Truth Versus Lies
Trump's War of Words Targets Us All
Cognitive Warfare Is The Latest Weapon In His War To Attain Total Control
Lies, Lies, Lies and more lies. Donald Trump does not even try to convince us that what he says is true, given that he has been proven a liar so many times, he just keeps repeating his version of truth. Here is the probable cause--he believes every word he says and he no longer has anyone in his immediate circle, as he did in his first term as President, who can remind him that he is wrong.
The first person a con man has to convince is himself. The result is chaos on steroids. And that is the intent. To wear the rest of us down so that we just go along to buy a little peace.
The cost of that is too high. It’s our freedom and our democracy. Tyranny abounds. It is just not the firing of journalists and entertainers by their craven billionaire bosses whose fears only begin with the loss of a little revenue. Beyond that it is phony accusations and government investigations that carry legal and publicity defense costs and the psychological costs generated by the name calling and lies. Easier by far to buy peace without honor. Most of us just want a quiet life.
Trump doubles down with the lies, adding threats and bullying even more than in the past. Over and over again. His actions are robotic and performative. This leads me to believe that he is simply a front for other actors intent on destroying the nation. This reaches beyond Project 2025, parts of which he and his toadies are executing. Those closest to him continue to flatter him and pour rhetorical poison in his ears. His words are weapons they can deploy, while accommodating his worst instincts. His racism and hatred of people of color has emerged into full view. Ridiculous claims about Haitian workers in Ohio eating people’s pets are comical and easily refuted, yet he persists, as he does with his claims about the 2020 presidential election, also disproven en masse and in detail. Those he keeps alive and it seems that he may try to steal another election this Fall. His tactics are crude but he has directed the FBI and National Intelligence to seize ballots and then murmurs about a Federal takeover of elections. That sets a precedent that excuses tyranny and a slide into a fascist state.
Trump et al fears an educated and thoughtful electorate. That is why they use anti-DEI to attack institutions ranging from high school libraries to national museums to advanced education, especially military education. Those 800 senior military leaders that Secretary Hegseth summoned rewarded his rants with a stony silence. Every one of them earned multiple advanced degrees. Such credentials are as essential to attaining flag rank as airborne and combat infantry badges. The world is too complex to employ generals and admirals who do not understand the world or the enemies they face. Ignorance can be fixed. Stupid is forever. Hegseth’s military career simply does not impress them. Why would it? Why listen?
The Trump administration favors stupid. Since the 1990s the US military has elevated Information Warfare to another combat arm, deployed alongside Cyber Warfare to overwhelm enemy sensors and perceptions. The point of this particular spear is Cognitive Warfare. Repetition of memes that crowd out the enemy. This is how Trump won his first election. Unprecedented name-calling, false accusations, outright lies repeated to the point where your attention shuts down. You don’t want to hear any more and stop listening.
And there is the genius of Cognitive Warfare. It is cheap, easy, and insidious. Writing recently in the Small Wars Journal, Sara Russo said, “The real question is why (Cognitive Warfare) works so persistently. The explanation does not lie in the novelty of the phenomenon or the technological superiority, rather it is about cost. … It is cheap to start, hard to pinpoint the perpetrator, and a lot more expensive to counter. One single ambiguous action-- may it be legal, narrative, administrative or informational--has the the potential to trigger a cascade of reviews, coordination mechanisms, public responses and internal alignment activities that overwhelm the initial investment. … Most of the time the aim of cognitive warfare is not to maintain a decisive victory or escalate the situation. Rather it is to survive by making the defenders assume a position that is permanently costly.”
This is our position with Trump and his crew of misfits. He has deliberately chosen people like Hegseth, Patel and RFK Jr., not for their expertise and ability but for their facility to cause chaos and eventually bring down his own government. As they spin out lies to confuse and mislead the rest of us, he stuffs his own pockets with billions of taxpayer dollars and corruptly undermines the Constitution he swore to uphold and defend, while an impotent GOP sits by and…
But you’ve heard that all before haven’t you? That’s the heart of the matter. You’ve heard it all before. You are tired of hearing it. Tired of waiting for yet another fresh outrage as Trump establishes his own secret police in ICE and tries out the mechanisms of tyranny. If you are weary (and God knows I am) it is time to take fresh courage and sharpen your attention.
The cost of that is too high. It’s our freedom and our democracy. Tyranny abounds. It is just not the firing of journalists and entertainers by their craven billionaire bosses whose fears only begin with the loss of a little revenue. Beyond that it is phony accusations and government investigations that carry legal and publicity defense costs and the psychological costs generated by the name calling and lies. Easier by far to buy peace without honor. Most of us just want a quiet life.
