Battle of the Bilge

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Green Day, American Idiot

A Book Worth Reading

In researching the phenomena of political discourse and stretching of the truth, I came across a book released in June of 2009 that contains an amazingly insightful narrative about the current state of affairs. Written by Esquire magazine’s Charles P. Pierce, the short book lays out a history of ‘American Cranks’ and argues that what was once an intrinsically useful and very American concept of the ‘Crank’ has morphed into a dangerous global marketplace where ideas are accepted as truth due to their exposure to mass media.

Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free is equally harsh on the left and the right side of extremist commentary, although most cases brought up as examples can be thought of as right wing issues due to the nature of the mass media today. Pierce pieces together the story of the founding fathers and their intention to make America a land of free expression and thought, and argues that in our early years it was this welcoming of ‘out there’ ideas that helped us launch innovation in science, commerce and industry that vaulted us past other nations in the world. The problem with today’s media, in Pierce’s view, is that the ideas that the Cranks (a term used in a humorous and at times endearing manner) don’t have the societal checks and balances that were in place in a less instantaneous world. Ideas were vetted and argued on a small scale through various institutions and groups. The ones that were truly crazy did not gain significant traction while the ones that led to breakthroughs both technically and socially were then presented on a national stage.

Today we don’t have that community on a local scale and due to talk radio, cable news and the insufferable implications of instant communication via email, internet and especially social web platforms. A blog post and a group of followers can thrust any idea into the mainstream if there’s enough interest and it confirms peoples ways of thinking. Two excellent ideas are presented in the book. One of them is Pierce’s own and the other he sites from Andrew Cline of Washington University in St. Louis and both are excellent summaries of the problems with mass media.

The Three Great Premises

Pierce lays out the Three Great Premises that drive today’s political news stories (which he states observantly are more entertainment than actual news):

The First Premise – Any theory is valid if it moves units.
The Second Premise – Anything can be true if someone says it loudly enough
The Third Premise – Fact is that which enough people believe. Truth is measured by how fervently they believe it.

There is so much truth to this theory that I’m inclined to doubt it just because of how fervently I believe it.

Andrew Cline’s Rules for Modern American Pundits

Cited in the book is another insightful theory that can be seen as a perfect description of today’s hyper partisanship. While it certainly does not describe all political pundits, it does help reinforce the idea of the entertainment centric version of most national level media figures. Cline’s rules are as follows:

1. Never be dull
2. Embrace willfully ignorant simplicity
3. The American public is stupid; treat them that way
4. Always ignore the facts and the public record when it is convenient to do so

As we celebrate more than a year of this blog, the daily lack of fact based media certainly seems to support this model. While I personally reject the notion that the American public is stupid with as much energy as I can muster, it is clear that some members of the media rely on this assumption.

Email Response

Not all email forwards or inquiries into Battle of the Bilge are presented here on the blog. A good deal of them don’t fit the model of military based interests, so I handle them on a case by case basis, providing answers and information back to MOAA members as best I can. This morning in response to a debunking that I did on a particularly inaccurate email forward regarding an immigrant in Florida supposedly with 8 kids and a $144,000 per year government subsidy, I received the following response (MOAA member’s name withheld):

Thanks for giving me the straight poop regarding the information forwarded to you by me. Too bad people who compose these messages cannot stick to the truth. There is enough truth available that can be communicated regarding the matter discussed in the message without spreading outright lies.

That is the best summary and statement about email forwards I’ve seen in a while, and could have been the forward to this book. It also supports my opposition to the idea that the American public is stupid. At least I know MOAA members aren’t…

Discussion

Posts are not held for moderation so your comment will appear immediately, but may be modified if it is deemed inappropriate.

“Supporting the troops means paying attention to their needs both in the field and at home. It means understanding their lives both as warriors fighting for our nation, and as husbands and wives, parents, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters struggling to take care of their families.” – Senator John Kerry

2010 Military Spouse Symposium

If you are in the area of Virginia Beach on May 13th, 2010, please consider attending the 2010 MOAA Military Spouse Symposium, Spouse Solutions Summit. This year’s theme is ‘Making the Connection’ and features workshops about social media, spouse support groups and includes a keynote address by Gen. James Mattis, USMC, Commander, US Joint Forces Command.

There will also be a luncheon and the 2010 Heroes at Home Spouse Awards reception, all for the low price of $20.

For more information, click here.

