Tennessee Executive Order 83. Innocent and Helpful or Government Over-Reach?

Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee on Friday August 6th signed Executive Order 83, dealing with Covid-19 response. Joe Kovacs discussed the order today on WND. I know that some will immediately dismiss WND as a source, but the reporting of the Executive Order 83 is factual. It is really a matter of interpretation if the order is helpful in any way or a dangerous step to increase powers the government should not possess.

www.wnd.com...

There is the article by Joe Kovacs.

Here is the Executive Order 83:

publications.tnsosfiles.com...

I did read over the order itself.

Section 8 Authorizes the National Guard to perform Covid-19 response. That is not a huge surprise. I know the National Guard has been activated in many states to assist the medical system in Covid-19 response.

Section 9 suspends the normal requirements for ambulance drivers and medical transport so that persons not normally qualified for ambulance driving or medical transport can perform this role. Given Section 8, it is not a stretch for this to mean that the National Guard could perform Covid-19 medical or ambulance transport, without the normal required certification.

Section 14 allows for remote telephone assessment to determine if people should be involuntarily committed against their will. That does surprise me. In my experience, you cannot order an involuntary commitment of a person without a face-to-face evaluation. Involuntary commitment should be a huge deal in any free society.

Section 18 allows for the construction of temporary facilities for quarantine and isolation in response to Covid-19 as directed by the Commissioner of Health and the Director of TEMA.

Okay, so putting all that together..... Persons can be remotely determined (by telephone) to require involuntary commitment, and the National Guard is authorized to perform Covid-19 duties, and certified ambulance drivers are no longer needed to transport people (so it could be the National Guard), and TEMA "temporary quarantine and isolation facilities" are now authorized.

I guess if we saw on a daily basis a Monty Python mule-drawn cart with a bell ringer in every neighborhood calling out: "Bring out your dead!", then this Executive Order 83 would seem more appropriate. And I know that many people will say: "I don't see the governor authorizing Nazi storm troopers in this order!". And I guess one response to that sentiment is that even governors who are over-reaching their power do not write an "Executive Order 666 Authorizing the National Guard to Perform Nazi Storm Trooper Duties".

So how does this order strike you all, ATS?

a reply to: AndreDoLouro

The things you listed there are beyond overreach it is insane Nazi behavior!

a reply to: SeaWorthy

I'd encourage you (and everyone) to read the order, if you haven't. I find this order to be remarkable and disturbing. I mean.... EVEN if the order is innocent and with good intentions, the very fact that governors are signing such orders into reality.... is a reality none of us wanted to imagine not very many months ago.

I find the potential abuses of power in this order to be alarming.

It says to me, and I will paraphrase it ...

Since the workers in health and related fields are not taking the vaccine when asked and because they will be fired for it ... and we will run out of medically trained personnel ... I hereby allow the woefully unqualified to play god in our hospitals.

Signed soon to be ex-Governor.

P

a reply to: pheonix358

It's always sunny in Tennessee, isnt it?

originally posted by: AndreDoLouro
a reply to: pheonix358

It's always sunny in Tennessee, isnt it?

Not being from the US, I only know a tiny bit about that particular State.

I think it goes something like ... and I may have this wrong but ...

Marry the younguns off as soon as you can, marry them off to the cousins, good enough.

Make lots of moonshine, some sell it legally others not.

Don't leave the cities without lots of guns because those mountain people are really strange.

That is it.

Mostly joking but it is Tennessee we are talking about.

P

originally posted by: AndreDoLouro
Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee on Friday August 6th signed Executive Order 83, dealing with Covid-19 response. Joe Kovacs discussed the order today on WND. I know that some will immediately dismiss WND as a source, but the reporting of the Executive Order 83 is factual. It is really a matter of interpretation if the order is helpful in any way or a dangerous step to increase powers the government should not possess.

www.wnd.com...

There is the article by Joe Kovacs.

Here is the Executive Order 83:

publications.tnsosfiles.com...

I did read over the order itself.

Section 8 Authorizes the National Guard to perform Covid-19 response. That is not a huge surprise. I know the National Guard has been activated in many states to assist the medical system in Covid-19 response.

