And yes, it is a crime no matter if you do that face-to-face, by email, by social media, or any other method of communication.
And bear this in mind because of the wide context of the report. Remember, the report is a snap-shot in time, but the significance of this report is a timeless tool about glaring vulnerabilities in the very fabric of American society. And yes, the exploitation of divisive vulnerabilities is designed to be like that – divisive and confusing. That is why I said that in the beginning it became a litmus test regarding our political stability.
Finding Trump guilty in the Muller Report
The official name for the Muller Report is “Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election” – this report encompasses two volumes, and spans for 448 pages. In other words, the scope of the investigation was to find the facts about Russian Interference, which is not necessarily the same as an investigation about Trump, although Trump was certainly a significant factor in the entire situation – because Russia was favoring Trump over Clinton.
For us to understand the significance of this report, we have to understand that using semantics to fight the merits of the issue is not a compelling argument. It is a lot more abstract than that, because we are dealing with a strategic-level adversary levering personnel near to the sitting President of the United States, in order to push their [foreign country’s] agenda. This report is not about finding collusion, it is about connecting conspiracy behind the mechanics for which the favoring for Trump turned into action favorable to Trump.
Hope this is making sense so far, because it is about to get more abstract. It is designed to be that way. The adversary is not going to put this complex issue in a black & white, Fifth-Grade level of understanding – instead, this topic is an all-stars varsity multi-level strategy being played upon the US via its own political intricacies. Again, it is designed to be highly complex, and that is why the actual merits of the case will seem counterintuitive to a great swath of the population. Again, this report was not meant to be read by the general public, it was meant to be read by the top Attorney in the Country – The Attorney General.
And this is an important distinction. Because Muller and his team had to be impartial in their investigation. Hence, Muller (who was in charge of the investigation) was not going to declare “Guilty” or “Innocent” – among other intricacies we’ll talk about – that was not his role. His role was to find facts, write about them, and pass to the Attorney General to (for a lack of a better word) decipher what was presented to him on this report, and for him to make a recommendation as the top law enforcement person in the Federal Government at the time.
And at this particular juncture is where politics started to get from ugly to very dangerous. For as long as we can remember in the American discourse, the partisan political climate has become more and more polarized. It was not designed to be that way – it was meant to give a voice from different points of view; but through the years demagogs and other special interest powers have created a wider division among politicians. All this division is extremely convenient to regimes leading nations who have poised themselves as adversaries against America.
Some politicians (hopefully unwittingly) tend to play and parrot propagandistic points that are specifically designed to polarize America more and more. The reason for the division is incidental at best, but certainly politics is a very visceral vehicle that gets people enticed to perform actions that can very well go against their own best interests. They just don’t realize it does, because it is designed to make those victims feel like vindicated heroes, whilst making them believe they are the smartest people in the room. Sadly, that is a very prolific manipulation tool.
The damage created to discredit the Muller Report is causing negative effects even today! And that report was released in 2019. For that reason, it is worth understanding what the political climate was back during those days. And the short answer is, that the ENTIRE U.S. Government, all three branches at the time were Republican. The Executive power (President), The Legislative power (Congress with the House & the Senate), and the Judicial power with a conservative majority.
If you were a Democrat, you had no chance to push any legislation at that time. That of course changed in the very next midterm election when the House Flipped to the Democrats, and the Republicans lost the majority. But by the time this report came over, it was all Republican Controlled. This was very important for many political reasons, and of course gave a very high advantage to Trump as far as how the narrative would be controlled to the rest of the Republican political base.
Sadly, that means that if Trump was found guilty of any wrong doing, there was a snow ball chance in hell of a probability the GOP (Republicans) would even hint on giving Trump any level of accountability, let alone prosecute him, recommend impeachment – or any punitive action whatsoever for that matter. Why? Because that would be political suicide, that is why.
Politics are strategic by nature, and sadly this strategy tends to leave constituents out of the equation. A shrewd politician would be able to plan several steps ahead and bamboozle a base of voters to believe a false narrative with little to no scrutiny. Yes, it is designed to be that way. A happy constituent tends to be one who feels their political leader is reading their minds, and doing their will – as faithful representatives of their democratic process in Capitol Hill. You could argue, THAT is EXACTLY why they were elected in the first place to do, right?
So, what does any of this have anything to do with the Muller Report? A lot actually, that is why I say it is abstract, and might even see tangential. Again, it is designed to be that way. When we look at the Muller Report there is not one page which reads “guilty” except to demonstrate that somebody pleaded as such to previous proceedings – for example, George Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty to lying to investigators. Papadopoulos was very close in Trump’s orbit – once he became inconvenient, Trump disavowed him.
Other big names in Trump’s orbit included Gates, Manafort, and Cohen. The later was also known as “Trump’s Fixer” and better known for the case involving porn-star actress Stormy Daniels – when she engaged in what was described as a hilariously short and unpleasant, though consensual sex encounter with Trump – when his wife Melania was staying home with their still infant son Baron. And I just want to add this part about the [if you can even call it] affair (which is factual by the way – however hilariously short). Because it adds to Trump’s character, and adds to why the overarching scope of his investigation is so important. Lack of character is vulnerable to exploitation – and having the President of the United States of America having an exploitable vulnerability is very dangerous for the country.
Another big player is Michael Flynn, who also pleaded guilty for lying to the FBI about talks he head with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Note that in every mention of “guilty” was for already a person in Trumps orbit who have already been convicted. It is important to pay attention to the fact that these individuals were very close to Trump – that is problematic. Who wins if the President of the United States of America has people who have pleaded guilty to some very problematic allegations? Regimes who are adversarial to America, that is who wins when this happens.
Letting Trump get away without prosecution, despite the findings of the Muller Report is what has prompted a lot of the cognitive dissidence that has endured to this day. And this is really the crux of the matter. Cognitive dissidence occurs when we let our biases control the narrative despite the facts. There is always a lot more to the empirical facts behind the superficial context of a situation. Some of the facts can certainly be obscured by misinformation, and lack of understanding of the full context.
In other words, when we are presented with a situation out of context, and we don’t have enough datapoints to ascertain the validity of those facts, then our assertion to those facts will be flawed. Hence the correct answer will feel counterintuitive, despite the facts being against their core argument. Again, it is designed to be that way. And a lot of people have fallen into that trap. It is not really their fault; a trap is designed to capture those unsuspecting souls. Much like a con artist tends to be charming and engaging. The difference is that with propaganda this is executed at a much larger scale and level of complexity.
Was Trump found Guilty?
Yes, he was found guilty of conspiracy of getting aid from a foreign government to help him with the election, and of obstructing justice and making all kinds of public acts of intimidation that among other things included death threats to Muller himself. The key word is “found” – that is not the same as “declared” guilty. Doing so gets into a semantic game that fosters cognitive dissidence.
This is how they differ. Finding instances of guilt does not necessarily mean that a person is going to be held accountable. For example, if you’re driving 20+ MPH over the speed limit, but there are no COPs around to pull you over, and issue you a citation for reckless driving – then you’re not getting accountability. You (should) know that what you did is highly illegal and can put you in a pumpkin suit, and there are several witnesses to your misdemeanor. Mainly every other car that you zoomed by – but they don’t have the authority to pull you over and give you a citation. But it is very obvious to all witnesses that you were breaking the law.
