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Rough Notes

0:00  
Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Is Thursday, March the 20th. And I had an opportunity to watch the movie Flynn with a group of people last night. Got done with it around, I don't know, maybe eight o'clock in the evening, about a few hours of sleep. Went to bed thinking about it, and woke up with an idea to discuss it. So everything you are going to hear is off the cuff. I've made a few notes. It's long formats, a little rough. But the thing is, I want you to think about it. There's a lot here. After I just got done finishing this, I think you'll enjoy it, and I encourage you to watch the movie Flynn. But I also want you to think about That's right. Think about putting together your own film festival. And I've given you some ideas to do exactly that, but I'll say right now, think about the movie. Oh, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Think about the movie, Idiocracy. Think about war dogs. Think about the candidate, All the President's Men, the movie Flynn. Now there's a lot of them you could put together, and you'll see why I really do think that there's an opportunity to learn, grow and build, although I still will say nothing beats a good old fashioned book and reading. Okay with that. Let's get started. You are listening to the Paul Truesdell podcast sponsored by Truesdell wealth and the other Truesdell companies. Note, due to our extensive holdings and our clients always assume that we have a position in all companies discussed and that a conflict of interest exists. The information presented is provided for entertainment and informational purposes only. Truesdell wealth is a registered investment advisor.

1:51  
Time for a pen, paper and coffee.

1:54  
Last night, I had the opportunity to watch a movie with a group of people. The movie is called Flynn. Is the story of General Michael Thomas Flynn, who is a little bit younger than me. And there are several things I'm going to talk about after having an opportunity to sit back for a few moments and reflect, but more importantly, to sleep on it. And I woke up and said,

2:19  
Yeah, let's talk about that. Let's do a long format podcast today. And in my opinion, we're at a reflection point in history of our nation where there are several things going on. I had one of those aha moments when I woke up I went to bed, which I almost always do this I think about something, something is bothering me. I'm trying to figure it out, connecting the dots. And I go to bed and I wake up more often than not, with those aha moments, and immediately begin writing down in my journal ideas and thoughts. This is where this is coming from, and that's the reason why I've called this the genies Flynn. I'm going to take a few moments to give you a really high overview of a few things I think are worth considering. And this is not by any means fully developed. This is quite literally a off the cuff shoot from the hip long format podcast, because, well, it's only been about eight hours since I saw the movie, but there are some movies that come to mind that I would like, well, I'd like to teach a college course, a university level course, using film to mold young minds and those that have aged but remain palatable pliable the new ideas and the ability to connect the dots and to truly think as to how the world actually works. So I'm reminded of the movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as a classic American film from 1939 directed by Frank Capra. Amazing guy, starring James Stewart. He was a lot of fun to watch. The story follows Jefferson Smith. Remember the first name Jefferson Smith, a naive and idealistic leader of the boy rangers who is appointed to the United States Senate after the sudden death of a senator, the political machine led by the corrupt Jim Taylor and assisted by the senior senator from Smith state, Joseph Payne, I guess. Love these names. If you understand wordsmithing, pain, P, A, I N, E or pain, P, A, I n, as in the pain in the horses patootie Jefferson, as in Thomas Jefferson. I just love wordplay, so let me repeat this. The political machine is led by, let's see corporate Jim corrupt Jim Taylor and assisted by senior senator in Smith's case, like I said, Joseph Payne, they expect Smith to be controllable. He's just a puppet, and they'll be able to push through.

5:00  
Bill with a hidden dam project, damn D, A M, as in water, damn project that would profit them enormously. Okay, you can see this playing out in Washington right now. Right now. Upon arriving in Washington, Smith is initially overwhelmed by the grandeur of the capital and the ideals it represents. I see a lot of people that happens too when they go to Tallahassee for their county days, he proposes a bill for a national boys camp, unaware that it would be built on the same land the corrupt politicians plan to use for their dam. Now, when Smith discovers the scheme, he refuses to play along. In response, the Taylor machine fabricates evidence suggesting that Smith himself is corrupt and involved in graft. Now, if you saw the movie Flynn, gosh darn, I sure hope your sweet bippy is beginning to go, oh man, we just see this played out in real world all the time. I guess I could call this Mr. Flynn goes to Washington, so Smith refuses to yield and well, he launches a dramatic filibuster on the Senate floor, speaking for nearly 24 hours straight to exposed corruption despite physical exhaustion. What does the media do? Well, they smear media smears orchestrated by Taylor and even the betrayal of his constituents who are manipulated into turning against him. It this is just grand, in my opinion. Think of Flynn. Think of Trump. Think of Biden. Think of Fauci. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