Trump doubles down with the lies, adding threats and bullying even more than in the past. Over and over again. His actions are robotic and performative. This leads me to believe that he is simply a front for other actors intent on destroying the nation. This reaches beyond Project 2025, parts of which he and his toadies are executing. Those closest to him continue to flatter him and pour rhetorical poison in his ears. His words are weapons they can deploy, while accommodating his worst instincts. His racism and hatred of people of color has emerged into full view. Ridiculous claims about Haitian workers in Ohio eating people’s pets are comical and easily refuted, yet he persists, as he does with his claims about the 2020 presidential election, also disproven en masse and in detail. Those he keeps alive and it seems that he may try to steal another election this Fall. His tactics are crude but he has directed the FBI and National Intelligence to seize ballots and then murmurs about a Federal takeover of elections. That sets a precedent that excuses tyranny and a slide into a fascist state.
Trump et al fears an educated and thoughtful electorate. That is why they use anti-DEI to attack institutions ranging from high school libraries to national museums to advanced education, especially military education. Those 800 senior military leaders that Secretary Hegseth summoned rewarded his rants with a stony silence. Every one of them earned multiple advanced degrees. Such credentials are as essential to attaining flag rank as airborne and combat infantry badges. The world is too complex to employ generals and admirals who do not understand the world or the enemies they face. Ignorance can be fixed. Stupid is forever. Hegseth’s military career simply does not impress them. Why would it? Why listen?
The Trump administration favors stupid. Since the 1990s the US military has elevated Information Warfare to another combat arm, deployed alongside Cyber Warfare to overwhelm enemy sensors and perceptions. The point of this particular spear is Cognitive Warfare. Repetition of memes that crowd out the enemy. This is how Trump won his first election. Unprecedented name-calling, false accusations, outright lies repeated to the point where your attention shuts down. You don’t want to hear any more and stop listening.
And there is the genius of Cognitive Warfare. It is cheap, easy, and insidious. Writing recently in the Small Wars Journal, Sara Russo said, “The real question is why (Cognitive Warfare) works so persistently. The explanation does not lie in the novelty of the phenomenon or the technological superiority, rather it is about cost. … It is cheap to start, hard to pinpoint the perpetrator, and a lot more expensive to counter. One single ambiguous action-- may it be legal, narrative, administrative or informational--has the the potential to trigger a cascade of reviews, coordination mechanisms, public responses and internal alignment activities that overwhelm the initial investment. … Most of the time the aim of cognitive warfare is not to maintain a decisive victory or escalate the situation. Rather it is to survive by making the defenders assume a position that is permanently costly.”
This is our position with Trump and his crew of misfits. He has deliberately chosen people like Hegseth, Patel and RFK Jr., not for their expertise and ability but for their facility to cause chaos and eventually bring down his own government. As they spin out lies to confuse and mislead the rest of us, he stuffs his own pockets with billions of taxpayer dollars and corruptly undermines the Constitution he swore to uphold and defend, while an impotent GOP sits by and…
But you’ve heard that all before haven’t you? That’s the heart of the matter. You’ve heard it all before. You are tired of hearing it. Tired of waiting for yet another fresh outrage as Trump establishes his own secret police in ICE and tries out the mechanisms of tyranny. If you are weary (and God knows I am) it is time to take fresh courage and sharpen your attention.
If Trump is not the master of his own house and merely a puppet for rich and powerful interests, then the coming elections matter more than any that have come before. So, if you love this country and cherish freedom, pay attention. Ignore the buzz of Trump’s words and really, really pay attention.
Folks, I can guarantee you that my interaction with Francis and my other ongoing contributors is either minimal or nonexistent in between specific postings. Yet, Hamit's words in this essay have eloquently pulled together everything I have thought or said at one time or another related to Trump's administration(s).
You may recall that I've said that Trump is nothing but a stooge. I believe it... I flash back to a mention from my niece that said that, really, only 3 (if I remember right) men really own the large corporations in the US... Are these individuals the ones that are attempting to take over the world for many varied reasons, most of which are based upon financial gain/power needs they strive for...?
For today, I want to close out by pinpointing once again my concern about turning the world away from God through using religion as a tool in various ways. Our God is the Great I Am. We do not need to concern ourselves with affiliations/doctrines. Thus, listening to what the Vatican states as their position--
our similar. Love for our neighbors, our fellow men and women--is appropriate in my opinion.
Our overall goal must be for peace on earth
Just trying to touch His Hem....
Look for God's Truth
Gabby
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