Somebody being declared guilty, that means that somebody who has the jurisdictional power to give you accountability is acting upon those findings. Following in the example, if a cop does pull you over and issues you a citation – the cop can start the accountability process, but not finish it. It would be up to a judge (in traffic court) to give the verdict on the infraction. Some judges might be lenient and let the speeder go with a warning, others might impose a heavy fine, others might send the driver straight to jail. I’ve seen cases like this all the time – it largely depends on how repentant the person placed in front of the judge is.
So, let’s bring this into context. Mueller (as the example being the cop on the above example) was gathering the information and writing the ticket. But it was going to be up to the attorney General (as the judge in the previous example) whom was required to make the determination about if the president was found guilty or not. The Attorney General at the time was Bill Bahr, and he gave the press a very misleading version of what Mueller described in the findings. The point being that Bahr likely wanted to try to make this problem disappear. Particularly because of the heavy political baggage it carried. Finding Trump guilty would make the Republican party implode.
How so? Well, the obvious thing is that if Trump was found guilty, then a lot of legal actions – none of which were convenient, nor had a precedent, would inevitably snowball out of control. There was a lot of appetitive for the entire report to be released. The GOP fought tooth and nail against it, but eventually it came out. But it took a long time. During that time there were countless attacks against Mueller himself, and many more death threats not only to him, but to other people who were in favor of releasing this document. So, the fact that you can read it (even on this site) was a gigantic undertaking that was being prevented by the highest levels of government at that time.
There was an important caveat. Because Trump was a sitting President – regardless if he was indeed guilty – he was NOT to be prosecuted. Those were the guidelines at the time, because it was meant to protect against people from attacking a President as a political eruption… with the pretense that the President was indeed an innocent person. Well, this is not very much the case in the Muller Report. Although he does not call Trump with the words “guilty” he did say that he was not exculpated from wrongdoing. And I said before, he was to present the facts, not to issue a guilty or innocent plea. But rather point if there was culpability. There was gargantuan evidence of guilt.
Using a “big word” such as not “exculpated” probably muddied the water – even though it is an accurate term. “Exculpated” means “acquitted” – Trump was not acquitted, if we put it in non-thesaurus terms. Muller went on to say that if Trump was not a sitting President he would have indeed been prosecuted. So, what does that mean? It meant that as long as Trump was President, then he was able to run that suspended guilt until he left office. But once he was gone, then accountability would follow. What would Trump’s next logical move be then?
Obviously, it was in Trump’s best interest to stay in power as long as possible! For one, because the statute of limitations would run out on this – and besides he did so much other crazy s—t after this event that the Muller Report will seem like small potatoes in comparison. But that does not mean it is any less significant, because this started a snowball effect for a lack of accountability to any sitting President.
Let’s talk about this snowball effect, this is a non-exhaustible list.
1. It forced the GOP to truly play ball and become Trump acolytes by choosing party over anything else Trump was able to get away with. Doing otherwise would be political suicide.
2. It empowered other adversarial nations to flood the USA with propaganda. The same type of divisive propaganda that has continued ever since – because it proved to be effective.
3. Fostered cognitive dissidence. It is convenient for other nations when we are divided, and if there is a communication breakdown. This first step was a proof of concept for adversarial nations as far as how people get lost in semantics rather than understanding the overall context.
4. The enemy is hidden in plain sight – who is the biggest enemy? Our own biases are being manipulated by our own misperceptions. It is designed to look black & white – but in reality, it is a very dynamic gradient. Hence, even people with good intentions will not see the true depth of the issue – it is designed to be that way – much like an illusionist only shows you what they want you to see, but the mechanics of the trick are out of sight to the general audience.
5. If Trump was able to get away with this, then he was going to continue pushing boundaries until he would get push back. He sure did, and hence he got impeached twice – and he is currently facing 90+ criminal cases, and a myriad of civil cases. Accountability started after he left the office – and the investigation into the merits for these cases already started the process before he left the presidency.
6. A lot of people got turned off by Trump, but also a whole bunch of them got ignited their new found passion for Trump. The Republican partly itself is very fragmented. Some of Trump’s more vocal supporters are Republicans themselves; though the hate and attacks from MAGA Republicans are often directed to more “obvious” challengers – which are the Democrats.
7. Trump started a very dangerous precedent that made people around the world distrust the United States of America. Who do you think wins when America gets isolated from NATO or other partner nations? It is not the USA; it is the countries who want to get the USA to lose its primacy in the world. By getting away from interfering with our political candidates’ process, this helps other countries who do not like America to perceive that the US candidates are for Sale.
8. Propaganda Points from other countries flooded the political discourse, and created an enormous social engineering campaign to find out which minds are more exploitable and obedient to Anti-American talking points, disguised as ultra-patriotic. Yes, it sounds like an oxymoron – that is why I say it seems counterintuitive to many. I wrote an entire book about it [AUTHORITARIANISM & PROPAGANDA The Puppet Master Tools], because it is affecting us all.
9. The entire world was watching the proceedings about the Muller Report, and caused a worldwide mistrust in the American legislative process. If the USA is not considered a reliable intrinsic arbiter of justice, then the rest of the world will start seeking for a “better alternative” to follow. There is no shortage of adversarial nations who want to set that standard. And if the USA is not holding their leaders accountable, then that becomes the norm for the rest of the world. Like it or not, the USA can either set the standard for equal accountability under the law, or yield that option to any other nation who wants to impose their political agendas onto the rest of the planet.
10. Interpreting the Muller Report on “semantics” rather than substance is a very fertile ground for Information Operations campaigns by adversarial nations. In other words, they get to realize how naïve particular segments of the population are based on their lack of reading comprehension – and turn them into obedient parroting assets. More importantly, by providing these out of context talking points, they will feel vindicated as though they have “won” a battle of wits with somebody else – when in reality they have not been afforded the entire context. Plenty of people who are cynical about complex issues, but get hung up on semantics, are very much off-the mark on the actual substance of the matter. And yes, that is extremely convenient and exploitable by adversarial nations.
Moving Forward, and Deprograming Compromised Minds.
It might sound idealistic, but there is a way to straighten up this slew of propagandistic campaigns pouring over the USA. I use the Muller Report as an example, but there are hundreds if not thousands additional examples linked to Trump alone. But he is not the only one who enjoys a cult following, many of his acolytes also benefit from that clout. And even those who say that they don’t support him could very well be misled by thinking that “giving him a perceived fair” shot is a valid argument – when in reality, Trump was indeed guilty – hence, giving a “perceived fair shot” after he already has tilted the system on this favor is in fact a win for America’s adversaries.
What do I mean by that? Lately, as I became an author, I had to start learning the intricacies of the social media world. Not that I am super stoke about that, and I only hang out on the different platforms whenever I have some downtime. Which is not that much time actually. At this point in time, I am either checking my social media accounts while I am taking mini breaks during actual stuff I need to do in the computer – of if I so happen to be in a waiting room – as I have to sit and stay put prior to a scheduled appointment.
But no, debating people on Twitter (X) in 280 characters or less, or in Threads in 500 characters or less is not the only thing I have to do with my day. Especially if the cognitive dissidence from somebody drowning in a glass of water that they poured themselves off proves it is too much of a waste of time for me to spend my scarce time dealing with them. I’ve met all kinds of people, from super nice human beings, to well-intentioned confused people, to incredibly nasty individuals. During the less desirable interactions, I am afforded the opportunity to use it as a metric on how this cognitive dissidence has taken a foothold in the propagandistic realm.
