Better Mental Health Care Needed for Service Members, Veterans; Another Plastic Bag Ban: Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: May 27, 2024

Indy Digest: May 27, 2024

When I was in elementary school or middle school—I don’t recall the exact grade I was in—I did a school report on Agent Orange, the herbicide used by the U.S. to clear trees and foliage during the Vietnam War.

The stuff was beyond toxic—and it was sprayed on a lot of people, including U.S. service members.

My Uncle Dale was one of those service members. I remember talking to him for the report—and being utterly shocked to learn that our government would do something so reckless and so terrible to the people fighting on our behalf.

Dale died in 2007 of lymphoma, at the age of 66.

Our country has a pretty poor history of taking care of its soldiers and veterans. I was reminded of all of this by an article published by The Conversation late last week (no doubt timed for Memorial Day) headlined “More military veterans and active duty service members are dying by suicide than in battle—understanding why can help with prevention.”

Here’s the beginning of the piece, by April Smith, an associate professor of psychological sciences at Auburn University:

Although service members know they may lose their lives in combat in service of their country, they may not expect to lose their lives—or those they love—to suicide. A 2021 study estimated that four times as many active duty service members and veterans died by suicide as died in battle since 9/11.

Despite recent calls to action to improve suicide prevention within the military, suicide rates remain elevated among service members. In particular, active duty Army suicide rates were nearly two times higher than other active duty military services and more than two and a half times higher than the general population. Suicide rates are even more elevated in veterans, with an estimated 17 or more dying by suicide each day in 2021.

This reminded me of yet another article, published earlier this year by ProPublica. It’s headlined “How the VA Fails Veterans on Mental Health,” with this description: “A ProPublica analysis of 313 studies conducted by the agency’s inspector general in recent years shows repeated failures in behavioral care. The breakdowns have had fatal consequences.”

A quote from later on in the piece: “The problems appear to be systemic. Over and over, the hospitals and clinics in the VA’s sprawling health care network have fallen short when it comes to treating people with mental illness.”

On this Memorial Day, our elected officials need to be doing more that just spouting platitudes and waving the flag. They should be assuring that the men and women who fight, and have fought, for our country are getting the care and the benefits that they need.

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• The Los Angeles Times looks at the actions environmentalists are taking to get the corporation behind Arrowhead bottled water to leave the San Bernardino Mountains: “In a petition to the state, several environmental groups and local activists called for an investigation by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, arguing that the company BlueTriton Brands is harming wildlife habitat and species by extracting water that would otherwise flow in Strawberry Creek. Those who oppose the taking of water from San Bernardino National Forest want the state agency to assess the environmental effects and uphold protections under state law, said Rachel Doughty, a lawyer for the environmental nonprofit Story of Stuff Project. ‘They’ve dewatered the creek,’ Doughty said.”

• Our partners at Calmatters report on the steps the state of California is taking to regulate artificial intelligence—including leading the way in working with the European Union: “While the federal government appears content to sit back and wait, more than 40 U.S. states are considering hundreds of AI regulation bills. California, with its status as a tech-forward state and huge economy, has a chance to lead the way. So much so, in fact, that the European Union is trying to coordinate with the state on AI laws. The EU opened an office in San Francisco in 2022 and dispatched a tech envoy, Gerard de Graaf, to better communicate about laws and regulations around AI. … Last month, de Graaf traveled to Sacramento to speak with several state lawmakers key to AI regulation.” Peruse the article to learn more about the regulations the Legislature is considering.

• The Freedom of the Press Foundation is speaking out after a watchdog-journalism organization laid off a large number of employees in the face of legal action from Elon Musk and others. From a news release: “Media Matters for America announced … that it’s laying off at least a dozen staffers. Its president blamed a ‘legal assault on multiple fronts,’ including a lawsuit by Elon Musk’s X and the legal actions by Republican state attorneys general that followed. … Anti-SLAPP laws—which allow for lawsuits that retaliate against speech to be disposed of in their early stages and for defendants to recover attorney’s fees—have been useful in defending against other frivolous lawsuits driven by Musk. But filing the Media Matters lawsuit in a federal court in Texas allowed Musk to avoid an anti-SLAPP motion. X’s lawsuit alleges Media Matters disparaged it by reporting that it placed advertisements next to antisemitic and white nationalist content. The social media platform claims that Media Matters manipulated its algorithm—for example, by following accounts likely to generate problematic ad placements. But there’s no dispute that X did display the ads as reported, leading commentators to call the lawsuit ‘gloriously stupid.’ The same goes for the probes and lawsuits by the attorneys general, which hinge on convoluted theories that Media Matters violated consumer protection laws. One of them—brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton—has been preliminarily enjoined from proceeding due to its chilling effect on Media Matters’ constitutionally protected activities.”

• The California Legislature may soon ban plastic bags at grocery stores—for real this time. SFGate says: “(Last week), California lawmakers approved two bills that would ban grocery stores from offering customers plastic bags. California already put an end to thin, single-use plastic bags back in 2016, but now, the sturdier, reusable plastic bags are on the chopping block, reported the Mercury News. … Instead of reusable plastic bags, the bills would require retailers to offer paper bags with at least 50% recycled paper content for a minimum 10-cent fee. If the bills pass the opposite house and are signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the reusable plastic bag ban would go into effect Jan. 1, 2026. Thin plastic produce bags are not prohibited under these bills. However, a separate law Newsom signed in 2022 requiring these ‘pre-checkout bags’ to be replaced with either recycled paper bags or compostable bags goes into effect Jan. 1, 2025.”

• After being dropped by their insurance companies, some homeowners have to choose: Pay $10,000 or more a year for a policy from a lesser-known company—or go without. The Washington Post reports that more of these homeowners are choosing to go without: “Most uninsured homeowners are those who have paid off their mortgage and are no longer required to have insurance. Among those who own their home outright, the (Consumer Federation of America) estimates roughly 14 percent are uninsured, with low-income and minority homeowners especially at risk. Among mortgage holders, only 2 percent opt to go without coverage. Experts say this trend is driven by the escalating threat of climate change—which has forced insurers to make larger and larger payouts—and skyrocketing housing prices. Both trends are pushing the cost of policies up. On average, home insurance policies rose 11.3 percent in 2023, according to S&P Global. Compounding the problem, some insurance providers, driven by rising payouts, are pulling out of disaster-prone areas — leaving former policyholders with fewer and more expensive alternatives.”

• And finally … NBA great, broadcasting star and renowned Grateful Dead fan Bill Walton died today at the age of 71, after a long battle with cancer. Here’s the Los Angeles Times’ obituary. Key quote: “His absurdist streak was constantly on display alongside ESPN broadcaster Dave Pasch, who played the straight man to Walton’s comedian. On occasions when Pasch dared attempt to rein Walton in after one of Walton’s long, rambling soliloquies, Walton would say, ‘Who are you again?’ Pasch once jokingly challenged Walton to take a bite out of a cupcake with a lit candle atop. After Walton unflinchingly complied, a flabbergasted Pasch said, ‘Oh, I was kidding!’ before breaking into laughter and covering his face with his hand in disbelief.”

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