You can also register online at http://www.moaa.org/spousesymposium

Good News Out of Congress

It is rare that I get a chance to say that. But this is definitely good news. I’ll share with you the information provided by our director of Government Relations:

Military Care Exempt from Health Care Reform

Colonel Strogridge provided a Congressional Quarterly article and highlighted the important parts. Reprinted here and is available to CQRollCall subscribers, which can you can sign up for here:

__________________________________________________
Senate Sends President Bill Affirming Military Health Insurance Plans As ‘Minimum Coverage’

By Niels Lesniewski, CQ Staff

The Senate cleared a measure Monday designed to reaffirm that military health benefits programs qualify as minimum coverage under the recently enacted health care overhaul legislation.

The health care overhaul law (PL 111-148) sets up a new definition of “minimum essential coverage.” The law requires all individuals to obtain this minimum level of health insurance or be subject to a penalty tax.

The legislation (HR 4887), which cleared by voice vote, would ensure that certain Defense Department health programs, including Tricare coverage for military families, fit the definition.

In an April 2 message to colleagues, Charles L. Rice, acting director of Tricare, reiterated the Obama administration’s interpretation that the Tricare program already met the essential coverage definition.

“Some unfortunate misinformation began to spread that somehow Tricare benefits would be lost. I continue to work with our public affairs office and beneficiary organizations to squelch those rumors, and I think we are succeeding,” the letter stated. “But, I ask that you and your staffs remain vigilant and respond quickly to basic errors of fact, or misunderstandings.”

Senate budget rules prevented the Tricare protection from being added to the reconciliation law (PL 111-152) that changed provisions of the original health care overhaul.

Rep. Ike Skelton, a Democrat from Missouri, said that although he voted against the health care overhaul legislation, he felt it was his duty as chairman of the Armed Services Committee to protect servicemembers and their families. The House passed the bill, 403-0, on March 20.

Sen. Jim Webb, a Democrat representing Virginia and the sponsor of the Senate companion measure (S 3148), wanted to clear the House measure before the two-week spring recess, but senators left Washington without taking up the bill.
__________________________________________________
Note: emphasis added

An End to the Email Saga?

We hope so. But reality being what it is, the battle will probably now shift to private armies, gun control and other hot button issues.

Discussion

Posts are not held for moderation so your comment will appear immediately, but may be modified if it is deemed inappropriate.

“FEAR is an acronym in the English language for “False Evidence Appearing Real” – Neal Donald Walsch

Background

Google Health care bill and private army and you will find close to a million hits, almost all of which are the same one or two fear mongering stories about how the health care bill establishes President Obama’s ‘private’ army that has been so feared. Of course it is true if it is on so many websites and email chains going around. Except for the fact that it isn’t an army, isn’t private and wasn’t ‘hidden’ in the health care bill. More after the reprint of the main article…

Most Common Iteration

Obama Just Got His Private Army

Were you aware of the fact that the health care bill created a civilian army?

A Ready Reserve Corps for service in time of national emergency.
All commissioned officers shall be citizens of the United States and shall be appointed without regard to the civil-service laws (which means they will not be sworn to uphold the Constitution) and compensated without regard to the Classification Act 2 of 1923, as amended.

Remember when Obama said he wanted a “national security force”? Not the national guard, but a civilian one that has not sworn to uphold the Constitution?

Obama just got his private army… and no one seems to have noticed. It is buried in the Senate revisions to the health care bill.
Subtitle C–Increasing the Supply of the Health Care Workforce
Sec. 5201. Federally supported student loan funds.
Sec. 5202. Nursing student loan program.
Sec. 5203. Health care workforce loan repayment programs.
Sec. 5204. Public health workforce recruitment and retention programs.
Sec. 5205. Allied health workforce recruitment and retention programs.
Sec. 5206. Grants for State and local programs.
Sec. 5207. Funding for National Health Service Corps.
Sec. 5208. Nurse-managed health clinics.
Sec. 5209. Elimination of cap on commissioned corps.
Sec. 5210. Establishing a Ready Reserve Corps.
Subtitle D–Enhancing Health Care Workforce Education and Training
See the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act, page 1312:

SEC. 5210. ESTABLISHING A READY RESERVE CORPS.

Section 203 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 204) is amended to read as follows:
SEC. 203. COMMISSIONED CORPS AND READY RESERVE CORPS.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT:
(1) IN GENERAL.–here shall be in the Service a commissioned Regular Corps and a Ready Reserve Corps for service in time of national emergency.

(2) REQUIREMENT.–All commissioned officers shall be citizens of the United States and shall be appointed without regard to the civil-service laws and compensated without regard to the Classification Act 2 of 1923, as amended.

(3) APPOINTMENT.–Commissioned officers of the Ready Reserve Corps shall be appointed by the President and commissioned officers of the Regular Corps shall be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(4) ACTIVE DUTY.–Commissioned officers of the Ready Reserve Corps shall at all times be subject to call to active duty by the Surgeon General, including active duty for the purpose of training.