6:42  
History repeats itself. Now Smith persists his impassionate or rather, his impassioned defense of American ideals and his unwillingness to compromise his principles, eventually to send her pain track under pressure of his own conscious kind of sounds like Tucker Carlson here, Paine attempts suicide and then confesses to the corrupt scheme on the floor of the Senate, vindicating Smith. If only it worked that way, as if Hillary Clinton's gonna say, Yes, I did destroy all those computers and those files, and I knew what wiping was all about. You do remember when she gave that idiotic response, oh, you're talking about wiping the screen. The film is a powerful examination of tension between idealism and political reality, corruption and integrity, the role of individual, well, the individual citizen in a democratic haha system. It suggests that while the system may be flawed and prone to corruption, it can still work when principled individuals stand up for the truth justice, regardless of personal cost. Yeah, sounds like Superman right at the very end. Well, it is what it is, and so let's continue with the intersection of visual media and American identity. It runs a lot deeper than most people realize. It's all connected. I want you to take your hands, hold them in front of you right now. Just do it. Come on, Bob, Greg everybody. Lulu you and Paul lampport, hold your hands in front of you and interlace your fingers. Keep your hands open. The intersection of the visual media in this nation, identity, which we call it, what it means to be American, runs really deep. It's media is everything. Okay? It is. It's always been that way, from the town crier standing on the soapbox, Zog Grog and log sitting around the fire in the in the cave with the Remington 870 defending themselves against dinosaurs. If you don't know what that means, watch the movie Idiocracy. So films and television do not merely reflect our culture. They actively shape it, creating powerful narratives that embed themselves in our collective conscious and fundamentally alter how we perceive reality. America has always been a visually orientated society, but the proliferation of screens has transformed all of us well. Our nation is defined by visual cues, carefully crafted personas. Consider how the consistency of appearance creates powerful brand recognition in our well cultural figures. Now let's take President Trump. President Trump has masterly managed this understanding with his instantaneously recognized uniform, and he has a uniform, a dark suit, a crisp white shirt, and that signature long red tie, predominantly red, though, since his second term, now you've seen variations in tie color, and these are calculated and designed for a strategic evolution. It.

10:00  
It's not accidental. Trump's image was meticulously cultivated through many decades of media appearances, culminating in the well the apprentice, which cemented his persona as the authoritative, decisive businessman in the imagination of Americans long before he sought political office. This visual strategy is not unique to President Trump. Steve Jobs understood this principle perfectly his black mock turtleneck jeans and New Balance sneakers became as iconic as Apple's products themselves by eliminating the daily decision of what to wear. Jobs not only preserved mental energy for more important decisions, but he created an instantaneously recognizable silhouette that reinforced his brand as an innovative yet austere tech visionary. And I got to tell you, there's a lot of value to what I just said. Got to put that in your pipe and smoke it for a while. The power of this visual consistency was so apparent that Elizabeth Holmes, a horrible human being, perhaps the most notorious fraudster in recent business history, attempted to appropriate it wholesale her affected deep vocal fry. I hate when women do that vocal fry,

11:23  
her vocal fry and deliberate adoption of jobs black turtleneck uniform wasn't just admiration. It was calculated identity theft, attempt to wrap herself in the visual language of tech innovation and disruption to mask the emptiness behind the Theranos claims. And boy, does she bamboozle some amazing people, if you get a chance, even though Wikipedia is a god awful biased location, go to your Googly, Googly, Googly machine and just type in Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, T, H, E, R, A, N, O, S, and look at who was on her board of directors. Military leaders now have understood the principle for centuries. The uniform doesn't just create order and discipline, it's well, it manufactures authority through visual consistency. When we see a general covered with ribbons and metals, we process that visual information instant, instantly. You attribute it well, to leadership, competence, authority before a single word is spoken. Oh, this is a person who has had a lot of combat experience. So this brings us to the profound influence of films that I've listed and or read. I should say I'm going to list. It's a remarkable collection that for nearly a century of American cinematic critique of government, it's not just entertainment, it's a powerful educational tool, and it has shaped how well generations of Americans understand their relationship with the government. Now, in pre 1975

12:58  
we have some fascinating American skepticism towards government, long before Watergate and films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, we're already cultivating a narrative of corruption at the highest levels. We're lone heroes standing against entrenched systems. Seven Days in May, The Manchurian Candidate, these all planted seeds of conspiracy thinking. It would later flourish with things like Dr Strangelove, where it used dark satire to expose the absurd logic of nuclear deterrence and military thinking. Since 1975 well Watergate, it's transformed the narrative from skepticism to outright cynicism. I'll give you example. Films like Wag the Dog assume government manipulation is just a given enemy of the state. It normalized surveillance paranoia years before Snowden revelations that made it a reality, JFK and other Oliver Stone Films didn't just suggest a conspiracy, it meticulously constructed a narrative, narratives that millions of Americans absorbed as historical fact, which reminds me of Lincoln the Vampire Slayer. I guarantee you, somebody thinks that's true. What we've witnessed is nothing short of a national education by proxy, that's right, national education by proxy, a couch potato curriculum delivered by a remarkably homogeneous group of storytellers, and we all know who they are. Hollywood, despite its supposedly liberal leanings, has consistently promoted a deeply conservative message about government at times, and then at other times, it's as liberal and communist as you can imagine. But when you look and peel it all back, you see that the communist influence is amazing. It inherently talks about being corrupt and wasteful and dangerous.

15:00  
That noble individuals, usually men, must stand against it, that dark forces manipulate events behind the scenes. Well, a lot of this is true. It's the way it's told. And again, if I was in Russia and China, I'd be like, rah, rah. Let's support more of these movies to break down the psyche of the average American, which is unique in this movie Flynn, because it comes back and he says, despite everything, we live in the greatest country in the world. By the way, there's an old saying follow the money. Now this narrative serves multiple masters. For conservatives, it reinforces skepticism of government programs and well regulation. For liberals, it justifies righteous activism against systemic corruption. For the disengaged, it provides a convenient excuse for political apathy. Well, they're all crooks anyway. Why should I vote? Why should I get involved? You see, the cumulative effect has been profound. It's in a transformation of American political consciousness, and I want to say this now, ask yourself, when's the last time you actually read a book? I mean, a real book, paperback, digital, hardback. People don't read anymore. Just like I've taken a lot of criticism from some people say this is too long. Oh, I can't believe it. Yeah, I like doing long format. I like digging into the weeds. I like connecting the dots, and then at the very end, I believe in parsimony. Keep it simple, but to get there, it's a long, long slog. It's like Green Bay being at the goal line against Dallas Super Bowl. One amazing snow in Bart Starr getting across the goal line took a lot. Lombardi was right. So we've become a nation that simultaneously expects the worst from government while demanding to solve most of our pressing problems. Gomer shows I am, by the way, that is an impossible contradiction. We elect leaders to clean up Washington, then express shock when they can't navigate his complexities. We can Well, we're consumed by stories about Deep State conspiracies, and then we wonder why the public trust has been eroded. And I sure darg gun, hope you listen to that and rewind it. I'm not going to repeat it. What makes this education so insidious is its invisible nature, very few viewers consciously analyze the political messaging of the films they consume instead, these narratives seep, seep, seep

