Tangle - Today's debate: Republicans' controversial military bill.

Starting point is 00:00:00 Based on Charles Yu's award-winning book, Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural who dreams about a world beyond Chinatown. When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web, his family's buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight. Interior Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. The flu remains a serious disease. Last season, over 102,000 influenza cases have been reported across Canada, which is Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. yourself from the flu. It's the first cell-based flu vaccine authorized in Canada for ages six months and older, and it may be available for free in your province. Side effects and allergic reactions can occur, and 100% protection is not guaranteed. Learn more at flucellvax.ca.

Starting point is 00:01:00 From executive producer Isaac Saul, this is Tangle. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, and welcome to the Tangle podcast, a place we get views from across the political spectrum, some independent thinking, and a little bit of my take. I'm your host, Isaac Saul, and on today's episode, we're going to be talking about the recent NDAA bill that was passed by Republicans in the House. That is the National Defense Authorization Act and some of the controversial amendments that were inside it, which got a lot of people talking. A couple of quick things before we jump in. First of all, we have a correction. Unfortunately, this is our 87th correction in our 208-week history.

Starting point is 00:01:51 Sometimes in life, things tend to come in bunches, and that's why we have expressions like, when it rains, it pours. We had a correction in yesterday's newsletter that was kind of a written correction. But anyway, yesterday, we said in a quick hit that Iowa's new six-week abortion ban had been struck down by a federal judge. In fact, it had been struck down by a state judge. We regret the error, though shout out to the three eagle-eyed readers and listeners who wrote in with the correction. Also, a quick heads up that tomorrow we're going

Starting point is 00:02:26 to be publishing a subscribers only Friday edition on trust in the media. I'm going to be talking a little bit about how I think media companies can build back trust based on my experience with this project. And I'm going to do it now because a new survey recently came out showing that trust in media is at an all timetime low. And finally, we are releasing, actually, by the time you hear this, it will be released, a new YouTube video that is effectively a blooper reel from the first 23 videos we've published of me just screwing up. It's a thank you because our YouTube channel hit 5,000 subscribers and we wanted to do something fun. So please go to Tangle News on YouTube, subscribe,

Starting point is 00:03:05 watch the video, have a good laugh, I hope, and stick around for a lot more content to come on that front. All right, with all that out of the way, we're going to jump in with some quick hits. First up, the House Oversight Committee heard testimony from two IRS whistleblowers on the Justice Department's alleged mishandling of the Hunter Biden investigation. Number two, Wesleyan University announced that it will end legacy admissions, the practice of favoring relatives of alumni for acceptance. Number three, Russian drones and missiles struck grain facilities in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. An estimated 60,000 tons of grain were lost just days after Russia pulled out of a grain exports deal.

Starting point is 00:03:52 Number four, the Biden administration issued a memo seeking to bar federal funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology after it failed to comply with information requests. Number five, a federal judge denied former President Trump a new trial in the E. Jean Carroll case. The House has narrowly passed the annual defense bill. Lawmakers voted mostly along party lines, 219 to 210. Only four Republicans voted against it, and four Democrats voted in favor. The package includes a number of controversial amendments, including a ban on the Pentagon covering travel expenses for service members seeking abortions.

Starting point is 00:04:39 The U.S. House passed a nearly $900 billion budget for the armed forces today, largely on partisan lines. Most Democrats voted no after Republicans added anti-abortion and other provisions to the bill. A military cannot defend themselves if you train them in woke. We don't want Disneyland to train our military. We want our men and women in the military to have every defense possible. And that's what our bill does. House Democrats, we are going to cut out the cancer that the extreme mega Republicans have put in the National Defense Authorization Act, no matter what it takes. And we're going to partner with Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats to get a responsible

