Informational

Did Trump Use Psychological Techniques in His State of the Union?

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by Dr. Bart Billings of Carlsbad, CA

In his recent State of the Union Address, President Trump either purposely or accidentally used at least two psychological techniques to leave his opponents adrift, not knowing what to do next. One was the double-bind psychological technique, and the other, a catch-22 psychological technique.

The attending Democrats were so confused they yelled in vain to stop what was happening. The situation left the Democrats, who appeared more like Demoncrats, in a vulnerable position. On optics alone, the result was a degradation of their party platform.

The two strategies left the opposition feeling powerless, as explained below.

The double-bind technique is comprised of a communicative dilemma in which an individual receives or perceives two or more conflicting, contradictory messages, making it impossible to satisfy both, as fulfilling one violates the other. Proposed by Gregory Bateson, this “no-win” situation causes immense confusion, anxiety, and psychological paralysis and is often used to exert control in relationships.

The catch-22 technique is a paradoxical, inescapable situation in which the pursuit of a goal requires actions that make achieving it impossible, often leading to mental health struggles or behavioral traps. It is a circular “no-win” dilemma where the solution is embedded within the problem itself.

There were several times during the speech in which Trump’s opponents didn’t know when to stand and applaud or remain seated. The results included instances of inappropriate behavior that ignored common decency. At election time, Republicans will no doubt take advantage of the situation by creating videos of Democrats appearing confused and behaving inappropriately. 

To add one final note, one could see clearly that many politicians were suffering from cognitive dissonance, something that was originally described by Leon Festinger in 1957. The theory states that individuals experience psychological discomfort (dissonance) when holding conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors.

In today’s political environment, people and politicians dismiss facts that challenge their political party. As a result, they accept and embrace “fake news” without question. In other words, they ignore facts and information that conflict with their existing beliefs. This tendency was clearly visible during the State of the Union address.

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DR. BILLINGS’ CURRENT BOOK —

Understanding Voter Fraud

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We’ve all heard the joke. My Republican uncle died, now he’s voting Democrat.

In reality, that is not far from the truth these days. Despite technological breakthroughs in voting and vote counting, voter fraud continues to be surprisingly rampant.

That’s because of all secure transactions in the U.S. — from using a credit card to owning a gun, driving a car or getting into a federal building — the most insecure system and easily abused is the voter system.

To their advantage, Democrats keep it that way. Republicans, who are usually the victims, push harder and harder for greater security and voter ID laws, but generally to no avail.

In California, for example, ballot harvesting — at best an unethical practice where complete strangers are allowed to pick up and deliver ballots from seniors, the home bound and so forth — is now fully legal.

Consider this too. Almost every Republican who won on election night in November 2018 in California eventually lost when provisional (i.e. harvested and election day registrant) ballots were counted. In many cases, races weren’t determined and certified for as many as six to eight weeks!

This has to stop! Whether it’s ballot harvesting or mail-in ballot fraud, it’s important that Republicans get up to speed on how it happens and how to defend against these practices.

First, learn to recognize and understand the types of voter fraud as follows:

Fraudulent Use Of Absentee Ballots
Requesting absentee ballots and voting without the knowledge of the actual voter; or obtaining the absentee ballot from a voter and either filling it in directly and forging the voter’s signature or illegally telling the voter who to vote for.

Ineligible Voting
Illegal registration and voting by individuals who are not U.S. citizens, are convicted felons, or are otherwise not eligible to vote.

Impersonation Fraud At The Polls
Voting in the name of other legitimate voters and voters who have died, moved away, or lost their right to vote because they are felons, but remain registered.

Buying Votes
Paying voters to cast either an in-person or absentee ballot for a particular candidate.

Ballot Petition Fraud
Forging the signatures of registered voters on the ballot petitions that must be filed with election officials in some states for a candidate or issue to be listed on the official ballot

Duplicate Voting
Registering in multiple locations and voting in the same election in more than one jurisdiction or state.

False Registrations
Voting under fraudulent voter registrations that either use a phony name and a real or fake address or claim residence in a particular jurisdiction where the registered voter does not actually live and is not entitled to vote.

Altering The Vote Count
Changing the actual vote count either in a precinct or at the central location where votes are counted.

Illegal “Assistance” At The Polls
Forcing or intimidating voters—particularly the elderly, disabled, illiterate, and those for whom English is a second language—to vote for particular candidates while supposedly providing them with “assistance.”

Second, learn how to recognize Democrat talking points.

Democrats say, for example, if you can trust the Post Office to mail you your income tax refund and social security check, you can trust them with your mail-in ballot.

Sounds good, right? But the fact is, the role of the Post Office is completely irrelevant. It’s what happens when a ballot gets put in your mailbox then gets delivered to your home or place where others have access to ballots in a mail room, on a night stand, or a desk.

Thieves in the past have targeted nursing homes where an elderly voter has died or is suffering from severe memory problems. Ballots just start disappearing. Another problem is voters who let others vote for them, or worse, get paid to have someone else vote for them. It happens.

Until voter ID becomes the law of the land, be aware of where your ballot is, vote, and then walk it in to your local library or Post Office. The fewer the number of people who touch your ballot, the better.

Mail-in Voting: Deceptions & More

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True or false. Read and learn.

#1 Voting is somehow more dangerous than grocery shopping, or even participating in a BLM protest.  FALSE.

#2 A safe and secure voting experience can only happen at the polls in secret because of the influence of other people who may have access to the ballot or unduly pressure a voter to cast ballots against their will. TRUE.

#3 Just because you can track your ballot doesn’t guarantee that it will be counted. Very few people will use this fictitious benefit. TRUE.

#4 The registrar warns that lines at the polls may be long, so the explanation is to vote by mail to avoid the COVID-19 risk of exposure from crowds. FALSE. Maintain social distance, wear a mask.

#5 Vote by mail because it is COVID-19 safer than going to the polls. FALSE. Again. Maintain social distance, wear a mask.

#6 Voting decisions anywhere except in secret inside a voting booth is safer and as noted in two above it allows others to influence voting decisions. TRUE.

#7. The registrar claims that every mail-in ballot will be signature verified by comparing it to your driver’s license or identification card recorded signature. FALSE. There is no qualification of this claim.

#8 The ballot is available in other languages as usually listed on the bottom of the page. TRUE. But who decided which languages should appear?

#9 It is clear that the entire flyer, paid by taxes from Republicans and Democrats, is COVID-19 propaganda and not science-based policy. TRUE. Going to an all, mail-in system is politically driven, not science-driven.

#10 Policy that affects the operations of elections should be based upon legislation not executive orders from contrived, illegitimate health crisis authority. TRUE.

In 2020, we urge you. Go to your polling place and vote on the day of the election. If you have no other choice but vote by mail, WALK IT IN, DON’T MAIL IT IN! Protect your ballot like gold. The fewer people that touch it, the better!

— Peaceful Patriot USA