Is there really somebody who doesn’t know this?

The current “problem” is an over-abundance of flying Surveillance/Recon on platforms ranging from bungee-launched model airplane-size to a telescopically-expanding aircraft S/R suite. Wow, not a bad problem to have.

But most solutions are not scalable, wizardary has its limits. That’s when we fall back on the irreplaceable human action described in books like Imperial Grunts and The Strongest Tribe, First In and Moment of Truth, Carnage and Culture.

remain crated up until needed…interesting

Canada has an identifiable group that has high child mortality rates, low life expectancy and generally all the symptoms of a societal breakdown. Drug abuse, high incidence of AIDS, tuberculosis outbreaks, etc. This is spite of, or maybe because of, very high per capita spending and an almost totalitarian control over the lives of a large proportion of that group.

The US has a group similar to that.

In Canada, the population of that group is quite small in proportion to the population. That isn’t the case in the US. So the pathologies of that group show up in the statistics, where in Canada, Europe and Asia, who no doubt have groups similar, don’t.

I would submit that the needs of these groups are unusual, intensive and urgent. But to apply these same ’solutions’ to the population as a whole will make it worse for most, marginally better for some.

Derek

Americans don’t suck at IO. We have some of the best CNO in the world. They just don’t work for our military or intelligence apparat. Our EW is pretty good. Our OPSEC needs work. We are scared to use much MILDEC for fear of being accused of lying to the American people when we deceive the enemy.

We suck at PSYOP. That’s because domestic oppositional elements within our own polity have convinced most Americans that PSYOP is bad, all propaganda for us is evil, and all propaganda for the enemy is freedom of speech.

HillaryCare in Tennessee
The disaster that might have been for the entire country.
Monday, December 6, 2004 12:01 A.M. EST

We think it was Justice Brandeis who said the states should be laboratories for reform. Regarding health care, Tennessee tried a decade ago and the price is now coming due. Hillary Rodham Clinton should call her pollster if she plans on carrying the state in 2008.

In 1994, Tennessee passed what was then a very hot New Democrat idea–call it government managed care–a version of the reform the former first lady was also pitching nationwide. TennCare promised the impossible dream of politicians everywhere: Lower health-care costs while covering more of the “uninsured.” They got the impossible, all right. After 10 years of mismanagement and lawsuits, TennCare now eats up one-third of the state’s entire budget and is growing fast. Governor Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, is preparing to pull the plug and return the state to the less lunatic subsidies of Medicaid.

The TennCare concept was for the state to operate like an HMO, providing health insurance to those who needed it and paying the premiums for those who couldn’t afford it. The idea was even sold as a cost savings because it would provide “managed care” (volume discounts, preventative care, etc.). TennCare opened enrollment to hundreds of thousands of people who did not qualify for Medicaid, even to some six-figure earners. Costs quickly exploded, and despite attempts to tighten eligibility rules the program still covers 1.3 million of the state’s 5.8 million people.
The skyrocketing costs led previous Governor Don Sundquist, the Republican who had inherited the program, to try to impose a state income tax. His efforts failed, fortunately, but in 2002 Mr. Bredesen was elected promising to cut TennCare’s costs.

That, too, has been impossible. Left-wing legal activists have sued the state with impunity to underwrite the cost of nearly unlimited care. A Nashville non-profit called the Tennessee Justice Center has hamstrung reforms for years by suing to enforce a series of consent decrees, some of which predate TennCare.

Prescription drug costs alone increased 23% last year, as there are effectively no limits on the number or types of drugs the system will pay for. If a doctor prescribes aspirin, TennCare pays for it. Ditto for antacids for heartburn and other over-the-counter products. If TennCare denies a claim for a drug or any other type of care, an appeal can be filed for next to nothing. Fighting each appeal costs the state as much as $1,600 in legal fees. With 10,000 appeals filed every month, it’s often easier and cheaper to pay a claim, regardless of the merits.

TennCare is now in worse shape than it was a decade ago. Three of the 11 privately run Managed Care Organizations that insured TennCare patients and administered the program have fallen into receivership. Amid the legal wrangling, Blue Cross Blue Shield all but pulled out of the program. Today the state has assumed all the insurance risk and pays most of the premiums.