Generally speaking, some people who seem to fall into a certain category (being left or right), tend to trail a very particular pattern of biases. All of which are very exploitable, and they have been exploited in spectacular fashion (even if they think they are winning an argument – thus prompting them to perpetuate that behavior). To figure out if they have been deceived, sometimes it is as simple as doing a quick check by looking at their feed, their vernacular, their answers to other tweets, the memes they post, their level of misguided arrogance, etc.
It is similar but more complex when we validate and assess how some people (to include those I mentioned) have easily been manipulated by adversarial nations Information Operation campaigns, and other methods of exploiting their biases. These are synonyms for propaganda.
And if you think only Trump supporters fall for this, think again. Even those who are against Trump can be vulnerable to unwittingly support those who want to see Trump back in office. And yes, it will seem counterintuitive to them as well. I mentioned earlier in the article that this level of propaganda is at a high varsity level. Most people sadly will read tweets, or read important talking points at a very elementary level. Then it is very easy to hide gargantuan amounts of misinformation on a semi-superficial level of veracity. Again, it is designed to look legitimate. Especially to target those who superficially think they have it all figured it out. There is plenty of room to add visceral responses in whatever falls through the cracks.
But for us who have been afforded a different vantage point, and have dedicated our lives to understanding these intricacies – the falsehoods stand up like a sore thumb. Once you see it, you cannot unsee it. It does not make us “better than anybody” – what it does, however, gives us a level of awareness that is otherwise hidden in plain sight. Again, that is why I wrote an entire book about authoritarian propaganda [AUTHORITARIANISM & PROPAGANDA The Puppet Master Tools}. And, it is also the reason why I keep writing these long-form articles. Riding just ahead is extremely important, and many people are oblivious to that fact.
The political discourse is full of misinformation, and when something important comes to light, it quickly loses the spotlight to another event – suddenly this previously important event becomes forgotten, and the facts for the argument become misconstrued. In other words, it is easy to help a person you don’t like win, just by misconstruing the facts -even if in your mind you think you’re attacking this person, or “just letting the system” run its course – without really understanding if the system perhaps has been compromised.
I keep saying it, and will keep repeating it. It is designed to be that way. It can be frustrating at times when I talk to some people in Twitter, or other social media outlets and they are clearly confused about something, but in their minds, they think they are spot on, or that they had a sick burn on me or whomever they are debating.
Let me make this entirely clear. First, I have a lot better things to do that debate somebody who clearly has not made their homework; and to build on that statement – they are just not ready to make the argument because their understanding has plot holes large enough to fly jumbo jets through it. But in their mind, they might think they have it all figured it out. Again, propaganda is designed to be that way. There is always a lot more than what meets the eye, and a semantic battle is often non-compelling to the actual merits of a situation.
The Muller report found Trump guilty, but won’t not say guilty. It found what it needed to find, which was conspiracy from a foreign country to interfere with our elections, and obstruction to investigate said obstruction. That begs the question. Why did Russia (in this case) wanted Trump to win over Clinton?
Think about it for a moment, and this will [hopefully] give you the “ah ha” realization about why the Muller report is so important. Why did Russia favored Trump over Clinton to the point they would interfere with our election process?
The answer is obvious, but it is complex. The obvious part is because Clinton would have been inconvenient to Russia. That’s the obvious part (yes, I said it twice). The complex part is the thousands of reasons for why this was the case. And no, it is not just because Clinton was better prepared (like her or dislike her) than Trump for president between both candidates. Learning the intricacies of government is not something that you can do in a short amount of time. To put it in context, even our turnover whenever we have one military member taking the EXACT job we are performing, despite the fact they arrive highly trained for whenever they come from one unit to the other is a very thoroughly complex process.
The less obvious part is Trump’s character, and the character of people in his orbit – and how this can erode the trust of our institutions and the divisiveness that was going to create in the USA for years to come. In that sense, it was a huge win for them (America’s adversaries). Not only did democrats and republicans further polarized, it also destroyed in the internal political parties inside their own ranks – and further radicalized people (from either side) who think they are the only ones holding the truth – so long it is dissenting with the other side.
By enabling Trump to essentially get away with a bunch of problematic issues as they were found in the Muller Report (and his many controversies), makes it extremely convenient for America’s adversaries to push all kinds of other divisive rhetoric – and find a fertile ground to keep dividing us. And yes, they are doing that even as we speak. You’ll be surprised how many “patriots” and other unwitting acolytes repost a lot of propaganda points that are against their own interests – and most definitely against the interests of the United States of America.
Fast forward to 2024, and some people still think that the Muller Report found Trump innocent. It didn’t, many people in his orbit went to prison because of it. Trump would have joined them in a pumpkin suit IF he was NOT a Sitting President. That is why, of course, it is worth mentioning why Trump will continue seeking the Presidency. Because if he is not a sitting president, he is liable to prosecution.
Just pay attention to some of his rhetoric [especially the days circa when this article was written] asking for unabashed immunity for potential crimes. Such as when his lawyer was asked if hypothetically Trump should be prosecuted if he directed Seal Team #6 to assassinate a political opponent – and he asserted that he would be ok, unless both he gets impeached and convicted by Congress… But keep in mind that even if that ever happens, then the political opponent is already dead in this case.
This is what the Muller Report found, that Trump has proclivity to do some certainly illegal actions – and use the limitations in the legal system to get away with it. And the startling thing is that the partisanship in the system has enabled him to get away with all of this. The Muller Report is only the dress rehearsal for a lot more than followed. And it is worth reminding that the entire US Government was Republican led at that time, so there was no way they would hold Trump accountable or impeach him, because for the GOP, that would be a win to the Democrats – when in reality it would be a win for America, because it would hold every person equal under the law, regardless of party loyalty. That course of action was convenient to adversarial nations too.
How can we solve this situation? It starts with each and every one of us. I cannot change your mind, I can only give you the facts, and spark that curiosity needed to continue researching the exceedingly deep levels of context affecting this situation. I’m doing my part by writing from an objective perspective. If it was a left-wing candidate doing the same stuff I would be writing about, and condemning them too. Each person owns their own life, but their actions can positively or adversely affect collective lives if they cling to propagandistic blind spots that cloud their judgement. HLC
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 Propagandistic Epidemic – www.halflifecrisis.com – Understanding History
Authoritarian propaganda is on the rise in the United States of America, and around the world. Some people have not noticed it yet. Hence, I write about it!
It is no secret that I am a huge advocate against misinformation. And misinformation thrives in propaganda. Propagandists are in the business of dividing people into two groups: Obedient fools and anybody who dissents with their “approved” rhetoric.
Politics are irrelevant – yes really…
I’ve said it before, and I say it again. Authoritarians and propagandists do not give a crap about your politics. That is incidental at best. It is more valuable for them to understand what your biases are so these can be exploited. Either they will have you fight on their court (by coercion or otherwise gaining your volunteering candor), or put you in the dissenting camp. Depending on how powerful you are on the dissenting side it could affect if these dynamics will turn violent – and no, more power does not necessarily mean fewer attacks.