Starting point is 00:05:21 National Defense Authorization Act. On Friday, the House Republicans passed a sweeping defense bill called the National Defense Authorization Act, or the NDAA. NDAAs are annual bills whose primary function is to fund national defense programs, and they typically pass with large bipartisan support. The bill's price tag this year came out to $886 billion, which included funds for a 5.2% pay increase for service members, combat ships and drones, new barracks, a new space national guard, a new special inspector general for Ukraine security assistance, an additional $300 million of security assistance for Ukraine, and $600 million for security-related threats in the Indo-Pacific region. However, controversy over the bill increased after it was heavily

Starting point is 00:06:10 amended by conservatives in the House to include a few hot-button social issues like abortion policy, health care for transgender soldiers, and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Those amendments resulted in an unusual party-line vote, with the bill passing 219 to 210. Four Democrats voted with Republicans in favor of the bill, while four GOP members voted against it. The Senate is expected to amend the bill next week. Included in the amendments was the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in staff and the Department of Defense. Another amendment prohibits the Secretary of Defense from paying for or reimbursing expenses related to abortion services. Another bar is a health care program for service members from covering hormone treatments or gender

Starting point is 00:06:55 transition surgeries for transgender individuals. Transgender troops have been able to serve openly in the military since 2021, and there are now an estimated 15,000 transgender service members. Further, Representative Lauren Boebert, the Republican from Colorado, was able to include in an amendment that blocked military schools from purchasing or having, quote, pornographic and radical gender ideology books. Conversely, an amendment from Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican from Georgia, to ban cluster munitions from being sold or transferred to Ukraine failed by a 147 to 276 vote. The four Republican votes against the NDAA were Representatives Andy Biggs from Arizona, Ken Buck from Colorado, Eli Crane from Arizona, and Thomas Massey from Kentucky. The four Democratic votes for the bill came from

Starting point is 00:07:44 Representatives Jared Golden from Maine, Donald Davis from North Carolina, Gabriel Vasquez from New Mexico, and Mary Glusenkamp Perez from Washington. House Freedom Caucus members celebrated the bill as a victory, saying it would allow the military to focus on defense rather than progressive social policy distractions. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy took his own victory lap after holding together his conference on the vote. Democrats criticized the bill, saying Republicans have attached their own divisive culture wars agenda to a critical defense spending measure. Now the bill heads to the Senate, where it will be reworked and amended

Starting point is 00:08:19 once again. McCarthy will face a whole new set of challenges when it goes back to the House to be finalized later this year. Today, we're going to take a look at some reactions from the right and the left, and then my take. First, we'll start with what the right is saying many on the right support the amendments arguing that mccarthy and house republicans both notched another victory some say funding for dei initiatives has no place in the military and no connection to military readiness others argue that the military does not need dei programs and, and most Americans agree. The New York Post editorial board celebrated the bill, saying McCarthy scored another victory. One provision eliminates diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and staff within the

Starting point is 00:09:15 Defense Department. This is absolutely non-negotiable. America's warfighting capacities have been severely dented by massive failures to meet recruitment goals, largely driven by the Pentagon's turn to wokeism. Indeed, it's a great mystery why the government agency tasked with keeping America safe and strong should waste a single cent on DEI. It's hard to think of a job field where merit and ability matter more. Another provision stops healthcare coverage under a service member program for hormone treatments and gender confirmation surgeries. Whatever your view of trans treatments, there's zero reason for the federal government to fund them with taxpayer dollars. That goes for the rule blocking payment or reimbursement for expenses around abortions too. Why should taxpayers, many of whom morally object to abortion, fund that? There's also an amendment to keep books like Gender Queer,

Starting point is 00:10:05 a pornographic cartoon that progressives want children to read for some reason, out of military school libraries. What role does such lit play in national defense? In National Review, Rich Lowry said the military doesn't need DEI. The U.S. military has been a model for decades of how to build a racially diverse institution that is united by a common purpose and standards. That doesn't mean it is perfect, nothing is, but it was notably diverse long before anyone thought it needed DEI training, Lowry said. Thankfully, by its standards, the Pentagon doesn't spend much on DEI, which is a scammy