Mr. Bredesen has proposed numerous reforms to reduce costs by limiting care, and the legislature overwhelmingly endorsed them earlier this year. But they sit in limbo while the Governor negotiates with the Tennessee Justice Center to end its lawsuits. With the talks at an impasse, Mr. Bredesen has instructed state officials to start thinking about dismantling TennCare. “It makes no sense for one facet of our responsibilities–health care–to be able to come to the table first and eat and drink all it wants, and then if there is anything left over, we then can consider our other responsibilities,” he told the Tennessee School Board Association recently.
Good for Mr. Bredesen for recognizing that the entitlement mentality inevitably leads to fiscal perdition. Has he told Mrs. Clinton, not to mention certain Republicans in Washington?

Some nuggets from Wikipedia about TennCare:

In its first year of operation, TennCare enrollment quickly grew close to the federal cap of 1.5 million people, meaning the federal government would not share in the cost of the number above that. In response to the growth in enrollment, in 1995 the state closed eligibility to adults who were uninsured.
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Through the years, problems began to develop related to the operation of the seven managed care organizations (MCOs). A first one simply pulled out of the program, and the state shifted enrollees to the other managed care organizations. But then two other MCOs developed financial problems, and physicians began complaining loudly that they were not being paid. The state was forced to take over one contractor, and attempted to keep the MCO afloat through receivership. Another larger MCO was bailed out by the state before it was finally liquidated. In both cases, health care providers were left with millions in unpaid bills. Though the state tried to pay off the debt, it was never able to fully compensate providers.

By 1999, it was clear that a reform was necessary. Doctors and hospitals lobbied the state to require that a certain percentage of the money paid to the MCOs in the form of monthly capitation payments be routed on to providers. More problems developed, as the MCOs were unable to manage care or costs under the constraint of the new mandate.
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Not only was the program’s budget once again consuming all the state’s new revenues, but despite the more stringent agreement with the federal government, the perception continued across the state that people not eligible for TennCare were finding ways to get on the program illegally.
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By 2005, approximately 160,000 people who were not Medicaid eligible were removed from TennCare. In addition, the program’s benefits were trimmed. At the time, Tennessee was one of less than a half-dozen states in the nation with no limits on pharmacy benefits. The state set the limit at five prescriptions per month for most enrollees, with exclusions for children, pregnant women, nursing homes and emergency care. Limits were also placed on doctor visits and hospital stays, but the greatest expected savings would come from limiting access to prescription drugs. Tennessee had the notoriety of being the top state in the nation for per-capita prescription drug use – and like many of its neighbors, the state had a huge bill for prescription painkillers.
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Where do we sign up? (/sacarsm off) Any BC’ers enjoying the benefits of TennCare want to share their experiences?

“I think that the biggest failure of President Bush has been his failure to communicate…. It’s the same with the GWOT. The Armed Forces try to get their message out, but the MSM ignores them. The administration is not working to educate the public on the war, its conduct, goals, successes, failures, and challenges.”

How can the administration get their message out or educate the public on the GWoT if the MSM ignores the message and constantly repeats counter-propaganda? This war has been as much against the MSM as the Islamic fascists.

However I agree with Old Blue that President Bush has not been effective at communicating around the MSM. President Reagan encountered similar opposition from the MSM and dealt with it effectively. Most of us have heard the cliche:

“Fighting with the MSM is like mud wrestling with a pig. You both get dirty but the pig likes it.”

President Reagan LIKED mud wrestling with pigs and was better at it than the pigs. Unfortunately, President Bush had no patience for it even though his job demanded it. President Bush saw himself mainly as a manager rather than as a mouth piece working from the “bully pulpit”. Reagan (who I did not like as President) understood that his main job was to work as a cheer leader.

It’s a bit idiotic when you get down to the bare essence of it. When we vote for President we’re actually voting for a cheer leader who acts as a figure head for a government administration hidden behind him. The Messiah is beating John McCain mainly because the Messiah is better at leading cheers.

I guess the unasked question is:

How do we reform the MSM so our leaders can actually lead rather than function as propaganda ministers?

The answer to that riddle is not obvious.