Obamacare, microchips, the mark of the beast and March 23, 2013

Additional note: according to an email, Wyoming children have been implanted with RFID chips: pure rumor. Now that the date has passed, and no-one seems to be implanting us with microchips, some bloggers are now saying that as of March 23 the government COULD implant chips. Of course, anyone COULD do ANYTHING – but the original prediction is that it WILL TAKE PLACE as of that date. I invite anyone who has made that prediction to retract it and to rethink their method of predicting the future, based as it was on wild speculation.

Under Obamacare, I keep hearing, everyone will have to have a tracking device planted under their skin. The rumor even gives a date: March 23, 2013! Another version has it that all newborns will receive an implanted microchip. People even quote the supposed page number of the House bill, H. R. 3200.

H. R. 3200 may be read HERE. (This or any bill of Congress may be read here on the official website of the US Government Printing Office: http://gpo.gov/).

[NOTE: readers should also go to this SITE about the persecution of Christians]

The relevant paragraph of H. R. 3200 (and remember this number!) reads:

National Medical Device Registry

(g)(1) The Secretary shall establish a national med-
10 ical device registry (in this subsection referred to as the ‘reg-
11 istry’) to facilitate analysis of postmarket safety and out-
12 comes data on each device that —
13        (A) is or has been used in or on a patient; and
14        (B) is —
15                    (i) a class III device; or
16                    (ii) a class II device that is implantable,
17                    life-supporting, or life-sustaining.

So, are we all to be given a biochip by the government? Let’s start with some actual facts.

• The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as it was passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law, is numbered H. R. 3590, not H. R. 3200. 3200 was never passed into law (more about that, below). You can read the final bill H. R. 3590 HERE.
• The section about a National Medical Device Registry has been taken out in later bills; that is, it is not the law of the land, nor has it ever been. Nor did “they” take out the paragraph because someone spilled the beans about the mark of the beast, because…
• …in fact the “Registry” mentioned in the earlier version is clearly a databank that collects information about medical devices already implanted in people, such as pacemakers. It says nothing about any kind of biochip or memory chip nor in fact of any chip newly planted in the body to fulfill this law.
• The language of the bill is not at all vague, as some claim, not if read by a reasonably intelligent person in context.

But, tales of conspiracy abound. (Search for my other articles “Christians and Myths” and “Christian Urban Legends” on this blog). Here are some tactics used by conspiracy theorists throughout the ages, and they all show up in this case:

1.     The “Nobody will bother to check my facts” Gambit.

Most people who talk about the microchip bat about the code H. R. 3200. “Read it right here, H. R. 3200 makes everyone get a chip so that the government can track you!” What they usually don’t tell you is that H. R. 3200, a bill that was introduced in 2009, died years ago: it never became law. People who claim to love and defend the Constitution really should brush up on Basic Civics, especially the part, “How a Bill becomes Law.” First someone proposes a bill, then they debate it, then they vote, then both houses of Congress vote, then the president signs it. Vetoes, reconciliation committees, filibusters, judicial review and other things aside, that’s the route these things take.

H. R. 3200 didn’t make it very far. Quoting it as if it were the law is simply a falsehood, which is a fancy name for a “lie”. Like the law or not, it is H. R. 3590 that is the law of the land, and no other draft, thought, notion have any relevance.

[Added note: I’m now running across postings that say that Ron Paul thought there were microchips “embedded” in the health care bill. The passage he supposedly quotes is, no surprise, from H. R. 3200. If Ron Paul really said this, I’m disappointed, I would have thought he’d be more careful with his facts; but my guess is that the use of his name is just part of the rumor, or that he said it before H. R. 3200 was left behind. I have seen him arguing against a national id card, with a GPS in it, on which point I’m in agreement with him].

[Added Note: I just saw where Chuck Norris was sounding the alarm because the Act might lead to microchips. If in fact it was Chuck Norris who wrote the column – and Chuck, I hope you didn’t – he hadn’t apparently read the available data.]