Section 9 suspends the normal requirements for ambulance drivers and medical transport so that persons not normally qualified for ambulance driving or medical transport can perform this role. Given Section 8, it is not a stretch for this to mean that the National Guard could perform Covid-19 medical or ambulance transport, without the normal required certification.

Section 14 allows for remote telephone assessment to determine if people should be involuntarily committed against their will. That does surprise me. In my experience, you cannot order an involuntary commitment of a person without a face-to-face evaluation. Involuntary commitment should be a huge deal in any free society.

Section 18 allows for the construction of temporary facilities for quarantine and isolation in response to Covid-19 as directed by the Commissioner of Health and the Director of TEMA.

Okay, so putting all that together..... Persons can be remotely determined (by telephone) to require involuntary commitment, and the National Guard is authorized to perform Covid-19 duties, and certified ambulance drivers are no longer needed to transport people (so it could be the National Guard), and TEMA "temporary quarantine and isolation facilities" are now authorized.

I guess if we saw on a daily basis a Monty Python mule-drawn cart with a bell ringer in every neighborhood calling out: "Bring out your dead!", then this Executive Order 83 would seem more appropriate. And I know that many people will say: "I don't see the governor authorizing Nazi storm troopers in this order!". And I guess one response to that sentiment is that even governors who are over-reaching their power do not write an "Executive Order 666 Authorizing the National Guard to Perform Nazi Storm Trooper Duties".

So how does this order strike you all, ATS?

According to the IHME website, mask use and social distancing in Tennessee are negligible, only about 40% of the population is fully vaccinated, and infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are projected to skyrocket in the next month to levels beyond last winter. If I could figure this out, his health advisors are undoubtedly telling him the same thing, so he is preparing for the inevitable crash. Under the circumstances, it’s probably the best he can do.

a reply to: pheonix358

I lived atop a rainforest (literally) mountain in Tennessee for years. There could be months (again litterally) with no sun, where if you opened the window, your room would would fill with fog. Forget collecting expensive books.

You are not far off with some of your description of Tennessee. But Tennessee also has beautiful people, amazing music (many types), wonderful food, and incredible nature.

a reply to: 1947boomer

I guess you are correct that much of the population of Tennessee is not going to appreciate being told what to do by the government. Blacks still remember slavery and the Tuskegee experiments. For many whites (especially rural) the era of Civil War, reconstruction, and carpet baggers is recent memory. It's a very different perspective than much of the country, and it doesnt trend toward excessive trust of government.

originally posted by: pheonix358
It says to me, and I will paraphrase it ...

Since the workers in health and related fields are not taking the vaccine when asked and because they will be fired for it ... and we will run out of medically trained personnel ... I hereby allow the woefully unqualified to play god in our hospitals.

Signed soon to be ex-Governor.

P

Think you nailed it. Not sure about the ex part, but hopefully you bat 1000.

a reply to: 1947boomer

So..... let's say for argument I agree with most of your concerns..... Still, I'd say to you....... Even if you do not accept three of the four points I mentioned (of course the actual executive order is much larger)...... Authorization to involuntarily commit people by remote telephone assessment???

Seriously, where do you draw a line between protecting residents and straight-up kidnapping, and unlawful restraint under colour of law?

Once a government has authority to involuntarily commit people under colour of law with little or no oversight...... let's just hope that government is not too enthusiastic with their new prerogative. If that isnt authoritarianism, it is a mere tiny side step away.

a reply to: AndreDoLouro

Having lived in nashville one of the more liberal areas of the state and more likely to push anything crazy I can say its still firmly a southern minded do it yourself state with many folks likely to revolt against anything crazy. 80% of Tennessee is flat out little town middle of no where and wont take kindly to any intrusion even if it was warranted.

a reply to: 1947boomer

How do deaths skyrocket from a virus which has a 1% mortality rate? And even better a 1% or less reinfection rate? Do they jump from 100 to 1000? Cause I bet more people die in nashville to traffic accidents yearly than that? Hell i bet gang violence is on par there too.

a reply to: AndreDoLouro

Did you know Tennessee gets more rain annually than Washington...the place noted for its grey skies. Wettest place I've lived and I also lived in Florida!

a reply to: RickyD

Thanks for sharing the wetness of Tennessee. Hehehe. I am now in Florida, which as wet as it is, does NOT seem as wet as Tennessee.

a reply to: 1947boomer

I read it and it looks like all the rats will be running the ship. I seriously thought "omg, they're preparing for a zombie apocalypse" and leaving the NG to handle everything.