17:36  
into our Understanding gradually, frame by frame, until cynicism feels like wisdom and paranoia is like prudence. The Flynn film exists with this tradition, another in every well, it's another entry, I would say, in America's ongoing visual education about Power, Corruption and the individual's place within a complex system now, whether it reinforces existing narratives or challenges them, that remains to be seen, but is undeniably part of this powerful stream of visual instruction that has shaped American consciousness for nearly a century. What we're witnessing isn't just entertainment. This is a documentary, but I'm talking about the entertainment industry. It's the most effective mass education system ever devised, and boy, Donald Trump understands that he is entertaining, and he is able to keep his message incredibly simple, even though it drives so many out of their minds. So we have an education system here in our country that has molded American political understanding far more profoundly than any civics class or newspaper editorial. And yes, dear Brad Rogers, you wrote a lot of things and nobody really paid any damn attention to a word you said. So until we recognize the power of these visual narratives to shape our collective reality, we remain at their mercy, consuming what appears to be mere entertainment while absorbing lessons that fundamentally alter how we understand our nation and its institutions. Let's do a little background about General Michael Flynn's factual overview. Now, Mike Flynn was born in December 1958 in Rhode Island. He graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a Bachelor's of Science degree in management science. In 1981 he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in army intelligence. So he didn't go to West Point, Harvard, MIT Annapolis. His military career spanned 33 years, during which he served in various intelligence roles, Director of intelligence for the Joint Special Operations Command, Director of intelligence for the US.

20:00  
Central Command, Director of intelligence for the Joint Staff, Director of intelligence for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, Director of Defense Intelligence Agency, dia Okay, so that's where he comes from, and I will tell you this, there's more to that story. There's something there that we don't know. I guarantee it not going to be told, and it will be lost to the voluminous annals of history. Now, Flynn retired as a Lieutenant General in 2014 following his military career, he established Flynn Intel group, a consulting firm. He served briefly as the National Security Advisor to President Trump for 24 days. That's it, January to February. 2017 now his tenure as National Security Advisor ended with his recognition after it was said that he had communications with a Russian ambassador. Now, as it movie shows, they pressured him incredibly, the case was a nothing burger. They threatened to put his son in jail because he worked with his son. He was going to plead guilty to making false statements to the FBI. He believes that Vice President Pence is just a stooge of the Washington machine. Then he withdrew his plea. He wound up getting a presidential pardon. But the case is made that in a movie, there's nothing there, and literally, the Obama administration went after him because they viewed him as a threat. Now you might say, why would they do that? Obama pointed him a couple times, gave him promotions, brought him in, but remember, Truman had to get rid of MacArthur in powers within the military, assassinated General George Patton. Don't ever forget that this whole idea that Patton was killed in an accident is hogwash, just like is hogwash, to think that there isn't more to the story of this Kennedy assassination, and we're never going to truly find out what happened there. I don't even think Donald Trump has the intestinal fortitude to actually release everything, and I can guarantee you he probably couldn't, because the powers to be in the deep, dark state, they've got that stuff clocked down, locked down, and ripped down someplace you'll never know. Now, his tenure as national security advisor was interesting, but here's the key thing, the uniform decoration system. I want to talk about that because when you see him, he just he looks like a poster boy for the military in all these decorations, right? I mean, this guy has everything going but I want to talk about this uniform decoration system, because I have spoken about it like George Carlin. You know, really, it's, it's undergone really a significant inflation since World War Two. So for those of you who are in the military, I'm going to upset you, and I don't care, because sometimes you have to point at yourself and go, Oh, yeah, that might not be a pimple, that might not be a wart, that might be skin cancer. I need to take a look at it now. Compared to the modest display of ribbons on commanders like Eisenhower, Nimitz Halsey, with today's senior officers, reveals a striking transformation, and you'll see where I'm going with this in a moment. You know what was once a system primarily recognizing extraordinary valor and a significant campaign participation has expanded into numerous service medals, Unit Citation recognition for peace time achievements. I've said this, and I mean this very sincerely, they've become participation trophies. Many of these modern decorations are really, truly comparable to participation trophies and recognition awarded for being present in theater operations. It's like Bueller. Bueller, Bueller movie. Bucha day off when they're doing attendance, you just showed up and you get an award. So serving a particular time period and just being assigned to a unit, you get recognized. Really, wow. While these decorations do have legitimate administrative purposes for tracking service history, their visual impact when displayed, creates an impression of combat, combat experience. It may not actually reflect an officer's career. Flynn's a good example. I'm not being mean, hey, if I was in service, I'd want all those diggy tack tack, tack awards on my chest too, because that's the way the system works. But doesn't reflect combat. The World War two's generation of military leaders often had uniforms bearing only a handful of ribbons, despite directing massive combat operations across multiple theaters. I gotta tell you, I have studied Nimitz extensively, got a lot of respect.