In addition, people complain about the length of the final law, which runs to close to 1000 pages. That’s hardly surprising, by the way, given that it dealt with such a wide-ranging topic. But conspiracy theorist exclaim that the mark of the beast was purposely hidden so that lawmakers would not read it! Well, I’ve skimmed the whole document and studied the relevant passage in its context – you can too, if you are interested. Don’t depend on some self-styled “expert” to tell you what it says or what it means. (By the way, I like Snopes.com and read their brief entry on this topic, but I wouldn’t depend on their data or their interpretation either).

2.     The “It doesn’t matter what is the precise language of the final version, we know it has to do with the mark of the beast” Tactic.

What the original – not final – bill shows that in 2009 someone had the idea of keeping track of how well “implantable, life-supporting, life-sustaining” devices worked over the long haul. That meant a data base, in which patients would participate voluntarily, would keep track of product quality. That way it could be determined if, say, Medtronik’s Adapta brand pacemaker was of better quality than Vilatron’s T-Series. The bill made NO reference to any other implant other than the medical hardware itself.

There are those who will say, “Well, the language has been left intentionally vague”; or “What if biochips were suddenly reclassified as Class III devices??” Well, “what if” is a game of the imagination, but it does nothing to prove, indicate or even hint at some newly-implanted microchip.

From the things I have read, it looks as if it will be private enterprise, rather than the federal government, that might promote microchips in the future. We should reject them if they become an issue.

3.     The “Quoting a rumor as if it were news” Trick.

One writer breathlessly stated in July, 2012: “A major news story broke on AOL and countless other mainstream news media outlets, this past week, that the Obama Health Care Bill will require all U.S. citizens and babies to receive a microchip or Medchip by March 23, 2013.” He is literally correct, there was a story. On the other hand, what he doesn’t tell you is that the news story was that this same writer and others were claiming that everyone would have to receive a chip, not that it was going to happen. This neat trick is about the same as when some weight loss program trumpets “As seen in the NY Times and other major news organs,” when it was the company itself that had taken out ads in those papers. For more see: http://patriotupdate.com/26712/666-every-american-to-be-microchipped-in-2013-per-obamacare#ixzz27nTQKdJS

4.     The “If you don’t see it on mainstream media, it’s because there’s a cover-up” conspiracy logic.

In this case, the absence of evidence is taken as evidence that evidence existed and then was destroyed. The same logic is used to prove that President Bush engineered the 9-11 attacks, or that the absence of pictures of the chupacabra (look it up!) is itself proof that the monster exists. Notice that the biochip theorists use two contradictory claims (It’s in the media! and It’s not in the media!) without blinking an eye.

5.     The “If it’s on YouTube, it’s got to be true!” myth.

I just got back from teaching in a country that has limited internet and restricted contact with the rest of the world. They were in a panic because of the coming biochip. I told them, “Don’t worry about it, I’ve looked up the relevant facts, and it’s just a rumor.” “But…but…but,” one person replied, “I saw it on a video!” “I’m sure you did, but that doesn’t make it true!” “But, it was on a video, I saw it!”

Why is it that if a guy can scrape together a few dollars and some scary pictures, and puts a video on YouTube, suddenly he’s an expert?

I don’t like to have to take time from my work to write out blogs about myths. Nevertheless, everyone I talk to seems to have heard the biochip story, and I think I should do the necessary research to check out its validity. Too many people are being stirred up unnecessarily. Besides, I don’t want any “mark of the beast” or any implant, so I want to know for my own sake as well as the sake of my friends and readers.

6.     The “Echo Chamber” Effect.

A man named Paul McGuire wrote a book called Are you ready for the microchip? He was quoted in many blogs, meaning that the idea of the medichip was soon echoing all over the internet. The careful reader should be aware, however, that he or she is not hearing multiple sources of authority for a medichip, but rather one and the same rumor, but coming from many directions.

7.     The “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda” Speculation. Beware of vague language, such as:

“The technology now exists by which every person could have a microchip implant.”