Did anyone notice the strict rules for practicing nurses?

Practical nursing graduates may practice under supervision without examination.
The provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 63, Chapters 6 and 7, and
related rules and policies are hereby suspended to the extent necessary to give a
health care institution licensed under Title 33 or 68, or an affiliate of the institution,
the authority and discretion to employ a person who both has graduated from an
approved school of practical nursing within the previous ninety (90) days and has
received the person's first authorization to take the NCLEX-PN examination
(referred to as a "graduate practical nurse"), subject to the following conditions:
a. The graduate practical nurse's practice occurs in a health care institution
licensed under Title 33 or 68, or an affiliate of the institution;
b. The graduate practical nurse is at all times working under a supervisor
licensed to practice professional nursing pursuant to Tennessee Code
Annotated, Section 63-7-105. The graduate practical nurse's supervisor
must be located in the same unit as the graduate practical nurse when the
graduate practical nurse is working. The graduate practical nurse must
provide the health care institution or affiliate of the institution in which they
are practicing with:
1. Proof of the first authorization to take the NCLEX-PN examination;
and
11. Proof of graduation from an approved school of nursing within the
previous ninety (90) days;

Here are rules for the NG:

Personnel may: (1) perform authorized nursing and other functions in Facilities;

the whole EO, lmao. Talk about dissing all the safety protocols in place and delegating all the responsibility to the NG. THAT'S what I'm reading.

ETA: To be fair, there IS this at the bottom of the NG section:

No Personnel shall operate under this Paragraph 8 unless designated by the
Adjutant General upon request or order of the Governor;
b. Personnel operating pursuant to this Paragraph 8 shall have the appropriate
training or skills in the area(s) pertaining to their designations;
c. The Adjutant General and Commissioner of Health, or their designees, shall
determine the Facilities to which Personnel are assigned, based on need and
other reasonable factors, in their sole discretion;
d. Any Facility to which Personnel are assigned must submit, in writing to the
Commissioner of Health, the responsibilities and tasks that Personnel will
be undertaking while operating pursuant to this Paragraph 8;

a reply to: StoutBroux

Thanks for highlighting a few details that should be common sense to everyone. I Meant the "thank you" with sincerity.

As a northern Yankee stomping around below the Manson-Dixon line in eastern Tennessee, I encountered friendly folks who didn't have a problem with a Yankee in their state. Even down the dead end piss-ant goat trail that ended in the hollow where my brother lived in the hills. I didn't see any deliverance types on front porches, just normal folks like most rural areas.

The landscapes where excellent from any high spot you could get a view. They do have a lot of ticks and other nasty creepy crawlies though. Still, wooded hills and valleys with fields of prairie tall grasses, I found it to be beautiful and inviting.

a reply to: AndreDoLouro

FL never was as wet its the manner its delivered in FL...its out of no where. Everyday the radar looks clear all day then about 2-4pm it erupts with storms which form literally over the state. You can't plan for it unless you just assume every day between 2-4pm its going to rain...and if it doesn't then yay!

I live in the rain forest of rural Tennessee and I can confirm that indeed we do not take kindly to any of this covid nonsense.
I’m seriously not concerned about fascism taking over here. It would be an epic war akin to Afghanistan.
I do believe our governor is trying to cover the bases based on the propaganda coming from the ‘medical experts’.

We’re real good at smiling to your face then planning your destruction as you walk away.

Southern people in general are much more inclined to not be fooled by government propaganda in general.

All in all, we Tennesseans ain’t skeered of this game.

And yeah, it’s rarely sunny here with clear skies, but when it is, where out on a lake getting baked.