Starting point is 00:10:39 fad that has ballooned into a more than $3 billion industry, even though there's no solid evidence that it works, and it may well make things worse. fad that has ballooned into a more than $3 billion industry, even though there's no solid evidence that it works, and it may well make things worse. At the very least, DEI is another administrative burden. A recent report on the fighting culture of the U.S. Navy prepared at the direction of Senator Tom Cotton and several Republican congressmen noted that non-combat curricula consume Navy resources, clog inboxes, create administrative quagmires, and monopolize precious training time. At worst, it is injecting a poisonous ideology into a fighting force that needs to look past racial and other divisions and needs to believe in this country's worth.

Starting point is 00:11:16 In The Federalist, Dominic Sansone said Republicans should reject Democrats' culture war if they want praise. Republicans such as Representatives Ronny Jackson of Texas, Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania argue that the issues around abortion and transgenderism make no sense in terms of finances or force readiness, Sansone said. The leftist response to what seems like common sense for most of the country, and indeed would have been acknowledged as such by Democrats a mere 10 years ago, reveals the unbridgeable ideological chasm that currently separates the two sides. For those on the right that we are even debating the notion that the military should fund abortion or genital mutilation surgeries for service members, let alone actively attempt to inculcate

Starting point is 00:11:58 them in the tenets of so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion, is the sign of a sick and diseased body politic. Additionally, the point of faith in diversity as our greatest strength allows those who have no conception of combat to argue that less of it will logically weaken our fighting force. Biden is unlikely to accept the bill as is, and most Republicans will probably fold on the final passage. But no meaningful change will happen unless Republicans can force through more than symbolic wins. All right, that is it for the rightist saying, which brings us to what the left is saying. Many on the left object to these amendments, arguing that they're symbolic of Republican

Starting point is 00:12:43 bigotry and short-sightedness. Some suggest Republicans are pro-military until it includes women or transgender service members. Others say things are getting more and more awkward for Speaker McCarthy. The Fresno Bee editorial board said Republicans love to wrap themselves in the flag and proclaim their patriotism, but only when it suits their purpose. But pay travel costs for a female sergeant in the army with a pregnancy that, for medical reasons, must be ended and who must travel to a state where abortions are performed? Why, that's an unacceptable use of taxpayer dollars, say these same Republicans. Support diversity efforts? That is nothing but wokeism, say conservatives. And don't even bring up the Pentagon's support for helping service members with gender transition, the board said. These members argue that the government

Starting point is 00:13:29 shouldn't be paying for abortions, but time off for needed medical services plus gas and motel money is not paying for abortions. Recruiting has become difficult for the military, so it is understandable that the Pentagon would include diversity efforts in its outreach. If recruits see people like them in the military, chances are good that more Americans will be attracted to join, the board said. When servicewomen have to go out of state for medical care, every defense possible is just an empty talking point. When barriers to diversity are built into a military spending bill that for 60 years has been a solid bipartisan measure, that is not helping the Pentagon with

Starting point is 00:14:05 recruitment. And prohibiting the military from offering health coverage for gender transition surgeries, as the GOP's bill does, further alienates soldiers, sailors, and airmen seeking such help. In USA Today, Rex Hupke said that the Republican Party is all about hate and fear. Based on Charles Yu's award-winning book, Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural who dreams about a world beyond Chinatown. When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web, his family's buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight. Interior Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+.

Starting point is 00:14:47 The flu remains a serious disease. Last season, over 102,000 influenza cases have been reported across Canada, which is nearly double the historic average of 52,000 cases. What can you do this flu season? Talk to your pharmacist or doctor about getting a flu shot. Consider FluCellVax Quad and help protect yourself from the flu. It's the first cell-based flu vaccine authorized in Canada for ages six months and older, and it may be available for free in your province. Side effects and allergic reactions can occur and 100% protection is not guaranteed. Learn more at FluCellVax.ca.