25:00  
Luck for that man. Today's officers frequently display several row after row after row of decorations, many of which represent administrative accomplishments rather than battlefield achievements, and are starting to look a little bit like these idiots in North Korea, their battle their ribbon awards start from mid shoulder and go all the way down to the bottom of their coats, just stupid looking. It's a lot like the sheriffs, instead of having one star, because you're the sheriff, they got 37 stars. I'm waiting for a sheriff in Florida to have stars in their collar that goes all the way around to the back to the front. How many can we get on? Always respect the sheriff that just has a single star. We know who you are. I remember one time I saw a sheriff with a star on one look on one lapel. Or, yeah, not the lapel, well, his lapel too, but he he had one on his collar, just a star, and the other side has said, Sheriff, that's right. And then everybody else had whatever the county is. Let's say it's a

26:01  
Oxford County, which we don't have that in Florida. So is Oso or ocso? Hillsboro would be hcso, but the sheriff? Yet, no, just a single star of the word sheriff. But I digress. So this visual inflation has potentially undermined the distinctive significance of decorations for valor and direct combat service. What was a system to recognize extraordinary services gradually transformed into a visual resume displayed on uniforms? It's a phenomenon that has well, it has parallel border to societal shifts, again, from substance to appearance in many institutions, I know you military people are losing your mind. I don't care, because you've got to admit it might be cancer, not just a pimple. So the evolution of military decorations reflects a broader transformation in American institutional culture, where formal credentials and visual signifiers have increasingly substituted for demonstrated capability and achievement. Form gradually replaces substance across many domains in American life. I want to bring this in on the movie Flynn, because when you see this man, and you see what his appearance is the uniform, you have to understand the politics of the military every place else you gotta begin to say what the heck happened here? And so I find this 2024

27:32  
right? It's real recent. This documentary, Flynn, FY, FY, fly f L, Y, n, n, Flynn, it presents itself as an exploration of General Michael T Flynn's life and legal challenges, offering what describes as a balanced view. And I think it's pretty darn well done. There are things are boring as all get out. It could be half the length, but they've got to tell the story. And again, it's all about his brief tenure as National Security Advisor in the subsequent legal battles. That's really what it's all about. The film features Flynn himself alongside prominent conservative figures like Tucker Carlson and former congressman Devin Nunes. And what strikes me about this documentary is how it perfectly exemplifies the evolution of modern political narrative building through visual media. The film's self positioning as delivering the truth, whatever the cost, immediately frames Flynn not merely as a subject, but as a heroic figure. And that may all be true. Who winds up challenging the United States intelligent apparatus, which reminds me of the speech the day before by Donald Rumsfeld about money that could not be found at the Pentagon. And then 911 happened, serendipitous, not related, just like big, giant skyscrapers, big buildings in New York City on 911 do they're built out of, you know, Legos, and they've all come tumbling down when, you know the ground shakes, yes, so when faced with severe political persecution and exposing corruption, what do we have here? Flynn, now, this is a methodology. It's a device that's telling it's like the wall of sales awards in a financial advisor's office. And by the way, when you see all these plaques on their office, it's about being a good salesperson. They don't know necessarily what the hell they're doing, and it's like the rows and rows of participation ribbons on a modern military uniform. It doesn't mean they fought it anywhere. In Flynn's case, it was pretty much all intelligence. So the documentary serves as a kind of credential building exercise, not necessarily focused on substance, but creating an impression, the very language used to make it well hidden agendas, extraordinary battle, the lone voice against the machine, perpetual conflict.

30:00  
It. It employs a very precise, exact narrative that structures this in a way that we've been discussing about this through this entire conversation. You see, what I'm doing is asking you to think about it and connect the dots and to not go hog wild into one area with memes and no, you don't need to make a mountain out of molehill. You just don't the documentary itself becomes another visual billboard. It does. It's a resume enhance, a resume enhancement tool for Flynn, if you want. If he continues to work, although he may now be totally retired, but I'm sure he's done quite well on the movie in some way, shape, form or another, financially, which good for him, it follows the well established tradition of American political narratives of, well, the political process, let's say it's of narrative building through visual media. Okay, that's what I've been talking about here. The presence of Tucker Carlson and the Congressman has featured commentators further signals his placement in a very specific political ecosystem, one where a particular narrative about government, intelligence, agency and corruption are well established and are consistently reinforced, rightly or wrongly. But as we've seen with the 47th administration, Trump and Elon Musk.

31:22  
Hell of a lot of corruption appears. What's particularly notable is that the film is directed by Flynn himself. This isn't simply a documentary about Flynn. It's a documentary by Flynn self generated visual credential, that's right. This follows a pattern we've observed in other realms where the distinction between earned recognition and self promotion is increasingly well blurred, you have to admit, one thing the Kardashians definitely learned very well how to establish and consistently reinforce the narrative. Now, what's particularly notable what the film is, as I said, is directed by Flynn himself. That's key. Now, Amazon ranks it at one. Well, I see, I think 18,170

32:14  
in the movie and TV rankings, number 284 in special interest. So it's not flying off the shelves, but it does suggest it has a modest and targeted audience for its content. Yet it is its existence and the point about how the visual media has become a primary method through which Americans form their understandings. Understanding of political figures and events is what this is all about, whether it's Trump, who has created a he's crafted an amazing image, the apprentice, or Flynn's narrative shaped through this documentary, the visual medium provides a powerful platform for identity construction. Make Me, for example, I have begun at a late stage in life, to use a similar photo, I try to use video, and I do occasionally, but it's so hard, and I find that, frankly, clients and prospective clients that enjoy a good long form audio podcasts are great clients, the ones who say, Oh, just do the short little format? Do the do the things that are on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, those short little videos? Oh, that's what you do to get business. No, that's what you do when you sell trinkets to people who have an extremely low IQ. What we do learn about the movie is the complex realities of intelligence operations, legal proceedings, government function distilled down into a heroic narrative of individual struggle against a corrupt system.