My last article I wrote about how pleasantly surprised I was with this new “Threads” app from Meta. I’m not alone, most people I’ve had the pleasure to interact with in threads feel the same way. Actually, talking about how rough the “X” Twitter neighborhood has gotten there seems to be a common trend with the Threads crowd. And deep inside I start to worry that inadvertently this great new app will become another matter of division between one “political stance” against another.
We saw something similar during COVID between mask or no mask, and vaccine or no vaccine. Clearly although there is a level of diversity for politics in “X” there is a lot of contention in any comment section. In threads it is actually not like that – not that I’ve seen at least for the most part. I’ve had some wonderful conversations from people from all walks of life, and this keeps validating my point that we are more similar than different.
But remember, this is not convenient to a propagandist. I feel very strongly about this, that is why I wrote two books that speak about how propaganda has been weaponized throughout history, and how this is affecting us right now. Right now, a non-insignificant part of the population is blissfully and willfully ignorant of how a dark chapter of history is repeating – except that in this century the destruction would be exponential.
AUTORITARAIANISM & PROPAGANDA The Puppet Master Tools – by J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez – www.halflifecrisis.com
And this is happening already, there are major armed conflicts in strategic geographical choke points RIGHT NOW! Also, there is no shortage of people gaining seats of prominence around the world who are prominently displaying indicators for this dark period. Sure, that a lot of that is not “news” worthy to some – but it is happening. Sadly, news stories and even a lot influencers covering geopolitics are still tethered to an algorithm that would either gain or lose an audience. The algorithm IS the audience – and the fact is that the audience usually prefers not to hear about something that is going to scare the s–t out of them in a non-fiction manner.
Trust me, I am an analyst – it depresses the living s–t out of me too… but not for the reason you might think. It depresses me because I feel like 90% of the time I am screaming into a void, but only a small fraction is reacting to what we try to do to save their very lives. I understand the concepts are abstract and it will seem hyperbolic to many people. It is designed to be that way. Please don’t feel bad if you’ve fallen victim to that – propaganda is a sinister art form, and it is subtle enough to become part of a person’s own identity.
People who have a strong political, religious, organizational, or any other type of bias also have more proclivity to being exploited by a propagandist pushing for authoritarian rhetoric. In fact, for the targeted audience, it will feel counterintuitive to agree with anybody other than their “dear leader.” Again, it is designed to be that way.
Good people, patriotic people, people of faith, people of good “moral values,” people who are [actually] altruistic are also prone to be victims of this reality. Yes, I know, right? – Counterintuitive. When people and their community feel that they are vindicated over a particular world view – no matter how destructive – it will not matter to the person who has fallen into this echo chamber. Suddenly this becomes an “us against them” situation. And it works, and it has worked for years. That is why I wrote my books, to shed some light on that reality that is hidden in plain sight.
How do you know if you’re being bamboozled?
There are many ways to realize if a person is getting bamboozled. And I’ll be honest, I’ve been dealing with a few swindlers and scammers even very recently. I identified that in the first moments of our interaction – but it is fascinating to see how they operate. So, I let it go for a while. First because I want (perhaps naïvely enough) to see if me being the better person is going to wake up that conscience inside them. Yes, that does happen.
And second, because I like to see firsthand their tactics – and what type of language they use. How they use “sugar” to bring us closer – and slowly moving from altruism to a [covert] scam. They will appeal to your better nature, learn from you, and use this against you, try to guilt you into something. And continue to try to manipulate you. I can see this in the first seconds of an interaction.
When somebody is lying, no matter how well they try to craft a lie, the math is not going to add up somewhere. I on the other hand am forthcoming. And I am true to my principles, so I will treat everybody the same – give everyone the benefit of the doubt. That does not mean that I am not tracking what is actually going on. And I don’t lie… but I will walk away. These swindlers come more often than you might imagine. Sadly, for years I’ve seen these attempts. Some are more sophisticated than others.
Propaganda is very similar. I’ve mentioned this before – no matter what political figure you favor (especially if you’re an ultra-fan of this person); I’m willing to bet that if somebody talks smack about this person who enjoys your devotion, you’ll be prone to be defensive or go on the offensive. Why is this happening? Because this person of your devotion has become a reflection of you – with all your virtues and idiosyncrasies. Let this go uncontrolled long enough and it becomes a cult of personality.
But these cults of personality can become extremely dangerous, even if the authoritarian wanna-be does not actually end up being elected. These seeds are planted and another opportunist will be able to harvest them later. That is why it is so important to differentiate truth from bulls–t. That is why you won’t see me go on the attack to any left-or-right leaning person as a person – but I will address the merits of issues I find problematic.
The division of our people (all over the world) is rampant. In some authoritarian countries, the dissenting has been quelched and people who were once free to speak their minds – they are very aware of what is the punishment for speaking “out of turn” on this current homeland. Yes, this could happen in the United States of America if we are not careful. And yes, we are trending that way – fast – and it is extremely disturbing to see. That is why understanding who we elect to an office of influence is so important.
If somebody is pushing propaganda, it is actually very easy to identify. They are divisive towards somebody else. Equality only applies to a group, but there are repercussions, particularly very harsh repercussions to anybody who dares go against the grain of the like-minded-folks. Otherwise, good and well-intentioned people are prone to fall for this trap. If a propagandist is making you a useful fool, consider the divisiveness of their rhetoric.
This is happening all over the world, there are even some “copy cats” who emulate not only mannerisms, buzz words, but even hair-cuts! There is a reason why this works so well, because it creates a visceral response on people who feel that “finally somebody is doing something about this thing I am supposed to be mad about.” And I am not saying that disagreeing is bad, in fact it is important to listen to dissenting points of view in order to come up with a better solution.
In fact, diverse opinions – even conflicting ones are part of any venture’s planning process. Furthermore, not having dissention tends to bring a project towards failure because it was planned in a vacuum. But dissention does not equal anarchy; however, the factors to be considered in a planning process must be factual – unfounded opinions will become time-wasters and people will start chasing elusive shiny objects in lieu of actual solutions. Facts are logical, measurable, and demonstrable.
That means that they can be held to scrutiny and no matter how you feel about it, the fact will be what it is – like it or not. For example, if you’re holding a paper cup – it does not matter what you want to call it, it is still a paper cup. No matter if you use it for a different use than its designed intended purpose – it is still a paper cup.
I cited a paper cup because it is the closest object in front of me. But the fact is that no matter how I view it, or show it, or demonstrate it, or measure it, or weight it, or x-ray it, or take a photo, or pour liquid on it, or spill the liquid from it, or draw a puppet on this cup… it does not matter… it is still a paper cup, there is no viable dissention. A propagandist will try to convince you that this paper cup is a champagne flute or anything else for that matter. And in fact, you may even pour champagne on it – but even with that – the reality is that this reception remains a paper cup.
I’ll be as blunt as to say that I am sick and tired of this division among otherwise good people. I have reached people with larger platforms than mine – not everybody has been very receptive – some have not even answered at all. But there are enough who are listening and we (Half Life Crisis) will be featured in more outlets in the coming weeks. I won’t give up because I don’t want the dark pages in our history to repeat and sit idle as I see the world burn down. And yes, so many places around the world are burning down. Even some people in my reader’s audience are surviving in places where the conflict they are struggling against (right now) found them.