Starting point is 00:15:22 If you want to know what the Republican Party is all about, what the party formerly devoted to national security and law and order presently stands for, give a listen to one of its highest ranking members sending a message to the military, Hupke said. Stop using taxpayer money to do their own wokeism, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Friday after the passage of a defense bill Republicans loaded up with culture war nonsense amendments. A military cannot defend themselves if you train them in woke. We don't want Disneyland to train our military, he said. A majority of Americans would hear or read that and ask, is that English? What on earth is that guy talking about? The more extreme elements of the Republican Party demanded amendments that do away with funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the military, a policy that helps women in the

Starting point is 00:16:08 military travel out of state to get reproductive health services, including abortion, if they're based in a state that has banned such services, and specialized health care for transgender soldiers or family members, he wrote. There's a reason Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates want their voters to see them fighting the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion, women's access to reproductive health care, and transgender rights in the military and everywhere else. These things are seen as threats, not as rights, not as science-backed medical needs, not as proven steps to create stronger, smarter workforces or more cohesive military units, just threats. In the New York

Starting point is 00:16:46 Times, Michelle Cottle said it's getting really awkward for Speaker McCarthy. Some days, Speaker McCarthy must look out over his House conference in awe and think, are you maniacs trying to lose us the majority, Cottle wrote. Thursday may well have been one of those days as hard right crusaders larded up the National Defense Authorization Act with divisive, culture-warring amendments taking aim at abortion access, transgender medical care, and diversity training. The odds of this bill becoming law are less than zero, but House conservatives aren't aiming to make serious policy gains here. This may play well in deep MAGA districts, but not so much in battleground states. Those areas are admittedly increasingly rare, Cottle said, but with a majority this scrawny, House conservatives are playing with fire.

Starting point is 00:17:31 All Democrats need to do is flip a handful of seats to snatch the gavel from Mr. McCarthy's hand. They could, say, claw back some of the ground unexpectedly lost to Republicans in New York in last year's midterms, and they could pick up a seat or two thanks to a recent Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act that may lead to various Southern states redrawing their congressional districts to address sketchy gerrymandering. All right, that is it for the left and the right are saying, which brings us to my take. So first, there is little doubt that these amendments are going to be scrapped. So as a matter of importance, this version of the NDAA doesn't hold much weight. It won't become law as long as President Biden is in office. But the policy debate here does seem worth having, not

Starting point is 00:18:23 just because Republicans managed to pass this bill out of the House, but because in the next few years they very well could have had the numbers in the Senate and a president in the White House who would make these amendments law. I'm actually sympathetic to the position that diversity, equity, and inclusion funding might not be something that's worth the military's money. It's not so much that there is a preponderance of evidence that DEI training makes racial tensions at organizations worse, it's that there's very little evidence that it actually makes them better. Anecdotally, having participated in a few of these employer trainings myself, I can't

Starting point is 00:18:54 say I'm surprised. The trainings vary widely in content quality and helpfulness, and some have been shown to create more animosity and negative backlash than anything else. Now, does this mean we should simply scrap every employee in the military who works in programs meant to make soldiers feel more welcome? I'm less convinced. But skepticism of DEI programs more broadly and objections to dumping hundreds of millions of dollars into them as the military has is a very reasonable position to me. Still, Congress should be careful not to overstep here. Having representatives so confidently remove something that the Pentagon says is in its

Starting point is 00:19:30 best interest is no small thing. When it comes to things like abortion or healthcare for transgender soldiers, my position is consistent. The government should have the most limited role possible. For some, that means the government should have no role in spending any money supporting services related to abortion or something like hormone therapy. But to me, it means the government should stay out of the way and let these decisions be made by doctors, families, and individuals. It's a question of freedom. That is at the root of why I oppose strict government bans on abortion, because it limits the freedom of women to make decisions that can be matters of life and death without government obstruction. In this case, I think it is hardest to defend the abortion amendment, which would bar the