33:51  
It's worth noting how closely this narrative mirrors the exact storylines found in many government corruption films, as I earlier talked about Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, the lone voice truth standing against entrenched power. This is truly a new Mr. Smith Goes to Washington story, this circular pattern where fictional films create narrative templates that are later adopted by real politicians to frame their own experience, it demonstrates the profoundest extent to which our political understandings have been shaped by visual entertainment. We've become a nation that processes political reality through the lens of cinematic tropes, blurring the line between documented fact and dramatic narrative in ways that fundamentally alter our civil discourse. Look, whether the film, in documentary Flynn offers any genuine insights or merely reinforces existing narratives. That's something for you to determine, but its very existence, marketing approach, framing of well, it perfectly illustrates how.

35:00  
Individual media continues to shape the American consciousness, often emphasizing form over substance in ways that echo across our other institutions. And again, like I said before now, the tie in military decoration systems to financial industry credentials, it's all about form over substance. Oh, look, honey. He's got all those awards on his wall. He must be really important. He joined all the Civic clubs. Oh, he knows everybody in town, so he must be really good. Oh, well, that guy's got all those awards. Oh, he he must have seen combat. I can't believe he's got his limbs. He's he should probably belong in a wheelchair. Look how many metals he has. Oh, a bunch of crap. Wake up, wake up, and actually smell what's cooking in the kitchen. Okay, now let's change pace a little bit. And the perpetual nature of human Well, how about this? Let's call this the perpetual nature and power of human dynamics. Here's the bottom line. The bottom line is simply this, be careful for what you wish for, because you might get it. We live in a world that's never going to change fundamentally, because people seeking power will do whatever they need to do to increase their power. There are those who focus on accumulating wealth, those who accumulate power, those who accumulate fame. So the word fortune takes multiple perspectives, not just ribbons on your shoulder or an entry in a log book. Look, men are men and women are women. So you have body builders of both sexes, but it's the men who gain a massive size and muscle always has been and always will be, and for those men who participate in women's sports, you're freaks. You're a gosh darn Lily lizard freak who should crawl back under the rock you came out from under. Okay, I digress. So you have athletes who are driven not necessarily by fame or fortune, but some are driven to accomplish one thing, to be the best in a particular moment in time, or the best ever in a particular sport or event. That's what they're driven to. People fall into a couple of categories. There are those who are players and those who are observers. Always remember that when you go to a baseball park or a football stadium, any kind of sporting event where there's an arena, this includes golf, the majority of the people are observing. They're watching. And there's different types of fans at different levels, those who go to the venue or those that watch on TV, those that listen to the radio or passively glance at the news. But then you have players, everything from the amateur to the professional. And then when you have professionals, you have some who are unbelievably good at what they do, and they wind up having fame and fortune. And if you're like Pete Rose, make a couple of boo boos, not tell the truth, you're one of the greatest, but you'd never get into the Hall of Fame. Really see, everything is colored by one word, luck in the second word is timing. Two words, everything in life is about luck and timing. And I don't want to hear anybody argue about it, because I'll eat your lunch anytime, anyplace, anywhere, anytime. On this you know, luck and timing. It's something that I always think people misunderstand. They just don't understand it. Luck and timing have a lot to do with success, folks, and that's the one thing that at the end of the movie, Flynn talks about which leads to more powerful insights you see in the workplace, in a 55 plus community, or on a playground used by preschoolers, the sandbox and in all families of any size, the dynamic relationship management that takes place is what its story of Cain and Abel plays out in every single day in families across the nation, not necessarily the murder, but the falling apart of families. The idea of a monolithic God who is all knowing and all forgiving, but also the wrath of God is well documented in various religions, which is dramatically different from the pluralistic Gods articulated by the Greeks, or the Romans or the then you got, well, the Romans had to crucify Jesus, the Son of God, because we can't have one God. Who does he think he is? Look, the reality in life is that conflict, conflict, c o, n, f, l, I, C, T. Conflict is the natural state. Peace, you know the V sign peace. Peace man arrive. Let me

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take another hit of my doobie. Peace is the unnatural state. Now, Flynn talks about this in a documentary, which contains several quotes that are worth remembering, but sadly, when you look at all the people who have ever written critiques this movie, the overwhelming majority.