(5) WARRANT OFFICERS.–Warrant officers may be appointed to the Service for the purpose of providing support to the health and delivery systems maintained by the Service and any warrant officer appointed to the Service shall be considered for purposes of this Act and title 37, United States Code, to be a commissioned officer within the Commissioned Corps of the Service.

(b) ASSIMILATING RESERVE CORP OFFICERS INTO THE REGULAR CORPS: Effective on the date of enactment of the Affordable Health Choices Act, all individuals classified as officers in the Reserve Corps under this section (as such section existed on the day before the date of enactment of such Act) and serving on active duty shall be deemed to be commissioned officers of the Regular Corps. [Note here that those personally appointed by BO -- without the advice and consent of the Senate -- automatically become a part of the Regular Corps. Ed.]

(c) PURPOSE AND USE OF READY RESERVE:
(1) PURPOSE. The purpose of the Ready Reserve Corps is to fulfill the need to have additional Commissioned Corps personnel available on short notice (similar to the uniformed service’s reserve program) to assist regular Commissioned Corps personnel to meet both routine public health and emergency response missions.

(2) USES: The Ready Reserve Corps shall–

(A) participate in routine training to meet the general and specific needs of the Commissioned Corps;
(B) be available and ready for involuntary calls to active duty during national emergencies and public health crises, similar to the uniformed service reserve personnel;
(C) be available for backfilling critical positions left vacant during deployment of active duty Commissioned Corps members, as well as for deployment to respond to public health emergencies, both foreign and domestic; and
(D) be available for service assignment in isolated, hardship, and medically underserved communities (as defined in section 399SS) to improve access to health services.

(d) FUNDING.—For the purpose of carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the Commissioned Corps under this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to the Office of the Surgeon General for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014. Funds appropriated under this subsection shall be used for recruitment and training of Commissioned Corps Officers.

Again, I ask the question: Were you aware of the fact that the health care bill created another army? We can easily imagine what they will be ordered to do, including lethal injections (a.k.a. vaccinations) to “unworthy” people?

Whew, Nazi Germany all over again and it is happening right before our eyes, and right under our noses.

Reality

What this portion of the bill does is create a Reserve component to the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) that will serve in much the same capacity as the Reserve components of the other uniformed services. This is actually something MOAA has been a proponent of for years, as has The Military Coalition. What is the USPHS?

From their website:

What is the Commissioned Corps?

The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is an elite team of more than 6,000 full-time, well-trained, highly qualified public health professionals dedicated to delivering the Nation’s public health promotion and disease prevention programs and advancing public health science. Driven by a passion for public service, these men and women serve on the frontlines in the Nation’s fight against disease and poor health conditions.

As one of America’s seven uniformed services, the Commissioned Corps fills essential public health leadership and service roles within the Nation’s Federal Government agencies and programs.

The establishment of a Ready Reserve component is something that has been needed for a long time, especially during times of war. With a large number of doctors, nurses and field medics of all kind deployed overseas for combat support, there is a definite need in the homeland for more medical personnel. The new law raises the cap of officers for the Ready Reserve Corps to 6,600. Their ability to help National Guard forces respond to mass casualty events and natural disasters at home is an essential part of emergency management. Their role is very explicitly laid out in the law, and although the unknown author of this piece can ‘imagine’ what they’ll be ordered to do, it just isn’t true.

What about the language of the bill stating that each member of the officer corps needs to be appointed by the president? Promotions in the uniformed services are almost always due to a recommendation from the DoD, approval by the president and congress. There’s no real difference between the USPHS officer advancement and the US Army. President Obama will not be looking to fill the ranks of the new program with his ‘operatives’, this is just how things work. The exemption clause is due to the very nature of the USPHS. Doctors, nurses and the rest of the medical community have a level of training that is expensive, so higher compensation is in many cases necessary to draw the best and brightest to military service.

The USPHS has been envisioning a broader role for some time, and that vision is captured in the 2008 report Blueprint for a Healthier America.

Conclusions

With such distrust in the American political landscape right now, people are more than willing to jump on board anything that will confirm their beliefs that President Obama is moving us toward a ‘different’ nation, away from democratic ideals. There will always be people that jump to conclusions rather than take the time to understand the true implications of the administration’s actions. In this case, there is nothing that is insidious or troubling to be found in this extension of USPHS. The hyper-partisanship that has been a cornerstone of internet, radio and cable news will not slow down. That’s why the posts on this blog have been few and far between lately.

But this one is just too far off the mark not to comment on. Eternal fear mongering is no replacement for eternal vigilance.

As always, FactCheck.org has an excellent article on this issue.

Discussion

Posts are not held for moderation so your comment will appear immediately, but may be modified if it is deemed inappropriate.