Being Economical With The Truth

[UPDATE: Since I wrote this, an alert reader has pointed out that there is more to the first part of this study than I knew. Since I’m sworn to tell the truth in my blog, even, or especially, when I’m wrong, here is the section of the law he pointed out:

This chapter shall not be construed as restricting or preventing activities of a psychological nature or the use of the official title of the position for which they were employed on the part of the following persons, provided those persons are performing those activities as part of the duties for which they were employed, are performing those activities solely within the confines of or under the jurisdiction of the organization in which they are employed, and do not render or offer to render psychological services, as defined in Section 2903:

(a) Persons who hold a valid and current credential as a school psychologist issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

(b) Persons who are employed in positions as psychologists or psychological assistants by accredited or approved colleges, junior colleges, or universities, or by federal, state, county, or municipal governmental organizations that are not primarily involved in the provision of direct health or mental health services, may conduct research and disseminate their research findings and scientific information.

So it appears that IN HER WORK she can use the title “research psychologist”. I’m still in mystery why her Stanford bio header was scrubbed. Curiously, it has now been restored, with a new title. The mysteries abound … however, I may indeed have been wrong about her use of the title “Psychologist”, while the rest of the post still stands.

Best to all,

w.]

Judge Kavanaugh has been accused of “lying” to the Justice Committee, although I haven’t seen any actual evidence of that. However, Dr. Ford has pushed a much bigger lie. She has claimed that she is a psychologist.

She specifically told the Justice Committee that she is a “research psychologist”. The media has generally omitted the “research” part of the title and generally has called her a “psychologist”.

However, she lives in California. And in California, like every other state of the Union, there are very clear laws about who can and who can’t call themselves a “psychologist”. To call yourself a “psychologist” in California, you have to serve a one-year residency and pass the California Psychologist licensing exam.

In California, the BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE, SECTION 2900-2919 covers the state rules that govern the practice of psychology. Section 2903 states:

“No person may engage in the practice of psychology, or represent himself or herself to be a psychologist, without a license granted under this chapter, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.”

OK, can’t call yourself a psychologist unless you’ve served the residency and passed the test. Clear enough.

Further, Section 2902(c) of the same code states:

(c) A person represents himself or herself to be a psychologist when the person holds himself or herself out to the public by any title or description of services incorporating the words “psychology,” “psychological,” “psychologist,” “psychology consultation,” “psychology consultant,” “psychometry,” “psychometrics” or “psychometrist,” “psychotherapy,” “psychotherapist,” “psychoanalysis,” or “psychoanalyst,” or when the person holds himself or herself out to be trained, experienced, or an expert in the field of psychology.

In other words, you cannot call yourself a psychologist, or anything incorporating the word in any form or variation, unless you’ve served the one-year residency and passed the test … and she hasn’t done that.

How do I know that she hasn’t done that? Well, I went to the California Board of Psychology page, clicked on “Verify”, and searched for any psychologist named “Christine Ford”, “Christine Blasey”, and “Christine Blasey-Ford”. Gotta love the web.

Results of the search?

Nothing. She’s not registered with the California Board of Psychology. She’s not a psychologist of any kind.

So has she been lying?

Well … she called herself a “research psychologist” while under oath in front of the Committee.

Can we believe that this was an honest mistake, akin to say the mistake Kavanaugh made about the Maryland drinking age 35 years ago? I don’t think so. Here’s why.

The “Wayback Machine” (a nod to Rocky the Flying Squirrel for those old enough to remember it) is the memory of the internet. You can go to the Wayback Machine to find out what a web page looked like in the past. So I went there and took a look at Dr. Ford’s Stanford University biography page. Here’s what it looked like in on October 9, 2015:

Christine Blasey, research psychologist … seems clear, right? Except for the tiny detail that she wasn’t actually a psychologist, then or now …

However, as has been widely reported, she scrubbed her social media just before she went in front of the Committee. It would be very interesting to see what her Facebook page looks like … sadly, that’s not available. Gone to the bit box in the sky.

But her biography page is still up … and guess what? It was changed on the 18th of September, just before her Senate testimony. Here’s what her bio page looks like today:

So it appears that she absolutely knew that she was not entitled to call herself a “research psychologist”, and that’s against the law … and so in addition to scrubbing her Facebook page, she also was forced to changed her biography page. However … the Wayback Machine never forgets …

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Is this the only lie she told? Well, it appears that her story of why she put two doors on her house has gaping holes in it as well. I won’t go through all of the details, most are in an article here, but among other issues,

• The couples counseling where she said she discussed putting two doors in her house, and blamed it on claustrophobia because of her traumatic youthful experience, occurred in 2012 … but the second door was added right after buying the house four years earlier.

• The second door actually opens onto a separate section of the house which was rented to the previous owner of the house, Dr. Sylvia Randall, who continued to use that part of the house for her psychotherapy practice.

• Dr. Ford’s family owns another house in Santa Cruz, which they use as a vacation home. Guess how many front doors it has? Yep … one.

So at the time the house was sold in 2012, the previous owner, Dr. Randall, needed to continue her practice. The solution was, put in a new door so Dr. Randall could continue to practice in the same location.

Was Dr. Ford lying about the second door? I don’t know. I am always very hesitant to accuse someone of lying unless I have solid evidence, like the biography pages above.

But at a minimum, her story requires more investigation, and the facts revealed so far absolutely do not agree with the story she told the Committee.

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Finally, the obligatory disclaimer. Did she actually get assaulted in high school? I have no clue. She clearly believes she did … but belief and reality are very different. And “recovered memories” are notoriously unreliable.

One thing we can say. Neither Judge Kavanaugh nor any of the claimed witnesses to her alleged assault, including Dr. Fords best friend, have the slightest memory of what she’s talking about.

My conclusion from that is she may have been assaulted … but her memory of the incident is NOT corroborated by the people she says were there. As a result, I do NOT believe that Judge Kavanaugh assaulted her. The preponderance of the evidence is against it.

My other conclusion? Her stories all the way around, including her claims of a traumatizing fear of flying that delayed the Committee Hearing so she could drive there but somehow lets her fly to Tahiti to go surfing, those stories of hers have more holes in them than you’ll find in a Swiss cheese factory …

Meanwhile, as I write this, on the TV some protester is shouting at Mitch McConnell as he walks through the airport, “How many stories of sexual violence do you need to hear before you believe women?” … believe women? Ask Emmet Till  how believing women turned out for him … he got lynched because people believed the woman in just the same mindless way that the protester wants Mitch McConnell to believe Dr. Ford.

You know, Dr. Ford, the “research psychologist” …

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Here, we have rain, lovely rain, almost two inches of blessed wetness after a dry and fire-filled summer … life is good, dear friends. Don’t let the Washington madness get you down …

w.