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Already are incredibly boring and childish. I love reading the Wall Street Journal art comments people. You would think reading the Wall Street Journal would be a tad cut above, but they're not. And so a lot of the Internet Movie Database comments on this movie are just God forsaken. I've never seen so many with thumbs down. It just doesn't happen by chance. This is an orchestrated effort by those who hate Vance. Vance, I like that. Vance is getting the same thing, and Flynn's getting the same thing, and Trump is getting the same thing that was not intentional, that was truly subconscious. And you can see where this is going in my mind. This documentary is filled with one liners, phrases and concepts that have never been fully discussed by the reviewers. Now while watching, I got to the point where I stopped taking notes. It really wasn't conducive and it became distracting for me to the film. And I'm going to sit down and literally watch this at some point in time and go very methodically. It'll wind up taking me hours and hours and hours to get through it, because I'm going to take a lot of notes. Ah, that podcast will probably last 20 hours. And yes, there are parts of they're a little boring, and the production values aren't really great. As I said, the rankings in Amazon are not impressive, but it's definitely a move that needs to be seen, because this one, in context with all the other things I've previously discussed, ought to give you that aha moment. Aha. It's always been this way, even as President Trump tries to quote drain the swamp, which he famously coined when he first ran for president, there's going to be an ultimate agenda. It's ultimately about winners and losers. It's ultimately about who gets to decide how the pie is divided, and ultimately, what we're seeing playing out now in the courts and in Congress is pure unadulterated greed and protectionism and the cronyism that we have in Washington. What we need is a real discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of the spoils system, s, p, O, I, L, S, the spoils system, yeah, the advantages and disadvantages of civil service, the advantages and disadvantages of the bureaucratic system. We're not having a real discussion as the nation is well, is not the pros and cons of the forms of government. We're just not having it. I've talked extensively about the fact that the President United States is, in fact, a dictator for four years, at least. It's the closest thing to a dictator. But now, as I've thought about more and more, it's a really limited dictatorship. It's a dictator who is, how can I line my pockets and my buddies? That's what it's all about. We've, we've been having a form of presidency that Well, you might as well just put Tony Soprano in, and you can see that things that Trump is trying to do, and all the roadblocks he's facing. I mean, it's as obvious as the nose in your face. Just cross your eyes, Oh, can't see very well. It makes no difference whether you like it or not. The way partisan politics has operated. Well, we've now pulled off the band aid, and it's an open wound and it's never healed. It's a spoil system, whether you like it or not, and the fact that Flynn did not understand that because he was in a cut throat military situation, a dog eat dog. Cut Throat. Where you're it's a dog eat dog world, folks, your capabilities, your intelligence, everything you do, is going to be thrown out the window with the bathwater when it comes right down to the optics, the politics and getting along with the system. You may not like me saying it, but God, you got to start thinking about it may not be a pimple, it may be cancer. Then again, it might just be a pimple and it pops. Look, you're never going to change it. That's the reason why there are revolutions, why nations eventually fall. The bureaucracy becomes so tremendous. It's happened in China, Russia, Great Britain, France, Portugal, Spain. It's happening right now before our eyes. The United States, I think Trump and some of the people that are in office get it, and it scares the hell out of everybody. You see, hard times breed hard people. Good Times breed soft people. It's always been that way, and always will be. The future of the nation is in its youth. And anyone who thinks our nation is strong and sturdy, like those who fought in World War One and World War Two were dead bodies, rotted. Listen the stories of World War One, the dough boys, the trench fighting, the mustard gas and your buddy gets shot in the head? Dies. There's no medic. There's no helicopter to evacuate them. You can't get a shovel and bury them. You have to stay vigilant as to what's going on, and they literally rot right next to you. Eventually they drag them off into a big, disgusting pot.

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Style of dead bodies or man's inhumanity to man is something you just had to plow through. Bad things happen to good people today. It's all about post traumatic stress disorder, medications, weight loss, hair growth, overcoming fears. When son went through a lot of this, at least they're open and honest about it. There's a whole new world we live in, folks. Reminds me of that line from Draft Day. We have a different world than we did a few minutes ago. And that's the way it's always been. Toughen up buttercup. This is a documentary, and it's well, it's an enlightenment for someone who may have been, who may not have been a real in a real purist. If you're a real purist and you have rose colored glasses on, you watch this and they're broken. I'm going to tell you that right now. I would watch this movie and then watch, like I said, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, then watch the movie Idiocracy. Gosh, there's so many good movies. You can make a film festival out of this. But it's also about the absolute inhumanity of those in power to utterly destroy someone who gave their life to the nation. That's what this is about. There's multiple storylines here, whether Flynn ever intended it. This is the most repulsive takeaway from this film, the willingness of power to consume its own servants when they have no more use for them. You no longer serve our immediate interests, and so like Cindy Sheehan, you're kicked the curb. Want to go back and talk a little bit more about the twin forces. I'm calling it of luck and status quo. So when considering any organization, whether it's a Republican executive committee in Florida, a 55 plus community with golf tournaments, baseball team, any group, any grouping of people. Person personality conflicts are absolutely inevitable. What I learned long ago is just be yourself and never apologize for it. If you try to be friends with everybody, you become a chameleon, and at the end of the day, nobody knows who you are and nobody cares about you because you had no opinions and no views. You were basically a non participation character. You just, you just were a blob on a screen. But you don't have to be abrasive about it. You can state your views, state your logic, without being confrontational. You don't have to be like that Jones character. Now one interesting aspect of is Tucker Carlson. He acknowledges that he completely changed his views on some things. And whether you like Tucker or not, you have to respect someone who can say everything I thought previously was wrong without hesitation. That's called variable change, which is discussed in the movie 21 with Kevin Spacey. It's called the Monty Hall problem. I teach this when I do my casual conversations, my workshops, my seminars. I've talked about this forever, and when it came in the movie 21 I slapped my hands together and stood up and said, Hell yeah. So the Monty Hall Dilemma is from the probability theory. It illustrates how difficult is to wrap your head around statistics and why you might want to change your position when presented new information, it's named after the host of let's make a deal. The problem is this, you've given three doors. Behind one is a car behind one is maybe a refrigerator, and then you have a goat. So you pick door number one, and the host knows what's behind each door opens door number three to reveal the refrigerator. And now you're asked, Do you stay where you're at, or do you switch? Now, counter intuitively, you should always switch, because doing so doubles your chances of winning from 1/3 to two thirds. Now most people instinctively feel they would stick with their original choice, but the mathematics clearly demonstrates otherwise. This illustrates how deeply we can become attached to our initial positions, even when logic dictates that we should change. I'm not going to get into the details here, but believe me, it works. When people reach the pinnacle of power thinking everyone will do the right thing in the nation, they're deluded. And unfortunately, that's intended or unintended. What came across in the movie, it's never been that way. What's happening now is that men and women are being exposed to hardcore reality, like the little boy in Hans Christian Andersen is the emperor's new clothes, who points out that the king is naked while everyone pretends otherwise it's just plain ugly. Everybody likes bratwurst or a hot dog, but nobody wants to see how it's made. Making of the sausages ugly as all get out, from leading the cow to being butchered to the meat being encased. It's an ugly process, and because people really don't want to know the process anymore, they're shocked at when they get a glimpse of it, it's like AOC.