I’ve said it so many times before, but it is worth repeating. Please help me spread this message. I wrote my books in order to speak about that in detail. Admittedly, some of the people who have read my book stated that they found it a lot more eye-opening than they thought at first. I’m happy to hear that, because that was the intent. The books are thought-provoking and designed to unmask the propaganda hidden in plain sight.
If you have a platform, all I really ask you is to please give it a chance and read some pages (even if it is the preview in any of the outlets available). My books are non-fiction and the topics are extremely emergent. Things are continuing to deteriorate around the world very rapidly – and that includes these United States. We can stop authoritarianism on its tracks – together. I’ll continue doing my part shouting it onto any platform I can find.
Thank you for spending this time with me. I will close by reiterating that the reason why I have been emphasizing these topics is because this is affecting us all – no matter where in the world you are today. We are all in this together, and much like the “Threads” app, there are a lot better people out there than bad ones hijacking the narrative. We can regain control – together! HLC
J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez Authoritarianism & Propaganda The Puppet Master Tools.
HLC Propaganda in USA – www.halflifecrisis.com – Understanding History
I am more and more worried about the increased levels of authoritarian propaganda in the USA, and around the world. It’s happening and it is destructive!
Yes indeed, it pains my heart to tell you that Authoritarian Propaganda is indeed happening in the USA right now. In fact, it has been ramping up for a while. And no, the USA is not the only place where this is happening, this is a lot more widespread than most people realize. But there is a reason why I keep talking about it.
Let’s be blunt – because it is reality.
This is the kind of stuff that keeps me awake at night and has been keeping me awake for several years. Unsurprisingly, both my books speak about this topic almost exclusively. Today I want to talk a bit more about why I am so adamant about these topics.
Every day I hear it not only in the mainstream media, but also through independent commentators, and a bunch of other experts that are not affiliated with any media outlets. This authoritarian propaganda is not only happening, but it is ramping up and accelerating. Before I continue, I want to make sure that it does not matter if a person leans to the left, right, of balances in the center – we are all vulnerable to fall in this trap. What do I mean by that?
Simple, the larger the level of polarization, and the expanding of this “us against them” rhetoric – the worst it will get. And the hardest truth is that negotiating these differences in a vociferous manner might seem like the right thing to do. In fact, it will feel counterintuitive to do otherwise – even this overt dissent is done with good intentions. But that division is exactly what fuels authoritarian propaganda. The cold-hard-truth is that we are actually a lot more similar than different.
Case in point, I hear a lot left-leaning pundits, hosts, podcasters, youtubers, etc., express some choice words against so called “MAGA” Republicans. To a sizable segment of them it would be counterintuitive not to comment clamorously about their political leanings. But that course of action does not help. If you are from a left-leaning world view, have you ever tried to talk to a “MAGA Republican” about Trump in a derogatory manner? (Or challenge Trump’s many controversies in their presence for that matter) How well did that go?
And the fact is that for better or for worse MAGA Republicans will not entertain any dissent against Trump. But insulting a MAGA Republican intelligence and/or feelings about their patriotism is not going to help either. If anything, it might make it worse. And no, I am not a MAGA Republican myself, but I have met quite a few and they are not (as people) bad people. You could argue that the information given to them is not fulfilling the entire context of an issue (if it dissents with Trump), or that they don’t care to see other points of view outside their preferred information outlet sources (by their own admission, they might not find those credible in their view) – but that is a different issue.
Likewise, not every Democrat is a “Liberal” as stipulated by red-meat-eating-Republicans when using the “Liberal” as an epithet in a derogatory way. And progressive does not equal communist. True that some left-leaning folks would go overboard on some of their rhetoric every now and then. But guess what? Going overboard on political views happens all over the political spectrum as well. Why? Because this visceral response is not a political issue at its core, it is a people issue. In the United States of America “Left and Right” are not as straight forward as most people think. There are a lot of intricacies that have a lot in common between those two otherwise polarized segments. Why? Because people are complex.
Pop Quiz, are you left or right leaning? Let’s see how you do perceive the political support and inclinations on these questions I pose to you below. Please don’t over think these questions, because a lot of propaganda can be inserted under any of these topics. It is best if you feel this is something you would support or are against it – as person. And by putting yourself in those shoes.
· Should people have a living wage for their work?
· Should people be able to defend themselves?
· Should people have to pay only a fair share of taxes?
· Should people be able to be proud of their heritage?
· Should people have freedom of religion?
· Should people have freedom to become the person they are meant to be?
· Should people have to risk going bankrupt for routine or emergency medical care?
· Should the laws of the land apply equally to all citizens?
· Should people have a safe place to lay their heads at night?
· Should people have enough food to sustain their health?
· Should people be able to make consensual decisions as cognizant adults?
· Should people be able to pursue goals that make them feel whole?
· Should people be able to live in a safe community?
· Should people be able to live without being discriminated against by the color of their skin, but rather be judged by the content of their character?
· Should people be able to attain a level of education that helps them, and the country become better and more educated?
· Should people be able to keep entitlement programs at retirement age after they have paid into these for their entire working lives?
· Should people live in a country that has safe and decent public infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.).
· Should people be able to afford dwellings without running the risk of becoming homeless because of cost of living and price hikes?
· Should people be able to elect their leaders without having special interest groups deciding on their behalf by manipulating district demographics?
· Should people have access to clean water and edible food in the richest country in the world?
· Should people have viable options for energy without having to pay exorbitant amounts.
· Should people be able to live in a country where inflation is controlled and not having to pay more for less?
· Should America have more opportunities for manufacturing “made in USA” – that are not prohibitable or extremely expensive for consumers?
· Should people have the right to choose what they do with their own bodies as cognizant and consensual adults?
I can go on, but I hope this makes the point. Yes, those questions are open-ended. But there is a much larger point to be made – and – a common denominator to all this. The question was in essence if the interrogates I posed are left or right leaning questions. Surprise – they are both left and right simultaneously! I’ve been saying it for years, we are more similar than dissimilar. The great majority of us want a better country for all of us – where we can be free!
For example, on my second question: “Should people be able to defend themselves?” I am sure many eagled-eye politically savvy readers assessed this to be a second amendment right question, and for the right-wing segment assess that this is mostly a right-wing stance. Particularly if “defend themselves” is congruent with owning guns, sometimes lots and lots of guns. Well, sorry to burst that bubble, there is no shortage of left-leaning, liberals, and any other flavor of democrats that do have a lot of guns – and they love those guns too.
In other words, it is not only Right-Wing Republicans who own and love their guns. There are plenty of Left-Wing Democrats who own them and love their guns too. I will go on a limb and assess that both Republicans and Democrats are against mass shootings. As they should. And that goes in line with the question: “Should people be able to live in a safe community?” And the answer should be unequivocally YES!
And the truth is that according to many scientifically evaluated polls, the majority of Americans ~81% in fact, want common sense gun regulation. And no, that does not mean that somebody in the federal government is going to confiscate the guns, that is a propaganda point. And unsurprisingly it will get people really frantic. Don’t feel bad if you’re one of them, propaganda is designed to be visceral in nature. That is why it is so effective and can go unnoticed.
In fact, propaganda could very well fish for your concurrence – but of course it leaves a lot of important contexts out of your decision-making process. That is why it would become counterintuitive when actual facts get challenged. It is designed to be that way.
