User talk:Morinao

Honorary promotions and medals

 * Can't figure out where to put this anymore, but the Air & Space Forces Magazine version came out: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/honorary-promotions/
 * Still working on the astronaut material, but got sidetracked because the American Indian Law Review accepted an article I submitted last year on the Wounded Knee Massacre, and a producer also contacted me on the same subject (he wants to film a documentary). The article was a Covid project that grew out of Senator Warren's staff citing me in their press releases (evidently I'm the only person to publish about the legal merits of revoking medals, or the history of actually revoking them in 1917). So I x-rayed Warren's bill, which was a total mess, and gave them and SASC/HASC some critical feedback, which resulted in them dropping it entirely. They were assuming that the modern criteria for the medal applied in 1890, thought that the MoH Roll was the list of all MoH recipients (it's a pension roll that probably had only a few of the Wounded Knee recipients on it), and presumed that impropriety tainted all of the medals (even one awarded to a soldier who didn't earn the medal there). Am very frustrated with the outcome of all this, because I actually support revoking some of the medals so long as they do it with statutory authority and have a process in place to properly screen the recipients for revocation, and then finally to give DoD a chance to weigh-in on it and decide for themselves. My idea is to use a scholarly review board to advise DoD, which is something that's been done several times for upgrades of medal packages tainted by structural discrimination. It would've worked, I think, but nobody is willing to compromise! Foxtrot5151 (talk) 00:53, 19 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Congratulations on the two articles! I can see how you might be disappointed at not achieving the optimal resolution for the Wounded Knee medals, which is to correct the historical record, but at least you prevented the status quo from getting worse.
 * Love the photo of Mitchell crouched under the wing of the airplane. Is that a swagger stick in his hand, or just a rod leaning against the wheel? Can't quite tell from the angle.
 * - Morinao (talk) 02:58, 26 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Not sure what that is in the photo, doesn't seem like there would be a need for support next to the wheel chock, so maybe it was a stick? They didn't ask me on the photos--that's entirely on their media editors. I did get a chance to review it prior to publication, but it wasn't anything like a journal or academic press. I was actually hoping they would link to some of the false claims, but alas, they didn't.
 * I've been sending links to various USAF offices trying to get claims corrected. I got a major command to agree to fix an error about Mitchell in an article, already had the command historian at USAFA agree to fix the plaque on the Mitchell statue, and got the policy proponent to agree to fix an error on Mitchell's rank in USAF Handbook 1 (which claimed he'd been posthumously promoted by FDR). AFPC's decorations branch wrote me saying they don't control the USAF website on the MoH, and don't know who does! So they're escalating to see if they can figure it out, but that's pretty odd.
 * Working on a documentary on the Wounded Knee business, which may give it some new life. Not sure when that will be out, but presumably a year or so. Will be collaborating with several scholars of Native American history to produce a series of recommendations on what medals to revoke, and why. I imagine we'll publish something else afterward, probably an edited volume. 131.252.240.190 (talk) 22:57, 27 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Got a phone call this week from GEN Steve Lorenz, formerly AETC commander at Randolph AFB, and deputy chief of the Senate liaison office at the time of the Eaker & Doolittle recognition. He recalled it and said he thought everything I covered was accurate. He said Goldwater was a really nice guy, and would go out of his way to get gifts for the staffers like him. Foxtrot5151 (talk) 21:08, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

Comment: FAA administrator
Interesting developments in relation to congressional waivers for veteran nominees. Similar to the OLC and CRS rulings that MajGen Bolden didn't need a waiver to be NASA adminstrator, the FAA's general counsel has stated that Phil Washington, a retired Army CSM doesn't need a waiver to be FAA administrator. This was in response to criticism from Senator Ted Cruz, ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee that is processing (and delaying) Washington's nomination. SuperWIKI (talk) 17:15, 23 March 2023 (UTC)


 * Thanks, what's the barrier again, is it statutory? Foxtrot5151 (talk) 21:09, 8 April 2023 (UTC)
 * I believe it is statutory. The FAA administrator must be a civilian per (c)(2). That said, Washington's nomination has been withdrawn in the meantime. SuperWIKI (talk) 21:44, 8 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Interesting, I just took a look. So being a retired member potentially runs afoul of that? Subsection d also has interesting language about the deputy administrator, and trying to prevent a conflict of interest if they are on active duty in the military. Foxtrot5151 (talk) 22:20, 8 April 2023 (UTC)
 * On your question? I believe so. And I believe this was very much sacred territory for Generals Quesada (who resigned his commission) and McKee (who received a waiver) when they were nominated. SuperWIKI (talk) 23:44, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

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