50:00  
We've never seen this before. The world's going to end, the waters are going to rise and Miami is going to flood. We're all going to be underwater forever. Learn to swim now before it's too late, you dumb dork. Reminds me that TV show Dirty Jobs. By the way, I'm reminded of that with Mike Rowe. It's one thing to see the final product, it's another thing entirely to see what goes into it. Now luck and timing are perhaps the most misunderstood aspects of success. When Stuart Varney first started on Fox Business, he interviewed an academic who wrote a book about luck, and Varney skewered this author, saying, I didn't have luck. I made it my own way. I accomplished what I have this is around the time frame when Hillary Clinton was running for president and Barack Obama got the nomination. The whole idea of it takes a village, and Obama's controversial. You didn't build that remark was all the rage at the time. Now, Varney, he's a very individualistic expat from England who became an American. And I like the guy, I actually had a chance to meet him at a conference where he was a guest speaker. He takes great offense at this concept of luck. But if it wasn't for luck, none of us would be here. I've always used that phrase. If it weren't for bad luck, some people would have no luck at all. This is why social safety nets exist because some people, through no fault of their own, get the short end of the deal. But it's the people that take advantage of everything and claim they have bad luck constantly. People are oh, they're always well, I'm sick. I'm broken. I need this. Well, we all get sick of that. We're sick and tired of it. Those who always complain about life being hard and difficult and painful, we'll get used to it Buttercup. It was painful coming in. It's painful going out. And peace and tranquility pretty much only exists when you're sleeping, and that's when you're like a log. 1/3 of your life you'll be just laying around peacefully, doing nothing. Look, it's never been easy to come into the world, and it's never going to be easy to leave it. So why does anybody think it's going to be easy in between just Pollyanna Nirvana, like utopian worlds, they don't exist. You can dream hope. You can dream and have hope. That's not a goal. Hope is not a goal. God, this country got so suckered in by Obama. It's a fantasy. It's an illusion. It's designed to distract Simple Minds from real issues. Drain the Swamp. Simple meme, no doubt, but it had meaning. What does hope mean? Drain the Swamp. I get that. There's no nothing wrong with acknowledging that we've all been lucky. You have to have a certain amount of experience in life to realize, holy cow, if not for that small thing, I wouldn't be here. Traffic accidents are good example, having a heart attack near a hospital and getting appropriate medical treatment. That's luck, versus being on a camping trip away from medical assistance and you're dead and are dragging you out. And also it's like not being simultaneously aware while camping when you should know what kind of animal aminos, amine, Manos, I'm

53:11  
thinking of animal crackers, what kind of animals are in the area, understanding that you know what alligators and bears are like. Look,

53:19  
this is for all of you who live in a 55 plus gated community where the lawns are all manicured, treated with insecticide, herbicide and various forms of chemicals to make them green, green, green, and flowers are very pretty, and you never have to worry about bears, that's right. But yet you live where there's a pond you might get alligators, and then when people move here, they lose their minds. They're from Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey. I can't believe there's an alligator gun to our pond. It's got to be against the law. Call the police, call the sheriff. Oh, my God, this. We should sue the homeowners association for laying a gate or getting a pond. We live in a gated community, don't they notice the gates? No trespassing. I kid you not. I've heard people basically say that. I've read some of the most insane things on these Facebook groups for 55 plus gated communities. It makes you wonder, how did you ever accumulate enough money to move here in the first place? By demonstrating such limited understanding of the natural world. Jeez. Criminy, I think back on the multiple shootings I've been involved in during my law enforcement career, many, many decades ago, I remember how well having a gun pulled on me and the guy pulled the trigger and it misfired. It was an old revolver point blank right at my chest, I remember doing things right and then ending up in a hospital after a vicious, vicious fight to arrest somebody. Dude went to the morgue or the hospital, but yeah, you pay a price. It could just as easily happen to any one of us, a knife the.