Starting point is 00:20:14 Secretary of Defense from paying for or reimbursing expenses related to abortion services. As we covered earlier this week, the Pentagon currently grants troops leave and funds to travel for reproductive health care outside the states where they are stationed, including for abortions or earlier this week, the Pentagon currently grants troops leave and funds to travel for reproductive health care outside the states where they are stationed, including for abortions or fertility treatments. This provides a reasonable way for Republicans to change that policy. So at least they are not going the route Senator Tommy Tuberville has gone by obstructing military appointments. But I still think they are wrong. Fundamentally, everyone serving in the military should have the

Starting point is 00:20:45 best health care our government can offer. That includes women and transgender troops. Great health care is exactly the kind of perk that would attract more recruits, and it is exactly the kind of thing that keeps troops healthy, active, and able to serve. Even if you are opposed to abortion on religious or fundamental pro-life grounds, there are going to be women in the military who face dangerous pregnancies and should have access to abortion services. Without the military allowing women to take leave or covering some travel expenses, that simply isn't going to happen for any of the soldiers stationed in states with abortion bans. Similarly, there are going to be transgender troops, adults wanting to serve our country,

Starting point is 00:21:23 who need hormone therapy or certain healthcare services to be transgender troops, adults wanting to serve our country, who need hormone therapy or certain healthcare services to be at their best. Given that there is broad support among Americans to allow transgender people to serve openly in the military, attempting to completely prohibit this kind of healthcare from the estimated 15,000 transgender and 230,000 women service members makes no sense to me. While most people's opinions on abortion aren't going to be changed in the debate over this spending bill, I do think for now, Republicans are winning the messaging battle. American tax dollars shouldn't go to abortions and sex reassignment surgery is a powerful and simple message that will resonate for roughly half the

Starting point is 00:21:59 country. Democrats retort that this is going to hurt military readiness is less convincing on its face and easy to mock, too. After thinking about it for more than a few minutes, though, I think the better argument is this. If someone is willing to serve our country, we should reciprocate their sacrifice by offering them the best health care possible. Let's just use the abortion services as an example. Even if you are pro-life, the simple reality is that for roughly 230,000 members of the military who are women, the best health care possible would ensure unencumbered access to all the care our federal government legally provides. Amendments like this threaten that access, and in the long term, it's not unreasonable to think that would end up hurting military

Starting point is 00:22:39 enlistment, which is already floundering. Not only would it mean service members needing hormone therapy or health care for a dangerous pregnancy wouldn't be able to get one, but that any potential recruit who wants access to those services will end up looking for work elsewhere. And that's to say nothing of the many impacted who are already enlisted. All right, that is it for my take on today's topic, which brings us to your questions answered. This one's from Michael in Poolsbow, Washington. Michael said, I don't agree with Mr. Carr in his piece arguing that homelessness is about affordable housing. First, in areas that have very harsh conditions, homeless people on the streets don't tend to survive for long periods, which lowers their numbers. Secondly, like in my area of Seattle, which has a massive homeless population that is growing, it seems exponentially, almost 70% of that population are

Starting point is 00:23:33 not local residents who became homeless. Rather, they're homeless individuals from out of state who have migrated to the area. What are your thoughts on that perspective, Michael said. So I'll address these explanations directly and then the criticism of Carr's piece more broadly. First, your point that homeless people outside of fair weather cities are dying. Data that I found does support the idea that more homeless people are dying in cold cities than warmer ones. When comparing mortality rates collected from Los Angeles to those from Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Toronto, there is a clear elevation across the board in deaths in colder cities. But I'm not sure how that really proves Carr wrong. Generally, I see two issues with using this as a rebuttal.