And I just chose the second amendment as an example because that one seems to have a lot more traction on the propaganda world than other less on-the-nose issues. But the truth is that a lot of these issues we very much agree upon are politicized and are driven by special groups who have something to win when we dissent. And we do help them in that effort, even when we have good intentions. And again, it is designed to be that way.
But once you understand the game rules, their propaganda power diminishes because everything that is otherwise jumbled up sticks like a sore thumb. This is important because history is repeating itself, and it takes people to thwart an authoritarian from galvanizing power. And the way they galvanize power is by spewing propaganda.
Authoritarian Propaganda in America.
Who can be a victim of propaganda? Everybody! No matter how smart we think we are, we all have blind spots. However, by understanding context, the chances of being bamboozled diminish significantly. Let me give you an example.
An illusionist (magician) will give you a pre-determinate perspective for you to see something that is out of context. If you see what happens from the magician’s point of view, you will understand how the trick works. Propaganda is the same way, but often a lot more subtle and complex in nature and scope. This also happens in politics all the time.
But the difference is that sometimes the politician might be the prop being used by the illusionist. In fact, the illusionist (magician) in this case might not be on stage at all, but you only get to see the puppet show. And to be brutally honest we have people in Capitol Hill who repeat adversarial regimes talking points verbatim! Yes, I’ve said that before – it remains true.
Some of these politicians parroting propaganda points might be doing so intentionally, some might be too stupid to realize it. And that means their staff are also either just as blind or as incompetent. If you don’t believe me, you can always look at the news from adversarial regimes and look at their talking points discrediting America and see how many of those actually match what some politicians are saying – quite overtly I might add.
As I said, it does not matter if a person is a MAGA republican or a so called “Liberal” or anything in between. An authoritarian and propagandist do not give a crap about your political stance, that is irrelevant in the great scheme of things. They just need to understand your biases and see if you will do what they want you to do. And yes, attacking each other is exactly what they want you to do! Especially if these attacks become escalatory in nature – that’s both for rhetoric or if it evolves into action. To include violent action.
That is the game. Discredit each other to the point where communication seems futile, and starts dehumanizing the other side. The reason why I am so adamant about this, is because after this happens, this otherwise “civil” yet escalating friction and tension accelerates exponentially once it reaches a critical point. What is this point? Well, that depends on several factors. These could be cultural, political, religious, environmental, etc. Each country and group of people are unique, that is why complacency can set in sometimes for years before it reaches that critical point. At that point, it will be too late.
Many nations around the world have experienced this critical point. And from there it is extremely hard to regain control. I don’t know how else I can keep asking people to please help me share my message. I’ve lived through it; I’ve seen it in action and I know how it goes and evolves. History is repeating itself. I’ve studied this phenomenon for years. Please help me share this message. That is why I wrote my books, because the topics are emergent. And it is getting worse each day.
Unfortunately, there is a large segment of the population who seem oblivious to these facts. I am trying to change that. But I am just one random guy that started this journey with a small platform competing for attention in an oversaturated world. I am grateful that my little platform is growing thanks to outlets such as CloseUp Radio, BookBaby, ReadersMagnet, who were the first ones to reach out to me. And of course, to all my readers, I cannot thank you enough for my words. That is why I have not been searching for a way to put ads on my site www.halflifecrisis.com, as this message is making its way out to the world, I don’t want special interest groups to dictate or redact the message I am trying to convey.
There is propaganda in America, and the rhetoric several politicians are spewing is driving us towards an authoritarian reality none of us are ready for. But we can stop this threat together. You have probably been reading, viewing, or listening to a lot more of that in today’s media. I was already speaking about that for a few years already, and that is why I published my books as soon as I could. I saw this very snipping of time coming – it will get much worse unless we thwart this game that is being played onto us.
The first step is gaining introspection to understand the reality surrounding us.
The second step is to understand the actual context of the issues that affect us all. Finding the common ground, and realizing that we are more similar than different – despite our political leanings.
This stops propagandists on their tracks because their falsehoods will fall on deaf ears once they get uncovered. Right now, their falsehoods are gaining a lot of traction via influencers, media personalities, politicians, social media algorithms, etc. Yet facts are losing track, and in the end, we will have no one to blame but ourselves. That is why I am so adamant about sharing this important message.
If for some reason you forget everything I just typed, please remember this: authoritarian propaganda is on the rise in America, and America for better or for worse is a highly influential country on the world-stage. Hence this situation will engulf the planet probably sooner than later. Thank you for taking this time to help me spread this important message. I continue hearing a lot of media personalities talking about how signs of authoritarianism are growing in America, but I have not yet seen them provide an actual solution.
I intend to do my best to provide a viable solution through my writing – and it starts by providing a thorough understanding of how this vicious propagandistic game is being played. I don’t for a second pretend to be the end-all-be all in this effort, but I can only hope these words will be instrumental in slowing this authoritarian rhetoric trend because of the vantage point I have been afforded. I never take for granted the fact you’re reading my words today, and I want to thank you for being part of this solution by starting this conversation. HLC
J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez Authoritarianism & Propaganda The Puppet Master Tools.
HLC Splitting challenges – www.halflifecrisis.com – Understanding History
I make it very clear every time I get a platform to speak about this; I am concerned to see America getting divided and more eroded from the inside out.
The adversary wants a divided America.
Where can I even start? 2023 is nearing its end by being one of the most bizarre years in American History. This is supposed to be a feel-good article – but there are realities we need to address. Why? Because I love America, that is why. Yet this weirdness is not very evident to great swaths of Americans – and many other world citizens. Yet, in a curious twist this madness is designed to be that way.
Yes, it is largely meant to be that way. Let’s start with the greatest catalyst – our political challenge and its congruent widespread apathy. Not necessarily by politicians – but by a large segment of people who are not at all interested in the political realities. I don’t blame them; politics can range from boring to exasperating. Neither of those extremes make it any more palatable. And yes, it is designed to be that way. Because that way a lot of decisions enacted by politicians happen unnoticed while in plain sight. Bizarre!
If you have been a reader of mine for a while, then you know I love to throw a couple of pop quizzes here and there. Don’t worry, there is no letter grade required on these questions I pose. But the correct answer to the crazy stuff I ask is still important. And the reason is because what I ask directly affects our lives – collectively. To be honest, sometimes I wish I could just look away and let things happen without a second glance. And once in a while I do – for a little bit. For sanity’s sake.
But the problem is that by letting things happen without our situational awareness, we tend to miss important indicators. For example, although there is plenty of political theater going on in Capitol Hill right now, there is also no shortage of the correspondent aftermath that affects our very lives. These could be in the form of taxes, changes to entitlement programs, legislation that messes up with our way of life, etc. Some laws pass without an audience understanding how different their lives are about to become.
Further, some of the politicians have staff who seem very incompetent. And I mean this is glaringly evident by the number of gaffes that occur on a regular basis when elected officials are questioning people during many hearings. It would be tragically amusing if it was not so disturbing. Some of these staffers should probably pay more attention to the facts before their Representative or Senator spews information that is totally divorced from reality. Unless that is the intent. I am hoping it is incompetence – but I would not hold my breath on that possibility – if this benefit of the doubt was supposed to be a bet.
Political Theater in Capitol Hill.