55:00  
Gun, a malfunctioning gun. And I had been done every once in a while, though, I get together a group of people, and we talk about the old days. And the last time I went and met these fellows, I haven't seen these guys forever. Frankly, would not recognize a single one of them. My memory from we were working the street and to what we all look like now is completely different. But the last time, there was a consensus, you know, we all could have bought it, and everybody had a story of different things that were one of those, holy cow Batman. So do you live your life in total fear? No, are you bubble? Boy? No, you need to move forward. And so for Flynn, whether he's playing the victim card, he's trying to reset, rehabilitate his reputation, or whether he still legitimately believes in America is red, white and blue, apple pie, Chevrolet and all that, he may be part of a movement to make change. Either way, it's worth knowing that when you engage with people with principles. It's always the same. It's always the same. I know of a group of ladies, for example, who formed a bond. They take care of each other. Each is a little bit different. They've all faced different physical challenges in life, but they have this agape love for one another, and some I just love watching this thing. I saw it develop and initially and as it continues to grow, actually caring for each other and conversing. It's cool, absolutely cool. It's just remarkable to see however, that Flynn's siblings, how they stuck together with him. It's just plain cool being there, even though they have differences of opinion. Now he's the most popular, we'll call it highest ranking and notable person the family. But they stuck together. They stuck together even though he and his brother may have some real disagreements at the end, they really stick together. It's unfortunate, though, that this doesn't happen often. Some families, well, families really are good at this. Others aren't the definition of family, mutual respect and the concept of blood being thicker than water takes many forms, many university graduates and Alma Mater well, they bond. In law enforcement, you have retiree groups that form a band of brothers. Military, same thing, war, fighting, political bonds. It takes different forms. But the point is, it isn't well, it hasn't always been that way, just like here in Florida, where families who have been here for generations, many generations, and they say things that, if you haven't, they don't care anything about you, you're not getting into our little group family. My family has been around here in the United States, before it was the United States, before it was anything since 1630 and when I get that kind of, you're not from here, and I bring up, no, we just been in the country since 1630 and I give that dismissive look and that frown on my face, I'm always dismissed. Well, here in Florida, we're the seventh or eighth generation, and that dismissiveness is what same thing like politicians, unless you've been born in the country and lived here for several generations, you just don't count. You can't run for political office. You can't be part of our executive committee because you're not from the county. You haven't been here too long. The Walrus says, But that type of pinhead thinking is not good. I have a problem going to meetings. Let me back that up. I do not have a problem going to meetings that are open to public I've been to a lot of Democrat and Republican meetings in various counties all across the state of Florida. And call me a spy. I just show up as a visitor. I've done this in other states. It's a hoot. It's like going to church anonymously, and you Well, I'm just looking around. I'm looking for a church to belong to. You know, some places ignore you, like, who are you? Others are Wow. Come on in. But you have to have all your ducks in a row. I have a natural trained talent for this. When they ask for ID, which they've never done, but you have to be ready with a business card and a background story. I have several identities I can roll off it without any problem. I always keep a business card. Of those fake identities with me. They ask,

59:15  
you know about a wallet or anything is always in the trunk of the car. I keep my wallet locked up. But I learned, I learned how to do this in law enforcement and not in uniform, but when you're doing intelligence gathering. And that's the thing with this guy, Flynn, I guess he wasn't able to transition from politics to the military even though he was in intelligence. So yeah, I'll go to democratic executive committees in a different county, and I listen to what these people say. I'll do it in Republicans, and I'll listen to the fights and arguments. I love it. I love going to a church and trying to figure out the dynamics, looking very carefully at the people who are looking at you from the side of their eye, sizing you up and.

1:00:00  
If you want to see what it's like to go to church, drive your Mercedes and wear a suit, then go another time, wear blue jeans and a T shirt and drive an old pickup truck. There's a reason why Sam Walton drove around the country in his old pickup truck when he was scouting sites. So going back to Flynn, I guess he really wasn't able to transition from politics in the military, which he played well enough to advance to a very high rank, to the White House, which requires its own form of well political echo. You see, when you're viewed as a threat, they're going to take you out. Truman took out MacArthur. Various forces orchestrated patents removal. They assassinated him. You can make the argument. The same thing happened to President Kennedy. He didn't follow through and do a couple things the system needed him to do it. So he had to go. Same thing with his brother, Robert. You think there's a big, giant conspiracy? Well, let me make it really clear. Change the word conspiracy to bureaucracy. Okay, then you begin to go, oh, white, black, gray. You see, I'll leave you with this. Never forget Eisenhower's farewell address. He warned about the military industrial complex. Now he was originally going to include education, but he chickened out. He was going to give that warning also about education. What we've now got is a threat to the bureaucracy. It's the gray state. It's an everything. You threaten Hollywood. You get no money. You're de platformed, Facebook, LinkedIn, all of them the old Twitter, de platformed. Then they get their buddies that own a bank. De banked, same thing, the same apparatus, can really get out of control. So the movie Flynn, yeah, I've talked about this in great detail now, but the thing is, I want you to think about it. Connect the dots. You cannot challenge the status quo without taking arrows. What we see with Flynn is either an immature lack of realization or intentional utilization of victimhood to redeem his reputation to make money. I'm not really sure. And I mean that very sincerely. Did you really think things were going to change when you got to the White House? Did you really think that you shouldn't keep copious notes on every single thing you're doing? I don't know. I'm not going to go into it. He got scapegoated. He did, and it's amazing that he even talks to anyone. Very few people have come through this alive. Either way, it's a lesson. It's a lesson the status quo does not surrender power, folks. Does not surrender power without a fight, and luck, good or bad often determines who survives the battle. This concludes the Paul Truesdell podcast. However, before you go see the show notes for this podcast, for special offers in person and online events and a variety of booklets on a wide variety of investment income, estate, risk and overall wealth issues. To schedule a conversation with Team Truesdell, text or call, 352-612-1000,

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1:03:51  
Like to start with a list of people I can do without

1:03:56  
a proctologist with poor depth perception,

1:04:01  
any woman whose hobby is breast feeding zoo animals, a cross eyed nun with a bull whip and a bottle of gin,

1:04:11  
a waitress with a visible infection on her serving hand,

1:04:16  
and any man whose arm hair completely covers his wrist watch. Okay, that's enough of that there's a garbage can in the northeast corner. Drop the bags and leave.

1:04:33  
Oh, they're disapprove and keep them doggies moving. Don't try to hard.

1:04:42  
Don't try to understand them. Just throwing bread. Soon we'll be living high. And calculate

1:04:51  
my tumor will be

1:04:53  
waiting, be waiting at the end of

1:04:57  
my ride. You.

1:05:00  
And move them on. Hit him up, hit him up, move him on, hit him up, roar, hide. Let him out, ride him in, let him in, let him out, cut him

1:05:07  
out, ride him in. Roar,

1:05:20  
doors.