Starting point is 00:24:14 First, elevated mortality in cold cities wouldn't explain why people become homeless in any given city, but why there may be more homeless people in warm cities at a given time. Second, this point actually implies homelessness is worse than it seems. Obviously, more people dying is a bad thing, so if homelessness is more survivable in Seattle than Philadelphia, then that doesn't mean that Seattle's homelessness problem is overappreciated. It means Philadelphia's homelessness problem is underappreciated. Second, on homeless migration, everything you said to support this was an impression and is not really supported by the facts. It seems like homelessness in Seattle is

Starting point is 00:24:50 growing exponentially, but it isn't. It's growing linearly and in concert with increasing rents, believe it or not. 70% of Seattle's homeless population are people who moved to the city. 70% of Seattle's homeless population are people who moved to the city. That's not true. In Seattle, the number is more like 15%, and most of those who aren't from the area are still from the Northwest. In a great piece in The Atlantic, Jerusalem Demesas wrote about a study in San Francisco which showed that 90% of the city's homeless population had lost housing in California, and of the 10% who hadn't, a third were from California, while most had family or friends in the area. My thoughts on the perspective you offered are increasingly mirroring Demsas's thoughts. Housing just breaks

Starting point is 00:25:36 people's brains. There are uncountable reasons why people who are vulnerable to homelessness become vulnerable, but I think the evidence is very strong that the reason why vulnerable people become homeless is simply that there aren't enough places for everyone to live. All right, that is it for your questions answered, which brings us to our blind spot report. Once a week, we present the blind spot report from our partners at Ground News, an app that tells you the bias of news coverage and what stories people on each side are missing. The right missed a story about how Florida has the highest inflation rate in the United States. The left missed a story about a Chicago suburb paying out $25,000 in reparations. All right, that is it for our Blind Spot Report, which brings us to our numbers section today.

Starting point is 00:26:28 The percentage of Americans who support allowing openly transgender troops to serve in the military is 66%, according to a 2021 Gallup survey. The percentage of Republicans who support allowing openly transgender troops is 43%. The percentage of Democrats was 87%, and the percentage of independents was 66%. Finally, the percentage of the public that supports allowing women in the military to serve in ground units engaging in close combat was 66%. That's according to a 2013 Pew survey. All right, and last but not least, our Have a Nice Day section. The first new tuberculosis vaccine in 100 years may be within reach after the announcement that more than $500 million

Starting point is 00:27:12 has been pledged by philanthropic institutions for final trials involving 26,000 people in Africa and Southeast Asia. The M72AS01E vaccine, developed by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, also known as GSK, was shown to be 50% effective in Phase 2B trials in 2018, but the company pulled out rather than invest in the large-scale trials needed to obtain a license. Then in 2020, GSK passed the license to the Bill and Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute, which will put up around $400 million for the phase three trials, while the global charitable organization Wellcome will provide up to $150 million. TB remains one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, said Julia Giller,

Starting point is 00:27:58 the chair of Wellcome. The development of an affordable, accessible vaccine for adults and adolescents would be a game changer in turning the tide against TB. The Guardian has the story, and there's a link to it in today's episode description. All right, that is it for today's podcast, everybody. Quick reminder, we got a new blooper reel up on the YouTube channel, Tangle News on YouTube.com. And we have a subscribers only edition coming out

Starting point is 00:28:25 tomorrow. If you want it, you got to subscribe, readtangle.com forward slash membership. Otherwise, we'll see you on Monday. Have a great weekend. Peace. Our podcast is written by me, Isaac Saul, and edited by John Law. Our script is edited by Ari Weitzman, Bailey Saul, and Sean Brady. The logo for our podcast was designed by Magdalena Bukova, Thank you. We'll see you next time. follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural who dreams about a world beyond Chinatown. When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web, his family's buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight. Interior Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. The flu remains a serious disease. Last season, over 102,000 influenza cases have been reported

Starting point is 00:29:44 across Canada, which is nearly double the historic average of 52,000 cases. Thank you. Canada for ages six months and older, and it may be available for free in your province. Side effects and allergic reactions can occur, and 100% protection is not guaranteed. Learn more at flucellvax.ca.

Tangle - Today's debate: Republicans' controversial military bill.

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