So, let’s do a quick pop quiz to my American Citizen readers. How many U.S. House of Representatives and US Senators can you name? From those, what are their platforms? And what do you like or dislike about each? How many can you name? 10, 15, more? If you did, that would be awesome! There are 100 U.S. Senators and there are 435 members in the U.S. House of Representatives. I bet you most people only recall some of those names who seem to be appearing in the news a lot. And quite a few of these politicians do appear (or are cited) repeatedly, although not usually for good reasons.
Yet these representatives do vote on legislation that affects our entire country. It is true that some have not introduced actual legislation to the floor, and also a significant number of these politicians seem to be divorced from reality. That does happen quite a lot – unfortunately. Let’s talk about a few to see if you are familiar with them. You’re welcome to like them or dislike them – that is not the intent for today’s article. But what I want to do is point out how likely we are to hear some clout in a very small number of politicians while many others are largely unknown to the majority of the country. Yet their voting record can be less than stellar, and hidden from view – in plain sight.
I’ll just mention the names, I won’t go into if they are either good or bad. But if you recognize the names, just think about – why do you like them, or why do you very much dislike them? In order for this exercise to make sense, your opinion over them cannot simply be because of what your favorite news outlet or pundit tells you, but rather on the understanding of their actual platform and voting record. That official participation is what really speaks for them. That voting record is what really counts regardless of what anybody says on TV or any other media outlet (to include independent outlets).
The following U.S. House Representatives are listed in no order in particular: Alexandra Ocasio Cortez (AOC), George Santos, Kevin McCarthy, Lauren Boebert, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, Matt Gaetz, Majorie Greene, James Comer, Steve Scalise, Jamie Raskin, Omar Ilhan, Antony D’Esposito, Tim Burchett, Jim Jordan. How do you feel about each of those mentioned?
The following U.S. Senators are listed in no order in particular: Corey Booker, Bill Cassidi, Susan Collins, Christopher Coons, Tom Cotton, John Fetterman, Lindsey
Graham, Chuck Grasley, Tim Kaine, Robert Mendez, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio, Charles Schumer, Tommy Tuberville, Elizabeth Warren, Rick Scott, Berny Sanders. How do you feel about each of the Senators I mentioned?
Please don’t feel bad if you cannot recognize them all. That is true for the short lists that I put in the paragraphs above or the full lists linked to this article. Unless the ones you cannot recognize are your own state senators and district house of representatives – then yeah, you probably should have known who they are. Why? Well, for example when people become Naturalized U.S. Citizens they take an oral civics test, and THIS question is asked. And yes, you’re required to answer correctly. I know I was asked this very question (among others) when I became a Naturalized U.S. Citizen. And understanding civics does make sense when becoming a citizen. I am sure you would agree to that. Should not natural born citizens be held to the same standard? We are all Americans after all.
I am sure most of my readers actually know the correct answer to this question I just asked (who is your House Representative and State Senators?). But unfortunately, that is not true for everybody else. In fact, just in the last couple of days I did my own unscientific poll asking random people about this very question – this included natural born U.S. citizens and Naturalized citizens. Which group do you think was most likely to answer these questions correctly? Why you think is that? (The answer was the Naturalized Citizens group by the way).
This priming question also helped many (not all) understand some of the intricacies about how legislation moves through Congress, and what is the relationship between the Legislative power in contrast and conjunction with the Judicial and Executive powers. Once we understand how the system works, then it is a lot easier to understand if a Senator or Representative is actually working for the good of their constituents (and by extension the country), or are they just occupying a seat in that exulted position but only fanning the flames of political theater.
Why do you think I picked up all those names and listed them in random order? Notice that I did not put their political affiliation (either Republican, Democrat, or Independent). Well, for two reasons:
First. Because chances are that you might recognize some of those names – because they do appear in the news a lot, and some were even presidential hopefuls, or held a very high ranking or influential role in Congress. Some are very good people; some others are awful – I won’t go on to say which one is what. A quick google search can give you plenty of information (good or bad) about each. Depending on what outlet you choose your information from. This is of course an invitation to spark your curiosity about each politician I listed. And of course, on hearing favoring and dissenting views on each of these political figures.
Second. Because they have been the catalyst to either moving or stalling important legislation, and the have been covered in the mainstream media quite a lot in the political discourse during important turning points in recent American history (when it comes to politics – for better or worse). Yes, those listed have different political affiliations. And many of them are not good at playing as a team. Further, some will be very incendiary in their remarks and partisanship – and quite a few of them are somehow involved in at least one major scandal.
By the way, I do plan on writing about the historical bipartisan vote to expel George Santos from Congress today. I’ve written about him before, and the inevitable happened today. Please come visit us again this weekend for that conversation.
Also, in separate articles I will delve into each of them as they are individually and collectively relevant. It won’t be in this article because otherwise this will turn into a book. There is plenty to talk about and some of that talk will be pretty intricate. Instead, my intent with this article is to spark your curiosity. True that some of these politicians are featured in the airways very often – but are their words in front of the camera actually matching their voting record and their actual service to the American people – or are they falling short on that commitment?
What I can tell you, and it is demonstrable, is that many of those I listed had repeated adversarial [to the US] nation propagandistic talking points verbatim. And this parroting of adversarial talking points might be unintentional, that does not make it any less stupid. This legitimization of adversarial talking points both bolsters adversarial nation’s influence and alienates the U.S. from actual allied nations. Does that sound hyperbolic? It should not… let me explain you why.
When adversarial nations show that the “Shining City on the Hill” is not only imperfect, but it is actually being portrayed as unhinged – this gives the adversarial nations ammunition to validate [even if falsely] that THEIR regime governing system is the way to go, as though the U.S. was too flawed to be a viable model in the world stage. Every time our elected representatives throw feces at each other, adversarial regimes rejoice. We are making it a lot easier for them to discredit the U.S. by our own mouths.
For the rest of the world, particularly countries who are not necessarily an adversary to the U.S. – but rather they might or might not have undivided loyalty towards the great U.S. of A. – seeing the US lose ground in the world stage will make an impression to them as though there is a “more viable” option. In other words, start leaning towards other nations who are not the US or US allies! These nations who are on the fence can very well choose to go for another “world leader” – who does not seem to be in disarray. Understanding that I am not talking about world politicians moving their fondness away from the USA – I am talking about everyday citizens of the world who might start seeing the USA influence as a lesser choice.
American influence in the world stage.
Not everybody out there is very savvy on global geopolitical intricacies. And why should they? – It is a very large world out there. Mathematically the task is daunting at best. But if a country at any point in history is the #1 most influential nation, then it does not matter who is #2, #3, or #47 for that matter… The #1 nation for better or worse will set a certain status-quo (like it or not) that normalizes what is or is not acceptable in the world stage. And with this I know that a lot of people around the world does take exception with the assessment of touting the U.S. as the #1 nation in the world. Actually, that statement alone makes a lot of people cringe (mostly outside the USA).
And that is a whole topic in its own right. I know many Americans will not necessarily like to hear that there is not unmitigated positive perception about them outside our borders. And yes, some of that perception is not a fair assessment. But as I said this is a very sensitive and actually quite complex issue – therefore it deserves its own dedicated article (at the very least). What we will discuss is quite eye-opening no matter how you feel about it.