“Obama could push for everyone to have such a chip.”

And even: “Obama probably would have and could have made everyone get a chip, but vigilant people such as I saved the day!” (With the implication: And if I was that important in these chain of events, shouldn’t you take what I say as the truth the next time?)

This website http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=219107208118645 took my breath away, since it admitted that House Bill H. R. 3200 was never passed and is not the law of the land. But it doesn’t matter, because “While this particular bill was rejected, the fact remains that microchipping of civillians [sic] was still the intent.” Strange conclusion, since there is no reference to microchip implants in H. R. 3200!

8.     The “Can you prove it ISN’T going to happen?” logic.

This is a classic, but a point that we should all have learned in Logic 101. “Can you PROVE that the moon isn’t made of cheese?” No. “Can you PROVE that there isn’t a Tooth Fairy?” No, because logic tells us that you can’t demonstrate a negative in that fashion. It proves nothing.

9. The “You and I know the truth, the everyone else is a sheep” Flattery.

A favorite illustration is the Holocaust parallel. The logic runs like this:

• People in 1930’s Germany weren’t in a panic about Nazism.
• And disaster befell them.
• People today aren’t in a panic about the Obama chip.
• Therefore the chip is real and disaster will come because of our apathy.

This sort of logic proves nothing either for or against the Obama chip theory. In fact, there was ample evidence for anyone who read Mein Kampf that Hitler was going to try to wipe out European Jewry. People didn’t need websites to twist a couple of phrases around to predict his plan, the way they have to with the mythical “Obama medichip.”

If you dislike or despise the Affordable Health Care Act, that’s one thing. If someone wants to call it the mark of the beast, they should dig up better facts.

I can predict what will happen on March 24 of this coming year, when everyone wakes up and finds that they do not have a microchip under their skin – that is, apart from the few people who see a bug bite and assume someone got to them in their sleep. Conspiracy theorists will then take the credit: “I raised awareness of this crime, and you should thank me for the fact that the government is not controlling you!”

I challenge these prophets to mark March 24 on their calendar and at that point to be honest and courageous and admit that they were simply mistaken in their predictions. More than that, I challenge them to go further and renounce their way of inventing all such myths.

Final thoughts: If anyone comes to give me a microchip implant, he will get a black eye and a brief but heart-felt lecture on the Fourth Amendment: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” There is plenty to be concerned about with real infringements of our rights: portions of the so-called Patriot Act; listening in on phone calls and emails; the planting of GPS devices on cars without a proper search warrant. Security searches at airports violate our rights. In London and New York, there are cameras on every street corner. In my opinion the government and private use of drones to spy on American citizens is the major new threat against our rights. Let’s direct our political influence and emotional energy into real and present issues, not with fantasies about a phantom menace.

Postscript, July 2013 – Since 2010 there has been an email rumor that states that Muslims are exempt from paying for Obamacare. The latest one I received says:

The word “Dhimmitude” is found in the new health care bill; so what does it mean?…It’s on page 107 of the healthcare bill…Dhimmitude is the Muslim system of controlling non-Muslim populations conquered through jihad (Holy War). Specifically, it is the TAXING of non-Muslims in exchange for tolerating their presence AND as a coercive means of converting conquered remnants to Islam…ObamaCare allows the establishment of Dhimmitude and Sharia Muslim diktat in the United States. Muslims are specifically exempted from the government mandate to purchase insurance…

Open the actual health-care bill HERE and go to p. 107 (the relevant portion is at the bottom of 107-top of 108) or search for the word Dhimmitude; there is no reference to it or to Islam. This is wholly mythical and one more example of trying to prove that Obama is a closet Muslim.

Related Posts:

Gog of Magog is dead…and I have seen his grave

Zombies and the Bible [Studies in 1 Corinthians]

Christians and myths

Christian urban legends

“Obamacare, microchips, the mark of the beast and March 23, 2013,” by Gary Shogren, PhD in New Testament Exegesis, Seminario ESEPA, San José, Costa Rica