However, setting a positive standard for USA is that among other beneficial things; the fact that the federal government is not going to kill you and everything you loved if you speak against the government – that is not something every nation in the planet enjoys unequivocally. Also, the peaceful transfer of power. That latter did not happen in 2020 – For the first time in U.S. history we did not transfer power peacefully. That was wonderful news to the adversarial nations – the world takes notice of that. I bet you there are plenty of Americans who are unaware of the nefarious January 6, 2021 insurrection in Capitol Hill. Or at least some people don’t quite understand the significance of that day. I know that for a fact, because I like to ask these kinds of things. And some of the answers can be quite frustrating.
Also, gaining the title of who is the #1 nation in the world is actually a lot more subjective than most people can imagine. And that perception is quite exploitable by propagandists. So, let’s put some #1 place when it comes to the U.S. in order to spell-out what does it mean. Some are good, some are not so good (as in not good at all).
Some of the USA #1 categories – Largest Economy in terms of gross domestic product
– Largest Military force by far
– Most mass shootings by far (tragically)
– Most diverse country in terms of ethnicity, culture, art, etc. Because the U.S. Population (to include American Citizens and Permanent Residents) do span the entire planet.
– Largest Oil, Natural Gas & Coal reserves.
– Largest Beef production
And I can go on… but I must also mention we are pretty far behind on other areas such as: Access to medical care (not the same as how good the doctors are in USA; it does not do a sick person much good if the doctor is excellent but prohibitively unaffordable), pragmatic equity, our wealth gap is gigantic. While some people can barely make a living, 1% of the country has more wealth than the rest of the 99% combined. And no, I am not asking for wealth redistribution in this article – I am just stating a fact. The amount the private wealth of a small percentage of the U.S. population is mind-bending. Moving on, our education system is not necessarily the best – it depends largely on several factors. Also, the higher the education level, the more exponentially expensive it gets.
Also, our manufacturing is very far behind on the world stage and incredibly expensive. If you have a “Made in America” product – you are going to have to pay pretty-penny for it 9 times out of 10. And of course, that creates a vicious circle of trying to get products from other places – because they are a lot more affordable. But in the end, it destroys the sustainability of a viable long-term economic model for the USA. It makes it harder to compete with the rest of the world in manufacturing. There are many American companies who found it cheaper to produce stuff overseas and ship it to the USA for sale.
And of course, a lot of the distribution channels will need to make some compromises on the quality of the products given to consumers. Let me give you an example, a lot of the produce (fruits and vegetables) we consume are not all that tasty. Why? Because it needs to be strong enough to survive the gigantic distances it needs to cover in order to be available nationwide – ensuring it won’t turn into mush will also kill a lot of the flavor. A lot of our food does have a lot of “help” to not go bad in transit (preservatives and particularly bio-engineered to sustain that arduous process). In smaller countries – for example Italy, a regular tomato will have a much different taste (as in amazing) than a regular tomato in USA. But the same delicious tomato would not survive the trip from origin to your plate.
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Quick author sidebar: Shoutout to Italy – another country I love so much. I know that for a fact that Italy is a country like no other, I spent four glorious years living in Italy – and I left kicking and screaming among when it was my time to leave. Among other things because the food in Italy is beyond wonderful. If you haven’t gotten a chance to visit Italy, you’re missing out. Save up some money and bring a big wallet because the experiences you’ll enjoy are unforgettable. I’ve been from the southern-most point in Sicily to the northern regions in the country, the coasts, and everywhere in between – every place is unique and indescribable. I will be writing a lot about Italy in future articles. Meanwhile you can see some awesome shots in my Instagram from my last visits to Italy.
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US Capitol view from the National Mall in Washington. Photo by J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez – Half Life Crisis
The good in USA.
But back to the USA. USA is my home, I am an American Citizen, I dress in the cloth of this nation and have been serving on active duty in the United States Navy for 20 years. My love for the great USA is beyond what words can describe, and I am chatty A.F. but even then, I am at a loss for words when it comes to speaking about what the USA means to me.
And for that I will have to dedicate an entire book – seriously. My mother brought me to the USA in 1995 and this country not only opened her arms to me, but adopted me as one of their own. This is my home, my Wife and Daughter are both American-born, I’ve lived here more than two thirds of my entire life. I’ve visited the world, but my adopted country is my home.
I’ve been to 47 out of 50 states in the USA, and several U.S. Territories around the world. And the common denominator of what makes the USA wonderful is their people. Sadly, some people (fortunately very few in the great scheme of things) are advocating for dividing our population in an “us against them” manner. That is why I am so adamant about trying to write content that will help us come together.
Unfortunately, chaos and bad news and sensationalism is what drives the clicks and the attention. I am lucky that I was able to create Half Life Crisis as a means to express my mind in an unfiltered manner. At this exact point in time, I am not as worried about SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Marketing, or other stuff that would be just looking after monetizing what I do. To me it is about the message. I created Half Life Crisis so I could rant… a lot… about things I feel are meaningful and that deserve having a platform. And these will be immortalized without fear of being censored by any outside special interests group ruling Half Life Crisis – because it is really only me typing and editing all this stuff you see presented in my articles.
I do intend to include and feature more stories that hopefully will be inspiring to our readers. I don’t want to type sensationalistic content just to search for clicks, although I do want my words to travel as far as possible – because my message is meant to bring us together. But in lieu of sensationalistic topics I want to continue writing content that is thought provoking. I appreciate all my readers as I look at the analytics of my site to see that they are enjoying this type of narrative and they are hanging out long enough to read these words.
To all my readers, I want to thank you again because I don’t take for granted any visit to my site. I have already been gratefully surprised at how far this little platform has been growing. True that I have not gotten the bandwidth nor the savviness to make it a mega project. Not yet anyway – but as I say on my site’s front page. I am playing this whole thing by ear and you might be as surprised as I am at how far I might be able to take this project. And my intention is to do so by staying true to my principles. Even if it takes a little bit (or a lot) longer.
There is plenty we need to address in our beloved USA. We cannot bask in old successes and think that is enough to keep this good thing going. It takes the attention to detail to the generation who will be in the driver’s seat to maintain and make it better for everybody.
For these days I am trying to focus more on positivity, because the truth is that the world is actually a scary place and it is getting scarier. But sulking in a corner sucking our thumb is not going to fix the situation, what can fix it is the people – and for that it takes individual introspection to understand what needs to be addressed. But talking too much about negativity brings people down, and defeats the will to fight, especially if the fight seems distant from the battle space.
The first step is introspection, and by this, I mean it is important to understand what is being fed to us by elected leaders. What is true, what is noise? And there is plenty of noise and conjecture taking over facts. That is dangerous, because things can and will get worse – unless – we the people decide to be part of the collective solution. And it is as simple as understanding what this noise is being propagated onto us, and to separate facts from falsehoods.
In order to achieve this goal, what it takes is bringing our natural curiosity and comparing the facts with the reality. For politicians, looking at their voting record in the links I gave you is a pretty good start. Start with your incumbent Senators and representatives. I promise you it will be time well invested, even if it is an acquired taste. But those are the people who are making decisions on our behalf and some of them don’t have any business being in those exulted positions. Good news, elections are coming near!
As always, I want to thank you for spending this time with me. I don’t take for granted the fact you chose to read my words. I would love to hear from you, we can always continue this conversation in the comment section on this page – or in any of our social media platforms. Thank you for being with me through this journey! HLC
JAN 6 2021 gallows capitol hill
